There are these things right now, the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (or SOPA) and the Protect-IP Act, that are getting a lot of attention. And chances are, that if you are spending much time online right now (Jan 18) you have run into at least one site that has been 'blacked out' in protest. (If you haven't, go to Google's homepage).

I thought about joining the black out, and the idea of it really appeals to me, because I am strongly, adamantly opposed to these two bills. But I'm not going for a black out, because, quite honestly, I'm pretty sure I would break my blog.

So, instead, I'm going to give you a quick run down of why I think these two bills are so detrimental and then I'm going to direct you to how and where you can actually make a difference.

FIRST: What are they?

Essentially, the purpose of these two bills is to stop the blatant copyright violations we see online. The goalis that it can be used to restrict the ability of sites to steal copyrighted information and content (movies, music, books, television shows, etc). And honestly, I think that is all fine and good. We have copyright laws for a reason and if you hold that copyright, you should legally be allowed to protect it.

However. The wording of these bills is far too vague to be effective in the way the bill intends. People who support this bill claim that it will only be used in extreme cases to protect blatant and flagrant violations of copyright. But by now, I think everyone is fully aware that when a law gives you a little bit of wiggle room, you wiggle and jiggle and finagle until you've taken advantage of every bit you possibly can.

So. To protect media copyrights, this bill will grant corporations the ability to have a US website shut down if it violates the copyright laws, or it will force US ad agencies and money/payment services (like Paypal) to remove all advertisements or connection to these sites.

To get a website restricted/blackballed/turned off (whatever you want to call it) all the copyright holder needs to do is get a court order. And to get a court order... Do you know what you need? A judge. ONE judge who agrees with you and is willing to sign off. There is no due process, no opportunity for you to make a case for yourself, nothing. If a copyright holder who feels they have been violated can convince a judge that this website has wronged them, it's over. And that's it.

This is not the best analysis of SOPA out there. There are many more, some who have more information, and some who, I'm sure, present it in a much clearer manner.

But what I AM going to do is provide you with a way to make a difference.

SOPA is the bill being voted on in the House of Representatives.
Protect-IP is the version being debated in the Senate.

I did an internship in the office of my Senator and here are some things I can tell you, so that when you call in to voice your concerns, they actually pay attention-

Do NOT call the Senate and complain about SOPA. It's a House of Representatives Bill, so the Senate hasn't 'seen' SOPA yet, and they won't 'see' it unless the House votes on it and it passes. Calling your Senator to tell them to VOTE NO doesn't do anyone any good, because they won't be voting on it at all. So, when you call your Senator, talk about the Protect-IP act instead. (and vice versa for the House).

Another thing — If you are from Minnesota, don't call a California Senator's office and expect them to care. It doesn't make a difference. Most offices will politely listen to what you have to say, get you off the phone quickly and then disregard your concerns. It sounds harsh, I know, but honestly — a Congressman's responsibility is to their own Constituents. So call YOUR state Senators and House members.

Also — When you call the House of Representatives, know which District you are calling from. House members are state representatives, but their primary focus is to their own district. It is a way to be sure that all areas of the state are equally represented. So a call to the House member from your District will bear more weight.

Don't know who or how to contact them? The following website is GOLDEN. It lists every single member of the Senate and House of Representatives, sorted by state and includes an email address as well as a link to their website. GO HERE:
GIANT List of Congressional awesome

OR you can call this number — 202-224-3121. This is the number for the Senate Switchboard operator. Ask for the Senator from your state & they will transfer you to the correct office. AND many of the staffers you speak to will be willing to transfer your calls 'in house' as well. So, call one Senator, who will transfer you to the office of the other Senator, who will transfer you to the House member from your district.

I'd love to have you come back and comment after, letting me know if it was successful, who you talked to, why you are against (or for) SOPA/Protect-IP.

It's something that will drastically effect almost everyone and can seriously change the sharing of information in the future, and it's something I think everyone should care about.

So go out, research & contact your Congressman. This is why we elect them, so that they can represent the interests of their constituency. So speak out!

Under the agreement, Pfalzner and his project team – part of the DFG-backed collaborative research center ResourceCultures – plan to expand on surveys taken over an area of 4400 square kilometers in 2013 and 2014, which were aimed at discovering ancient and historical settlements. The archaeologists used drone-mounted cameras to make 3D models of the landscape and have already located 92 relevant sites. Many of the settlements can be dated by finds such as pottery shards.

Cooperation between the archaeologists and the local authorities will enable important sites to be protected. The Bronze Age settlement of Bassetki became famous due to objects such as a bronze statue of the Akkadian god-king Naram-Sin found during excavations in the 1970s. Pfalzner’s latest survey of the area revealed an extensive lower city at the site – and the Kurdish authorities have agreed to suspend expansion there of the main road from Baghdad to Istanbul and to change part of the route to allow archaeological work to be carried out. Going ahead with the road-building would have destroyed this part of the ancient site.

Despite the explosive political situation in nearby regions, Governor Atrushi stressed that Dohuk is one of the safest provinces in Iraq. It is located between two mountain ranges and is protected by Peshmerga troops. The United Nations estimates the region now hosts more than half a million refugees from the campaigns of the IS terrorist movement. Governor Atrushi underlined that it was important to protect the region’s history despite the tremendous political and humanitarian challenges: “We must send a signal that normal life continues. That includes protecting our historical sites. And we will not approve new building applications without a green light from the Department of Antiquities.”

“This agreement gives us the opportunity to survey a region which has largely been a blank space on the archaeological map,” says Pfalzner. “Finding a lower city at Bassetki raised new questions. Until now, we didn’t know why the statue of an important ruler like Naram-Sin was found here on the periphery of his empire. We think now that this settlement may have been a major administrative center.”

In their 2013 survey, the archaeologists discovered that rock carvings at Mila Mergi showing the Assyrian king Tiglat-Pileser III had been badly damaged – probably by modern treasure hunters – and collected the fragments. A doctoral student in the ResourceCultures collaborative research center is now reconstructing and translating the tablets of cuneiform writing, which represent a valuable source of information. They describe the conquest of the land of Ulluba by the Assyrians, listing 20 captured cities. To date, it was believed the expansion of the Assyrian empire was driven by the need for raw materials; now the ResourceCultures researchers will examine whether cultural and religious resources – such as the control of holy places – could have played a role.

