History Today Review of the Year j.hoare Thu‚ 12/28/2023 - 00:00

According to Alex Jones‚ Netanyahu wants to send radical Islamists to Europe and the United States in coordination with George Soros. They would be sent to Africa and shipped out from there. AA.com says Netanyahu wants voluntary migration of Palestinians to the West. Middle Eastern countries don’t want them because they know how radical they […] The post What? Netanyahu Plans to Send Refugees to the US and Europe? appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

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Incidents of anti-Semitism have risen on college campuses since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack

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This Christmas is a troubled time—a season of war rather than peace‚ from the Black Sea to Bethlehem. America is full of political foreboding‚ and Christmas itself has become a source of controversy. Some find the holiday adrift from its true meaning‚ a Christian holy day transformed into a celebration of consumerism‚ when fir trees and reindeer are more conspicuous than the Christ child. To others‚ Christmas is all too Christian for a pluralistic‚ 21st-century America‚ where we should wish one another “happy holidays” instead of risking offense with a “merry Christmas.” Then there’s the playful yet often surprisingly intense argument over whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. The Bruce Willis film isn’t exactly seasonally appropriate in its themes and violence—but it does take place at Christmas. If that makes a movie a Christmas movie‚ then what about a stage drama that’s also set (to begin with) at Christmas? Is “Hamlet” a Christmas play? Denmark‚ in Shakespeare’s story‚ is in disarray‚ much like our world. Guards patrol the walls of Elsinore castle in anticipation of war and in trepidation of encountering the dead king’s ghost‚ which keeps its own watch at night. Two friends of Prince Hamlet‚ Horatio and Marcellus‚ see the apparition‚ which vanishes as soon as a cock crows. The philosophical Horatio‚ who will later describe himself as an “antique Roman”—a pagan—asserts that “the god of day‚” or daylight itself‚ is what the ghost flees. Marcellus has another explanation: This is the season “Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated‚” when “they say‚ no spirit dares stir abroad.” It’s Christmas‚ or close‚ and that’s no time for hauntings: “No fairy takes‚ nor witch hath power to charm / So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.” The next night‚ Hamlet goes with them to meet the ghost again‚ while within the castle the usurper upon the throne—Hamlet’s uncle‚ Claudius—celebrates the season with a wassail‚ a drink customarily enjoyed in Shakespeare’s day (and medieval Denmark) on Christmas Eve. The play moves months ahead in time. It’s Lent when a troupe of actors visits the castle and is put to work by Hamlet in a scheme to prove his uncle murdered his father. “Hamlet” isn’t altogether a Christmas play‚ but Christmas is a conspicuous part of it. And there is good reason to think that “Hamlet” was much on the minds of two authors who shaped modern conceptions of Christmas in the 19th century. Clement Clarke Moore’s 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (“‘Twas the night before Christmas … .”) includes the charming line “not a creature was stirring‚ not even a mouse”—which echoes the guard at Elsinore‚ who reports “Not a mouse stirring.” Twenty years later in “A Christmas Carol‚” Charles Dickens would refer to Hamlet’s ghost in his own tale of yuletide hauntings. And in fact‚ Dickens observes the rule set down by Marcellus in “Hamlet”: The ghosts are gone‚ their work accomplished‚ by the dawn of Christmas Day. There’s a faint reminder of “Hamlet” in an earlier Dickens tale set at Christmas as well. As in “Hamlet‚” an impudent gravedigger features in a Christmas episode of “The Pickwick Papers‚” “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton.” Curiously‚ the goblin who first accosts the gravedigger has a catchphrase—”Ho! Ho! Ho!”