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Forget coffins, these burial pods are the future. Capsula Mundi is an eco-friendly alternative to being buried in a coffin.

SIERRA VISTA — A small group of “almost forgotten veterans” were laid to rest during a short, simple ceremony Saturday. Fred Santana, the founder of the Missing in America Project, said those who were honored are like many “who have been on the shelves in America’s funeral homes.” The cremains were brought to Sierra Vista from Tucson. Santana came to the event from California to witness the latest group of soldiers, sailors and airmen — 17 of them this trip — to finally have a military-style burial. He said one time he helped recover 15 Civil War veterans and some...

A report by The Wall Street Journal reveals that when Al Sharpton was unable to attend the funeral of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, President Barack Obama brought him a memento, a copy of the funeral program, signed in the president’s hand, “To Reverend Sharpton. A fellow warrior for justice!” According to The Wall Street Journal, the copy hangs on the wall in Sharpton’s Manhattan office. The conservative website, the Blaze, comments that the memento is a “testament to cozy bonds” between Obama and Sharpton.

http://youtu.be/EjWsL3Pk-cE Daughter cries out father's regiment war cry at his funeral. Col. Was killed yesterday by a Muslim jihadist.

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber struck a funeral in Afghanistan for the victims of an earlier Taliban attack, killing 16 people and wounding 39, an Afghan official said. The attack took place in eastern Laghman province, according to the local governor's spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but the blame is likely to fall on the Taliban who have staged similar attacks in the past.

President Obama will forego a visit to the Taj Mahal during his visit to India in order to travel to Saudi Arabia for King Abdullah’s funeral, the White House announced early Saturday morning. Vice President Biden was initially scheduled to lead the U.S. delegation, but he will instead now remain in Washington and Obama will add the stop onto his return from India, where the president is embarking on a three-day trip to foster economic ties with the nation. “President Obama and the First Lady will travel to Riyadh on Tuesday, January 27 in order to pay respects to King...

Dozens gathered outside a Colorado church to protest Tuesday after a bereaved family said the pastor stopped a woman’s funeral when he found out she was a lesbian. According to KMGH, Denver’s New Hope Ministries ended Vanessa Collier’s funeral Saturday after the minister saw a video tribute that showed Collier kissing her significant other, which the family had refused to edit. […] The pastor who called off the funeral defended his actions to KCNC, saying he hadn’t been aware of the video until right before the service, and that he gave the family the chance to edit it. …

Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama will not join other world leaders at Sunday's Paris march in tribute to the victims of this week's Islamist attacks in France, a US official told AFP. Ever since the bloody shooting that killed 12 people at satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday -- followed by separate attacks that left five more people dead -- Obama has made repeated declarations in support of America's "oldest ally."

De Blasio has engaged in non-stop political action for his own benefit at the expense of the police The guy who has built is career largely by railing against the police, and by opposing much of what they do to control crime on the grounds that it is beastly and unfair to the citizens, is having a hard time understanding why cops would turn their backs on him - as they of course did, literally - at the funerals of Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. Bill de Blasio just finds the whole thing so disrespectful: “They were disrespectful to...

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton is so worried his cops will turn their backs to his boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, at another NYPD funeral that he sent out a memo to shame them into good behavior, sources told The Post. “A hero’s funeral is about grieving, not grievance,” began the four-paragraph plea, which is being read at precinct roll calls ahead of slain Officer Wenjian Liu’s Sunday service. Bratton won’t punish officers who choose to turn their backs to de Blasio — which was done in droves at the funeral for fallen Officer Rafael Ramos — but he pleaded with...

Bill de Blasio aides asked political allies to publicly slam NYPD officers for turning their backs to the mayor at funeral Bill de Blasio's lobbyists called top political allies and asked them to publicly slam the NYPD unions and cops for turning their backs on the New York mayor at a funeral for a slain officer, it has been revealed. DNA Info quotes two lawmakers who go calls from the de Blasio's aides asking them to speak out against the NYPD for its protest. 'City Hall wanted me to blast the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for turning their backs on him,'...

