The plight of honeybees got an official hearing in Congress last Thursday as farmers, scientists, and even Haagen-Dazs executives testified about the mystery of “colony collapse disorder,” which has been killing off honeybees since the fall of 2006. Beekeepers are getting desperate, but scientists still don’t know why more than one-third of U.S. hives were destroyed last winter. To make things worse, one promising avenue of research has just been debunked.
Researchers had recently zeroed in on a bee ailment called deformed wing virus as the culprit, and had hypothesized that the virus was being transmitted by a parasitic mite that’s been observed in failing hives. However, a new study published in the Journal of General Virology [subscription required] discredits that theory, finding that the virus does not grow within the mite. Instead, the infection has been found only inside the gut of the [parasite], suggesting that the mite has merely eaten it from the bodies of bees already infected [The Times].
Last week’s congressional testimony brought renewed attention to the vital role bees play in our agricultural system, and thus in our economy; nationwide, bees pollinate $14.6 billion worth of fruits and vegetables every year [The Columbus Dispatch]. The ice-cream company Haagen-Dazs was on hand to tell Congress that more than 40 percent of its product’s flavors, derived from fruits and nuts, depend on honeybees…. As for whether strawberry, raspberry or almond ice cream could disappear, Haagen-Dazs brand director Katty Pien said, “We hope not, but that’s why there is such a sense of urgency, so that the millions of people who love our strawberry ice cream can have it forever” [The San Francisco Chronicle].
Researchers say it’s possible that no single factor is to blame for the massive die-offs, and that colony collapse may be the result of interacting factors such as pathogens, poor nutrition of bees and the stress many of the insects undergo when hauled from one field to the next to pollinate farmers’ crops [Cox News Service]. Pesticides used in the fields may also play a role in weakening the bees, researchers say.
Image: flickr/Todd Huffman
July 1st, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Hmm–Could it be from increased use of pesticides that cause mutations/harmful to bees??
July 5th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Living in the California’s central valley, I am well aware of the massive amounts of pesticides used by agriculture. Of course pesticides has something to do with the collapse of honeybee colonies. The question is which chemicals are the culprits.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
[...] to this bit in Discover Magazine, Congress was faced with some surprising facts last week during an [...]
July 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
hives medicine
The TrackBack specification was created by Six Apart, who first implemented it in their Movable Type blogging software in August
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Could it be possible that all the nuclear activity that has taken place over the years by different countries, has affected the macro/micro elements of creation?
July 13th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
MUHAMMAD WAS A BUSY BEE, |WITH A STING IN HIS “TAIL”!
MUHAMMAD LOVED PUSSY
Question:
Was Islam’s “perfect man” sexually restrained?
Summary Answer:
Muhammad had sex with just about anyone he pleased, thanks to Allah’s extraordinary interest in his personal sex life, as immortalized in the Qur’an.
Although the Qur’an didn’t have the space for addressing topics like universal love and brotherhood (which Muslims sometimes insist are there, but aren’t), the list of sexual partners that Muhammad was entitled to is detailed more than once, sometimes in categories and sometimes in reference to specific persons (Zaynab & Mary).
Muhammad was married to thirteen women, including eleven at one time. He relegated them to either consecutive days or (according to some accounts) all in one night. He married a 9-year-old girl and even his adopted son’s wife. On top of that, Muhammad had a multitude of slave girls and concubines with whom he had sex – sometimes on the very days in which they had watched their husbands and fathers die at the hands of his army.
So, by any realistic measure, the creator of the world’s most sexually restrictive religion was also one of the most sexually indulgent characters in history.
The Qur’an:
Allah managed to hand down quite a few “revelations” that sanctioned Muhammad’s personal pursuit of sex to the doubters around him. Interestingly they have become part of the the eternal, infallible word of the Qur’an, to be memorized by generations of Muslims for whom they have no possible relevance.
Qur’an (33:37) – “But when Zaid had accomplished his want of her, We gave her to you as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished their want of them; and Allah’s command shall be performed.”
