FEBRUARY 22 and 23, 2019

NEWS AND VIEWS

CHRISTOPHER PAUL HASSON, A DEVOTEE OF WHITE NATIONALISM, APPARENTLY WROTE A “LETTER” WHICH WAS FOUND IN HIS EMAILS, WHOSE WORDING SOUNDS MORE LIKE A PRAYER THAN A LETTER TO ME, AND IT WOULDN’T BE TO THE CHRISTIAN GOD, BUT SURELY TO THE DEVIL INSTEAD. READ PARAGRAPH 8, WHICH BEGINS “PLEASE SEND ME YOUR VIOLENCE ...” HIS LAST NAME IS ISLAMIC, AND HE SPENT A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME IN THREE DIFFERENT AMERICAN MILITARY BRANCHES. HE MUST HAVE SEEMED SANE TO THEM OR THEY WOULDN’T HAVE RECRUITED HIM.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/self-proclaimed-white-nationalist-planned-mass-terror-attack-government-says-i-am-dreaming-of-a-way-to-kill-almost-every-last-person-on-earth/2019/02/20/61daf6b8-3544-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html
Public Safety
‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says
By Lynh Bui February 20, 2019

A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-identified white nationalist was arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons and ammunition in his Maryland home that authorities say he stockpiled to launch a widespread domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists.

Christopher Paul Hasson called for “focused violence” to “establish a white homeland” and said, “I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on the earth,” according to court records filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland. Though court documents do not detail a specific planned date for an attack, the government said he had been amassing supplies and weapons since at least 2017, developed a spreadsheet of targets that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and searched the Internet using phrases such as “best place in dc to see congress people” and “are supreme court justices protected.”

“The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country,” the government said in court documents filed this week, arguing that Hasson should stay in jail awaiting trial.

[A Norwegian mass murderer inspired the Coast Guard offiver [sic] accused of plotting terror, feds say]

Hasson, 49, of Silver Spring, is expected to appear before a judge for a detention hearing in federal court in Greenbelt at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Hasson was arrested Friday on ­charges of illegally possessing weapons and drugs, but the government said those charges are the “proverbial tip of the iceberg.” Officials with the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland outlined Hasson’s alleged plans to spark chaos and destruction, describing in court documents a man obsessed with neo-fascist and neo-Nazi views.

Prosecutors contend that Hasson bought this stash of steroids and narcotics to increase his ability to carry out his alleged plan. (U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland)

“Please send me your violence that I may unleash it onto their heads,” Hasson wrote in a letter that prosecutors said was found in his email drafts. “Guide my hate to make a lasting impression on this world.”

A magistrate judge ordered the federal public defender’s office to represent Hasson; that office declined to comment Wednesday.

Hasson has been working at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington since 2016, according to court documents filed by prosecutors. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1988 to 1993 and in the Army National Guard for about two years in the mid-1990s, the filings state.

Agents with the FBI field office in Baltimore and the Coast Guard Investigative Service arrested Hasson, FBI Baltimore spokesman Dave Fitz confirmed.

A Coast Guard spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Scott McBride, said Wednesday that Hasson no longer works at Coast Guard headquarters.

Federal investigators say that Hasson created this spreadsheet of people he would target in a terror attack. (U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland)

“An active duty Coast Guard member stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., was arrested last week on illegal weapons and drug charges as a result of an ongoing investigation led by Coast Guard Investigation Services, in cooperation with the FBI and the Dept. of Justice,” McBride said in a statement. McBride declined to comment further, citing the open investigation.

Court documents do not detail what prompted federal law enforcement to begin investigating Hasson but contend that Hasson had been studying the 1,500-page manifesto of right-wing terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who unleashed two attacks in 2011 that killed 77 people in Norway, and echoed Breivik’s attack preparations.

[Read the Hasson court filing here]

In an email drafted in June 2017, he contemplated biological attacks and targeting food supplies, according to the court filings. He considered the merits of a “bombing/sniper campaign.” And he included a “Things to do” list that mentioned purchasing land “out west or possibly NC mtns” for family and researching tactics used during the civil war in Ukraine.

“During unrest target both sides to increase tension,” Hasson wrote in the email, according to the court filings. “In other words provoke gov/police to over react which should help to escalate violence. BLM protests or other left crap would be ideal to incite to violence.”

In another letter drafted months later to an American neo-Nazi leader, cited in the court filing, Hasson called for a “white homeland.” He sent the letter to himself nearly two months after the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, where torch-carrying white supremacists clashed with anti-racist protesters.

