AUGUST 14, 2018


NEWS AND VIEWS


I REALLY WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS STORY. WAS HE A RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL RADICAL, OR JUST A “NUTJOB,” AS PEOPLE CALL THEM. I WISH MORE SUICIDAL PEOPLE WOULDN’T KILL OTHERS IN ADDITION TO THEMSELVES. THOUGH I USUALLY DIDN’T AGREE WITH GEORGE W BUSH, WHEN HE SAID THAT “SUICIDE BOMBER” IS A MISNOMER. THEY ARE “HOMICIDE BOMBERS.” I HAVE NOTICED THAT THEY USUALLY KILL THEMSELVES AS THEIR LAST ACT, THOUGH.

WE DON’T MONITOR THE MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR CITIZENS AS WELL AS WE SHOULD. SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL ILLNESS CAN OFTEN BE CAUGHT BY THE FAMILY DOCTOR, AND WHEN IT IS SPOTTED, THAT’S WHAT HOSPITALS ARE FOR. WE NEED TO PUT THEM IN CONFINED TREATMENT – NOT JAIL -- BEFORE THEY ACT. DO IT WHEN THEY ARE STANDING ON THE SIDEWALK ON A CITY STREET “PREACHING.” THAT ISN’T THEIR RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH OR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. IT’S HALLUCINATIONS. ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR TO THAT EXTENT SHOULD BE SPOTTED AND STOPPED, NOT WITH A POLICEMAN’S BULLET, BUT WITH AN AMBULANCE AND THREE OR FOUR PARAMEDICS WITH A SYRINGE FULL OF MEDICATION.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/world/europe/uk-parliament-car-crash-.html
London Driver Held in Terrorism Inquiry After Hitting Barrier Near Parliament
By Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
Aug. 14, 2018

PHOTOGRAPH -- Police officers near the site where a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday.CreditHannah Mckay/Reuters

LONDON — A car struck and injured several pedestrians and cyclists, then crashed into a security barrier just outside the Houses of Parliament in London early Tuesday, in what the police said they were treating as a terrorist attack.

About a dozen armed police officers swarmed a silver Ford Fiesta and pointed their weapons at it, before handcuffing the driver, who was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offenses. The police said that the driver, in his late 20s, was the only person in the car, and that no weapons had yet been found in the vehicle.

Neil Basu, the counterterrorism chief of the Metropolitan Police, said the department was treating the incident as one of terrorism, “given that this appears to be a deliberate act,” the sensitive location and the method used. Parliament has been attacked before, and past terrorist attacks have involved cars driving into pedestrians.

Westminster car crash: Aerial footage of the crash - BBC NewsCreditVideo by BBC News

The Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“Our priority now is to formally establish the identity of the suspect and establish his motivation,” Mr. Basu said. “He is not currently cooperating.”

“We don’t believe this person was known to MI5 or to counterterrorism policing,” he added, referring to Britain’s domestic intelligence service.



THIS EXACT THING HAPPENED HERE IN THE USA WITHIN THE LAST 20 YEARS OR SO IN ONE OF OUR NORTHERN CITIES – MINNEAPOLIS, MAYBE. THE BRIDGE JUST HAD TOO MANY CARS ON IT, AND IT PANCAKED SUDDENLY. IN THIS CASE IT WAS DURING A LIGHTNING STORM WITH TORENTIAL RAIN. THE BRIDGE WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, AND IN THE WORDS OF THE WITNESS, “HE WATCHED IT GO DOWN.” THAT BRIDGE WAS PROBABLY TOO OLD AND DECREPIT, OF COURSE, BUT I’VE NEVER HEARD OF LIGHTNING BRINGING ONE DOWN.

PRESIDENT TRUMP SPOKE EARLIER THIS YEAR OF PUTTING MONEY INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE TO CREATE JOBS AND KEEP THIS KIND OF DISASTER FROM OCCURRING, BUT I HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING ABOUT IT IN MONTHS. I WISH HE WOULD DO THAT. IT’S A TRUE NEED, NOT A PUBLICITY STUNT OR PANDERING TO RACIST FEARS.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/08/14/italy-bridge-collapse-genoa/984698002/?csp=chromepush
At least 20 killed as section of highway bridge collapses in Genoa, northwestern Italy
Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY Published 7:16 a.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018 | Updated 4:54 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018

VIDEO -- A huge stretch of a highway bridge collapsed during a sudden storm in Genoa, Italy. Police report at least 20 cars were involved. USA TODAY
PHOTOGRAPH -- rescue workers at work among the rubble

A huge stretch of a highway bridge collapsed in a sudden midday storm Tuesday in the northwestern Italian city of Genoa, crushing vehicles and sending others plunging close to 150 feet. At least 20 people were killed, though the death toll fluctuated throughout the day. Some people were found alive in the debris.

Thirty-five cars and three heavy trucks were on the 260-foot section of the Morandi Bridge that collapsed under torrential rain, said Angelo Borrelli, head of Italy’s civil protection agency. Some ended up in the Polvecera River, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

A witness identified only as Pietro M. told ANSA the bridge was struck by lightning about 11:30 a.m. local time, and he watched it go down.

PHOTOGRAPH -- Highway bridge collapses in Genoa, Italy
Fullscreen

Cars are blocked on the Morandi highway bridge after a section of it collapsed, in Genoa, Italy, Aug. 14, 2018. A large section of the bridge collapsed over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova during a sudden and violent storm, leaving vehicles crushed in rubble below Antonio Calanni, AP
The 147-foot-tall bridge was built in the 1960s, the BBC reported. It runs over homes, shopping centers, factories, a railway line and a river, according to ANSA.

