IMDb: Another Eurocentric Safe Haven Masquerading as a Resourceful platform

Introduction:

Perhaps the basic evolutionary trajectory of human lifestyle is variably understood in the following manner: a so-called "stone-age", and in some cases, "nomadic" or "hunter-gatherer" sustenance, gives way to "sedentary", "agriculture" and/or "animal husbandry", and then to "community-building" or "urbanization", thereby possibly paving way for "social stratification" and "nation-building", which in turn may well have served as a basic ingredient for the flourishing of "cottage industry" and "trade", to be succeeded by "industrialization" and "commerce" (larger-scale trade). In that vein, it is commonly understood that "industrialization" has been followed by the "information/technology age", as another stage in human development. As it concerns this "information age", particularly with the coming of age of the internet, many "social" platforms of various stripes and self-professed functions have popped over the years.

As the "information age" matures, so does the plethora of "social media" grow in number. This, like any other undertaking by humans, comes with the good and the bad.

Attention!

This site is currently undergoing an overhauling effort, in order to renovate several entries that now have broken links in them due to, for example, the sweeping action of imageshack, which decided to destroy an entire storage of images; an event which warrants a lesson to be learned, no doubt. 

As there are many entries, i.e. outside of the more recent [and unaffected] ones, there is no telling how long the overhauling process will take, but the intent is to have it done as swiftly and as smoothly as possible, while not losing track of publication of new material. Some entries, as viewers will learn, may go well beyond simple restoration, with a substantial amount of new material being integrated into them, as determined by the inflow of newly-acquired referential data or corroborating evidence, or rectification of an oversight in retrospective, and as made allowable by leisure time. 

As the overhauling takes effect, some entries will temporarily be inaccessible or out of view, in which case, viewers may come across such notices as "...site does not exist". The advice here, is to not be discouraged by such uninviting notices, but rather, check back at another time (several times, if necessary), as the site will not have been technically dissolved, but placed under restoration. To give the advice reinforcement, the present author will post notices on newly restored entries in the Developments page (located near the top of the blog, or for mobile device users, a window providing a choice list entry for pages to visit may be triggered by clicking on "Home" near the top of the blog screen), particularly those modified with either "high-value" new material and/or with a considerable amount of new material. On that note, viewer/reader patience is highly appreciated!

Interesting! ~ The Time-defying Property of Controversy around Racialism

 Back from a hiatus!

Introduction:

This is the first of what will from here on out be a series of commentary on "interesting" items identified both in and out of the internet world; hence, accommodation of the word "Interesting! ~" in the header.

Similar sub-categorizing of blog articles had in fact already been undertaken on this site, albeit without official acknowledgement of the kind...until now, of course; few perceptive observers might have noticed a trend, however. A good example of this is what has been termed, "Knowledge-base Tool Kit", which primarily deals with topics that are supposed to be either well known or ought to be well known, but are usually not. Said sub-category of entries thus serves as a tool kit that could potentially be used as a gauge for observers' knowledge base, mainly at a basic level, and hence offer potential expansion opportunity for such a base where necessary. One can expect other sub-categorizing to come up in future, if and when deemed necessary, thereby supplementing the examples offered above.

Unity, Harmony and Peace?

Introduction:

In the natural world, from the very onset of its existence, life has been sustained through a constant battle of what biological arrangement or form can stick it through the challenge(s) that a given environment—which is ever-changing in our universe—throws its way. It's from this earthly-pervasive phenomenon, that the now common saying of "survival of the fittest" was coined, once the human mind was eventually able to pick it up [think for example, Darwin].

In a given environment, some biological units died out, and some managed to live on. In the biological world, this was made possible by what are—technically speaking—errors in DNA coding during the attempt at self-replication, i.e. another but crucial mode, by which life has been able to sustain and preserve itself to this point.

So, as it turns out, we humans and practically every other known life form owe our very existence to "imperfection" in the natural world. Without these "mistakes", it is safe to say that we would not be here. Yes, there are schools of thought which will argue otherwise and say that we owe our existence to a purposeful conscience, which has pre-programmed life to ride along the way it has, but that's another discussion [for related matter, see: link]. It's perhaps then natural to see why many multicellular organisms are competitive with one another, whether within or across species; why we see animals marking their territory for the attentive minds of those from both within and out of their own species, competing for a mate and for food. Humans are apparently no exception to this basic arrangement of existence: It's perhaps why humans would rather kill their own kind for natural resources than share, and for the purpose of the present entry, why we have so many more competitive or antagonizing social events than consolidating or unifying social events.