“I never saw a reason for mass protest or wearing uniforms marching around provoking people with swastikas etc.,” Hasson said in the letter, according to court filings. “I was and am a man of action you cannot change minds protesting like that. However you can make change with a little focused violence.”

Hasson’s commitment to destruction appeared heightened in recent weeks, according to prosecutors. He created a list of “traitors” and targets on Jan. 19 in an Excel spreadsheet on his work computer, they said, which was created two days after he conducted several Internet inquiries:

8:54 a.m.: “what if trump illegally impeached”

8:57 a.m.: “best place in dc to see congress people”

8:58 a.m.: “where in dc to congress live”

10:39 a.m.: “civil war if trump impeached”

11:26 a.m.: “social democrats usa”

The arrest marks the second time that the service has responded to an incident involving alleged white supremacy in recent months. In September, the Coast Guard reprimanded a service member who flashed what some people identified as a white-supremacy sign in the background of a televised interview with another officer during the response to Hurricane Florence.

“We are aware of the offensive video on twitter — the Coast Guard has identified the member and removed him from the response,” the service said at the time in a tweet. “His actions do not reflect those of the United States Coast Guard.”

That individual was not identified.

Dan Lamothe and Alice Crites contributed to this report.


ANOTHER SICK ACTION, THIS TIME FOR MONEY -- MILLIONS.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/va-official-steered-88-disabled-veterans-to-sham-job-training-in-2-million-fraud-bribery-scheme/2019/02/15/b2dcf24c-30a7-11e9-86ab-5d02109aeb01_story.html?utm_term=.d753b615866a
Public Safety
VA official steered 88 disabled veterans to sham job training in $2 million fraud-bribery scheme
By Spencer S. Hsu February 15, 2019

PHOTOGRAPH -- James King, a VA official who led a scheme to steer 88 disabled veterans and more than $2 million in taxpayer-funded benefits to sham job-retraining schools in exchange for bribes and kickbacks, was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison. (Charles Dharapak/AP)

A disabled infantryman who served three tours in Iraq and was exploited by a Department of Veterans Affairs official looked across a courtroom and called on the man to think hard in prison about what he had done.

“You took an oath to serve veterans. You took an oath to serve your country. But money and greed corrupted you,” Chris Burke, 51, of Herndon, Va., a former U.S. infantry member who served three tours, told James King in federal court Friday at King’s sentencing hearing.

King led a scheme to steer 88 disabled veterans and more than $2 million in taxpayer-funded benefits to sham job-retraining schools in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in Washington after former U.S. service members told a judge how King, 61, of Baltimore, wasted years of their lives and left them with nothing but debt and stolen dreams of post-service careers.

Many times, Burke said, he and other veterans waited in their cars or stood in front of a locked storefront office of Atius Technology Institute of Beltsville, Md., while instructors failed to show. Burke told the court that he called and went to King’s office to try to get a response, and got no answer after raising complaints to a department office in Baltimore.

Burke said he broke his left hip, four vertebrae and his collarbone in a military exercise, and hoped to receive training to work with computers through classes at either the University of Maryland, a community college or Strayer University, which offers classes to students mostly online. But when he raised that in the retraining program, Burke told the judge, King lied to him and told him Atius was his only choice.

“In prison, I want you to think about families and others you were supposed to help,” Burke told King. “Think about how you can make it right.”

Another veteran, who was not identified and whose letter to the court was read by Assistant U.S. Attorney Simon Cataldo of the District, said that after two years of study, “I have nothing to show for it.”

The letter posed the question: “How am I supposed to justify the knowledge I gained from a fraudulent institution,” or the time out of the job market, to skeptical employers? VA will not compensate or credit her for the wasted benefits, she wrote.

VA’s vocational rehabilitation and employment program provides counselors and money for education and training to help disabled veterans land civilian work.

Cataldo said King’s victims included older service members who had finished their military careers, young ones just establishing themselves after deployment and immigrant veterans getting their first exposure to U.S. civilian life.

Some may have wanted to learn mortuary science or culinary skills, but King ignored requests and misled them, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates* said. King admitted to padding invoices and student hours, and receiving $155,000 in kickbacks or bribes.

King pleaded guilty in October to one count each of honest services* and wire fraud, bribery and falsifying records to obstruct the investigation, which revealed he steered $2.1 million in U.S. veterans benefits to three for-profit schools in exchange for a cut, and manipulated veterans to attend those schools despite having better options.

Three school owners and employees who admitted bribing King already have been sentenced. Atius owner Albert Poawui must serve 70 months in prison and pay back $1.5 million; Atius employee Sombo Kanneh must serve 20 months and pay back $113,000; and Michelle Stevens, the owner of Eelon Training Academy of Leesburg, Fla., which King helped set up, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and pay back $83,000.