Video captured the sound of a man screaming, "Oh God, oh God," as part of the bridge crumbled. Other images showed a green truck that had stopped on the bridge yards short of a gaping hole.

Hundreds of firefighters and emergency officials searched for survivors in the rubble with heavy equipment. At least two people were pulled alive from vehicles and taken by helicopter to a hospital.

Borrelli said highway engineers were checking other parts of the bridge, and some areas were evacuated as a precaution. He said they were still trying to find the reason for the collapse.

“We need to remove all of the rubble to ascertain that all of the people have been reached,” he said. “Operations are ongoing to extract people imprisoned below parts of the bridge and twisted metal.”

Firefighters told the Associated Press there are concerns about gas lines exploding in the area from the collapse.

The Morandi Bridge is a main thoroughfare connecting the A10 highway that goes toward France and the A7 highway that continues north toward Milan and the beaches of Liguria.

Bridge traffic may have been heavier than usual because Italians are starting to celebrate the summer holiday known as Ferragosto, beginning Wednesday. It represents the height of the season, and most city governments and businesses close as people head out to the beaches and mountains.

ANSA said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will travel to Genoa later in the day.

French President Emmanuel Macron offered his country’s help in a phone call with Conte.

VIDEO -- A witness to the collapse captured the aftermath when a heavy stretch of highway collapsed during a sudden storm in northwestern Italy. Police say about 10 vehicles were involved. USA TODAY


SPACE ALIEN ABDUCTION, YEAH. WAS THIS MAN A TRUMP DEVOTEE? HE CERTAINLY BELIEVES IN UNLIKELY STORIES OF THE SORT THAT THE RUSSIANS HAVE FOISTED OFF ON US. OF COURSE, I HAVE BEEN HEARING THESE TALES AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. IT’S AS GOOD ENTERTAINMENT AS GHOST STORIES. MY FAVORITE OF THOSE IS “THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM.”

THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE CHARM TO THIS KIND OF STORY, BUT BELIEVING THEM IS NOT GOOD. THERE IS ALSO THE FAMOUS ANCIENT PRAYER ASKING PROTECTION FROM “GHOSTIES AND GHOULIES AND LONG LEGGEDY BEASTIES AND THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT,” WHICH WAS ACTUALLY IN SOME OLD PIECE OF WRITING, I DON’T REMEMBER WHAT ANY MORE, BUT IT IS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE LITERATE AND SANE THINKING IN THIS COUNTRY NOW. I DO WONDER JUST HOW SANE WE REALLY ARE AS A POPULATION OR EVEN AS A SPECIES.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/13/mississippi-man-alien-abduction-ufo-encounter/982669002/
Alien abduction: 45 years after alleged UFO encounter, Mississippi man breaks his silence
USA TODAY NETWORK Brian Broom, Mississippi Clarion Ledger Published 7:25 p.m. ET Aug. 13, 2018

VIDEO -- On October 11, 1973, Calvin Parker, Jr and Charles Hickson reported being abducted by aliens in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Decades later, in a rare interview with the Associated Press, Parker breaks his silence and stands by his story. (Oct. 11) AP
PHOTOGRAPH -- In this Oct. 9, 2013 file photo, Calvin Parker, Jr., stands in the area where he and fellow Mississippian Charles Hickson were allegedly abducted by aliens on Oct. 11, 1973, on the banks of the Pascagoula River in Pascagoula Miss. The incident made headlines, sparked UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record.
(Photo: File/AP)

It was an event he has been reluctant to speak about, yet it shaped much of his life. Calvin Parker, now of Moss Point, along with friend Charles Hickson, claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing on the Pascagoula River and now Parker has written a book he hopes will set the record straight.

"Pascagoula — The Closest Encounter, My Story" was recently published. It contains the first full account of the event given by Parker along with how it affected his life. It includes photos, documents and newspaper articles written through the years. It also marks the first time a transcription of a hypnosis session with Parker has been published.

Parker hopes it will clear the air.

"It was Oct. 11, 1973," Parker said. "We'd gotten off work that day and a friend of mine, he and I went fishing.

More: Mysterious radio signal from space? Astronomers aren’t sure of origins

"The old abandoned shipyard; they had a little pier out front and we were on that pier. I'm going to guess it was about six o'clock in the evening. It had just started getting dark, but it was kind of a bright moon."

Parker said he noticed blue light reflecting off the water and his initial thought was law enforcement officers had arrived to tell the two fishermen they needed to leave the property. However, when Parker looked up, he realized the light was coming from a craft like nothing he'd ever seen.

"A big light came out of the clouds," Parker said. "It was a blinding light.

"It was hard to tell with the lights so bright, but it looked like it was shaped like a football. I would say, just estimating, (it was) about 80-foot. (It made) very little sound. It was just a hissing noise."

More: 7 'alien sightings' for World UFO Day

Then the situation became more surreal. Parker said three legless creatures floated from the craft. One had no neck with gray wrinkled skin. Another had a neck and appeared more feminine. Parker described their hands as being shaped like mittens or crab claws.

When one of the creatures put one of its claws around his arm, Parker said he was terrified, but then another feeling came over his body.

"I think they injected us with something to calm us down," Parker said. "I was kind of numb and went along with the program."

Parker said the creatures floated he and Hickson into the craft and performed physical examinations on the two. Then they were taken back to the bank of the river.

