Valhalla, I Am Coming

Valhalla, I Am Coming A millennium ago, some Vikings were lucky enough to be buried in boats – the idea being that the ship would then be taken to Valhalla, the heaven for warriors, by the mysterious female figures known as Valkyries. Still, few of these burial boats have ever been found. So archaeologists in Sweden were stunned to find two of them during a routine excavation of a vicarage in the historical settlement of Old Uppsala, an important religious, economic and political settlement since the third century. It was the first such finding in Sweden in over 50 years, Forbes reported. One of the boats contained the remains of a man, a horse and a dog, along with personal items and weapons. Judging by the remains and artifacts, the team believes the buried man was a person of high social standing, since boat burials were reserved for privileged individuals. “It is a small group of people who were buried in this way,” saidarchaeologist Anton Seiler. “You can suspect that they were distinguished people in the society of the time, since burial ships in general are very rare.” The rare find is exciting, Seiler said, for the insights it may provide about burial practices during the Viking period, from around AD 800 to 1050. “We can now use modern science and methods that will generate new results, hypotheses and answers,” he added.

"Atoms for Peace" Was Actually a “Threat to Peace” – AEC Official in 1955 | National Security Archive

"Atoms for Peace" Was Actually a “Threat to Peace” – AEC Official in 1955 | National Security Archive

Goliath's Journey

DISCOVERIES

Goliath’s Journey

For many, many years, the mystery of the Philistines, an ancient group of people who get bad press in the Bible, has puzzled archeologists: Where did Goliath and Delilah come from?

The theory was that they were from the northern part of the Levant region of the Middle East but no one was sure.

But now, a team of researchers believes this ancient civilization – the enemy of the Israelites – actually came from Europe in the 12th century BC, or between the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, according to a new study.

That theory arose after archaeologists excavating the ancient Philistine city of Ashkelon in Israel sent more than 100 skeletal samples to Germany’s Max Planck Institute to trace their origins. DNA studies revealed that the genetic material found in the inner bones of 10 individuals originated from different regions in southern Europe.

“We didn’t show it by showing similar styles of pottery, we didn’t show it by looking at texts, we showed it by looking at the DNA of the people themselves,” Daniel Master, director of the research team, told Reuters. “We can see at Ashkelon new DNA coming in from this immigrant population that is really changing the whole region.”

The team plans to gather more data to pinpoint the exact origin of ancient arrivals.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Philistines are depicted as warlike and lacking culture. Today, calling someone a “Philistine” means that person is crass or uncivilized. But as history is usually written by the victors, the team believes the Philistines were victims of a smear campaign, Reuters reported: Excavations of the 3,000-year-old cemetery show burials that indicate the civilization had evolved to a high level, even burying bodies with jewelry and perfumed oil.

Money Talks And Bullshit Walks-The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Money Talks And Bullshit Walks-The Jeffrey Epstein Story

     “Money talks and bullshit walks” is an earthy saying from my home state of Texas. It tells us something that most have known since they were little children. Those with money and political influence are treated with more lenience in the criminal justice systems of many different countries. Poor people always get longer sentences and are convicted on weaker evidence.

   I have been following this case carefully. People are amazed that Epstein was able to avoid Federal criminal prosecution eleven years ago for very serious sex crimes where victims crossed state lines.

    There are many people sure that Epstein paid a huge bribe to someone in the US Attorney’s Office to avoid prosecution. I never believed this. The Federal legal system is not that blatantly corrupt.

   What comes out here is that Epstein used the same playbook that manufacturers and distributors of opioids played to avoid Federal criminal prosecution concerning the deaths of hundreds of thousands of opioid overdose victims. These giant companies hired an army of top Harvard, Yale, and Stanford lawyers working at the best tier-one law firms.  This intimidated Federal prosecutors from bringing criminal cases and civil actions. In simple language, they knew that they were going to be facing much better lawyers.

   Epstein hired “a dream team’ of lawyers to defend him. I cannot prove this, but I have a good feeling that he also hired a team of private investigators to “investigate the investigators.” You can rest assured that they found some dirt on employees in the US Attorney’s office. Epstein used intimidation to win. He was given another eleven years to victimize and destroy the lives of underage women.

A Heavy Toll-27,000 Dead

PHILIPPINES

A Heavy Toll

The UN Human Rights Council has voted to probe alleged crimes committed during the Philippine government’s war on drugs – which has resulted in the killing of at least 6,600 dealers and others since President Rodrigo Duterte launched the program in 2016.

The resolution mandates a comprehensive report on the human rights situation in the Philippines that will focus on reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances associated with the drug war, the BBC reported.

Out of the 47 countries in the council, 18 voted for the resolution, 14 opposed it and 15 abstained.

The Philippines called it a “travesty.”

While Philippines’ police say the crackdown has resulted in 6,600 deaths, human rights activists peg the total far higher, at more than 27,000 people – among them a three-year-old girl shot dead during a raid last week.

Despite its heavy toll, the drug war and Duterte remain popular among Filipinos, the BBC noted, with the president enjoying a 79 percent approval rating, according to a poll conducted earlier this year.

5G Sprint vs Verizon

https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-s10-5g-speed-test-verizon-sprint-duke-it-out-head-to-head-chicago/

Some Progress In The War Against Animal Traffickers

THE WORLD

Big Cats, Big Money

Police and customs officials around the world seized thousands of endangered animals and arrested nearly 600 suspects in what authorities billed as the most widespread anti-wildlife-trafficking operation ever.

The World Customs Organization and Interpol collaborated to conduct nearly 2,000 raids in June, resulting in the recovery of nearly 10,000 live turtles and tortoises, nearly 1,500 live reptiles, 23 live apes, 30 live big cats, hundreds of pieces of elephant tusk, half a ton of ivory and five rhino horns, the Associated Press reported.

The two agencies mobilized a joint network covering 109 countries, Interpol’s wildlife expert Henri Fournel told the agency.

Operation Thunderball, headquartered in Singapore, led to the arrest of 582 suspects, Interpol said.

Wildlife crime is the largest threat to three of the world’s most iconic species, elephants, rhinos and tigers, according to the World Wildlife Fund. At the same time, illegal trade in wildlife is worth as much as $10 billion annually.

ALGERIA