#northeastern state university

[dabblersofnonsense]

And that finishes up my little snow series. <3

Kofi

[hufflpuffin]

As the police escalate violence, beat and attack students and professors, and conduct mass arrests, student protesters should know their rights.

Here is the link to the National Lawyer's Guild booklet for protesters.

If you plan on going out to support the protests, please take some time to read through this and know your rights.

[kendallmdean]

hey everyone! my name is kendall and i’m a high school senior on my journey to college at Colorado State University! I am currently living in Texas, so this will be a very big (and very expensive) move. I also have a twin sister going to Northeastern in Boston at the same time as me! (pray for my parents 😭)

anyway… i have put both of our amazon wishlist links in the post. it would be so amazing if you guys could help us in anyway that y’all can! we will appreciate anything we receive and y’all’s gratitude will not go unnoticed! if you guys have any questions, we would love to tell you more! thank you!!

[xtruss]

Historically, when Students at US Universities have protested, there has been a common refrain that "Outside Agitators" are to blame.

Experts say it's a convenient way for officials to delegitimise the motivations of some political movements and justify calling in law enforcement to stop direct actions that are largely nonviolent and engaging in constitutionally protected speech.

During the Civil Rights Movement, protests involved local community members and organisers from other parts of the state or country. Officials often targeted this, alleging that the protests were orchestrated by outsiders.

The label was used as a weapon against community members who spoke up or provided support to protesters and organisers, says Dylan C Penningroth, an author and historian. Nearly half a century later, the 2014 Killing of Michael Brown By a Police Officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked widespread protests against police brutality.

Again, "Outside Agitators" were frequently invoked and blamed for destruction, looting and the burning of buildings. The same language was used to describe protests in the wake of the 2020 Killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police. Amid the current US student protests against the Terrorist, Fascist, Apartheid, War Criminal, the Bastard Child of the United States & the West and the Illegal Regime of the Zionist 🐖 🐷 🐖 🐗 Isra-hell, there are a Handful of examples of Officials Using the Outside Agitator Rhetoric Nationwide.

In referencing the protests on campuses at Atlanta's Emory University, Boston's Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, School Officials and Law Enforcement have made Inaccurate and Unsubstantiated Claims about the Presence of Non-Students.

Similarly, New York City Mayor Boak Bollocks and an Idiot to His Core Eric Adams repeatedly cited the presence of "Outside Agitators" on New York Campuses to justify the use of police force, with officers in riot gear swarming Columbia University's Campus, clearing out its encampment, and arresting more than 100 people on April 30.

[nasa]

The Summer Solstice Is Here!

Today — June 20, 2024 — is the northern summer solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the longest day of the year and the official start to summer.

We experience changing day lengths throughout the year because Earth rotates on a tilted axis as it goes around the Sun. This means during half of the year the North Pole tilts toward the Sun and in the other half it points away.

Solstices occur twice per year, when Earth’s poles are tilted closest to and farthest from the Sun.

The summer solstice is an important day for cultures around the world, especially at latitudes near the North Pole. Indigenous peoples have long marked the summer solstice with dancing and celebrations. Farmers have relied on the solstice to determine when to plant crops. The solstice’s timing also influenced the development of some calendars, like the ancient Roman calendar and the modern Gregorian calendar.

To mark the beginning of summer, here are four ways you can enjoy the Sun and the many wonders of space this season:

1. Check out the “Strawberry Moon”

June is the month of the Strawberry Moon. This name originates with the Algonquin tribes. June is when strawberries are ready for harvest in the northeastern United States, where the Algonquin people traditionally live. The full Strawberry Moon this year happens tomorrow night — June 21, 2024. Grab a pair of binoculars to see it in detail.

2. Celebrate the Heliophysics Big Year!

During the Heliophysics Big Year, we are challenging you to participate in as many Sun-related activities as you can. This month’s theme is performance art. We’re looking at how various kinds of performance artists are moved by the Sun and its influence on Earth. For example, check out this Sun song!

Find out how to get involved here: https://science.nasa.gov/sun/helio-big-year/.

3. Listen to a space-cast

NASA has a ton of great space podcasts. Take a listen to Curious Universe’s Here Comes the Sun series to learn all about our closest star, from how it causes weather in space, to how you can help study it! For even more podcasts, visit our full list here: https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts.

4. Make sunspot cookies

The Sun sometimes has dark patches called sunspots. You can make your own sunspots with our favorite cookie recipe. Real sunspots aren’t made of chocolate, but on these sunspot cookies they are. And they're delicious.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[vintage-fuzz]

Some McGucket Family/Emma-May & Fiddleford Headcanons!

- I do personally believe that Emma-May is also from Tennessee & that she probably grew up near Fiddleford & his family’s farm. This is primarily based on her name (with Dixon being a common surname throughout the US & Emma-May being an incredibly folksy sounding name) & the fact that she & Fiddleford seem to have gotten married very soon after Fidds graduated/left BMU, implying a preexisting relationship between them.

- I also like to think that perhaps she & Fiddleford attended school together, not university but grade/high school (if Fiddleford had an actual education prior to attending college) & that part of the reason she & Fidds are (presumably) so quick to marry is because he made a promise to marry her/got engaged to her before he left the state for BMU.