No doubt millions of young Muslims, trying to outdo one another at memorizing the Qur’an, have wondered about what this verse means and why it is there. In fact, this is a “revelation” of convenience that Allah just happened to hand down at a time when Muhammad lusted after his daughter-in-law, Zaynab, – a state of affairs that disturbed local customs. The verse “commands” Muhammad to marry the woman (following her husband’s gracious divorce). As for why this should be part of the eternal word of God…?
Qur’an (33:50) – “O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war, and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts, and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who fled with you; and a believing woman if she gave herself to the Prophet, if the Prophet desired to marry her– specially for you, not for the (rest of) believers; We know what We have ordained for them concerning their wives and those whom their right hands possess in order that no blame may attach to you; ”
This is another special command that Muhammad handed down to himself that allows virtually unlimited sex, divinely sanctioned by Allah. One assumes that this “revelation” was meant to assuage some sort of disgruntlement in the community over Muhammad’s hedonism.
Qur’an (33:51) – “You may put off whom you please of them, and you may take to you whom you please, and whom you desire of those whom you had separated provisionally; no blame attaches to you; this is most proper, so that their eyes may be cool and they may not grieve, and that they should be pleased”
This is in reference to a situation in which Muhammad’s wives were grumbling about his preference for sleeping with a slave girl (Mary the Copt) instead of them. Accordingly, Muhammad may sleep with whichever wife (or slave) he wishes without having to hear the others complain… as revealed in Allah’s literal and perfect words to more than a billion Muslims.
Qur’an (66:1-5) – “O Prophet! Why ban thou that which Allah hath made lawful for thee, seeking to please thy wives?…”
Another remarkable verse of sexual convenience concerns an episode in which Muhammad’s wives were jealous of the attention that he was giving to a Christian slave girl. But, as he pointed out to them, to neglect the sexual availability of his slaves was against Allah’s will for him!
Qur’an (4:24) – “And all married women (are forbidden unto you) save those (captives) whom your right hands possess.”
Allah even permitted Muhammad and his men to have sex with married slaves, such as those captured in battle.
From the Hadith:
Muslim (8:3309) – Muhammad consummated his marriage to Aisha when she was only nine.
Bukhari 58:234)
Volume 5, Book 58, Number 234:
Narrated Aisha:
The Prophet engaged me when I was a girl of six (years). We went to Medina and stayed at the home of Bani-al-Harith bin Khazraj. Then I got ill and my hair fell down. Later on my hair grew (again) and my mother, Um Ruman, came to me while I was playing in a swing with some of my girl friends. She called me, and I went to her, not knowing what she wanted to do to me. She caught me by the hand and made me stand at the door of the house. I was breathless then, and when my breathing became Allright, she took some water and rubbed my face and head with it. Then she took me into the house. There in the house I saw some Ansari women who said, “Best wishes and Allah’s Blessing and a good luck.” Then she entrusted me to them and they prepared me (for the marriage). Unexpectedly Allah’s Apostle came to me in the forenoon and my mother handed me over to him, and at that time I was a girl of nine years of age.
Bukhari (62:18) – Aisha’s father, Abu Bakr, wasn’t on board at first, but Muhammad explained how the rules of their religion made it possible. This is similar to the way that present-day cult leaders manipulate their followers into similar concessions.
Muslim (8:3311) – The girl took her dolls with her to Muhammad’s house (something to play with when the “prophet” was not having sex with her).
Bukhari (6:298) – Muhammad would take a bath with the little girl and fondle her.
Muslim (8:3460) – “Why didn’t you marry a young girl so that you could sport with her and she could sport with you, or you could amuse with her and she could amuse with you?” Muhammad posed this question to one of his followers who had married an “older woman” instead.
Bukhari (4:232) – Muhammad’s wives would wash semen stains out of his clothes, which were still wet from the spot-cleaning even when he went to the mosque for prayers. Between copulation and prayer, it’s a wonder he found the time to slay pagans.
