The idea of a pre-contact “peaceable kingdom” that lasted until 1492 does not survive contact with the archaeological record. Violence appears early in the Americas and, by the Mississippian centuries, had become a regular feature of complex agricultural life.
What follows is limited to North America. The scale of organized ritual violence and warfare documented in Mesoamerica and South America was, in many cases, substantially greater still. Evidence of interpersonal conflict reaches back at least to the Early Holocene. Kennewick Man, recovered from the Columbia River in Washington and dated to roughly 8,500–9,000 years ago, carried a Cascade-style stone projectile point embedded in his right ilium. The point entered from the front at a steep angle, consistent with an atlatl dart. Bone had grown around it, showing that the wound healed, though the injury was serious. He also bore healed cranial depression fractures and multiple rib fractures.
Other early skeletons display trauma consistent with violence, but well-preserved Paleo-Indian remains are rare, so the sample is small. No mass graves or fortifications are known from that period. Violence is ancient human behavior; its scale and intensity rise sharply later with denser populations and agriculture.
Scalping itself is not unique to the Americas. Clear osteological evidence of the practice appears in prehistoric Europe and elsewhere well before the peopling of the New World.
El Salvador’s President crowdsourced the location of a Haitian gang leader’s headquarters on social media – and then destroyed it in a military strike.
Nayib Bukele asked open source intelligence (OSINT) experts on X to locate the home of Lanmò San Jou, leader of the 400 Mawozo gang, known for kidnappings and extortion, before declaring days later that El Salvadoran forces had struck it.
San Jou is wanted by the FBI for hostage taking and there is a $1million (£750,585) bounty on his head ‘for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction’ of the crime boss.
On November 6, he wrote: ‘Where is that house? Give us the exact address, and we’ll destroy it.’
Then on November 10, Mr Bukele said: ‘We kept our promise… We destroyed the house of Lanmò San Jou and the 400 Mawozo gang’s headquarters.
‘Most of them ran away without even trying to fight. What cowards!’
The El Salvadorian president also shared footage of the moment two army helicopters fire missiles at the gang leader’s home in Croix-des-Bouquets, near the capital Port-au-Prince, before it is destroyed.
People were seen fleeing the area and the Miami Herald cited sources as saying 20 people died.
These were stone-paved passages, sometimes wide enough for horses and carts, allowing local warriors to move between fortifications or escape advancing armies. To an outsider, the road was practically invisible. A wrong step could send a man into deep bog mud.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, such passages formed part of the defensive infrastructure of Lithuania and Samogitia. Several kūlgrindos have survived to this day, particularly in western Lithuania, although many others have been lost or remain undiscovered.
One of the best-known examples is the Sietuva kūlgrinda. In 1903, archaeologist Ludwik Krzywicki investigated it and noticed something peculiar: rather than taking the shortest route across the swamp, it deliberately twisted through low-lying ground. He concluded that the builders wanted to make the road difficult for enemies to follow.
Three surviving stretches at Sietuva measure 250, 180 and 150 metres. They are thought to have formed part of a secret route connecting the fortresses of Medvėgalis, Paršpilis and Šiuraičiai
Controlled demolition is a phrase often used in some circles when discussing the events of September 11, 2001. However, this is usually reserved for theories regarding the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, and is less often applied to the political, economic, and technological pillars that upheld the world before these attacks. As this piece will attempt to outline, both the physical and “creative destruction” that occurred on that day have had cascading and compounding effects on society as we knew it then, and especially as we know it today.
While the term creative destruction is typically associated with the Marxist school of thought, specifically based on analyses of Karl Marx’s work via Joseph Schumpeter and Werner Sombart, in the context of conspiracy, the phrase refers to the intentional demolition of markets, technological structures and regulations due to a deliberately triggered event. The goal of that event is to intentionally and purposefully bring about a specific, wanted change to the aforementioned pillars of the status quo — leading to an advantaged consolidation by the very conspirators of the event.
The players in this act of creative destruction that occurred at the onset of the new millennia are hardly limited to the usual cast of characters often brought up when discussing September 11, 2001 (9/11). They include members of the various businesses affected and crucially involved in the events surrounding the terrorist attacks; notably, security broker giant Cantor Fitzgerald, led by Howard Lutnick; the infamous American energy pioneer Enron, led by Ken Lay; investment bank and underwriter Alexander Brown & Sons, led by Alvin “Buzzy” Krongard and his deputy Mayo Shattuck III; and stalwarts of the public-private “revolving door” such as Dick Cheney and James Baker, as well as the lesser known Thomas Barnett.
Attila’s Huns may have attacked the Baltic tribes around AD 450. On Altar Hill at Kernavė, archaeologists found 14 three-bladed arrowheads of the kind the Huns used, along with weapon fragments and human bones. A timber building at the edge of the hilltop burned down in the attack.
Balts lived in the valley and fled up the hill when raiders came. The pottery finds point to only occasional visits in peacetime. Another 34 of the same arrowheads turned up at Aukštadvaris. Archaeologist Aleksiejus Luchtanas argued the raids pushed Baltic communities to build more hilltop refuges and helped create a class of professional warriors
Vestiges of the Huns? The Radiocarbon-Based Chronology of the Trilobate Arrowheads from Plinkaigalis Cemetery, Central Lithuania
Abstract
Until presently, over 60 trilobate arrowheads characteristic of Asian nomads have been found in Lithuanian hillforts or their adjacent settlements, some of them in destruction layers. These finds encouraged Lithuanian archaeologists to create a narrative about the Huns severely raiding into the region in the 5th century AD. However, it is accepted as an axiom rather than a topic for research due to the lack of precise chronology. From the Plinkaigalis cemetery, extremely rare finds are known; two trilobate arrowheads were found embedded in human bones (both were from group burials, where other signs of violent trauma were encountered). These finds offered the unique possibility of radiocarbon dating skeletal material directly related to trilobate arrowheads, providing new insights into the narrative of the Huns’ attack. The results of a set of AMS 14C dates are presented and discussed in the article.
