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The world's oldest pants are a 3,000-year-old marvel of engineering
With the help of an expert weaver, archaeologists have unraveled the design secrets behind the world's oldest pants. The 3,000-year-old wool trousers belonged to a man buried between 1000 and 1200 BCE in Western China. To make them, ancient weavers combined four different techniques to create a garment specially engineered for fighting on horseback, with flexibility in some places and sturdiness in others. The softer side of materials science Most of us don't think much about pants these days, except to lament having to put them on in the morning. But trousers were actually a technological breakthrough. Mounted herders and warriors needed their leg coverings to be flexible enough to let the wearer swing a leg across a horse without ripping the fabric or feeling constricted. At the same time, they needed some added reinforcement at crucial areas like the knees. It became, to some extent, a materials-science problem. Where do you want something elastic, and where do you want...
https://www.sott.net/article/466388-The-worlds-oldest-pants-are-a-3000-year-old-marvel-of-engineering

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And then they came for Jane: UK's Stirling University ditches Austen from English Literature course in bid to 'decolonise' curriculum
Stirling University have replaced Pride and Prejudice author with Toni Morrison; trigger warnings have been added to reading lists for 'language of colonialism' A university literature course has removed Jane Austen to help 'decolonise the curriculum' and 'contribute increased diversity' on the syllabus. Stirling University's English Literature programme has replaced the famous author of Pride and Prejudice with award-winning writer Toni Morrison, who is known for her works about the experiences of African Americans. The institution is following up on a commitment made during the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, with principal Professor Gerry McCormac saying that the university must 'support an anti-racist agenda in higher education'. According to The Telegraph, those who are taking the Special Authors module will also learn about black postmodernism, Gothic, and 'the aesthetics of the contemporary US and African-American novel.
https://www.sott.net/article/466389-And-then-they-came-for-Jane-UKs-Stirling-University-ditches-Austen-from-English-Literature-course-in-bid-to-decolonise-curriculum

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Pentagon report says UFO encounters left witnesses with radiation burns, brain problems & damaged nerves
UFO sightings can leave witnesses injured suffering radiation burns, brain problems and damaged nerves, according to newly released Pentagon files. The report, obtained by The Sun from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as part of a huge Freedom of Information request, investigates the health impact on humans who have had paranormal experiences. The report - titled Anomalous Acute And Subacute Field Effects on Human and Biological Tissues - investigates injuries to "human observers by anomalous advanced aerospace systems". And the report - prepared for the DIA - warns that such objects may be a "threat to United States interests".
https://www.sott.net/article/466390-Pentagon-report-says-UFO-encounters-left-witnesses-with-radiation-burns-brain-problems-damaged-nerves

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Ice Age Farmer Report: Biden pays farms to STOP - EU out of feed - Meat taxes & chicken permits - Up to you to GROW FOOD!
Even as Biden and Trudeau announce food shortages, farmers are being paid to STOP farming. Chickens are now "illegal animals" in more municipalities, requiring a permit, "due to bird flu." The EU is culling livestock as they run out of animal feed, and the Netherlands is seriously considering a meat tax. -- And yet, there is a resurgence of regenerative agriculture and community victory gardens, as people realize it is UP TO US to feed our families going forward! Christian breaks down the latest developments in the Food Wars in this Ice Age Farmer broadcast. Sources
https://www.sott.net/article/466391-Ice-Age-Farmer-Report-Biden-pays-farms-to-STOP-EU-out-of-feed-Meat-taxes-chicken-permits-Up-to-you-to-GROW-FOOD

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Durham Filing: Text message implicates Hillary Clinton campaign in 'conspiracy'
A text message unveiled by Special Counsel John H. Durham Monday appears to provide evidence that Michael Sussmann, a lawyer for the Hillary Clinton campaign, misled the FBI when reporting claims about candidate Donald Trump and Russia. The text message is being described as a "smoking gun" by some observers because it appears to be written corroboration of charges against Sussmann. Furthermore, evidence in Durham's filing also implicates the Clinton campaign in a "conspiracy." Sussmann is on trial for lying to the FBI, allegedly because he presented himself as a concerned citizen rather than a lawyer working for the Clinton campaign. His claims about a Trump connection to Russia via Alfa Bank were debunked as a hoax.
https://www.sott.net/article/466392-Durham-Filing-Text-message-implicates-Hillary-Clinton-campaign-in-conspiracy

