Hi Van,

Thank you for the link to that book. I was doing some more reading up on coin, and in the end it seems to come down to wounded egos on the parts of some anthropologists, or big egos and little me's

I will do some research into cultural sites and landmarks in areas where operations are going on in Afghanistan when I get the time. I learned about sites when I was an undergraduate studying ancient Indian art history.

Not only is it some anthropolagists, but a lot of professors I have had still complain about the Viet Nam war. There was the communist group tabling at my campus the other day. They honestly believe communism can "liberate" people and bring order to their lives. Just to learn about what their message was, I actually brought a copy of their paper "Revolutionary Worker" and 99.99% of it was complaints. Complaints about issues of torture, Obama speaking at Notre Dame, etc. I understand what you mean Van when you say "They are making old Joe Stalin and Vlad Lenin smile from beyond the grave," lol.

I understand professors are entitled to their opinions but I wish the conservative points of view were given in classrooms as well. I've learned more by going onto this board and learning from everyone here I wish the scholarly debates and discussions that happen on this message board of SMJ would be what students gain from classrooms.

The Bruin Republicans at UCLA are very small compared to the Bruin Democrats and often hide under the radar to avoid unwanted attention. From the people I have gotten to know at the ROTC department, they seem very honest and devoted to their profession, even if liberal professors disagree with them.

I think coming onto the SMJ board is the best thing I have done during my time as a grad. It's given me a new perspective and opened me up to new ideas I would have never met had I not joined. Now that the quarter is ending, I will finally be able to read the articles that have been posted and can contribute more to discussions.

Naomi