The aircraft landed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung, completing the second delivery from a US order of 66 jets approved in 2019.
Taiwan received three US-made F-16 Block 70 fighter jets at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung on Sunday, the second batch delivered under a 66-aircraft order that has drawn China’s opposition. The jets landed safely on Sunday morning, Taiwan’s air force said, according to Central News, as cited by Anadolu.
The aircraft had departed from Lockheed Martin’s factory in South Carolina last Tuesday. Taiwan received its first two F-16 Block 70s last month. The deliveries are part of a US-approved sale of 66 jets and related equipment, valued at about $8 billion, intended to strengthen Taiwan’s air-defence capabilities.
The arrival adds to military ties between Washington and Taipei at a time of persistent tensions across the Taiwan Strait. China has reiterated its firm opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan. The total number of jets delivered so far is not stated in the accounts of Sunday’s arrival.
Ukrainian troops explain their affinity for HK416s and locally-built UAR-15s rifles, Holosun and Eotech optics, and much more.
When it comes to what rifles, sidearms and optics work best in war, there is perhaps no better place to find out than Ukraine. During more than four years of intense defense of their homeland, Ukrainian troops have used an assortment of small arms and accessories, many foreign-made, others domestically produced, to fight the Russians.
To get a better sense of what Ukrainians are currently using on the front lines, what they like, and what they don’t, we reached out to the First Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine. The unit is stationed in the bloody Dobropillia sector in the eastern Donetsk region and is in the middle of one of the toughest fights in Ukraine.
Five soldiers from different Azov units with a range of specialties offered their unique insights into the weapons, sights and scopes they like and the ones they don’t.
The soldiers are issued all their weapons exclusively through the brigade’s armament service, which obtains them from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (MoD). Individuals, however, told us they sometimes purchase their own sights and scopes and other accessories, depending on the models.
I’ve watched a few minutes of this and it’s interesting. Mar-A-Lago is near the crash site. ABN
Mach tuck (also known as tuck under) is an aerodynamic effect where an aircraft’s nose pitches downward as it approaches transonic speeds. This occurs because shock waves form on the wings, causing the center of pressure to shift rearward and creating a nose-down pitching moment.
Key Characteristics:
Onset: It typically happens at speeds significantly below Mach 1 (the speed of sound), often between 0.75 and 1.2 Mach, when the airflow over parts of the wing locally reaches supersonic speeds.
Causes: The primary causes are the rearward movement of the wing’s center of pressure and a decrease in downwash velocity at the tailplane, both of which reduce elevator effectiveness and create a nose-down tendency.
Severity: The effect is influenced by wing design (thickness, sweep angle) and tailplane location. Modern aircraft often have design features, such as all-flying stabilators or Mach trimmers, to mitigate it.
Recovery: Recovery can be difficult or impossible in some subsonic aircraft if the dive steepens. Pilots are advised to reduce thrust, extend air brakes, and descend into denser air to regain control authority.
Context in Recent Events: In the recent Learjet 60 crash in Florida (November 2026), investigators are examining whether Mach tuck contributed to the accident. The crew reported overspeed, icing, and turbulence at 35,000 feet. While overspeed is a factor in Mach tuck, investigators note that overspeed alone does not confirm the phenomenon occurred, as it could have preceded or followed the initial loss of control. Icing and turbulence are distinct phenomena, though they can affect aircraft handling.
WASHINGTON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4 billion in funding to Israel after the end of this year, but will still sell weapons to its close Middle East ally.
Speaking as US voters headed to the polls for midterm elections that will decide who controls Congress, Trump did not provide details and it was not immediately clear which funding he meant. He also did not explain how the funding would be stopped at the end of the year, given that the Memorandum of Understanding that provides $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year does not expire until September 2028.
I generally prefer direct statements over questions, but in this case the answer is so obvious, and seriously maddening, I like it. Also, Bowden has been terrific on all things covid. She deserves a medal. ABN
What I find very interesting in this Reuters “exclusive” report are the specific Baltic states mentioned. From the article:
….”Among the nations that have received messages urging them to keep public statements in check are Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.” …
I would remind readers of the recent 1,000 drones supposedly deployed from Western Ukraine that flew through the airspace of this exact group of nations to attack St Petersburg, Russia. {GO DEEP}
CTH said at the time that given the logistics involved it was far more likely the drones were delivered to, and launched from, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia before crossing into Russian territory.
…“if you accept the narrative, the 1,000+ drones took off from western Ukraine, flew north through Poland, crossed Lithuania (a few crashed there) and then Latvia, and finally turned east toward St Petersburg from Estonia at the very end; again, presumably, to avoid Russian air defenses.
This complicated 1,000+ drone operation happened at exactly the same time Zelenskyy was creating a very specific narrative about being allowed to use Starshield for these types of targeting operations.” ~CTH October 20th
Is it just a coincidence that a report surfaces saying the Pentagon has requested these same three specific EU nations to stop their antagonisms as President Trump tries to come to a diplomatic resolution to this conflict?
Joe Kent appears at about 56 min. I’ve watched 30 min of him being interviewed. It’s quite good so far. Good insights into how the federal bureaucracy works plus the beginnings (I hope) of info about the Kirk murder. ABN
