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By my count, there were 21 such killings. There my be more.

The University of Victoria paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger explains that a DNA test, which would reveal genetic mutations due to evolution, could help pinpoint the time period a painting was made and may help determine if the art was actually the handiwork of humans or Neanderthals — who lived about 130,000 to 40,000 years ago. "It would just be so fascinating to see the identity. The million dollar question is, did Neanderthals paint?" There is already some indication, according to von Petzinger, that this extinct species was, in fact, artistic. Von Petzinger said that a few years ago, some of...

A new study of the microbial settlers on old paintings, sculptures, and other forms of art charts a potential path for preserving, restoring, and confirming the geographic origin of some of humanity's greatest treasures. Genetics scientists with the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), collaborating with the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project and supported by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, say identifying and managing communities of microbes on art may offer museums and collectors a new way to stem the deterioration of priceless possessions, and to unmask counterfeits in the $60 billion a year art market... The genetic detectives caution that additional...

The lake is home to at least one crannóg -- an artificial island used as dwellings and defense mechanisms in prehistoric Ireland. Crannóg's are the oldest dwellings in prehistoric Ireland. There are additionally at least seven ringforts surrounding the town of Lisacul. Eileen McDonagh, Cathal's mother, told the Irish Independent that he was supposed to be doing his homework when he made the discovery. She said that her son became bored with his schoolwork and went for a walk down to the lake, where he paddled up to his ankles in a pair of wellington boots. It was there that...

The Catholic Archbishop of New-York, having recently distinguished himself by an offer to die on the scaffold rather than register the names of the couples he married, has now come forward to explain to his faithful people how divine a thing is the right of Popes to govern wrong and to beg the money of American citizens for the support of a Government which has filled its prisons with political captives, makes the sale of the Scriptures a felony, and hires foreign mercenaries to compel with the bayonet the love, and fidelity of the subjects committed to its care, as...

A law professor is calling for changes to the “outdated” language of the Constitution. Richard Albert, a professor of law and government at the University of Texas-Austin, denounced the Constitution in an op-ed for The Hill published Tuesday, saying that “its gendered and racist words stand in the way of true reconciliation in this divided country and have no place in any modern society.” "no place in any modern society" Tweet This Albert cites the 13th Amendment as an example of racism in the Constitution, saying that although it abolishes slavery it still includes the Fugitive Slave Clause; which, remaining...

What The Left Won’t Tell You About The Plight Of Black People And The Myth Of Systemic Racism (interviews with various movie stars, rap stars, other personalities that decry the MYTH - Morgan Freeman, etc)

Finland's air force has quietly dropped the infamous swastika from its command insignia after critics called for it to be changed because of its links with Nazi Germany. The air force had used the symbol ever since it was founded in 1918 and long before it was co-opted by mass murderer Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party. But in a change first noticed by University of Helsinki academic Teivo Teivainen and reported by the BBC, the air force command has stopped using the unit emblem.

A university in southern Utah is considering dropping “Dixie” from its name amid nationwide protests against racial injustice that have brought a renewed focus on references to the Confederacy. Dixie State University, located about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, has faced scrutiny in the past over its name but resisted changing. Now, protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody have renewed calls to change the name.

The Seattle City Council won’t fulfill Mayor Jenny Durkan’s request to investigate and potentially expel Councilmember Kshama Sawant for alleged bad behavior, Council President M. Lorena González said Wednesday. González said she wants the council to concentrate on other work. On Tuesday, Durkan released a letter to González asking the council to investigate Sawant for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest march to Durkan’s home and for several other actions, such as opening City Hall to protesters on the evening of June 9. The mayor accused Sawant “and her followers” of displaying “reckless disregard of the safety of...

