The Daily Drift

The Twenty-Third of our trees of December ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 200 countries around the world daily.   

 
Let's all dance around the Festivus Pole ... !

Today is  -  Festivus

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Today in History

1861   Lord Lyons, The British minister to America presents a formal complaint to secretary of state, William Seward, regarding the Trent affair.  
1900   The Federal Party, which recognizes American sovereignty, is formed in the Philippines.  
1919   Great Britain institutes a new constitution for India.  
1921   President Warren G. Harding frees Socialist Eugene Debs and 23 other political prisoners.  
1933   Pope Pius XI condemns the Nazi sterilization program.  
1937   London warns Rome to stop anti-British propaganda in Palestine.  
1939   The first Canadian troops arrive in Britain.  
1940   Chiang Kai-shek dissolves all Communist associations in China.  
1941   Despite throwing back an earlier Japanese amphibious assault, the U.S. Marines and Navy defenders on Wake Island capitulate to a second Japanese invasion.  
1944   General Dwight D. Eisenhower confirms the death sentence of Private Eddie Slovik, the only American shot for desertion since the Civil War.
1947   President Harry S Truman grants a pardon to 1,523 who had evaded the World War II draft.  
1948   Japan's Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo and six other collaborators are hanged for war crimes.
1950   General Walton H. Walker, the commander of the Eighth Army in Korea, is killed in a jeep accident. Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgeway is named his successor.  
1967   U.S. Navy SEALs are ambushed during an operation southeast of Saigon.  
1974   The B-1 bomber makes its first successful test flight.  
1986   The Voyager completes the first nonstop flight around the globe on one load of fuel. The experimental aircraft, piloted Americans Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California after nine days and four minutes in the sky.
1990   In a referendum on Sovlenia's independence from Yugoslovia, 88.5% vote in favor of independence.
2002   An Iraqi MiG-25 shoots down a US MQ-1 Predator drone.

Dick Cheney and Evangelical christians Epitomize Dark Age Barbarism

Instead of shame and humiliation that this government condoned and defended myriad human rights violations, one of the architects of torture, Dick Cheney says we should torture more ...

Most human beings likely believe their nation is at least somewhat honorable as a testament to the people in the population, but history shows that certainly is not the case. Although Americans think this country is exceptional, it has not been honorable throughout its history, but many people claim the past is not an accurate measure of the nation today. However, if one considers the deceit and mistreatment of Native Americans,  the country’s shameful history of slavery, and the revelations the nation is guilty of humanitarian abuses at home and abroad, it is impossible to dispute this is a nation of barbarians; particularly due to the overwhelming support from so-called religious people for torture.

After the Senate Intelligence Report revealing the extent of torture authorized and supported by the Bush administration was released, the last thing one expected was both support among the population and avid defense of the barbaric prisoner mistreatment by former government leaders. Instead of shame and humiliation that this government condoned and defended myriad human rights violations, one of the architects of torture, Dick Cheney and several shrub sycophants hit the airwaves defending torture with  overwhelming support from the religio-wuingnuts. This is particularly disgusting when one considers that Cheney actually approved of torturing detainees that were innocent and evangelicals still supported the human rights abuses.

When asked directly if he approved of torturing innocent captives, Cheney said “I have no problem as long as we achieved our objective (preparing for the Iraq War). Cheney was reminded of a detainee who was chained to the wall of his cell, doused with water, and froze to death while in C.I.A. custody. It turned out it was a case of mistaken identity, but in Cheney’s, and a majority of christian’s minds, the torture and death of detainees that turned out to be innocent “do not present a problem as long as we achieve our objective.” Cheney said “We got authorization  from the pretender and authorization from the Justice Department to go forward with the program.

Cheney was reminded that America prosecuted Japanese soldiers in World War II for waterboarding American prisoners, and without remorse he claimed that “it is a really cheap shot to even try to draw a parallel between the Japanese who were prosecuted for waterboarding after World War II and what we did with waterboarding individuals;” including the 25% of innocent muslims who were abused in custody. Innocent muslims, by the way, that Cheney claimed were not American citizens and thus unlawful combatants, terrorists, and people who committed unlawful acts of war against the American people. It is noteworthy that America invaded and occupied a sovereign nation, so how 25% of admitted innocents were “unlawful combatants” is beyond the pale; particularly when innocents were “egregiously tortured” to justify invading Iraq.

