studies, surveys and similitudes

well, i meant to say "clones" instead of "similitudes" but i wanted something alliterative even though "similitudes" isn't quite the same as "clones". i think "similitude" is one of those words my cousin and i love to bash, like "supererogatory," a rarely-used english word that only seems to pop up in translations of arabic. i mean, i have NEVER heard the word "supererogatory" (it sounds dirty, doesn't it?) used for anything other than describing a certain type of muslim prayer. if you have, i'd love to know.

anyway, i digress. as usual. the point(s) i wanted to make have to do with a couple of articles i read this morning. this one talks about how the FDA has conducted "Scientific studies" on meat from cloned animals and concluded that it does not differ significantly from the meat we eat every day, so they do not feel it is necessary to place distinguishing labels on cloned meat in the grocery store. (i blogged about something similar back in june.) it also includes information on a "survey" that showed that 64 percent of people were "uncomfortable" with the thought of having that kind of meat on the shelves. and this one talks about a study that showed women who held their spouses' hands while being subjected to something stressful experienced less anxiety than when holding stranger's hands or no hands at all.

okay. i understand the benefits of having numbers to back you up when you're trying to make a point. especially because when you're writing an article, you can't just say, "It's obvious that most people with half a brain would not like to eat meat from an animal that wasn't produced the way animals are naturally produced," or, "Since it's common knowledge that people feel better with someone who loves them, and physical contact with that person feels good...". but something about it just seems silly, to fund a scientific study or survey for these kinds of things.

and i wish i could believe the FDA is as thorough and disinterested as possible when it comes to the impacts of its rulings. but i know the FDA's "recommended" levels of mercury intake are openly challenged by some (non-fringe) groups, and that is just one health issue. there is something beyond what a scientific study on the substance itself (the cloned meat) could possibly show - the something that causes so many people to recoil at the thought of consuming this meat. i don't think it's ignorance or fear of the unknown, but it's not scientific, so laugh at it if you want and don't use it in articles and journals (except in survey percentages, because the producers need to know if people will actually buy the stuff).

from the article: "FDA scientists said that by the time clones reached 6 to 18 months of age, they are virtually indistinguishable from conventionally bred animals."
"virtually indinstinguishable" is the kind of language that makes me shudder. what's in that space between "virtually" and "completely"? could it be the same thing that, a few paragraphs earlier, that causes "more deaths and deformed animals [among clones] than other reproductive technologies"? even if the meats are "virtually indistinguishable," are the risks worth it?

wow. for the first time in months (and since we're barely at nine months, we're talking a long time), musa just fell asleep while playing in his crib. i didn't do anything, nurse him or anything. i even had my back turned. all of a sudden i realized he was totally quiet, and i got up to check on him, and he was sort of keeled over with his head over his hands in a corner, like he had been sitting up and just kind of sank down and fell asleep. i moved him so he was lying down properly and his hair was all fuzzy from his position and i just wanted to eat him up. but i didn't. he seems so tiny sometimes, i can't believe he's a whole, real person. then sometimes i look at him and he's propping his chin and elbows up on the edge of the crib rail (granted, it's a stretch) and i can't believe how big he is. mashallah mashallah. as much as i love him, and it's sooooooo much, i love that Allah loves him even more... a line from little women (which, yes, i know because i read it a thousand times on the toilet) about God says He loves children "with a love stronger than that of any father, tenderer than that of any mother". i just want so much for him to grow to manhood safe and happy and healthy. i don't want him to know fear or pain until he can handle them with his own inner resources. these are my duaas... well some of them at least.

well have i fit enough topics into one blog post? i wanted to blog about no-fly lists too, and how ridiculous they are, but i should go take a shower while he is still sleeping...

here is a baby in a box!!!