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POPSFrom Little Things, Big Things Grow If the title doesn't fit this clip, then I'll explain the meaning. It's funny how the simplest random act of kindness can be so powerful. It can literally move one to tears. Like someone giving me this clip. I can't take credit where credit is due. Again, random acts of kindness are what make us better human beings. My New Year's resolution is to try to be a better human being. It's an entirely selfish one you know. It not only makes me feel better about myself. It hopefully makes me grow as a person. Thank you. :)
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POPSCaral: The first city in the New World A brief article on a stunning archaeological discovery in South America. About six years ago, Peruvian/American archaeologist Ruth Shady , introduced the "oldest city in America" to the world. It was Caral; an ancient city on the Pacific coast of Peru, with trade centers, temples and a pyramid complex not less impressive than its counterparts in Mexico and Guatemala. The most exciting thing about Caral was its age: The city was carbon dated to ca. 3000 BCE, which strongly suggested a radical change in history textbooks. All evidence show Caral was not an exception in the region and there are many more ancient towns, waiting to be discovered. Another interesting thing about Caral is, its surprisingly peaceful social order. Archaeologists found no city walls, no forts, no signs of an army and even not a single weapon in Caral. Once again, thanks to Ruth Shady for this fantastic discovery.
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POPSNo Moses, no Joshua, no (so-called) monotheism "In the text you have the story of the Israelites coming from outside, and then besieging the Canaanite cities, destroying them and then becoming a nation in the land of Canaan. Whereas archaeology tells us something which is the opposite. According to archaeology, the rise of early Israel is an outcome of the collapse of Canaanite society, not the reason for that collapse." * The principle of monotheism (the worship of a single deity), established first by the Jews and later to form the foundation for both Christianity and Islam, took much longer to take root than most people assume. In fact, the archaeological discovery of troves of household idols in ancient Canaanite towns and cities proves that the Israelites practiced polytheism long after they had been thought to have discarded the practice.
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POPSWho are the REAL Christians around here? "We are living in the 21st century after all. Who would use the name of the Christian God to justify mass killing? A majority of modern day American Christians, that's who. Perhaps the argument used against Muslims should be applied to Christians instead. Their religion has been hijacked by fundamentalist fanatics while the non-fanatics remain silent. The term clash of civilizations is definitely a misnomer. There can be no clash unless both sides are in fact civilized. Any assertion of American civilization is clearly open to question." ... By Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report., AlterNet
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POPSHymens: Now Made in China In places where honor killings are practiced against women who can't prove they were virgins on their wedding nights, this little, seemingly innocuous sex toy has opened quite a can of worms.
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POPSSmoke a Pack a Day... or move to Cairo This comes as no surprise to me. The entire time I was in Cairo I coughed, hacked and eye watered my way through each day. I asked my chain smoking friend why he bothered to smoke when he could just breathe the air. Worst pollution I personally have ever had to live through. Luckily enough I was able to escape by heading home, unlike most everyone else stuck there.