According to a recently released Department of Justice document, “There was constant pressure on the intelligence agencies and the interrogators to do whatever it took to get information (to justify invading Iraq) out of the detainees, and when people committing torture kept coming up empty, they were told by Cheney’s and Rumsfeld’s people to push harder.” This is in spite of “Cheney’s and Rumsfeld’s people being told repeatedly, by the CIA and many other private operatives (at black-op sites) that there wasn’t any reliable intelligence that pointed to operational ties between bin Laden and Saddam, and that no such ties existed because the two were fundamentally enemies, not allies.”

Still, the shrub, Cheney, and senior shrub junta officials “blew that off and kept insisting that the interrogators weren’t pushing hard enough, that there had to be some way to get that information;” like pushing harder. Cheney also claimed that the some of the innocent persons who found themselves in the CIA’s torture programs were “put in places where we could proceed” with the devastating  interrogation program find out what they knew. The travesty, besides torturing human beings, is that an overwhelming percentage of Americans agree with Cheney and think torture is justified.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC poll, the despicable majority of Americans believe the shrub and Cheney and do not classify the CIA’s techniques as torture;  59% of the barbaric population thought the inhumane treatment and illegal acts of torture were justified. If those statistics are not shameful enough, America’s christians were more likely than the general public to support acts of torture. According to the polling, 69% of white evangelicals believe the CIA treatment was biblically justified, compared to just 20% who said it was not. It gets worse as fully three-quarters (75%) of white non-evangelical protestants said CIA treatment was justified; white catholics were just as barbaric and believe the treatment was justified by a 66-23% margin.”

The idea that millions of christians in the United States believe in, and support, torture as a justifiable christian activity belies their claim to be “followers of christ.” It is true that there are historical examples of christians embracing brutal interrogation techniques, but it is now, like it was then, in opposition to christ’s teachings. In 1252, Pope Innocent IV formally sanctioned torture as a means of extracting “truth” from “suspects” during the Medieval Inquisition, and the cult perpetuated the practice during the Spanish Inquisition. In both cases, people the cult “suspected” were heretics (terrorists) and innocent were strapped to a rack and had their limbs ripped off.

Many of the religio-wingnut leaders who support torture justify the CIA and the shrub junta acts of inhumanity cited the old testament as a valid reason to torture muslims regardless if 25% of them were innocent. Their contention is that in order to save lives, innocent muslims had to “forfeit their right to life and dignity,” even though torturing “unlawful (innocent) enemy combatants” did not save lives. But that is apparently the privilege of being an American evangelical; free reign to abuse muslims at will and with government-authorized immunity from prosecution. Hopefully the rest of the world’s governments take legal action against this exceptional nation’s former leaders; whether they claim bible immunity or not. One thing is now abundantly clear and beyond refute; there are very few followers of christ in America and it is exactly as one might expect from a barbaric population.

Obama Promised Revenge and Now North Korea’s Internet Is Totally Down

The U.S. government isn’t commenting, but it is probably more than a coincidence that after President Obama promised a proportional response to the Sony hacking, North Korea’s internet has been knocked down by an attack.

The New York Times reported,

North Korea’s already tenuous links to the Internet went completely dark on Monday after days of instability, in what Internet monitors described as one of the worst North Korean network failures in years.

The loss of service came just days after President Obama pledged that the United States would launch a “proportional response” to the recent attacks on Sony Pictures, which government officials have linked to North Korea. While an attack on North Korea’s networks was suspected, there was no definitive evidence of it.

Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, an Internet performance management company, said that North Korean Internet access first became unstable late Friday. The situation worsened over the weekend, and by Monday, North Korea’s Internet was completely offline.

On Friday, President Obama promised that the U.S. would respond to North Korea’s hacking of Sony.

The president said, “They caused a lot of damage, and we will respond. We will respond proportionally, and we’ll respond in a place and time and manner that we choose. It’s not something that I will announce here today at a press conference.” There is no evidence that the U.S. government is involved, but the attack started on the same day that President Obama promised a response at his press conference.