Another Look at the Nag el-Hamdulab Iconography

Introduction:

This entry is essentially a spin-off of another entry, Relationship between Nagadan and "Lower Nubian" Burials, and henceforth inspired by a matter that was raised in a reader commentary.  It revolves around the veracity of allegations contained in the iconography of the Nag el Hamdulab epigraphy that is making rounds in the net.

Considering the Practicalities of Time Travel

Introduction:

Click on the image to expand

The act of traveling either back or prematurely forward in time has often been a popular concept in science fiction narratives, whether in the plots of motion pictures or books. The very idea of exploring  "what could have been" or "what could be" is something that has always fascinated humanity, regardless of the cultural backdrop. It is therefore no wonder time travel has become perhaps the most well-known hypothetical scenario of either revisiting time or "skipping" time on Earth to another time frame.

The concept has literally given story writers and movie producers plenty of material to work with; such science fiction motion pictures like Star Trek, Super Man, Back to the Future, The Twelve Monkeys, and the like come to mind. Why not? There is almost no limit to what can be imagined, as a theme around time travel, whether it has to do with visiting new worlds in our universe, someone accidentally waking up in very different time from his/her own, or someone yearning to change a situation to his/her advantage in their present time, with the aid of changing the course of history by altering some event or another, and the list can just go on.

In all seriousness though, just how practical is the concept of managing the course of history with the manipulation of time?

Haplogroup Assignment; Old Habits that Die Hard

Introduction:

It has become a common theme in DNA research papers dealing with population genetics, particularly those that are either published in the "west" or else rely heavily on references to previous publications by "western" research teams, to dichotomize human phylogeny neatly into two main types: African and non-African. As a result, a good amount of the readership of these papers have also become accustomed to treating human phylogeny accordingly. No doubt that the reactionary segment of that readership have applied such a phylogenetic arrangement synonymously with "races" of humanity.

It's one thing to assign human phylogeny into two main types, but it's another, in terms of how these assignments take form. One would be hard-pressed not to come across a single example, whereby lineage that is given an "L" designation in mictochondrial phylogeny, is automatically treated as "African", while the two main offshoots of the L3 clade are taken for granted as "non-African". Such arrangements tacitly or by design, insinuate non-overlapping phylogeny between the so-named two main groups. The discussion section will deal with this kind of arrangement of human phylogeny further, applying specific examples from published material.

Relationship between Nagadan and "Lower Nubian" Burials

Introduction:

This entry piggybacks on a matter that came up in a 2009 blog entry on this site, titled "What the Different Styles of Crowns could mean in the developments leading up to Kmt [Nwt] State Formation". This matter concerned the possible relationship between the Ta-Seti (particularly in Qustul) royalty and those of Nagada. In particular, the potential of Ta-Seti royalty having "surrogate" or "proxy" ruling concern(s) in complexes up north, such as those associated with the Nagada, was raised on the grounds of certain characteristic regalia of the Dynastic Egyptian complex appearing to show their precedences in the content of the Qustul royal cemetery. Examples of such regalia, are the White Crown and the Falcon, which has intimately been associated with Horus on Dynastic Egyptian wall reliefs. The idea of a relationship whereby royalty from Nagada and Ta-Seti sought to manage international relations, for example to avoid costly confrontations to either party and strengthen political and trade relationships, through marital unions between members of two polities, had not been ruled out either. In the aforementioned 2009 entry, a study by Prowse and Lovell [1] was called upon. This study is hereby recalled, and will be discussed in more detail.

What Ethiopian Genetic Diversity—Really—Reveals!

Introduction:

 

Image Caption: A rendition of an Ethiopian male, featuring what can be considered an average look among the major Cushitic and Semitic speaking populations of Ethiopia. Click on the image to expand!

A recent publication by Pagani & co. (2012), under the heading "Ethiopian Genetic Diversity Reveals Linguistic Stratification and Complex Influences on the Ethiopian Gene Pool", revisits the recurring issue of Ethiopian DNA profiles. In fact, one of the participants of this research, Toomas Kivisild in particular, was one of the authors of one of the last major studies on Ethiopian mtDNA, which was also a subject of blog posting on this site [see: Following Trails of the Cro-Magnon - I and Following Trails of the Cro-Magnon - II, for examples]. Some interesting findings surfaced in that study, as it relates to peculiarities about Ethiopian mtDNA gene pool; these same characteristics reappear in this latest study, as well shall notice in following segments of this entry.