- This is more of a Fiddleford specific headcanon/thought but I think that he may have decided to attend BMU specifically because of a few factors. One of which being its affordability, possibly offering him a full-ride scholarship based on his grades/academic intelligence & another being its location. If Ford & Fidds are attending their first year of uni in the late 60s to early 70s & if BMU is located in the northeastern US, then it’s entirely possible that Fidds wanted to spend his young adulthood in a more socially/politically liberal area, especially if he’s a queer man, in order to explore his identity/not live in fear of being outed (this also works if you hc him as being a bit of a hippie too, finding himself through his newfound freedom away from home basically).

- As for the actual relationship & marriage between Emma-May & Fidds, I think it started off somewhat decently, at the very least, there was the impression of mutual love & attraction between them initially. I do think that, ultimately, Fiddleford saw her more as a friend at best, or, at worst, a means to an end (his beard). I think that Emma-May might have gradually realized that he wasn’t actually interested in her in the way that she had thought he was, potentially having to come to terms with her husband being a queer man. I do think that Fiddleford’s sexuality/ lack of attraction to her was one of the defining factors in their marriage souring prior to him losing his sanity (possibly coinciding with his general absence & his failure to provide a reliable source of income through his freelance computer business). (It is also entirely possible that there was a kind of lavender-marriage arrangement going on but there’s really no definite answer.)

- Regarding Tate, I personally believe that he was either an unintentional pregnancy or the result of Fiddleford & Emma-May feeling pressured into adhering to social conventions surrounding marriage, especially during the 70s with both of their families likely encouraging them to have children. I also like to think that Tate was conceived out of wedlock, forcing Fidds & Emma-May into holding a shotgun wedding.

- Adding to their actual wedding, I like the idea of Ford having been present in some capacity & Emma-May having met him to some extent. Also, Fiddleford probably wanted for Ford to be his best man, to which, Ford likely would’ve accepted (unless his academics/research intervened).

- I do think that despite his less-than-ideal circumstances, Fiddleford genuinely wanted to be a good father to Tate. I also think that he never intended to hurt Emma-May the way he did, with him at least trying to make their relationship work while compromising his actual feelings. I feel like Fiddleford took to fatherhood well & was very supportive & affectionate towards Tate, hence why Tate stays with & cares for his father despite his extended absence throughout most of his life.

- When Fiddleford leaves for Gravity Falls, I think that he probably tries to call/keep in contact with his family, especially Tate, semi-regularly. After he creates the memory gun, however, his calls become less frequent & more brief until he simply stops calling completely once he abandons the project & dedicates himself to his cult. This extended absence culminates in Emma-May setting out to Gravity Falls in order to find him after potential months to years of silence.

- Also, when Fiddleford is away in Gravity Falls with Ford, I don’t think that he ever actually cheats on Emma-May. If Ford & Fidds ever did have anything, it was most likely during their time at BMU together. At this point, they’re at different places in their lives & have a professional relationship & friendship (although they may both harbor some lingering feelings, which they do not act upon). Also, I feel like Ford would be extremely hesitant to pursue such a relationship w/ Fidds knowing that he’s married & a father & because Ford is primarily focused on completing his portal project & continuing his research. Fidds also doesn’t strike me as someone who would go out of his way to commit infidelity, he may be willing to be near Ford but he wouldn’t go as far as to betray his wife’s trust like that.

- When or if Emma-May heads to Gravity Falls in search of her husband, I’d like to think that she encountered Stanley, who, at this point has assumed Ford’s identity. She would most likely approach him first, at the shack, knowing that Fiddleford was working with Ford & that Ford was likely the last person to see him. Stan somehow has to diffuse this situation while pretending to be Ford & facing the brunt of her ire. (Not entirely sure how he’d pull that off…)

- Eventually, Emma-May does find Fiddleford (whether Tate is present is unclear) & it’s when he’s at his absolute worst. I imagine that he’s either well within the throes of his role as a cult leader & has visibly changed, becoming seriously unstable, possibly lashing out at her, & even going as far as attempting to erase her memory. The alternative is that he’s just left/been ousted from the cult & is mentally beyond repair & either living at a cheap motel or at the dump. Whichever the case, Emma-May seeing him so unwell ultimately culminates in her decision to file for divorce.

- After the divorce, which escalates to Fiddleford’s attempt to enact vengeance on his ex-wife through building a giant, homicidal robot to harass her, I think that she returns to Palo Alto & tries to move on in her life, resuming caring for Tate & possibly getting a job to support him & herself. Meanwhile, she keeps her distance from Fiddleford, not speaking to him for years.

- When Tate gets older he makes the decision to head to Gravity Falls in order to find his father, hoping for closure & generally worrying for his health/safety. Perhaps Emma-May & Tate are somewhat emotionally distant/ have a strained relationship which could’ve prompted him to reach out to his father (side note but I also have a small headcanon that Tate could be a queer man himself & his decision to stay with Fiddleford stemming from him being the only person in his family that would be accepting towards/ understand him or Tate having an idea that his father may have been queer himself).