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Snowstorm wrecks Bolivian highway leaving dozens of vehicles stranded
Extreme snowfall has wrecked the Bolivian highway leaving dozens of vehicles stranded. La Cumbre was left covered in snow halting all movements.
https://www.sott.net/article/466393-Snowstorm-wrecks-Bolivian-highway-leaving-dozens-of-vehicles-stranded

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Hurricane force winds whip through Colorado
Some hurricane force winds forced some ski areas to close across Colorado on Tuesday.
https://www.sott.net/article/466394-Hurricane-force-winds-whip-through-Colorado

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'Ball Lightning' phenomenon seen in the sky of Maharashtra, India
In some districts of Maharashtra, including Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Nagpur, Buldhana, Washim, Akola, Wardha, and Bhandara many people were stunned to see objects like electric bulbs leaving blazing marks in the sky during the nighttime on Saturday. On the same night, people of a village in Sindewahi tehsil of district Chandrapur also reported a metal ring falling on an open plot. In another village of the same tehsil, on the same night, all the people also saw a ball which had fallen in a pond. According to meteorologist and physicist Professor Kiran Kumar Johre, the three phenomena are also completely unrelated.
https://www.sott.net/article/466395-Ball-Lightning-phenomenon-seen-in-the-sky-of-Maharashtra-India

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Putin warns the West: Nationalization of assets cuts both ways
Russian leader responds to seizure of his country's assets abroad The nationalization of assets is a double-edged weapon, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed during a government meeting in response to some Western countries proposing to seize his country's property abroad. "We're already hearing announcements coming from some officials about the possible nationalization of some of our assets. Well, this can be taken very far. Let no one forget that this is a double-edged weapon," he cautioned on Tuesday.
https://www.sott.net/article/466396-Putin-warns-the-West-Nationalization-of-assets-cuts-both-ways

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Transgender tyranny in public schools
Schools across the country have adopted a controversial policy of hiding the LGBT statuses of students from their parents. Sold to the public as an effort to protect children from abuse, the policy effectively circumvents parental consent and notification about their children's health, safety, and well-being. One Texas family told Chronicles how they fought to protect their children from transgender ideology. After finding out that staff of a public school had encouraged their daughter to transition to a male gender, they withdrew their children from the school. But that wasn't the end of the story. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) came knocking at their door, demanding to conduct a safety assessment of their family environment. In telling us his family's story, the father, who we'll call John, asked Chronicles to protect their identities, for fear of retaliation. He gave Chronicles copies of all the documents he received and sent to DFPS during the...
https://www.sott.net/article/466397-Transgender-tyranny-in-public-schools

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Europe's Russia coal ban fuels global fight for dirty fuel
Europe is taking a big gamble as it moves to ban Russian coal, potentially leaving itself vulnerable to shortages and rolling blackouts while the rest of the world contends with surging prices. Russia is Europe's top supplier of thermal coal, used to fuel power stations. As the European Union joins the U.S. to take a harder stance against President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, the continent has plans to phase out Russian shipments. The problem is that there's no clear alternative for that huge chunk of trade, and the result appears destined to lead to a domino effect that creates a mad global scramble for the fuel. Prices are already soaring in a market that has been tight for months. European coal jumped 14% to a three-week high on Tuesday after news of the proposed ban, with futures doubling since the start of the year. The Asian benchmark hit an all-time high in March, while in the U.S., it topped $100 a ton last week for the first time in 13 years.
https://www.sott.net/article/466398-Europes-Russia-coal-ban-fuels-global-fight-for-dirty-fuel

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Colorado to allow unrestricted abortion access for entire pregnancy
Colorado Democrat Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law on Monday that allows for complete and unrestricted abortion access. No limits are listed in the bill, meaning that there are no circumstances under which a woman seeking to terminate her unborn child could not do so. "No matter what the Supreme Court does in the future, people in Colorado will be able to choose when and if they have children," Polis said while signing the legislation into law, according to Colorado Sun. "We want to make sure that our state is a place where everyone can live and work and thrive and raise a family on their own terms," Polis added. This is in keeping with Colorado's position to be a "sanctuary state" for abortion access.
https://www.sott.net/article/466399-Colorado-to-allow-unrestricted-abortion-access-for-entire-pregnancy

