How the Taliban Take a Village - A special forces NCO breaks down, in detail, how the Taliban take over an Afghan village. Fascinating stuff. The fact that sticks out the most is that it only takes about 25-50 fighters to control an entire valley of 2,500 - 5,000 people. Power is social, and so is war.
In Japan, 'Herbivore' boys subvert idea of manhood Sixty percent of young Japanese men in their 20s and 30s identify themselves as "herbivores," a subculture that embraces passivity while eschewing the traditional role expected of Japanese men.
I had to roll my eyes at the end, when one of the herbivores says they don't date because they're scared of assertive "carnivore" women (please, NPR, do an article on that subculture). Boo. Nonetheless, it seems a pretty substantial shift in gender roles is taking place across the Pacific.
Ten Notable Apocalypses That (Obviously) Didn't Happen Kudos to Smithsonian for this timely, hilarious list. My personal favorite:
"Our Earth is degenerate in these later days; there are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end; bribery and corruption are common; children no longer obey their parents; every man wants to write a book and the end of the world is evidently approaching."
That's from an Assyrian clay tablet, circa 2800 B.C. "Every man wants to write a book" is the most awesome apocalyptic sign I've ever seen. Forget global warming, it's over-literacy that will doom us all.
Keep hastening the end, readers.
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