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· Saturday, August 22, 2009 · 35 topics · 2318614 to 2317410 · 718 members · |
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Saturday |
Welcome to the 266th issue. Many thanks to all who posted GGG topics. |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #266 Saturday, August 22, 2009 |
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| Scotland Yet | |
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| Face to face with the 5,000-year-old 'first Scot' |
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· 08/20/2009 5:58:55 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 32 replies · · 635+ views · · The Scotsman · · Friday, August 21, 2009 · · Frank Urquhart · |
The face and its lozenge-shaped body -- measuring just 3.5cm by 3cm -- were carved on the Orkney island of Westray between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago. The enigmatic figurine had lain undisturbed in the earth at the Links of Noltland -- one of Orkney's richest archaeological sites -- until just last week... Scotland's culture minister Mike Russell... "What we are seeing here is the earliest known human face in Scotland. It once again emphasises the tremendous importance of Orkney's archaeology." The figurine was unearthed by Jakob Kainz, one of a team of archaeologists working at Historic Scotland's excavations on... |
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| Ancient Autopsies | |
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| Grave discovered at royal centre [Scotland] |
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· 08/16/2009 6:49:37 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 8 replies · · 373+ views · · BBC · · 11 Aug 2009 · · BBC · |
Archaeologists have discovered an early Bronze Age grave and artefacts at the site of a centuries old royal centre. The 4000-year-old burial chamber was uncovered near Forteviot, Perthshire. Few remains of the body were found, but the archaeologists said it would have lain on a bed of quartz pebbles in sand, in a large stone coffin. A bronze dagger with a gold band was discovered inside the grave, along with a leather bag, wooden objects and plant matter, which could be floral tributes. The discovery was made by archaeologists from Glasgow and Aberdeen universities. They found a large sandstone slab,... |
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| British Isles | |
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| Ancient rock art discovered in the Scottish Highlands |
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· 08/17/2009 11:17:23 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 24 replies · · 669+ views · · The Daily Mail · · 17 Aug 2009 · · The Daily Mail · |
Stone carvings dating back centuries have been uncovered by an amateur archaeologist. The prehistoric artwork was found on the mountain of Ben Lawers in the Scottish Highlands by rock art enthusiast George Currie. The art is similar to other prehistoric pieces found in the area, consisting of depressions known as cup marks, or cup and ring marks, which are carved on rocks... However, the newly-discovered rock is unusual as it bears a much higher concentration of the markings... |
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| Farty Shades of Green | |
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| 4,000-year-old timber circle found in Tyrone |
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· 08/16/2009 12:22:24 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 17 replies · · 408+ views · · BBC · · Aug 15, 2009 · · Unknown · |
The remains of a timber circle from more than 4,000 years ago have been uncovered by archaeologists in County Tyrone.The timber circle was found by the Headland Group near Ballygawley in 2006/2007 as part of an excavation project linked to the A4 and A5 road improvements scheme. Project Officer at Headland Archaeology, Kirsty Dingwall, said radiocarbon dating had confirmed it was from around the middle of the third millenium BC, "although some elements of it may be earlier". "The specific use of timber circles are not well understood but it is thought that they were used as ritual sites, perhaps... |
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| Diet and Cuisine | |
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| 3,000 yr old butter discovered in Ireland [smashing all the lies of the Evolutionists!!!] ;') |
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· 08/20/2009 6:10:33 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 85 replies · · 1,762+ views · · Thai-Indian · · Thursday, August 20, 2009 · · ANI · |
Two workers have discovered an oak barrel, full of butter, estimated to be roughly 3,000 years old, in Gilltown bog, between Timahoe and Staplestown, in Ireland. According to a report in Leinster Leader, the amazing discovery of the barrel, which is being described by archaeology experts in the National Museum as a "really fine example" was found by two Bord na Mona workers... What they found was an oak barrel, cut out of a trunk, full of butter. It was largely intact, except for a gash towards the bottom of it caused by the harrow. It was head down, and... |
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| Anatolia | |
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| Archaeologists Unearth 16,000-Year-Old Goddess Figurine in Turkey |
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· 08/20/2009 6:03:41 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 62 replies · · 881+ views · · Balkan Travellers · · Thursday, August 20, 2009 · · unattributed · |
A 16,000-year-old clay figurine of a female was found by archaeologists during excavations in southern-eastern Turkey. The mother goddess sculpture was discovered in the Direklu Cave in the Kahramanmaraç Province, which archaeologists have been excavating since July 15, Gazi University Archaeology Department lecturer Cevdet Merih Erek told national media. The find suggests that women had a high social status in the region at the time the figurine was made, Erek explained. In addition, it challenged archaeologists' previous knowledge by suggesting that the method of using fired clay to make figurines was much older than previously thought. Before this recent discovery,... |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| 'Magnificent Roman mansion' uncovered in City of David |
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· 08/19/2009 3:24:35 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 19 replies · · 773+ views · · Jerusalem Post · · Aug 18, 2009 · · JOSIAH RYAN · |
The 'magnificent' Roman mansion uncovered. Photo: Courtesy/Antiquities Authority A "magnificent" two-story Roman mansion of more than 1,000 square meters has been discovered by archeologists in the City of David Archeological Park outside the capital's Old City, the Antiquities Authority announced on Monday. Previously, archeologist believed 3rd century Roman ruins extended only to the edge of the Ottoman Old City walls. The discovery of the mansion within the Givati parking lot, outside the walls and adjacent to the City of David, however, suggests Roman construction may have stretched to the bottom of the Silwan Valley, Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, the excavation's director,... |
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| Epigraphy and Language | |
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| Unusual and Marvelous Maps |
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· 08/16/2009 7:15:48 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 26 replies · · 900+ views · · DRB · · 15 Aug 2009 · · Simon Rose · |
Hideous monsters devouring ships? Old map symbols, correctly showing storm fronts & dangerous currents I've always been fond of maps, from those antique ones showing sea serpents and hideous monsters devouring ships in the vast expanses of the ocean, to those showing what the world looked like in the distant, and not so distant, past. Maps have, of course, been with us in one form or another, for a long time. Jerusalem is in the center - from "Itinerarium Sacrae Scipturae", by Heinrich Bunting, 1545-1606 Here's a world map according to Posidonius, from around 150-130 B.C. - Ptolemy's version of... |
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| Pages | |
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| Emperor Constantine's Last Walk |
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· 08/17/2009 6:15:37 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 25 replies · · 676+ views · · Peterborough Examiner · · July 11, 2007 · · Erik Blackthrone O'Barr · |
Osprey Media. - Peterborough Examiner - Ontario, CA [Emperor] Constantine's Last WalkJunior Fiction winner Local News - Wednesday, July 11, 2007 @ 00:00 By Erik Blackthrone O'Barr Grade 9 Peterborough Collegiate The cannon fire grew closer with each thundering belch of rock and iron, as the walls of Constantinople, wonders of the world that had never been breached save for treachery, groaned under the strain. Buildings crackled with scorching heat, set ablaze by pitch- covered arrows. The shouts and screams of the dying echoed in the empty streets of the once great city. And Constantine XI Palaiologos, last Emperor of... |