It is possible that some patriotic Seth Rogen and James Franco fans have taken down North Korea, but the somebody is letting the N. Korean regime know that cyber attacks against American companies and attempted censorship directed towards the American people will not be tolerated. Sony has announced that The Interview will be released, but the studio hasn’t made it clear how the movie will be distributed.

North Korea’s Internet network is small. Most N. Koreans don’t have access to the Internet. The regime, the government, sponsored hackers, state run media, and their propagandists would all be impacted by the retaliation. The DDoS attack on North Korea could definitely be described as “proportional response.” North Korea has never suffered this sort of outage before, and it isn’t a coincidence that their Internet went down just days after the president promised that the United States would respond.

Obama’s New Muscular Approach Boosts Democrats While Painting repugicans Into A Corner

President Obama’s decision to use executive actions immediately after the election sent the spirits of those in his party surging, while splitting his repugican opposition before they could take power.

According to The Hill, the flurry of executive action is part of a broader strategy, “The last month has provided a glimpse of how President Obama plans to maintain his relevance in Washington while facing lame-duck status and a repugican House and Senate. Wednesday’s surprise announcement that the U.S. was seeking to normalize relations with Cuba was the latest example of a new, muscular approach on executive action that has highlighted how Obama can enact change without Congress, while enlivening a dispirited liberal base.”

With two moves, Obama wiped away any bad feelings among the Democratic base that were leftover from the outcome of the 2014 election. President Obama revived and refocused his party by providing a clear agenda and acting on it. Democrats who have spent years caught in the quagmire of repugican obstruction and gridlock are overjoyed to see their agenda moving forward.

The president has also made sure that the incoming repugican congressional majority will not enjoy a honeymoon period. Obama’s actions have reopened a deep divide among repugicans.  John Boehner (r-OH) and Mitch McConnell (r-KY) had to promise to pick a fight with the president over his immigration executive orders in early 2015 in order to get enough support to avoid a government shutdown.

This was not how repugicans thought it was going to work. McConnell promised his supporters he was going to break Obama and force the president to do his bidding. The exact opposite has happened. The president has demonstrated his ability to fracture the repugican congressional caucus in order to create divides that Democrats can exploit.

It is being reported that Obama feels liberated by no longer having to protect the Democratic majority in the Senate, “Obama feels liberated, aides say, and sees the recent flurry of aggressive executive action and deal-making as a pivot for him to spend his final two years in office being more the president he always wanted to be.”

A liberated Obama is bad news for Boehner and McConnell. With the government funded through September 2015, the president has taken away the repugican cabal’s main weapon against him. The government shutdown has all but evaporated, which means that there is precious little that repugicans can do to stop this president.

President Obama is sending strong signals that he is going to be spending the final two years of his presidency making full use of the powers of his office. The repugicans thought they could stop Obama by stealing the Senate, but they will soon realize that their theft has empowered him.

Bernie Sanders Pushes Back Hard Against The repugican Plan To Cut Social Security and Medicare

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is pushing back hard against a Paul Ryan inspired repugican lunacy to cut both Social Security and Medicare next year.

In a statement Senator Sanders (I-VT) responded to House repugicans who are already pushing for cuts in Medicare and Social Security, “At a time when poverty among seniors is increasing, and millions of elderly Americans lack sufficient income to buy the medicine or food they need, it would be a moral outrage for Congress to cut Social Security. In fact, instead of cutting Social Security benefits, we should be expanding them….I will also fight the repugican effort to end Medicare as we know it and convert it into a voucher program.”

Sanders was responding to comments by incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (r-GA) that he will pursue cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Price’s blueprint is the Ryan budget which calls for $129 billion in cuts to Medicare.

What is being set up for 2015 is a fascinating battle between Bernie Sanders and Paul Ryan. With Sanders being elevated to the top Democratic seat on the Senate Budget Committee, the Vermont Independent will be in a position to challenge any cuts to Medicare and Social Security that the repugicans propose.

In 2012, Senator Sanders called  Ryan (r-WI) a class warrior for the wealthy, “I think clearly what Ryan is about is continuing the repugican effort to engage in class warfare. Who in their right minds could support a proposal which says more tax breaks for the wealthiest people and yet we’ll cut Medicare and Medicaid in drastic form.”

