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...would be symbolically and historically fitting if the next great reform of Islam came from the diaspora in the West. After all, the starting point of the Muslim calendar is not the year of Muhammad's birth but the day 1,379 years ago when the Prophet led his followers from his birthplace in Mecca to found a new community in Medina. "The very foundation of Islamic civilization was built on diaspora, on the move from Mecca to Medina," says British Muslim writer Sardar. "This is where the diaspora is very important: in creating a truly moderate tradition...
...Marx foresaw the end of ethnic nationalism, asserting that people would realize they were linked by economic interests rather than birth or blood. Freud prophesized the end of religious fundamentalism, claiming that belief in a literal God would fall away with the understanding of psychology. And, finally, Einstein's theory of relativity overthrew the concept that time and space were fixed and unvarying, undermining the idea that there was such a thing as absolute truth and pure objectivity...
...drug you take just because you've got a paper due tomorrow or a long drive ahead. Like all other drugs, Provigil has side effects. The most common short-term effect is headache, though some folks have reported nausea and anxiety too. It may also make birth control pills less effective. And no one knows what the long-term effects may be. Indeed, researchers aren't even sure what the drug does to the brain on a biochemical level...
...Thousands of young Chinese women and a few men are taking advantage of a surgical procedure originally developed in Russia to help patients with legs disfigured by accidents or birth defects, such as dwarfism. While Western hospitals tend to perform the difficult surgery only for medical reasons, the number of Chinese hospitals offering the profitable procedure for cosmetic purposes has mushroomed. Many clinics have year-long waiting lists. The surgery's popularity is abetted by requirements that exclude short citizens from dozens of fields, from flight attendants to government translators. In a country that has hundreds of qualified applicants...
...Hetong, a surgeon at Beijing's No. 402 Hospital, is a pioneer of limb-extension surgery for patients disfigured by birth defects or injury. Since he started offering cosmetic leg-lengthening a few years ago, he has performed more than 600 operations. His patients have grown by an average of 9 cm. More than 70% of the women are college educated. Some who have studied overseas felt inferior because of their lack of stature. "For them, the main purpose of the operation is not to improve their physical health," says Xia. "It is to help their psychological growth...