Source: Tubingen University [February 09, 2015]

“A sort of ‘blue helmets of culture’ are needed, as there are blue helmets that intervene to protect in situations of war,” said Dario Franceschini told the Guardian, referring to the signature uniforms of UN peacekeeping troops.

“There should be an international rapid response force to defend monuments and archaeological sites in conflict zones,” he said.

Franceschini was speaking following the partial destruction of Iraq’s Hatra, an ancient fortress city that the Roman empire repeatedly failed to conquer. Local residents on 7 March reported hearing a large explosion, as Isis militants went on a destructive rampage through the city.

Such attacks were described by Unesco as “a turning point in the appalling strategy of cultural cleansing underway in Iraq,” coming just two days after the Islamist groups bulldozed their way through the 13th-century BC city of Nimrud.

Isis militants have also decimated collections at Mosul museum, which housed artefacts dating back 3,000 years, and set about razing the ancient city walls of nearby Dur-Sharrukin.

As the extremists continue their wanton destruction of Iraq’s prized heritage, Italy’s culture minister urged the international community to wake up to a new form of warfare.

“At one time great monuments were hit accidentally in wars, during bombing. Now they’re hit precisely because they are symbols of culture, symbols of a religion,” he said. Building a force specifically to protect heritage in crisis situations could not be left to an individual state, Franceschini said, and must be initiated by the international community.

The UN security council agreed measures last month to combat the trafficking of antiquities plundered from Iraq and Syria, but safeguarding culture has yet to be written into the mandate of peacekeeping operations.

As historians mourn the loss of Iraq’s cultural heritage, fears have been raised that the same destruction could be wrought on Libya. Amid growing instability, Isis has been gaining ground in Libya, where five sites have been awarded Unesco world heritage status.

Author: Rosie Scammell | Source: The Guardian [March 20, 2015]

According to Fides, the project to build a road that should unite the city of Fayoum to an oasis area crossing the territories around the Coptic monastery of St. Macarius, threatens an archaeological area that stretches around a church dating to the fourth century.

Ninety-two kilometers from Cairo, the Monastery of St. Macarius is located in Wadi el-Natrun, the ancient Scetes. In Christian literature, the Scetes refers to one of the three early Christian monastic centers located in the desert of the northwestern Nile Delta.

In addition to the monastery itself, the project also threatens its water supply of the monastery and some cultivated areas belonging to it.

The monks, in recent days, launched an initiative of non-violent resistance. They lied in the path of bulldozers working on the project, led by workers who approached the monastery lands shouting "Allah Akbar."                                                                                  

In the past, the monks submitted various alternative projects to the authorities that would allow the site's historical and natural heritage to be preserved.

To encourage the search for alternative solutions, the Coptic Church also established an ad hoc committee for this purpose.

In addition, the Ministry of Antiquities expressed its opposition to the project, recommending the archaeological be fully protected.

The monastery was founded in 360 A.D. by St. Macarius the Egyptian, a spiritual father to more than 4,000 monks of different nationalities, such as Egyptians, Greeks, Ethiopians, Armenians, Nubians, Asians, Palestinians, Italians, Gauls and Span-lards. Among the monks are men of letters and philosophers, and members of the aristocracy of the time, along with simple illiterate peasants.

Since the fourth century, the monastery has been continuously inhabited by monks.

Source: Zenit [February 27, 2015]

In coordination with the American Research Center in Egypt, the ministry will attempt to save the temple, which is located in Sohag, Upper Egypt.

The project will work on preserving the heart of the temple and the cemetery of Osiris by diverting the groundwater into vertical wells and linking them to water channels in order to get rid of the water, said director general of Luxor antiquities Sultan Eid on Sunday.

Cleaning the temple and restoring the inscriptions, drawings and colors inside the temple will also be part of the project, Eid added.

Abydos is one of the most important archaeological sites in both Egypt and the world due to its religious and historical significance in ancient Egypt. It contains the tombs of some of the early kings of Egypt during the reign of the first and second dynasty, as well as artifacts belonging to the 19th dynasty.

It is the only temple which retains its ceiling, based on 36 pillars of granite. It contains the list of famous kings of Egypt, from King Menes until King Seti the First.

Source: Egypt Independent [March 30, 2015]

“The committee has agreed to found a joint fund to complete stalled renovation projects to many mosques and other Islamic sites.” said Gamal Mostafa, part of the new committee and director general of the archaeological sites of Al-Sultan Hassan and al-Rifaai mosques. “[The committee] aims to tackle the bureaucracy and obstacles that inhibit the completion of Islamic heritage development projects.”

Over the past decade, several development projects – particularly in Cairo which is one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities – have been launched to protect Egypt’s ancient mosques, but lack of funding coordination and security following the 2011 revolution meant the majority of projects were abandoned.

The Egyptian government has been criticised over the increase in thefts, not only in mosques, but in Egypt’s heritage sites across the country. Following the 2011 revolution and the subsequent collapse of the country’s government, armed gangs, looters and general destruction placed the country’s rich cultural history in peril. As a result, Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab requested support from UNESCO to try and stem reports of ongoing chaos at Egyptian heritage sites.

Author: Tom Anstey | Source: Leisure Management [January 13, 2015]

Since his 2012 appointment as head of antiquities in the midst of Syria s civil war, Maamoun Abdulkarim says just one thing has been on his mind -- avoiding a repeat of the kind of looting that ravaged Iraq s heritage after the 2003 invasion.

"The images of the looting of the museum in Baghdad and other Iraqi sites are always on my mind, and I told myself that everything must be done to avoid a repeat of that here," he told AFP.

Widespread illegal excavation and the destruction of artefacts and religious sites by jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group have only added to the sense of urgency.

Before the Syrian conflict began in 2011, Abdulkarim was co-director of a French-Syrian mission working excavating the 700 so-called Dead Cities of northern Syria, which date back to Roman and Byzantine times.

Syria has been the home of many civilisations over the millennia, from the Canaanites to the Ottomans, and is rich in both artistic and architectural treasures.

Since his appointment, Abdulkarim and his colleagues have worked to protect Syria s heritage from a conflict that has killed more than 215,000 people.