In court, King admitted his crimes but asked for forgiveness, saying he had a caseload of 250 veterans and failed to check on schools.

“I can’t say I am not responsible for it because I am, and I am sorry,” King said.

King’s lawyer, William Buie III, went further, asserting King merely followed a “custom and practice” of federal employees and contractors at VA and elsewhere exploiting insider skills for rewards before or after leaving public-sector work.

King’s actions were “indefensible,” Buie said, but asked for a fair sentence that considered his age, lack of criminal history, his 7-year-old daughter, past military service and his lesser cut in the scheme, which he was ordered to pay back in restitution.

Bates, a Vietnam War veteran and former U.S. Army lieutenant, noted that King did not leave the military “on the best terms,” adding that the judge himself was 72-years-old.

[NOTE: JUDGE BATES -- John Deacon Bates (born October 11, 1946)]

Bates sentenced King to less than the 14 to 17½ years prosecutors sought, noting King’s age and lesser financial benefit in the overall scheme, but said King led and orchestrated multiple schemes involving multiple bribes from several “grossly deficient” schools over more than two years, victimizing veterans, taxpayers and VA.

“This was a lengthy, broad and callous bribery scheme and financial scheme, for which you bear the primary responsibility,” Bates said.

His voice rising, Bates said, “People need to know that that cannot continue at VA. We cannot allow people in public office who are being bribed to send money to companies.”

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District cited King’s betrayal of public trust for those he was to serve as a mentor and counselor. “Instead of helping our veterans, he lined his own pockets by taking bribes to send them to three sham schools that brought them only pain and frustration,” Liu said.


“I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SLAUGHTER MILLIONS OF DRUG ADDICTS ....”

“IT WAS A METAPHOR!” THIS EXPLANATION SOUNDS LIKE SARAH SANDERS DEFENDING THE WORST OR THE STRANGEST OF THE TRUMPIAN COMMENTS. HE MEANT THIS AND HE MEANT THAT. IT’S EMBARRASSING ALL THE WAY AROUND. I WONDER HOW MUCH SHE GETS PAID.

ONE, “SLAUGHTERING HUMANS” OF ANY KIND IS HORRIBLE. TWO, THE IDEA THAT HE “WOULD BE HAPPY” TO DO IT IS FRIGHTENING. THREE, SAYING THAT IN GERMANY IS IDIOTIC. FOUR, LOCSIN’S STATEMENT THAT HE HIMSELF HAD JUST SAID THE SAME THING IS THE ULTIMATE IN LOYALTY – THROWING HIMSELF IN THE LINE OF FIRE TO SAVE DUTERTE’S NECK. WORST OF ALL, TRUMP WAS JUST LAST YEAR PRAISING DUTERTE AND SAYING HOW WELL THEIR TALKS WENT. SILENTLY WEEPING, HERE. I HAVE MET SEVERAL FILIPINOS AND I LIKE THEM VERY MUCH. THEY ARE IN THE USA, LUCKILY.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/philippines-foreign-minister-fire-nazi-comments-190223070345811.html
NEWS/GERMANY
Philippines foreign minister under fire over Nazi comments
Teodoro Locsin Jr says murder of Jews in Germany was a 'historical fact', describes Duterte's comments as a 'metaphor'.
by Ted Regencia
FEBRUARY 23, 2019 8 hours ago

PHOTOGRAPH -- Before becoming foreign secretary, Locsin served as the Philippine ambassador to the UN [File: Manman Dejeto/AP Photo]

The Philippines's top diplomat has defended his comments on Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler's massacre of Jews as "historical fact", amid brewing diplomatic tension between Manila and Berlin.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr wrote on social media on Saturday that President Rodrigo Duterte's previous comparison of his deadly war on drugs to the Nazi leader's killing of millions of Jews during the Holocaust "is a metaphor".

"The killing of 6MJews, 20MRussians & innocents like Anne Frank in WW2 is historical fact," Locsin added in the Twitter post.

Locsin's comment followed reports on Friday that Germany's foreign ministry had summoned the Philippines's acting ambassador to Berlin, to protest earlier remarks he had made about Duterte's controversial Holocaust statement to a journalist during a visit to the German capital on Monday.

VIDEO -- Fear and killings on the rise in Duterte's war on drugs (2:41)

In the interview with ARD journalist Arnd Henze, Locsin responded to a question about Duterte's 2016 remarks, in which the head of state appeared to compare himself to Hitler, and said he would be "happy to slaughter" millions of drug addicts in the Philippines, like the Nazis did to millions of Jews.

"I said the same thing," Locsin told Henze. "I myself said the same thing before he even said it."