- After the events of the series, perhaps Tate reaches out to his mother (with the assumption that she’d still be alive & that Tate would still have a relationship with her) to inform her about his father’s improved condition, newfound success & Ford’s sudden reemergence, perhaps he tries to mediate between his parents while encouraging them to, at the very minimum, open up to each other & allow for his father & Ford to properly apologize to Emma-May for the grief they’ve caused her over the past few decades. Perhaps Emma-May has completely moved on in her life, maybe she’s remarried & has her own successful career, perhaps she’s moved away from Palo Alto. Whatever the case, she’s should at least be afforded closure & honesty from her ex & the man that inadvertently destroyed their marriage.

[democracyunderground]

"This is Rumeysa Ozturk, a Fulbright scholar from Turkey who is studying for her doctorate at Tufts University.

Last night, six masked men walked up to her in a residential neighborhood, grabbed her, and whisked her away in unmarked cars. Bystanders asked the men who they were and why they wore masks and they said "We're the police."

One of the neighbors caught it on his security camera and has shared truly chilling photos of a young woman being surrounded and bundled off into a car.

Like previous illegal ICE arrests of recent days there have been no charges filed. Her lawyer quickly filed with a judge to prevent her being moved out of state, which the judge approved, but as of today the ICE tracking tool shows her at a privately run prison in Louisiana, not in Massachusetts where she was taken. Her lawyers have not been allowed to speak to her.

Unlike other recent arrests, Ozturk was NOT heavily involved in protest actions on her campus or elsewhere.

I've been told that in some of the other egregious ICE actions of recent weeks that it's "not a free speech issue" because these people are "terrorists" and "supporters of Hamas" (NONE of which has been proven *or even charged* by the US government) AND YET... the best guess right now as to why this woman's visa was revoked and she was arrested is that she put her name on an op-ed in her school paper.

The op-ed had controversial statements like "We, as graduate students, affirm the equal dignity and humanity of all people."

So, to recap:

- A young, intelligent woman who is studying in the US legally

- Wrote an op-ed

- Got arrested by masked men and had her visa revoked

- Was removed from the state despite a court order saying she was not to be removed

- Has not been allowed to contact her lawyers

One of Rumeysa's friends, a professor at Northeastern, describes her as a "soft spoken, kind, and gentle soul." He said that not only was she not antisemitic, and not racist, he said that in the ten years he's known her she's not spoken badly to anyone at all.

It seems like in every way, Rumeysa Ozturk is the kind of person we should want in the United States. Kind, intelligent, law-abiding. Instead we've violated her rights and our own values, abducted her with masked secret police, incarcerated her without any charges, kept her from her lawyers, and disobeyed court orders about where she's to be kept.

I've heard some people saying lately that there's no reason to be concerned, because immigrants don't have the same rights as citizens, and honestly I find this more stomach-churning than some of the directly racist or xenophobic things I've seen people say. Why on earth are people defending the government that's harming people instead of the vulnerable people being harmed?

I will promise you this: when a government starts violating rights of the vulnerable, it doesn't stop with a single population of people.

This is another truly disturbing action by the US government and by ICE. If you're an American citizen, please make some noise about this to your reps, and check in on your friends who are vulnerable to this same kind of xenophobic totalitarian rights violations.

ETA: I've updated the photo here. The original photo I shared was apparently of another woman with the same name. Apologies to all and thanks for those who caught it in the comments."

Matt Mikalatos 

[lostinhistory]

Heritage News of the Week

Discoveries!

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the 3,200-year-old tomb of a possible military commander who may have served during the reign of Ramesses III. Inside the man's tomb, archaeologists found a gold ring containing the name of Ramesses III, along with bronze arrowheads.

2,200-year-old shackles discovered at ancient Egyptian gold mine

Two sets of iron ankle shackles found at an archaeological site in Egypt are revealing the "significant human cost" of gold mining undertaken to fund Ptolemy I's military campaigns, according to new research.

Rare Viking-era bracelet uncovered on Öland

The bracelet is extremely well-preserved due to the oxygen-poor environment of the wetland which helped prevent corrosion. Both ends of the bracelet depict animal heads and the length is decorated with intricate rows of dots.

Ancient sculptures didn’t just look good—they also smelled heavenly, study finds

New research suggests statues were scented with perfumes, oils, and flower arrangements.

Roman water conduit exposed beneath Slovak castle

Archaeologists from Trnava University were baffled by a discovery they made while working at Rusovce Manor House outside of Bratislava.

Archaeologists unearth burials from the Schmalkaldic War

Archaeologists from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation have unearthed burials from the Schmalkaldic War that correspond to details in a 1551 historical painting.

Archaeologists make several major discoveries in ancient Liternum

Recent excavations under the Superintendency for the Metropolitan Area of Naples have been focusing a study on the city’s necropolis, located a short distance from the Forum and Amphitheatre.

Ancient well dating back to 7th century AD discovered on Failaka Island

An ancient well, dating back to the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods, has been discovered on Failaka Island, providing valuable insights into the region’s past.

Smallest human relative ever found may have been devoured by a leopard 2 million years ago

The left hip and leg bones from a young female Paranthropus robustus discovered in South Africa show she was extremely short — and ended up as a leopard's lunch.

Large mammoth bone discovery in Lower Austria

Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have uncovered the remains of at least five mammoths during excavations in Langmannersdorf an der Perschling, located in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.

