Links - 5th February 2014

Putrajaya imposes ‘very high’ restrictions on religion, global study finds - "Placing Malaysia on par with countries like Egypt, Syria, Somalia, Russia, Sudan and Iraq, the report measured “government laws, policies and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices” for its Government Restrictions Index (GRI)... Some 10 churches and several mosques were attacked or vandalised in early 2010 after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in favour of Herald. Arson attacks in the form of petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails were thrown at churches, sparking public outcry and condemnation. In 2009, Muslims opposing a relocation of a Hindu temple had protested by desecrating a cow head, an animal sacred to Hindus. Then Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had defended the protesters, calling the proposal by the Selangor government to build a Hindu temple in Shah Alam as unsuitable since it is a majority Muslim neighbourhood."

‘Kangkung’ row: Grow up, minister tells critics - "Universiti Malaya Law professor Dr Azmi Sharom said it should not be treated as a racial issue. “It is disingenuous to turn it into a racial issue. Hopefully it will blow over anyway. If a joke is told too often, it will not be funny anymore,” he said."

Miss America Nina Davuluri: Too 'Indian' to ever be Miss India - "in India, our beauty pageants serve merely as a qualifying exam for Bollywood-dreaming contestants, none of whom would deign to pursue any other kind of career. No wannabe doctors or scientists — well, not since 1966 Miss India winner Rita Faria who refused all modelling and film offers to pursue medical studies. Not like Miss America where this year's first runner up Crystal Lee possesses two degrees from Stanford, a bachelor's in biology and a master's in communication. Her platform is "Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)". In any case, it's probably good that Davuluri has no Bollywood aspirations. Dance routines aside, even a Miss America crown won't propel Davuluri to a celluloid screen near us — not unless she makes the miraculous colour 'adjustment' achieved by leading Bollywood actresses who have successfully paled into significance."

National Flags Made From Each Country's Traditional Foods

What It Feels Like To Be Fisted - "The best thing about getting fisted is the emotional connection it can bring on (though not always). I can get off with two adept fingers (or a less adept penis, or an even less adept strap-on) for sure, but there’s something special about being spread-eagle on a bed and letting another person insert a rather large portion of their body in me. My junk is all out in the open, for their eyes to see. That’s hard for me to do as a trans person — let it all hang out. And if I want a person’s fist in me, I want their eyes to look at me while they’re doing it. I want them to know what they are doing, and how I am reacting, and I want to know how they are reacting. Having a fist in me promotes communication. “Is this okay?” Those are magical words to me and get me even hotter. Don’t even get me started with “Does this hurt?” Yes, it hurts and it is wonderful, and please, please do it harder. To me fisting can be a very intimate act. There are a few moments when a chosen partner is working their hand into me, before it’s a fist, and the situation is all body language, eye contact, and verbal communication."

Protest against latest fare hike takes place at Hong Lim Park - "Mr Goh also said that there were plans to burn an effigy of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew which was shown to the crowd during the protest. However, Mr Goh said he did not go ahead with this as the police told him that doing so is illegal."

I'm gonna use Firefox from now on! - The People's Funny Pictures Blog - Quora

Los Pakistaníes de Barcelona - "this gives Barcelona the largest Pakistani population in any city in Europe outside the UK. Most of them live or work (or both) in El Raval and their main businesses are barbershops, fast food, mobile phones, net cafes and minimarts. The pimping and peddling of less halal services is done by everyone else: the Morrocans, East Europeans, Romanians and others of seemingly untraceable origin. Not everyone is an immigrant; on the pavement outside a Pakistani butcher stood a Spanish woman. She was also in the meat business, advertising her goods to all male passersby with a word and a wink... Butt feels there is ‘thora bohut’ racism in Barcelona, but passes this off as something you’ll find in every country – in fact, much more so in Pakistan, he admits... Pakistanis are much-loved by everyone in the city. Her reason is far from romantic, though it is credible for its honesty: “They keep their shops open even on Sundays, all day, when there’s nowhere else to buy bread and milk.”

Authors' Sleep Patterns & Productivity - "Having researched each author's wake-up time from journals, biographies and interviews, the chart illustrates their preferred hour of rising with a clock-like marker. The author's productivity is indicated with a small count for each of their books, poems or works, adjacent to the time. Literary awards are indicated with a coloured smudge around the author's portrait. The writers are ordered according to their hour of rising. It makes for an interesting read, demolishing any notion that there's a 'perfect hour' to rise. We're all for adopting Charles Bukowski's approach to mornings..."

