Can a leopard change it's spots?

[Loosehead]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91211-1 313547,00.html

[Ice.Maiden]

Not sure about this one Loosehead. Didn't the prophet Mohammed want to spread the word of Allah via peaceful means? I'm sure that's what he did - so why shouldn't someone else try to do the same thing? On the other hand, because of this guy's history, of course he's going to be watched, as it could just be a smokescreen for extremist ideas again. It wouldn't be so bad if extremists just wanted to try and convert people - don't JW's knock at the door for the same reason? - but it seems they want to wipe out everyone who isn't of the same colour & creed, which I'm sure is no more the will of Allah, than anyone else's god.

[Lonnie]

The first paragraph is blatently correct, and they have to be given a chance to prove what they say, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

It shouldn't be too long before they're infiltrated be extremists.

[Loosehead]

I think this is the sort of thing Islam needs to do but it just seems like a bit of an own goal having an ex nutter in charge.

[ludwig]

I disagree loosehead. I think an ex-nutter is the best person for the job. You need someone who understands the mentality and recruiting methods of these t0ssers.
An ex-addict is the best person to educate others about the stupidity of drug abuse, not someone who's never taken a drug in their life.

[Loosehead]

fair enough ludwig and you are correct about him being the best person etc but I just wonder whether doubts about whether he has really seen the light would overshadow the other aspects.

[Ice.Maiden]

Think on the whole, he'll be seen as a possible threat, as people'll be suspicious unless the guy can show some positive results. It's true to say that he's the right sort of man for the job though - who better than someone straight from the lion's den? Lonnie has a good point though - because even if the man means well, exremists'll see him as a threat as well, and try to infiltrate.

[Mamjet]

As a leopard kitten matures into a prowling adult, its baby spots morph into more commanding rosette markings. Now scientists think they have uncovered the mechanism behind the transformation.

Biologists have long wondered how leopards and other mammals acquired their distinct and uniform coat patterns. In 1952, British mathematician Alan Turing developed an equation to explain how simple chemical reactions produce the spots, stripes, and swirls that decorate a variety of mammals.

But Turing's model couldn't account for the evolution of markings from infant to adult.

The researchers assumed, like Turing, that when a leopard or jaguar is born, its skin contains pigment cells, which secrete two chemicals into the skin's upper layer. The two chemicals, called morphogens, are thought to diffuse out from the pigment cells and interact to produce either a black-brown color or a pale yellow-reddish color.

With a complex computer model, the researchers created a two-stage process, each stage having different governing rules. In order to account for an animal's growth, the second stage included parameters, such as diffusion rate and a scaling factor, which change during the computer simulation.

They found that the concentration of these diffusing chemicals in the skin determines the exact markings on an adult leopard or jaguar. "These [morphogens] would be proposed to be in the skin, and the pattern in the hair or the fur would be determined by the morphogen concentration in the skin.

[keyplus90]

Western govt have always backed up people like these. In fact they create them to use them for their own interests. Where did Osama Bin Laden come from, who was Sadam Hussain. If they do what you want them to do then fine. Otherwise the definition of extremist is so wide that these people would be dumped in that and few more be created.