No Pursuit of Justice

Reading this article about the Obama administration’s decision not to pursue the Bush administration’s government lawyers who wrote the CIA “torture memos” or those officials who participated in carrying out those acts is, in my mind, a terrible failure for the new president. While I can appreciate that the man has his hands more than [...]

No Stricter Gun Laws After 10 Years?

Of course there has to be a post on the 10th anniversary of the Columbine shooting. I was trying to watch the news all day, especially for this, on what different updates there were about if there were going to be any news on the gun laws from the shooting that happened at Columbine. Obviously there [...]

World’s Oldest Marijuana Stash Totally Busted

Happy 420! In the Gobi Desert, archaeologists unearthed the grave of a 2,700 year old man who had 2 pounds of still-green marijuana buried with him.
The researchers believe the individual was a shaman from the Gushi people, who spoke a now-extinct language called Tocharian that was similar to Celtic.
Scientists originally thought the plant material in [...]

The Alcan Hwy

Who knows what Alaska would be like today if not for the events of WWII.  Seen as a stategic, as well as an extremely vunerable corordor of the North American continent durring the war, the U.S. military spent billions carving up the landscape so “people could use it,” as well as defend North American from [...]

Denali or Mt. McKinley?

I was invited on Facebook to join a group who wants to properly rename different land marks in our nation. Mt. McKinley or Denali is one of the places they want renamed. I never knew the history before; I only knew Denali was the native name. Mt. McKinley was named by a gold miner who [...]

The Queen Anne’s Deception

When I went to school at the University of West Florida at Pensacola, FL in the Fall of 2007, one of the classes I took there was a Shipwreck Archaeology class. My professor, a fairly young guy, had worked on some fairly significant projects, including a massive effort made in the early 1990s to excavate [...]

In Dirt and Secret

I tend to pick up most of the articles I post on here via Archaeologica.net, since they post a few of the most interesting archaeology/anthropology related links each day, and this article about “Hush-hush Archaeology” is another winner. I’m sure most people can recall the hullabaloo over the new fence at the Mexican-American border, and [...]

Capital Move Controversy

Capital move supporters argue that the capital is not accessible to the majority of the citizens in the state. Keeping it in the present location will “impose on future generations a capital at the extreme southeastern corner.” Capital move opponents argue that the state institutions are already fairly dispersed to promote economic growth for all [...]

This article from the British publication The Guardian is about the discovery of an ancient Roman “joke book” by a Classical professor, Mary Beard, that dates back to sometime between the third and fourth centuries CE (Common Era). I thought that the article about this discovery makes several points worth considering, [...]

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Apparently, the Republican Party of the United States has ended up in such a vacuum of leadership that the “undeclared” (but apparently very much acknowledged) chief of the GOP has become the quasi-comedic radical radio-host Rush Limbaugh. In one of his speeches on national radio, Limbaugh declared the following jaw-dropping statement:

If I wanted Obama to [...]

History of Columbia River’s Salmon Run

“Comparing today’s salmon population on the Columbia to those back in 1850 we’re lookin at an astounding 96 percent reduction,” writes Pat Hoglund in Salmon and Steelhead Journal, winter 2009.

This Day in History: Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping

 This article describes the events of March 1st, 1932, in regards to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. This event was quite the media circus of its time and to this day still creates a lot of questions towards the accuracy of evidence gathered and  the trial verdict.
On this day in 1932, in a crime that captured the attention [...]

China’s Tibet Policy

Thought I might bring up Tibet this time around.  Been a while since I had heard anything on the current situation-looks like things are just as messy as ever.
In The Economist this week they ran an article called, “Another Year of the Iron Fist.”  It is nothing too in depth, just a reminder of the [...]

One-Child Policy in China

So what are everyone’s thoughts on this action?  If you are ethnic Han living in urban China you are only allowed one child.  If you have more than one you will be fined an amount determined by the government.  It also seems that in some cases abortion is pressured and sterilization is forced.
The rule has [...]

Taku in Danger!

150 years ago, if you wanted to protect some geographic location, you kept your mouth shut about it; for if anyone knew about possible resources to exploit-they would.  Now, if you want to protect something you have to shout from the roof tops, “Hey! Look over here! Corporations are looking to molest this resource indefinitely!” 
Perhapes some of you went [...]

Congo Action

 
This article about the Congo is one of many attempting to describe the turmoil that dominates the political system in that region of the globe. As I read this article on one of thirty-plus computers in a warm, carpeted, safe, computer lab at UAS I cannot conseptualize what it would be like to live under [...]

Artifact Repatriation

In this article available via the BBC (and elsewhere), the thorny issue of artifact repatriation is in the archaeological spotlight again thanks to new documents written by Ludwig Borchardt, a German archaeologist working in Egypt nearly 100 years ago who uncovered many beautiful and important artifacts in an agreement with the Egyptian government to basically [...]

February 2, 1803: Albert Sidney Johnston Born

Born this day in 1803,  Albert Sidney Johnston was to become the second ranking general in the Confederate army during the Civil War and was given command of the western theater of operations. Despite the ambition, bravery, and combat experience that Johnston embodied as he led the attack at the battle of Shiloh, his life was over [...]

Roe v. Wade

I ran across a fellow WordPress blogger’s post discussing “How to Stump Anti-Abortionists With One Question” and figured the timing is especially appropriate for some reflection on the topic (not the topic of how to stump Anti-Abortionists, silly, the topic of abortion) on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, while the annual Pro-Life Rally is being held on the [...]

The Last Brick

The anticipated event of swearing in of a new president of the United States finally happened. An interesting article attracted my attention, and I thought it was worth giving it some thought.
USA Today writes that the bible used in Barack Obama’s inaugural ceremony is the same bible used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861. “Lincoln took [...]