This week, Feedback asks our listeners a question, and we look at some of our recent articles that caught your attention.

First, we want to know if our listeners are hearing us through Sirius Satellite Radio? RNW is available on channel 140 on Sirius Satellite Radio, part of the World Radio Network package.

Feedback has been reliably informed that, for those of you still writing about the halting of our short-wave service to North America last year, this might be an excellent alternative.

So, we would also like to know what your experiences are or have been? Please , or leave your comment at the bottom of this page.

Animals
Now, as the summer cools in this part of the globe, it seems as if some of our most popular stories have not been sparking the usual debating heat. Here’s a taste of some that have been catching listeners’ and readers’ attention, but not yet many of your comments, most of them rather oddly - animal or food related. 

The first that is continuing to draw attention, but no one yet has left a comment, is the news article Move to ban animal porn by Vul Drie. According to the article:

“The Dutch Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin is considering the best way to ban animal pornography. It's currently legal here in the Netherlands, as is sex with animals and a way to ban both is now being sought.”

“Experts say that because of the lax rules, the Netherlands is the biggest distributor of this sort of pornographic material in the world.”

More animals
Another news article, this one with that distinctly end-of-the-summer feel, and has also been very popular, has drawn few comments. It is also animal-related.

Dutch pigs relax on their own beach by Johan van Slooten reported:

“A Dutch animal rights organisation has awarded a prize for the best mud bath of the year. Lucky porkers on an organic pig farm in the east of the Netherlands have one of the most spacious and luxurious quagmires in the country, complete with their own beach.”

It’s a much more feel-good story, highlighting the often unknown fact that pigs take mud baths, not only  because it feels good, but as a way to ward off sunburn.

Farming in the US
The next article in the sort-of theme this week is a bit more general. It covers farming in the US. Obama to stand up for small farmers by Jan Huisman reports:

“Agriculture is big business in the USA, where two percent of farms account for half of all agricultural sales. The industry further consolidated under the laissez-faire policies of the Bush years, but the Obama administration is sending signals that it intends to turn the tide.”

Anonymous sent us this intriguing saying:

“There's no sauce in the world like hunger (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra).”

Ramadan
Which sort of brings us to a sort-of food related and final popular article this week: Is fasting during Ramadan good for your health? by Chaalan Charif.

According to the article: “Islam only says that healthy adults should fast. Sick people, whether suffering from temporary or chronic disease, are exempt. Many scholars of Islamic sharia law say fasting is prohibited if it is harmful.”

We receive a lot of good wishes for Ramadan, and it seemed an appropriate time to share the following sent to us from the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy:

“On the occasion of the Blessed Month of Ramadan... let us all fight against corruption and oppression in any place, and work together for a better and more just world for all of us and for our children.”

A definite, end-of-the-summer, feel-good note to end.