Ancient Pot of Soup Found in China; Apparently This Is News

A soup made 2,400 years ago was discovered in a tomb near where the terracotta army was discovered and near where the first emperor of China was buried, according to NTDTV.

The soup was made of bones, discovered in a bronze three-legged cauldron and found in a tomb in Xian, Shaanxi Province.

"It's the earliest-known discovery of its kind in Shaanxi Province," Liu Daiyun of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology said. "There isn't any report on similar archaeological findings that are earlier than this in the nation."

The soup was still liquid, but not edible. The liquid had turned green due to oxidation from the bronze cauldron and scientists say they will do more tests to see if the liquid was, in fact, soup.

"We discovered the left ribs of a cow next to the broken containers," Liu told AsiaOne. The cauldron is around eight inches high and 10 inches in diameter.
According to NTDTV, the tomb where the vessel was located is believed to have been that of a military officer. Archaeologists also found other vessels in nearby tombs but they were broken and did not contain much liquid inside.

In 1974, archaeologists found the now-famed terracotta army in tombs near Xian near the first emperor Qin Shi Huang's grave. Xian, formerly known as Chang'an, was the capital of China for more than 1,100 years.

"It's the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history. The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period (475BC– 221BC)," Liu told state-run The Global Times.

The Warring States period was a time when warlords took over and the country was deeply divided until the first emperor was said to have unified the country.

Several years ago, archaeologists discovered a pot of soup with noodles believed to be 4,000 years old near the Yellow River.

Wow, Microsoft In Trouble Over Google-China Situation

Courtesy The New York Times--

In a stunning twist on the whole China-based, Google-targeted cyberattacks story, it now appears as if Microsoft might have been responsible.

After examining the malicious software code used in the attacks, software maker McAfee is calling a "vulnerability" in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser an important pathway for the attacks.

According to The New York Times' Bits blog, Microsoft has conceded as much. "Microsoft said it was investigating McAfee's report, but it has so far determined that versions 6, 7, and 8 of Internet Explorer contain the security vulnerability."

Perhaps making matters worse, DailyTech writes: "Microsoft apparently has known about the flaw and existence of attacks in the wild for some time, but did not publish a security advisor until after McAfee aired the flaw ... This meant that while high profile business users likely knew about the flaw, most private users were left unaware of the danger."

Apologizing for the security snafu, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said: "We need to take all cyber attacks, not just this one, seriously ... We have a whole team of people that responds in very real time to any report that it may have something to do with our software, which we don't know yet."

Yet, no matter who was directly or indirectly responsible for the attacks, some experts and analysts argue that this latest incident is hardly front page news.

According to Forbes: "Targeted attacks using unpublished vulnerabilities in browsers are nothing new, especially for companies like Google with valuable intellectual property to protect ... In fact, what may be most striking about the so-called 'Aurora' exploit is just how old the attackers' target was."

Likewise, security experts tell BBC News: "The cyber-attack that made Google consider pulling out of China was run of the mill."

Either way -- and whether Google decides to leave China or not -- Ballmer just told CNBC that Microsoft will continue to do business in China indefinitely.

Google China To Be Shutdown?

The story of Google choosing to un-censor it's service in China is of course a day old (those late on the news click here). This of course ruffles the feathers of the ancient Chinese government who is still certain their inhabitants are not wise enough to make choices on their own. Apparently in the falling of censhorship, "Tianamen" was a popular search term. I could spend some time going into the things wrong with the Chinese govt on this idea, but I wont. I'm going to take the business route here....

If the reports across the Web today are true that Google.cn may in turn be shutdown due to the egregious offense to not censor their search results, would mean the door swings wide open for a variety of players. The obvious players of Yahoo and MSN are salivating, but what about the upstart community of burgeoning search leaders? I'm hearing quite a bit about Baidu.cn which attracts almost 58% of all searches from China. But thats within it's walls. Googles ability to allow outside access means communication with what is most likely the world's next powerhouse (open that for argument).

Plenty to shake out, but Apple is thrilled according to Fast Company:
Meanwhile there may be one very unexpected techno casualty of a Google China shut down: Android OS. Android has seemed to be making headway in the country, with devices like Lenovo's OPhone, the HTC Magic, and Dell's Mini 3 device on sale. But if Google pulls out, it might hurt how well future Android devices do: Though the OS is effectively an open and free platform, Google's support is essential to pushing its development in the future--and why would Google push next-gen high-tech Android phones like the Nexus One in China if it's so opposed to the way China's government forces it to run its business? The move could even result in a further splintering of Android into China and everywhere-else versions. Would this move then shine more of a spotlight on Apple...which recently introduced a special China-friendly version of the iPhone a, is happy to comply with Chinese restrictions, and has numerous business interests in the country? It's extremely difficult to tell, but it would seem more likely than not.