October 2005 Archives
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October 31, 2005
What Does This Have to do With the Price of Emmer in Turkey?
I'm just about ready to post my latest effort on the texts written in the short cuneiform alphabet. There is just a little clean up and one Akkadian text to look at and I will finally be done with KTU...Read all of "What Does This Have to do With the Price of Emmer in Turkey?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:04 PM
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October 30, 2005
I'm A Monkey
You Are A: Monkey!Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who prefers a warm climate, eats a wide range of food and...
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:54 AM
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October 29, 2005
What Does This Have to Do With the Price of Olive Oil in Jerusalem?
The other day I wrote about the problems I was having in deciding how to interpret one of those texts written in the short cuneiform alphabet; specifically KTU 4.710. Well, I'm beginning to close in on a solution that I...Read all of "What Does This Have to Do With the Price of Olive Oil in Jerusalem?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:30 PM
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October 28, 2005
Bitter Sweet Thoughts on the Libby Indictment
Today I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, senior advisor to President Bush and chief of staff to Vice President Cheney was indicted on two counts of giving false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. It is...Read all of "Bitter Sweet Thoughts on the Libby Indictment"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:46 PM
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October 27, 2005
More on the Recent Study of Genetic Diversity in Human Populations
The other day I posted on a new report of a study by Sohini Ramachandran that seemed to support the out of Africa hypothesis. At that time, I asked how multi-regionalists would respond and lamented the fact that more details...Read all of "More on the Recent Study of Genetic Diversity in Human Populations"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:34 PM
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A Real Challenge for the Bush Administration
Finding someone who is several orders of magnitude more qualified to sit on the Supreme Court than Harriet Miers with a smaller paper trail....Read all of "A Real Challenge for the Bush Administration"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:16 AM
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October 26, 2005
Another Day and Another Set of Five Questions to Answer
I really don't know afarensis. I read his blog almost every day and I know that he sometimes reads mine. I've thought of us as blog buddies. So I'm not sure why he wished this meme on me. But since...Read all of "Another Day and Another Set of Five Questions to Answer"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:23 PM
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If You Want to be a Biblical Creationist You Need to Take the Whole Package
Bob Mullins, an archaeologist and biblical scholar, writes a very interesting piece on evolution and the Bible. While I could nitpick a few of his points, in general he is on target. At least he is on target for those...Read all of "If You Want to be a Biblical Creationist You Need to Take the Whole Package"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:17 AM
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October 25, 2005
Torturing the Law
By blog standards, this is a little old, nearly one whole day. The New York Times reported that the Senate defied the President and Approved, 90 to 9, an amendment to a $440 billion military spending bill that would ban...Read all of "Torturing the Law"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:27 PM
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Protecting First Amendment in the Difficult Cases
On a several occasions, I have written about the hateful lowlife Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church. These are the folks that express their hatred of gays by, among other ridiculous and evil things, protesting at the funerals...Read all of "Protecting First Amendment in the Difficult Cases"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:56 PM
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October 24, 2005
What Does This Have to Do with the Price of Olive Oil at Ugarit?
I spent most of today cleaning up my most recent work on the texts written in the short cuneiform alphabet. I've been working on the economic tablet KTU 4.710 for some time and I wanted to get it wrapped up...Read all of "What Does This Have to Do with the Price of Olive Oil at Ugarit?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:02 PM
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October 23, 2005
Domestic Politics and the War in Iraq
One of the questions I have always had about the war in Iraq was why the Clinton's seemed to favorite it (Hilary voted to support the war) or at best stand aside. Scott Ritter, the chief United Nations weapons inspector...Read all of "Domestic Politics and the War in Iraq"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:03 PM
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October 22, 2005
Some Good Advice
As part of my effort to regain whatever skills I may have once had in interpreting those ancient texts from Ugarit, I have been working my way through Patrick Bennett's Comparative Semitic Linguistics: A Manual. On page 24 Bennett gives...Read all of "Some Good Advice"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:23 PM
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Two new temples found at Ebla
I haven't studied the finds at Tell Mardikh/Ebla in even a cursory way, but this report is interesting. "Two new temples were unearthed in Tell Mardikh,-Ebla site by the Italian Archeological Team, Chairman of the Italian team Paolo Matthiae said...Read all of "Two new temples found at Ebla"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:17 PM
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October 21, 2005
Not likely
My blog is worth $13,548.96.How much is your blog worth? PZ Myers is being too modest thinking it "irrational exuberance" that Pharyngula is valued at $837,212.82. While Power Liberal is correct that her blog is priceless. I have no...