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| Rome and Greece | |
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| Review: How the Byzantines Saved Europe |
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· 08/18/2009 6:27:29 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 41 replies · · 625+ views · · acton.org · · AUGUST 17, 2009 · · JOHN COURETAS · |
The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Edited by Elizabeth Jeffreys, John Haldon, Robin Cormack. Oxford University Press (2008) Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire by Judith Herrin. Princeton University Press (2008) Ask the average college student to identify the 1,100 year old empire that was, at various points in its history, the political, commercial, artistic and ecclesiastical center of Europe and, indeed, was responsible for the very survival and flourishing of what we know today as Europe and you're not likely to get the... |
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| Religion of Peace | |
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| Hagia Sophia angel uncovered in Turkey |
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· 08/20/2009 7:15:45 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 18 replies · · 515+ views · · haber27.com · · 08/20/08 · |
Hagia Sophia angel uncovered in Turkey Restoration workers have uncovered the mosaic face of an angel in the world-renowned Hagia Sophia Museum in the Turkish city of Istanbul 29 Temmuz 2009 Çarçamba 02:35 The mosaic, believed to be one of a group of six, was found in the pendentive, an arched triangular section supporting the dome of the monument. Some experts believe the six-winged figure dates back to the 14th century, but the Hagia Sofia Science Board is set to determine the relic's true age by comparing it to similar mosaics found in 1935. Built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian,... |
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| Barbary Pirates | |
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| U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Greg Miller of Berea restoring U.S. tombs in Libyan cemetery |
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· 08/18/2009 2:51:35 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 18 replies · · 463+ views · · The Plains Dealer · · 15 Aug 2009 · · Brian Albrecht · |
Five fallen U.S. sailors from what has been described as America's first war on terrorism lie in a crumbling cemetery in Libya, their graves identified only by their heroism on a night more than 200 years ago. They represent a lingering legacy of the Intrepid -- a small ship used in a daring raid in 1804 to destroy the captured American frigate Philadelphia anchored in Tripoli Harbor, denying the enemy use of the former U.S. warship. Much the same tactic was attempted six months later when the Intrepid sailed into the same harbor, packed with gunpowder for use as a... |
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| Africa | |
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| Subway excavation uncovers Algeria's past |
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· 08/17/2009 2:11:11 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 8 replies · · 287+ views · · Reuters · · Aug 17, 2009 · · Christian Lowe · |
ALGIERS - Work to build a subway line through Algeria's capital has given archaeologists a chance to uncover traces of their country's ancient history that they thought had been erased by French colonial rule. When engineers closed off part of Algiers' bustling Martyrs' Square to build an underground railway station, archaeologists seized the opportunity to investigate the site and, beneath layers of concrete, found a 5th century basilica. They also found Ottoman-era metal forges and recovered cannonballs and a primitive pistol - an echo of the period in the 16th and 17th century when Barbary pirates used Algiers as a... |
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| India | |
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| Rare 1857 rebellion message discovered in UK |
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· 08/19/2009 1:15:09 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 4 replies · · 418+ views · · Hindustan Times · · August 17, 2009 · |
In a crucial discovery of interest to historians, a tightly folded scrap of paper containing a key encrypted message during India's first war of independence in 1857 has been discovered at the Harewood House in Leeds. Considered one of the smallest but most remarkable records of the era, the scrap of blue paper measures six by five centimeters and contains Greek and English characters. It contains an encrypted message that was smuggled out of Lucknow. Written on the September 1 1857, Brigadier John Inglis described conditions in the town that had been under siege since 30 June that year. The... |
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| China | |
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| Founding Dynasty or Myth? [ancient China] |
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· 08/20/2009 6:16:19 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 34 replies · · 416+ views · · Science magazine · · August 21, 2009 · · Vol. 325 · · no. 5943 · · p. 934 · · Andrew Lawler · |
In the 6th century B.C.E., Confucius referred to the ancient Xia dynasty as China's first, based on documents that were old in his day. For generations of Chinese scholars, the Xia was China's initial great flowering of civilization, inaugurating a history that unfolded in methodical fashion from city-state to empire (see main text). But there was no physical evidence for the dynasty's existence, so in 1959 an archaeological team set out to find its seat. Along a marshy section of the Luo River in the central plains of the Yellow River Valley, they uncovered a 300-hectare site dating to roughly... |
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| Precolumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis | |
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| IU discovers stone tools, rare animal bones -- clues to Caribbean's earliest inhabitants |
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· 08/18/2009 8:51:13 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 9 replies · · 210+ views · · Indiana University · · Aug. 18, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Jessica Keller holds the primate skull found in the Padre Nuestro Cavern. BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A prehistoric water-filled cave in the Dominican Republic has become a "treasure trove" with the announcement by Indiana University archaeologists of the discovery of stone tools, a small primate skull in remarkable condition, and the claws, jawbone and other bones of several species of sloths. The discoveries extend by thousands of years the scope of investigations led Charles Beeker, director of Academic Diving and Underwater Science Programs at IU Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and his interdisciplinary team of collaborators. The researchers'... |
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| The Redcoats | |
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| EPA Says It Will Toss Artifacts from Historic 18th Century Fort into a Landfill |
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· 08/18/2009 10:33:27 AM PDT · · Posted by Nachum · · 28 replies · · 1,015+ views · · CNSNews.com · · 8/18/09 · · Adam Brickley · |
(CNSNews.com) -- Less than a week after the Environmental Protection Agency restarted a controversial dredging project on the Hudson River, dredgers operated by the General Electric Company dislodged wooden beams that are the last remnants of one of the largest British forts in the American colonies. The EPA now says that the beams are contaminated with potential carcinogens known as PCBs and therefore must be buried in a landfill |
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| Early America | |
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| On the Hunt for Jefferson's Lost Books |
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· 08/16/2009 10:50:51 PM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 18 replies · · 460+ views · · Smithsonian Magazine · · 11 Aug 2009 · · Ashley Luthern · |
A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson For more than a decade, Mark Dimunation has led a quest to rebuild an American treasure -- knowing he will likely never see the complete results of his efforts. On an August day 195 years ago, the British burned the U.S. Capitol in the War of 1812 and by doing so, destroyed the first Library of Congress. When the war ended, former President Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library, which at 6,487 books was the largest in America,... |
