Mummy Season in Peru, Italy, Egypt

(Photos Reuters Mendivil)

Ancient mummies from thousands of years ago capture attention in the midst of the modern world. Automatically, Egypt takes pride of place when mummy find announcements are made. But Peru is unraveling the conventional wisdom with the news that archaeologists in the middle of the capital city of Lima, have unearthed a 1300 year old lady mummy. Unraveling the intricacies of the pre-Columbian Wari culture uses these burial rituals will consume anthropologists for years. What stays consistent through the years are the human scavengers through out history that rob the tombs. sometimes its the professionals that consider them a find and put the treasures on display for all to see and marvel over. What makes a bit of difference is the intent on opening the grave and the permissions granted. There is a reason 1925 discovery began the great King Tut curse affecting prominent curators and explorers alike after seeing the sarcophagus. The blue eyes in this map mock up are rather creepy but the 1300 year old mask had them pinned on, leading the archaeologists to name her The Lady of the Mask.

The woman was from the Wari culture, said archaeologist Isabel Flores, who heads work at the Huaca Pucllana, a mud-brick complex several blocks large located in the Miraflores district of Lima.

"It is an important find, because we have found over the years several tombs that have been looted, but never one that was intact," Flores told AFP on Tuesday.

"It is a woman because in the surrounding area we found offerings and textile items like those of a (female) weaver," Flores said. The archaeologists also found ceramics and the remains of children who were offered as sacrifices to accompany the dead person in the afterlife.

The Wari robe found has an intriguing pattern design on it. More interesting, is that the accomplished road building culture came before the Incas. This find may yield insights for years to come.

The Lima grave had three mummified adults, but its clear that the lone child found was part of the common ritual sacrifice of the Wari culture to the sea and their land. Peru is also finding more cultural treasures and artifacts in the Andean highlands making a strong case for placement in the pantheon of cradle of civilization titleholders.

In Egypt, finds in King Tut's tomb bring questions such as paternity of the 2 fetuses found in a box, nowadays they would be called preemies, or why were the girls were inside Tut's tomb the first place from a cultural standpoint.

Then, there is the German couple, Helmut and Erika Simon who in 1991, climbed Simulaun Glacier in Italy when much to their surprise, discovered a body on ice. Shock set in when the classification of the remains are carbon pinpointed as prehistoric. The Italian city government of Bolzano sponsored the gingerly intricate removal of the Mummy, authenticates it with national resources, takes possession of it, releases pictures of the mummy, makes it available for public tours, earns millions of euros over time, but gave a chintzy offer to the couple of 5000 euros for their trouble. Both nations laid claim to The Iceman. Finally, German couple sued Italy fourteen years ago and are just now coming to a settlement after a chintzy offer by the Italians. What is it with Italy demanding their stuff, like art works, but not giving rights to others for making a discovery or keeping ancient treasures they officially looted in the name of fascism? (Photos EPA)

For years, Bolzano's provincial administration have been offering the Simons 50,000 euros.

In spurning the fee, the Simons cited the estimated four million euros a year the Iceman generates for restaurants, hotels and souvenir-sellers in Bolzano alone - not to mention a worldwide industry of TV programmes, documentaries and books.

They filed suit to establish who found the prehistoric hunter and who should get the proper reward.

Italian law lays down a finder's fee of 25% of a discovery's value.

More interesting, The Iceman is now said to be cursed after seven people mysteriously died under curious circumstances. Helmut Simon died in a mountaineering accident in 2004.

Filmmaker turned author Hugh Thomson, spent years trekking across Peru, yet touches the spirit that the key to understanding country is to acquire knowledge of it ancients roots. As a testament to that he brings his love of lore and his historical wanderings to paper in A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru. I'll say it again one of the best books to be found on pre-Columbian history is 1491 from Charles Mann. It is a must have for any well stocked library.

Obama vs McCain: A Dream Nightmare Contrast

Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway/U.S. Air Force via AP

Place your bets. It's the fifth from the bottom of the class son of an admiral versus the magna cum laude son of a goat herder on the world stage. McCain's March trip to Iraq and Obama's July trip were both classified as CODEL or Congressional Delegation trips. Both men were able to speak and spend alone time with Kings or Presidents this week.