Calvin Parker's new book is the first full public account he's given of his claim that he and a friend were abducted by aliens while fishing on the Pascagoula River in 1973.

Calvin Parker's new book is the first full public account he's given of his claim that he and a friend were abducted by aliens while fishing on the Pascagoula River in 1973. (Photo: Special to Clarion Ledger)

Parker said he didn't want to tell anyone what happened, but Hickson convinced him otherwise. The two contacted Keesler Air Force Base, but were told they should call local authorities. So, they contacted the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

According to Parker, the two passed sobriety tests as well as polygraph tests. Parker said he also passed a voice stress test.

The ordeal seemed like it was over, but for Parker, it was just beginning. The news spread worldwide and according to news reports, Hickson didn't shy away from the attention. Parker, on the other hand, didn't want it. In the years that followed, he said he changed jobs and relocated to other towns when people realized who he was. It was just something he didn't want to discuss.

More: Ingredients for alien life found in icy geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus

"I've been going through this 45 years this October," Parker said. "I never talked about it or wanted to talk about it.

"I have very few friends, but they're true friends. They never asked about it and I never talked about it. My family never talks about it."

After decades of largely not discussing the event, Parker began to change his mind after attending a funeral where he came into contact with people he'd not seen in many years and he felt they focused more attention on him than the deceased.

"I signed the registry at the funeral and people recognized the name," Parker said. "Out of respect for the family, I just left. My wife told me on the way home, 'You need to write about it.'"

More: UFO encounter? New footage shows U.S. Navy pilots' apparent sighting of alien craft near East Coast

Parker considered what happened at the funeral, the years of speculation about what happened that night on the river, and his health. He eventually agreed.

"I felt like everyone deserved an explanation," Parker said. "Everyone has an expiration date and I wanted to get this out there before I die.

"I've had some near-death experiences and I'm in bad health. I just wanted to do it."

In this Oct. 9, 2013 file photo, Calvin Parker, Jr., poses for a photograph at his home in Moss Point, Miss. Parker and fellow Mississippian Charles Hickson were allegedly abducted by aliens on Oct. 11,1973, on the banks of the Pascagoula River in Pascagoula Miss. The incident made headlines, sparked UFO sightings nationwide and became one of the most widely examined cases on record. (Photo: File/AP)

For Parker, the book is likely a weight lifted off his shoulders. For friends, family and others interested in his side of the story, it should be enlightening. However, Parker said there are some questions that may never be answered.

"I catch myself going fishing at night and look up and wonder where they came from and how far did they travel and why they had to get me."

Parker's book can be found at Amazon.com.

Follow Brian Broom on Twitter: @BrianBroom



THE NUMBERS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE WORSE THAN I HAD REALIZED. SO HOW LARGE IS THE WHOLE ICEBERG? MAYBE IT’S LIKE SAYING, “HOW WIDE IS THE SKY?” THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE – ALL AROUND US AND IN EVERY SPACE ON THE EARTH RATHER THAN MERELY ABOVE OUR HEADS, AS WE TEND TO THINK. SO ARE PRIESTS TOUCHING CHILDREN UNCLEANLY THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CHURCH SYSTEM? IT ISN’T ONLY IN THE CATHOLIC WORLD EITHER, BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN STORIES OF TWO PROTESTANT GROUPS AS WELL.

OF COURSE, I’M CYNICAL. I THINK THAT WHEREVER THERE IS A POWER STRUCTURE, AND THE CHURCHES CERTAINLY ARE THAT, WE WILL HAVE CORRUPTION. WHAT WE MOST NEED TO DO IN MY OPINION IS TO STOP WRITING LAWS THAT ALLOW CHURCHES TO GET AWAY WITH HIDING IT RATHER THAN TREATING IT AS A CRIME AND A MENTAL ILLNESS. IT ISN’T “LOVE,” BUT A TYPE OF PSYCHOSIS, AND OF COURSE, IT’S ASSAULT. WE ARE VERY PERVERSE AROUND THE AREA OF SEX. EVERY TIME I SEE SOME PRAISE OF MANKIND AS A WHOLE, I AM REMINDED OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HUMAN PERSONALITY. THIS BUSINESS OF ESSENTIALLY TORTURING CHILDREN, THOUGH, SHOULD IN MY VIEW BRING A PRISON TERM OF AT LEAST TEN YEARS – AND NO HOME DETENTION WITH ANKLE BRACELETS, EITHER.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/08/14/grand-jury-report-pennsylvania-details-abuse-catholic-priests/980687002/?csp=chromepush
Grand jury: More than 300 'predator priests' in Pennsylvania protected by Catholic Church
John Bacon and Mike James, USA TODAY Published 1:24 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018 | Updated 1:28 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2018

VIDEO -- Report Will Detail Sexual Abuse By More Than 300 Priests In Pennsylvania's Catholic Church
CBS Philly
PHOTOGRAPH -- A grand jury's report on sexual abuse by hundreds of Catholic priests in Pennsylvania is expected to be released later Tuesday.
(Photo: Claudio Reyes, AFP/Getty Images)

More than 300 "predator priests" in six Roman Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania were protected by church leaders more interested in safeguarding the church and the abusers than tending to their victims, a scathing grand jury report to be released Tuesday claims.

Small parts of the voluminous report were made public in advance of the release via court documents.

“The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid scandal,” the report says. "Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing: They hid it all.”

The redacted report details the latest in a decades-long series of claims of abuse and protection leveled against the church across the nation and around the world. As recently as last month, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of prominent Vatican official Cardinal Theodore McCarrick amid claims of sexual abuse almost 40 years ago.