So far, they have wrapped and stored some 300,000 items and thousands of manuscripts in secret locations protected from fires, shelling and floods.

The pieces come from 34 museums, including 80,000 items from Damascus alone.

Perhaps the most dramatic rescue yet was from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor last August.

After Mosul in neighbouring Iraq fell to IS in June, and the destruction began there, a decision was taken to evacuate the 13,000 artefacts remaining in Deir Ezzor.

Large parts of the city were in IS hands, but the airport and some districts remained under government control.

Yaarub al-Abdullah, the former director of antiquities for Deir Ezzor, said: "I worked for a week with two colleagues to wrap everything. We put it into a truck that came under heavy machinegun fire.

"We put the boxes on a military plane among dead and injured soldiers. It was terrible, but we managed it," added Abdullah, who now heads the National Museum.

Back in Damascus, Abdulkarim followed the operation with trepidation.

"I didn t sleep for a week after I took the decision to evacuate the artefacts," he said.

"If the plane had crashed, I would have lost three friends and gone to prison for losing 13,000 items," he said, with a smile.

He said an estimated 99 percent of Syria s museum collections had been preserved, thanks to his 2,500 employees, including those in opposition-held areas.

"They feel that protecting our heritage is a question of honour, like defending the honour of their mothers," Abdulkarim said.

But their work has come with a price: around a dozen of them have been killed in the conflict, including five during the course of their work.

Despite their best efforts, Abdulkarim fears thousands of artefacts have already been stolen across the country.

Even worse is the damage that has been done to 300 sites and 445 historic buildings.

In some cases the damage came in fighting. In others, it has come from illegal excavation, even with bulldozers, in places like Mari, Doura Europos, Apamee and Ajaja in the northeast, the Yarmuk valley in southern Daraa, and Hamam near Raqa in the north.

Ayham al-Fakhry, 39, fled his post as director of antiquities in Raqa in 2012, and laments the irreversible losses to Syria s rich heritage.

"Not only do you have the barbarity of the IS jihadists who destroy any representation of humans and Muslim mausoleums, but also the greed of mafia groups coming from Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey to buy pieces found by local residents," he said.

"They pay IS 20 percent of the estimated value and then the mafias take the objects to be sold in Europe or the Gulf," he said.

Despite international action to prevent smuggling antiquities from Syria, Abdulkarim and his colleagues say sanctions on Damascus have left them isolated.

"We felt like we had the plague," he said."Can there be an embargo on heritage? It belongs to the whole world."

Recently though, there have been signs of change, with invitations to Germany and France for directorate staff and an award in Venice for their work.

Abdulkarim urged the international community to rally around those in Syria trying to save their heritage.

"There must be a international mobilisation to save culture and civilisation. It s not just our responsibility, but a collective one," he said.

Author: Sammy Ketz | Source: AFP [March 27, 2015]

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown is one of those stories that I think needs to be read by teenage girls. If you look up statistics for teen dating violence, your heart just breaks. There are so many sites with statistics gathered from surveys and studies and all of them are tragic. Books like Bitter End are important, because it gives young people a 'safe' place to learn about dating violence. Knowing the warning signs is an incredibly important part of keeping yourself out of a bad situation.

Alex doesn't have the perfect life, but she is, for the most part, happy. Her mother died when she was young, during a seemingly mindless attempt to leave for Colorado. Her father has almost completely shut down and refuses to talk about any of the 'tough' stuff. He mostly leaves Alex and her sisters alone, focusing on his own issues. This is really hard on Alex. She feels the hole her mother left deeply and desperately needs to understand why her mom would walk away, but doesn't have anywhere to turn to for answers. So, she decided a long time ago that she was going to go to Colorado after graduation and her two best friends decided they would go with her. Alex, Beth and Zach have been best friends for years and years. Referred to by parents as the three headed monster, they've been pretty much inseparable for years.

These three just click. They understand each other, love each other and would do anything for each other. They are the very best kind of friends to have. But there's nothing romantic between any of them, and they are at that stage when romantic relationships are wonderful and good and desirable. When Cole transfers to their school and is assigned to Alex for tutoring, it's like fate. He's super good looking, into sports, smart, funny, such a gentleman, but best of all? He's really into Alex. He makes her feel beautiful, loved and amazing and she soon finds herself caught up in the magic that Cole spins for her.

But it doesn't take long for that magical feeling to go a little sour. It's small things at first, things that in moderation might seem cute or romantic, but quickly become creepy and stalkerish. Like sitting at a booth in the cafe where Alex works until her shift ends. When it's only the last 30 or 40 minutes, that's kind of cute. But when he sits there, watching you for your whole entire shift? Not cute. Not cute at all. Cole also really dislikes Zach, and he especially hates it when Alex spends time with him. He's convinced Zach is in love with Alex and that she is going to cheat on him with Zach and he does everything he can to make that relationship uncomfortable, which severely strains her relationship with Beth also, until he finally gets to the point where he has pulled Alex almost completely away from the rock solid support system Zach and Beth have to offer.

There are so many moments to this story where your cringe for Alex. Where you just want to cry out and tell her to get herself out of there. But Brown wrote this story incredibly well. Cole is Mr. Perfect in the beginning of the story. He knows all the right things to say, has all sorts of romantic gestures down pat and he just seems to be amazing. In fact, if I hadn't known going into this book that it was about an abusive relationship, I think I might have been taken in by his charm. But pretty quickly the thinly veiled insults start piling up on top of his jealous and controlling demands and his monopolizing all her time. It becomes clear to us that there is something seriously wrong much sooner than it does to Alex.

Alex does start to realize that things are not as they should be, but by then, she feels like she's gone too far. She has two things against her at this point. One is that she has never thought she would become 'that girl', the one who let her boyfriend beat her, but stayed with him anyway. She didn't want people to know that she had let things get to that point, so she stays, because she's embarrassed to leave. And the other thing? Cole loves her. He is the first person in her memories to tell her that she is loved and she desperately needs to feel that right now. That declaration of love went straight through to Alex and tied her to Cole completely. He loves her, she loves him and the rest can be worked out in time. She makes excuses for him — He just needs to work out his anger. I just need to stop being around Zach, since it makes him angry. His dad beats his mom, so it's all that he knows. Etc and etc.

