“I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe our educations such as South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2010
The War In Chechnya: Diary of a Killer
Every so often a lengthy newspaper or magazine article arrives that all but demands a fuller and even longer treatment. Such was the case in the Oct. 31 issue of The Sunday Times magazine in London, which published translated excerpts from the diary of a Russian Spetsnaz officer who served for more than a decade … Continue reading
The Wettest Place On Earth
Actually, I suppose the wettest place on the planet would probably be somewhere at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean… However, in this post I am referring to the place with the highest amount of rainfall. Thus, the wettest place on Earth is in the Khasi hills formed by the Meghalaya Plateau. Officially, the Meghalaya … Continue reading
The Living Bridges Of Meghalaya
At the base of the Meghalaya Plateau are a series of bridges unlike any I have seen or heard about elsewhere in the world. The Khasi tribe in the valleys leading to Bangladesh have trained the roots and branches of banyan trees to create living bridges spanning the rivers that separate their villages. These bridges … Continue reading
Coal Mining On The Meghalaya Plateau
In India, as in much of the developing world, it is labor that is cheap and machinery and gasoline that are expensive. This situation is dramatically visible on India’s Meghalaya Plateau where miners dig out coal deposits by hand. Coal is plentiful on the Meghalaya Plateau. In some places, as seen below, a large vein … Continue reading
Life On The Meghalaya Plateau
As I discussed in my previous post on Driving In Assam, I endeavor to provide an impression of what the places I visit are really like. For me, that often means focusing on daily life. So, below, I hope you’ll enjoy some of the views of the Meghalaya Plateau and gain a better understanding of … Continue reading
Siat Khnam – The Meghalaya Lottery
Known as Siat Khnam, the city of Shillong boasts a very unique lottery system. To obtain the random numbers needed for the lottery, a group of Khasi tribesmen squat in a semicircle around a straw target and fire as many arrows as possible into it over a set time before a canvas curtain is raised … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 