The Pennsylvania report accused church leaders in the state of discouraging victims from reporting the crimes, which span more than 60 years.

“Several diocesan administrators, including the bishops, often dissuaded victims from reporting abuse to police, pressured law enforcement to terminate or avoid an investigation or conducted their own deficient, biased investigation without reporting crimes against children to the proper authorities,” the report says.

Some of the accused have died, and statute of limitations laws prevent many others from facing criminal charges.

One priest named in the report pleaded guilty last month to charges that he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy more than 20 years ago. Another has been charged with felony child sex crimes.

The grand jury compiled the information during a two-year investigation. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the report an "honest and comprehensive accounting of widespread sexual abuse" in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton that minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

More: Harrisburg Catholic diocese names priests accused of sexual abuse

More: Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's resigns amid sex scandal

More: Church pastor, board resign amid sexual misconduct investigation

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last month ordered release of the document but named a county judge to negotiate how much would be withheld from public view. Some current and former priests who deny the allegations fought to have their names redacted.

The Erie Diocese last week released a list of more than 60 people "credibly accused" of actions that the diocese said disqualified them from working with children. Bishop Lawrence Persico, in a letter this week preparing parishioners for the grand jury report, said it was "shocking to read the graphic details" of the abuse claims.

"The most important thing I want to do at this moment is to express my sorrow to the victims of sexual abuse that occurred within the Diocese of Erie," Persico wrote. "They have experienced cruel behavior by the very individuals who should have had the greatest interest in protecting them."

The Harrisburg Diocese earlier this month identified 71 priests and other members of the church who had been accused of child sex abuse.

"That conduct has left a legacy of pain and sorrow that is still being felt," Harrisburg Bishop Ronald Gainer wrote in a letter to the diocese."I apologize for these actions."

Gainer also announced sweeping changes to confidentiality policies and stripped from any place of honor in the diocese the names of bishops and others associated with the abuses.

Previous grand jury investigations found widespread abuse in the Philadelphia archdiocese and Altoona-Johnstown diocese.

Sexual abuse scandals have rocked the Roman Catholic Church for decades, not just in the U.S. but throughout the world. Courts and prosecutors have filed indictments and sued for damages in the ongoing efforts to hold the church accountable for the abuse crisis.

Several high-ranking clergy members, including the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in Australia, have gone to prison or been ordered to serve home detention sentences.

The scandals have also hit the church hard financially, and many dioceses have paid millions in compensation to victims. In June, the Roman Catholic Church of Rochester divulged that it had paid $1.6 million to at least 20 children who had been sexually abused by 24 priests since 1950.

Eighteen U.S. dioceses and religious orders in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy protection during the ongoing sexual abuse crisis, according to the website BishopAccountability.org, which tracks sexual abuse cases.

A 19th, the Diocese of St. Cloud in Minnesota, announced plans in February to file for bankruptcy protection.The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in late May that it has agreed to pay a $210 million settlement to 450 victims of clergy sexual abuse, one of the largest payouts to date in the U.S. over the scandal.



THIS NEW VIEW OF NEANDERTHAL LIFE MAY ACTUALY BE A WHOLE ARTICLE FROM NEW SCIENTIST. USUALLY THEY ARE JUST TEASERS. THIS IS STILL SKIMPY, FOR THE SUBJECT, THOUGH. I’LL LOOK FOR THE ORIGINAL – THERE IS ALWAYS AN ORIGINAL. THIS IS A MAGAZINE, I THINK, AND NOT A SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2176651-new-scientist-live-the-sophisticated-home-life-of-neanderthals/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2018_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-Roost-NSliveneanderthals
5
NEW SCIENTIST PROMOTIONS 14 August 2018
New Scientist Live: the sophisticated home life of Neanderthals

PHOTOGRAPH – ARTISTIC RENDITION OF A FAMILY OUTSIDE THEIR TEEPEE SHAPED TENT. By New Scientist staff

We once thought of Neanderthals as crude and unintelligent – not any more. Archaeological evidence suggests they were capable of symbolic thought, had some capacity for speech, and probably carried out elaborate burial rituals. They may even have taught modern humans new skills when the two species met and interbred.

Now we are starting to discover what Neanderthal home life was like, and the caricature of prehistoric cave men couldn’t be more wrong, Matt Pope* of University College London will argue at New Scientist Live next month.

It turns out that prehistoric humans started living in “homes” far earlier than we had thought. This unseen revolution included Neanderthals who, like Homo sapiens, had complex tools and mastery of fire. Neanderthals lived in family groups consisting of five to 10 individuals, and cared for their sick and injured with a medical cabinet that included painkillers and penicillin.

Contrary to expectations, some Neanderthals were even vegetarian. Others seasoned their food with wild herbs. And they were making porridge 32,000 years ago, long before farming was invented.

Hear more about the domestic life of Neanderthals when Pope speaks at New Scientist Live in London on Sunday 23 September.

New Scientist Live is our award-winning festival of ideas and discoveries. The four-day event will feature more than 110 speakers giving thought-provoking talks on everything from why swearing is good for you to the truth about vaping.


THIS IS YOUR INTERESTING AND ECCENTRIC SCIENCE LESSON FOR THE DAY. MATT POPE IS THE PROFESSOR. HE HAS AGAIN REMODELED OUR CONCEPT OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A HOMO SAPIENS NEANDERTHALENSIS. DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS THE IDEAS OF ARCHAEOLOGISTS ON THIS SUBJECT HAVE CHANGED FROM DECADE TO DECADE, IF NOT YEAR TO YEAR, AND IT CONTINUES TO FASCINATE ME. I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO COMPARES MYSELF TO ANIMALS, NOT IN DISGUST, BUT IN JOY.

