Author: Blazingcatfur

The rise of Archaeologists Anonymous

Censorship is driving dissident researchers underground

In a quiet group chat in an obscure part of the internet, a small number of anonymous accounts are swapping references from academic publications and feverishly poring over complex graphs of DNA analysis. These are not your average trolls, but scholars, researchers and students who have come together online to discuss the latest findings in archaeology. Why would established academics not be having these conversations in a conference hall or a lecture theatre? The answer might surprise you.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Cancel Culture"

Why trench warfare still works in 2022

Going underground in the Ukraine conflict is still as vital tactically as in the First World War

Many people are surprised to see the images from the war in Ukraine of soldiers on both sides living and fighting in trenches. We think of trench warfare as uniquely associated with the horrors of Flanders and Gallipoli in the First World War. Surely modern war is all about cyberattacks and missiles?

But a hole in the ground is as fundamentally important to success or failure in war today as it has been for hundreds of years.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

How the late Queen really felt about Harry and Meghan’s betrayal in her last days

IT has been written with what the publisher promises will be “raw, unflinching honesty”: a firsthand account of Prince Harry’s life that he insists is “accurate and wholly truthful.”

As the Royal family braces itself for Spare, arguably the most eagerly awaited autobiography in royal history, the mood behind palace walls is growing increasingly weary. It can’t have been helped when on Thursday the trailer for Harry and Meghan’s imminent Netflix documentary dropped, asking the loaded question, ‘When the stakes are this high, why wouldn’t you want to hear our story from us?’

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Woke Royals"

How the AR-15 became the weapon of choice for mass shooters

Gena Hoyer’s Nissan has 189,000 miles on the clock. Her local mechanic has gently suggested it’s time to get a new one. But she’s not yet ready to: she used to drive Luke, her youngest son, to school in it. “It’s the last place he was with me,” she explains.

That was on Valentine’s Day, 2018.“I dropped him off at school. I said, ‘I love you Lukey bear,’ and he said, ‘I love you too,’ ” she recalls. “And that was the last time I saw him.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGun Control, Gun Rights

Trudeau Says He Expects Police to Prevent a Freedom Convoy Repeat as Planning Is Under Way

A week after testifying before the Emergencies Act inquiry, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Dec. 2 he expects police will take the appropriate measures to prevent a repeat of the Freedom Convoy as planning for a new iteration is under way.

“I think we have learned a lot, and I think police corps across the country have learned a lot about what happened last February,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Richmond, B.C.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Criminalizing Dissent"

Van life grows in housing-stressed Vancouver

Jaden King, 23, and his girlfriend Baylee Talan, 24, have just given up their North Vancouver, B.C., apartment so they can spend the next few months building out a van that will become their new home. They are both chemical engineers who work full-time and make good incomes, but they have decided to save money by living out of their van.

This is a little high end for my tastes and pocketbook.

I still toy with the idea, next year will being a decision.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inA Slice Of Life

Conrad Black: The anti-woke heroes pushing back against Canada’s self-destructive torpor

Approximately 20 years ago, my distinguished friend Frank Buckley, a prominent intellectual commentator, author and academic, moved from Canada to the United States to accept a university appointment. He said he was “going from the best country in the world to the greatest country in the world,” and added that they are both great and good countries. While they remain great and good countries, they are both very beleaguered…

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Peak Woke", Canada

The unbelievable narcissism of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary

Harry & Yoko

‘Why did you want to make this documentary?’ That is the question – over portentous piano chords – that begins the trailer for the next instalment in the apparently endless Sussex saga, Harry and Meghan. The answers that the viewer might supply: publicity-seeking on a grand scale; unbelievable narcissism– are not uttered. Instead, over stylised black and white photographs of the duo kissing, being crazily in love and every inch the perfect couple, Harry replies, with becoming grimness, ‘No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors.’ Cue pictures of Meghan apparently in tears looking at her phone; the Royal Family aloof and cold; and a million photographers, their cameras thrust priapically aloft. Oh, the drama.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Woke Royals"

The FBI Sets Its Sights on Israel

It’s taking a page out of Joe Biden’s book, placating progressives at the expense of diplomacy.

On May 11, Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a dual Palestinian-American citizen, was killed in Israel while standing alongside terrorists during a gunfight between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fighters in Jenin. In July, at the behest of the Biden administration, a U.S. State Department-led investigation determined that the bullet which hit Abu Akleh was badly damaged, thus preventing a “clear conclusion.” The findings further affirmed that the gunfire likely originated from “IDF positions.” The statement, issued by State Department spokesman Ned Price, found no reason to believe that Abu Akleh’s killing was intentional but rather the “result of tragic circumstances.” An examination and forensic analysis of the bullet conducted by Israel’s Defense Forces similarly revealed a  “high probability” that Abu Akleh was killed by accidental Israeli gunfire.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inIsrael, USA

‘Terror campaign’ on Ukraine embassies continues with more bloody packages

Eighteen Ukrainian diplomatic missions in 12 countries have received bloody packages in what Ukraine has described as a “campaign of terror and intimidation”. Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesperson from Ukraine’s foreign ministry, said the packages were simultaneously sent from one European country, which he could not disclose while the investigation was ongoing.

As of Friday, Ukraine said 17 embassies had been targeted, indicating that another was delivered on Saturday.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

US Air Force unveils new B-21 Raider nuclear stealth bomber

The US Air Force has unveiled its newest nuclear stealth bomber, the B-21, which will gradually replace aircraft first flown in the Cold War.

The first new bomber in 30 years could cost nearly $700m (£569m) each and can carry nuclear and conventional weapons.

As expected, specific details of the aircraft remain shrouded in secrecy.

But US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was “a testament to America’s enduring advantages in ingenuity and innovation”.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inUSA

Biden Administration Turns a Blind Eye to Iranian Regime’s Brutal Crackdown

When millions of citizens poured into the streets of Iran in June 2009 to protest against the country’s regime, the Obama administration was silent as many people in Iran cried out, “Are you with us, or are you with them [the ruling mullahs]?” Now, the Biden administration appears to be repeating Obama administration’s policy of choosing to be silent in the face of the Iranian regime’s bloodshed, human rights violations, and crackdowns that kill and wound peaceful protesters — and has the same policy regarding brave Chinese protestors as well.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Joe Sleazebag Biden", Iran