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| The Framers | |
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| the 27th Amendment |
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· 08/17/2009 3:29:27 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 6 replies · · 290+ views · · Constitution of the United States, via FindLaw et al · · proposed September 25, 1789 · · ratified May 5, 1992 · · The Framers et al · |
Twenty-Seventh Amendment: No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| Has your classical knowledge stood the test of time? |
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· 08/20/2009 3:39:36 PM PDT · · Posted by Lorianne · · 26 replies · · 572+ views · · Telegraph UK · · 20 Aug 2009 · |
Take our quiz, and see if you can tell your Tantalus from your Tacitus... 1 Why did George Bernard Shaw call his play Pygmalion? 2 What is a ziggurat? 3 Name three Latin phrases beginning with "ad" that are in common currency. 4 Boris Johnson used the phrase res ipsa loquitur as a justification for learning Latin in school. What does it mean? 5 Zeus (Jupiter or Jove), lord of the skies, was prone to throwing thunderbolts at anyone who displeased him and to changing himself into a variety of forms in order to have sex with anything that moved.... |
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| Students Recall More Hollywood than History |
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· 08/20/2009 12:30:12 PM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 47 replies · · 622+ views · · livescience · · 12 August 2009 · · Jeremy Hsu · |
If you thought Tom Cruise's character in "The Last Samurai" represented a real figure from history, you were wrong. But don't feel ashamed. A new study shows that even students, with facts staring them in the face, tend to substitute Hollywood fiction for historical fact in their minds. "What we found is that there's something really special about watching a film that lets people retain information from that film, even when they had read a contradictory account in the textbook," said Andrew Butler, a psychology researcher at Washington University in St. Louis during the time he and his colleagues conducted... |
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| Mating Rituals | |
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| Do Single Women Seek Attached Men? |
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· 08/13/2009 9:40:05 AM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 72 replies · · 1,661+ views · · New York Times · · August 13, 2009 · · JOHN TIERNEY · |
Researchers have debated for years whether men or women are likelier to engage in "mate poaching." Some surveys indicated that men had a stronger tendency to go after other people's partners, but was that just because men were more likely to admit engaging in this behavior? Now there's experimental evidence that single women are particularly drawn to other people's partners, according to a report in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology by two social psychologists, Melissa Burkley and Jessica Parker of Oklahoma State University. Noting that single women often complain that "all the good men are taken," the psychologists wondered... |
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| Freestyle Swim Team | |
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| Sperm Travels Faster Toward Attractive Females |
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· 08/13/2009 5:27:09 AM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 32 replies · · 1,287+ views · · discovery · · Jennifer Viegas · |
Females may be outwardly choosy when selecting sexual partners -- accepting or shunning mates in very public ways -- but males may get the last say in this battle of the sexes. New research found that males can adjust the speed and effectiveness of their sperm by allocating more or less seminal fluid to copulations. The determining factor is whether the male finds the female attractive. The study, conducted on red junglefowl, a director ancestor of chickens, adds to the growing body of evidence that males throughout many promiscuous species in the animal kingdom, including humans, can mate with many... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show |
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· 08/17/2009 6:32:01 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 27 replies · · 1,004+ views · · New York Times · · August 17, 2009 · · ANDREW POLLACK · |
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases. > "Any biology undergraduate could perform this." > |
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| DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show |
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· 08/19/2009 12:39:11 AM PDT · · Posted by The Magical Mischief Tour · · 16 replies · · 914+ views · · NYTimes · · 08/19/2009 · · NYTimes · |
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases. |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| WWII a big part of man's life story |
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· 08/17/2009 5:04:52 AM PDT · · Posted by real saxophonist · · 2 replies · · 187+ views · · Greeley Tribune · · Monday, August 17, 2009 · · Mike Peters · |
Age is catching up with him now, as it does when you're 85. He spent some time in the hospital last week, scaring his family with a "heart episode." But Nick Golovanoff of Greeley is still going. Still telling the stories. Still finding a laugh here and there. He and his wife, Mary Alice, haven't lived in Greeley long. They came here so their daughter could help. She is Sandi Selders, wife of former Greeley mayor Tom Selders. But being old is not the story of Nick... |
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| Yo, Canada | |
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| Canada finds possible US Air Force plane lost in 1942 |
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· 08/16/2009 5:53:44 AM PDT · · Posted by nuconvert · · 28 replies · · 1,482+ views · · AFP · · Aug. 6, 2009 · |
Canadian underwater archeologists accidentally discovered what they believe to be the wreck of a US Air Force airplane that sank in the Saint Lawrence seaway in 1942, the Parks Canada divers said Thursday. The divers said in a statement that they were carrying out routine work in an adjacent area when they came across the wreck. It must still be confirmed that it is indeed the lost plane. "This is a very significant discovery," Quebec region Minister Christian Paradis said. "This plane is a testament to the collaboration between Canada and the US during the Second World War." The amphibious aircraft foundered in rough weather on November 2, 1942, in the waters surrounding what is now the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in the eastern Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The plane was based at Presqu'Ile, Maine, in the United States, and serviced an airfield in the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec, about 1,000 kilometers (641 miles) northeast of Montreal. Nine persons were on board when the aircraft went down. Four of the crew escaped the flooding plane and were rescued by local fishermen rowing out from shore in open boats in rough seas. The five others perished, trapped inside. |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Free Fall From Near Space (On This Date: August 16, 1960) |
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· 08/16/2009 10:10:03 AM PDT · · Posted by Wardenclyffe · · 18 replies · · 608+ views · · Damninteresting.com · · July 19, 2006 · · Daniel Lew · |
On August 16, 1960, Kittinger made his most famous free-fall. In this flight, he made it up to an altitude of 102,800 feet, breaking a previous record made by David Simons during Project Man High. He stayed at this altitude for about 12 minutes, which must have been very unpleasant -- not only was it as cold as 94 minus Fahrenheit, but he had a severe pain in his right hand from a malfunctioning pressurized glove. Then, he jumped. He fell for almost five minutes before reaching a safe altitude to open his main parachutes and float down to the... |
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| Climate | |
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| 2 Studies Challenge Notion of Rise in Atlantic Storms |
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· 08/15/2009 4:26:42 PM PDT · · Posted by neverdem · · 23 replies · · 991+ views · · NY Times · · August 13, 2009 · · CORNELIA DEAN · |
Since the mid-1990s, hurricanes and tropical storms have struck the Atlantic Ocean with unusual frequency -- or have they? Two new studies suggest that the situation may not be so clear. One, by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggests that the high number of storms reported these days may reflect improved observation and analysis techniques, not a meteorological change for the worse. The second, by researchers at Pennsylvania State University and elsewhere, suggests that there were as many storms a thousand years ago, when Atlantic Ocean waters were unusually warm, as today. The work does not suggest... |