—now familiar from a very different Christmas character. Moore and Dickens knew their Shakespeare‚ and when they set out to create new stories for the season‚ they didn’t forget the precedents the Bard had provided‚ few though they were. “A sad tale’s best for winter: I have one of sprites and goblins‚” says Mamillius in “The Winter’s Tale.” In Shakespeare’s day‚ sprites and goblins—and ghosts—were seasonally appropriate before Christmas. There’s debate about whether Shakespeare invented the “Marcellus rule” that banned such beings from Christmas Day onwards‚ through Twelfth Night on the eve of Epiphany. Yet‚ if there were no ghosts‚ there were other kinds of spirit. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” were a time of revelry—drinking‚ singing‚ putting on plays‚ and merriment—when not Santa Claus‚ but a “Lord of Misrule‚” was the mascot of the season. In Shakespeare’s age‚ Puritans—much like Hamlet—were scandalized by bibulous customs like the wassail. “Hamlet” reminds us that our Christmas troubles and soul-searching are not altogether new. Shakespeare‚ too‚ had to ask whether his country had lost its values: Was it Christian or pagan‚ Catholic or Protestant‚ Stoically philosophical or‚ like Hamlet in his agony‚ nihilistic and despairingly materialist? Those questions had not been answered when Moore and Dickens tried to revive the Christmas spirit in the 19th century‚ and still they press upon us today. Shakespeare helps us think about them—to recognize Hamlet’s dilemmas and our own‚ the ghosts that haunt us‚ but also the joyous day when they must depart. COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Shakespeare’s Christmas appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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The enormous teeth of a “giant sea monster” were restored by fossil expert Chris Moore after he and Steve Etches endured the painstaking task of removing a huge fossil skull 12 meters (39 feet) up a cliff in Dorset‚ UK. It belonged to a pliosaur‚ an ancient marine reptile with a bite force that could’ve bested Tyrannosaurus rex in a fight‚ according to scientists working on the discovery.The enormous pliosaur was retrieved from a beach in Kimmeridge‚ Dorset‚ which sits along the Jurassic Coast. The region is famous for its fossils – and while anybody can expect to find ammonites walking its shores‚ finding part of a 12-meter pliosaur is a very special discovery.“Fossils along [the Jurassic Coast] have been collected for hundreds of years now‚” said Moore to IFLScience. “It was [once] a shallow‚ marine‚ warm sea very rich in life‚ and it’s constantly eroded by the English Channel. We get big storms that wash away the soft clay and continually reveal new fossils.”Etches is familiar with fossils from the region as a self-described “general dogsbody of The Etches Collection” where the skull now resides‚ but even for him‚ this skull presents never-before-seen traits.“One of the most convincing things for me is this crest‚” he said when asked by IFLScience what signs there were that the pliosaur might be a new species. “Every other pliosaur we’ve ever seen has not got that.”“[The jawline] normally ends by the front of the eye‚ but this ends at the back of the eye. So that’s something really different.”  Following its discovery‚ Moore got in touch with friend David Attenborough to see if the BBC might be interested in documenting the retrieval‚ and you can watch the resulting film at 8 pm GMT on New Year’s Day on BBC One in the UK and iPlayer. In the lead-up to its release‚ Attenborough and BBC Natural History Unit producer Mike Gunton shared some background into the series’ creation in an interview with the BBC.For people who may not be familiar with the idea of a pliosaur‚ can you say what is it and how much we know about it?David Attenborough: Well‚ we know a lot about ichthyosaurs‚ but this was a great hunter of the ichthyosaurs‚ and it’s called a pliosaur – an immense animal that ruled the seas during the period of the dinosaurs.It could obviously move at great speed and the teeth that were found in the tip of the skull have vertical ridges down them‚ which break the suction and allow it to withdraw the jaw from prey quickly  - that's the sort of deduction that we're able to make and which we show in the programme.Some ichthyosaurs were massive‚ but even they weren’t safe when pliosaurs were around.Image credit: BBC StudiosWhat were your first impressions of the whole skull when you saw it for the first time?  