Michael Petraglia says that in the past, the spot must have been a lush river valley: "There is a major valley across the area which once was a river running westward forming waterfalls and taking water to the low fertile lands west of Al-Magar, " he explains.

BBC: Desert finds challenge horse taming ideas

Once again two camps seem to be forming on American (and thus world) economic prospects.

FORBES: Keeping Faith

They then run policy experiments on the model, asking what policymakers might have done to prevent the bubble forming, or at least stopped it building once it was clear there was one.

FORBES: Traditional Economics And The New Economics

Although still staffed by politicians holding genuine beliefs and values, these modern parties are inclined to see their main objective as winning elections rather than forming large membership organisations or social movements, as was once the case.

ECONOMIST: POLITICS BRIEF: Empty vessels? | The