THE LONG AND INTRICATE CHAIN OF LIFE IS A THING OF WONDER. THOSE PEOPLE WHO ONLY LOOK AT ANIMALS FROM A DISTANCE AND WITHOUT INTEREST, MUCH LESS LOVE, CAN’T UNDERSTAND THAT. IT’S LIKE THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THE GLASS IS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY. YES, A BLACK WIDOW SPIDER CAN DELIVER A FATAL BITE, BUT THEY ARE ALSO ONE OF THE MOST STRIKINGLY GRACEFUL AND BEAUTIFUL CREATURES ON EARTH. I TAKE THE GOOD WITH THE BAD.

MATT POPE ON THE NEANDERTHALS

http://ucl.academia.edu/MattPope

Matt Pope
University College London, Institute of Archaeology, Faculty Member | Taphonomy* +25
Welcome to my academia.edu homepage. Here you can get details on my current research and publications.

I work for the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) as a Senior Research Fellow coordinating alongside colleagues the reinvestigation of La Cotte de St Brelade, Jersey. I also coordinate Palaeolithic and Geoarchaeological fieldwork for the Centre for Applied Archaeology at UCL.

My research interests are primarily with the archaeology of human origins, specifically with the adaption* of early humans to northern latitudes, examining aspects of tools use, hunting behaviour and use of landscapes. More recently I have been focused on human occupation history and landscape development in the La Manche region.

My past research, as part of the Boxgrove Project Team, was concerned with the interpretation of Acheulean artefact assemblages, both in terms of the spatial organisation of technology and patterns of land use by Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. This work drew on detailed taphonomic studies of site formation process to allow the high resolution analysis of human behaviour at Boxgrove and other Middle Pleistocene sites. This work generated models which suggested patterns of structured artefact discard and the emergence of semiotic systems within early human societies, a research theme which I'm now pursing through examining symbolic landscapes of modern hunter gatherers.

I like to run, eat wild food, kayak rivers and climb things.

Supervisors: Clive Gamble and John MacNabb
Phone: 07801908734
Address: Institute of Archaeology
31-34 Gordon Square
London
WC1H OPY


"ADAPTION*"

THIS WORD FORM, AS OPPOSED TO ADAPTATION, IS FROM THE BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTICLE ABOVE ON NEANDERTHALS. I HAVE NEVER SEE IT BEFORE, AND I’VE SEEN LOTS OF WORDS. I THINK THIS MAY BE A BRITISH FORM. HERE IS THE EXPLANATION FROM GRAMMARIST -- http://grammarist.com/usage/adaption-adaptation/.

TO SUM UP WHAT GRAMMARIST SAYS, BOTH ARE OLD WORDS (1600S) WITH ESSENTIALLY THE SAME MEANINGS. ADAPTATION IS WHAT I AM USED TO SEEING. IT IS ALSO THE OLDER FORM AND IS STILL PREFERRED BY EDITORS TODAY. IT’S ALSO EASIER, FOR ME AT LEAST, TO SAY, FOR THE SAME REASON THAT THE GERMAN WORD “PFERD” IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO PRONOUNCE. CONSONANTS THAT CONTRAST AND AREN’T SEPARATED BY VOWELS ARE TONGUE-TWISING COMBINATIONS.

THINGS LIKE THAT IN A LANGUAGE, OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, TEND TO BECOME MODIFIED OR DISAPPEAR ENTIRELY. IT’S LIKE THE WORD “WORCESTERSHIRE” SAUCE. NOBODY SAYS THAT. THEY SAY, “WOOSTER SAUCE,” OR SOMETHING CLOSE TO THAT; OR SO IT SOUNDS TO MY AMERICAN EARS. THREE WHOLE SYLLABLES ARE GONE. I HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE A DRIVING TRIP THROUGH SOUTHERN ENGLAND WITH A FRIEND, AND WE OF COURSE USED A MAP ALL THE WAY.

WE WERE BOUND FOR “CALNE,” AND COULDN’T FIND IT; SO WE STOPPED TO ASK. I FOUND A SHOPKEEPER AND ASKED HER WHERE “CAL-NE” IS, AND THE WOMAN WAS PUZZLED. I SHOWED IT TO HER ON THE MAP AND SHE SAID, “OH! CARNE!” WELL, CALNE TURNED OUT TO BE A BEAUTIFUL AND VERY SMALL TOWN/CITY WITH THE MASSIVE WALLS AND GATEWAYS MADE OF LARGE GRANITE STONES. WE WALKED AROUND IN THERE FOR AN HOUR OR TWO LOOKING AT THE EQUALLY OLD STONE TOWNHOUSES. I WOULD SUGGEST TO ANYONE WHO IS GOING TO SPEND THE MONEY ON A TRIP LIKE THAT TO GO OFF THE MAIN TRACK AND LOOK AT THE GENUINELY HISTORICAL SIGHTS. JUST REMEMBER AT ALL TIMES TO DRIVE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD.


TAPHONOMIC STUDIES* FROM GREEK “TAPHOS” MEANING “BURIAL”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taphonomy
Taphonomy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized. The term taphonomy (from the Greek taphos, τάφος meaning "burial", and nomos, νόμος meaning "law") was introduced to paleontology in 1949[1] by Russian scientist Ivan Efremov to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of organisms from the biosphere to the lithosphere.[2][3]

Description

Taphonomic phenomena are grouped into two phases: biostratinomy; events that occur between death of the organism and the burial, and diagenesis; events that occur after the burial.[1] Since Efremov's definition, taphonomy has expanded to include the fossilization of organic materials, inorganic materials, and both cultural and environmental influences.

