Happy Hanukkah
Filed under News
December 8, 2012 – 13 Days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: As I’ve stated constantly throughout these posts, there’s a strong likelihood the Earth’s magnetic fields will reverse on or immediately after December 21st. This will be a good thing in some ways; mainly that utility companies will go off-line and anyone stalking you will become confused and lost. You won’t, though, if you get a compass. This will be especially helpful if you decide to head out on foot, or even if you have to evacuate your home. Either way it’s an essential tool – particularly for finding water and chocolate amidst the chaos.
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
When the Lambs and Donkeys Fought Back
Since Christians, like Jews, have suffered from centuries of oppression in the United States, a group of determined evangelicals have decided to stand up for their rights. Members of the Christian Defense Coalition (CDC) gathered with live manger-like animals in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building last Wednesday, the 5th, to stage their annual ‘Nativity Project.’ They want to share the message of Christmas, while confronting the relentlessly hostile environment in which they’ve had to live for so long.
“Sadly, we are seeing an erosion and hostility toward public expressions of faith in the public square,” said the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the CDC. “This is especially true during the Christmas season.”
“‘The Nativity Project’ is a reminder that our Constitution provides freedom of religion not freedom from religion,” Mahoney clarified. “By encouraging people of good will to publicly display nativity scenes all across America, we are not only supporting religious liberty andFirst Amendment freedoms but we are loudly proclaiming the powerful message of Christmas.”
Ignoring the possibility that cavorting with farm animals in public could get them arrested, the CDC group (not to be confused with the Center for Disease Control) remains steadfast in its holy mission. I’m so glad to see Christians storming out of their ecumenical closets to combat the evil bestowed by Wiccans, Muslims, feminists and, of course, those ubiquitous homosexuals! I mean, someone has to do it.
Filed under News
Native Americans and Northern Europeans More Closely Related Than Previously Thought
I know this will send the folks at FOX News and in the Republican Party into epileptic fits, but research published last month in Genetics, the journal of the Genetics Society of America, shows that people of Northern European and Native American ancestry are closely related. In fact, very closely related.
Using genetic analyses, scientists have discovered that Northern Europeans descend from a mixture of two different ancestral populations, and one of these populations is related to Native Americans. The revelation helps to provide some explanation for genetic similarities between what would otherwise be divergent groups.
“There is a genetic link between the paleolithic population of Europe and modern Native Americans,” says Nick Patterson, co-author of the report. “The evidence is that the population that crossed the Bering Strait from Siberia into the Americas more than 15,000 years ago was likely related to the ancient population of Europe.”
Patterson worked with David Reich, Harvard Medical School Professor of Genetics, and other colleagues to study DNA diversity and found that one of these ancestral groups was the first farming population of Europe. Their DNA survives in Sardinians, people of the Basque Country and perhaps the Druze population of the Middle East. The other ancestral population probably comprised the initial hunter-gatherers of Europe. These two populations were considerably different when they met, but today the hunter-gathering ancestral populations of Europe appear to have its closest affinity to people in far Northeastern Siberia and Native Americans.
Scientists have long since theorized that people traversed eastward out of Siberia into North America during the Great Ice Age. Initially, some placed the migration between 15,000 and 11,000 B.C., while others push it back to 25,000 B.C. Oddly, though, Dr. Ron Janke, a professor of geography at Valparaiso University in Indiana, presented a theory in 2008 that the first peoples in the Americas actually came from Europe. Considering that the Human Genome Project pretty much proves that we’re all related as a people, no one should be too surprised by these revelations. Regardless, as someone of mixed European and Indian ancestry, I feel I’ve been vindicated!
Filed under News
Lair of the Korean Unicorn
Or, should that be lore? The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the official news source for North Korea, announced recently that archaeologists in the capital of Pyongyang have discovered the lair of a unicorn once ridden by King Tongmyong, founder of the Koguryo Kingdom, which ruled the Korean Peninsula and parts of China from 277 B.C. to A.D. 668. The KCNA states that the “lair” is some 200 meters from a temple in Pyongyang; adding that: “A rectangular rock carved with words “Unicorn Lair” stands in front of the lair.” Well, what the hell else would it say?! No word yet on whether the unicorn is part of the same genus as the legendary European uni-horned stallion, or a completely different species. Hopefully, they’ll be able to extract some DNA from the animal’s remains and put to rest rumors that this story is a massive hoax concocted by some mad scientist with bad hair.
Filed under Curiosities
December 7, 2012 – 14 Days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: You’ll need some hydrogen peroxide. This multi-purpose chemical isn’t just for hair bleach. It can serve as a substitute for toothpaste, but it also can be used as a disinfectant and water purifier, which will be essential in a society without power companies.
With plenty of hydrogen peroxide, you can:
- Disinfect your tap water;
- Disinfect any wild game you might have to kill;
- Disinfect any cuts or scrapes you might incur from killing the animal;
- Disinfect any cuts or scrapes you might incur from preparing the animal for a meal;
- Brush your teeth after eating.
Since cleanliness is next to godliness, you’ll want to be as clean as possible in the presence of the Mayan gods. And, there are few things more rude and classless than smiling at a god with stained teeth and then keeling over with stomach pains because you drank infected water!
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Pets Aren’t Toys
As they every year at this time, the ASPCA is reminding folks that animals aren’t toys and therefore, shouldn’t be given as gifts to unsuspecting recipients. They may seem cute at first sight, but many gift animals end up abused and / or abandoned. Take the pledge and help stop the abuse.
Filed under News
December 6, 2012 – 15 Days Until Baktun 12
Survivalist Tip: Since old photos of family and friends are the way most people stay connected, even in this digital age, it’s imperative you gather and safeguard as many of your own as you can. Old pictures provide a solid link to the past. Photography is one of modern humanity’s greatest inventions. If necessary scan your photos onto a computer and then copy them onto a portable zip drive, so you won’t have to carry them around. That’s, of course, assuming you have to evacuate. Once things settle down, you can look at those old photos and remember how life used to be. Hopefully, you were sober in them, so the memories won’t be too painful.
Filed under Mayan Calendar Countdown
Chief Writing Wolf 