~ Could that sign be ANY clearer? ^

John McCain whines he's not Bush-lite, but he greedily and gratefully accepts anything that smacks of Bush leftovers. John McCain's fundraisers are the last of the Bush Easter Island type people. Two president Bushes branded McCain as their teed off man for staying the golf course. Many of John McCain's staffers come directly from the eighth circle of Bushworld. John McCain's take on the Iraq Debacle is straight talk from the Bush Express De-Tour. In a worthy Bush imitation mangling historical fact and substituting cowboy fantasy, John McCain touted his borrowed Bush Decider creds and said Senator Obama should go to Iraq and get schooled by Bush's favorite general and now McCain's too, General Petraeus, before saying what should happen in Iraq. After all, there was no way for Barack to live up to the forgotten images McCain garnered on his Surge & Splurge spring break to sandy Iraq.

Barack Obama needed to prepare for his trip. That involved getting Air Force O ready for the passengers clamoring to go, the notoriously fickle two-timing DC press corps. Germany received a live telecast as the Obama plane landed. Contrast Obama already flying with his new Change We Can Believe In plane. McCain's ride was still being pimped at the beginning of July. It's just now finishing airsickness rehab for the republican presumptive nominee who kinda got the nod in freaking February. Was Johnny Mac N Cheese unsure or something? In a few weeks it's gotta be repainted when he announces his VP who hopefully can provide better optics.

Next, the campaign week got buffalo butt u-g-l-y.

Then there was the comedic stylings of the aide de camps. Mr. McCain quickly fled from his scheduled photo-op atop an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico because Hurricane Dolly had the right of way and a 12 mile oil slick from a Mississippi tug crash would have so undermined his talk about his newfound joy of offshore drilling and the new sexy technology that made spills improbable. McCain's detoured plans landed him in New Hampshire with a press pool of one watching. Count em, one. From the Gulf on to Bethlehem, Penn., on Wednesday where another mishap made ones eyes bulge with camera(s) in tow to film a riveting McCain in front of the only Dairy King he would meet that day, the royalty of dieters, cottage cheese. John upped the ante by having a commemorative photographs taken in front of the only palaces he's been in a while, a local Ohio brat joint and the Fudge Haus. Brilliant moves to stage McCain and his cocktail wiener buddy Lindsay Graham there. I mean it. Especially, after the unscheduled incident with McCain tailing/stalking a grocery shopper, Renee Gould, in the market, asking her questions about the just cleared tomatoes and being (video of aisle disaster) photogged as his aide, unable to appreciate that it was not at all crowded, tripped and knocked over an applesauce display. Of course, the pictures were iconic and the future stuff of comedic genius on behalf of Team McCain. Obama had other developing issues.

Dr. Condi Rice, the all powerful SoS who can decree stuff and negotiate nothing, forbade State Department federal vassals to get extra pillow sweets, monogrammed hand towels or public transportation for the Obama entourage during the trip. O carried his own gear. So, after a sumptuous repast at a real palace, Obama takes up the gracious offer of a ride to Amman's International airport in a Mercedes Benz SL600 piloted by none other than His Majesty, King Abdullah of Jordan. Talk about passing the Commander in Chief test with flying colors, he gets a smart salute as he exits the Osprey.

But John McCain's fabo town hall in Kirby, Pennsylvania had less than a 1000 in a 1600 seat theater. His fans were there, but did not look as hopeful as say these two looked at future President McDreamy, Barack Obama, in Germany after standing for hours. Neither party has held a convention yet, which affords us all another opportunity to see how they manage or mangle the image narrative. McCain won hands glued to his 5,985th draft of the McSurge memo in the mangling contest. Barack will accept the nomination in a 75,000 seat stadium in a city on a Mile High mountain. John McCain will have a non covered pre-existing anxiety cond

ition (Barack announced he won in June at Target Arena while 15,000 stood outside apart from the 20,000 already inside) as he milks his 2% of the nomination speech in front of another Dairy Delights Aisle with his BFF, Captain Nemesis Teleprompter, egging him on a week after Barack.