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Tiananmen Square: The failure of an American-instigated 1989 color revolution
There are few places in China that seem more burned into the consciousness of typical Westerners than Tiananmen Square, and few events more commonly mentioned than the student protests of 1989. But the stories are wrong on several levels. It was never reported in the Western media that there were two separate events that occurred in Beijing on June 4, 1989. One was a student protest that culminated in a sit-in in Tiananmen Square by several thousand university students, which had lasted for several weeks and finally terminated on June 4. The other was a one-day worker strike that occurred (perhaps not by chance) also on June 4, when a group of workers unhappy with their lot in life, organised their own protest independently of the students, and in a different place. For reasons that will become apparent, the workers' protest is the necessary focus for understanding the events of that date, so I will begin there. The Workers' Revolt A group of workers gathered, and barricaded...
https://www.sott.net/article/466400-Tiananmen-Square-The-failure-of-an-American-instigated-1989-color-revolution

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'In a cage with a tiger': How locals in Taliban's Kabul adapt to the new reality
"Zendegi megozara" (Life goes on), an Afghan proverb says - and Kabul, dubbed by the Western media as the city of hope and despair, could be a physical illustration of the saying. Weeks of fear and uncertainty under Taliban rule followed the withdrawal of NATO troops, the mass evacuations and the flight of the country's leaders. Despite a humanitarian crisis unfolding and the future seeming murky, however, the Afghan capital looks just as it did back in the republican days - on the surface, at least. The airport in Kabul still isn't working at full capacity. After the Taliban took over the city on August 15 last year, most international carriers ceased flights to Afghanistan until the situation stabilizes - except for low-cost airline Fly Dubai, Mahan Air of Iran, and few more regional companies.
https://www.sott.net/article/466401-In-a-cage-with-a-tiger-How-locals-in-Talibans-Kabul-adapt-to-the-new-reality

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U.S. stops Russian bond payments in bid to raise pressure on Moscow
The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at U.S. banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen. But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On Monday, as the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4 million principal payment on a maturing bond, the U.S. government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds, according to a U.S. Treasury spokesperson. An $84 million coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond. The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it...
https://www.sott.net/article/466402-US-stops-Russian-bond-payments-in-bid-to-raise-pressure-on-Moscow

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Alleged execution of Russian POWs captured on video
Ukrainian forces have violated the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, the Russian Investigative Committee says. A gruesome clip emerged on social media on Tuesday, purportedly showing the execution of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian troops. The video starts with the apparent murder of a severely wounded Russian serviceman, who was lying on a road. "Look, he's still alive. He's wheezing," a voice said off screen before shots were fired at the defenseless soldier. It then shows the bodies of several more Russians, scattered on the ground nearby in puddles of blood, as armed men with Ukrainian military insignia on their uniforms cheer as they walk among them. At least one of the prisoners of war in the footage has his hands tied behind his back, and was apparently executed with a shot to the head at point-blank range. Some media outlets suggested that other soldiers may have had their throats slit. The Ukrainian troops in the video are seen shouting "Glory to Ukraine! Glory...
https://www.sott.net/article/466403-Alleged-execution-of-Russian-POWs-captured-on-video

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Finland reveals timeline of possible NATO accession
The Finnish government will provide the country's parliament with a review of possible NATO accession by the middle of this month, the country's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said. Moscow's attack on Ukraine has prompted Finland, which has a common border with Russia, to intensify the discussions on potential benefits of joining the military alliance. Haavisto revealed that Finland's leaders have already discussed the matter with "almost all" NATO members, and he "almost daily" talks about it with neighboring Sweden which is also considering joining the bloc. In an interview with Reuters, published on Monday, Haavisto said that Finland needs to be prepared for retaliation from Russia: We must "also listen to how NATO countries would react. We don't need to make any quick decisions on our own defense, but certainly a possible membership application could lead to making us a target of interference or hybrid actions." On Saturday, the country's prime minister Sanna Marin, speaking...
https://www.sott.net/article/466404-Finland-reveals-timeline-of-possible-NATO-accession