As the authors start of their notes with laying out the goals of their research, they point out the supposed shortcomings of previous publications, particulary as it concerns Ethiopian DNA. In doing so, the authors lament on the supposed infrequency of DNA studies—involving African samples—that focus on Ethiopians in contrast to African samples from central and western Africa. This is right after the authors tell the reader that, because Ethiopia has proven to be relatively rich in human paleontological record, and in their words, "because of Ethiopia’s geographical position between Africa and Eurasia, its capital, Addis Ababa, is often used in genetic studies as a proxy embarkation point for modern human range expansions."

This smacks of double speak, when one considers that the subject of "human range expansions" figures quite a lot in population genetics research undertaken by 'western' research teams, and these seldom avoid including eastern Africa, the African Horn in particular, because its often implied rep of being a "cradle" to modern humanity. On top of this, Ethiopians have often served as "props" by Eurocentric ideologues, both in amateur and academic circles, to effect some ideologically-expedient wedge or another between continental Africans, whereby they feel at liberty to isolate what they either presume to be the source of "their kind" (Europeans) from the "others", who are generally lumped together and dismissed as being "inferior" and/or "undesirable", or use the target group—like Ethiopians—to explain away, and importantly, diminish natural African diversity as that made possible primarily because of foreign contribution.

Knowledgebase Tool Kit: Ways to Test Just How Secular One's Nation is!

Image Caption: Coin with "In God We Trust". Click on the image for a higher resolution version

Introduction

Many nations, especially those in the so-called "west", have societies that routinely pride themselves with the self-promoting perception that their respective country is the epitome example of secular bustling "democracy" and "civil-liberty friendly" social setup that is supposedly found nowhere else...so go the trumpets of patriotism. However, if one wants to get a truly sober assessment of one's own country, of which one is determined to be a citizen, then there are clear ways of testing the veracity of perception commonly pressed forward by the media and ruling circles of one's own nationality; let's take self-anointment proclamations of secularism for instance, and discuss that.

Update on Investigation into the "Mysterious" EpiPaleolithic Maghrebi Remains!

Click on the image for a higher resolution

Introduction

This entry is supposed to serve as an update and add-on to a blog entry that was first published here back in May 5th, 2010, under the heading, An Investigation into the "Mysterious" Mesolithic Maghrebi populations. The arguments made there—in the main, are still quite sound, but over the years, some DNA-assignment shuffling within the reconstructed human mtDNA phylogenetic network had taken place. This sort of thing happens quite a bit in the field of molecular genetics, usually in the form of either changing the phylogenetic location of a newly identified clade or a preexisting one, and/or renaming entire clades with new naming schemes, since researchers tend to see information about larger phenomena in the form of fragments. As such, sometimes previous information (source material), especially on newly identified clades, becomes obscure or rarer. To address a situation such as this, in the few occasions where they may have occurred, this entry has revisited elements of the aforementioned entry, modify as necessary, or simply add to information previously posted. 

So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise? - 4

This a carry-over topic from a previous installment: So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise? - 3

To recap:

Were contemporary modern humans [the species that lives on to this day] responsible? Or did everything else that was working fine for the Neanderthals' survival, prior to the arrival of the so-called anatomically modern humans, came to a halt for some reason or another?

Introduction: 


The discovery of  Neanderthal remains [see the entry: How are the Media and Schools catching up with Scientific Progress? Pt.4] has naturally raised the curiosity of people, because they seem so close to us humans, and so, many inquiring minds want to know what happened to these extinct human cousins. Preexisting evidence so far only present sketchy explanations for not only exactly how they (Neanderthals) reached their extinction, but also precisely where and from what ancestral line [although there are guesses as to what that might be] Neanderthals emerged. Notwithstanding significant strides made in the discipline of molecular genetics, as well as new findings in human paleontological record, researchers are still battling out the search for the most solid and parsimonious answers to those aforementioned fronts.

There have been suspicions within the scientific community about the role of modern humans in the demise of Neanderthals for quite a while now, although there seemed to have been an air of reluctance to want to explore that very possibility. To that end, the more popular narratives, which have circulated the web for years, generally looked to abrupt environmental shifts as the prime suspect in the demise of the Neanderthals, supposedly in accompaniment with the insufficient resourcefulness of the Neanderthal; the role of modern humans had generally taken somewhat of a back seat in such narratives. 

