Free Republic

For almost as long as we've had civilization, we've lost it. There are records going back hundreds of years of explorers discovering huge temples encrusted with jungle, or giant pits full of treasure that were once grand palaces. Why did people abandon these once-thriving cities, agricultural centers, and trade routes? Often, the answer is unknown. Here are ten great civilizations whose demise remains a mystery. 1. The Maya The Maya are perhaps the classic example of a civilization that was completely lost, its great monuments, cities and roads swallowed up by the central American jungles, and its peoples scattered to...

A new rush through the U.S. border has been triggered by an outspoken progressive group that is exploiting new asylum regulations to demand American citizenship for 1.7 million illegals previously deported to Mexico, according to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Border officials have told advocates and TV stations that hundreds of people are using the group’s innovative legal tactic to get approval from the border patrol for a temporary legal stay in the country. The National Immigrant Youth Alliance triggered the rush by sending a group of illegals back to Mexico. The illegals then successfully used the asylum claim...

Niya yields buried secrets By Wang Shanshan (China Daily) Updated: 2004-03-12 10:39 The Chinese characters embroidered on a colourful brocade of mysterious pattern found by archaeologists in 1995 read: "China will rise when the five stars appear in the East together." Long, long ago there was a king. He had 300 soldiers, 3,000 residents in his state and one gold camel, which was his dearest possession. But he fell in love with a woman who was also loved by the king of another state, and thus a war was started. God, angered by the war, blew up a black sandstorm...