Not Created by our Species

Paleontologists in South Africa said they have found the oldest known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behavior.


Led by renowned paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, researchers said in 2023 they had discovered several specimens of Homo naledi – a tree-climbing, Stone Age hominid – buried about 30 meters (100 feet) underground in a cave system within the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO world heritage site near Johannesburg.​


"These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years," the scientists wrote in a series of preprint papers published in eLife.​


The findings challenge the current understanding of human evolution, as it is normally held that the development of bigger brains allowed for the performing of complex, "meaning-making" activities such as burying the dead.​


The oldest burials previously unearthed, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens – and were around 100,000 years old.​


Those found in South Africa by Berger, whose previous announcements have been controversial, and his fellow researchers, date back to at least 200,000 BCE.       READ MORE...

BOOOOOOOM

Why it’s too late to stop World War 3
by Richard Overy

Apocalypse now: a nuclear test in French Polynesia, 1970 - Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo

Imagine, for a moment, that the Iranian government ann­ounces it has developed a nuc­lear bomb and threatens to use it on Israel. The United States reacts with the threat of military intervention, as it did in 1991 and 2003 in Iraq. Iran signals that it will not tolerate a third Gulf war and looks for allies. American forces mass to enter Iran, which orders national mobilisation. Russia, China and North Korea express their support for Iran, and Washington expands its intervention force, bringing in a British contingent. Russia enters the game, raising the stakes in the expectation that the West will back down. A nuclear standoff follows, but with tense and itchy fingers on both sides, as leaders gamble on the risk of not striking first, it all ends in disaster. The Third World War begins with an exchange of nuclear fire, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Or picture this: Chinese frustration over the status of Taiwan prompts a build-up of invasion forces. The United States is pre­occupied with its own domestic political crisis. Japan anxiously watches the exchange of harsh words between China and Taiwan, wondering whether to intervene. The United Nations condemns Chinese actions, and China repudiates the censure and orders invasion, confident that a quick victory will prevent others from intervening, as Hitler hoped when he invaded Poland in 1939. The United States now activates contingency plans to save Taiwan, and each side uses tactical nuclear weapons against the other’s armed forces. North Korea and Russia side with China. There is no general nuclear strike, but Russia warns Europe to keep out, dividing American strategy between the two theatres, as it was in the Second World War. The conflict continues to escalate.            READ MORE...

Saudi Arabia Wants to be AI Hub in Middle East

DAVOS, Switzerland — For years, the United Arab Emirates has been the Middle East’s go-to tech hub, thanks partly to its lack of personal income tax, flexible visa policies, and competitive incentives for international businesses and workers.

But Saudi Arabia is keen to capture some of the limelight, and talent, from its neighbor on the Arabian Peninsula — an ambition laid bare on the Davos Promenade this year.

The Saudi delegation staged a splashy presence on the city’s main street, including an expansive storefront dedicated to promoting Neom, a new urban development in northwestern Saudi Arabia; a space dedicated to the AlUla project, an initiative that’s part of the kingdom’s push to make the heritage city a global destination for tourists; a pop-up for the Saudi crown prince’s Foundation, MiSK, and its youth ambassadors called “majlis” — as well as two more Saudi chalets. It’s all part of the country’s Vision 2030 strategy of economic diversification.     READ MORE...

EU Power in the Middle East

Considering the increasing tensions and international competition in a very volatile region, if the EU seeks to become a strong actor in the MENA, it must uphold its values with tangible actions and not with contradictory statements, Assem Dandashly and Christos Kourtelis write.

In the last three decades, there has been a steady increase in the European Union’s efforts to shape the setting of its southern neighbourhood.

From the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in 1995, and the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2004, to the 2008 Union for the Mediterranean, the dominant belief among policymakers in Brussels was that providing both financial and technical support would enable the EU to use its normative power to persuade its neighbours to accept its values.     READ MORE...

Oldest Burial Site in the World Not Filled with Humans

Paleontologists in South Africa said Monday they have found the oldest known burial site in the world, containing remains of a small-brained distant relative of humans previously thought incapable of complex behavior.

Led by renowned palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger, researchers said they discovered several specimens of Homo naledi – a tree-climbing, Stone Age hominid – buried about 30 meters (100 feet) underground in a cave system within the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO world heritage site near Johannesburg.​

"These are the most ancient interments yet recorded in the hominin record, earlier than evidence of Homo sapiens interments by at least 100,000 years," the scientists wrote in a series of yet to be peer-reviewed and preprint papers to be published in eLife.​

The findings challenge the current understanding of human evolution, as it is normally held that the development of bigger brains allowed for the performing of complex, "meaning-making" activities such as burying the dead.​

The oldest burials previously unearthed, found in the Middle East and Africa, contained the remains of Homo sapiens – and were around 100,000 years old.​  READ MORE...