So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise? - 3

This a carry-over topic from a previous installment: So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise? - 2

To recap:

Were contemporary modern humans [the species that lives on to this day] responsible for the Neanderthals' demise? Or did everything that was working fine for the Neanderthals' survival, prior to the arrival of "anatomically modern" humans, came to a halt for some reason or another?

Introduction: 

The discovery of  Neanderthal remains [see the entry: How are the Media and Schools catching up with Scientific Progress? Pt.4] has naturally raised the curiosity of people, because they seem so close to us humans, and so, many inquiring minds want to know what happened to these extinct human cousins. Preexisting evidence so far only presents sketchy explanations of not only exactly how they (Neanderthals) reached their extinction, but also precisely where and from what ancestral line [although there are guesses as to what that might be] Neanderthals emerged. Notwithstanding significant strides made in the discipline of molecular genetics, as well as new findings in human paleontological record, researchers are still battling out the search for the most solid and parsimonious answers to those aforementioned fronts.

There have been suspicions within the scientific community about the role of modern humans in the demise of Neanderthals for quite a while now, although there seemed to have been an air of reluctance to want to explore that very possibility. To that end, the more popular narratives, which have circulated the web for years, generally looked to abrupt environmental shifts as the prime suspect in the demise of the Neanderthals, supposedly in accompaniment with the insufficient resourcefulness of the Neanderthal; the role of modern humans had generally taken somewhat of a back seat in such narratives. 

So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise? - 2

This a carry-over topic from a previous installment: So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise?

To recap:

Were contemporary modern humans [the species that lives on to this day] responsible for the Neanderthals' demise? Or did everything that was working fine for the Neanderthals' survival, prior to the arrival of "anatomically modern" humans, came to a halt for some reason or another?


Introduction: 

The discovery of  Neanderthal remains [see the entry: How are the Media and Schools catching up with Scientific Progress? Pt.4] has naturally raised the curiosity of people, because they seem so close to us humans, and so, many inquiring minds want to know what happened to these extinct human cousins. Preexisting evidence so far only presents sketchy explanations of not only exactly how they (Neanderthals) reached their extinction, but also precisely where and from what ancestral line [although there are guesses as to what that might be] Neanderthals emerged. Notwithstanding significant strides made in the discipline of molecular genetics, as well as new findings in human paleontological record, researchers are still battling out the search for the most solid and parsimonious answers to those aforementioned fronts.

There have been suspicions within the scientific community about the role of modern humans in the demise of Neanderthals for quite a while now, although there seemed to have been an air of reluctance to want to explore that very possibility. To that end, the more popular narratives, which have circulated the web for years, generally looked to abrupt environmental shifts as the prime suspect in the demise of the Neanderthals, supposedly in accompaniment with the insufficient resourcefulness of the Neanderthal; the role of modern humans had generally taken somewhat of a back seat in such narratives. 

So What's the Deal with the Neanderthal, Their Demise?

Were contemporary modern humans [the species that lives on to this day] responsible for the Neanderthals' demise? Or did everything that was working fine for the Neanderthals' survival, prior to the arrival of "anatomically modern" humans, came to a halt for some reason or another?

Introduction: 

The discovery of  Neanderthal remains [see the entry: How are the Media and Schools catching up with Scientific Progress? Pt.4] has naturally raised the curiosity of people, because they seem so close to us humans, and so, many inquiring minds want to know what happened to these extinct human cousins. Preexisting evidence so far only present sketchy explanations for not only exactly how they (Neanderthals) reached their extinction, but also precisely where and from what ancestral line [although there are guesses as to what that might be] Neanderthals emerged. Notwithstanding significant strides made in the discipline of molecular genetics, as well as new findings in human paleontological record, researchers are still battling out the search for the most solid and parsimonious answers to those aforementioned fronts.

There have been suspicions within the scientific community about the role of modern humans in the demise of Neanderthals for quite a while now, although there seemed to have been an air of reluctance to want to explore that very possibility. To that end, the more popular narratives, which have circulated the web for years, generally looked to abrupt environmental shifts as the prime suspect in the demise of the Neanderthals, supposedly in accompaniment with the insufficient resourcefulness of the Neanderthal; the role of modern humans had generally taken somewhat of a back seat in such narratives.