In a statement on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines described a clip of an interview as "unfortunate" and "biased".

"The video posted by Mr Henze on his blog is incomplete and misleading. It failed to show Mr Henze's deliberate attempts to provoke Secretary Locsin into giving controversial remarks," it said.

In response to Germany's diplomatic protest, Locsin said on Friday: "Rich, coming from one of those who did not just comment on it but perpetrated it."

In a separate post, Locsin confirmed the summons writing on Twitter, "Yes, what now? Berlin embassy is handling it; I already told them to tell the German Foreign Ministry to send the German ambassador to me because I'd rather finish my own fights than have others do it."

Writing in the Filipino language, Locsin ended his post with a quip seen by critics as homophobic.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Henze, the German journalist, said that as a diplomat, Locsin "should have known" before visiting Germany how sensitive the Holocaust issue is to the country.

Duterte has compared the Philippine drug war to the killings of Jews in Germany [Bullit Marquez/AP]

"It is absolutely unacceptable. He could have answered it by saying that President Duterte had apologised about the matter. That could have ended the interview. Instead, Mr Locsin tried to justify what the Philippine leader said," Henze said.

In the aftermath of the controversy, the Philippine foreign secretary had blocked him on Twitter, he added.

He said that after Locsin's visit, "everyone now knows" about his statement on the Holocaust.

On Friday, the German government said it will explore more options to try to pressure the Duterte administration as it continues to pursue its deadly drug war.

Controversial comments

Duterte had already apologised to the Jewish community in the Philippines, shortly after giving the original remarks in 2016. During his visit to Israel in 2018, he also visited the Holocaust memorial and met elderly Jews who had fled to Manila to escape the Holocaust.

Locsin's recent comments, however, revived Duterte's Nazi controversy, while also putting a spotlight on the diplomat's previous remarks about Hitler.

In October 2016, while serving as the Philippine ambassador to the United Nations, Locsin sparked outrage after he defended the deadly drug war in the Philippines, writing "the drug menace is so big it needs a Final Solution likes the Nazis adopted. That I believe. No rehab."

He later apologised for that post.

In another social media thread in August 2016, Locsin also wrote, "I hope I am not misjudged. I will try to analyze the drug problem and its FINAL SOLUTION ala [Auschwitz] objectively".

WATCH -- Is Duterte's drug war undermining the rule of law? 12:31

Since Duterte came to office on June 30, 2016, human rights advocates say the death toll in his war on drugs has surpassed 20,000. The Commission on Human Rights was quoted in December 2018 as saying that the number could be as high as 27,000.

The government, however, claims the toll is much lower. According to its latest report, published in December, a total of 5,050 people have been killed since the launch of the anti-drug campaign.

Locsin, a former television commentator and opinion columnist, is no stranger to controversy, frequently engaging his social media followers in spats. He has more than 650,000 followers on Twitter.

In one of his more recent commentaries, he referred to the "sissy international media" for not reporting about the drug trade's effect on mass migration.

"This is clear proof that media critics of wars on drugs must surely be on the payroll of the drug trade."

Richard Heydarian, a Manila-based foreign policy analyst, said Locsin's "untrammeled Twitter outbursts" add more "flame into the fire of Duterte's foreign policy".

"Given Duterte's often incendiary rhetoric, which has imperilled [sic] our relations with some of traditional partners, especially in the West, it's imperative that the country's diplomatic chief acts as one, namely as a diplomat," Heydarian told Al Jazeera.

"We are witnessing a puzzling situation where Duterte's henchmen try to out-Duterte each other, some with regrettable lack of remorse and common sense. Often it's hard to see whose comments are more unacceptable in the ongoing bid to the bottom."


WAR ON DRUGS 2017

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/13/563688200/human-rights-barely-registers-in-meeting-between-trump-philippines-duterte
INTERNATIONAL
Human Rights Barely Registers In Meeting Between Trump, Philippines' Duterte
November 13, 20174:50 AM ET
SCOTT NEUMAN

PHOTOGRAPH -- President Trump shakes hand with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during the gala dinner marking ASEAN's 50th anniversary in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday.
Athit Perawongmetha/AP

President Trump, in Manila on the last leg of his tour of five Asian nations, only briefly touched on the question of human rights with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has waged a deadly extra-judicial war on drugs that has left thousands dead.

Duterte, who just days before had boasted of killing someone as a teenager "just over a look" and once called President Obama a "son of a whore" for criticizing his bloody crackdown on drug dealers and users, which human rights activists say has killed more than 13,000 people.

