Russia and the Jews

Foundation of Wisconsin. Also planned is a
monument to the 8 million Germans who were
expelled from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland,
Romania and Yugoslavia as a result of the
Potsdam agreement following World War II. Of
those civilians, 2 million died.
Tiny Pterodactyl
In northeastern China researchers have discovered
a flying reptile the size of a sparrow. Nemicolopterus
crypticus, a tiny, toothless critter,
lived 120 million years ago, according to
Aleaner W.A. Kellner, a vertebrate paleontologist
at the National Museum of the Federal University
of Rio de Janiero. It had a wingspan of
25 centimeters, or 10 inches. It is not known if
the specimen was full grown, but even if the
adult was twice as big, it would still be the
smallest pterodactyl known.
Other Pterodactyl News . . .
Not all pterosaurs spent their time soaring in
the skies, says Mark Witton, vertebrate paleontologist
from the University of Portsmouth, England,
after studying fossils of large pterosaurs
called azhdarchids. The study indicates that the
azhdarchids were quite capable on the ground.
Most of their fossils are found in locales far
from the coastline. Even giants such as Quetzalcoatlus
northropi, whose wings spanned 31 feet,
were not built for fish catching and spent much
of their time walking on land.
Forged Documents Found in British National Archives
BRITISH HISTORIANS CALLED RECENTLY for a
public report on the inquiry into 29 forged documents
found at the British National Archives
that falsely accuse Winston Churchill’s government
of having a secret, cordial relationship with
Nazi SS chief Heinrich Himmler during World
War II. Eight leading historians signed an open
letter urging police to take action against the suspect
who faked the documents, which also allege
that Churchill ordered the assassination of
HIMMLER
CHURCHILL
Himmler to keep the discussions secret. “That’s . . . totally untrue,” said historian Andrew
Roberts. Mainstream historians reject the assertion about Churchill because there is no evidence
to support it. (Himmler was never assassinated; he committed suicide by poisoning
himself with cyanide after capture by the British in 1945.) Historians hoped swift action by
authorities would deter anyone else from tainting the archives with more forgeries. Roberts
said: “If the guy gets away with it, it will be a green light to manufacture evidence. It’s been
done in a criminal way, and yet the police don’t seem very interested.” Prosecutors, who
did not release the name of the suspect, said they would not press charges because the person
was in poor health. But what kind of sicko forges historical documents anyway
Aquatic Elephants
The aquatic ape theory, created by the Milesian
philosopher Anaximander around 546 B.C.
and popularized by Elaine Morgan in 1997, asserts
that wading, swimming and diving for food
exerted a strong evolutionary effect on the ancestors
of the genus Homo and is in part responsible
for the split between the common ancestors
of humans and other great apes. Morgan also
suggested that the proboscidians might have
evolved in a parallel manner. Recently paleontologist
Alexander Liu, at the University of Oxford
in England, studied the ratio of oxygen-16
and O-18 in the teeth of fossils of Moeritherium,
a proto-elephant. The study confirms that apparently
Moeritherium did spend much of its time
in freshwater habitats.
Return From Extinction—Sorta
A bit of the DNA from the extinct Tasmanian
tiger is today alive and well in the cells of some
mice. The new study is the first to show activity
of an “extinct” piece of DNA in a living animal,
although scientists have managed to produce
proteins form mammoth and Neanderthal
human genes in cells. To prove extinct DNA can
still work, scientists from the University of Melbourne
in Australia and the University of Texas
chose a regulatory element, called an enhancer,
which regulates the COL2A1 gene. If they used
marsupial mice such as the Antechinus species,
the results would be even more interesting.
Oldest Animal Yet
According to Science News, a black coral
(‘eekaha kuu moana, the official “state gem”
of Hawaii) has set a new record for longevity
among coral kind. The creature, which looks
like a black tree with yellow twigs, was determined
to be some 4,200 years of age. The scientific
name is Leiopathes glaberrima.
MITCHELL-HEDGES SKULL
Researcher Questions Timeline of Famed Crystal Skull
ESPECIALLY WHAT WITH THE LATEST Indiana Jones
movie, there has been much hoopla about crystal
skulls (stone carvings in the shape of a human
skull, which vary in size from a few inches to life-size).
Some stone skulls might be genuine artifacts from
Mesoamerican cultures such as the Aztecs, who definitely
did have skull masks or death heads. But none of
the skulls made of pure quartz crystal was ever found in
situ by qualified archeologists. Despite the fact that New
Age replicas are easily made and are available from a variety
of sources, advocates of the paranormal nature of
crystal skulls claim that no one knows how the skulls
were made and that they are impossible to duplicate. The
most famous crystal skull is the Mitchell-Hedges “skull
of doom,” allegedly discovered by 17-year-old Anna
Mitchell-Hedges in the 1920s while accompanying her
adoptive father, Frederick A. (“Mike”), on an excavation
of the Mayan city of Lubaantun in Belize, where he believed
he would find the ruins of Atlantis. According to
The Skeptic’s Dictionary, evidence collected by Joe Nickell
proves that Mr. Mitchell-Hedges bought the skull at a
Sotheby’s sale in 1943. In addition, Mitchell-Hedges’explanation
that someone stole the artifact from him and it
was then bought back from Sotheby’s is discredited.
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