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| Agriculture and Animal Husbandry | |
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| Study: Global warming sparked by ancient farming methods |
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· 08/19/2009 3:13:18 PM PDT · · Posted by Free ThinkerNY · · 42 replies · · 439+ views · · cnn.com · · August 18, 2009 · · Shelby Lin Erdman · |
(CNN) -- Ancient man may have started global warming through massive deforestation and burning that could have permanently altered the Earth's climate, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Primitive slash-and-burn agriculture permanently changed Earth's climate, according to a new study. The study, published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews and reported on the University of Virginia's Web site, says over thousands of years, farmers burned down so many forests on such a large scale that huge amounts of carbon dioxide were pumped into the atmosphere. That possibly... |
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| Navigation | |
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| Was ancient Cypriot cave a prehistoric diner? |
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· 08/19/2009 11:39:46 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 21 replies · · 328+ views · · Reuters · · Aug 19, 2009 · · Michele Kambas · |
Thousands of prehistoric hippo bones found in Cyprus are adding to a growing debate on the possible role of humans in the extinction of larger animals 12,000 years ago. First discovered by an 11-year-old boy in 1961, a tiny rock-shelter crammed with hippo remains radically rewrote archaeological accounts of when this east Mediterranean island was first visited by humans. It has fired speculation of being the first takeaway diner used by humans to cook and possibly dispatch meat. It also adds to growing speculation, controversial in some quarters, that humans could have eaten some animals to extinction. |
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| Biology and Cryptobiology | |
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| Hundreds Of New Species Discovered In Eastern Himalayas |
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· 08/14/2009 3:40:48 AM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 17 replies · · 569+ views · · sciencedaily · · Aug. 11, 2009 · |
Over 350 new species including the world's smallest deer, a "flying frog" and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate change. A decade of research carried out by scientists in remote mountain areas endangered by rising global temperatures brought exciting discoveries such as a bright green frog that uses its red and long webbed feet to glide in the air. |
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| Drunky Munky | |
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| Monkeys booze because of genes |
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· 08/18/2009 3:27:07 AM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 10 replies · · 352+ views · · bbc. · · 17 August 2009 · · Sudeep Chand · |
A study has shown that having a particular gene variant causes some macaque monkeys to drink more alcohol in experiments. The gene, known as the corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) gene, is an important part of how we respond to everyday stress. Sometimes it can become overactive and lead to stress-related problems such as anxiety, depression and alcoholism. The findings may eventually lead to new treatments for alcoholism. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the scientists found that some monkeys with the gene variant drank more alcohol, possibly to relieve their anxiety. In particular the "T"... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Key feature of immune system survived in humans, other primates for 60 million years |
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· 08/18/2009 1:46:45 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 11 replies · · 250+ views · · Oregon State University · · Aug 18, 2009 · · Unknown · |
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A new study has concluded that one key part of the immune system, the ability of vitamin D to regulate anti-bactericidal proteins, is so important that is has been conserved through almost 60 million years of evolution and is shared only by primates, including humans -- but no other known animal species. The fact that this vitamin-D mediated immune response has been retained through millions of years of evolutionary selection, and is still found in species ranging from squirrel monkeys to baboons and humans, suggests that it must be critical to their survival, researchers say. Even though... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| "Mummified" Dinosaur Discovered In Montana (pics included) |
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· 10/11/2002 1:04:43 AM PDT · · Posted by chance33_98 · · 219 replies · · 4,305+ views · · National Geographic News · |
"Mummified" Dinosaur Discovered In Montana Hillary Mayell for National Geographic News October 10, 2002 Leonardo, a mummified, 77-million-year-old duck-billed dinosaur was only about three or four years old when he died, but he's proving to be a bonanza for paleontologists today. His fossilized skeleton is covered in soft tissue -- skin, scales, muscle, foot pads -- and even his last meal is in his stomach. An onsite restoration drawing of how "Leonardo" may have looked before burial based on observations and measurements of the specimen. The drawing was done by paleolife artist Greg Wenzel. Art copyright Judith River Dinosaur Institute "For paleontologists, if... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| Ink found in Jurassic-era squid (150 mya squid "can be dissected as if they are living animals") |
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· 08/19/2009 9:40:47 AM PDT · · Posted by GodGunsGuts · · 288 replies · · 2,606+ views · · BBC · · August 19,2009 · |
Palaeontologists have drawn with ink extracted from a preserved fossilised squid uncovered during a dig in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. The fossil, thought to be 150 million years old, was found when a rock was cracked open, revealing the one-inch-long black ink sac. A picture of the creature and its Latin name was drawn using its ink... |
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| end of digest #266 20090822 | |
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· Saturday, August 22, 2009 · 35 topics · 2318614 to 2317410 · 718 members · |
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Saturday |
Welcome to the 266th issue. Many thanks to all who posted GGG topics. |
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| Gods, Graves, Glyphs Weekly Digest #267 Saturday, August 29, 2009 |
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| Africa | |
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| German Archaeologists Labor to Solve Mystery of the Nok[Nigeria] |
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· 08/22/2009 11:10:05 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 32 replies · · 669+ views · · Spiegel · · 21 Aug 2009 · · Matthias Schulz · |
Some 2,500 years ago, a mysterious culture emerged in Nigeria. The Nok people left behind bizarre terracotta statues -- and little else. German archaeologists are now looking for more clues to explain this obscure culture. Half a ton of pottery shards is piled on the tables in Peter Breunig's workroom on the sixth floor of the University of Frankfurt am Main. There are broken pots, other storage vessels, a clay lizard and fragments of clay faces with immense nostrils. The chipped head of a statue depicts an African man with a moustache, a fixed glare and hair piled high up... |
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| Oh So Mysteriouso | |
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| Masonic Lodges Open Those Mysterious Doors |
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· 08/26/2009 9:58:37 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 47 replies · · 886+ views · · The New York Times · · 20 Aug 2009 · · EVE M. KAHN · |
A replica of a mildewed 14th- century scroll has been unfurled and displayed at a library in New York. An eagle clutching arrows and ribbons, on a tattered flag made around 1803, has just been restored and framed for viewing at a Philadelphia museum. Near Boston a museum exhibition decodes cryptic symbols like compasses and columns embossed on metal badges and embroidered onto aprons. That the public is now being enthusiastically shown these previously hidden-away items indicates that Freemasons in America are trying to shed their reclusive, somewhat fusty image. Tour guides at the groups' lavishly ornamented lodges, mostly built... |
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| Archaeoastronomy and Megaliths | |
