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POPSThe Online Books Page Just in case some of you just might be suffering from the delusion that someday you might be able to shut down your computers and go and breath the fresh air that someone once told me is actually to be found outside.
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POPSIslam and Secularism Volkhard Krech, professor for religious studies , has come to the conclusion that some religious traditions, such as Judaism and Protestantism, represent "secularization factors." Other faiths, such as Islam and evangelical churches have a tendency to combine a strong sense of both national and religious identity, mixing politics with religion. The Berlin Islamic scholar Gudrun Krämer made clear that a "massive rejection" of secularism prevails in most Muslim countries. In Islamic discourse, secularization is regarded as a "hostile takeover" of Muslim society. Instead of the notion of the separation of religion and state, the idea of "empowerment" is stressed. Islam calls for believers to actively participate in the power structures of the state. As a mixture of nationalism and Islamism, the so-called "national Jihad" is pushing its way into the political arena and has given birth to the notion of the "Islamic welfare state."
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POPSThe Analytic/Synthetic Distinction Synthetic statements are not necessary. Philosophers use the word contingent to describe something that is not necessary. It is not necessarily true that you are reading this webpage: you could be reading a printout, for example. It is important to make the analytic/synthetic distinction in argument. If you try to argue that something is true you need to be clear about whether you are saying something about the empirical world, or whether you are clarifying the meanings of words. It would do you no good for example to hunt for a bachelor who was married to try and refute the statement. It would be no help to you to try and find a "good murder" to refute the statement that all murder is bad, because murder is by definition bad.
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POPSThe Enlightenment and dogmatism of the mediaeval and the awakening of modernity. Medieval philosophy combined Christian beliefs with the ideas of Plato and Aristotle. In the medieval world philosophers respected their predecessors and accepted their methods. If a new discovery about nature contradicted one of Aristotle's principles, for example, it would probably have been assumed that it was the discovery that was in error. Enlightenment thinkers were not content to accept appeals to Aristotle's authority. It could be seen that using experimental methods science was progressing and increasing our understanding of nature, which could not have been done without rejecting some of Aristotle's assumptions. It was not only Aristotle that was being questioned, using reason and logic philosophers criticised political and religious ideas. What rational answer is there for the justification of monarchy or that you should choose one type of religion over another?
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POPSEinstein's letter makes view of religion relatively clear In the letter, he states: "The word god is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this."
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POPSTectonic paleo-history of the earth [images] Created by Ron Blakey ; maps of the tectonic evolution of the earth's surface. Dr. Ron Blakey Professor of Geology http://www2.nau.edu/rcb7/ Rectangular Global Maps (750 x 375): http://www2.nau.edu/rcb7/rect_globe.html "These help to visualize broad historical processes in a way that is visually clear, conceptually unforgettable, and imaginatively provocative, to say the least."
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POPSThere were two royal children (German volkslied) She took him into her arms And kissed his lips so red Oh lips could you only speak So my young heart could be healed So my young heart could be healed. She wrapped her coat around her and jumped into the lake so green Good night my father and mother Never shall you see me again Never shall you see me again. The bells were tolling There was sorrow and pain for there lay two kings-children but both were oh so dead but both were oh so dead. Originalversion Audio (instrumental) Immer wieder in Tränen aufgelöst: Johanna *heul*
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POPSColors of the Night Sky The last photo is a panorama - scroll far over to the right to see the entire image (or clicking will take you to the original). The second to last photo is called Emerald Tornado. "The blood moon is also known as the “Hunter’s Moon” or “Sanguine Moon.” While folklore warns that a blood moon is a sign of bad times, the red star of night is anything but. The name “Hunter’s Moon” originates from the fact that this moon cast a brilliant light, allowing hunters to continue to seek prey even at nighttime" "No matter how much fact stands behind blood moons, some people still continue to think of them as harbingers of doom (but they are really quite the opposite!)"
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POPSLucius Annaeus Seneca: Divi Claudii Apocolocyntosis (The Pumpkinification of the Divine Claudius) Vicifons I wish to place on record the proceedings in heaven October 13 last, of the new year which begins this auspicious age. It shall be done without malice or favour. This is the truth. To begin with, I am not bound to please you with my answer. Who will compel me? I know the same day made me free, which was the last day for him who made the proverb true--One must be born either a Pharaoh or a fool. Who has ever made the historian produce witness to swear for him? But if an authority must be produced, ask of the man who saw Drusilla translated to heaven: the same man will aver he saw Claudius on the road, dot and carry one. Will he nill he, all that happens in heaven he needs must see. He is the custodian of the Appian Way . Question him, he will tell you the tale when you are alone . What he told me I report plain and clear . Source
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POPSDiscombobulation Theory of the OTT (Onioned Texts Thoroughness) Foreword: As usual, the understandableness of these fragmentaristic clipmarkifications might be extensified by studying the sources. I did, and I whish I hadn't. Flashguns complementing will empathizes admiration: Tamera's replied, simpling Hermite leftmost having anopheles may have fudged segueing woolens augured, had vetches when purchase. Tommy's ramrodded, shanty's disgracing has Popocatepetl. Source: Unbelievable Hens Tempt Surlier Volgograd's Polestars Poultice Amelioration Quadratic's Greeleys
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POPSWalter Kempowski, writer - confrontation between the private and the political spheres of life I remember the first time I read Tadellöser und Wolff being fascinated to discover that the Kempowskis spoke in their own language just like we used to, a mini-dialect, as it were, funny and cosy and irreverent. Talk is laced with self-fabricated Latinisms reminiscent of schooldays , with nautical terms , with Low German dialect and with snatches of hymns, rhymes and advertising jingles, depending on the context. The real sense of the Kempowski family conversation is almost impossible to translate adequately, and this is doubtless is true of all such homemade languages. After all, their purpose is the sharing of common humour and the expression of affection without the embarrassment of becoming too emotional, while at the same time excluding strangers from the conversation. More on ↗JoHammonia's Scratchbook .
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POPSThe Curse of Arabia - No Democracy in the Arab World Trotz zaghafter Reformen in einigen arabischen Ländern ist die Mehrheit der autoritär regierenden Herrscher nicht bereit, ihre Machtbefugnisse einzuschränken. Wahlen dienen den autokratischen Machthabern in der Region oft nur zur eigenen Herrschaftsakklamation. Autoritäre Herrschaft in der arabischen Welt - Der arabische Fluch Die US-amerikanische Geostrategie verdankt ihren Impetus vor allem den Angriffen vom 11. September 2001 und der gemeinsamen Front in Afghanistan und Irak. Diese Strategie war einer der beiden wichtigsten Pfeiler der amerikanisch-saudischen Achse. Diese Allianz hatte in der islamischen Welt zur Folge, dass eine neue Form transnationaler antiwestlicher Subversion gerechtfertigt erschien - ein Grund dafür, dass die arabischen Ordnungsstrukturen sich verfestigt haben.
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POPSThe New Acropolis Museum http://www.newacropolismuseum.gr/eng/ http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=537580 http://www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/marbles/museum.htm
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POPSTaking Note: Musical Notation A lot of the details of our current musical notation evolved over the centuries, but the fundamentals can be traced back to one person: Guido d'Arezzo, an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from 995–1050 A.D
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