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On Wednesday, Mexico revealed that it had received 34 pre-Columbian artifacts that were owned by two German citizens. The two citizens, who were not identified but who live in western Germany, contacted the Mexican Embassy in Germany about returning the objects that had been owned by their families. The objects were handed over to the embassy in May. Over the past few years, conversations around repatriation in Germany have reached a fever pitch. Though those discussions have largely focused on returning objects to Africa, they also spurred people in the country to begin sending back artifacts to other parts of...

The president and first lady Jill Biden released a joint statement that the 13-year-old German Shepherd "passed away peacefully at home." President Biden posted in a statement on Twitter: "He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family. Even as Champ's strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub. "He loved nothing more than curling up at our feet in front of a fire at...

A European collector has bought a 17th century copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting for 2.9 million euros ($3.4 million), a record for a Mona Lisa reproduction, in an auction at Christie's in Paris on Friday. Known as the "Hekking Mona Lisa," after its owner who unsuccessfully argued that a copy he had bought in the 1950s was the real thing, is one of many reproductions of the original, which hangs in the Paris Louvre museum. "This is madness, this is an absolute record for a Mona Lisa reproduction," a Christie's spokeswoman said. She said there had been...

Antifa activists brought chaos as they descended Friday on the annual Western Conservative Summit in Denver, drawn by favorite targets such as Oregon journalist Andy Ngo and Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican. Videos posted by Mr. Ngo and the Blaze’s Elijah Schaffer showed multiple altercations, including a brawl between a man who confronted dozens of protesters outside the Hyatt Regency Denver, site of the two-day conference hosted by the Centennial Institute. Protesters, some with bullhorns, harassed people entering and exiting the hotel. Activists blocked traffic, prompting one driver to jump out of her car and accuse them of throwing a...

A rise in the number of trauma cases, organ transplants and elective surgeries requiring blood products over recent months have depleted the nation's blood inventory, causing the American Red Cross to appeal to Americans for immediate action. Hospitals are responding to an atypically high number of traumas and emergency room visits. Compared to 2019, the Red Cross has seen red cell demand from hospitals with trauma centers climb by 10% in 2021. Between 20-40% of trauma deaths that occur after hospital admission involve massive hemorrhaging. In such circumstances, doctors may need hundreds of blood products, depending on the severity of...

Every time I place Communion in someone's hand or tongue, it is an act of faith -- on my part and on that of the communicant. I say the words, "the body of Christ," to which the response is "Amen," meaning "it is true" or "let it be so" -- not always said with certainty but, often, with hope. This revered sacrament of Communion is meant to signify what the word means: with oneness, with unity. The contentious debate of this week's American Catholic bishops' meeting threatens to have this sacrament become a symbol of division and a political and...

The stories in the mainstream media this past week about the broadening campaign to ban critical race theory in public schools have been fascinating — and particularly in how they describe what CRT is. Here’s the ’s benign summary of CRT: “recent reexaminations of the role that slavery and segregation have played in American history and the attempts to redress those historical offenses.” NBC News calls it the “academic study of racism’s pervasive impact.” NPR calls CRT: “teaching about the effects of racism.” The New York Times calls it, with a straight face, “classroom discussion of race, racism” and goes...

One of California’s most critical hydroelectric plants is at risk of closing for the first time in five decades as water levels continue to sink. A megadrought and scorching heat, both worsened by La Nina weather effects, have depleted some of the water supply at Northern California’s Lake Oroville. The lake’s current water levels are hoovering around 700 feet above sea level, but if 640 feet is breached, then officials “will likely be forced to close the Edward Hyatt Power Plant for the first time since it opened in 1967,” California Energy Commission spokesperson Lindsay Buckley told CNN. The lake’s...

I mentioned in my last piece that the standard (mis)interpretation of Oedipus Rex—that Oedipus got what he deserved thanks to a moral shortcoming he couldn't or wouldn't correct—traces back to an earlier misinterpretation of Aristotle's comments on tragedy. That provides a nice segue, because what Aristotle actually says in his Poetics (and his Politics) provides further insight into our current problems. What Aristotle actually points out in Chapter 13 of Poetics is that great tragedies revolve around hamartia (ἁμαρτία) inherent in, or committed by, a protagonist. All this Greek word refers to is error. It does not necessarily imply moral...

Why are white people sending unsolicited donations to their black friends - or forking it over to total strangers? The phenomenon may have begun as satire, but like so many jokes in 2020, “mini-reparations” have become reality. With race relations in the US front and center ever since last month’s police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, some people are taking the matter of reparations for slavery into their own hands. Guilty white people sending unsolicited cash donations to their black acquaintances – or eagerly responding to calls for cash from random social media accounts purporting to be needy black...