This is a multidisciplinary concept and is used in slightly different contexts throughout different fields of study. Fields that employ the concept of taphonomy* include:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taphonomy

“taphonomy”
: the study of the processes (such as burial, decay, and preservation) that affect animal and plant remains as they become fossilized; also : the processes themselves

Recent Examples of taphonomy from the Web

The taphonomy of how skin and protofeathers preserve, or do not, is little known, and the positive presence of skin can’t automatically be taken as an indication protofeathers were absent.
—

Brian Switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "Long Live the Fuzzy T. rex," 14 June 2017
Paleoanthropological and paleoecological implications of the taphonomy of a sabertooth’s den Journal of Human Evolution, 29 (6), 515-547 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1995.1074 MILFORD H. WOLPOFF, JOHN HAWKS, BRIGITTE SENUT, MARTIN PICKFORD, JAMES AHERN (2006).
—
Brian Switek, WIRED, "Toumai and the Sabercats," 20 Jan. 2011


“SWEARING IS GOOD FOR YOU,” SAYS THE NEW SCIENTIST ARTICLE BELOW. OR, AS PETRUCHIO SAID TO KATE, “SWEAR ME A GOOD MOUTH-FILLING OATH!” IF YOU RECOGNIZE THAT QUOTATION, YOU HAVE READ SOME SHAKESPEARE. THIS IS FROM THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, ONE OF MY FAVORITES, WHICH WAS MADE INTO A GREAT COMIC MOVIE CALLED “THE TAMING OF THE SHREW,” FROM 1968 AND STARRING ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND RICHARD BURTON. IF YOU CAN REMEMBER WATCHING THAT, YOU’RE PROBABLY MY AGE. SHAKESPEARE IS NOT MY FAVORITE ENGLISH WRITER, BUT THAT WAS A VERY ENJOYABLE PLAY, BOTH TO READ AND TO WATCH.

THIS SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF WHY PEOPLE SWEAR SOUNDS VERY INTERESTING TO ME. IT’S CLEARLY THERAPEUTIC, FROM MY EXPERIENCE, AND I BELIEVE IT CONCENTRATES MY CONSCIOUSNESS AND ENERGY AT TIMES LIKE WHEN I’M ABOUT TO DROP MY BOWL OF SOUP ONTO THE FLOOR. AFTER I SWEAR, I CAN FOCUS CLEARLY ENOUGH TO REGAIN CONTROL OF IT. I KNOW. YOU THINK THAT DOESN’T SOUND SCIENTIFIC, BUT IT SEEMS TO WORK FOR ME.

https://live.newscientist.com/talks/swearing-is-good-for-you/?utm_medium=WEB&utm_source=NSNSL&utm_campaign=2018-NSLive-News&utm_content=editorial-neanderthal-20180814
TALKS
Swearing is good for you
23-Sep-2018 AT 11:45 - 12:25

From chimpanzees creating their own curse words to a man who lost half his brain in a mining accident experiencing a new-found compulsion to swear, Emma Byrne outlines the fascinating science behind swearing: how it affects us both physically and emotionally, and how it is more natural and beneficial than we are led to believe.


EMMA BYRNE ON SWEARING

https://emmabyrne.net/
Dr Emma Byrne, the Sweary Scientist

Welcome
Grinning like cat with a dairy

Emma is an honest-to-goodness robot scientist who, when she’s not developing intelligent systems, writes for Forbes, the FT and Global Business Magazine. She also frequently appears on Sky News and the BBC talking about the future of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Her interest in neuroscience led to her first popular science book: Swearing is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language (Profile (UK), W. W. Norton (USA), Anansi (Canada) November 2017).

Her pub, conference and convention talks lead to packed houses and requests for more. Emma is available for personal appearances, television, internet, and radio work.

Emma’s literary agent is Carrie Plitt at Felicity Brian associates.



SWEARING IS GOOD FOR YOU

Swearing is Good for You is my first popular science book, which looks at the science of swearing. I argue (using peer reviewed science!) that swearing is both big and clever. It’s likely to have been one of the first forms of language that we developed and, since then, it’s been helping us to deal with pain, work together, manage our emotions and improve our minds.

9781781255773_1
Available now in the UK and Australia, and on preorder in the US and Canada.


I COULDN’T FIND ANY TEXT FROM BYRNE’S BOOK, BUT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, BLESS THEM, HAVE TAKEN A LOOK AT IT AND PRODUCED A REVIEW. LOOK AT THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THESE CHIMPANZEES ON PAGE ONE, WHO ARE ANGRILY SHRIEKING AS CHIMPS DO, THEIR FACES TWISTED AS OURS ARE WHEN WE EXPRESS STRONG ANGER. ANGER, FEAR, DEEP SADNESS, OR DESPAIR NEED TO BE EXPRESSED OR THEY CAN DAMAGE US EMOTIONALLY TO THE POINT OF SUICIDE OR POSSIBLY EVEN LITERALLY INSANITY IF WE ARE UNLUCKY. ARTISTIC THINGS HELP GREATLY ABOUT LETTING OFF SOME OF THAT INNER STEAM, SOME SAY LONG WORKOUTS AT THE GYM, READING A SAD STORY AND CRYING, OR TAKING A LONG WALK. THIS IS, I THINK, WHY ALL OF THESE NEWS STORIES ABOUT A MAN GOING BERZERK AND SHOOTING DOZENS OF PEOPLE WILL USUALLY BE DESCRIBED AS A "QUIET" PERSON. THEY ARE TIGHTLY HELD INSIDE THEIR OWN MIND, AND FINALLY THEY EXPLODE.

