5
POPSThe dangers of Obama's dithering Having this weak president is actually increasing our dangers. But perhaps he is projecting weakness for this very purpose.... only a Trojan Horse would be so cunning.
6
POPSViking travel guide warns against hostile Scottish natives more: A Scot identified in the saga as Grjotgard, a kinsman of Melkolf (Malcolm II), king of Scotland, told them: 'You have two choices. You can go ashore and we will take all your property, or we'll attack you and kill every man we lay our hands on.' The chronicles have been interpreted by Gisli Sigurdsson, a historian at Reykjavik University, who believes the sagas - part fiction, part fact - reveal how the ancient Norse were far from the fearless pirates of legend. Sigurdsson said the tales were a warning to travellers that they would encounter a general foggy area, dangerous landings, hostile natives and language problems. They wrote that the people would probably attack you immediately.
19
POPSViking Treasure Hoard
more (at source): The hoard – which includes a silver cup estimated to be worth more than £200,000, as well as 617 coins and various silver fragments, ingots and rings, will go on display in both York and in the capital after careful conservation work which began a month ago. Experts hope the process will reveal crucial details about the Viking era. Initial examinations suggest the treasure dates to 927 or 928. Conservation experts have already revealed remarkable insights: the cup, which has been gilded inside and out, is most likely to have belonged in a church, with vines decorating its exterior – a Viking symbol of Christ. Some of the coins shed new light on the period – parts of Britain such as Staffordshire and Yorkshire were already believed lost by the Vikings and under Anglo-Saxon dominion, yet there are coins which show the Vikings were still creating their own currency in these regions. One such coin, with the word "Rorivacastr" on it, is believed to have originated from
5
POPSEver wondered what's the origin of Zero? This was a good find, to me. Very interesting and made me feel a lot better to know these things. :) Zero, a hard worker that went from a mere placeholder to what it is today. A winner in life. Example of a fighter! See http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=history-of-zero for more.
7
POPS51 Headless Vikings Found in English Execution Pit? "You've got Danish and Saxon armies fighting backwards and forwards across England," The early English also faced the threat of longship-sailing Vikings, Scandinavian seafarers who pillaged coastal regions. The team hopes chemical analysis of the buried men's teeth will show whether they grew up in Britain or Scandinavia. (Related: "Vikings Filed Their Teeth, Skeleton Study Shows.") Signs of muscle attachment on the bones could also help reveal whether the executed were Viking oarsmen, since "strong physical exertion in a particular direction does affect the bones,"
8
POPSFacedown Burials Widely Used to Humiliate the Dead Arcini searched existing literature to make the first ever catalog of facedown burials from around the world. She found descriptions of more than 600 bodies from 215 grave sites, from Peru to South Korea. Dating from 26,000 years ago all the way up to World War I, these so-called prone burials include men, women, and children, though the majority were men. Facedown burials occurred in all sorts of graves, including single graves, double graves, and mass graves.
6
POPSFeds Seize Man's Home, Tow It Away All it takes to lose everything is to live where a corrupt mayor, who is in cahoots with developers with visions of making a ton of money if only you was gone, gets the city to enforce trumped up rules against you. They have the police force and the right (wrong) judges to use against you and you lose everything. It’s true, you can’t fight city hall.
2
POPS Resolved: Vikings > Pirates
There could be some political pushback about a force exclusively staffed by burly blonde males, but Democrats from the northern Midwest should be happy to have those types out of their districts for good. Expect newly minted Minnesota senator Al Franken to co-sponsor the Viking Authorization Bill, building up his defense bona fides. "But Jon, why use swords, clubs and battle-axes when we have a modern, well-equipped Navy already in the region?" First Ninjas, now this? You sir, are a foreign policy dilettante. Sure, we could send a destroyer to sink a fleet of Somali dinghies, but where's the fun in that? In politics, perception is reality and Vikings vs. Pirates is flat-out COOL. Can you imagine the YouTube videos? Cable news would help fund the initiative just for the ratings boost. Exurban League calls on President Obama to do the right thing for our country, free trade and our entertainment: Use Vikings to kill the Pirates. If not for us, Sir, then for the children.
7
POPS15 WEIRDEST HATS I thought hats just didn't suit me but after looking at some of these I just don't know..
3
POPSHelp Wanted: Vikings If you have the looks and manners of Hagar the Horrible or Helga from American Gladiators, then you could get paid to pillage and plunder for two days at Lake Tahoe just for submitting a video!
7
POPSSeeing and Believing: Jerry A. Coyne Interesting read. --Via Sam Harris who says a heated comment debate over the article has started here: http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/coyne09/coyne09_index.html#tnr-coyne
1
POPSThe Russians Have Always Favored Overkill Vladimir Putin had ordered the assassination of Russian journalists and capitalists before Litvinenko, of course. But the Litvinenko murder defined him for the world -- or at least the sane and sensible fraction of the world --- just as Don Corleone in the Godfather ordered the decapitated horse's head to be placed in Jack Woltz' bedroom. Like the bloody horse head, Polonium poisoning signaled a public but deniable threat to Putin's enemies: Defy me, and I can use the rarest poison in the world to kill you anywhere I choose. And I will get away with it, because everybody else is cowed. Which is exactly what happened. Putin never paid a price, and in the manner of bullies everywhere, he was emboldened when the Brits failed to respond to Litvinenko's assassination in the middle of London. That is why Putin's invasion of the small, free, and democratic Republic of Georgia was predictable. Today the Russian threat to the Ukraine is just as obvious.
2
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update