Earlier in 2014, Sanders called the Ryan budget vulgar and obscene, “The problem with the Ryan Budget is that it is so vulgar, so obscene, so out of touch with what the American people want and need that it is literally hard to believe, hard to believe. The richest people in this country are doing phenomenally well. The Ryan budget substantially lowers taxes for millionaires and billionaires. Working families and low-income people are struggling. The Ryan budget makes savage cuts in nutrition programs, in education and healthcare. It does exactly the opposite of what the American people need, and what the American people want, and as you indicated, this is a continuation of the war against the middle class and working families that the repugican cabal has been mounting and fighting for a number of years now.”

It appears that Harry Reid promoted Sanders to the budget committee for the purpose of taking on Paul Ryan and the other Ayn Rand followers who are dreaming of killing beloved and needed social programs. The promotion Sanders to Budget Committee was the beginning of a nightmare for repugicans.

The repugicans can dream of cuts to Medicare and Social Security, but the fact is that Bernie Sanders and the Democrats will continue to stand in their way.

The Truth Hurts

The U.S. faces an epidemic of not only police violence - but police insurrection against civilian oversight

by Joan Walsh

If you thought nothing could top Cleveland police union chief Jeff Follmer's brazen defense of police authority - "the nation needs to realize, when we tell you to do something, do it" - you need to read this story about New York Patrolmen's Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch's meltdown in the wake of criticism over the NYPD's killing of Eric Garner in Staten Island.
Because Mayor Bill de Blasio won't let cops do "what's right," Lynch tells his members to use "extreme discretion" when policing "our enemies" - which, in context, sounds like advocating a work slowdown.
"If we won't get support when we do our jobs, if we're going to get hurt for doing what's right, then we're going to do it the way they want it," he told his members in a meeting last Friday that was secretly recorded, and leaked to Capital New York. "Let me be perfectly clear. We will use extreme discretion in every encounter …"
"Our friends, we're courteous to them. Our enemies, extreme discretion. The rules are made by them to hurt you. Well now we'll use those rules to protect us."
He doesn't define who the NYPD's enemies are. He presumes his audience will know.
On the one hand, Lynch's comments are good news - if police are really going to use "extreme discretion" - or as Lynch says, just follow "the rules" - that's what we all want. (A PBA spokesman says that's exactly what Lynch was advocating: "The message I got was do the job right.")
On the other hand, the histrionic, self-pitying tone of his comments makes clear he's urging cops to follow a ludicrous interpretation of "the rules" to the detriment of the communities they're supposed to serve. 

More

Cops cancel "let us search your house for guns" program

Police in Beloit, WI planned to fight gun-violence by asking citizens to let them come into their houses and search for guns, but not many people were interested in this offer.
The police thought that there might be people who didn't know if there were guns in the house and that they could let the police in to help them figure out whether there were any forgotten firearms kicking around.

Setting aside the health-care analogy, what exactly did police hope to find if people volunteered? Well, "[Chief] Jacobs says he hopes some searches will result in the discovery of guns [that residents] didn't know were in their own homes," the report states. That's a category of people I guess I didn't anticipate above: people who have guns they don't know about. Well, mercy me, how'd that get there? Grandpa must have brought that back from France! Take it away, officer, before somebody gets the Ebola!
The report continues: "He said there's also a chance they'll find guns linked to crimes." Might that possibly be the main motive, in fact? Yes. "That's really what we're looking for," Chief Jacobs admitted, although he quickly recovered, sort of, and claimed the motive was child protection. "Maybe we'll find a toy gun that's been altered by a youngster in the house—and we know the tragedies that can occur there on occasion." The tragedies that have occurred due to youngsters altering toy guns to shoot real bullets? Or the ones where police shoot youngsters with toy guns because ... oh, &$^# it, again.

Police Department Ends Its "Voluntary Search" Program

Police hunt couple who sucked coins from car wash using a vacuum cleaner

Police in Melbourne, Australia, are searching for two thieves who used a vacuum cleaner to suck coins out of a car wash machine.