But, as is always the case with relationships like this, things continue to escalate and they really never get better on their own.

I meant it when I said that this book, and the others on the market like it are so important for everyone to read, but especially young girls. They teach us what the warning signs of an abuser are so that we can protect ourselves before it gets to the point of violence, it lets people in an abusive relationship know that it is not their fault, that nothing they do is going to change their abuser and they need to leave, and that there is always hope, that getting help is not a weakness but a strength, and it also teaches compassion to those who have not been in this situation. It is too easy to look and judge and say, Well why didn't you just leave him?! But unless we try to understand the situation from the inside, we do no help to those struggling to free themselves. It's so easy to say just leave, but the actual leaving is an entirely different matter. And it's hard.

Read this book. Read the other books out there on the same subject. Learn all you can to protect yourself, to protect others, and to learn compassion, love and understanding so that you really can be there if you are needed. Books like this are so important to our teenagers and I'm so glad that there are more of them being written.

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this for review from a traveling ARC tour through the Teen Book Scene.

Tuesdays at the Castle reaffirms why I simply love Jessica Day George. Like, seriously folks. This book was just so much the cuteness and I want to hug it. (Don't worry Misty from The Book Rat... I refrained from displays of affection with your book, but only just.)

Castle Glower likes to change. When it gets bored, it adds rooms, removes them, moves things around or just plain messes with your head. It's pretty clear about who it likes and who it doesn't, and the Castle chooses its own King.

Celie is 11 and she loves the Castle. She's decided to do what no one has previously done, and draw an atlas of it. She spends hours and hours exploring, making sure to note any changes, not matter how small and she treats the Castle like a person. Which, ends up being a really awesome benefit when her parents are missing, presumed dead (in an ambush) and nefarious things start happening, led by the people in the Castle. The three royal children at home — Celie, the youngest, Rolf, the 2nd son and heir to the throne (so decrees the Castle) and Lilah, the elder sister — are left to try and protect the Castle, preserve their family and save the kingdom. It's an awful lot to put on the shoulders of children, but they are extraordinary and rise to the challenge.

One of things that I loved about this book was the characters. All of them. They are just so, realistic. Celie is 11, but because of their situation, she has to do a lot of things that are much more grown up. But guess what guys — She still acts like a kid! She is as strong and mature as is possible for her to be, but she still wants to stick her tongue out at the bad guys, stomp her feet and say really witty and cutting stuff like — You are a poopoo face. And she also does stuff like stay up late setting up pranks on the bad folks and then being beyond exhausted and falling asleep pretty much mid-sentence.

Rolf has the most pressure of any of the other characters placed on him. As heir to the throne, when the King goes missing, the running of the country is left to him. But he is only 14, and as you can imagine — the aforementioned nefariots try to use this to their advantage and force him to do their bidding. He's a strong enough person, even at 14, that he recognizes this and does all he can to put a stop to it, but there really is only so much a 14 year old can do against a large group of adults, especially when you aren't completely certain they aren't going to try and kill you. Lilah is also under a lot of pressure, because she feels responsible for the well-being of her siblings, especially young Celie. There is a lot going on and Lilah knows she can't really protect her siblings, but she wants to and she does all she can to help them.

But, perhaps the best and most complex character in all the novel is the Castle itself. (Notice how I keep capitalizing Castle? Ya... That's intentional. I don't want it turn my room into a pigsty or something... : P) The Castle is able to know and to sense things. It knows who will make a great King, who wishes the King, Castle or country ill, and who is an ally. And it makes it obvious. If it likes you, the Castle will give you beautiful and comfortable rooms, but if it doesn't, you are lucky if your bed is big enough to hold your body. You might find it impossible to find your way through corridors, or suddenly in a room without a door. Or, the Castle finds good favor with you, things that you need might suddenly appear, or you find a new corridor that makes it quick and easy to get to the other side of the Castle. I loved watching Celie learn about the Castle and explore. And I loved that when the kids suddenly needed a lot of help, but didn't know who they could turn to, the Castle was there, totally prepared and ready to offer assistance to the children.

The only complaint that I had with this story is that the ending felt super rushed. I'm not horribly disappointed in it, because this seems to be the nature of a lot of MG books (and a lot of YA too) where the story is in the set up and the journey there and once you actually get there, it's just a real quick resolution to finish things off. But honestly, this resolution was so fast as to almost be a — You blink and you've missed it — type thing. In a 232 page book, the resolution to the main problem should take more than 8 pages and a few paragraphs of explanation.

Regardless, this is one of those books that will be read and absolutely loved by kids. What kid doesn't love the idea of being able to completely outsmart all the grown ups?! I know that 10 year old Ashley would have fervently believed in this book. And what better magical element could you possibly wish for than a Castle that is never the same twice, especially when you happen to be the Castle's especial favorite. But the book isn't only for kids, and I have a hard time believing that there will be anyone who isn't just swept away by the delightful cuteness of this book. I mean, seriously.

Egypt's Minister of Antiquities, Mamdouh Eldamaty, is to cut the ribbon to open a new tourist destination in the town. He told Ahram Online that the restoration of the Sphinx Avenue and installing new lightening and security systems in Luxor temple came within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to protect the country’s ancient shrine.

Eldamaty explained that the development of Luxor’s temple lighting and security systems is a part of a Spanish grant of 150 million euros used for the implementation of a scheme to protect every archaeological site in Theban so they can be visited at night and be well-protected.

He went on to say that the new lighting system is made according to the latest technology which guarantees the preservation of the temple walls and engravings.

For his part Major General Mohamed Al-Sheikha, head of the Projects Department at the ministry of antiquities, said that the security system installed in the temple includes of an electronic curtain stretched around the temple, along with monitoring cameras connected to a TV circuit.

He told Ahram Online that the restoration of the first and fifth sections of the Sphinxes Avenue represents 37 per cent of the whole path.  It was carried out in collaboration with the National Service Projects with a budget of LE66.5 million.

He went on to say that the restoration work of the first section, which stretches from the Luxor temple to 350 metres long, includes the removal of all encroachment as well as the consolidation of the avenue’s eastern wall and the restoration of the sphinxes themselves. The restoration of the 600-metre-long fifth section extends from the area behind Luxor Library to the town’s airport road.

