When the Taliban ran Afghanistan, they destroyed idols, refused to educate women, and even forbade kite-flying. After the Americans unseated them in 2001, Afghans slowly began recovering the basic freedoms that strict Sharia had denied them, though that liberty is still far from total. In Afghanistan from 2006 to 2008, there were 461 attacks on schools for girls, and in 2008, 15 girls were attacked with battery acid on their way to school. Meanwhile in Pakistan, the Taliban’s sister organization, the Pakistani Taliban, control an area with almost 4 million people, where women, aid workers, and beardless men are tortured and murdered. The threat of a return to draconian rule lingers on. These photographs, from James Reeve’s project Banned, document the freedoms available to Afghans after the Taliban’s fall.

Check out the gallery…

Sites are broken down into 6 categories: Best sites for learning, entertainment, troubleshooting, sharing, creatives, and most enjoyable sites. You should be able to find at least one new favorite site.

In the mean time, I know I have been slacking with this site. I just got back from Las Vegas a week ago and trying to get things in order. My web hosting site is currently being updated with a new look that I had designed for me. That’s taking a bit to get launched. After that, my main focus will be here. So hang tight.

Would you get upset if you witnessed an act of racism?

A new study published Thursday in the journal Science suggests many people unconsciously harbor racist attitudes, even though they see themselves as tolerant and egalitarian.

“This study, and a lot of research in social psychology, suggests that there are still really a lot of negative associations with blacks,” said Kerry Kawakami, associate professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and lead author of the study. “People are willing to tolerate racism and not stand up against it.”

Interested? Read up!

A few that made the list…
-The Love Guru (That’s a shocker… huh?)
-Speed Racer
-Untraceable

One movie I was kind of shocked about was What Happens in Vegas with Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher… I downloaded paid full price for it and it wasn’t half that bad. Would I watch it again? Sure. Would I buy it on DVD? Maybe not. I still think there are a few others that could take its place on the list…

I’m 23 years old, I’ve been drinking tea for about 20 years now. I average about 2 to 4 cups of day, and it sure beats the taste of coffee. The taste is more consistent and there are more health benefits then from a single cup of Joe.

Read more about the power of antioxidants and tea.