Researchers define the borders of El Argar, the first state-society in the Iberian Peninsula

Recent research conducted by scholars from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology has identified the economic and political boundaries that delineated El Argar, the first state structure in the Iberian Peninsula, approximately 4,000 years ago.

Bulgar-Golden Horde period complex discovered in Alekseevsky

Excavations in preparation for the construction of a highway project has revealed two burial grounds and a settlement dating from the 10th–14th centuries AD.

European hunter-gatherers boated to North Africa during Stone Age, ancient DNA suggests

DNA recovered from archaeological remains of ancient humans who lived in what is now Tunisia and northeastern Algeria reveals that European hunter-gatherers may have visited North Africa by boat around 8,500 years ago.

Rare Roman-era columbariums discovered in Şanlıurfa

Rare Roman-era columbariums were discovered in Senem Caves in the Haliliye district and in the garden of a citizen in Bozova.

“Structurally sound” historic vessels discovered beneath fishpond

Preliminary studies indicate that both vessels remain structurally sound. However, archaeologists are still analysing the construction materials to determine the age and type of wood used.

5,000-year-old fortress discovered in Romania using LiDAR technology

The fortress, obscured by centuries of dense vegetation, was mapped with precision using drones equipped with LiDAR, which emits laser pulses to create high-resolution terrain models.

“Pompeian Gray” discovered in Pompeii excavations: a unique color in the Roman world

A recent study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science has revealed the discovery of a new color in the chromatic repertoire of the Roman world: Pompeian Gray.

Museums

The gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies is the largest private donation and largest archive of archaeological material given to the museum to date. The artefacts were discovered during construction of Bloomberg's European headquarters in the City of London between 2012 and 2014.

Anti-plague amulets and IOUs: the excavation that brings Roman London thundering back to life

With sandals that look fresher than last year’s Birkenstocks, gossipy messages recovered from writing tablets and 73,000 shards of pottery, London Museum’s new collection is like falling head-first into the first century

Victorian museum opens 'calm space' for visitors

The Sunflower Room at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford has been created for people with special educational needs and disabilities, health conditions, and parents who need to breastfeed or bottle-feed children in a quiet place.

National Trust freezes recruitment after £10m jump in costs

The National Trust has frozen all but essential recruitment and is pausing some projects as it faces a £10m jump in labour costs this year as a result of higher employment costs stemming from last autumn’s budget.

The secret life of LA’s small museums

With a fair dose of whimsy, Also on View draws attention to museums off the beaten track, centering the region’s rich diasporic fabric and cultural niches.

British Museum tops UK attractions list, but the effects of the pandemic still linger on

Official figures have revealed that the British Museum was – for the second year in a row – the UK’s most-visited attraction in 2024. While visitor numbers for cultural attractions are rising, however, the sector remains fragile.

In the Trump era, the UK sector’s commitments to equity and inclusion risk being quietly eroded

Museums must not allow the wider political context to undo progress, say Suzanne MacLeod and Richard Sandell

Which of your possessions belongs in a trans museum?

It’s time for major museums to stand up for trans and queer people in the public and among their employees — instead the National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian have shuttered their diversity offices. That’s why community members are shifting focus back to small grassroots LGBTQ+ museums, archives, and galleries that have done this historical labor for their communities for decades.

Repatriation

The 350-year-old artifact is one of seven objects returned to the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo Native American tribe

Antiquities looted by notorious smuggling ring returned to Nepal

Works linked to the disgraced art dealer Subhash Kapoor are among the 20 objects seized by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit.

University scholar solves portrait theft mystery

An Exeter University art historian has solved the 70-year mystery over the theft of an original oil sketch, by Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, from a stately home in Northamptonshire.

Heritage at risk

Palestinian experts and British archaeologists say more than two-thirds of heritage, cultural and archaeological sites in Gaza have been damaged

Trump administration seeks to starve libraries and museums of funding by shuttering this little-known agency

On March 14, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order that called for the dismantling of seven federal agencies “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.” They ranged from the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, to the Minority Business Development Agency. The Institute of Museum and Library Services was also on the list.

Act Now to Save IMLS

Trump names new director of museum agency he moved to dismantle

Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of seven federal agencies. Chief among them was the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provides critical funding to museums, libraries, and archives. Now, less than a week later, Trump appointed a new head of the agency, Keith E. Sonderling. “It is an honor to be appointed by President Trump to lead this important organization in its mission to advance, support and empower America’s museums and libraries, which stand as cornerstones of learning and culture in our society,” Sonderling said in a statement. “I am committed to steering this organization in lockstep with this administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation. We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.”

😬😬😬

Pentagon restores histories of Navajo Code Talkers, other Native veterans after public outcry

The Pentagon restored some webpages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans on Wednesday, days after tribes condemned the action.

In Winnipeg, land defenders fight to save a sacred forest

The Lemay Forest — housing unmarked graves, protected birds and old trees. Now, it’s being threatened by a housing development

Alien fever dreams fuel Peruvian grave robbings

Leandro Rivera says he chanced upon the cave in Peru's remote Nazca region that contained hundreds of pre-Hispanic artifacts – including human bodies with elongated heads and what appeared to be only three fingers on each hand. The plateau is famous for the Nazca lines, incisions on the desert floor forming birds and other animals visible from the air. The ancient geoglyphs have long intrigued anthropologists and exert a powerful fascination over some believers in extraterrestrials. Nazca is also known for salt flats that dehydrate and preserve human and animal remains, making it the site of important archeological finds that have deepened modern understanding of ancient cultures – and attracted grave robbers.

