Arbiet Macht Frei Thieves Sentenced

The man who masterminded, (a big word for the subject in question), the theft of the Arbiet Macht Frei sign from above the entrance to the concentration camp Auschwitz has been sentenced by a Polish court to two years and eight months in jail. While two more men were sentenced to two and a half years for their participation in the theft  from 2009.

The thieves cut the sign into three pieces but the sign has recently been repaired and is now in the Auschwitz museum with a replica hanging above the entrance to the camp.

AP Photo/File.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my viewers and their loved ones and all the best in the coming year!

The Assassination of Henry IV

Henry's Head

A mummified male head has been passed around various private collections for years and recently been identified as being that which was stolen from the grave of France's King Henry IV during the french revolution in 1793. King Henry IV was assassinated in 1610 at the age of 57 and was buried in the Basilica Saint Denis near Paris along with other kings and queens.

Unfortunately the royal crypts were opened by revolutionaries in 1793 who cut off Henry's head leaving the heads whereabouts unknown ever since. Researchers have conducted a number of different tests including carbon tests but not DNA tests as well as a physical examination which showed the head to possess characteristics known to be possessed by Henry IV and have concluded the head to be that of the revered monarch.

Nocturn in Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge

This wonderful work by James Abbott McNeill Whistler was created between 1872-77 and can be found among the Tate Gallery Collection.

Attack on the Rapanui of Easter Island

There are efforts on behalf of Chilean and international companies to privatize Easter island against the wishes of the Rapanui. To this end the people are being evicted from land that is their ancestral homes.

Saturday morning the battle came to a head with the Chilean army shooting various Rapanui with rubber bullets while the Rapanui could only defend themselves by throwing rocks. The article comes with some good links .