In Mesopotamia, the gods were actively involved in the doings of this world, but not in a way that was just or equitable -- the gods had no special moral attributes, merely greater power than humans. The lack of harmony in the natural world of Mesopotamia was also reflected in the disparate nature of Mesopotamian government, which was full of small city-states, with no cohesive national ruler. Egypt's pharaohs reigned

interventionism from the perspective of realism vs. idealism. Realism is defined in relationship to states' national interests whereas idealism is defined in relation to the UN's Responsibility to Protect doctrine -- a doctrine heavily influenced by Western rhetoric over the past decade. By addressing the question of interventionism from this standpoint, by way of a case study of Libya and Syria, a picture of the realistic implications of "humanitarian

He describes how wild grains and animals were domesticated, as well as the new technologies that made farming possible (sickles, baskets, pestles, gourds, irrigation, the wheel, the plow). He uses a chart to plot these movements. His evidence is mainly archeological, historical, and botanical with heavy doses of appeal to imaginary scenarios. Its power to convince is narrational. His ultimate point in cataloguing this change is to assert how,

The more political arguments against Ruddiman are more easily dismissed, however. Synthesis and Evaluation It must be acknowledged -- and is, in fact, acknowledged by Ruddiman -- that there is not complete scientific certainty that the current warming trend the Earth is experiencing, if indeed it is experiencing one, is the result of human behavior, and specifically the use of fossil fuels. The evidence that Ruddiman presents in Plows, Plagues, and

Like the Old World civilizations, the Moche depended on their own irrigation systems to water their crops. Regardless of the harsh climate, the Moche managed to do this quite well. Fagan (nd: 123-124) notes the excellence of the Moche farmers, how they were able to use the difficult terrain to their advantage, creating irrigation systems and using fertile soil. Despite the fact that natural disasters would eventually ruin the

Even [make personal] for those of us living in developed nations, the impacts of acting against global warming are very detrimental i. [higher pitch, yet calm; almost condescending] small manufacturing firms that are just starting out will not be able to afford the technologies and processes that meet new emissions standards or purchase the credits for excess emissions that are popular parts of most global warming plans 1. This is unfair