IN THE CASE OF OTHERS, WE MAY SIMPLY “CLOSE DOWN” EMOTIONALLY AND BECOME LESS ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE. SOME PEOPLE, WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE "GOOD" PEOPLE, WILL JUST CLAMP DOWN ON THAT FEELING OF ANGER AND IN TOO MANY CASES, DO SOMETHING HATEFUL AND DECEITFUL INSTEAD OF MAKING A VERBAL OR CONFRONTIVE ACTION. THEY ARE WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE "SNEAKY." THAT IS ANYTHING FROM GOSSIPPING BADLY ABOUT THE PERSON, TO STEALING OR BREAKING SOMETHING THAT THEY LOVE. A MINORITY, WHO ARE ALSO THE MOST MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY, ARE ABLE TO FORGIVE ALMOST TOTALLY AND QUICKLY. I BELIEVE THAT IS BECAUSE THEIR SELF-IMAGE IS NOT AS BADLY DAMAGED AS THAT OF THE ANGRIER PEOPLE.

THAT IS WHAT CAUSES PRESIDENT TRUMP TO RAGE SO MUCH, I THINK. HE IS ACTUALLY SENSITIVE AND I AM ALMOST CERTAIN, DEPRESSIVE. I CAN FORGIVE THAT, BUT IT DOESN’T MAKE HIM BE A GOOD DIPLOMAT, PRESIDENT, BOSS OR PROBLEM SOLVER. HE GOVERNS BY FIAT, OR SO HE THINKS. HE THINKS HIS WORD SHOULD BE THE LAW, BUT IN THE USA, THOSE TWO THINGS ARE SEPARATE. PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS DO WHAT HE WANTS THEM TO DO, AND THEN HE TURNS VENGEFUL. I HAVE A NUMBER OF HIS CHARACTERISTICS, BUT THANK GOODNESS I’M NOT IN CHARGE OF THE LIFE OF A NATION. I ALSO DON’T DO THE SNEAKY TRICKS THAT I DISPISE SO MUCH, EITHER. WHAT I DO IS REACT VERBALLY AT THE MOMENT. THAT TURNS SOME PEOPLE OFF, BUT IT HAS STOPPED BULLYING AND IT MAKES ME MORE ENERGETIC AND STRONG EMOTIONALLY.

THOSE WHO CAN’T JUST “TURN THE OTHER CHEEK,” OR DELIVER LOVE IN EXCHANGE FOR ANGER ARE MORE COMMON IN THE HUMAN POPULATIONS AROUND THE WORLD THAN THOSE WHO CAN. CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION OF PASSIFISM, AND THAT DOES NOT COME NATURALLY TO ME AND MOST OTHERS THAT I KNOW. AS MORDRED IN THE WONDERFUL PLAY “CAMELOT” SANG, “IT’S NOT THE EARTH THE MEEK INHERIT, IT’S THE DIRT.” WHILE I KNOW INTELLECTUALLY THAT IT’S A NEGATIVE WAY TO LOOK AT IT, IT CAN KEEP PEOPLE FROM AGGRESSING ON MY PERSON AND TERRITORY AS MUCH, AND SOMETIMES THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WANT. I DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT STOPPING PEOPLE FROM ROLLING OVER ME LIKE A TANK IS A BAD THING TO DO.

SO IN MY VIEW, TO DISSIPATE ANGER, SWEARING, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRIVACY OF ONE’S OWN ROOM, IS A REALLY WONDERFUL OUTLET FOR ENERGY. THE BEST THING TO DO AT THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT IS TO WALK AWAY, TAKE A WALK DOWN THE STREET OR IN THE FIELDS, AND LET OFF SOME PHYSICAL ENERGY THAT WAY. ALSO, BY THE TIME WE COME BACK, WE MAY REMEMBER THAT WE DO ACTUALLY LOVE THAT PERSON, AND TAKE MEASURES TO MEND THE RELATIONSHIP. OF COURSE, THERE IS PROBABLY SOMETHING OF AN ONGOING PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE WORKED OUT. THE LOVER OR CHILD OR COWORKER HAS PERHAPS BEEN USING RUDE TONES OF VOICE AND MANNER WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING IT, APOLOGIZING AND MAKING AN HONEST EFFORT TO STOP DOING THE HURTFUL THING. I BELIEVE THAT DISTANCE IS USUALLY A BETTER THING THAN AN ENFORCED CLOSENESS UNLESS THERE REALLY IS A LOT OF WARM LOVE THERE.

PEOPLE JUST DON’T “TALK THINGS OUT” NEARLY ENOUGH IN THIS COUNTRY. PART OF THE TROUBLE IS THAT WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF DAILY STRESS THAT WEARS DOWN OUR FOREBEARANCE. WE NEED TO SPEND “QUALITY TIME” WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND CO-WORKERS. WE SHOULD JOKE MORE, PLAY MORE AND LAUGH MORE. HUMANS ARE MADE PSYCHOLOGICALLY TO HAVE FUN. WE ALSO NEED TO HUG MORE AND DISCUSS FEELINGS, VIEWPOINTS AND HOPES. IN THE USA THESE DAYS WE DON’T SPEND TIME WITH PEOPLE AS WE DID IN MY YOUNG YEARS WHERE THERE WEREN’T TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS AND TOYS EVERYWHERE. WE TALKED FOR ENTERTAINMENT. IT ISN’T INACCESSIBLE, BUT MERELY A HABIT THAT I REGRET HAVING LOST IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.