Guess which one is happy, called a Hunk in Hebrew and forgot to pay Malia her allowance versus the other who just can't wait for the national nightmare to be over because as it is tough being heard when you've been put on a temper tantrum timeout by the era of the big press... One photogenic Cheneyesque completely subservient Ken doll coming right up as the republican VP nominee!

A partial list of what Obama reads, then and now, and listens to on his iPod...Buy his books for a friend or a former McCain supporter.

The Scream Delights Again

High dungeon Drama and good old fashioned sturm & drang surrounds the viewer to feel the raw power of angst and despair coupled with the majestic history of a blood red sky from the 1883 volcanic eruption of Krakatoa is contained on four canvasses the same subject matter are pieces of Norwegian artistry. Stunning in its inception by a tormented eighteenth century painter, Edvard Munch, his works of the same piece in multi-media formats of pastels, earning him a place in the pantheon of world artists was stolen (again) from an Oslo museum then damaged by the thugs thieves, later found in a closet, gets carted off to the chagrined rescue curators who are forced to leave a left corner irreparably damaged for fear of further desecration before a royal show where the world can now pay homage anew.

Madonna (1894/1895) and The Sick Child (1907)

The Scream (1893-1910) is part of a collection of works by Munch meant to memorialize life, love, fear, death and melancholy in a series he tilted, The Frieze of Life. His other works with arresting names include Despair, Anxiety, The Sick Child, Ashes (1894) and Love and Pain. After returning from Germany, the artist suffered hallucinations, gulped spirits by the bottle and produced a legacy of work that delved into the inner soul. After months of intensive treatment after his deep embrace of Nietzsche and Dostoevsky, he found his Happy Place and less trauma inducing subject matter to paint. Then the Nazis proclaimed his work as degenerate having Munch's art removed from German museums. Wonder what he would think of his visage being on the 1000 Kroner note in Norway today. Edvard passed on to the next life in January of 1944, at the age of 80, but not before leaving this stirring quote:

"From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity."

—Edvard Munch

The city of Oslo received all of Munch's bequeathed art and from the museums with his collections have come some of the most brazen art thefts. On the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympiad in Lillehammer, Norway four thieves took a precious copy of one of Munch's paintings of The Scream. Classical art that becomes a signature piece for modern culture is a rare feat. Then in 2004, the unthinkable occurred - his "Madonna" (1894-1895) and pastel version of "The Scream" were stripped from the wall, unceremoniously walked off the property into a waiting vehicles pictured here. Yikes, that's millions of US dollars in his grubby hands.

Each time the paintings are recovered by police, sometimes years later, but at a terrible cost. After the exhibit, "The Scream and Madonna Revisited" concludes on 26 September, "Madonna" will have further restoration work.

Some 440 people, more than double the average number of visitors this time of year, came to see the unveiling of "The Scream" and "Madonna", another Munch masterpiece stolen in the 2004 robbery, a museum official told AFP.

"The Scream", which is perhaps the most famous depiction of existential angst, depicts an individual on a bridge, hands clasped around the head and mouth wide open in an apparent yell of despair, against a backdrop of waves of red, yellow, blue and black.

Now in paperback is an award-winning biography, Edvard Munch: Behind The Scream from accomplished writer, Sue Prideaux. She draws heavily upon Munch own diaries which do not shy away from that which bedeviled his human soul and erupted onto the canvas. So famous is The Scream artwork, it has even shown up on episodes of The Simpsons and in animé worldwide.

Aspirin Miracles

Aspirin has magical powers and is rapidly approaching parity with the apple in An Aspirin a Day will Keep the Doctor Away. Or something from olden times when a polished apple was a gift to the teacher. Imagine an earnest kid putting an aspirin on the teacher's desk in today's world, especially since the original aspirin was powder. A daily aspirin contains keys to warding off heart attacks, blood clot formation, decreases stokes in healthy women, soothes headaches and other maladies. Now, the mighty aspirin is dominating studies showing potential to ward off the development of asthma in older women. A study showing similar results from aspirin for older men came from the same researchers.

"These two studies are not sufficiently strong to make a recommendation for primary prevention of adult-onset asthma," said Dr. Tobias Kurth, who was involved in both studies.

