The Assyria Times today has an article about the Yezidis and the great pressures they are under to assimilate into the larger Kurdish communities in which they reside.

Here's a strange story- a liberal anti-cult lawyer whose anti-Bush signage has annoyed local conservatives is battling to keep his signs..but the mysterious enemy posting details of his private life online may not be everything they seem.

Today is the anniversary of the death of Bodhidharma, the reknowned founder of Zen Buddhism. According to one legend, Bodhidharma was so dedicated to his meditation that he removed his eyelids to prevent sleep. A common New year's custom in Japan is to purchase an eyeless paper mache representation of Bodhidharma (called Bodai Daruma in Japan). One colors in one eye while making a wish. It is customary to fill oin the other eye when one's wish is fulfilled.

Opposition to genetic engineering is coming from an unusual source- Native Americans who believe tampering with the genetic makeup of minnesota wild rice is blasphemy.