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POPSNightmare Playgrounds LOL this is the biggest creep-fest I've ever seen. Parents, would you let your kids play on this stuff? How depressing is this stuff?
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POPSThis Day In History: An Open Letter To Google Dear Google comrades Sergei and Larry! The Party looks kindly at your attempts to correct and improve history by unobtrusively modifying the Google logo on notable calendar dates. For years you have zealously informed the masses about progressive and useful events like Earth Day or Earth Hour, while purposefully ignoring Memorial Day (no logo change on this reactionary American holiday). Most recently, you enlightened the unwashed about the Spanish artist Velázquez on June 6 without mentioning the Allied Invasion of Normandy on D-Day, a celebration of which would indeed be offensive to National Socialists. ~ The time is ripe for us to reinforce your amateurish efforts with our brand of historical revisionism that stands on a firm scientific foundation of the Party doctrine. The next big holiday is Independence Day. Review the following list of Party-recommended events and logos for mandatory inclusion.
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POPSPhotoGallery / Wall Paintings in the Afghan Region of Bamiyan The world was in shock when in 2001 the Taliban destroyed two ancient colossal Buddha statues in the Afghan region of Bamiyan. Behind those statues, there are caves decorated with precious paintings from 5th to 9th century A.D. The caves also suffered from Taliban destruction, as well as from a severe natural environment, but today they have become the source of a major discovery. Scientists have proved, thanks to experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), that the paintings were made of oil, hundreds of years before the technique was “invented” in Europe.
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POPS Oil painting 'invented in Asia, not Europe' A dozen out of the 50 caves were painted with oil painting technique, using perhaps walnut and poppy seed oils, conclude Ms Yoko Taniguchi from the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Tokyo. "This is the earliest clear example of oil paintings in the world, although drying oils were already used by ancient Romans and Egyptians, but only as medicines and cosmetics", explains Ms Taniguchi, leader of the team. The results showed a high diversity of pigments as well as binders and the scientists identified original ingredients and alteration compounds. Apart from oil-based paint layers, some of the layers were made of natural resins, proteins, gums, and, in some cases, a resinous, varnish-like layer. The paintings are probably the work of artists who travelled on the Silk Road.
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POPSDiscovery and Restoration at Egypt's Colossi of Memnon It is planned that five years from now the statues of Sekhmet the lion-headed goddess will stand again. When the two 15-metre red quartz colossi of Amenhotep become upright again in 2009 Tiya's statue will once again stand next to those of her spouse. The two other giant statues that have been uncovered are not yet ready to reclaim their place alongside the others, however. They are made of alabaster and extremely rare because of the material's fragility. Unlike other neighbouring funerary temples such as the Ramasseum, dedicated to Ramses II, and Ramses III's temple at Medinat Habu, "we will be able to admire the temple's content, not only its skeleton," said Sourouzian.
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POPSGood Friday Today is Good Friday, the day marking the execution of Jesus Christ. Catholic tradition holds that the faithful should remember the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus on this day. St. Francis of Assisi created a list of 14 "Stations of the Cross," to help his students remember the chronology of events. I wasn't raised in a Catholic household, but a good many of my friends in school were Catholic. I knew of the stations of the cross, and I've seen the pictures, statues and carvings in various churches, but I didn't really know the stations themselves. List Universe has thoughtfully listed the stations, fully illustrated. Timely and helpful. Link
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POPSShamefull Religious Intollerance That people would be so transparently discriminatory is honestly surprising to me, although it shouldn't be. There is no right to force non-Christians to recite Christian prayers in American public schools. There is no right to put God in the plege. Just like I have no right to force Christians to leave offerings before the statues of the Buddha. But don't get me wrong. This isn't about Christianity. Christianity no where condones this abhorrent and intolerant behavior. This is about the power of discrimination, and it is an addictive social phenomenon. These people would do the exact same thing with another religion. Christianity was just the most convenient vehicle for their hatred at the time. Apparently we still need to change a lot about our society before we can live with our neighbors in peace.
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POPSSaddam's flag no more The Parliament voted 110 to 50 to change the flag at the request of Iraq’s Kurdish minority, who said that it served as a reminder of the cruelty of his regime. (TimesOnline)