​Defendant’s last fart of freedom caused ripple of amusement in courtroom

A quiet courtroom break was interrupted as a man waiting to be sent to prison broke wind.
Magistrates had retired to consider their sentence of a Lincoln man appearing on shop theft charges when the trump rippled through the air.
The courtroom began to resemble a scene from the school playground as giggles broke out among solicitors and other legal representatives. An apology from the defendant seemed to do little to stifle the laughter from the onlookers.
However, order was restored as magistrates returned. Aaron Scott Morris, 31, of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, was jailed for 12 weeks after admitting breaching a suspended sentence order and two charges of theft from a shop.

The Truth Be Told

Neighboring States Suing Colorado Over Marijuana Legalization

The repugican Attorneys General from Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado for its law legalizing marijuana.…

The repugicans’ commitment to States’ Rights took an interesting turn on Thursday when the repugican Attorneys General from Nebraska and Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado for legalizing marijuana. E. Scott Pruitt (r-OK) and Jon Bruning (r-NE) filed a joint lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that Colorado’s law injures the ability of neighboring states to enforce their laws against marijuana.

However, Colorado’s repugican Attorney General, John Suthers, has declared his intent to vigorously defend the law. In a statement, Suthers proclaimed:

Because neighboring states have expressed concern about Colorado-grown marijuana coming into their states, we are not entirely surprised by this action. However, it appears the plaintiffs’ primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado. We believe this suit is without merit and we will vigorously defend against it in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The conflict between the states pits the libertarian wing of the repugican cabal against the authoritarian wing of the cabal. Rather than acknowledge the failure of the drug war, the Attorney Generals of Nebraska and Oklahoma are hell-bent on prosecuting recreational pot smokers. Now they can scapegoat Colorado for the failure of their own states reactionary anti-marijuana policies.

The voters of Colorado voted to legalize marijuana. Oklahoma and Nebraska may not agree with that decision, but the law does not apply to their states. Colorado should not need the approval of their neighbors to pass state laws. States Rights repugicans should defend Colorado’s right to pass its own laws. If they do not, they will reveal themselves as simple opportunists, who value States Rights only when a state makes a wingnut decision. If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, they should rule in favor of Colorado and argue that its neighbors have no authority to repeal Colorado state law.

1782: The American Plot to Kidnap the Future King of England

Prince William Henry was the son of George III, the King of Great Britain and Ireland and the man whom the United States Declaration of Independence called a tyrant who was "unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
At the time that the Continental Congress proclaimed those words, Prince William Henry was 10 years old. When he was 13, he became a midshipman in the Royal Navy. Accounts at the time note that he was good at that demanding job.
In September 1781, General George Washington was marching most of his army away from New York City, which had been under British occupation since 1776, to a great victory the following month at Yorktown, Virginia. At the same time, Prince William Henry's ship sailed into the harbor of New York City on HMS Prince George, the flagship of Admiral Robert Digby.
This was the cause of great excitement, as it was the first time that a member of the British royal family had ever visited America. Prince William could have become the center of the New York social scene, but instead he kept quietly on his ship or in his quarters in Hanover Square in lower Manhattan, which he shared with Commodore Edmund Affleck.
Colonel Matthias Ogden, an American spy, watched and listened carefully for a few months. He learned that the prince was lightly guarded. This was a great opportunity. If the Americans could capture Prince William, they could improve their position at peace talks. So he pitched the idea to General Washington. Washington wrote back with his approval on March 28, 1782:

Sir,
The spirit of enterprise so conspicuous in your plan for surprising in their quarters, & bringing off the Prince-William Henry & Admiral Digby, merits applause; and you have my authority to make the attempt in any manner, & at such a time as your own judgment shall direct.
I am fully perswaded, that it is unnecessary to caution you against offering insult or indignity to the persons of the Prince, or Admiral should you be so fortunate as to capture them; but it may not be amiss to press the propriety of a proper line of conduct upon the party you command.
In case of success, you will, as soon as you get them to a place of safety, treat them with all possible respect, but you are to delay no time in conveying them to Congress, & reporting your proceedings with a copy of these orders.
Given at Morristown this 28th day of March 1782.
Go: Washington
Note Take care not to touch upon the ground w[hi]ch is agreed to be Neutral – viz from Raway to Newark & four miles back.