50-year-old woman hired for $4,500 nanny job at Sentosa Cove - "the ad had attracted 200 applications within a month. They were women aged between 21 and 56. However, not all of them made the cut. Only three suitable applicants were selected and recommended to the client, said the agency. One was rejected after the client took a look at all three resumes."

Rebound Sex Is Real Confirms Scientific Study of College Students - "One-third of the students in the study who had recently experienced a breakup went on to have rebound sex within a month of the end of the relationship, which we probably could have guessed. But the experiment had other, more surprising results. “Having sex to cope with distress and to get over or get back at the ex-partner were elevated immediately following the breakup and then declined over time, as did the probability of having sex with a new partner”"

Song of the Grass-Mud Horse (Cao Ni Ma) - YouTube

Studies show women find men more attractive if they hold a guitar - "Interestingly, they report that a woman holding a guitar did not appear to change the likelihood of having her Friend request accepted. Thus, it appears that guitar holding only works to boost male attractiveness."

Ann Summers bra claims to give you breasts THREE sizes bigger in an instant
Whoever brings this to Singapore might just strike it big

Parents Accidentally Confuse Their Children’s Names More Often When the Names Sound Alike - "“Because name substitutions are increased by factors like name similarity and physical similarity, they should not be seen as purely Freudian or reflecting preferences for one child over another,” Griffin says. “In other words, people shouldn’t read too much into the errors.”"

Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV's 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing - "We find that 16 and Pregnant led to more searches and tweets regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction. This accounts for around one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the United States during that period."

Susan Moy's answer to U.S. Politics: Is it possible to be both a feminist and a Republican during this current campaign? - Quora - "There isn't a "war on women" in America except as defined by those on the Left who ask for birth control pills paid for even by Catholic institutions and 3rd trimester abortions...
I also recognize that there is a very real war on women but it's occurring in some middle eastern cultures/countries and not in America. This is a war where girls can't go to school because they will have acid thrown in their faces, woman are treated like the property of men and are tortured, maimed (see that Time Mag cover with the girl without her nose) or killed for asserting a right to wear certain clothing or even speaking with a man, let alone having a lover of their choice. For the Left to label their disagreements with the Right as a "war on women" trivializes the term"

Chap Goh Meh singles party - "The event which marked the end of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration, saw maidens, including foreign tourists, throwing oranges into the sea with the hope of getting good life partners. At the Esplanade here, single women wrote their names and telephone numbers on the oranges, while some even scribbled their Facebook addresses on the fruits. Julie Olson, 22, from the United States who threw two oranges, said it was a fun way to find a suitor. “I don’t have a boyfriend, so why not give it a try? I’ll never know who may call or chat with me on Facebook,” she added. Two of her friends Stephanie Loo, 23, and Kathy Houng, 22, from the United States, threw three oranges each with witty messages, date of birth and heart symbols drawn on them. Houng said she put down her passport number on the oranges “to be different from the others”... Sales promoter Candy Tan, 25, said she hoped to find a boyfriend this year. “All my friends have managed to find partners, so I think it’s about time I have one too,” she added... Tan Siew Lin, 25, said it was exciting for her to participate in the festival although she didn’t believe that she would find her Mr Right by throwing oranges."

Babylonian tale of round ark draws ire from some Christian circles - "The Book of Genesis includes detailed specifications for the giant boat on which all kinds of animals were placed, two by two, to shelter from 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The wooden ark was to measure about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 30 feet high (300 by 50 by 30 cubits, or 137 by 23 by 13 meters). All well and good: But the specifications listed on the Babylonian "Ark Tablet," which is now on display at the British Museum, are totally different. The Babylonian boat was supposed to be made of braided rope, stiffened by wooden spars and sealed with bitumen. And it was supposed to have a round base, measuring 230 feet wide (70 meters wide)... Finkel said the account of the flood and the ark was probably passed along to the Jews during their Babylonian exile in the 6th century B.C. and served as the basis for the Genesis story. Biblical Archaeology Review's Noah Wiener said the cuneiform tablet was created "a full millennium before the Genesis narrative was written down." But Ken Ham, who founded Answers in Genesis-U.S. and is trying to raise $73 million to build a full-scale replica of Noah's Ark in Kentucky, says it must have been the other way around: The true account must have come first in Genesis, and was corrupted by the time the Babylonians set down their details on the Ark Tablet... Fans of Ham's Facebook page took up the argument and rejected Finkel's claims. "This is just another clever attempt from Satan to try to disprove or distort the existence of the ark," one said. Another wrote, "A round ark would have sunk.""