Al-Sheikha pointed out that restoration is continuing on the other sections of the avenue in order to open more sections soon.

The Sphinxes Avenue was the site of ceremonial processions that once connected both Luxor and Karnak temples. It is dated to around 380 BCE and stretches some 2.7 kilometers. It would have originally had 1,350 sphinxes lining both sides. Around half of those have been uncovered, with many reworked by later civilizations or sitting in museums. Much of the avenue is still covered by modern buildings.

Author: Nevine El-Aref | Source: Ahram Online [March 22, 2015]

The international team of researchers warns that localized issues, such as declining water quality from nutrient pollution or deforestation, can exacerbate the effects of climatic extremes, such as heat waves and droughts. This reduces the ability of ecosystems to cope with the impacts of climate change.

"We show that managing local pressures can expand the 'safe operating space' for these ecosystems. Poor local management makes an ecosystem less tolerant to climate change and erodes its capacity to keep functioning effectively," says the study's lead author Marten Scheffer, chair of the Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management at the Netherlands' Wageningen University.

The authors examined three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Spain's Doñana wetlands, the Amazon rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. While many ecosystems are important to their local people, these ecosystems have a global importance--hence their designation as World Heritage Sites. For instance, the Amazon rainforest is a globally important climate regulator.

Like coral reefs, rainforests and wetlands around the world, these sites are all under increasing pressure from both climate change and local threats.

For example, the Doñana wetlands in southern Spain are Europe's most important wintering site for waterfowl, hosting over half a million birds, and home to numerous unique invertebrate and plant species. Nutrient runoff from the use of agricultural fertilizers and urban wastewater is degrading water quality in the wetlands, causing toxic algal blooms, which endanger the ecosystem's biodiversity. A warming climate could encourage more severe blooms, causing losses of native plants and animals, say the researchers.

"Local managers could lessen this risk and therefore boost the wetlands' climate resilience by reducing nutrient runoff," says co-author Andy Green, a professor at the Doñana Biological Station. He added that nutrient control measures could include reducing fertilizer use, improving water treatment plants and closing illegal wells that are decreasing inputs of clean water to the wetlands.

Rising temperatures and severe dry spells threaten the Amazon rainforest and, in combination with deforestation, could turn the ecosystem into a drier, fire-prone and species-poor woodland. Curtailing deforestation and canopy damage from logging and quickening forest regeneration could protect the forest from fire, maintain regional rainfall and thus prevent a drastic ecosystem transformation.

"A combination of bold policy interventions and voluntary agreements has slowed deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to one fourth of its historical rate. The stage is now set to build on this success by ramping up efforts to tame logging and inhibit fire," says Daniel Nepstad, executive director of Earth Innovation Institute.

The Great Barrier Reef is threatened by ocean acidification and coral bleaching, both induced by carbon dioxide emissions. Local threats such as overfishing, nutrient runoff and unprecedented amounts of dredging will reduce the reef's resilience to acidification and bleaching.

"It's an unfolding disaster. The reef needs less pollution from agricultural runoff and port dredging, less carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, and less fishing pressure. Ironically, Australia is still planning to develop new coal mines and expand coal ports, despite global efforts to transition quickly towards renewable energy," says co-author Terry Hughes, director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

"As a wealthy country, Australia has the capability and responsibility to improve its management of the reef," adds Hughes.

"All three examples play a critical role in maintaining global biodiversity. If these systems collapse, it could mean the irreversible extinction of species," says Scheffer.

The authors suggest their evidence places responsibility on governments and society to manage local threats to iconic ecosystems, and such efforts will complement the growing momentum to control global greenhouse gases.

Yet, in the three cases they examined, they found local governance trends are worrisome.

"UNESCO is concerned that Australia isn't doing enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef. It would be disastrous for the $6 billion reef tourism industry and Australia's reputation if they list the GBR as 'in danger.' We need to put science into action to prevent this from happening," urges Hughes.

According to co-author Scott Barrett, the problem is one of incentives.

"These ecosystems are of value to the whole world, not only to the countries that have jurisdiction over them. It may be necessary for other countries to bring pressure to bear on these 'host' countries or to offer them assistance, to ensure that these iconic ecosystems are protected for the benefit of all of humanity," says Barrett, who is also a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Above all, the paper raises awareness of the great opportunities for enhanced local action.

"Local management options are well understood and not too expensive. So there is really no excuse for countries to let this slip away, especially when it comes to ecosystems that are of vital importance for maintaining global biodiversity," says Scheffer.

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison [March 19, 2015]

“The artifacts were discovered hidden in cheap vases during an inspection of a shipping container from Alexandria, Egypt, at the Port of Valencia on Spain’s Mediterranean coast,” said Director-General of Guardia Civil Arsenio Fernandez de Mesa.

The ancient Egyptian artifacts, with a total value of between 200,000 and 300,000 euros (U.S. $225,000-339,000), were recovered as part of a comprehensive crackdown launched by agents from European law enforcement authorities in 14 countries to prevent looting, theft and illicit trafficking of cultural artifacts.

The Spanish police showed the press 36 of the recovered Egyptian artifacts including “a majestic bust of Sekhmet, the ancient Egyptian warrior goddess, worth an estimated 100,000 euros ($125,000),” Spanish Police Captain Javier Morales was quoted as saying by news24.

Also among the most valuable recovered artifacts is a statue of Isis, ancient Egyptian goddess of magic, and a vase covered in hieroglyphics, said Morales.

“During the comprehensive operation, dubbed ‘Aureus,’ the agents carried out checks on 6,244 individuals, 8,222 vehicles, 27 vessels, as well as 2,352 inspections at antique and art dealers, auction houses and secondhand outlets. Checks were also stepped up at airports, land borders and ports in Europe,” according to Europol.

Most of Egypt’s major archaeological sites have been targeted for looting since the 2011 uprising toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. Thousands of ancient Egyptian artifacts, most of which were obtained from illicit digging activities, are now flooding the global markets, auction houses and electronic commerce websites.

In spite of the Egyptian government’s efforts to track smuggled artifacts inside Egypt and in auction houses abroad, the issue is still unsettled.