For the many older adults already taking[sic] aspirin for its salutary effects on heart health, "this could be an added benefit," he added.

The incidence of asthma is on the increase, possibly due to obesity, dietary factors, exposure to antigens and environmental factors. But the trend also coincides with a decreased use of aspirin as people have switched to other over-the-counter pain relievers, or have avoided aspirin use in children due to concerns about Reyes syndrome.

Aspirin has a controversial history that rages today at symposiums on the who really discovered its compound as well as a range of off putting or even fatal side effects in some people of all ages. Yet, aspirin retains its power to ward off the evils of inflammation, reduce fevers and moderates bothersome aches and pains.

It is being hotly debated as a cancer inhibitor in modern medicine and the peer reviews are tough, but so is the tablet, caplet, capsule made of aspirin. The general compound is a lifesaver too and aspirin also has rewarding uses for some of the same maladies in cats and dogs.

Way back in the day, when Cleopatra roamed the Earth, medical personnel for Pharaohs and other antiquated Poobahs, used a form of salicylic acid. Fast forward a couple thousand years to 1853, and a French chemist made acetylsalicylic acid which became the more pronounceable, yet trademarked and copyrighted name in 1899 for some small German outfit.

Bayer swallowed the cash, especially when aspirin turned into pills in 1914. Aspirin's trademark was stripped from Bayer as the spoils of war due to Germany being on the totally wrong and losing side of two World Wars.




Today's study shows the roots of a natural substance being refined in modern times to make health maintenance as easy as taking a daily aspirin. what an analgesic that continues to stir the passions of the medical community and scientists as well as big pharma hoovering up all the profits it can. Studies continue to show the healthful effects of aspirin in both men and women inspire further study because we need more Miracles.


For the behind the scenes history, science and medical mysteries and myths of aspirin read the astounding nonfiction thriller, Aspirin: The story of Being A Wonder Drug by Diarmuid Jeffreys.


Happiest of Birthdays, Daddy! Luv ya forever! Your spirit is in my heart and guides my way. Thank you Both for everything - Dad & Mom.

Peru Digs Up More Proof of Early Civilization

Sixteen years of digging in the dirt in the inaccessible Andean foothills of Sechin Bajo paid off for Peru, two German archaeologists and their prominent local peers with a find that further challenges the concept of the Cradle of Civilization. There are certainly more than one and this find augments Peru's historic stake. Peru has its share of 5,000 year old pyramid structures too. Mesopotamia, South Asia and the Middle East have competing company from the coast of Peru from further finds of an Inca Plaza validated by carbon dating to 3500 to 3000 B.C. This is the fourth in a series of digs sponsored by a university in Berlin.

From northern Peru, Casal, remains the oldest known Preceramic civilization in the Americas with carbon dating and other tools pinpointing the date to an astounding 2627 B.C. Next to the recently discovered structure, showing an ancient version of suburban sprawl, an early six foot frieze was found depicting what many believed was the aftermath of a typical human sacrifice imprinted with a man holding a trophy head. What makes that cultural discovery especially interesting is similar imagery was unearthed in Moche Lords of Sipan tombs sparking questions about migration, economic viability and civilizations interaction in such inhospitable conditions.

After the ruins are rehabbed and cleaned up after archaeologists finish with their grids and ropes, they look spectacular as evidenced here in Machu Picchu, The Lost City of The Incas. These ancient cities had early urban planning and thoughtful means of adapting to the terrain. The newly discovered Plaza seems to show the tenets of community building by the Incas was shared knowledge. (Allard Schmidt)

"It's an impressive find; the scientific and archaeology communities are very happy," added Dr Cesar Perez from Peru's National Institute of Culture who led the project. "This could redesign the history of the country."

The site consists of an area around 14 metres across and scientists say it was built by the Incas who ruled Peru prior to the invasion of the Spanish.

Scholars are turning their keen nuanced attention to the indisputable evidence that several civilizations thrived simultaneously in ancient times. Past historic finds have found a layering of communities atop one another as centuries passed. This lends itself to the buried ancient suburban sprawl scenario according to some scholars who worked on past digs.

