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About 150 protesters blocked traffic in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral early on New Year’s Day — and someone marred the facade of the church with graffiti during the demonstration, according to cops. [cut] The protesters, affiliated with Black Lives Matter Brooklyn and Justice for George, started marching at the Stonewall Inn and had stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, police sources said. While inspecting the scene, cops found the letters “ACAB” — which stands for “All cops are bastards” — newly graffitied in pink, about 2 feet by 4 feet, on the facade of the cathedral, police said.

These are unique and rare stone axes from the Stone AgeA Saudi scientific team from the Heritage Authority discovered stone tools used by the inhabitants of Assyrian civilization in the Paleolithic period that date back to 2,00,000 years. The Heritage Authority said in a press statement that the discovered stone tools from the Shuaib Al-Adgham area, located east of the Al-Qassim region, are stone axes from the Middle Paleolithic period. These are unique and rare stone axes that were characterised by the high precision in manufacturing that these human groups used in their daily life. The abundance of stone tools...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials reported significant decreases in illegal border crossings and drug smuggling in sections where new barriers were built. Some sections reported nearly a 90 percent decrease in illegal entries compared to last year. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan tweeted a series of videos highlighting new sections of border walls. The commissioner said the completion of new walls decreased drug and human smuggling by significant numbers in these sections were no infrastructure previously existed.

The former law partners of pro-Trump lawyer L. Lin Wood say that he claimed he "might actually be" the second coming of Jesus Christ in a recorded conversation. The bizarre claim was made in legal brief submitted last week by Nicole Wade, Jonathan Grunberg and Taylor Wilson, who were all law partners with Wood before starting their own firm and entering into a flurry of legal battles with their former colleague earlier this year. News of the brief was first revealed in a Thursday report from Law & Crime. In addition to hinting that he might be Christ, Wood also...

The father of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is applying for French citizenship now that Britain has severed ties with the European Union. Stanley Johnson told France's RTL radio he had always seen himself as French as his mother was born in France. The 80-year-old former Conservative Member of the European Parliament voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum. His son Boris spearheaded the Leave campaign and later took the UK out of the EU as prime minister.

Welcome to The Bicycle Thread. A monthly PING List for bicycle enthusiasts to share experiences, information and ideas.

“For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it" (Proverbs 2:21-22).

In these times, lots of personal posts. Michael Caine recites Rudyard Kipling's IF. I just found this very inspiring.

Ilhan Omar defends man who shot at policeIn Minneapolis, a guy named Dolal Idd initiated a gunfight with police. The police responded by doing exactly what they were trained to do. The whole thing was recorded on video. You can read about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Dolal_IddIlhan Omar commented on this with the following:“MPD is a joke, this isn’t transparency or accountability.”“A man was killed, his family terrorized & robbed of a son and all they are left w/ is more questions than answers.” “Let’s stop normalizing + justifying state sanctioned murder by those who take an oath to uphold the law.”Source:...

@glennbeckI am calling on Congress and the Senate to reject the electoral college ballots. There must be a true investigation of our voting process. They vote next week. Many congressman on board, Mitch may actually flip. CALL THEM. @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr #callcongress

Why did a Montgomery County, Maryland SWAT team kill 21-year-old Duncan Lemp, in a no-knock predawn raid on March 12? The county released an official report yesterday stating that a violent no-knock raid was justified “due to Lemp being ‘anti-government,’ ‘anti-police,’ currently in possession of body armor, and an active member of the Three Percenters.” The report also noted that “police had viewed several videos showing Lemp handling and shooting firearms.” Distrusting the government and police and appearing in photos or videos with firearms is a catch-all that could apply to millions of Americans. But that was enough to justify...

Concerned that the detachment of Secret Service agents currently tasked with protecting President Trump might present "loyalty issues" for the incoming Biden Administration, aides for Biden are suggesting "a new direction" be considered. "How can we trust the guys who were ready to risk their lives to save the life of Trump?" Biden spokesperson Kwang Fang asked. One of the "new directions" being contemplated is to request a loan of officers from the Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China. "The Bidens have always been well regarded by the Chinese government," Kwang said. "A contingent of China's...

Suri-Noel cat family of Scottish Folds trying to keep their human butler from playing with the computer. Video, 5 minutes & 30 seconds

It was the first day of a fresh year, and yet, across much of California, the numbing realities we had longed to put behind us — hospitals at capacity, mounting death tolls, and massive, maskless gatherings — have followed us into 2021. On Friday, the number of Californians who have died from complications of COVID-19 passed 26,000 — roughly the same number of Californians who, in a recent year, died of complications of the flu, diabetes, hypertension and liver disease combined. In L.A. County, where hospitals have gotten so backed up that patients have had to wait outside in ambulances...

Police used flash bang rounds and tear gas on a "right-wing" group in Salem, Oregon today as the group faced off with left-wing protesters. A rally involving some 200 people held at Oregon's State Capitol and the home of Oregon's governor. ' Speeches from the protesters opposing coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns in Oregon and shouts of "USA, USA, USA" from them... An Oregon health care worker hospitalized with a severe reaction to the Moderna coronavirus vaccine... Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said today there will be a tougher response to those who have been involved in two nights of vandalism in...

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ATLANTA — President Trump took to Twitter Friday evening to make the unfounded assertion that Georgia’s two Senate races are “illegal and invalid,” an argument that could complicate his efforts to convince his supporters to turn out for Republican candidates in the two runoff races that will determine which party controls the Senate. The president is set to hold a rally in Dalton, Ga., on Monday, the day before Election Day, and Georgia Republicans are hoping he will focus his comments on how crucial it is for Republicans to vote in large numbers for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the...

Tesla is giving its owners another way to express their individuality from behind the wheel of their vehicles. As if they needed it. The EV maker released its Holiday Update, Firmware 2020.48.25 on Christmas Day, adding a few little gifts for recently built Teslas, including the ability to make the car fart or bleat like a goat at the outside world on command. Through the new Boombox feature, users can now change their horn noise to a bunch of stock sounds including goat, applause, La Cucaracha, holiday music, coconuts and fart, each projected outward from an external speaker near the...

HUNDREDS of birds found dead on a street in Rome on New Year's Eve were scared to death by fireworks, animal rights campaigners have claimed. It comes after a ban on fireworks in the city, introduced to protect people, animals, and heritage sites, went largely ignored.... ...The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says that there is "little evidence to suggest that fireworks harm wild birds or affect their conservation status".

I was just on Citizen's Free Press, and was ignoring it for a few minutes due to a Hallmark Christmas movie. When I returned my attention to the screen, I was greeted by a grey screen with big, bold lettering proclaiming "Your account has been suspended". First time that's ever happened to me anywhere. Anyone else have this happen to them? Chances Are....