The Black Hole of Organizational DysfunctionDystopia Note: When this book was prepared, the terms Dystopia and Utopia were widely used to describe the two complementary but opposite categories of the social system. As progress continued, we evolved away from those popular, but vaguely-defined terms. When you encounter “dystopia,” think organizational dysfunction. When you encounter “Utopia,” think happy prosperity. General Remarks Book 1 of the Pilgrimage to Utopia (P2U), “Philosophy,” presented the purpose of the pilgrimage. It is assumed the reason you’re here is that you are interested in joining one. Following along with the derivation of the paradigm of the...

It’s a late-breaking case of electoral bondage. Zack Weiner, 26, a City Council candidate running in Manhattan, has found his campaign tied up after video of him enjoying a sadomasochism session found its way onto Twitter.

A Taco Bell employee has been filmed jumping into a kitchen sink on his last day of work, in a video watched nearly 19 million times on TikTok. The clip shows TikTok user Steven, who uses the handle @undeaddot, standing on a small stepladder next to a large sink filled to the brim with water and suds, in the kitchen of a Taco Bell restaurant in West Virginia. Steven jumps into the air and cannonballs into the sink, sending water gushing to the floor. He is completely submerged in the water for a few seconds until his head bobs up...

Let’s admit it: Of all the ways that the son of a U.S. president might cash in on his family connection, we had never thought of having the presidential scion declare himself to be an artist, selling his artwork for sums of five or six figures–and maybe even more. Yet Hunter Biden, son of you-know-who, has thought of it and is moving fast to snag some big money. A June 14 report in Artnet had the scoop on Hunter’s ambitions and seemed to repay the scoop with a flatteringly aspirational headline: “We Spoke to Hunter Biden About His New Life...

The Pentagon’s top brass have insisted the U.S. military will conduct operations launched from outside the country if needed, but they’ve offered few details on logistics such as where those troops would be based. The lack of specifics came into focus Friday when the Afghan government's chief peace envoy warned that the Taliban will not have an interest in reaching a peace agreement with Kabul after American and NATO forces depart. The remarks come amid reports that the Taliban are quickly reclaiming territory they had lost during the 20-year conflict, putting more pressure on the Biden administration to spell out...

Pineapple pizza has long been a divisive dish, but one TikToker seems to have found a way to bring together the pro-fruit topping and anti-fruit topping crowds with his recipe for watermelon pizza. Oliver Paterson shared the instructional video on the app last week, breaking down how to make pizza using a slice of grilled watermelon for the 'crust.' His clip has gone viral, with 2.5 million views and counting — but commenters are pretty united in panning the dish, calling it a 'war crime' and accusing Oliver of being 'possessed.'

Twitter and the Democrat-run government of California are facing a lawsuit alleging that they colluded to suppress the First Amendment rights of Rogan O’Handley, a popular pro-Trump activist who was banned from the platform earlier this year. The complaint includes emails showing California officials directing Twitter to remove political commentary about the 2020 election from its platform. Twitter banned O’Handley, also known by his online moniker “DC Draino,” after he tweeted the statement “most votes in history.” He had over 440,000 followers on the platform prior to his ban, which was permanent. According to O’Handley’s lawsuit, brought by Harmeet Dhillon’s...

(President Trump's Operation Warp Speed Update) (65% of American Adults now have had at least a first shot - 87% of those 65 or older have at least one shot - vaccination inching along slowly) Total Vaccine Doses Delivered: 379,003,410 (21,434,300 J&J) Administered: 317,117,797 (11,931,392 J&J) People Vaccinated, At Least One Dose: 176,737,141 Fully Vaccinated: 149,125,164

“A Great Storm, a Great Calm, a Great Fear” (Mark 4:35-41) Our text is the Holy Gospel for today, from Mark 4, the story of Jesus stilling a storm. It’s only seven verses long, but this story will take us from a great storm to a great calm to--perhaps surprisingly--a great fear. So let’s get in the boat now with Jesus and his disciples, under the theme, “A Great Storm, a Great Calm, a Great Fear.” First, a great storm. Our text begins: “On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, ‘Let us go across to the...

Buffalo Bills player Cole Beasley made clear his pro-freedom position to the NFL and NFLPA in regards to their new vaccine protocol, and said he would rather give up playing than get the COVID-19 shots. “I will be outside doing what I do. I’ll be out in public. If you’re scared of me then steer clear, or get vaccinated,” the NFL player wrote on Twitter, “I may die of covid, but I’d rather die actually living.” The 32-year-old wide receiver’s message comes as the league, which has been steadily losing viewership for the 9th consecutive year, has updated their vaccine...