THE TWO-WAY -- 'That's Good,' Philippine President Says, As Drug Raids Kill Unprecedented Numbers

As mayor of Davao, Duterte said he personally killed suspected criminals while out cruising on his motorcycle. And, he has compared his war on drugs to the Holocaust and said he would "slaughter addicts."

Duterte's brash demeanor and untempered language have earned him the nickname "Trump of the East." Trump, in turn, has praised Duterte — telling him in an April phone call that he was doing an "unbelievable job on the drug problem."

ASIA -- The Deadly Cost Of Duterte's War On Drugs
ASIA -- Trump Invites Philippines' President To White House, Despite Human Rights Record

Even so, over the summer Duterte turned down an offer from Trump to visit the White House, reportedly saying "I've seen American and it's lousy."

Nonetheless, the two leaders' seem to like each others' style and their propensity for mutual admiration continued on Monday at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Philippine capital.

Duterte took the stage for an impromptu duet with local pop star Pilitia Corrales, which he later said he had done "upon the orders of the commander-in-chief of the United States."

Embedded video

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The song's title which translates from Tagalog as "You" and contains the verse: "You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine."

In remarks to the media at a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Duterte joked about reporters being "spies," a remark that elicited a chuckle from Trump.

The two leaders have "a great relationship," Trump said.

"The ASEAN conference has been handled beautifully by the president of the Philippines and your representatives. I've really enjoyed being here," he said.

"Last night's event was fantastic. Tremendous talent. Most of it, I guess, from the Philippines. But tremendous talent, musical talent, dance talent. We really had a tremendous time, all of the leaders," he said.

Human Rights in the Philippines

Asked by reporters whether he had raised the topic of human rights with Duterte, Trump did not answer: "Whoa, whoa," Duterte said. "This not a press statement. This is the bilateral meeting."

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that the bilateral conversation between the two leaders focused on the Islamic State, illegal drugs, and trade. She said human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines' anti-drug campaign.

However, Duterte's spokesman, Harry Roque, told reporters in Manila that the issue of human rights was not discussed even as the Philippine leader explained his anti-drug policy at length to Trump, who "seemed to be appreciative of his efforts."

At a brief address to ASEAN, Trump sounded one of the main themes of his five-nation tour of the region – "fairness and reciprocity" in international trade, while boasting that since he has taken office, the U.S. economy has performed "really brilliantly," with the highest stock market, lowest unemployment and business enthusiasm "off the charts."

Early in his administration, the president withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade pact which he has excoriated as unfair. On this trip, he has tried to lay the groundwork for a series of bilateral deals that he says will be more balanced.

ASIA -- In South China Sea Dispute, Filipinos Say U.S. Credibility Is On The Line

THE TWO-WAY -- China Calls U.S. Destroyer In South China Sea A 'Provocation'

Trump's stop in the Philippines for the ASEAN summit, with its 11 regional member-nations, follows his attendance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Danang, Vietnam, where he delivered a speech harshly critical of the trade imbalance between the United States and many of the other nations in what the administration describes as the Indo-Pacific region.

'Freedom of Navigation' In South China Sea

Before leaving Vietnam, Trump formally transferred the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau to Hanoi to assist what the U.S. terms "freedom of navigation" patrols — as a show of strength against Beijing's efforts in recent years to flex its muscles in the South China Sea that has put China at odds with nearly every one of its maritime neighbors.

Trump offered to mediate the conflict in which China has taken active measures to lay claim to several disputed island chains.

"I'm a very good mediator and arbitrator," Trump said, offering to help resolve the dispute at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Hanoi.

As The Associated Press notes: "Trump's offer faces major obstacles. For one, China has steadfastly opposed what it calls U.S. meddling in the disputes and has balked at the U.S. Navy's incursions into what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the South China Sea."



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbNbovoJ6os
NYT Bombshell Outlines Donald Trump's Efforts To Obstruct Investigations | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

MSNBC
Published on Feb 19, 2019
Rachel Maddow reviews the highlights of a major report by the New York Times into the many ways Donald Trump tried to undercut, obstruct, or discredit the investigations into him, his business, his campaign, and his administration.
Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc


MSNBC

https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/watch-doj-s-mueller-report-news-break-on-live-tv-1447073859908
Watch DOJ’s Mueller report news break on live TV

In an unusual move, Trump’s new Attorney General Bill Barr had the DOJ formally break its silence about when Mueller will finish his Russia probe on Friday afternoon, telling reporters Mueller would not be done in the following week, rebutting reports from Washington Post and CNN that Mueller’s report could be imminent. This report from The Beat on MSNBC tracks that news, along with other big developments on what MSNBC anchor Ari Melber dubbed a “Mueller Friday,” with analysis from a former DOJ official who wrote the rules governing Mueller, Neal Katyal, who says in this report “we keep learning about new crimes allegedly committed by Trump, and the coterie of people around him,” which could be way Mueller’s timeframe has “stretched” out longer.
Feb. 22, 2019


