infobong.com

Sometimes world events force me to realize that my ways of comprehending the world are less than comprehensive. The riots in Nigeria over the Miss World pageant is one of these events. The Islamic community planned to protest the pageant, since it was at odds with their faith's understanding of decency and women's roles. Adding fuel to the fire, a local newspaper suggested Muhammad would have been on the side of the beauty pageant, and riots broke out that have killed at least 100 people and injured over 500. While I firmly believe that beauty pagents are tacky affairs that exploit women, Nigeria is hardly known for its progressive stands in gender issues: earlier this year, a woman there was sentenced to death by stoning for commiting adultery. In similar news, a Lithuanian women's prison held a beauty pageant for its inmates. The new Miss Captivity is 24 years old and has two more years to serve.

I've also been following the student protests in Iran in the past few weeks, but I haven't really found a bloggable story. They turned violent Monday, when conservative vigilantes began attacking protestors.