Colonel Ogden drew up a detailed plan, including the numbers and skills of the men needed, the equipment they would carry, the precise order of their actions, and the ideal weather conditions desired. This was an amphibious raid deep inside enemy territory, so everything would have to work perfectly.
Unfortunately for Ogden, General Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander in New York City, learned of the plot--or something like it. He immediately increased the number of guards around Prince William, Admiral Digby, and himself. As a result, Ogden never got the chance to attempt his scheme.
Shortly thereafter, the prince sailed away with his shipmates. He ascended to the British throne in 1830 with the name of King William IV. He reigned for 7 years before dying at the age of 71.

Grief-stricken man wears late wife's apple-stuffed bra and high-heeled shoes

A high-heeled shoe-wearing man seen on a bus putting on a bra with two apples stuffed inside, is said to be a widower wearing clothes belonging to his late wife.

The man, who was also sporting a tight pair of leggings, is a regular on public transport in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China. Friends of the man said that he was depressed after his wife died two years ago, and had started wearing her clothing until his relatives had argued with him about it. He had then stopped, or so they thought.
But instead it seems he has taken to sneaking out of the house with items of clothing, and then trying them on while travelling on public transport. A spokesman for the bus company in the city said they were aware of the man and that he was regularly seen wearing women's clothing, and never caused any harm although it was regarded as strange.

YouTube link.

They said they did not know anything about whether he was a widower, but pointed out that it would be surprising if the shoes he was wearing had belonged to his wife. The spokesman said: "I can't imagine she had the same size feet as he did, I reckon he must have bought those at some stage."

Bilberries

Wild blueberries (bilberries) can help tackle the adverse effects of a high-fat diet

Eating bilberries diminishes the adverse effects of a high-fat diet, according to a recent study at the University of Eastern Finland. For the first time, bilberries were shown to have […]

The Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2014

This year a stunning breakthrough in reproductive health occurred: a woman was able to give birth with a transplanted uterus. The 36-year-old Swedish woman was born without a uterus, a condition called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome. She was one of nine Swedish women who had uterine transplants from 2012-2013. The uterus was donated by a 61-year-old family friend of the patient. The birth gives hope to mothers without uteruses or those with damaged uteruses who desire to carry children.
Read more about the birth here. This story is only one of numerous astounding scientific breakthroughs in 2014. Read about others here.

Is the Sky Really Blue?

Is the Sky Really Blue? Five Surprising Facts About Color

Did you know there are forbidden colors we can't see? And that the blue you see isn't really blue...

Origin of Life

A Bold New Hypothesis for the Origin of Life

There are several ideas to explain the origin of life on Earth. A new one is so elegant and simple that it might change our whole perception of life. What if life is something matter just does, under the right conditions? Julian explains. 

Ice Formations on a Slovenian Mountain Top

Photographer Marko Korosec climbed Mount Javornik in eastern Slovenia after a storm and found this icy, wind-swept wonderland at the site of a ski center. Korosec estimated the ice spikes seen here to be over 3 feet in length. View all photos from this shoot at Korosec's 500px page.

New Stonehenge Discovery Hailed As 'Most Important In 60 Years'

by Macrina Cooper-White

Archaeologists studying Stonehenge and its environs say they've unearthed the remnants of an untouched, ancient encampment that dates back 6,000 years--a find that could rewrite British prehistory.
“This is the most important discovery at Stonehenge in over 60 years,” Professor Tim Darvill, a Bournemouth University archaeologist and a Stonehenge expert who was not involved in the new discovery, told the Telegraph. And as he told The Huffington Post in an email, the discovery overturns previous theories that "Stonehenge was built in a landscape that was not heavily used before about 3000 B.C."
But if scientists are buzzing about the discovery, they're also bummed about a new government plan calling for the construction of a new tunnel underneath Stonehenge.
The discovery was made during a dig at Blick Mead, a site about 1.5 miles from Stonehenge. Researchers found charcoal dating back to 4,000 B.C. and evidence of "possible structures," according to a statement released by the university. They also unearthed burnt flint and tools, as well as the remains of aurochs--ancient cattle that served as food for ancient hunter-gatherers.
The researchers plan further analysis on the artifacts but say they're worried the tunnel construction could damage the site and get in the way of their work.
"Blick Mead could explain what archaeologists have been searching for for centuries--an answer to the story of Stonehenge’s past," David Jaques, the University of Buckingham archaeologist who discovered the encampment, told The Guardian. "But our only chance to find out about the earliest chapter of Britain’s history could be wrecked if the tunnel goes ahead.”
Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument consisting of a ring of standing stones, is located eight miles north of Salisbury, England in Wiltshire. It has been listed as a World Heritage Site since 1986.

