On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 04:57:27 GMT, "Jim Oberg"
wrote, in part:

What's so amazing that scientists would want to do science?

Actually, it isn't amazing that scientists would want to see what a
particular rock, reputed to be a meteorite, actually is.

When conclusions start coming back about semiconductors from beyond the
Solar System, however, it is natural to wonder if it is science that is
being done. Apparently, though, given your information about the
credentials of the researcher, my misgivings in _that_ area were
unwarranted.

More to the point, however, there is no massive scientific program going
on to examine every single pebble or stone on the face of the Earth. It
would be one thing if religious authorities in Sa'udi Arabia had
submitted flecks from the stone in the Ka'aba for analysis, after the
manner of the Vatican with the Shroud of Turin.

Hence, I see something else at work here besides 'doing science'. I have
no quarrel with attempting to refute Islam - but I do *not* see any
necessity to commit a desecration in order to do so.

That the stolen particles were turned over to a Muslim researcher, who
found in them evidence that the stone in the Ka'aba was even more
remarkable than anyone could have imagined - even if I am highly
skeptical about those conclusions - is, I suppose, a deserved
comeuppance.

John Savard
http://www.quadibloc.com/index.html
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