GIVING ELIZABETH HER SAY, TOO, WATCH THIS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yyMvFBTIXU
#TYT #TheYoungTurks #TYTnetwork
Elizabeth Warren Interview On TYT



BEDTIME NEWS

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190219080737.htm
Quarrying of Stonehenge 'bluestones' dated to 3000 BC
Date:
February 19, 2019

Source:
University College London

Summary:
Excavations at two quarries in Wales, known to be the source of the Stonehenge 'bluestones', provide new evidence of megalith quarrying 5,000 years ago.


Science News from research organizations
Quarrying of Stonehenge 'bluestones' dated to 3000 BC
Date:
February 19, 2019
Source:
University College London
Summary:
Excavations at two quarries in Wales, known to be the source of the Stonehenge 'bluestones', provide new evidence of megalith quarrying 5,000 years ago.

PHOTOGRAPH -- This is the Stonehenge quarry.
Credit: UCL

Excavations at two quarries in Wales, known to be the source of the Stonehenge 'bluestones', provide new evidence of megalith quarrying 5,000 years ago, according to a new UCL-led study.

Geologists have long known that 42 of Stonehenge's smaller stones, known as 'bluestones', came from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. Now a new study published in Antiquity pinpoints the exact locations of two of these quarries and reveals when and how the stones were quarried.

The discovery has been made by a team of archaeologists and geologists from UCL, Bournemouth University, University of Southampton, University of the Highlands and Islands and National Museum of Wales, which have been investigating the sites for eight years.

Professor Mike Parker Pearson (UCL Archaeology) and leader of the team, said: "What's really exciting about these discoveries is that they take us a step closer to unlocking Stonehenge's greatest mystery -- why its stones came from so far away."

"Every other Neolithic monument in Europe was built of megaliths brought from no more than 10 miles away.

We're now looking to find out just what was so special about the Preseli hills 5,000 years ago, and whether there were any important stone circles here, built before the bluestones were moved to Stonehenge."

The largest quarry was found almost 180 miles away from Stonehenge on the outcrop of Carn Goedog, on the north slope of the Preseli hills.

"This was the dominant source of Stonehenge's spotted dolerite, so-called because it has white spots in the igneous blue rock. At least five of Stonehenge's bluestones, and probably more, came from Carn Goedog," said geologist Dr Richard Bevins (National Museum of Wales).

In the valley below Carn Goedog, another outcrop at Craig Rhos-y-felin was identified by Dr Bevins and fellow geologist Dr Rob Ixer (UCL Archaeology) as the source of one of the types of rhyolite -- another type of igneous rock -- found at Stonehenge.

According to the new study, the bluestone outcrops are formed of natural, vertical pillars. These could be eased off the rock face by opening up the vertical joints between each pillar. Unlike stone quarries in ancient Egypt, where obelisks were carved out of the solid rock, the Welsh quarries were easier to exploit.

Neolithic quarry workers needed only to insert wedges into the ready-made joints between pillars, then lower each pillar to the foot of the outcrop.

Although most of their equipment is likely to have consisted of perishable ropes and wooden wedges, mallets and levers, they left behind other tools such as hammer stones and stone wedges.

"The stone wedges are made of imported mudstone*, much softer than the hard dolerite pillars. An engineering colleague has suggested that hammering in a hard wedge could have created stress fractures, causing the thin pillars to crack. Using a soft wedge means that, if anything were to break, it would be the wedge and not the pillar," said Professor Parker Pearson.

Archaeological excavations at the foot of both outcrops uncovered the remains of human-made stone and earth platforms, with each platform's outer edge terminating in a vertical drop of about a metre.

"Bluestone pillars could be eased down onto this platform, which acted as a loading bay for lowering them onto wooden sledges before dragging them away," said Professor Colin Richards (University of the Highlands and Islands), who has excavated Britain's only other identified megalith quarry in the Orkney islands, off the north coast of Scotland.

An important aim of Professor Parker Pearson's team was to date megalith-quarrying at the two outcrops. In the soft sediment of a hollowed-out track leading from the loading bay at Craig Rhos-y-felin, and on the artificial platform at Carn Goedog, the team recovered pieces of charcoal dating to around 3000 BC.

The team now thinks that Stonehenge was initially a circle of rough, unworked bluestone pillars set in pits known as the Aubrey Holes, near Stonehenge, and that the sarsens (sandstone blocks) were added some 500 years later.