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:50 PM
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Cry "Comprehensive Strategy" to Criminalize and Hope No One Notices the Crimes
Jonathan Chait of the Los Angeles Times calls our attention to two quotations, But it's a reasonable bet that the fall of 2005 will be remembered as a time when it became clear that a comprehensive strategy of criminalization had...Read all of "Cry "Comprehensive Strategy" to Criminalize and Hope No One Notices the Crimes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:04 PM
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October 20, 2005
Sex and Archaeology
Two of my favorite things. Via the ANE news group, I discovered the follow article, Assante, Julia: "Sex, Magic and the Liminal Body in Erotic Art and Texts of the Old Babylonian Period"; in: S. Parpola / R. M. Whiting...Read all of "Sex and Archaeology"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:48 AM
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October 19, 2005
More Genetic Support for the Out of Africa Hypothesis
A new study by a team led by Sohini Ramachandran, an evolutionary biology doctoral candidate at Stanford University, and reportedly published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences supports the out of Africa hypothesis. I don't as...Read all of "More Genetic Support for the Out of Africa Hypothesis"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:07 PM
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October 18, 2005
Local Reporting of Behe's Dover Testimony
While driving home from work this afternoon (yes, I do work on occasion), I heard a report on the Dover trial on my local all news radio station, KFWB . Here is what the reporter read. A biochemistry professor who...Read all of "Local Reporting of Behe's Dover Testimony"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:27 PM
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Don't Forget the Ninth Amendment
In this post, I'm not going to discuss either Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court or Roe v. Wade and I sure don't want to get into whether Roe was correctly decided. But I will use the intersection of...Read all of "Don't Forget the Ninth Amendment"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:10 AM
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More on Gorilla Tool Use
Not so long ago I wrote of the first reports of gorilla's using tools in the wild. New reports show even more complex tool use including the "hammer and anvil" technique for crushing nuts. An infant gorilla in a Congo...Read all of "More on Gorilla Tool Use"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:53 AM
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October 17, 2005
I'm Confused
I'm confused. Does Cory Burnell really want the Constitution interpreted in the light of the Bible or does he want the Bible interpreted in the light of the Constitution? Either way, it's hard not to think that the Christian Exodus...
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:16 PM
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October 16, 2005
Hillary and Condoleezza Again
Back in the first month of Abnormal Interests, I wrote a post called "Hillary Clinton vs. Condoleezza Rice in 2008?" in which I claimed 1) the country was ready for a women President and 2) Condoleezza Rice would beat Hillary...Read all of "Hillary and Condoleezza Again"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:58 AM
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October 15, 2005
I'm Three Fourths PZ Myers!
There is a new "test" on the web and following PZ Myers of Pharyngula I took it. I show my results below. According to these results, I equal PZ in Sneakiness, Intellect and Spirituality (or lack of same). We only...Read all of "I'm Three Fourths PZ Myers!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:40 AM
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October 14, 2005
Indus Influence on the Winged Goddesses?
Note (October 15, 2005): Before you read the remainder of this post, please read the update at the bottom. As I said in the note on the my previous post on this subject, "This blog is intended, among other things,...Read all of "Indus Influence on the Winged Goddesses?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:06 PM
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When There is But Little, Every Little Bit Helps
Jim Davila at PaleoJudaica has a post that includes a small note on the significance of the inscribed bulla fragment I discussed a couple of times the other day. He is responding to this comment from Archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov in...Read all of "When There is But Little, Every Little Bit Helps"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:53 PM
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October 13, 2005
Winged Goddesses from Iran
Note (October 15, 2005): The picture below on the left is not of one of the winged goddesses but of the winged figure (male) from gate R at Pasargadae. I leave it up because this blog is intended, among other...Read all of "Winged Goddesses from Iran"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:09 PM
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October 12, 2005
What Do 34,785 Lobbyists Do?
I am often wrong when it comes to the scale of sizes of various populations. But this from George Will's column in this week's Newsweek moggles the bind. Since 2000 the number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more...Read all of "What Do 34,785 Lobbyists Do?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:33 PM
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Did Bush Pick Harriet Miers Because of Her Religion?