DA: Oh‚ no question about that. That is one of the biggest skulls you've ever seen. I mean‚ it's huge and so although I was aware of the tip that was first discovered‚ I hadn't fully appreciated how big the whole head would be and it's enormous. So‚ sheer scale was what first impressed me. But then I talked to the scientists who knew about this particular group of fossils‚ and pointed out to me the little details‚ the little pores‚ sensory pits. There is also the parietal eye – in some animals‚ including this one‚ it seems there is a primitive eye in the top of the head. Think of a crocodile in the middle‚ between the eyes at the top. It could have told you which way was up‚ if you were down in the deep sea - that's the sort of detail which we weren't sure about but which this skull has already given us more information about.The fossil was originally found by an enthusiast walking along the beach in Dorset.Image credit: BBC StudiosMike Gunton: My recollection was that Steve said how unusual it is to get a skull that is not disarticulated‚ in other words‚ you finding it as it would have been in life. I don’t know‚ but that’s rare and that would have been exceptional‚ wouldn’t it?DA: Well I mean the thing about the skull is that it’s not only by far the most informative part of the body‚ it is by far the most delicate too. And it’s the detail‚ and that is so rare to find it. And this is as near perfect as it can possibly get.MG: One of the scientists‚ Andre [Rowe]‚ he says it’s a one in a million‚ no! One in a billion fossil…Sir David Attenborough with fossil experts Steve Etches and Chris Moore examining the skull of the pliosaur in the workshop of the Etches Collection Museum‚ Kimmeridge‚ Dorset‚ UK.Image credit: BBC StudiosHow closely did the team collaborate with the scientific community and experts during the making of this programme?DA: They can tell us all kinds of things. There's an American expert‚ Dr Andre‚ and he was blown away by it. He said‚ “It was the most terrifying animal in the seas”.   I asked  him perhaps a rather childish question because it was very big‚ and it's bigger than the Tyrannosaurus rex by [a] long way‚ so I asked this schoolboy question‚ I said‚ "Now‚ supposing Tyrannosaurus rex met this extraordinary pliosaur‚ who would win?” And this chap was American and Tyrannosaurus rex is an American dinosaur‚ so I expected his answer to be that. He said‚ “Well‚ I think it probably was this pliosaur that won.”  Other scientists told us that it's almost certainly a new species of pliosaur. So‚ it's a new species‚ and it would have been able to deal with Tyrannosaurus rex straight up in a fight. So‚ what more do you want?  Don’t miss Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster at 8 pm GMT on New Year’s Day on BBC One in the UK and iPlayer.

It was a year of change for late night comedy. The Late Late show was cancelled by CBS after 5‚300 episodes since 1995 after James Corden decided to return to England‚ Comedy Central’s The Daily Show used a series of temp hosts after Trevor Noah walked away at the end of 2022‚ CBS host of The Late Show Stephen Colbert finally stopped giving Donald Trump the He Who Must Not Be Named treatment‚ and then‚ of course‚ there was the strike that forced them off the air for five months. One thing that did not change‚ however‚ was the heavy amounts of leftism‚ so in the spirit of David Letterman‚ here are the bottom ten moments from late night 2023. 10. Leslie Jones‚ The Daily Show‚ Comedy Central‚ November 13 on Tim Scott "'Not now' is what you say when a telemarketer calls you during the dinner time. This was more like ‘We ain't going to ever‚ ever‚ ever‚ ever‚ ever vote for you [bleep]-ed up ass anti-abortion‚ anti-gay‚ Milk Dud-looking mother[bleep]!’” 9. Roy Wood Jr.‚ The Daily Show‚ Comedy Central‚ January 23 on Second Amendment Defenders "So in the U.K.‚ how do you show power? How do you show people that you've got a big dick‚ but you don’t have a gun?...  