Editorial: e-artnow
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed c. 1755–1750 BC. You will love reading the best-organized and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. This important document was copied and studied by Mesopotamian scribes for over a millennium.
In ancient Greece, “no other practice was so universal than the consultation of oracles.” These holy sites were found in 260 locations around the Greek-speaking world, and they were considered the “most satisfactory means of ascertaining the future.” These sanctuaries were “set apart from the profane, ordinary world” and were in the beginning restricted to natural locations where the divine was thought to be “especially present.” They were set aside for special spiritual functions, and a state of purity was generally required of its participants. A historical tendency toward providing haven for criminals was based on the fear of shedding blood in a holy place, and the “fear that the evil magic would emanate from his curse.” The Oracle of Delphi was one of the greatest religious institutions in Greece and one which played a significant role not only in the formation and collective decisions of Hellenic localities and city-states but also in the personal lives of Greeks known and unknown. The site was dedicated to the god Apollo, and the Greeks believed the god spoke his oracles through his prophetess known as the Pythia. The judgments and decisions rendered by the oracle were so important to the Greeks that they often put them above all other interests, even security threats posed by the likes of the Persians, and Delphi was popular even amongst outsiders. Many authors of antiquity mention the oracle for one reason or another, and there even survive epigraphic collections that preserve the god’s words on stone. The Oracle of Dodona was the oldest of all, and it was one of the few dedicated to Zeus and his consort goddess Dione. The oracular utterances heard at the oracles are generally referred to as “smokiness” in Greek, but at Dodona, the answers came in natural sounds and other peripheral phenomena.Ver libro
Throughout history, too many Americans have been disenfranchised or faced needless barriers to vote. Part of the blame falls on the Constitution, which does not contain an affirmative right to vote. The Supreme Court has made matters worse by failing to protect voting rights and limiting Congress's ability to do so. The time has come for voters to take action and push for an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee this right for all. Drawing on troubling stories of state attempts to disenfranchise military voters, women, African Americans, students, former felons, Native Americans, and others, Richard Hasen argues that American democracy can and should do better in assuring that all eligible voters can cast a meaningful vote that will be fairly counted. He shows how a constitutional right to vote can deescalate voting wars between political parties that lead to endless rounds of litigation and undermine voter confidence in elections, and can safeguard democracy against dangerous attempts at election subversion. The path to a constitutional amendment is undoubtedly hard, especially in these polarized times. A Real Right to Vote explains what's in it for conservatives who have resisted voting reform, and reveals how the pursuit of an amendment can yield tangible dividends for democracy long before ratification.Ver libro
This short, powerful book provides practical advice on how to protect yourself in the information age. Living today means most of us must contend with things like workplace surveillance, cyberstalking, ransomware attacks, and facial recognition. But it's not too late to protect our privacy. Written in blunt, jargon-free prose, On Privacy defines today’s privacy landscape while also reminding readers of the joys of keeping things to ourselves—that privacy creates space for intimacy, is essential to mental health, and is a fundamental right in a free society. Explored among the book's lessons are concepts like: .The Nothing-to-Hide Trap .How we become prisoners of our recorded past .The ways small data points about us can paint revealing pictures .How Big Brother is in fact real .Why we should insist on privacy by design .How to make ensuring privacy something that is profitable. Each lesson ends with advice on how to talk about a given aspect of privacy and how to take actionable steps to safeguard yourself. On Privacy is small book with a big message about why privacy matters, who profits by invading it, and how best to defend yours in easy, everyday ways.Ver libro
This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Uncover the hidden origins, true nature, and deliberately obscured history of money that schools and institutions never taught you. This revelatory audiobook traces currency from ancient barter myths to modern digital transactions, exposing how money actually works versus what you were told. Learn why the standard economic history you learned is largely propaganda designed to justify existing financial systems and power structures. The narrator reveals how money was created, who controls its supply, and why this knowledge has been systematically kept from ordinary people throughout history. Discover the truth about central banking, fractional reserve systems, and monetary policy that determines your economic reality without your input or understanding. Understand why financial crises happen predictably, who benefits from economic instability, and how money creation actually fuels inequality by design rather than accident. This audiobook examines historical monetary systems, failed currencies, and alternative models that challenge everything you believe about wealth and exchange. Learn what wealthy families have understood about money for generations while the public remained deliberately uninformed. Perfect for anyone questioning economic narratives, seeking financial literacy beyond mainstream education, or wanting to understand the true mechanisms that govern prosperity and poverty in modern society.Ver libro
When the name Guadalcanal is mentioned, most picture Marines desperately fighting in the dense jungles and the United States Navy in dramatic surface battles. That story, though true, tells only part of the campaign. Less well known is the role played by the United States Army. While the Marines landed and fought off several Japanese counterattacks it was the Army's soldiers who followed and bore a large share of the brutal ground fighting that stretched on for months. These fights were not "mopping up" actions normally associated with the Army, but brutal battles against a determined enemy.Arriving under difficult conditions and often overshadowed by their naval brethren, the Army's contributions on Guadalcanal have too often been relegated to the footnotes of history. This account finally brings them out of the shadows, recounting their contribution through a blend of operational history with clear soldier perspectives. Drawing on official records, terrain analysis and firsthand testimonies, the book provides new accounts from multiple perspectives, including Japanese sources not previously published. Units such as the 25th Infantry Division, Americal Division and the 147th Infantry Regiment are covered in detail.Dave Holland, a former United States Marine and law enforcement investigator, spent three years on the ground, studying the battlefields through research, investigation, and documentation. Drawing on his military experience and investigative skills, Holland offers a detailed analysis of the campaign with attention to the role of terrain. Following on from his first work, Guadalcanal's Longest Fight, this book serves as a companion to tell the complete land campaign story.Ver libro
Under the shadow of gray clouds, three children venture into the woods, where they spot the corpse of an old man on a scaffold. Suddenly a wild figure emerges, with long fingernails and tangled hair. It is the Hattak fullih nipi foni, the bone picker, who comes to tear off rotting flesh with his fingernails. Only the Choctaws who adhere to the old ways will speak of him. The frightening bone picker is just one of many entities, scary and mysterious, who lurk behind every page of this spine-tingling collection of Native fiction, written by award-winning Choctaw author Devon A. Mihesuah. As a Choctaw citizen, with deep ties to Indian Territory and Oklahoma, Mihesuah grew up hearing the stories of her ancestors. In the tradition of Native storytelling, she spins tales that move back and forth fluidly across time. The ancient beings, we discover, followed the tribe from their original homelands in Mississippi and are now ever-present influences on tribal consciousness. While some of the horrors told here are "real life" in nature, the art of fiction that Mihesuah employs reveals surprising outcomes or alternative histories. It turns out the things that scare us the most can lead to the answers we are seeking and even ensure our very survival.Ver libro