The new discoveries also cast doubt on a popular theory that the bluestones were transported by sea to Stonehenge.

"Some people think that the bluestones were taken southwards to Milford Haven and placed on rafts or slung between boats and then paddled up the Bristol Channel and along the Bristol Avon towards Salisbury Plain. But these quarries are on the north side of the Preseli hills so the megaliths could have simply gone overland all the way to Salisbury Plain," said Professor Kate Welham (Bournemouth University).

The research was funded by the British Academy, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the National Geographic Society, the Society of Antiquaries, the Royal Archaeological Institute and the Cambrian Archaeological Association.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University College London. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Mike Parker Pearson, Josh Pollard, Colin Richards, Kate Welham, Chris Casswell, Charles French, Duncan Schlee, Dave Shaw, Ellen Simmons, Adam Stanford, Richard Bevins, Rob Ixer. Megalith quarries for Stonehenge's bluestones. Antiquity, 2019; 93 (367): 45 DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2018.111

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University College London. "Quarrying of Stonehenge 'bluestones' dated to 3000 BC." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 February 2019. .


FOR SOME BACKGROUND ON ANCIENT STONE SITES, SOME OF WHICH PREDATE THE NEW STONE AGE OR NEOLITHIC, LOOK AT THESE SITES:

http://www.oldest.org/culture/archaeological-sites/
Culture
9 Oldest Archaeological Sites in the World

The Neolithic Revolution, which started around 10,000 BCE is one of the most important periods in human history as it marks the beginnings of true civilization. Our nomadic hunter-gather ancestors began settling down around this time and developed agriculture.

While some of the earliest known settlements uncovered date back to this time, many of the archaeological sites on this list predate them by tens of thousands of years. These ancient archaeological sites were temporary settlements and contain some of the earliest art. Nearly all of the archaeological sites on this list are protected UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

9. Tell es-Sultan (Jericho)
Age: over 10,000 years (c.9000 BCE)
Location: Jericho, West Bank
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1868
Main Use(s): : Settlement

Tell es-Sultanphoto source: Wikimedia Commons


Tell es-Sultan is the oldest part of Jericho and is often called the oldest town on earth. Early hunter-gatherers settled in Tell es-Sultan around 9000 BCE and continued to fortify and expand the site. By 7000 BCE, Tell es-Sultan was a large fortified town – it was around this time that the Wall and Tower of Jericho were built to protect the settlement.

The first round of excavations at Tell es-Sultan started in 1868, which has been followed by several successive excavations. Flint tools and the mudbrick houses have been uncovered at Tell es-Sultan. Currently, Tell es-Sultan is on UNESCO’s tentative list and is seeking protected World Heritage Site status.

8. Göbekli Tepe
Age: over 11,000 years (c.9600 BCE)
Location: Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1963
Main Use(s): : Unknown for sure, believed to be world’s oldest temple

Göbekli Tepephoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Göbekli Tepe is over 11,000 years old and is currently believed to be the site of the world’s oldest temple. The site was first discovered in 1963 and anthropologists initially thought the broken limestone slabs were gravestones. They were uninterested in Göbekli Tepe because they thought it was just an abandoned medieval cemetery.

However, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt rediscovered the site in 1994 and knew right away that the site was something more. Schmidt continued to lead the excavation team until his death in 2014 and he believed that Göbekli Tepe must have been a very early Neolithic temple. In 2018, Göbekli Tepe was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

7. Tell Qaramel
Age: over 12,000 years (c.10,900 BCE)
Location: Aleppo Governate, Syria
Year Discovered/Excavated: Late 1970s; excavation started in 1999
Main Use(s): : Settlement containing the world’s oldest towers

Tell Qaramelphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Evidence of Tell Qaramel was discovered in the late 1970s, but excavation of the site did not begin until 1999. Archaeological excavations revealed that the Tell Qaramel settlement existed between 10,900 to 8800 BCE. There is more recent research that suggests that Tell Qaramel may be even older.

Researchers have uncovered several artifacts from Tell Qaramel, including flint, bone, and stone objects such as limestone vessels and decorated cholorite [sic]. There are also several round towers at Tell Qaramel and the oldest dates to about 10,650 BCE. They are the oldest towers in the world and predate the famed Tower of Jericho by several centuries.

6. Lascaux Cave
Age: about 17,000 years (c.15,000 BCE)
Location: Montignac, France
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1940
Main Use(s): : Cave complex with one of the largest collections of cave paintings in the world

Lascaux Cavephoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Although it doesn’t have the oldest cave paintings in the world, Lascaux Cave is probably the most famous prehistoric cave paintings sites in the world. Since its discovery in 1940, Lascaux has been extensively studied. The cave’s walls are covered in pictures of animals, human figures, and signs. There are over 6,000 representations of animals, including horses, stags, aurochs, ibexes, and bison.