Tesla Turns Up The Heat

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has slashed prices globally on its electric vehicles by as much as 20%, extending an aggressive discounting effort and challenging rivals after missing Wall Street delivery estimates for 2022.

The move marks a reversal from the automaker's strategy over the last two years when new vehicle orders exceeded supply. It comes after CEO Elon Musk warned that the prospect of recession and higher interest rates meant it could lower prices to sustain growth at the expense of profit.

Musk acknowledged last year that prices had become "embarrassingly high" and could hurt demand. Shares were down 2.6% on Friday, following the stock's worst year since its inception due to delivery issues and growing competition.

Tesla lowered prices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, following a series of cuts last week in Asia, in what analysts saw as a clear shot at both smaller rivals that have been bleeding cash and legacy automakers aggressively ramping up electric vehicle production.  READ MORE...

Wonders of the World

Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Iraq

The seven wonders of the ancient world were a selection of exceptional pieces of architecture and art in the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe.

A number of ancient and medieval writers from Europe and Middle East debated and described what are today called the seven "wonders" of the world (not all writers used the term "wonder" to describe them). The ancient Greek writer Herodotus, who lived from 484 to 425 B.C., was one of the earliest writers to discuss them, and while his writings on the wonders did not survive, they were referenced in later texts.

The wonders that should be included in the list were debated over millennia, with different authors proposing different sites. The list that we have today "only became fixed in the Renaissance," archaeologists Peter Clayton and Martin Price wrote in the book "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" (Routledge, 1988).

The Great Pyramid at Giza is both the oldest ancient wonder on the list and the only one still standing today. It was built as a mausoleum for the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Khufu nearly 4,600 years ago and was the world's tallest structure until Lincoln Cathedral's central tower was completed in England in 1311.

The Great Pyramid was 481 feet (147 meters) tall when it was first completed, but today, due to the loss of some of its stones, it stands 455 feet (139 m) high. The interior of the pyramid contains a system of passageways leading to a "grand gallery" that travels up towards a room with an empty sarcophagus — often called the "king's chamber."

Additionally, the passageways in the Great Pyramid lead to two other chambers including what is sometimes called the "queen's chamber" (although it likely did not hold a queen) and a subterranean chamber located beneath the pyramid. The purpose of these two chambers is a matter of debate. In 2017 scientists scanning the pyramid also detected a large void above the grand gallery that could contain one or more chambers.  TO READ ABOUT THESE OTHER WONDERS OF THE WORLD, CLICK HERE...

Liberals versus Conservatives

We basically have only two political parties in the USA...   the Democrats (liberal) and the Republicans (Conservative). and while some elected officials do not affiliate themselves with either political party, they typically vote with the liberals.  The liberals also represent more of the people than do the conservative because of all the FREE SERVICES that the liberals provide at the expense of the TAX PAYER even though the WEALTHY sometimes pay more taxes, unless they have found a way to shelter their money in off shore bank accounts.

ON THE SURFACE, there is absolutely nothing wrong with giving people FREE SERVICES but as with everything there are OPPORTUNITY COSTS as well as UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, the latter only showing up 5-10 years later so association is not that immediate or influencing or even cared about.

The biggest problem with FREE SERVICES is the DEBT that is created and like all debt it will eventually have to be paid off.  Future Generations will pay off our debt and if you care about the future, those unintended consequences will serious impact our children's children as well as their children...  but, we will be DEAD and will not experience these consequences.

The other issue facing the liberals is the fact that they believe in a SMALL MILITARY and in so doing can redirect money from DEFENSE into other SOCIAL PROGRAMS and while this might has been a good thing to do 20-30 years ago, it is not the best use of resources today...   especially with the growth of CHINA, INDIA, the Middle East, RUSSIA, and North Korea who sole purpose in life is now to CRUSH the USA both MILITARILY and ECONOMICALLY.

Ever since WWII, the USA has been trying to FORCE DEMOCRACY down the throats of the rest of the world because pour AMERICAN POLITICAL LEADERS since 1950 have believed that DEMOCRACY is the only form of government under which one should live...   consequently, the USA is RIGHT and the rest of the world is WRONG.

Ironically, THAT PISSED OFF THE REST OF THE WORLD...  and, these countries have decided collectively that they should put the USA in its place...  which is why the rest of the world HATES the USA even though they are will to take OUR MONEY, OUR AID, and OUR MILITARY SUPPORT if needed.

The Conservatives are willing to protect the USA with FORCE whereas the Liberals want to make PEACE with the rest of the world, allowing them to grow and build their defenses believing that they SOMEDAY they will attack the USA...  and quite possible WIN.

If we ever reach a point in the USA where only one political party controls, we will certainly LOSE OUR FUTURE.