"We've found other pieces of architecture underneath the plaza that could be even older," German Yenque, an archaeologist at the dig site, told the Reuters news service.

"There are four or five plazas deeper down, which means the structure was rebuilt several times, perhaps every 100 to 300 years."

Kim McQuarrie covers the 16th century forward for the Incas in The Last Days of the Incas. Peru is a meld of its ancient and modern past as it struggles to make its history known amid the attention paid to the contemporary Middle East societies with their finds of antiquity known the world over.

Rice's Undercooked Diplomacy

Noted Russian expert and US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, went to Moscow to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin. Vlad was not in the mood to be polite to Condi. Witnessing the shock and awe of Putin's delivery was US Secretary of Defense, Robert "Bob" Gates. Makes one wonder if the intelligence for an expected warm welcome was a slam dunk into a frigid Russian lake next to Putin's dacha. Imagine the call reporting back to the US president who had looked into Pooty-Poot's (Bush's nickname for the guy with a nuclear arsenal too) blazing eyes and knew his soul. This is what American foreign policy consists of these days. In a snippy granular rejoinder, Rice met with Russian Human Rights activists in Moscow at the Ambassador's residence, Spaso House, expressing opposition to Putin's Soviet era policies and his blatant diminishment of democratic ideals.

Mr. Putin’s surprise suggestion last month that he might yet remain in power — possibly as a newly empowered prime minister, possibly as the eminence atop the “party of power” — has left the White House stumped. The administration is uncertain how to deal with a man who has consolidated power almost exclusively in his own hands, even as Mr. Bush continues to call Mr. Putin “my friend.”

That is why a certain discomfort regarding Mr. Putin’s future hovered over two days of talks here attended by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.

“If you don’t have countervailing institutions, then the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development,” Ms. Rice said Saturday, raising concerns about the state of Russia’s judiciary, legislative branch and news media, but declining to criticize Mr. Putin by name.

The administration’s occasional scoldings have accomplished little except to harden anti-American views at the Kremlin and in the state news media. (A swaggering Mr. Putin opened the discussions on Friday with a sarcastic harangue over the American plans for missile defense.)

Rice, determined to cook up one honeymoon success out of thin air on her worldwide trip, jetted back into the Israel/Palestine 2000 year old dust-up for a 2007 West Bank photo-op throwing bon mots of getting the Peace process back on track. Yawn. Note to Condi - you have no worries on winning a Nobel Peace prize. Ever. Take heart in the fact that you are a certified head to toe fashionista though.

"We frankly have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo op," she said.

Israelis and Palestinians, Rice added, are making their "most serious effort" in years to resolve the conflict.

"Frankly, it's time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," she added.

Rice is on a four-day shuttle mission, trying to create some common ground ahead of the meeting. A State Department official hinted on Sunday that the conference might be postponed because of the gaps between the two sides. (AP Pool Photo/Muhammad Muheisen)

Meanwhile, Putin dismissed rampant rumors of an assassination attempt, confirming his intention to meet with Iranians in Tehran at the Caspian Summit and privately with President Ahmadinejad. Germany and Russia focused on trade talks during their high level discussions. Along with Germany's chancellor, Anne Merkel, he gave a press conference outlining his intent.

"A reliable source in one of the Russian special services, has received information from several sources outside Russia, that during the president of Russia's visit to Tehran an assassination attempt is being plotted," Interfax said.

Russian media are mostly controlled by the government and it would be unthinkable for a major Moscow news organization to report an alleged plot against the president without prior official approval.

But a planned private meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could give him a chance to seek a compromise over Tehran's nuclear program and to demonstrate his independence from Washington on Middle East issues.

Oh dear, this stuff is going to keep John LeCarre on his laptop for the next twenty years. This is a Russian president's first visit since the days of Joseph Stalin. That leaves many western establishments with a cold feeling that may perhaps be warmed up with a keepsake Iron curtain.


More on Condolezza Rice, her history and stunning rise can be found in the 2007 release from Marcus Mabry, Twice As Good: Condoleeza Rice and the Path to Power. Twice as good refers to a piece of conventional wisdom in the African American community that one has to be twice as good to merit the same opportunities as Caucasians. W.E.B. Du Bois called it the Talented Tenth.