“During the past four years, Egypt has recovered over 1,600 artifacts and is currently working on other cases in many European countries,” Ministry of Antiquities’ Museums Sector head Ahmed Sharaf previously told The Cairo Post.

It is estimated that around $3 billion in Egyptian antiquities have been looted since the outbreak of the January 25 Revolution in 2011, according to the International Coalition to Protect Egyptian Antiquities, a U.S.-based initiative partnered with Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry.

Author: Rany Mostafa | Source: The Cairo Post [January 29, 2015]

Bump Key Proof — will protect you the lock

VIA «Bump Key: safety of the lock under the threat»

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert came in the mail for me one day, completely unexpected. It was signed and shipped from Stephanie herself and I have no idea why. I searched through my emails, couldn't find any mention of the book, but it had been on my watch/tbr pile for a while, and it was signed, so I was happy and added it to the pile, waiting to be read. It waited for a couple of months before I finally picked it up.

I wish I had read it immediately.

This is one of those books that forces a person to redefine and reevaluate the way they view their world. At least, that's what it did to me. I've been waiting a while now to write this review because there is so much to be said about this book, and I don't feel at all qualified to say it.

It's a story about Kara, a teenage girl who doesn't really seem to fit in anywhere, doesn't make friends easily and doesn't deal with internal pain very well. When her best (and only friend) moves away, she has no one left but her younger brother Liam who doesn't really trust her, because they used to be close, and then she ditched him for the best friend. But they start to get closer, and then Kara meets Maya. She's confident, vibrant and flamboyant, pretty much everything Kara is not. They bond quickly and Maya takes Kara with her to Scoville Park, where she is introduced to an entirely new world and where she feels, for the first time in forever, that she has friends, that she fits in, and here, she can be cool.

But the crowd that hangs out at Scoville Park is not exactly the crowd that mommies and daddies want their kiddies hanging out with. They drink, smoke, do drugs-some 'basic' high school fair (pot) and some much, much harder (heroin and acid) and get into all kinds of trouble. But Kara, who has been secretly cutting for years to feel in control of her life finally feels like she's found a place to belong.

This leads me to the only thing about this book that I can find fault with. Every single teenage character in this book (and I do mean every single one) that gets more than two sentences of face time spends the entire novel drunk/stoned/high/strung out/tripping/hungover or some combination of them all. I know that there are some teenagers who did go through high school like that. And, it makes sense that if you are living like that, the people you hang out with are likely to be living like that too. I get it. Really, I do. But it is something so completely foreign to me, something that is as completely and totally different from my own high school (and life) experiences as you can possibly get, that I had a hard time with that. It just felt a little over the top, a little extreme.

But then again, this is coming from the girl who has never even tasted alcohol, has never picked up a cigarette, never even been tempted to try drugs. None of these are things that appeal to me. Partly because I'm supremely fond of my brain, and very aware that any and all drug use diminishes brain capacity, and also because I don't like the idea of giving up that much control to a substance. I freely admit, I need more control over my life than that.

So, although I struggled with the level of constant drug abuse, it is also such an integral part of the novel, and given what these characters experienced is so completely different from what I, or anyone I know, went through at that age, it really forced me to reexamine the way I view the world and the people in it. These characters are filled with so much pain. I wasn't always a happy person in high school, in fact the emotion I was most familiar with for most of my growing up years is anger, but I've never met a cast of characters with so much emotional turmoil before and the pain practically bleeds from the pages. But, surprisingly, somehow, there is a lot of love included in that pain. This group of friends — flawed, suffering, somewhat stupid — is there for each other, and you know that at their core, they would go through Hell to protect each other. Which is why it's all the more heartbreaking when things start to break them apart, when they start to splinter.

I read this book through a perpetual ache in my chest, wanting them to find help, wanting them to understand that there is hope in the world, a life better than drinking and drugs can offer you. Every time Kara cut herself because she couldn't handles the pressure, my heart bled along with her arms. I wanted them to want something better for themselves, to understand that each of them deserved better than what they were giving themselves.

My absolute favorite part of this book was the way Stephanie told the story. It begins with the epilogue. Kara has been gone for four years now, having left the area after a night in Scoville with her 'boyfriend' Aidan leaves her almost dead in the park from a heroin overdose. She decides it is finally time to tell her story, and so begins her Ballad. The story is told mostly by Kara, but her narrative is broken up by the Ballads, or stories of the other characters. They take a few pages to express their hurts, their pain, their suffering. They write about the life experiences that made them who they are, that brought them to their present state. And although the story on its own, Kara's story is powerful in and of itself, I believe that the heart of the story would be missing without these added narratives. There is something about hearing about these disappointments straight from the characters who experiences them that gives the story a raw honesty that really reached into me. They each titled their own story, and these short titles really capture the tone of the story, and the characters themselves. And, as if that weren't enough, Stephanie has includes a single lyric with each ballad, each new section, a lyric that captures and hints at the tone each new section, each ballad will take us through. And the lyrics are perfect, almost as if the songs themselves were written for each of these characters.

I can't express enough how much this book moved me. These characters are so incredibly real to me, so rich and raw, their stories so moving, that I don't know how you can read this book and not be touched. I don't know how you can spend time with these people and not be left with an ache in your chest because you know there are people like them in real life, suffering, waiting, heading toward death or a life full of nothing. I ache for them. Still. It's been over a month since I read this book and I still find my heart aching every time I think about this book, every time I glance at my bookshelf and see the spine. This is an important book, and it doesn't get nearly the attention and love that it deserves. People, this book needs to be read. So what are you waiting for? Go do it.

Earlier today, I posted an awesome guest post from author Lisa Schroeder about why she writes and loves Contemporary. She's offering a signed copy of one of her novels, Far From You (in my blog) and I figured that today was a good time to review the book myself.

Far From You is actually Schroeder's least well known book (heard that one from the author herself). It doesn't get the attention that her others have, and after reading it, part of me can understand it. With each of the other books, I had a pretty good idea what the story was going to be about. Not so with Far From You. In Far From You, Schroeder has actually crafted a much subtler story. It's harder to summarize, harder to explain, but it's one of those stories that niggles in the back of your mind, reminding you at odd moments that it's been there.