Recently, a complete replica of Lascaux Cave was opened to the public. The replica represents the whole of the original cave accessible to the public, reproduced with the techniques and the art of the Perigord Facsimile Studio (PFS) and the Artistic Concrete Atelier (AAB).

5. Cave of Altamira
Age: over 27,000 years old (c.25,000 BCE)
Location: Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1868; not excavated until 1879
Main Use(s): : Cave settlement containing some of the oldest cave paintings in the world

Cave of Altamiraphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

The Cave of Altamira is one of Spain’s most famous archaeological sites. However, Altamira wasn’t always a well-known or respected site. When Altamira was first excavated in 1879, many scholars rejected the authenticity of the cave paintings because they were too different from the ones found in France. Due to this, Altamira was largely forgotten for many years before it was revisited in 1902 and finally taken seriously.

Altamira had been open to the public for many years, but in 2002 it was closed to visitors when mold started to appear on some of the paintings. Researchers determined that tourists and the use of artificial light was damaging Altamira. In 2014, Altamira was partially reopened to the public. Each week, five visitors chosen at random through a lottery are allowed to view Altamira as long as they wear protective suits.

4. Murujuga
Age: about 30,000 years old (c.28,000 BCE)
Location: Dampier Archipelago, Western Australia
Year Discovered/Excavated: N/A; been in use by indigenous people for thousands of years
Main Use(s): : Sacred indigenous land containing one of the largest collections of petroglyphs

Murujugaphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Murujuga or the Burrup Peninsula is a sacred place to the Aboriginal people of Australia. The site is also home to some of the oldest petroglyphs (engraved rock art) in the world – it is also one of the biggest collections of rock art, with at least a million individual works of art.

The petroglyphs date back to about 30,000 years ago, although the Aboriginals may have been living in the region for over 50,000 years, and depict several now extinct species of animals in Australia. Researchers say that the rock art shows this part of Australia’s environment has changed over time. In recent years, the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation has been seeking UNESCO World Hertiage status for the site.

3. Chauvet Cave
Age: about 36,000 years old (c.34,000 BCE)
Location: Ardèche, France
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1994
Main Use(s): : Cave settlement containing some of the best-preserved cave paintings in the world

Chauvet Cavephoto source: Wikimedia Commons

The Chauvet Cave in France is one of the most important sites of prehistoric art in the world. The cave paintings in Chauvet Cave are some of the most beautiful and well-preserved and clearly depict animals like rhinos, lions, and deer.

While there has been some disagreement over the age of site, recent research now places human occupation of Chauvet to around 36,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a second period of use of the Chauvet Cave between 31,000 to 28,000 years ago that lasted for 2,000 to 3,000 years. To protect Chauvet Cave and the paintings, it was sealed off from the public not long after it was first discovered in 1994. A replica of Chauvet Cave so that visitors could safely admire the paintings, drawings, and engravings.

2. Cave of El Castillo
Age: over 40,800 years old (c.38,000 BCE)
Location: Caves of Monte Castillo, Puento Viesgo, Cantabria, Spain
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1903
Main Use(s): : Cave settlement containing oldest known cave paintings

Cave of El Castillophoto source: Wikimedia Commons

El Castillo is famous for being home to the world’s oldest cave paintings, which are over 40,800 years old. The cave was first discovered in 1903 by H. Alcalde del Río and El Castillo has been researched extensively since then.

The cave paintings were reanalyzed in 2012 and their dates were pushed back. The new dates suggest that the cave paintings may have been created by Neanderthals instead of early modern humans. However, the research team says that more evidence is needed to support this claim.


1. Theopetra Cave
Age: about 135,000 years ago (c.133,000 BCE)
Location: Thessaly, Greece
Year Discovered/Excavated: 1987
Main Use(s): : Cave settlement containing the oldest known human-made structure

Theopetra Cavephoto source: Flickr via 測鏡者

In 2012, following several decades of research and excavations, researchers revealed that humans were living in Theopetra Cave over 135,000 years ago, making it the oldest archaeological site in the world. The research team led by Ν. Kyparissi-Apostolika originally thought that human occupation in the cave dated to at least 50,000 years ago. However, they discovered children’s footprints that pushed back Theopetra’s use to over 80,000 years earlier.

Theopetra Cave is a treasure trove of artifacts from several different periods, including the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods. The site is also home to a 23,000 year old wall that was most likely built to protect the cave’s residents from cold winds – it is the oldest known man made structure in the world.


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