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| Timber Structure Older than Stonehenge Found in London |
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· 08/26/2009 3:43:21 PM PDT · · Posted by rdl6989 · · 18 replies · · 554+ views · · Livescience.com · · 13 August 2009 · |
Archaeologists have unexpectedly uncovered London's oldest timber structure, which predates Stonehenge by about 500 years. The structure, apparently a platform or trackway used to make a boggy area more navigable, was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old, well before Stonehenge was erected. Previously, the oldest timber structure in Greater London was the timber trackway in Silvertown, which has been dated to 3340 to 2910 B.C., about 700 years... |
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| Age of Sail | |
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| Briton found America in 1499 |
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· 08/29/2009 12:03:39 AM PDT · · Posted by OldSpice · · 19 replies · · 528+ views · · The Daily Mirror · · 29 Aug., 2009 · · By Tom Pettifor · |
The first Briton sailed to the New World only seven years after Columbus, a long-lost royal letter reveals.Written by Henry VII 510 years ago, it suggests Bristol merchant William Weston headed for America in 1499.In his letter the king, right, instructs his Chancellor to suspend an injunction against Weston because "he will shortly with God's grace, pass and sail for to search and find if he can the new found land". Bristol University's Dr Evan Jones believes it was probably the earliest attempt to find the North-West Passage - the searoute around North America to the Pacific. He said: "Henry's... |
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| Barbary Pirates | |
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| Navy Historian Traces Rise of Piracy |
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· 08/28/2009 4:12:17 PM PDT · · Posted by SandRat · · 3 replies · · 155+ views · · American Forces Press Service · · Judith Snyderman · |
Pirates often are in the news for their criminal activities at sea, but their antics are far from new. Pirates have been around since man first took to the high seas, and a type of sea raider known as a privateer made a mark between the 15th and 19th centuries. Michael Crawford, a senior Navy historian, traced the rise of privateering and touched on strategies to combat modern pirates during an Aug. 24 "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable. "A privateer is a private man of war who has a license from his sovereign government to attack the... |
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| Navigation | |
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| Viking silver treasure hoard worth £1m unearthed after 1,000 years[UK] |
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· 08/28/2009 10:16:13 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 12 replies · · 653+ views · · The Daily Mail · · 28 Aug 2009 · · Daily Mail · |
An impressive Viking hoard of jewellery has made a father and son metal-detector team £1m, after being bought by two British museums. The find, which is the 'largest and most important' since 1840, was found in a field in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in January 2007. It had been buried there for more than 1,000 years. Valued at £1,082,000, the hoard was purchased by the British Museum and the York Museum Trust after two years of fundraising. The highlight of the collection is an intricately carved silver cup, estimated to be worth more than £200,000. It contains 617coins and various silver... |
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| British Isles | |
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| beacons |
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· 08/28/2009 7:06:53 PM PDT · · Posted by franksolich · · 8 replies · · 180+ views · · conservativecave · · August 28, 2009 · · franksolich · |
I just got done reading a book about England during the Dark Ages. By the way, there exists startling similarities between Ethelred the Unready ("unready" in this sense meaning "uncounseled") and Pa Kettle in the White House; in fact, one can predict Pa Kettle's foreign policy strategy by reading of Ethelred's. Anyway. There is much mention of military communications during this period (say, circa 500-1066 A.D.), which was facilitated by lighting beacons. Apparently it took a rider on a fast horse four days to get from the North of England to London, but with the use of beacons, messages could... |
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| Middle Ages and Renaissance | |
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| 1000 year old marks in tree found near Prague |
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· 08/28/2009 11:50:37 AM PDT · · Posted by BGHater · · 12 replies · · 442+ views · · DiscoveryON · · 21 Aug 2009 · · DO · |
Czech archaeologists have uncovered a unique 1000-year-old mark engraved into an oak tree the remains of which were found near Celakovice in Prague, which is probably the oldest preserved sign of this kind in the world. According to a report from the Czech News Agency, the real meaning of the 10-cm star-shaped mark on the oak trunk is not certain. Experts say it may have marked the territory or serve some iconic purposes. This find is rare as so old engraved signs were not previously mapped and they are not systematically searched for either, archaeologist Jana Marikova of the Academy... |
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| Scotland Yet | |
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| How a wood carver cracked the code to secret royal Renaissance song |
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· 08/27/2009 5:40:25 PM PDT · · Posted by Daffynition · · 30 replies · · 1,048+ views · · Timesonline.uk · · August 27, 2009 · · Mike Wade · |
In the depths of Stirling Castle a secret code has lain hidden in the king's bedchamber for almost half a millennium. Peering down from the ceiling of the apartments of James V of Scotland, mysterious markings carved in a wooden panel have revealed a musical score written in code around the edge. The Renaissance carving of an unknown woman is only one of 56 oak roundels that adorned the king's chambers, but it is believed to contain the first written example of harmonic musical notation found in Scotland. A wood carver, commissioned to make exact replicas of the panels, noticed... |
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| Freestyle Swim Team | |
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| 300-year-old shackles may hold ghoulish tale |
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· 08/26/2009 3:25:54 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 8 replies · · 532+ views · · Reuters · · Aug 26, 2009 · · Stefano Ambrogi · |
This 18-pound (8-kilogram) iron ball-and-chain set was found in the mud on the banks of the Thames River and is thought to date to the 17th or 18th century. LONDON - An iron ball and chain found on the banks of London's River Thames is causing a stir among archaeologists who say the 300-year-old artifact used to restrain convicts on ships may have a gruesome story to tell. The leg irons, believed to date from the 17th or 18th century, were pulled from the mud with the lock fastened, suggesting a convict could have drowned while trying to escape. |
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| Anatolia | |
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| Pergamon: City of Science ... and Satan? |
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· 08/28/2009 6:52:34 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 20 replies · · 406+ views · · Biblical Archaeology Review · · August 2009 (-ish) · · Sarah Yeomans · |
Although the majority of its superb intact monuments now sit in Berlin's Pergamon Museum, enough remains of the acropolis for the visitor to sense the former greatness of the city that once rivaled Alexandria, Ephesus and Antioch in culture and commerce, and whose scientific advancements in the field of medicine resonate through the corridors of today's medical treatment facilities. Juxtaposed sharply against this image of enlightened learning is that of "Satan's Throne," as described by the prophet John of Patmos (Revelation 2:12-13), which some scholars interpret as referring to the Great Altar of Pergamon, one of the most magnificent surviving... |
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| Alexander the Great | |
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| Ancient burial site discovered in Greece |
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· 08/28/2009 12:40:36 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 11 replies · · 337+ views · · Associated Press · · Aug 28, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Archaeologists say they have found a lavish burial site while excavating the ancient Macedonian capital in northern Greece. The find in the ruins of Aigai was made a few meters from last year's remarkable discovery of what experts say could be the bones of Alexander the Great's murdered teenage son. |