I don't know if that even makes sense, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. After I had finished, I thought about it, recognized that I still loved Lisa, but that this wasn't my favorite. It's still not my favorite (The Day Before gets that prize by a long shot, because it really was just that awesome). But the more I think about this one, the more I feel that its subtlety is what makes it so strong.

Alice is just this side of bitter. She's had to deal with an awful lot of painful changes for one so young and she doesn't really know how to cope with it all. She's not totally sure what to think about the new step-mom and half sibling, she's still trying to cope with the death of her mother and she's at that age where you are trying to learn about yourself and who you are. And then, Alice, her step-mom and the baby get trapped in a snow storm. They turned wrong, the car is low on gas and they are stuck in a snow drift. And things get pretty desperate very quickly.

This story is more internal and reflective than most I've read. There are very few characters, the setting is dire, but the same and Alice finds herself with large amounts of time on her hands, with nothing to do but wait for help or death. Her step-mom leaves to seek help, leaving Alice with this tiny baby, no food and a car that's nearly dead.

Alice becomes a strong person in that car, waiting for life or death to take her, and she becomes a fighter. She does what little she can to keep the baby warm, to protect each of them, and as she does this, she opens herself up to more than she had previously and she allows herself to love more fully. She spends a lot of time thinking about the people at home, her choices, her future and quietly, and without fanfare begins to mature.

I really appreciated that this book didn't require a boy to inspire change (although if I remember right, she does have a boyfriend back home...) and I also liked that the change was hers, and although it was, in part, inspired by a brush with death, even that is quieter than we as readers are used to. There was no crazed madman chasing after her, no apocalypse, no rouge government, no drug overdose or catastrophic accident. There was merely snow. Snow that piled and piled and cold that seeps into your bones and robs your breath. That kind of cold and desperation can make a person into many things and I loved watching Alice grow into herself. She's not perfect and there is still more she could change, but she accomplished so much throughout this short novel and it's a book that leaves you with your heart full.

(Can I just say that this is by far the most beautiful of Lisa's book covers (and IMO the hardcover is... rather ugly) but this is gorgeous, simply stunning and I feel like it captures the soul and heart of this book incredibly well.)

The items were seized by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers and Federal Arts Department representatives from an auction house and private home in Sydney under laws designed to protect cultural objects.

Local authorities were tipped off by Interpol about the historic items including a Coptic textile fragment and large saucer lamp.

Macquarie University's Ancient Cultures Research Centre director Naguib Kanawati was one of several examiners who was asked to assess the cultural significance of the artefacts.

"While the provenance is unknown, the objects are all funerary in nature and would have been found in a cemetery or multiple cemeteries," he said.

They include a wooden hand belonging to an anthropoid coffin, small statuettes of a man and woman to serve the deceased in the afterlife, as well as a number of amulets.

A preliminary examination by Australian Egyptologists suggested the items date from the New Kingdom to Coptic periods and that some pieces may be over 3,000-years-old.

"As sites were used for burials by successive generations at different stratigraphic levels it is not unusual to find objects belonging to different periods at the same site," Professor Kanawati said.

Federal Arts Minister George Brandis handed the artefacts back at a formal ceremony at the Egyptian Embassy in Yarralumla.

"This is a splendid and significant occasion because it is not often that one government has the opportunity to return to another government, artefacts that are precious not only to Egypt but significant to the history of civilisation itself," he said.

Egypt's ambassador Dr Hassan El-Laithy welcomed the return of the significant items.

"One of the pieces that the Honourable Minister handed back over was a piece that witnessed the Coptic history and Christianity in Egypt... something we are very proud of," he said.

"Egypt was not only privileged by having its old civilisation of the Pharaohs, but also having prophets Moses and Jesus living in Egypt."

Last year Prime Minister Tony Abbott returned a 900-year-old bronze statue of the god Shiva to India that was found to have been looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu.

The statue had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 2008 from a New York art dealer who became embroiled in a stolen art trafficking scandal.

Author: Liz Foschia | Source: ABC News Website [April 08, 2015]

In October, a Canadian woman made headlines around the world when she personally returned to hand back a 2,000-year old fragment she had stolen from Pompeii on her honeymoon 50 years ago.

The woman from Montreal, who is in her 70s, said the theft of the first century AD terracotta roof decoration had weighed on her conscience for decades.

Now Massimo Osanna, superintendent of the World Heritage-listed site, said that was not an isolated case and hundreds of archeological artefacts had been sent back to the museum in recent years, often with letters of apology written in different languages.

"We have been receiving hundreds of packages with hundreds of fragments now for years," Mr Osanna told the Italian daily, Il Messaggero.

"People write expressing regret, having realised they have made a terrible mistake and that they would never do it again and for this reason they are sending the stolen pieces back.

"But the most curious thing, from an anthropological point of view, are the letters that accompany the stolen fragments which reveal a cross-section of people worth studying."

Mr Osanna said that one particular fresco fragment that had been returned was crucial in the restoration of the Casa del Frutteto, or house of the orchard keeper, which collapsed in the 1980s.

He said the property was restored but after work was completed experts realised a piece of wall plaster was missing. He said it was returned to officials in March and would now be added.

Mr Osanna could not be contacted on Tuesday but said he would like to stage an exhibition to showcase the precious objects that had been returned.

Alessandro Pintucci, president of the Italian Confederation of Archeologists, welcomed the return of artefacts but warned more security was needed to protect valuable cultural sites and to prevent thefts where there were often too few controls.

Pompeii was buried by a sudden volcanic eruption of nearby Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD. The preserved remains of the town attract around 2.5 million tourists every year.

Theft is a problem at ancient sites like Pompeii and the Colosseum in Rome, with tourists regularly trying to take "souvenirs" of their visits.

Last September a pair of American tourists were caught at Fiumicino airport in Rome with a stone artefact they had taken from Pompeii.

Author: Josephine McKenna | Source: Telegraph [December 24, 2014]

Songbird by Angela Fristoe is a book that I am very conflicted about. With a beginning like this book has, it should have been Amazing! So why, now that I'm finished do I feel a little more meh? Let me 'xplain.

Songbird begins when Dani is 6 years old and she watches her alcoholic father shoot her 16 year old brother, Jace, in the park. Jace is her hero, her savior in a violent, abusive home. The first four pages of this book, FOUR PAGES, made me cry. Do you know what it takes to make someone cry within the first four pages?! Amazing skill, that's what.

