Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Mulla

The swimsuit competition…

Miss Saudi Arabia, Aya Ali al-Mulla, defeated 274 other women to win a beauty pageant crown, jewelry, cash and a vacation to Malaysia. But she didn’t even show her face. All of the traditional beauty pageant contests were eschewed in favour of a different approach:

With her face and body completely covered by the black head-to-toe abaya mandatory in the conservative Muslim kingdom, 18-year-old Mulla was named “Queen of Beautiful Morals” late Thursday, newspapers reported.

There was none of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and heavy media coverage of beauty pageants elsewhere when the contest was decided in the eastern city of Safwa.

Instead, the winner and the two runner-up princesses had to undergo a three-month test of their dutifulness to their parents and family, and their service to society.

Unfortunately for Ms.Mulla, if she winds up following the western tradition of winning beauty pageants by being caught posing nude, going to wild parties and drinking alcohol, she won’t be fired by Donald Trump. She would likely be fired upon, however. With rocks. That, or flogged, beheaded, hung… there are a variety of ways to proceed. No, this winner won’t be going to Disneyland, but she is likely to try the merry-go-round in Mecca and stone the jamrah.

h/t Dust my Broom

Skateboarding In Kabul

There are some wonderful images of children skateboarding in Kabul, Afghanistan, thanks to a nonprofit effort from an Australian called “Skateistan”. Imagine, just for a little while the kids of Afghanistan get to be kids. It’s funded by the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Norway. Girls up to 12 and boys up to 17 are allowed to participate.

Be Glad The Taliban Have Kalashnikov’s

The standard issue rifle for Canadian soldiers [and anyone can contradict me if I'm wrong] is the Colt C7, modelled after the M16A2. Canada issued 2,500 C7’s to the Afghan National Army in December of 2007. However, there may be a more valid reason for the Taliban to use AK-47’s, as cited in a comparative analysis in Wikipedia: “The AK-47 is often built with generous clearances, allowing it to function easily in a dirty environment with little or no maintenance.”