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POPSBrits suffer from metal theft For a long time South Africans have suffered from metal theives. A few months ago we were without electricity for two days, not because of Eskom load shedding, but because of cable theft. Twenty years ago the aluminium railings were nicked from a railway bridge down the road, over four separate nights, and no one heard a thing. Cell phones have mitigated the inconvenience of telephone cable theft, but it can still disrupt Internet access. And many have been late for work because of the theft of railway signal cables. Now, it seems, the Brits are suffering from the same problem. Will it rile up even the phlegmatic Brits so much that they'll start burning railway carriages and stations when the trains are late?
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POPSThe Day in Pictures 7 July 2008 Just seemed like your average day. After a while you realize there's no such thing. I like the way the Russians celebrate the summer solstice Every day has more than one story. Every story has more than one writer, with more than one thing to say.
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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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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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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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POPSMoaiains It reminds me of Naboo in Star Wars Battlefront! :D Google the picture to see what I'm talking about.
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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