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Monday, July 20, 2015

The Daily Drift

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Today in History

1402 Tamerlane’s Mongols defeat Ottoman Turks at Angora.
1588 The Spanish Armada sets sail from Corunna.
1715 The Riot Act goes into effect in England.
1864 Confederate General John Bell Hood attacks Union forces under General William T. Sherman outside Atlanta.
1867 Imperial troops in Guizhou, China, kill 20,000 Miao rebels.
1881 Sioux chief Sitting Bull surrenders to the U.S. Army.
1917 Alexander Kerensky becomes the premier of Russia.
1942 The U.S. Army Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) begins its first training class at Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
1944 Adolf Hitler is wounded in an assassination attempt by German Army officers at Rastenburg.
1950 The U.S. Army’s Task Force Smith is pushed back by superior North Korean forces.
1951 King Abdullah of Jordan is assassinated.
1969 Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon.
1976 The Viking spacecraft lands on Mars and begins taking soil samples.

5 jesus christ myths that PREDATE the jesus myth

by Lottie Richard
I studied history in college, and spent a lot of my time researching ancient civilizations and comparative religions. As an agnostic, I am fascinated by religion and the idea of faith and belief, across all religions spanning the entirety of human existence. Some of the most fascinating projects that I did in college involved comparing ancient mythology to modern religious beliefs, finding similarities and multiple parallels. For example, anyone who has ever read The Epic of Gilgamesh will know that many biblical stories are plucked straight from the story, including the flood myth and the virgin birth myth.Historians and religious scholars know that religious texts are made up of a series of myths (that’s not to say they are not true, but just that they are mythical stories). These myths appear across different religions and eras, and the same stories repeat themselves over and over again throughout history. Today, I will present to you five near-identical “jesus” myths that predate jesus christ.
1. Horus (3100 B.C.)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Horus was one of the many Egyptian Gods. This is probably one of the best-known and contested deities that is often compared to jesus christ. Some translations and Egyptian myths say that he had 12 disciples, and was born of a virgin in a cave. His birth was announced by a star, and was attended by three wise men. He was baptized at age thirty by Anup the Baptizer. Horus performed miracles, including rising at least one person from the dead and walking on water. He was crucified, buried in a tomb, and resurrected, just like jesus christ.
2. Buddha (563 B.C.)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Buddha’s mother, Queen Maha Maya, had a dream that a white elephant with six tusks entered her right side, impregnating her. As was tradition in this time, the mother left her husband’s kingdom to give birth near her father. She did not make it the entire way, though, and gave birth while traveling. Buddha was born in a garden beneath a tree. In addition to this birth story, Buddha, like jesus, also performed miracles, healed the sick, walked on water, fed 500 men from a single basket of cakes, was transfigured on a mount, and taught chastity, temperance, tolerance, compassion, love, and the equality of all. There are also some texts that say he was crucified, spent three days in hell, and was resurrected. That is not what killed him, though, as he died in his old age from what is believed to be food poisoning.
3. Mithra (2000 B.C.)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Mithra was an ancient Zoroastrian deity, and along with Horus has some of the most striking similarities to Jesus. Yet another example of virginal birth, Mithra was born to the virgin Anahita on December 25th. He was swaddled and placed in a manger, where he was tended to by shepherds. Like jesus and Horus, he had 12 companions (which can be interpreted as disciples). He also performed miracles, identified with both the lion and the lamb, sacrificed his life to save the world, was dead for three days before being resurrected, and was known as the messiah, the savior, and “the Way, the Truth and the Light.” His religion also had a Eucharistic-style “Lord’s supper.”
4. Krishna (around 3000 B.C.)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Krishna, a Hindu God, was born after his mother was impregnated by a God. His birth was attended by angels, wise men, and shepherds, and he was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Like jesus, when Krishna was born, a tyrant had ordered the slaughter of all newborns. In addition, he was baptized in a river, performed miracles, raised the dead, healed the deaf and blind, used parables to teach charity and love, rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, and it is believe he will someday return to earth to battle the “Prince of Evil.”
5. Osiris (around 2500 B.C.)
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Osiris was the son of one of the many Egyptian Gods. Like jesus, Osiris was portrayed as a bearded man, and his myth says that he was killed and the resurrected after three days in hell. Also like jesus, Osiris performed miracles, had 12 disciples, and taught that people could be born again through baptism in water. In addition, Osiris had many titles, including “Lord of Lords,” “King of Kings,” and “Good Shepherd.”
There are many more religious figures who have multiple similarities to Jesus, including Odysseus, Romulus, Dionysus, Heracles, Glycon, and others. Mythical stories depicting the virginal births of the sons of Gods go back millennia, most likely predating the advent of writing. The ancient myths disprove the existence of the christian 'deity' jesus, 'his' story is just blatant plagiarism of far older stories as is the entirety of the 'bible'.