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| Rome and Greece | |
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| Byzantium - the English Connection |
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· 08/27/2009 12:24:58 PM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 14 replies · · 364+ views · · stevenlo@bigpond.net.au · · 30th May 2001 · · Steven Lowe · |
Byzantium - the English Connection By Steven Lowe In 330 AD, when Britain was still a Roman possession and the ancestors of the English race had not yet appeared on the scene, Emperor Constantine the Great built a new capital for the Roman Empire. The great new city was built on the site of the old Greek port of Byzantion. With typical lack of modesty, the Emperor re-named it Constantinople, after himself. For over 11 centuries it was the capital of the Empire we now call Byzantium -- the richest, most powerful in Christendom. It was the largest and most... |
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| Syria: 5th century skeleton found in Byzantine cathedral |
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· 08/25/2009 9:34:25 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 34 replies · · 447+ views · · english.globalarabnetwork.com · · Saturday, 15 August 2009 13:23 · · Maha Karim · |
Syria: 5th century skeleton found in Byzantine cathedral Edited by Maha Karim Saturday, 15 August 2009 13:23 A cathedral with a skeleton remains in it, dating back to the Byzantine era, was unearthed by the Syrian excavation team in Tal Al-Hasaka site, north eastern Syria. The cathedral ,which dates back to the Early Christianity Era, is 18 meters long, and includes a four meter wide northern hall, a 6.5 meter wide middle hall and a three meter wide southern hall, Al-Hasaka Archeology Director Abdul-Maseeh Baghdo said in a press release on Saturday. It also includes two column bases, and the... |
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| Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover Unique Medieval Byzantine Seal |
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· 08/25/2009 9:28:10 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 10 replies · · 287+ views · · novinite.com · · August 21, 2009, Friday · |
Bulgarian archaeologist, Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov, has discovered a unique medieval seal at the site of the Knyazhevski (i.e. "Princely") Monastery near the Eastern city of Varna. The seal is dated back to the 10th century and belonged to the Byzantine dignitary Antonius, who was an imperial protospatario in Constantinople. Antonius had correspondence with a representative of the Knyazhevski Monastery, who is believed to have been the Bulgarian Knyaz (i.e. king) Boris I (r. 852-889 AD) himself. The team of archaeologist Popkonstantinov from the University of Veliko Tarnovo... |
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| Rome and Germany | |
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| Gold-plated Roman horse head found (near Frankfurt) |
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· 08/27/2009 5:11:35 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 12 replies · · 438+ views · · Associated Press · · Aug 27, 2009 · · Unknown · |
Scientists say a Roman horse head made from bronze and plated in gold has been discovered at an archaeological site in Germany. Hesse state archaeologist Egon Schallmeyer says the head is part of a horse and rider statue and "qualitatively one of the best (pieces) created at that time." |
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| 2,000-year-old statue of Emperor Augustus on horseback found in stream |
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· 08/27/2009 5:34:15 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 24 replies · · 838+ views · · The Local: Germany's news in English · · Thursday, August 27, 2009 · · unattributed · |
Hessian Science Minister Eva Kühne-Hörmann on Thursday presented fragments of a 2,000-year-old bronze equestrian statue of Roman Emperor Augustus found recently in a stream near Giessen. "The find has meaning beyond Hesse and the north Alpine region due to its quality and provenance," Kühne-Hörmann said during the presentation with state archaeologist Dr. Egon Schallmayer and Director of the Roman-German Commission Dr. Friedrich Lüth. "We've rediscovered the remnants of early European history. The unique horse head is a witness to the broken dream of the Romans to create a united Europe under their rule," she added. On August 12, archaeologists pulled... |
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| Religion of Peace | |
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| Digging up the Saudi past: some would rather not |
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· 08/27/2009 5:20:37 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 12 replies · · 363+ views · · Newsday · · August 26, 2009 · · Donna Abu-Nasr (contribution by Lee Keath) · |
[this is an AP-sourced story which begins by comparing the well-known UN Heritage site Petra, which is in Jordan and a huge tourist attraction, with Madain Saleh, another lost city of the Nabateans, but basically unknown because it's in Saudi Arabia. It continues by discussing the hostility and vandalism directed at pre-Islamic artifacts and sites in the Kingdom, and a virtual ban on publications regarding them.] |
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| Let's Have Jerusalem | |
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| History in Limbo |
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· 08/28/2009 12:19:12 AM PDT · · Posted by Fred Nerks · · 9 replies · · 235+ views · · Biblical Archaeology Review · · August 2009 · · Hershel Shanks · |
Scholar Blocks Reports of Old Excavations In the late 1960s the ancient synagogue at Ein Gedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea, was excavated by Israeli archaeologist Dan Barag, a student of the great Nahman Avigad. The finds were extraordinary -- two well-preserved mosaic floors on top of one another in the main room, a large mosaic inscription in the entrance corridor, a hoard of Byzantine coins, a disc from a roll of the Torah, a water basin for washing hands and a magnificent bronze menorah. The only problem is that a report on the excavation has never been written -- not even... |
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| Epigraphy and Language | |
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| Cracking the code (Copper Scroll) |
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· 08/25/2009 8:46:46 AM PDT · · Posted by Squidpup · · 25 replies · · 1,257+ views · · Jerusalem Post · · Updated August 24, 2009 · · By SHELLEY NEESE · |
"Shelley, I want you to meet the guy who has cracked the code on the Copper Scroll." With that intriguing introduction, I shook hands with Jim Barfield. We stood among the kiosks of Israeli goods during a lunch break at a Christian Zionist conference in Forth Worth, Texas. "Congratulations," I replied, "but what's the Copper Scroll?" "A treasure map," Barfield answered, "from the prophet Jeremiah." I gave Barfield and his companion a quick once over, trying to determine whether they were the well-intentioned kind of crazy or scary crazy. A small-town Oklahoma man with impressive posture, Barfield sported long (really... |
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| Biology and Cryptobiology | |
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| Proof That the Loch Ness Monster Exists? |
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· 08/26/2009 3:12:15 PM PDT · · Posted by Sopater · · 42 replies · · 1,584+ views · · Fox News · · August 26, 2009 · |
This amazing image on Google Earth could be the elusive proof that the Loch Ness Monster exists. Sun reader Jason Cooke spotted "Nessie" while browsing the Web site's satellite photos. The shape seen on the surface of the 22-mile Scottish loch is 65ft long and appears to have an oval body, a tail and four legs or flippers. |
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| Yo, Canada | |
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| Canadian scientist aims to turn chickens into dinosaurs |
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· 08/25/2009 11:04:37 AM PDT · · Posted by OldDeckHand · · 69 replies · · 729+ views · · Breitbart · · 08/25/08 · · Staff · |
After years spent hunting for the buried remains of prehistoric animals, a Canadian paleontologist now plans to manipulate chicken embryos to show he can create a dinosaur. Hans Larsson, the Canada Research Chair in Macro Evolution at Montreal's McGill University, said he aims to develop dinosaur traits that disappeared millions of years ago in birds. Larsson believes by flipping certain genetic levers during a chicken embryo's development, he can reproduce the dinosaur anatomy, he told AFP in an interview. Though still in its infancy, the research could eventually lead to hatching live prehistoric animals, but Larsson said there are no... |