Bukhari (6:300) – Muhammad’s wives had to be available for the prophet’s fondling even when they were having their menstrual period.
Bukhari (93:639) – The Prophet of Islam would recite the ‘Holy Qur’an’ with his head in Aisha’s lap, when she was menstruating.
Bukhari (62:6) – “The Prophet used to go round (have sexual relations with) all his wives in one night, and he had nine wives.” Muhammad also said that it was impossible to treat all wives equally – and it isn’t hard to guess why.
Bukhari (5:268) – “The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number.” I asked Anas, ‘Had the Prophet the strength for it?’ Anas replied, ‘We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty men.’ ”
Bukhari (60:311) – “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.” These words were spoken by Aisha within the context of her husband having been given ‘Allah’s permission’ to fulfill his sexual desires with a large number of women in whatever order he chooses. (We suggest the possibility that she may have been speaking somewhat wryly).
Additional Notes:
Muhammad’s sexual antics are an embarrassment to those Muslims who are aware of them. This is particularly so for their prophet’s marriage to Aisha when she was 9-years-old. The thought of a 52-year-old man sleeping and bathing with a young girl is intensely unpleasant and it reflects the disgusting character of a sexual glutton rather than a holy man. Critics even allege that Muhammad was a pedophile.
Some Muslims respond by denying the hadith itself, which is a mistake. The accounts of Muhammad sleeping with a 9-year-old are no less reliable than those on which the five pillars of Islam are based. They have been an accepted part of tradition and did not become controversial until social mores began to change with the modern age.
The charge of pedophilia may or may not be true, depending on how it is defined. Technically, Muhammad did have a sexual relationship with a child, but Aisha was also the youngest of his twelve wives. Zaynab was in her 30′s when she attracted the unquenchable lust of the prophet. We don’t know the age of Muhammad’s sex slaves. They may or may not have been as young as Aisha, but there is no point in speculating.
Prior to the medical advances of the last century, marriage occurred at a much younger age across all societies. When life expectancy was in the mid 20′s (or lower), it made no sense to wait until 19 before having children. Otherwise, one ran the risk of not being around to raise them. In short, childhood as we know it was abbreviated by the reality of the times.
Another strong piece of evidence against Muhammad being a pedophile is that, according to the same Hadith, he waited from the time Aisha was six (when the marriage ceremony took place) until she turned nine to consummate the relationship. Although the text doesn’t say why, in all probability it was because he was waiting for her to begin menstrual cycles – thus entering into “womanhood.” It is unlikely that a pedophile would be concerned about this.
On the other hand, Muhammad passed down revelations from Allah that clearly condoned sleeping with underage girls, even by the standard of puberty. Qur’an (65:4) lays down rules for divorce, one of them being that a waiting period of three months is established to determine that the woman is not pregnant. But the same rule applies to “those too who have not had their courses,” meaning girls who have not begun to menstruate. (In our opinion, this would have been a great time for Allah to have said something else instead like, “a real man is one who marries a real woman”… but that’s just us).
Thanks to Muhammad’s extremely poor judgment (at best) and explicit approval of pedophilia, sex with children became deeply ingrained in the Islamic tradition. For many centuries, Muslim armies would purge Christian and Hindu peasant villages of their menfolk and send the women and children to harems and the thriving child sex slave markets deep in the Islamic world. The Ayatollah Khomeini, who married a 12-year-old girl, even gave his consent to using infants for sexual pleasure (although warning against full penetration until the baby is a few years older).
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution: “A man can marry a girl younger than nine years of age, even if the girl is still a baby being breastfed. A man, however is prohibited from having intercourse with a girl younger than 7, other sexual act such as forplay, rubbing, kissing and having pleasure is allowed…” (Ayatollah Khomeini) – Farsi Text
Pedophilia and Bestiality In Islam
Pedophilia is legal in Islam.