Reservoirs in the heart of an ancient Maya city were so polluted with mercury and algae that the water likely was undrinkable. Researchers from the University of Cincinnati found toxic levels of pollution in two central reservoirs in Tikal, an ancient Maya city that dates back to the third century B.C. in what is now northern Guatemala. UC's findings suggest droughts in the ninth century likely contributed to the depopulation and eventual abandonment of the city. "The conversion of Tikal's central reservoirs from life-sustaining to sickness-inducing places would have both practically and symbolically helped to bring about the abandonment of...

Villagers in what is today Israel were the first to cultivate olive trees, an international study that pooled data from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea has concluded. This start of olive domestication apparently began in the Galilee around 7,000 to 6,500 years ago, the team estimates. Olives and especially olive oil were staples of ancient economies around the Mediterranean Basin: The oil was used for cooking, lighting as well as medicinal and ritual purposes. But so far there has been little agreement among researchers as to where and when people first domesticated the plant. Dating estimates have ranged from more...

Scientists in the United Kingdom have discovered a rare bone, called the os cordis, in chimpanzees with a common heart condition. The implications of this finding could extend to humans, who share a close genetic relationship to chimps. Cattle, buffalo, and sheep have it. So do otters, camels, and dogs. Primates, not so much—at least that’s what scientists thought. The os cordis, a small bone found in the hearts of certain animals, is also present in some chimpanzees, according to research published today in Scientific Reports. It’s the first time os cordis has been detected in a great ape species....

Our history is written by the victors. What presentation of our history would best suite their chosen 'end game' for us? The straight up erasing and twisted of true history has happened on a variety of topics of course, but specifically the topic of slavery has been erased and retold in a way that points to another agenda that has been set up. Who gains and who is set to lose are the questions we need to ask.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is either slightly ahead or way ahead of Republican Donald Trump with just 13 days until Election Day, according to new polls released Wednesday. An AP-GFK poll shows Clinton leading by an astonishing 14 points, 51 percent to Trump’s 37 percent, in a four-way race. In a two-way heat, Clinton’s lead narrows to 13 points. A new Fox News poll finds Clinton ahead by a much smaller margin ― just 3 points ahead in a four-way race, 44 percent to 41 percent. She also leads by 3 points head to head with Trump. Other recent...

Gettysburg is not far from us and we took the Kids there many years ago.So far this is very good.

Apparently, if you don’t like certain facts, you can just declare them false. That seems to be the thinking behind a USA Today “fact check” pretending that Democrats didn’t start the Civil War and found the KKK. But, they did. In a June 30 assertion USA Today rated “false,” the paper began, “Claim: The Democratic Party started the Civil War to preserve slavery and later the KKK.” The entire article essentially conceded that the Confederacy was run by Democrats, made up by Democrats, as was the KKK. But don’t blame the Democratic Party for that! USA Today writer Devon Link...

Here's What You Need To Remember: The M2 simply does not fit neatly into modern weapon classifications, save perhaps as a personal defense weapon. However, it was indisputably the U.S. military’s first portable long-arm automatic weapon to see wide-scale use. It reflected a growing recognition that infantry engagements typically occurred at shorter ranges, and that sheer portability could be a kind of force multiplier, while also demonstrating the shortcomings of using lower-powered cartridges and trusting inexperienced soldiers to refrain from blazing away with automatic fire at distant targets.

I cannot believe I missed my own anniversary. I joined FR 22 years ago, during the height of the Clinton Impeachment. So many great memories. Met Henry Hyde with some local Illinois Freepers, protested Clinton when he was here in Chicago (He turned around and looked at us when I yelled "How's Monica's throat?") and so much more. Hoping some fellow Class of '98'ers chime in and let me know they're still here.

A statue in Boston’s Park Square depicting a freed slave kneeling in front of Abraham Lincoln is coming down 141 years after is was given to the city. The Boston Art Commission has voted unanimously to remove the monument — known as the Emancipation Group statue or the Freedman’s Memorial. It’s located just off Boston Common. Mayor Martin Walsh backed the decision Tuesday night.