Hottest June Puts 2015 On Track For Hottest Year On Record By Far

Solar Energy's Price Drop, Ahead Of Schedule, Could Help Save The Planet

Solar Energy's Price Drop, Ahead Of Schedule, Could Help Save The Planet
Jim Hughes, CEO of New York–based First Solar, predicted the U.S. will be down to $1 per watt solar by 2017, three years ahead of the U.S. Department of Energy’s goal.


Homeless Man’s Handwritten Resume Goes Viral, Now Job Offers Are Pouring In

Homeless Man’s Handwritten Resume Goes Viral, Now Job Offers Are Pouring In (IMAGES)
I’ve never read anything more genuine than this.
Read more

Equality Just Won The First Skirmish In The Next Great Battle Over Gay Rights


In many states, it is still perfectly legal to fire a worker or deny someone housing because they are gay. That could change, if a federal agency's reasoning is embraced by the courts.

Class Action Lawsuit Advances, Claiming Abercrombie Employees Were Forced To Buy Abercrombie Clothes

 

One Simple Way To Get Fresh Food To People Who Can’t Afford It

Michigan Ditches For-Profit Prison Food Provider, But Not Because It Fed Inmates Rat-Eaten Trash

Michigan is switching from one for-profit food vendor in its prisons to another after a litany of health and safety scandals.

Sandra Bland’s Jailhouse Death Is Being Investigated By A Racist Sheriff AND A Racist Prosecutor

Sandra Bland’s Jailhouse Death Is Being Investigated By A Racist Sheriff AND A Racist Prosecutor
WTF?! How are these two even employed?
Read more 

Man shot for not having a size 10 spanner

A man in South Africa was shot in the leg on Tuesday evening for not having a size 10 spanner in his possession.
Port Elizabeth police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Alwin Labans, said the man, aged 59, and his son, 33, were standing outside their home in Sydenham when two unknown men approached them.
"The one man asked the father if he had a size 10 spanner on him. When the man replied he did not, the suspect drew a firearm and shot him in the upper leg," Labans said.
Labans said the men then fled the scene. Labans added that a case of attempted murder was being investigated, but no arrests had been made yet.

Pluto's Polygons

Scientists puzzle over Pluto's polygons

Homeless jazz singer and her parrot have developed an unbreakable bond

Wende Harston is reminded of her string of bad luck every time she walks out the front door of the Gabriel Foundation in Denver, Colorado, without her best friend Sam the African Parrot. "It kills me. It absolutely kills me," she says.
The lead singer of a jazz band in Denver, Wende spent most of the first half of 2015 homeless. She lived in an immobile RV in a warehouse district illegally plugged into a business's power to keep a few electronics powered on inside. "Things just got bad quicker than I anticipated," she said.
Her parrot, Samula, couldn't stay in the RV with her due to a lack of space, so late last year she turned it over to the Gabriel Foundation, one of the largest parrot rescues in the world. What the people at the Gabriel Foundation couldn't have anticipated back then was that week after week, Wende would return to keep in touch with her bird.

It's turned into quite the unusual and musical arrangement. The good news is that this week, Wende should be able to pick Sam back up. She's found a mobile home big enough to support a bird cage for Sam.

Mosque stampede that injured over 80 people blamed on mouse

A mouse is being held responsible for triggering a stampede in a mosque in the Moroccan city of Casablanca which left more than 80 people injured, officials say.
The rush happened in the city's Hassan II mosque, which was full of worshipers on Monday evening.
It was the holiest night of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Officials say that the injured were mostly women who suffered light injuries and fractures.

Worshipers were reported to have fainted after a mouse crossed over a woman's foot while she was praying, causing her to rush outside and creating panic among worshipers. The Hassan II mosque is believed to be the largest in Africa and the seventh largest in the world.

Police search for cobra believed to have killed owner

A monocled cobra is missing from the home of a teenager who died in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday night after possibly being bitten by the snake. At 9:37pm, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services and Austin police found 18-year-old Grant Thompson in a Lowe’s parking lot with puncture wounds on his wrist. Thompson was in cardiac arrest and was unresponsive, according to police. Thompson was transported to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center but was pronounced dead on arrival, officials said. It is possible that a snake bit him, but the cause of death will remain unknown until an autopsy is completed, EMS said. Thompson was a senior staff member at Fish Bowl Pet Express in Temple and would show exotic animals to children as part of his job.

His mother had taken him to Fish Bowl Pet Express since he was a baby and, after she bought the business a few years ago, Thompson volunteered to work there before becoming a staff member. Medics found several containers in Thompson’s car, one of which was holding a live snake. Six tarantulas and a bullfrog were also found. The animals in the car were not venomous and were transported to Austin Reptile Rescue.