Odds and ends

Kathryn Yusoff sparked a culture war with her latest book, suggesting slavery and white supremacy informed the work of geology’s founding fathers. Here, she and other experts suggest that attitudes have changed little since

A scholar and a hater: new podcast focuses on historical figures that suck

When the historian Claire Aubin gets together with her colleagues for drinks after a conference or academic meetup, the conversation always ends up one way. “We’re all sitting around a table, talking about our most hated historical figure,” she said. For Aubin, it’s Henry Ford, an ardent antisemite whom Hitler called “an inspiration”. She believes being a hater can aid in scholarship: “Disliking someone or having a problem with their historical legacy is worth talking about, and brings more people into learning about history.” That’s why Aubin, who spent last year lecturing in the history department at UC Davis and San Francisco State University and is about to begin a full-time postdoctoral fellowship at Yale, started This Guy Sucked, a history podcast about terrible men. In each episode, Aubin speaks to a historian about their biggest villain, from Ford and Voltaire to Plato and Jerry Lee Lewis.

More medieval texts were scribed by women than previously believed

A new study “provides statistical support for the often-overlooked contributions of female scribes over time,” said researcher Åslaug Ommundsen.

Did Michelangelo pull off art history’s greatest hoax With ‘Laocoön’?

The monumental sculpture stands as an exemplar of Hellenistic artistry—but not to everyone.

These are delightful

The 30,000 year old vulture that reveals a completely new type of fossilisation

A surprising discovery in the feathers of a fossil vulture from central Italy has revealed that volcanic deposits can preserve delicate tissue structures in unprecedented detail, offering new insights into the fossilisation process.

American History Lessons Edited to Comply with Anti-DEI Standards (McSweeney's)

Jackie Robinson Overcomes [NO SPECIFIC OBSTACLE IN PARTICULAR] in Professional Baseball Baseball hall of famer Jackie Robinson is best known for [NOTHING IN PARTICULAR, OTHER THAN BEING A GREAT BASEBALL PLAYER]. Though most major league baseball teams at the time refused to sign Robinson because [THEY JUST DIDN’T LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB], Robinson finally became the first [PERSON NAMED JACKIE ROBINSON] to play Major League Baseball in 1947. Jackie Robinson paved the way for [OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE DISLIKED FOR NO REASON] to play professional sports.

McSweeney's hitting a bit to close to home

[dabblersofnonsense]

More snow pics from around the Northeastern State campus. The original picture was uh... I'd call it "crunchy" and I'm not sure how that happened. So I tried to fix it with the editing software ony computer with very different results. I kind of love how the "softer" version here reminds me of pictures from the 70s. (circa 2008)

Kofi

[blueiscoool]

Archaeologists Discover Mysterious Jade Dragon Artifact at a 5,000-Year-Old Tomb in China

Hundreds of artifacts have been unearthed at a burial mound in the city of Chifeng, but researchers are particularly intrigued by the six-inch-long object.

Archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old jade dragon artifact while excavating a burial mound in northeastern China.

The object measures roughly six inches long, four inches wide and one inch thick—making it the “largest jade dragon ever discovered from the Hongshan culture,” according to the official state news agency Xinhua.

The dig site is located in the city of Chifeng in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region in China. The burial mound—which includes a circular tomb situated north of a square altar—is between 5,000 and 5,100 years old.

It was built by the Hongshan culture, a large Neolithic group known for its delicately carved objects that prospered in the region. Experts think that Hongshan craftsmen made some of the earliest known jade artifacts in history.

In April, researchers began a four-month excavation at the site, as Archaeology News’ Dario Radley reports. They have since uncovered human remains, fire pits, an assortment of pottery and more than 100 jade objects.

The scientists were particularly intrigued by the jade dragon, which they say is noteworthy for its size. However, not all researchers are impressed with the newly discovered artifact.

While the jade dragon is “very nice,” it’s also “not that unique,” Gideon Shelach-Lavi, a scholar of East Asian studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus.

Shelach-Lavi, who has excavated in the area but was not involved in the recent dig, says that similar jade dragon artifacts have been unearthed at other tombs from the Hongshan culture. What’s more, historians can’t say for sure that they were crafted to resemble dragons.

“We do not really know what their meaning was during the Neolithic period, so calling them ‘dragons’ is anachronistic,” he adds.

Still, officials say that the objects are shedding new light on the history of Neolithic groups in the region.

“This is the largest stone burial mound from the late Hongshan culture ever found in Inner Mongolia,” said Sun Jinsong, the director of the Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, at a press conference, per Archaeology News. “The variety of jade artifacts discovered fills important gaps in our understanding of this ancient civilization’s jade usage.”

Research at the site, which includes radiocarbon dating and topographic mapping, is still ongoing.

A ritual complex with a similar layout was previously discovered at a site called Niuheliang, located about 90 miles from Chifeng, as Jia Xiaobing, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, tells China Daily’s Fang Aiqing and Yuan Hui.