Okay‚ so in Norway‚ how do men let women know that they have a big dick?" 8. Jimmy Kimmel‚ Jimmy Kimmel Live!‚ ABC‚ October 19 on Ted Cruz and Donald Trump "And look‚ I have a lot of respect for Mitt Romney‚ but trying to fight Donald Trump by teaming up with Ted Cruz? That's like trying to fight chlamydia by teaming up with AIDS. It's not really a -- what a combination. Mitt Romney and Ted Cruz. You got one guy with the personality of a blowup doll and another who's definitely having sex with them all the time."     7. Roy Wood Jr.‚ The Daily Show‚ Comedy Central‚ April 3 on Republicans and Alvin Bragg "This case is being quarterbacked by a black district attorney and not once have they called him the N-word! That's amazing! Excuse me one more sec-- excuse me one second. Hey there. I am very proud of y'all. You’re very angry about this but at no point have you gone all the way to publicly using the N-word. And that's growth. And I want you to know that I see you and I see your progress and that is just a little pat on the back from your old Uncle Roy." 6. Grace Kuhlenschmidt‚ The Daily Show‚ Comedy Central‚ December 11 and Sean Hayes‚ Jimmy Kimmel Live!‚ ABC‚ December 12 on Christmas and Joseph "Christmas has never been gay at all. It's always been about a beautiful straight couple‚ a virgin and her husband who have never had sex and he’s just remarkably chill when she gets pregnant… How have I been so blind? It’s the queerest holiday of all."       "Hey‚ Fox News alert‚ pretty much every Christmas character is gay...And then there's Joseph...Why do you think they needed an immaculate conception? Joseph was the only guy in Bethlehem with two beards. The one on his face‚ and Mary."  5. Sarah Silverman‚ The Daily Show‚ Comedy Central‚ February 15 on Conservatives "Like‚ woke for the right is really just an umbrella term so they don't have to say specifically that they're pieces of shit. It feels cooler to say‚ 'I'm not woke‚' than the truth‚ which is‚ 'I'm terrified of what I don't understand and I only know how to process that as anger because I can't look inward.'"  4. Jimmy Kimmel‚ Jimmy Kimmel Live!‚ ABC‚ February 28 on the Lab Leak Theory. "In other words‚ we don't know. But the dingbats now see this as some kind of proof that they were right that the virus came from a Chinese leak in a laboratory‚ which by the way‚ it might have. The point is‚ we didn't know then. We still don't know. But what we did know‚ that Trump and his buddies blaming the Chinese resulted in a great deal of anti-Asian-American sentiment and even violence in this country and that's why it was irresponsible for the president to call it the 'China Virus.'" 3. Stephen Colbert‚ The Late Show‚ CBS‚ March 1 on Bill Lee "Lee announced he will be signing Tennessee's sweeping new anti-LGBTQ bills‚ which‚ among other things will ban gender-affirming treatment for transgender youth… Governor‚ remember what Coco Chanel said about accessories‚ 'Before you leave the house‚ look in the mirror‚ and stop trying to score political points with your base at the expense of real human beings‚ you dick.'"      2. Jimmy Kimmel‚ Jimmy Kimmel Live!‚ ABC‚ October 12 on Steve Scalise "He’s an interesting person‚ this Steve Scalise‚ he was one of the biggest gun supporters in Congress‚ but then in 2017‚ remember he was shot and seriously wounded at a Congressional baseball game by a man carrying a legally-purchased assault rifle. And when he recovered and came back to Congress‚ he knew that nothing like what happened to him should ever happen again. So as his first act‚ he introduced House Resolution 2481‚ that required all baseball players to carry AK-47s in their protective cups and—it’s an inspiring story‚ they’ll make a movie about it one day." 1. John Oliver‚ Last Week Tonight‚ HBO‚ November 5 on Samuel Alito "Incredible. Very well-played. Now‚ is that going to fix everything? No‚ of course it isn’t. But when it comes to responding to such wide-spreading devastation‚ you could do a lot worse than the single best 'Your mom' joke of all time. Especially when you add in that one of that group's [The Satanic Temple] co-founders even said‚ 'in 1950‚ Samuel Alito's mother did not have options‚ and look what happened.'"