By page five, I'm completely invested in this story, completely invested in Dani and completely hurting and rooting for her. But then... I sort of detached from the story. By the description of the book, I expected the story to focus on Dani coming to terms with the death of her brother, the imprisonment of her father and a mother turned alcoholic, and all the baggage that accompanies this. I also expected music to play a huge role in Dani's life, considering that the title of the book is Songbird.

But, this is not what I got. Dani spent years bouncing between foster homes before finally setting in with her current 'parents'. Here, in this new home, she finally has a sense of stability, she has a best friend she trusts completely, who she knows will never do anything to hurt her and will always protect her (much like long-dead Jace) and she is finally feeling okay. Dani is still insecure, which is natural. Everyone she's ever truly loved has either been taken from her, or chosen to leave her behind. She's worried that her foster parents won't want a relationship after she turns 18 and she's terrified that if she tells Reece, (the best friend) that she has loved him, been in love with him forever that it will change things and she will lose him as a friend.

With all that emotional pain, all that drama, do you know what the primary focus of the story was? Reece. Yup. Reece. I've made no secret of the fact that books that revolve almost completely around the romance are not really my thing. I don't read many, and when I do, I have to be in a very specific mood. So I was quite disappointed to realize with all that potential, all those possibilities, Fristoe decided to make Dani's biggest problem her friendship and potential relationship with Reece. And, I thought that Dani handled it horribly! Admittedly, Reece could have done much better as well, but I thought Dani was incredibly selfish throughout a vast majority of the novel. You'll know exactly what I mean when you read the book.

Another thing that really bothered me about this book was the addition of the threatening phone calls Dani begins to receive. (Not a real spoiler — it mentions this in the synopsis). The whole thing felt really contrived, really unlikely and simply a plot twist to further the Dani/Reece drama. The moment felt very 'Jump the Shark ' (Wikipedia knows!) and I kind of rolled my eyes a bit. Definitely a WTF moment.

I was also disappointed at the lack of music in the story. The title and synopsis make it sound like music plays a huge part in Dani's life. We are told it's important to her, but we are never really shown that. There were a few references to the notebooks Dani carried with her to include her song lyrics in and how important they were to her, as well as 2, maybe 3 instances where we read these lyrics and that's about it. No more mention of music, even though it's supposed to be something that defines her.

However, even with these things that disappointed me, my overall feelings about this book are positive. I genuinely enjoyed reading the book and learning about Dani. Interspersed throughout the story are a series of flashbacks, giving us more insight into Dani's past. We see what happens with her father before his capture by police, how her mother slips farther and farther into her addiction to cope with what life she has left, what happens in the foster home where she met Colin (which would add way to much to a review to get into.; p) and so much more. We learn so much about Dani and her relationships with others and how they formed through these flashbacks, and other than that amazingly powerful opening chapter, they were the highlight of the book for me.

The times when we were able to learn more about Dani and how she is learning to deal with the terrible hand life has dealt to her were the highlights of the story for me, and the reason why I say that overall, even with several things that I found to be bothersome, this is definitely a book I'm glad I read and it is one that I would recommend to others, although I would want to discuss it with them first.

*Disclaimer: Book received for a fair and honest review through the Teen Book Scene tours.

According to China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO has already made a preliminary review of the application. A series of official documents to protect the ancient site of rock paintings in Huashan Mountain were issued. So far, around 150 million yuan has been invested on the relevant work to preserve the site. Better management and enhanced conservation efforts have been launched.

The rock paintings of Huashan Mountain are located on the west bank of the Mingjiang River in the Yaoda town, Ningming county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It is the biggest, most content-rich and best-preserved ancient rock carvings in China among all the discovered cultural relics to date. With a history of around 1800-2500 years, the sites were left from sacred activities of the ancient Luoyue people of the Zhuang ethnic groups in the drainage area of the Zuojiang River during the Warring States period (475-221BC) and Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220AD).

The whole painting stretches more than 200 meters in length and around 40 meters in height, with more than 1800 images in it, including people, horses, dogs, knives, swords and drums. Though a variety of archaeological theories have been made to explain the origin of the ancient artistic work, the exact reason for its creation still remains a mystery.

Source: China Daily [February 04, 2015]

This book all started as a game between Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. They each took one character and wrote letters back and forth to each other with no intention on publishing, but here it is, published. Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot is the story of two cousins spending their coming out apart. They live in a different world during 1817 London; a world where magic works. Kate is away in London and Cecy (or Cecelia) is in Essex. They each come out into society with a bigger bang than anyone expected, and solve a magical mystery along the way.

I really liked the idea of this book. Magic, London, history, and letters. I tend to really enjoy books where the narration changes, but I could tell that this started as a game and not as an attempt to write a novel. Since each author obviously had a certain plot in mind that they had to intertwine in the end there wasn't a lot of direction with the plot. I enjoy a lot of novels that aren't wrapped up in plot, but this was quite anti-climactic. I kind of got the feeling that they had to remove a few things that weren't part of the story, but I think a few things should have been added to keep the book moving. It was a short book, and sometimes I felt like I was dragging myself through it.

There really wasn't enough character description either. I had a hard time figuring out what the differences between Kate and Cecy were. Cecy is much more magical and Kate is a bit more practical, but other than that I had a hard time differentiating between the two. This was especially annoying in the beginning since there was now exposition and I was thrown directly into the exchange of these letters. One reason for the lack of character description could be that the letters were written between two women who already knew each other. The authors might have assumed their traits were coming through, but I didn't feel there was enough.

I've been kind of hard on this book so far, but compared to the other YA books I've read this past month this one wasn't as intriguing. As I've said the idea of the book is excellent, and there were some things I did enjoy. I particularly liked how well developed the magic in this book was. Cecy makes charm bags that protect others from bad magic. The books does a great job of describing these bags and how they are used. I also really enjoyed the male characters in this book. Kate and Cecy each have a love interest (James and Thomas respectively). If the female characters were more well developed, I might have enjoyed their relationships even more.

This novel earned a C.

Pub. Date: September 2004/1988
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Paperback, 336 pp

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