A small gold plate belonging to Polish family Sielscy from the Swedish Malmoe turned out to be an archaeological sensation. According to the researchers, it is probably a souvenir from the funeral of the Danish King Harald Bluetooth on the island of Wolin, dated to c. 986 AD. The discovery was made by 11 years old Maja Sielska, who diligently did her school homework about the Middle Ages. While looking through pictures of coins from this period in the textbook and on the Internet, the girl saw a plate with mysterious inscriptions similar to the one she had received from...

The fortress found on the Danish island of Zealand, around 30 miles south of Copenhagen, is the fifth circular fortress to be unearthed, and the first in over 60 years. “This is great news,” said Lasse Sonne, a Viking historian from the Saxo Institute at the University of Copenhagen. “Although there were Vikings in other countries, these circular fortresses are unique to Denmark. Many have given up hope that there were many of them left.” Like previously discovered ring fortresses, the Vallø Borgring is thought to date back to the late tenth century and the reign of Harald Bluetooth, the...

On Christmas Day 1013, Danish ruler Sweyn Forkbeard was declared King of all England and the town of Gainsborough its capital. But why is so little known of the man who would be England's shortest-reigning king and the role he played in shaping the early history of the nation? For 20 years, Sweyn, a "murderous character" who deposed his father Harold Bluetooth, waged war on England. And exactly 1,000 years ago, with his son Canute by his side, a large-scale invasion finally proved decisive. It was a brutal time, which saw women burned alive, children impaled on lances and men...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Danish museum officials say that an archaeological dig last year has revealed 365 items from the Viking era, including 60 rare coins. Danish National Museum spokesman Jens Christian Moesgaard says the coins have a distinctive cross motif attributed to Norse King Harald Bluetooth, who is believed to have brought Christianity to Norway and Denmark. Sixteen-year-old Michael Stokbro Larsen found the coins and other items with a metal detector in a field in northern Denmark.

When Danish Vikings sailed across the North Sea and conquered England, they left their mark on the English language and place names. That’s common knowledge, at least to historians. What’s perhaps less known is that the influence cut both ways. Although England was under Danish rule in the Viking Age, the English were culturally and politically more sophisticated than their neighbours to the east. Historian Marie Bønløkke Spejlborg was one of the more than 300 Norse mythology researchers who attended the 15th International Saga Conference held recently in Aarhus, Denmark. She is currently writing her PhD thesis about how the...

In what they describe as a 'sensational' discovery, archaeologists from Århus find the remains of 10th century king's royal residence. After speculating for centuries about its location, the royal residence of Harald Bluetooth has finally been discovered close to the ancient Jellinge complex with its famous runic stones in southern Jutland. The remains of the ancient wooden buildings were uncovered in the north-eastern corner of the Jellinge complex which consists of royal burial mounds, standing stones in the form of a ship and runic stones. Harald ruled Denmark between 940 and 985 AD and is reputed to have conquered Norway...

9 March 2007 Crystal amulet poses question on early Christianity An overlooked crystal amulet in the National Museum suggests new understandings about Christianity's origins in Denmark King Harold Bluetooth brought Christianity to Denmark roughly 1100 years ago. At least that's what he declared on the Jelling Stone located in Jutland: 'King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father, and in memory of Thyrvé, his mother; that Haraldr who won for himself all of Denmark and Norway and made the Danes Christian.' A tiny crystal amulet in the National Museum's archives suggests something quite different though, that...

Possible third Jellinge stone found By The Copenhagen Post Archaeologists believe they have found a new Viking-era stone engraved with ancient Danish Rune writing Archaeologists from Vejle Museum think they may have found a third 'Jellinge stone' - a large rock with carved runes and considered the first examples of written language in Denmark. The researchers have found seven stones in all, which they believe date from the 10th century. Jellinge stones tell of the founding of Denmark and of Christianity's arrival in the country. Even if the stones do not yield a true Jellinge stone, the find is still...

A town that was briefly capital of England is looking to make more of its links with a Viking king who ruled for just 40 days. Sweyn Forkbeard, the nation's shortest reigning monarch, began his rule on Christmas Day, 1001 years ago in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Officials want to twin the town with Sweyn's birthplace of Roskilde, Denmark and stage a festival. They also hope to mark his death with a re-enactment of a Viking burial.