However, when police searched Thompson’s home in Temple, they could not find a monocled cobra that was missing from its cage. An Austin police spokeswoman did not confirm whether there is an immediate danger to the public. EMS officials said that snakebite cases are extremely uncommon in the area. EMS Capt. Darren Noak said that in his 20 years working with EMS, he has only seen one or two. Police are investigating Thompson’s death, which is not considered suspicious, officials said.
***
Update: The snake in question has been found dead

Police officer shot boy's pig after it allegedly attacked neighbor's dog

A State Trooper shot a boy’s pig on Monday, in a rural area of Woodbine, New Jersey, after a neighboring homeowner complained that the animal, which had escaped its pen, was aggressive, and had charged him and attacked his dog. “My son had been raising that pig since February or March,” said Victor A. Hartley, a Woodbine resident. “The pig was kept in a pen,” he said. “A couple of times he wandered out of the yard.” The pig, a neutered boar named Hatfield, weighed somewhere between 245 and 280 pounds, and Eathan Hartley, 12, planned to show the hog at this year’s fair, the boy’s father said. Monday was to be Hatfield’s last day in Woodbine. The pig was scheduled to be sent to the fairground on Tuesday.
After showing the swine at the fair, Hatfield would have auctioned off for slaughter, and the boy expected to net about $1,000, Hartley said. “He wasn’t a wild boar,” Hartley said. “He had a tag in his ear, and my neighbor knew it was our pig.” Area neighbors disagreed with Hartley’s benign assessment of the pig’s temperament, two different state police spokesmen said on Tuesday. According to Sgt. Siino, a trooper at the Woodbine barracks, Woodbine’s animal control office had received at least two previous calls complaining about Hatfield. “I was actually working last Thursday when we got a call at the station in reference to the pig,” Siino said. Last week’s call was referred to Shore Animal Control, Siino said.
Linda Gentille, public information officer for Shore Animal Control, said that her agency had fielded several calls during the last week about Hatfield, and that the pig had attacked animals on a neighbor’s property in the past. On Monday, an animal control officer responded to another complaint about Hatfield, and it was that officer who called state troopers for assistance with the pig when it escaped from its home and wandered onto a neighbor’s property. “It was the neighbor that called it in,” Gentille said. “The pig was in their yard and aggressive. The neighbor felt threatened by the pig.” Gentille said there’s no safe way to corral a 250-pound pig, and the control officer called for back-up from state police. “When the trooper responded, there was a pig on the property,” said Sgt. Jeff Flynn. “It had attacked the owner’s dog, and injured the dog.”
According to Siino, the homeowner also reported that the pig was aggressive had charged him. “When the trooper responded, the pig was trying to get into a metal fence after other animals,” Siino said. “It was charging the fence, and the trooper was worried that it was going to attack the other animals.” Flynn said that the trooper and animal control officer tried to secure the pig. “They were unable to do so, and they made the decision that they had to put it down.” Siino said the responding trooper, Sgt. Cantoni, shot the pig three times with his 9 mm handgun. Siino said the animal control officer finally dispatched the pig. “He used a knife to bleed out the animal to make sure it was deceased,” Sinno said. “I wish they had tranquilized him,” Hartley said on Tuesday. “Muzzled him, or something,” he said. “Today was the day he was supposed to be at the fair.” Instead, Hartley said the pig has been taken to a slaughterhouse to be butchered.

'Drunk' squirrel caused hundreds of pounds of damage at private members' club

A 'drunk' squirrel flooded a bar at a private members' club with ale and ransacked the room when it held an unofficial lock in which caused over £300 worth of damage. Sam Boulter, branch secretary of Honeybourne Railway Club near Evesham in Worcestershire, thought it had been ransacked by burglars when he opened up on Sunday evening.
Beer was spilled on the floor, money and straws were scattered about and glasses and bottles had been knocked off the shelves of the club. But the real culprit soon made an appearance when the squirrel finally came out of its hiding place, albeit a little more sluggish than expected. Mr Boulter said: "When I opened the door it was absolutely ransacked. At first I thought we'd been burgled but I realized it was all still locked up and that's when we saw the squirrel.
"I'd never seen anything like it before, he had ran around the shelves and across the bar. There were bottles scattered around, money scattered around and he had obviously run across the bar's pumps and managed to turn on the Caffrey's and also managed to ruin some barrels too. He must have flung himself on the handle. I think we lost about £300 worth of stock but it is just one of those once in a lifetime things, I hope!"
It took an hour for Mr Boulter and two customers to capture the rodent who was returned to its more usual environment and a further hour to clean up the mess it had left behind. Mr Boulter added: "I saw a squirrel in the club on Saturday morning and I chased him through the bar, he jumped over the counter and I thought he'd gone through the door but obviously he was still in there. He was a bit slow moving when we found him on Sunday evening so he may have drank a bit of the beer. But he had completely ransacked the place."

Bizarre fish species discovered off Australia

Fanged and Scaleless
Read more here.

Animal Pictures