Making Water

Study Hints that Ancient Earth Made Its Own Water—Geologically

Evidence that rock circulating in the mantle feeds world’s oceans even today A new study is helping to answer a longstanding question that has recently moved to the forefront of […]

Ancient volcanism aligned with dinosaurs’ extinction

New, tighter timeline confirms ancient volcanism aligned with dinosaurs’ extinction

A definitive geological timeline shows that a series of massive volcanic explosions 66 million years ago spewed enormous amounts of climate-altering gases into the atmosphere immediately before and during the […]

Man shot by dog

Police in northern Wyoming say a rifle discharged after a dog apparently stepped on it, injuring a 46-year-old man. Johnson County Sheriff Steve Kozisek says Richard L. Fipps, of Sheridan, suffered a gun shot wound to the arm on Monday.

Mr Fipps was accompanied by two employees when they stepped out of their truck to remove the snow chains from the vehicle. Fipps had a dog in the vehicle which he had ordered to move from the front seat into the back.
While the dog was roaming around the back seat of the truck, it stepped on a loaded 300 Winchester Magnum which caused the gun to discharge. According to Kozisek, Fipps was outside the truck when the bullet shot through the cab of the truck into his left arm.
Fipps was transported by ambulance to Sheridan Memorial Hospital. Due to the severity of the injury, Fipps was later moved to a hospital in Billings. Although his life was saved, Fipps arm may be amputated. Kosizek says the evidence and testimonies from witnesses point to an accident and not an intent to harm.

Santa knocked out by bear

A Californian photographer has captured a serious animal attack in the Angeles National Forest.

Glendora native Robert Martinez has 10 cameras set up to watch wildlife, and put a Father Christmas doll in front of one of them in the hope of attracting the attention of a mountain lion.
While one did stop to stare at the doll before padding away, it was a carnivore of a different kind that made his efforts worthwhile.

YouTube link. Original YouTube link.(Now private).

The bear decided to have some fun with the Santa doll on Monday, knocking it over and smacking it around until he got bored.

Angry kangaroo deals with intrusive drone

A drone hovering over a kangaroo and his mates in the Hunter Valley, Australia, was dealt a knock-out blow.

The footage was rescued, but the drone is apparently beyond repair.

YouTube link.

Hermit creepy crawlies

Hermit creepy crawlies: Two new cockroaches from China

Scientists from the Southwest University, Chongqing, China have found a new species and a new subspecies of cockroach. What makes these creepy crawlies distinctive from the cockroaches most of us […]

The Great Tit

A Zombie Monster 

The Great tit might seem like just a cute little bird, but don’t let its appearance fool you for. In reality, it is one of the most vicious creatures in the world. Also known as ‘The Zombie tit’, this chirping ball of feathers is a killing machine with an insatiable hunger for brains. Scientists generally agree that modern birds are direct descendants of fierce dinosaurs like the T-Rex and Velociraptor. Of course, most of them are so small and their feathers so pretty that it’s hard for people to actually associate them with the monstrous creatures depicted in films like Jurassic Park. However, their predatory instincts have definitely passed the test of time, and this holds true for the tiny Great tit, as well. So what’s so scary about this seemingly harmless bird? Well, just that it is known to routinely seek out other birds and bats, crush their heads and feast on their brains!
Found in several parts of Asia and northern Africa, Great tits mostly feed on insects and seeds. In fact, 90 percent of their diet consists of plant material. They are so powerful and formidable for their size that they can use their beaks to break into the hard shells of hazelnuts and acorns. They also raid caches created by other passerines, and act as part-time scavengers as well. But Great tits do have a murderous side, according to several scientific reports. Given the opportunity, a Great tit will not hesitate to take advantage of its strong beak, killing smaller passerines when the opportunity arises. In one particularly gruesome image doing the rounds online, more than ten dead Common redpolls can be seen with their skulls smashed in – supposedly the victims of a Great tit.

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