SWEARING, FINALLY, IS ALSO STRENGTHENING. IT STIFFENS OUR RESOLVE TO SPEAK BACK IN AN EFFECTIVELY ASSERTIVE WAY, RATHER THAN COWERING OR CRYING. THAT TO ME, IS THE TRUE PURPOSE OF ANGER. THERE IS A TIME TO DEFEND OUR TERRITORY. FROM MY EXPERIENCE, WHEN I AM REALLY ANGRY, THE WORDS THAT COME TO ME ARE MORE LIKELY THE MOST VERBALLY EXPRESSIVE THAT I CAN SAY, RATHER THAN THE MOST FURIOUS.

I DON’T STOMP AROUND OR PHYSICALLY THREATEN PEOPLE. I TEND TO BECOME MORE FRIGID OR VERBALLY CLEARCUT AND SUCCINCT; AND HAVE RARELY SWORN AT SOMEBODY IN ANGER, THOUGH I CERTAINLY HAVE SHOUTED. I SWEAR AT THE WORLD IN ANGER, THOUGH, AND SOMETIMES AT MYSELF. WHAT DOES MOST FREQUENTLY CAUSE ME TO SWEAR IS SUDDEN SHARP PAIN, INTENSE FRUSTRATION, SUDDEN FRIGHT, CRUELTY AND BULLYING, ETC. IN REACTION TO OTHERS, MY VOICE LOWERS AND IS STRONGER; AND MY FACE DOES STIFFEN OR CONTORT.

I THINK THAT’S TRUE OF NEARLY EVERYONE. I TRY NOT TO REMAIN TOO CLOSE TO PEOPLE WHO DO AGGRESSIVE THINGS TO ME, THOUGH, BECAUSE ONE THING IS CLEAR TO ME NOW, THEY AREN’T FRIENDS AND THEY DON’T LOVE ME. RELATIONSHIPS ARE NOT MANDATORY, AFTER ALL, EVEN SPOUSES OR FAMILY. IF IN EARLY YEARS, THE FAMILY IS ONE OF ANGRY RELATIONSHIPS, AS ONE PSYCHOLOGIST CALLED IT, A “TOXIC RELATIONSHIP,” IT IS IN MY OPINION BETTER TO BREAK IT UP. A GOOD SET OF FRIENDS CAN GIVE THE WARMTH AND LOVE THAT IS NEEDED, AND THE FREEDOM AS WELL TO FOLLOW OUR OWN LIGHTS AND INCLINATIONS.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/science-swearing-profanity-curse-emma-byrne/
Cursing masks pain and builds relationships at work. But if you’re a woman, letting a profanity fly can still raise eyebrows.
BY SIMON WORRALL
PUBLISHED JANUARY 27, 2018
BOOK TALK
Swearing Is Good For You—And Chimps Do It, Too

PHOTOGRAPH -- Chimpanzees who learned sign language also developed a way to swear. BY CYRIL RUOSO, MINDEN PICTURES, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
PHOTOGRAPH OF BOOK DUSTCOVER; COURTESY W.W. NORTON & COMPANY

Swearing is usually regarded as simply lazy language or an abusive lapse in civility. But as Emma Byrne shows in her book, Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language, new research reveals that profanity has many positive virtues, from promoting trust and teamwork in the office to increasing our tolerance to pain.

When National Geographic caught up with Byrne at her home in London, she explained why humans aren’t the only primates that can curse and why, though women are swearing more today than before, it is still regarded by many as “unfeminine.”

You write, “I’ve had a certain pride in my knack for colorful and well-timed swearing.” Tell us about your relationship to bad language, and in what sense it is good for us?

My first memory of being punished for swearing was calling my little brother a four-letter word, twat, which I thought was just an odd pronunciation of the word twit. I must have been about eight at the time; my brother was still pre-school. My mother froze, then belted me round the ear. That made me realize that some words had considerably more power than others, and that the mere shift in a vowel was enough to completely change the emotional impact of a word.

I’ve always had a curiosity about things I’ve been told I am not meant to be interested in, which is why I wound up in a fairly male-dominated field of artificial intelligence for my career. There’s a certain cussedness to my personality that means, as soon as someone says, “No, that’s not for you,” I absolutely have to know about it.

My relationship with swearing is definitely one example. I tend to use it as a way of marking myself out as being more like my male colleagues, like having a working knowledge of the offside rule in soccer. It’s a good way of making sure that I’m not seen as this weird, other person, based on my gender.

There’s great research coming out of Australia and New Zealand, which is perhaps not surprising, that says that jocular abuse, particularly swearing among friends, is a strong signal of the degree of trust that those friends share. When you look at the transcripts of these case studies of effective teams in sectors like manufacturing and IT, those that can joke with each other in ways that transgress polite speech, which includes a lot of swearing, tend to report that they trust each other more.

One of the reasons why there’s probably this strong correlation is that swearing has such an emotional impact. You’re demonstrating that you have a sophisticated theory of mind about the person that you’re talking to, and that you have worked out where the limit is between being shocking enough to make them giggle or notice you’ve used it but not so shocking that they’ll be mortally offended. That’s a hard target to hit right in the bullseye. Using swear words appropriate for that person shows how well you know them; and how well you understand their mental model.