“Such consistency in an expanded area proves that a shared belief system existed among the Hongshan ancestors,” he says.

By Julia Binswanger.

[tomorrowusa]

These are the tech bros dismantling democracy in America at the behest of unelected Elon Musk. Basically a bunch of spoiled rich brats.

Elon Musk’s team of young DOGE disruptors have been unmasked, much to the ire of the billionaire and other MAGA figures. One is a 19-year-old college freshman and heir to a popcorn fortune. Another was hosting Model UN sessions in 2019 and a third was given money by his parents to invest in stocks while at his high school in Silicon Valley. [ ... ] Musk’s team of youngsters, as first reported by WIRED on Sunday, is Akash Bobba, 21, a student at the University of California, Berkeley; Edward Coristine, 19, a student at Northeastern University in Boston; and Ethan Shaotran, 22, who said in September he was a senior at Harvard. The ones who actually have degrees, or at least have left college, are: Luke Farritor, 23, who attended the University of Nebraska without graduating; Gautier Cole Killian, a 24-year-old who attended McGill University; and Gavin Kliger, a 25-year-old who attended Berkeley; The group’s relative lack of experience—especially no previous positions in government work—has Democrats crying foul they were granted access to sensitive records while remaining largely in the shadows, away from public scrutiny. All six desperately tried to cover their digital tracks recently, almost all of them deleting LinkedIn profiles, X accounts and even Facebook.

The most peculiar one, Gavin Kliger, is a Matt Gaetz groupie.

But what Kliger really wants the world to know about is his belief in male MAGA warriors Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth’s brilliance, using his Substack to post about them both. Gaetz, who was investigated over allegations of teenage sex trafficking, was, according to Kliger, a victim of “the deep state.” Hegseth, a serially unfaithful former Fox News star accused of sexual assault, drunkenness, and receiving lap dances while in uniform, was, he wrote “the warrior Washington doesn’t want but desperately need.” Kliger, whose Cornell graduate father is an attorney for Experian, appears happy to monetize his DOGE experience: he has made the entry about DOGE on his Substack for $12-a-month subscribers only.

Kliger even looks like an aspiring Matt Gaetz. Maybe he'll use the fees from his Substack to finance Gaetz-style cosmetic surgery.

^^^ The "Gaetz gaze"

Here they are, The Elon Youth. Rich boys engineering the destruction of your future.

[racefortheironthrone]

Now you mentioned i, I am a bit surprised Smallville is prominently and consistently in Kansas? It's Smallville, Kansas. There might be others and certainly cities located vaguely within a real region, but it's definitely the first fictional town or city of D.C. in a real-world American state to come to mind.

So this gets to the weirdness of D.C geography. When Superman was first established, there was much less of a cohesive "universe," so if Siegel and Shuster wanted Superman to specifically be raised in Kansas, that's where he was from and the rest of the geography would have to work itself out.

IMO, this early slapdash approach to world-building has (over time) led to some things that just don't make sense to me as a student of urban history and urban studies:

Metropolis shouldn't be in Delaware. It doesn't make sense in terms of urbanization, given the context of an already-crowded Northeastern Corridor - Delaware simply does not have the capacity to sustain a city of 11 million people, and you wouldn't get a municipality of that size right next door to New York City (as well as D.C's other fictional cities in the area). The whole idea of Metropolis and Gotham being across the river/bay from each other has never really worked for me; you can still do Superman/Batman team-up stories no matter where they are, because Superman can fly and Batman has his own personal fighter jets.

More importantly, it doesn't make sense in terms of historic patterns of urban migration. Moving to the big city in search of the American Dream is a big part of the Clark Kent story, but historically people moving from rural to urban areas overwhelmingly go to the nearest large city, depending on how transportation networks are arranged, whether we're talking about train lines or direct flights or highways or bus routes. There is a reason we can track regional movements of black communities during the Great Migration, because who went where depended on which train lines ran through which states:

This is why I've always felt that, while Metropolis has aesthetically been associated with New York City, it logically should be Chicago. It is the biggest city in the Midwest, one very much associated with robber baron industrialists and corruption at the highest levels, and absolutely stuffed with art deco architecture for Superman to pose on top of. Up until the Tribune Company began to strip it for parts, it's also been a major newspaper town with a long tradition of muck-raking investigative journalism that would inspire a starry-eyed cub reporter like Clark. As one of the original transit hubs and the U.S' own "nature's metropolis," it is precisely the place that a Kansas farm boy would hop a train to, because all trains go to Chicago. Also, culturally I like it better that Clark Kent represents the City of Wide Shoulders whereas Bruce Wayne is the typical Tri-State Area Type-A personality.

Going back to D.C's bizarro Northeast geography, I likewise have an issue with Gotham being in New Jersey...if New York City is also supposed to be a major metropolitan area in the D.C universe. Just as Delaware would struggle to support a city of 11 million people, it would be very difficult to grow Gotham into a city of 10 million people so close to the gravity well of the Greater New York Metro Area. New Jersey is a pretty urbanized state, but its biggest cities tend to range in population from 300,000 to 100,000 - which works very well for a place like Blüdhaven, which is supposed to have something of an inferiority complex vis-a-vis Gotham - because a lot of the population tends to gravitate to NYC for work and eventually housing as well.