Quick list of Ancient Egyptian Sports

This is merely an extension of the main topic, "The Coming of Age of the Olympic Games", to serve as a link, so as to economize space. For those who care to learn about the details of the iconography, here they are, following the images, which were also posted in the main topic; the material comes directly from the TourEgypt.net website:

The Coming of Age of the Olympic Games

Introduction: 

It's hard to resist the temptation of having something to say about the Olympics, now that the summer Olympic Games are here again. Greece holds a special nostalgic place in the circles of the Olympic Games, that have been by tradition, held every four years for both summer and winter, respectively; the reason being, that these games are said to have been inspired by ancient Greek Olympic games. In the midst of accompanying jubilation around these games, Greece is often touted as the "birth place of sports", as particularly exemplified by media talk on those occasions when Greece took on the role as the host nation for the games, like the recent events that took place in Athens eight years ago. Such glorification rarely pay mind to history of organized sports events going even further back in time, as exemplified by those in say, ancient Egypt.

Rebuttal to: The "Correction" of the Supposed "10 Economic Myths" about Capitalism

Introduction: 

The development of modern capitalism in "western" nations has been accompanied by damaging consequences for Africa, as it has elsewhere, paving way to such destructive phenomena like the explosive and conflict-prone balkanization of Africa, ripping the continent off sizable chunks of its able-bodied workforce through the promotion and practice of slavery,  not leaving out brain-drain, disintegration of preexisting socio-cultural institutions [e.g. school systems, architectural concepts, dress codes, writing systems, preexisting trade networks, local industry, and the like] that had long served the peoples of the continent and replacing them with "western" counterparts/variants, thereby inducing people of the continent to become dependent on European economies, draining natural resources and compelling many localities on the continent to become net exporters of capital rather than net consumers of capital, rewriting history to serve the oppressors, and so forth. Since capitalism has had disastrous effects on the continent, it is only fitting to set some things straight about this system of economy.

Strolling down Memory Lane: African Labour Movement

Introduction: 

So what's new? The answer is a disappointing "nothing", as far as the ensuing subject matter is concerned. This grand continent (Africa), which has the distinction of being the default home of humanity and many other magnificent species, has been inflicted with gross propaganda-driven disinformation, along with a good amount of apathy; mostly of the willful kind, ever since the common era rise to significance of previously isolated west European countries in the globe's geopolitical landscape. Many examples of this trend have been covered on this site, ranging from DNA studies to historical analysis. For instance, it has become something of a cultic ritual of sycophants of 'western' imperialism and associated chauvinism to insinuate that African labour forces were granted "freedom" or "independence" on a silver platter, supposedly as a "goodwill" gesture on the part of occupying intruders (colonists) from outside, particularly from Europe, who had nothing at heart but thinking only of the people they came to inhumanely colonize. The same sycophants have a tendency to blame social misery in the continent on the supposed "premature withdrawal" of colonial presence.

Apathy has spurred others to opine away that Africans rarely stand up for themselves, thereby suggesting that Africans are somehow innately submissive to oppression. Such personalities assume that just because their local TV news networks don't cover it, African labour movements must then be all but non-existent, not leaving out that they all-too-often than not have a screwed up idea of what entails Africa as a geological entity. Of course, a sober research is all that is needed to render any of these assumptive opinions as nothing more than emotional bunk, and avoidable, by anyone with a genuine desire to acquire knowledge.

Genetic Profile: Maghrebi populations are Not "Satellite-Europeans" in Africa

Introduction: 

Many observers will note that at some point in time or another, they witnessed (if not perpetrators themselves) internet inquiries around the origins of Maghrebi populations, whom as indigenous Africans (let's face it; they are not endemic to any other region outside of Africa), are notable not only for having elements among them who are relative "outliers" in terms of epidermal pigmentation, but also for their own original distinctive language family, properly called Tamazight—otherwise inconsiderately known in English lingo as "Berber". These populations have wittingly or unwittingly been subjects of racism, in the sense that their "African-ness" have been questioned primarily because of appearance of those populations among them with "light skin", "depigmented skin" or "white skin'—the terms change depending on who's speaking. If for example, they were unanimously dark-skinned like the remainder of African populations, it is highly doubtful that "western" researchers would even consider tacitly passing them off as some sort of lost-Europeans (or extensions of Europeans) in Africa, notwithstanding any genetic similarity to the patterns seen today of Maghrebi populations.