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| Precolumbian, Clovis, and PreClovis | |
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| New Finds from Messel Pit: Gaping gila monsters, buzzing insects, clambering ungulates |
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· 08/24/2009 3:02:25 PM PDT · · Posted by null and void · · 16 replies · · 412+ views · · Scientific Computing · · 8/24/09 · |
In the annual digs the Senckenberg Research Institute carries out in the Messel Pit, an average of 3,000 fossil remains are recovered from the shale at this UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Some particularly well-preserved fossils discovered in 2007 and 2008 were recently exhibited. The world-famous primeval horse browsed at the shores of Lake Messel in the warm, wet climate prevailing at that time (average annual temperature, 25°C). Around the lake, which emerged in a volcanic crater and was surrounded back then by dense primeval forest, early ungulates and rodents lived as well: the ancestors of today's birds flew over... |
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| Paleontology | |
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| Prehistoric mammal swung tail like baseball bat |
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· 08/26/2009 3:56:50 AM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 12 replies · · 471+ views · · Discovery News · · Aug 25, 2009 · · Jennifer Viegas · |
Enormous prehistoric armored mammals called glyptodonts swung their spiked tails just as athletes swing tennis rackets and baseball bats, according to a new study. These massive animals even had a "sweet spot" on their tails right where the biggest, sharpest spike was situated. The findings about glyptodonts -- which looked like a cross between an armadillo and a Volkswagen beetle car -- apply to dinosaurs that also had spiked tails, the team of researchers believes. |
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| Prehistory and Origins | |
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| Bipedal Humans Came Down From The Trees, Not Up From The Ground |
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· 08/28/2009 4:01:09 PM PDT · · Posted by JoeProBono · · 19 replies · · 412+ views · · sciencedaily · |
A detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor. The same lines of evidence also suggest that knuckle-walking evolved at least two different times, making gorillas distinct from chimpanzees and bonobos. "We have the most robust data I've ever seen on this topic," said Daniel Schmitt, a Duke University associate professor of evolutionary anthropology. "This model should cause everyone to re-evaluate what they've said before." A report on the findings will appear online during the week of Aug. 10 in the research journal... |
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| Neandertal / Neanderthal | |
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| New Data on the Late Neanderthals: Direct Dating of the Belgian Spy Fossils [PDF] |
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· 08/23/2009 7:08:37 PM PDT · · Posted by SunkenCiv · · 13 replies · · 349+ views · · Universite catholique de Louvain (Belgium) · · September 2008 · · Patrick Semal, Helene Rougier, Isabelle Crevecoeur, Cecile Jungels, Damien Flas, Anne Hauzeur, Bruno Maureille, Mietje Germonpre, Herve Bocherens, Stephane Pirson, Laurence Cammaert, Nora De Clerck, Anne Hambucken, Thomas Higham, Michel Toussaint, and Johannes van der Plicht · |
Abstract: In Eurasia, the period between 40,000 and 30,000 BP saw the replacement of Neandertals by anatomically modern humans (AMH) during and after the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition. The human fossil record for this period is very poorly defined with no overlap between Neandertals and AMH on the basis of direct dates. Four new 14C dates were obtained on the two adult Neandertals from Spy (Belgium). The results show that Neandertals survived to at least 36,000 BP in Belgium and that the Spy fossils may be associated to the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician, a transitional techno-complex defined in northwest Europe and recognized in the Spy collections. The new data suggest that hypotheses other than Neandertal acculturation by AMH may be considered in this part of Europe. [American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Volume 138 Issue 4, Pages 421-428, Online: November 10, 2008, Received: 23 July 2008; Accepted: 12 September 2008] |
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| Mating Rituals | |
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| Trust in a Teardrop |
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· 08/24/2009 10:06:22 AM PDT · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 5 replies · · 153+ views · · Tel Aviv U. · · Monday, August 24, 2009 · · Anon · |
TAU researcher says tears can help build and strengthen personal relationships Medically, crying is known to be a symptom of physical pain or stress. But now a Tel Aviv University evolutionary biologist looks to empirical evidence showing that tears have emotional benefits and can make interpersonal relationships stronger. New analysis by Dr. Oren Hasson of TAU's Department of Zoology shows that tears still signal physiological distress, but they also function as an evolution-based mechanism to bring people closer together. "Crying is a highly evolved behavior," explains Dr. Hasson. "Tears give clues and reliable information about submission, needs and social attachments... |
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| Not-So-Ancient Autopsies | |
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| The Appendix: Useful and in Fact Promising |
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· 08/25/2009 4:04:39 AM PDT · · Posted by raybbr · · 32 replies · · 619+ views · · news.yahoo.com · · August 24, 2009 · · Charles Q. Choi · |
The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation. Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively. In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ... |
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| Helix, Make Mine a Double | |
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| Earliest Animals Had Human-like Genes |
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· 11/27/2005 7:11:52 AM PST · · Posted by Pharmboy · · 92 replies · · 2,072+ views · · Science Daily · · 2005-11-25 · · Anon · |
Species evolve at very different rates, and the evolutionary line that produced humans seems to be among the slowest. The result, according to a new study by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL], is that our species has retained characteristics of a very ancient ancestor that have been lost in more quickly-evolving animals. This overturns a commonly-held view of the nature of genes in the first animals. The work appears in the current issue of the journal Science. Detlev Arendt (left), Florian Raible and Peer Bork. (Photo Credit: Marietta Schupp, Photolab, EMBL Heidelberg) Genes hold the recipes for... |
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| Longer Perspectives | |
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| A Grand Bargain Over Evolution |
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· 08/23/2009 11:49:00 AM PDT · · Posted by neverdem · · 121 replies · · 1,118+ views · · NY Times · · August 23, 2009 · · ROBERT WRIGHT · |
THE "war" between science and religion is notable for the amount of civil disobedience on both sides. Most scientists and most religious believers refuse to be drafted into the fight. Whether out of a live-and-let-live philosophy, or a belief that religion and science are actually compatible, or a heartfelt indifference to the question, they're choosing to sit this one out. Still, the war continues, and it's not just a sideshow. There are intensely motivated and vocal people on both sides making serious and conflicting claims. There are atheists who go beyond declaring personal disbelief in God and insist that any... |
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| Epidemics, Pandemics, Plagues, the Sniffles | |
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| Human Lifespans Nearly Constant for 2,000 Years |
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· 08/22/2009 1:40:22 PM PDT · · Posted by decimon · · 43 replies · · 782+ views · · Live Science · · Aug 21, 2009 · · Benjamin Radford · |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, often the harbinger of bad news about e. coli outbreaks and swine flu, recently had some good news: The life expectancy of Americans is higher than ever, at almost 78. Discussions about life expectancy often involve how it has improved over time. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy for men in 1907 was 45.6 years; by 1957 it rose to 66.4; in 2007 it reached 75.5. Unlike the most recent increase in life expectancy (which was attributable largely to a decline in half of the leading causes of death... |
