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POPSSacrificial virgins of the Mississippi
As archaeologist Timothy Pauketat's cautious but mesmerizing new book, "Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi," makes clear, Cahokia -- the greatest Native American city north of Mexico -- definitely belongs to human history. (It is not "historical," in the strict sense, because the Cahokians left no written records.) At its peak in the 12th century, this settlement along the Mississippi River bottomland of western Illinois, a few miles east of modern-day St. Louis, was probably larger than London, and held economic, cultural and religious sway over a vast swath of the American heartland. Featuring a man-made central plaza covering 50 acres and the third-largest pyramid in the New World (the 100-foot-tall "Monks Mound"), Cahokia was home to at least 20,000 people. If that doesn't sound impressive from a 21st-century perspective, consider that the next city on United States territory to attain that size would be Philadelphia, some 600 years later.
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POPSObama Election Signals Return of the Vampire "“The 1980s, the Reagan era, is the most prolific era for zombie movies,” Dendle said. “They drop off the face of the Earth in 1990, in terms of high-budget studio films.” Vampires – and Democrats – swooped back to prominence. Ten days after Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush, “Bram Stoker's Dracula” hit theaters. The Clinton years were also haunted by “Interview with the Vampire,” “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” and “Blade.” Zombies returned with a brain-eating vengeance during George W. Bush's tenure: “28 Days Later,” “28 Weeks Later,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead,” “Diary of the Dead.” Bush-era zombies, noted Chera Kee, a University of Southern California doctoral candidate studying these cultural icons, also wandered into video games and comic books. "
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POPSWhy do displays of compassion differ between East and West?
I am trying to understand A bit more: "In many Asian countries, favors invariably create obligations, which is perhaps why people are sometimes disinclined to interfere in the problems of others. You are obliged to take care of your family, your friends, or even your fellow countrymen. But the idea of universal charity is too abstract, and smacks of the kind of unwelcome interference that Western imperialists — and the Christian missionaries who followed them — practiced in the East for too long. The notion of "Asian values," promoted mostly by Singaporean official scribes, was partly a critique of universalist Western claims. Asians, according to this theory, have their own values, which include thrift, deference to authority, the sacrifice of individual to collective interests, and the belief that countries should not stick their noses into others' affairs. Hence, the hesitant response of Southeast Asian governments — and public opinion — to the Burmese disaster." see source
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POPSAnthropology and Modern Warfare Another in a series of articles and op ed pieces on the use of Anthropologists in modern warfare, both pro and con. Interesting possibilities. Understanding each other better is certainly a worthy goal; whether this is the best way to accomplish this I am still undecided on.
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POPSOne more telling argument against Gay Marriage The sad thing is, this person is allowed to breed, while many Gays have to jump through hoops to adopt. Personally - and I say this as a person who is neither Gay nor Unchristian - christianst boobs like this are a greater threat to society than twice the number of gay people, married or otherwise.
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POPSIn Response to Michael Moore v Wolf Blitzer If you ever wanted to know "how stupid do you have to be to..." here's an example. Yeah, of COURSE Wolf Blitzer is gonna make himself look like a total ass on National TV in order to sell more copies of Michael Moore's "Sicko."
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POPSFeed My Sheep. Please. So, if you choose to be a shepherd, you take on the responsibility for keeping them out of trouble and the karmic debts they have managed to incur on their way to your flock. Still sure you want that job?
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POPSWho ARE these people who call themselves Americans? A clip of a comment on a clip, <a href="http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/FAB831C7-86A9-467B-8A10-F8B21FFEEE2A/">Bush Likens 'war on terror' to WWIII.</a> I've been looking for a really good setup for a response to this sort of nonsesense, and in the comments (clipped separately) I got in a gooooood one.
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POPSThe AK-47: Weapon Of Mass Destruction Historical overview of the cheap, mass-produced assault rifle that would permanently change the balance of power in conflicts the world over. By Larry Kahaner, the author of AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War : Now 85, tiny, feeble, nearly deaf, his right hand losing control because of tremors, Kalashnikov is often haunted by the killing machine he has bestowed upon the world. "I wish I had invented a lawnmower," he told the Guardian in 2002.
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