Luxosul Agadir

În alte părţi ale lumii, copacii plini cu capre nu sunt o privelişte obişnuită. Dar "Marocul este un loc unde totul este posibil şi nimic nu este sigur", cum îi place să spună prietenului meu marocan Faical, împrumutând o frază de la sora lui Richard Branson, Vanessa. Ea cunoaşte ţara foarte bine.

Şoferul de microbuz care ne duce prin Câmpia Sousse către coasta Atlanticului, dă din cap dezaprobator după ce i s-a cerut să oprească lângă un semn rutier pe care scria "40 de kilometri până în Agadir". "De ce?", întreabă el. "Doresc să fotografieze capre? Nu oameni?"

Ancient Builders Created Monumental Structures that Altered Sound and Mind, Say Researchers

The results of recent research suggests that ancient, or prehistoric, builders of the monumental structures found in such diverse places as Ireland, Malta, southern Turkey and Peru all have a peculiarly common characteristic — they may have been specially designed to conduct and manipulate sound to produce certain sensory effects.

Beginning in 2008, a recent and ongoing study of the massive 6,000-year-old stone structure complex known as the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum on the island of Malta, for example, is producing some revelatory results. 

New research eclipses existing theories on the Moon formation

The Moon is believed to have formed from a collision, 4.5 billion years ago, between Earth and an impactor the size of Mars, known as "Theia."

Over the past decades scientists have simulated this process and reproduced many of the properties of the Earth-Moon system; however, these simulations have also given rise to a problem known as the Lunar Paradox: the Moon appears to be made up of material that would not be expected if the current collision theory is correct. A recent study published in Icarus proposes a new perspective on the theory in answer to the paradox.

Apophis Asteroid Strike Practically Nil – Scientist

Scientists with the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have recalculated the path of a large asteroid, Apophis; the refined data indicates a significantly low likelihood of a hazardous encounter with Earth, the institute’s leading research fellow Viktor Shor said on Wednesday.

The Apophis asteroid is approximately the size of two-and-a-half football fields; its orbit is slightly offset to that of Earth's. Discovered in 2004, astronomers have determined that the asteroid will make a very close flyby in 2029 and might even hit Earth.

Climate Change Killed Egypt's Pyramid Builders

The drought parching the United States is one of the worst in the nation's history, but it hasn't been as destructive as the drought that may have withered ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. Pollen and charcoal buried in the Nile Delta 4,200 years ago tell the tale of a drought of literally Biblical proportions associated with the fall of the pyramid builders.

"Even the mighty builders of the ancient pyramids more than 4,000 years ago fell victim when they were unable to respond to a changing climate," said U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt in a press release. "This study illustrates that water availability was the climate-change Achilles Heel then for Egypt, as it may well be now, for a planet topping seven billion thirsty people."

Top Transhumanism CEO Says AI Singularity Will Go ‘Very Badly For Humans’

Promises of ‘immortality’ and a disease-free life have led many individuals to long for the hope of artificial intelligence and what is known as Singularity. It is essentially a merging of man and machine, the development of a ‘new species’ — a ‘borg’ of sorts. The subject recently made headlines when a major Russian scientist promised Singularity to the wealthy elite and ruling class by 2045 through the 2045 program, with artificial bodies available as early as 2015.

The Eleusinian Mysteries

The word ‘cult’ in ancient times did not carry the pejorative overtones of today. It simply referred to the particular rites and worship customs dedicated to specific gods by the worshippers of that time and place.

The cult of the Two Goddesses, centered on the Greater Mysteries of Eleusis, was one of the longest lasting cults in history. Its origins stretch back into Mycenaean pre-history, and it endured until the late 4th century BCE. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of initiates took part in the ritual and witnessed the Mysteries, yet there is no record of any breaching the oath of silence surrounding what they experienced.

Popol Vuh, an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Guatemala

Guatemala, Aug 29 (Prensa Latina) The Ministry of Sports and Culture of Guatemala declared the Popol Vuh or Popol Wuj (Book of Counsel or Book of the Community, in Quiche language) an intangible cultural heritage, due to its historic, philosophic and spiritual values.

  The 286-2012 ministerial resolution is in force as of this week, after being published in the Diario de CentroAmerica official gazette, while the General Leadership of the Cultural and Natural Heritage will dictate the measures to protect, defend, and research that literary piece.