I've already said my piece about the lack of cultural specificity of D.C's Midwest.

As far as the West Coast goes, I've always found it a bit odd that Star City isn't where Seattle is supposed to be. Let's face it, the only place where Oliver Queen's facial hair would go unnoticed is Seattle. Also, Coast City is often depicted too far north on the map - if it's supposed to be a half-hour away from Edwards Air Force Base, it should be significantly more southern, down by Kern County and San Bernadino County, not practically up in San Francisco.

[ms-lirio]

"You hurted yourself. Again."

"I guess I should say: I am deeply sorry."

"Do not act so reckless, Alfred."

"—Promise. And you should take a rest, you look tired."

"I am fine. Do not worry about me."

I have MANY pending books to read, whether diaries, reports, story books, Brazilian Pracinhas and Nurses and much more.  But to save time, I decided to just read a few quick articles to prepare this post.

All pointed here is in a historical view.

Brazil was officially the only South American country to send troops to the conflict under its flag.

Historically, Brazil's actions prevailed in Italy.  It was where Brazil sent its troops, and its participation in the war was delayed as Brazil wanted to maintain its relations with both sides and remain neutral throughout the conflict.  After German and Italian attacks suffered by Brazilian ships, Brazil gave up its neutrality, siding with the Allies.

American military bases were built in the Northeast region of Brazil and Brazilian troops received American training.

"In 1939, with the beginning of the Second World War, Brazil remained neutral, in continuation of President Getúlio Vargas' policy of not defining itself by any of the great powers, only trying to take advantage of the advantages offered by them. Such "pragmatism " was interrupted at the beginning of 1942, when the United States and the Brazilian government agreed to transfer air bases on the island of Fernando de Noronha and along the north-northeast Brazilian coast to receive American military bases (if negotiations had not result, with Vargas and the military insisting on maintaining neutrality, the US had plans to invade the Brazilian northeast, codenamed Plan Rubber).”  (WIKIPEDIA)

"Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in northeastern Brazil, has a very important strategic global geographic position. This fact made the city host the two main American military bases during the Second World War: the Naval Base and Parnamirim Field – at the time it was the largest US Air Force base on foreign territory.”  (WIKIPEDIA)

// Getúlio Vargas flirted with the Fascist ideology even tho, he went to ALLIES' side. 💀

HCs: (don't take them too seriously)

⚠️ Remembering the following content: we are still talking about Hetalia, so my HCs and lore are not absolute truth, but my perception of my oc's participation during the conflict.  Even though it has a historical basis behind it.  And also, this is historical fiction (ofc, it's hetalia).  WWII is an extremely sensitive topic to many. I ask for caution, I will be careful with what I have to say.

— Alfred used his charm and charisma to make Mayara fight alongside him (Good Neighbor Policy). What worked and they formed an alliance based on a mutual exchange of interests.

— Mayara had developed a strange feeling that intensified for Alfred (something between admiration and wanting to be like him, a complex feeling, which perhaps was confused with platonic love and which sought certain privileges in that alliance), even if she was reluctant to give end her neutral stance towards the conflict (something similar to what happened in WWI).  She would later do this after torpedoing of vessels by German and Italian submarines, retaliation due to Brazil's accession to the Atlantic Charter;  thus, she broke ties with the AXIS and declared war on Italy and Germany.

— In my universe, Mayara also served as a nurse, and spent most of her time with Alfred, often tending to his wounds.  Sometimes just chitchatting together or learning about militarism and things like that. He trained her. He was the one who supported her.

— I changed my conception of another topic, which was May's direct participation on the battlefield.  I think that Mayara, in addition to serving as a nurse, also fought on the front line when necessary (due to the fact that she was the representative of Brazil) and needed to be on the front line.  In my former HC she didn't go to the front. (I disagree with the 2021 me xd).

—  I don't believe that Alfred reciprocated any kind of feelings for May. She was an important piece for him, and so he courted her, to secure a new ally.  It was a benefits relationship.

— Besides Alfred.  There were FEW times where dialogues with England took place, this was due to the participation of Anglo-Brazilians on the English side (if I'm not wrong, in the area of ​​aviation, but I need to delve deeper into the topic).  An almost tiny interaction compared to the prevalence of Alfred's actions, which was immensely greater and also generated impacts.

PS: I don't ship BrAme/AmeBra, they are just friends.  However, Mayara, as I said, had strange feelings for him at some moments in history (I was reading an article about diplomacy 🇧🇷-🇺🇸, I realized that Brazil had a greater interest in getting closer to the USA for economic and regional power, that is, an admiration that aimed for benefits/just as the US aimed for strategic support/Mayara would support Alfred in anything, as she thought she would get support in return).

I used the word "courtship" as it was stated in this old History book (which I no longer have).  Alfred... used his charm against May. Lol.

Evidence of a strange obsession with Alfred:

Meet the United States of Brazil:

(I showed this damn flag to my dad he got disgusted lmfao)

[ivorybilledwoodpeckerresource]

A FEATHER OF THE EXTINCT IVORY BILLED WOODPECKER (CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS) a single tail feather, the bird from the South Eastern United States, believed extinct since 1944, of Natural History and Taxidermy interest, in a cardboard display box, together with a certificate of authenticity prepared by Errol Fuller, (no. 23)

the feather 12cm in length

Not seen since 1944 when its last known habitat, owned by the Singer Sewing Company, was logged in northeastern Louisiana.