I've been reading that President Bush chose Harriet Miers because "part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion." You can read this claim in the headline of the CNN article that proclaims, "Bush: Religion factor in Miers pick" or "Bush:...Read all of "Did Bush Pick Harriet Miers Because of Her Religion?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:01 PM
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October 11, 2005
Hobbit (Homo floresiensis) Update
Newly discovered bones from Liang Bua on Flores Island may support the idea that the Hobbit is a new species. This from New Scientist, The new finds include the right arm bones of LB1, plus a jawbone and several limb...Read all of "Hobbit (Homo floresiensis) Update"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:18 AM
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October 10, 2005
Thank You Harriet Meirs and Your Law Firm's PAC
Those of us on the left need to thank Harriet Meirs not only for her contributions to the DNC and Al Gore in 1988 but also for her law firms contributions to Hillary Rodham Clinton's senatorial campaign committee in 2001...Read all of "Thank You Harriet Meirs and Your Law Firm's PAC"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:54 PM
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These Are Few My Favorite Things
Shirley and I are in the midst of a top to bottom house cleaning. Since we haven't moved in thirty years, I have collect many valuable treasures and she has collected a good deal of useless junk. One of the...Read all of "These Are Few My Favorite Things"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:25 PM
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October 8, 2005
On Harriet Miers' Nomination: Again
A new website on (against) the nomination of Harriet Miers has the transcript of the conference call Republican National Committee / White House held with key Republican decision makers in support of her nomination. The call took place on Thursday....Read all of "On Harriet Miers' Nomination: Again"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:04 PM
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October 7, 2005
Jewish Creationists Ban Rabbi's Books
If you think that creationism is strictly a Christian thing checkout the article in Moment Magazine on the "Zoo Rabbi," Nosson Slifkin. I offer the following snippets, American Jewish organizations have traditionally championed Darwinism, but a small group of outspoken...Read all of "Jewish Creationists Ban Rabbi's Books"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:24 PM
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October 6, 2005
And God said, "Let There Be War in Iraq"
Nabil Shaath [Palestinian Foreign Minister] says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell...Read all of "And God said, "Let There Be War in Iraq""
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:45 PM
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October 5, 2005
"P" is Really Here
I've been looking forward to the "P" volume of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. It's been off the press now for a few months but has just hit the shelf at the Claremont School of Theology library. I want to say...Read all of ""P" is Really Here"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:57 PM
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"To What Purpose Then Require The Co-Operation Of The Senate?"
Via In the Agora, I quote a passage from Federalist Paper 76, written by Alexander Hamilton, To what purpose then require the co-operation of the Senate? I answer, that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful, though, in...Read all of ""To What Purpose Then Require The Co-Operation Of The Senate?""
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:47 PM
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October 4, 2005
Creationism: The Reasonable, the Flexible and the Unreasonable
The Los Angeles Times has a very reasonable editorial entitled, "Designed and confused" on Intelligent Design creationism, religion and teaching religion in the public schools, Here are a few teasers, The business of science is to observe the physical world,...Read all of "Creationism: The Reasonable, the Flexible and the Unreasonable"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:47 PM
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October 3, 2005
Harriet Miers - The Perfect Supreme Court Nominee: No Experience, No Record
President Bush has just nominated Harriet Miers to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. ACSBolg has a short biography on her. While she is a long time friend of the President and is currently a lawyer on his...Read all of "Harriet Miers - The Perfect Supreme Court Nominee: No Experience, No Record"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:06 AM
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October 2, 2005
PZ Myers on EvolveTV
Relaxed, clear, informative, straightforward, matter of fact, PZ Myers teaches us about the modern synthesis in biology and debunks Intelligent Designs creationism all in 44 minutes and six easy lessons. While the tone is conversational, Duncan Black does ask Myers...Read all of "PZ Myers on EvolveTV"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:44 PM
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Michael Balter on Teaching the Controversy
Michael Balter, a human evolution writer for Science Magazine has an opinion piece in today's Los Angeles Times in which he advocates teaching the controversy. I think his piece is barely half correct. He correctly claims that because polls show...Read all of "Michael Balter on Teaching the Controversy"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:39 AM
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October 1, 2005
President Bush's Math: 1 = 100
Gen. George Casey, commanding general of coalition forces in Iraq, told Congress on Thursday of this week that there was only one Iraqi battalion capable of fighting on its own. In June, the Pentagon told lawmakers that three Iraqi battalions...Read all of "President Bush's Math: 1 = 100"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:31 PM
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