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Pundits who advocate hot war with Russia are enemies of humanity
In an appearance on the MSNBC show Velshi, The Modern War Institute's John Spencer explicitly advocated direct US military conflict with Russia due to allegations of war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. Spencer sai: "I'm ready to commit at this moment — unlike I was before this day — to put people in direct contact with Russia, to stop Russia. Call it peacekeeping. Call it what you will. We have to do more than provide weapons. And by 'we,' I mean the United States. Yes, we'll do it as a coalition with lots of other people, but we are the example. So put boots on the ground, send weapons directly at Russia."Notice the bizarre verbal gymnastics being used by Spencer to obfuscate the fact that he is advocating a hot war with a nuclear superpower: "put people in direct contact with Russia," "send weapons directly at Russia". Who talks like that? He's calling for the US military to fire upon the Russian military, he's just saying it really weirdly. To be clear this isn't just...
https://www.sott.net/article/466405-Pundits-who-advocate-hot-war-with-Russia-are-enemies-of-humanity

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Evgeny Norin: Bucha needs to be properly investigated, not used for propaganda
The Russian military offensive in Ukraine is still under way and recent events have sent shockwaves across the globe. A few days after troops withdrew from the small town of Bucha, near Kiev, the Ukrainian authorities reported finding multiple bodies of dead civilians. What happened in Bucha is now being compared to the Srebrenica massacre - the Balkan town which became a symbol of the deadly war in Yugoslavia. Here's what should be kept in mind about this. Civilian deaths are always a tragedy, without any doubt, and they need to be investigated properly. The rebellion in the Donbass and the military assault now resulting from it can be called one of the bloodiest armed conflicts in the post-Soviet space. The widespread destruction of Mariupol during Moscow's offensive, a group of Russian POWs shot by Ukrainians, and a missile attack on residential areas of Donetsk by Kiev's forces are just some of the atrocities this war has seen so far. Bucha is another one on this list.
https://www.sott.net/article/466406-Evgeny-Norin-Bucha-needs-to-be-properly-investigated-not-used-for-propaganda

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Zelensky says 'No other choice' than to talk to Russia, as Bucha anger rises
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says there is "no other choice" than to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, even if it's difficult to do amid signs that Russian forces may have committed atrocities against civilians that have sparked widespread condemnation and calls for war crimes investigations. Speaking in an interview with Ukrainian journalists that was broadcast on state television on April 5, Zelensky called the events in Bucha "unforgiveable," and that "all of us, including myself, will perceive even the possibility of negotiations as a challenge. The challenge is internal, first of all, one's own human challenge. Then, when you pull yourself together, and you have to do it, I think that we have no other choice." The interview comes a day after Zelensky made an emotional trip to Bucha outside the capital, where Ukrainian officials say the bodies of civilians have been found, many of them shot in yards, streets, and homes. In a video address on April 5 to the UN...
https://www.sott.net/article/466407-Zelensky-says-No-other-choice-than-to-talk-to-Russia-as-Bucha-anger-rises

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Medvedev concisely explained Russia's denazification goal in Ukraine
Denazification will have to be comprehensive and verifiable exactly as it was in defeated Germany after World War II, which is the only way to ensure "the peace of future generations of Ukrainians themselves and the opportunity to finally build an open Eurasia from Lisbon to Vladivostok" like Russia envisions being in everyone's interests. Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev shared another informative post on his Telegram channel, this time concisely explaining the denazification goal of his country's ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. This noble objective has been much-maligned by the US-led Western Mainstream Media (MSM), which gaslights its targeted audience by falsely claiming that no such thing as fascism even remotely exists in Ukraine under its Jewish President. Medvedev began by reminding everyone of Kiev's spree of consistently discredited psy-ops: the "Ghost of Kiev"; the claim of someone downing a...
https://www.sott.net/article/466408-Medvedev-concisely-explained-Russias-denazification-goal-in-Ukraine