Errol Fuller is the author of the following: Extinct Birds, Oxford University Press, 2000, The Great Auk, Abrams, New York, 1999, Dodo, Harper Collins, 2002,The Passenger Pigeon, Princeton University Press, 2014, Lost Animals, Princeton University Press, 2013.

[mariacallous]

Leaders of Pennsylvania’s Polish community endorsed Kamala Harris following her debate shoutout. There are 800,000 Polish-Americans in the commonwealth, which Democrats won by 80,000 votes in 2020. 

Members of Pennsylvania’s Polish community penned a letter endorsing Kamala Harris after Harris, at the debate earlier this month, warned that Donald Trump would allow Russia to invade Poland once the war in Ukraine is finished under a Trump administration. 

“Vice President Harris has a long, strong track record of protecting our democracy here at home and standing up for our brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents in Poland – the same people Vladimir Putin hopes to attack next if Ukraine were to fall,” the letter read.

“Polish people in the US and around the world know that our future is tied to Ukraine’s because if Putin is allowed to trample Ukraine, we know his next target could be Poland. Trump bowed to dictators like Putin before and he will do it again if he is reelected.”

Its signatories include veterans, social workers, small business owners and several elected officials, including US Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) and State Reps. Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny), Eddie Day Pashinski (Luzerne County) and Melissa Cerrato (D-Montgomery County).

There are roughly 800,000 Polish-Americans living in Pennsylvania, with large communities in Western and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The letter’s co-signers hope this outreach to the Polish community can help secure a Harris victory in Pennsylvania, which Democrats carried by less than 80,000 in the 2020 presidential election. 

During the debate, Harris ripped Trump for his cozy relationship with Putin.   

“If Donald Trump were president, [Vladimir] Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now, and understand what that would mean because Putin’s agenda is not just about Ukraine,” Harris said. 

“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans in Pennsylvania, how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator, who would eat you for lunch.” 

In the days following the debate, Harris returned to Pennsylvania and rallied over 5,000 supporters at Wilkes University in Luzerne County, which has one of the highest concentrations of Polish Americans in Pennsylvania and is the only county in the country with a Polish plurality among its residents. 

“We sincerely believe the freedoms and livelihoods of our families at home and abroad rest upon rejecting Donald Trump and turning the page with Kamala Harris this fall,” the Pennsylvanians wrote.

“The last presidential election in Pennsylvania was decided by just 80,000 votes, which is why we are calling on our friends and neighbors to cast their votes for the leaders who will maintain alliances that make our world safer, expand our freedoms here at home, and protect the American dream for us all.”

Read the full letter below: 

​​We, Pennsylvania Polonia, unite today to voice our strong support for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz. 

We the undersigned believe it is in our best interests and the best interests of the over 800,000 Polish Americans across Pennsylvania to vote for leaders who will fight to defend our freedoms and stand up for democracy at home and abroad. Last week’s debate made clear once again that those  leaders are Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.

Vice President Harris has a long, strong track record of protecting our democracy here at home and standing up for our brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents in Poland – the same people Vladimir Putin hopes to attack next if Ukraine were to fall. 

In stark contrast, earlier this year, Trump said he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to our NATO allies, and during the debate last week, he twice refused to answer a question about whether he wanted Ukraine to win their war against Russian aggression. 

Polish people in the U.S. and around the world know that our future is tied to Ukraine’s because if Putin is allowed to trample Ukraine, we know his next target could be Poland. Trump bowed to dictators like Putin before and he will do it again if he is reelected. Trump’s Project 2025 agenda would be even worse for our national security and military readiness, including remaking the Department of Defense and reducing the number of generals in our armed forces.

Thankfully, this November, we can elect a true leader who will stand up to autocrats and stand up for us. Vice President Harris will lead us forward on a different path — one where we stand with allies, stand for democracy, and stand against those who oppose it. She is a proven leader on the world stage and will use her expertise to ensure America’s security and defeat our adversaries. 

We sincerely believe the freedoms and livelihoods of our families at home and abroad rest upon rejecting Donald Trump and turning the page with Kamala Harris this fall. The last presidential election in Pennsylvania was decided by just 80,000 votes, which is why we are calling on our friends and neighbors to cast their votes for the leaders who will maintain alliances that make our world safer, expand our freedoms here at home, and protect the American dream for us all.

[jloisse]

🔴Campus protests across the U.S. since April 17

Brown University

California State Polytechnic University

City University of New York

Columbia University

Emerson College

Emory University

Florida International Universit

Florida State University

George Washington University

Harvard University

Indiana University

New York University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Ohio State University

Princeton University

Rice University

Texas A&M

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Michigan State University

New School - New York, NY

University of Michigan

Tufts University

University of Arizona

University of California at Berkeley

University of Maryland

University of Miami

University of Minnesota

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Pittsburgh

University of Rochester

University of Southern California

University of Texas, Austin

University of Texas at Dallas

Vanderbilt University

Yale university