The law ordering pedophilia is in chapter 65, entitled ‘The Divorce’ and qualified by Islamic law, which is based on the sunnah, the ‘perfect example’ of Muhammad recorded in the hadiths, traditions. The context deals with the issue of the waiting period for divorce, and remarriage. The Quran orders Muslim men to wait a period of three months in the case of women who either are no longer menstruating or haven’t yet started their menstrual cycles.
وَاللَّائِي يَئِسْنَ مِنَ الْمَحِيضِ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ إِنِ ارْتَبْتُمْ فَعِدَّتُهُنَّ ثَلَاثَةُ أَشْهُرٍ وَاللَّائِي لَمْ يَحِضْنَ وَأُوْلَاتُ الْأَحْمَالِ أَجَلُهُنَّ أَن يَضَعْنَ حَمْلَهُنَّ وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْرًا
(4. Those in menopause among your women, for them the `Iddah, if you have doubt, is three months; AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO MENSTRUATION. And for those who are pregnant, their `Iddah is until they lay down their burden; and whosoever has Taqwa of Allah, He will make his matter easy for him.)
(5. That is the command of Allah, which He has sent down to you; and whosoever has Taqwa [fear] of Allah, He will expiate from him his sins, and will increase his reward.) Qur’an chapter 65:4
ISLAMIC LAW
Islamic law is based on the rules of the Qur’an and the sunnah, the ‘perfect example’ of Muhammad, the Muslim prophet, recorded in the hadiths, traditions. All Muslims are ordered to imitate Muhammad’s ‘perfect example’ in thought, word and deed. They are ordered to regard Muhammad as the ideal human being and Islam as the best system for humanity forever, a system that Islamic law orders must rule the world and abolish all other religions, cultures and laws.
The definition of the word consummate: In Sahih Bukhari, vol. 7, #64, the root word used is dakhala. Hans-Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary p273: it means ‘to enter, to pierce, to penetrate, to consummate, cohabit, to have sex with a female’.
PEDOPHILIA LAWS FROM ISLAM Q&A
(www.islam-qa.com [1])
Question #22442: The ruling on marrying young girls
Question #12708: Is it acceptable to marry a girl who has not yet started her menses?
Answer: Marriage to a young girl before she reaches puberty is permissible according to sharee’ah, and it was narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this point.
1 – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the ‘Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubt (about their periods), is three months; and for those who have no courses [(i.e. they are still immature) their ‘Iddah (prescribed period) is three months likewise” [al-Talaaq 65:4]
In this verse we see that Allaah states that for those who do not menstruate – because they are young and have not yet reached the age of puberty – the ‘iddah in the case of divorce is three months. This clearly indicates that it is permissible for a young girl who has not started her periods to marry.
Question #27305: Is it permissible to marry a thirteen year old girl?
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) when she was six years old, and he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine, and at that time he was over fifty.
Al-Bukhaari (3894) and Muslim (1422) narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married me when I was six years old and consummated the marriage with me when I was nine.
It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) married her when she was six years old, he consummated the marriage with her when she was nine and she stayed with him for nine years.
If she has not reached the age of puberty, then her father has the sole right to arrange her marriage and does not have to ask her permission. With regard to the wedding-party of a young married girl at the time of consummating the marriage, if the husband and the guardian of the girl agree upon something that will not cause harm to the young girl, then that may be done. If they disagree, then Ahmad and Abu ‘Ubayd say that once a girl reaches the age of nine then the marriage may be consummated even without her consent, but that does not apply in the case of who is younger.There is nothing in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah to set an age limit or to forbid that in the case of a girl who is able for it before the age of nine.
Question #8981: What is the punishment for a girl found guilty of adultery if she has not even reached her puberty – she is still a minor?
Answer: Al-Qurtubi said: The followers of all religions are agreed that adultery is forbidden; no religion regards it as permissible. Hence the punishment for it is one of the most severe punishments, because it is a crime against honour and lineage, which is one of the five basic principles that Islam seeks to protect, namely life, religion, lineage, reason and wealth.
Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 24/20, 21
1 – If a woman has been previously married i.e., a legitimate marriage with her has been consummated, then her punishment is to be stoned to death.
2 – If the woman is a virgin i.e., she is not married yet or the marriage contract has been done but her husband has not yet consummated the marriage with her – then the punishment is one hundred lashes and exile from her country for a year. If the adulterer or adulteress is a minor below the age of puberty, then there is no punishment to be carried out, according to all scholars.
Muhammad’s penchant for girls so much younger than him was such that at least two of his father-in-laws (Abu Bakr and Omar, the first two Caliphs) were actually younger than him as well. This disappointing pattern is very much at odds with the sort of sexual discipline that one might expect of a true “prophet of God.”
Muhammad’s pursuit of Zaynab, the wife of his adopted son is almost as tough for Muslims to explain. This is because it not only raises a similar question of moral character, but also casts suspicion on whether his so-called prophecies were really divine revelation or dictates of personal convenience. According to one biographer, even Aisha appears to be somewhat doubtful of Muhammad’s claim that Allah commanded him to marry Zaynab, wryly remarking, “Truly Allah seems to be very quick in fulfilling your prayers.”
So controversial was Muhammad’s desire to marry his adopted son’s wife that he had to justify it with a stern pronouncement on the very institution of adoption, which has had tragic consequences to this day. Verses 33:4-5 are widely interpreted to imply that Islam is against adoption, meaning that an untold number of children in the Islamic world have been needlessly orphaned – all because Muhammad’s lustful desires for a married woman went beyond even what the other six wives that he possessed at the time and a multitude of slaves could satisfy.
Some Muslims deny that Muhammad was married to more than four women at a time, merely on the basis that the Qur’an only gives permission for marrying four. Unfortunately, Muslims historians disagree. Only one of Muhammad’s last eleven wives died before him (Zaynab bint Khuzayma). The rest outlived him by many years.
Muhammad forbade his ten widows from remarrying, even making sure that this “divine” order was forever preserved in the eternal word of Allah – Qur’an (33:53).
033.053
YUSUFALI: O ye who believe! Enter not the Prophet’s houses,- until leave is given you,- for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation: but when ye are invited, enter; and when ye have taken your meal, disperse, without seeking familiar talk. Such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet: he is ashamed to dismiss you, but Allah is not ashamed (to tell you) the truth. And when ye ask (his ladies) for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs. Nor is it right for you that ye should annoy Allah’s Messenger, or that ye should marry his widows after him at any time. Truly such a thing is in Allah’s sight an enormity.
PICKTHAL: O Ye who believe! Enter not the dwellings of the Prophet for a meal without waiting for the proper time, unless permission be granted you. But if ye are invited, enter, and, when your meal is ended, then disperse. Linger not for conversation. Lo! that would cause annoyance to the Prophet, and he would be shy of (asking) you (to go); but Allah is not shy of the truth. And when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. And it is not for you to cause annoyance to the messenger of Allah, nor that ye should ever marry his wives after him. Lo! that in Allah’s sight would be an enormity.
SHAKIR: O you who believe! do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for a meal, not waiting for its cooking being finished– but when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken the food, then disperse– not seeking to listen to talk; surely this gives the Prophet trouble, but he forbears from you, and Allah does not forbear from the truth And when you ask of them any goods, ask of them from behind a curtain; this is purer for your hearts and (for) their hearts; and it does not behoove you that you should give trouble to the Messenger of Allah, nor that you should marry his wives after him ever; surely this is grievous in the sight of Allah.
To add insult to injury, they were all summarily disinherited from Muhammad’s estate by his successor (courtesy of another divine order “given” to Abu Bakr from Allah).
In summary, Islam’s holiest texts portray Muhammad not as a perfect man, but as a sexual hedonist. Not only did he become fat from indulging in food, but his pursuit of sex was no less gluttonous. On top of it all, he used personal “revelations” from Allah to justify his debauchery to the gullible masses which, to this day, continue to be venerated and memorized as if they are the holiest of utterances.