The Day Before Thanksgiving and All Is Not Well

We refer to our country as AMERICA and to its citizens as AMERICANS and while that is partially true, it is also wrong because being an AMERICAN refers to both the North, Central and South America continents...  North America is the United States and Canada.  Then we have Central America, and last but not least is South America all of whom are technically considered to be AMERICANS...

Is it not a tad ARROGANT to think of US citizens as the only AMERICANS or is it because we are a tad ignorant and don't know our history as well as we thought we did when graduating from high school?

AND...  now we are at the day before Thanksgiving and we are going to over eat and over indulge in alcohol and in those states where marijuana is legal we are going to over indulge in that as well, without the slightest consideration for the history of the holiday for the most part.

US American citizens care more about what their country can do for them rather than caring about what they can do for their country...  The more we have social programs the less that our citizens do for their country and the more we expect the wealthy to pay for our THANKSGIVING DINNERS....  which is actually a metaphorical statement as to what is happening in the US of A.

AND...  as a senior citizen...  one could say that I don't much care because of what is going to happen to you alone because by then I will be dead...  but, the more we expect our country through the wealthy to do for us, the WEAKER we as a people become.  Not weaker in terms of money or technology or healthcare but weaker MENTALLY and that MENTAL WEAKNESS will start to erode and lessen our LOYALTY to the country that gave us all we have.

ALL IS NOT WELL IN THE US of A not because we do not have the natural resources, the technology, the innovations, the freedoms, and the WEALTH but because we are losing sight of our EDUCATION and KNOWLEDGE and will soon lose our freedoms because of our bliss and military weaknesses.

• CHINA has the largest military in the world today...   the USA is second...
• INDIA has the next largest military and then there is
• NORTH KOREA...
• RUSSIA is in there somewhere but because it is no longer the USSR it is much smaller and then there is the
• MIDDLE EAST and all the rag heads in that area as US American military personnel calls them

AND...  while we think our economy is the largest in the land, we have been fooled again but our insightful leaders and the media they control because in terms of PURCHASING POWER PARITY, the largest economy in the land is now CHINA...

Please pass me another joint to have with my beer or wine or alcohol as the combination is mind blowing...  as I have been told...  and, after we finish our Thanksgiving Meal, lets ride to a fast food and get us a burger...  or, maybe some ice cream...

AND...  if that isn't enough...  check our where the USA ranks globally in terms of education K-12 and it will surprise you that we are number 15th.

AND...  if you really want another surprise and cannot wait for CHRISTMAS do a google search my friends on the FREEST COUNTRIES in the world and you will see that the USA is no longer at the top...  and yet, we are supposedly the ones who have all these freedoms...  well...  guess again...  your liberal government has gradually taken them away from you...  but go ahead and enjoy your thanksgiving...

Check out the CATO INSTITUTE and the PEW RESEARCH CENTER and articles that have been published in the CHICAGO TRIBUNE and USA TODAY and US NEWS and WORLD REPORT if you think my words are deceiving...  and, find out for yourself...  the state our States are in while we over eat, over drink, and get chilled out on marijuana...  the more we give US citizens in the way of social programs, the more the lull them to sleep in beds of ignorance.

The Real Jesus Christ

When I was 10 years old, perhaps 9 years old (after all that's a long damn time ago for me) my parents made me attend Sunday School as well as Church Services with them every Sunday, regardless of the weather and if we had a cold or an upset stomach...  this was their rule even on vacations, except Sunday School was not required.

I stopped doing this only after I graduated from high school or for about 10-12 years...  so, with that amount of exposure to Church and Sunday Sermons, I pretty much remember all the major stories described in the Bible, that ministers typically "preach" about on Sundays...  additionally and probably most importantly, I was given the impression by the ministers that Jesus Christ was indeed Caucasian in his appearance, illustrated by the image on the left side of the image above, when in reality, Jesus should have been portrayed by the right side of the image above.

Why were we not exposed to the TRUTH by these ministers???

Jesus was born in the MIDDLE EAST and as a result should have MIDDLE EASTERN features and yet American ministers wanted to convince us otherwise.

This was the first issue that PISSED ME OFF about institutionalized religions...  but, the other issue that absolutely none of the preachers, ministers, priests, and/or pastors discusses in the pulpit is the fact that Jesus was an extraterrestial...  an alien...

Think about this:

1.  How was Jesus conceived inside Mary's womb???

Certainly not the traditional way...

2.  Jesus made the comment...  "My kingdom is not of this world..."

Not of this world, to me, means not of EARTH...  that's a no-brainer...

3.  Jesus performed miracles...  what other human being has ever done that?  Sure, it was with the help of God, but God for all intents and purposes is another ALIEN as well...

WHAT ELSE IS INSTITUTIONALIZED RELIGIONS HIDING FROM US???