(no subject)

The Republicans are trying to rebrand illness as an irresponsible choice. All illnesses, it appears, are the result of obesity - or poor choices, such as smoking. Hospitals are failing, they say, because of the bad choices of the great unwashed. Becoming ill is now rebranded as a bad choice. I wonder when the American public will stop falling for Republican rebranding. One only need look at our current economy to understand the impact of Republican policies. One only need look at our involvement in a war that can't be won - and McCain's vision of letting it go on 100 more years - to understand the Republican failure or lack of willingness to understand problems and devise solutions.

Dave Meadows - Explorator

False Doors for the Dead Among New Egypt Tomb Finds "Such symbolic passageways were common features of most ancient Egyptian tombs "of consequence," according to Salima Ikram, a professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. The rectangular portals, which did not actually open, were meant to allow the deceased to come back from the afterworld and consume gifts placed on nearby offering tables. "A false door is a place where you have an interaction between the living and the dead. It is really a doorway for the soul to go in and out of the afterworld," Ikram said. "The idea is that you say 'Hi' to the deceased, and the deceased [comes] up and eats and drinks and talks to you, gets your wish, and then goes back down." Beer and wine were among the favorite offerings.



The Saqqara Geophysical Survey Project may be on the verge of discovering the remains of Imhotep, the architect of the Step Pyramid.


The British Army is to develop a Cultural Heritage Initiative to assist with archaeological sites and museums in southern Iraq. This will be launched with the Iraqi state board of antiquities and heritage, along with the British Museum.



A ceremonial plaza built 5500 years ago has been discovered in Peru


Bush's "No Child Left Behind" fosters "stunning ignorance"


Gustave Courbet at the Metropolitan



( more Courbet )