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| (Ice) Cubism | |
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| Russia Taunts Sweden With Military Prowess Before Soccer Duel |
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· 06/18/2008 6:31:31 AM PDT · · Posted by NativeNewYorker · · 30 replies · · 180+ views · · upi via email no link · · 6/18/8 · |
June 18 (UPI) -- Russian state television taunted Sweden with past military victories before the two countries vie for a place in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008, the continent's most prestigious soccer tournament. Vesti-24, the government's cable channel, played a commercial every half-hour today using Soviet-era movie footage of Russian soldiers killing Swedes during Peter the Great's victory over Charles XII in 1709 and Alexander Nevsky's defeat of invaders in 1240. Each scene was followed by a scorecard reading -- -- Russia 1 Sweden 0'' and accompanied by the theme to the movie -- -- Gladiator.'' -- -- It's part of a revival of Russian nationalism,''... |
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| Let's celebrate Peter the Great! |
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· 06/07/2009 11:56:22 AM PDT · · Posted by WesternCulture · · 38 replies · · 1,208+ views · · 06/07/2009 · · WesternCulture · |
1709 was an interesting year. Back then, USA didn't even exist. Scandinavia of those days, naturally, was dark and gloomy. We drank too much Absolut and suicide was frequent. Furthermore, we all believed in Socialism. That pretty much explains the fact that today two of the world's 20 richest men are Swedes (no, Sweden doesn't have oil). But let's forget about Forbes and study Peter the Great instead. 300 years ago, Peter the Great burned Russian soil in panic. 300 years ago, in 1709, Sweden was "defeated" at Poltava. 300 years ago, Sweden survived a major North European conflict while... |
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| Ukraine commemorates defeat of Sweden at Poltava |
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· 06/29/2009 3:01:57 PM PDT · · Posted by Bushwacker777 · · 17 replies · · 541+ views · · The Local · · June 28, 2009 · · AFP/The Local · |
"Ukrainian and Russian officials commemorated the 300th anniversary of the defeat of Sweden at the battle of Poltava with the unveiling of a new memorial on Saturday. The commemoration ceremonies showed that the victory, which marked the beginning of Russian imperial dominance of eastern Europe, continues to cause controversy over how history should be remembered. High-profile delegations, including Kremlin administration chief Sergei Naryshkin and top Ukrainian presidency officials, inaugurated a memorial to soldiers killed in the battle and placed garlands in front of local monuments. "After the battle of Poltava... no-one on the European continent could ignore Russia's political will,"... |
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| 'Swedes are Stupid': Norwegian Professor |
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· 08/10/2009 2:32:57 PM PDT · · Posted by nickcarraway · · 32 replies · · 1,186+ views · · The Local · · 10 Aug 09 · |
A retired Norwegian linguistics professor has described Swedes as "stupid" for not being able to understand Norwegian. Norwegians have no problem with Swedish, the professor points out. Finn-Erik Vinje has caused an escalation in what is promising to become an all out language war, by publishing a post on his blog last week asking, "Why are Swedes so stupid?". The citation, Vinje writes, is taken from a publication written 60 years ago but, he claims, remains a relevant question today. The basis of Vinje's assertion is that Swedish viewers of Himmelbå, a Norwegian television series based on the British production... |
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| Death and Taxes, Nothin' Else | |
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| The definition of socialism |
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· 08/23/2009 7:28:42 AM PDT · · Posted by Military family member · · 15 replies · · 351+ views · · Merriam-Webster Dictionary online · · 8/23/2009 · · Merriam-Webster Dictionary · |
...any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods 2 a : a system of society or group living in which there is no private property b : a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state 3 : a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work... |
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| Early America | |
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| (On this day in history) The Tornado and the Burning of Washington DC |
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· 08/25/2009 11:30:49 AM PDT · · Posted by RDTF · · 10 replies · · 575+ views · · Weatherbook · |
During the summer of 1814, British warships sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and headed towards Washington. The warships sailed up the Patuxent River and anchored at Benedict, Maryland on August 19, 1814. Over 4,500 British soldiers landed and marched towards Washington. The British mission was to capture Washington and seek revenge for the burning of their British Capitol in Canada, for which they held the United States responsible. A force of 7,000 Americans was hastily assembled near the Potomac River to defend Washington. During the afternoon of August 24, in 100°F heat, the two armies clashed. The British Army quickly... |
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| The Civil War | |
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| Grave found of man who bankrolled Confederates in American civil war |
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· 08/26/2009 8:21:14 AM PDT · · Posted by Nikas777 · · 59 replies · · 925+ views · · guardian.co.uk · · Monday 10 August 2009 10.16 BST · · Maev Kennedy · |
Academic uncovers lost London resting place of Charles Kuhn Prioleau, and the forgotten story of Confederate support in Britain Maev Kennedy guardian.co.uk, Monday 10 August 2009 10.16 BST The grave of a man who bankrolled the Confederate side in the American civil war, and ended up costing the British government £3.3m in compensation to the victorious north, has been tracked down in a patch of brambles in a London cemetery. Charles Kuhn Prioleau, a cotton merchant born in Charleston, South Carolina, was based in Liverpool during the war, from 1861 to 1865. He disappeared from history in a bonfire of... |
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| World War Eleven | |
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| Florence's prisoner of war camp (Arizona in WII) |
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· 08/28/2009 5:58:18 PM PDT · · Posted by SandRat · · 9 replies · · 192+ views · · Arizona Daily Star · · Elaine Raines · |
The men arrived on troop trains that came in the night. They all wore heavy coats with a big P on the shoulder and they would be spending the duration of World War II at the prisoner of war camp in Florence. It was one of more than ten such camps in Arizona. Star filesThe view from the guard tower of the camp in 46. The first prisoners who arrived in Florence, about 70 miles northwest of Tucson, were Italian POWs. That was in May 1943. But, following Italy's surrender in early September of that year, the prisoners were shipped... |
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| Underwater Archaeology | |
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| South Bay Shipwrecks |
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· 08/27/2009 4:44:50 PM PDT · · Posted by TruthHound · · 6 replies · · 289+ views · · Daily Breeze · |
Interactive map at link. |
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| Thoroughly Modern Miscellany | |
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| Text of KGB Letter on Senator Ted Kennedy |
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· 12/31/2006 5:29:51 AM PST · · Posted by Cincinatus' Wife · · 157 replies · · 16,710+ views · · The Crusader - Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism · · 2006 · · Paul Kengor (excerpt - Appendix Page 317) · |
Text of KGB Letter on Senator Ted Kennedy Special Importance Committee on State Security of the USSR 14.05.1983 No. 1029 Ch/OV Moscow Regarding Senator Kennedy's request to the General Secretary of the Communist Party Comrade Y.V. Andropov Comrade Y.V. Andropov On 9-10 May of this year, Senator Edward Kennedy's close friend and trusted confidant J. Tunney was in Moscow. The senator charged Tunney to convey the following message, through confidential contacts, to the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Y. Andropov: Senator Kennedy, like other rational people, is very troubled by the... |
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| end of digest #267 20090829 | |
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