Welcome to General Chat - GAW Community Area
This General Chat area started off as a place for people to talk about things that are off topic, however it has quickly evolved into a community and has become an integral part of the GAW experience for many of us.
Based on its evolving needs and plenty of user feedback, we are trying to bring some order and institute some rules. Please make sure you read these rules and participate in the spirit of this community.
Rules for General Chat
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Be respectful to each other. This is of utmost importance, and comments may be removed if deemed not respectful.
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Avoid long drawn out arguments. This should be a place to relax, not to waste your time needlessly.
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Personal anecdotes, puzzles, cute pics/clips - everything welcome
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Please do not spam at the top level. If you have a lot to post each day, try and post them all together in one top level comment
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Feel free to give feedback as these rules are expected to keep evolving
In short, imagine this thread to be a local community hall where we all gather and chat daily. Please be respectful to others in the same way
Rules For the rest of the Site also accessible on the sidebar.
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Rare Assyrian inscription found in Jerusalem by Dario Radley October 22, 2025 https://archaeologymag.com/2025/10/rare-assyrian-inscription-found-in-jerusalem/
Archaeologists have unearthed an extraordinary Assyrian inscription from the First Temple period in Jerusalem—the first of its kind to be discovered in the city. The tiny fragment of pottery, just 2.5 centimeters in diameter and inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform, was discovered close to the Temple Mount’s Western Wall in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the City of David Foundation.
Rare Assyrian inscription found in Jerusalem The sealing is rare evidence of written communication between the King of Assyria and the King of Judah. Credit: Eliyahu Yannai, City of David Foundation. Dating to about 2,700 years ago, the inscription likely formed part of a royal seal impression on an official dispatch sent from the Assyrian royal court to the Kingdom of Judah. Scholars believe it may refer to a delay in the payment of tribute, possibly connected with a time of tension or rebellion as described in the Bible when King Hezekiah rebelled against Assyrian rule.
The fragment was recovered through wet sifting at Jerusalem’s Davidson Archaeological Park to ensure its authenticity. According to the research team, this is direct evidence of correspondence between Assyria, the ancient Near Eastern dominant power, and Judah, a former vassal state. The document includes a date (“the first of the month of Av”) and mentions a “chariot officer,” a royal courier whose responsibility was to deliver official messages.
The soil layer containing the inscription was taken from Second Temple period deposits from Jerusalem’s ancient drainage canal. Archaeologists believe it originated from the collapse of an older First Temple structure, near one of the closest known sites west of the Temple Mount with remains from that era.
Rare Assyrian inscription found in Jerusalem The rare sealing was discovered next to an ancient drainage channel. Credit: Shai Halevi, Israel Antiquities Authority Petrographic analysis revealed that the clay was not local but came from the Tigris Basin region—home to Assyria’s major cities of Nineveh, Ashur, and Nimrud (Kalḫu). This proves that the document was produced in an Assyrian administrative center and sent to Jerusalem. A chemical study by the Geological Survey of Israel is underway to identify its exact origin.
RelatedStories
Although the text is incomplete, scholars have interpreted it as evidence of political tensions between Judah and the Assyrian Empire, possibly over missed tribute payments. The discovery sheds light on the extent of Assyrian power in Jerusalem and the mechanisms of imperial communication during the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE.
Rare Assyrian inscription found in Jerusalem The Assyrian sealing is the only one ever discovered from the First Temple period. Credit: Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority The find attests to Jerusalem’s importance as an administrative and political hub even under imperial control. It is evidence of the city’s incorporation into the international system of the time, where letters, seals, and tax documents circulated between the world’s most powerful empire and its western vassal.
The inscription will be presented to the public on October 23 at the “New Discoveries in Jerusalem and Environs” Conference.
Spot silver 62.66
tonight is the 226th anniversary of George Washington's death!✨
https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/the-death-of-george-washington
he died at 10:20 on December 14, 1799
the clock that was next to his bedside, is displayed at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia💥
AI overview;
The George Washington "Death Clock"
The Clock: This clock stood near Washington's bed at Mount Vernon.
The Time: George Washington's personal secretary, Tobias Lear, recorded the time of death as "between ten and eleven o'clock". An account from a cabinetmaker suggests the time was precisely 10:20 p.m.. In accordance with a common custom of the era, the cord to the clock's weight was reportedly cut, freezing the hands at that exact moment to preserve the time of his passing.
The Location: The clock is currently held by the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia.
AND
he was 67 😳🤔
https://nypost.com/2025/12/12/entertainment/streamers-are-rising-prices-at-an-astonishing-rate-heres-how-much-more-youre-paying/
Note that the above article depicts the "frog in a pot scenario" as the price increases have been gradual.
Little by little they want to strip away a persons ability to opt out of the system. Energy independence is one of them. Vermont is considering banning wood stoves.Even if they have a scrubber on them, as mine does. When winter gets to the low temps it does, you cannot live without fire. I do not want oil or propane or electricity to heat my home, I would certainly consider solar generated power, or a small wind generator for power, for lights and water heater,as long as I am off grid.Not connected to some bigger system, dyi project by hiring local help. I moved here 40 years ago to get away from dependence on huge corporate systems, such as the "power" scam everyone living in cities are subjected to. They want to eliminate homesteaders, we are the glitch in the system. I would hope there are enough of us up north to say screw you to any attempt at freezing us out. In a state like Vermont or New Hampshire or Maine, there will always be fuel, wood heat or pellets from corn, sawdust, etc is one of the most sustainable fuels that exist, up here. Maybe not in some over farmed enormous state that has destroyed the land with corporate farming for China. I have heated with wood for over 50 years, and never looked back. Especially during a power outage.
I never fully appreciated the value of an old cast iron wood burning stove until I was about 14 years old. The old house we lived in did not have insulation and the windows were an invitation to fresh air now matter how many layers of towels and blankets we hung above it. We would still wake up in the mornings with frost on the INSIDE of the windows too LOL. My stepdad brought home a surpise for us one evening. It was that small kind of ugly looking wood burning stove he had bartered for. He had each of us carry in a few logs he bought and some small pieces of kindling and let me tell you, that was the best little wood burning stove on earth! my mom put a kettle on top of it and sprinkled in some cinnamon and threw a few cloves in it to help humidify the house and we stayed warm from then on. I do believe that old stove is still in my mom's old shed. I should go look next time I'm there.
"Don't Stop Your Atheism"
Disclaimer 1: It's a ragey atheist anthem.
Disclaimer 2: It's about the new atheism era.
(A parody of "Don't stand so close to me" - The Police)
Young atheist, a subject
Of Dawkins' legacy
He follows him so madly
Knows what he wants to be
Inside him there's longing
This atheist's an open page
Book-signing, so close now
This sage is twice his age
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
His friends are so jealous
You know how skeptics get
Sometimes it's not that easy
To be old Richard's pet
The mocking, frustration
So fierce it makes him cry
Cold lecture hall, he's listening
His hero's passing by
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
Loose talk on the forums
To hurt they try and try
Strong words in the mentions
The ratio multiplies
It's no use, he reads him
He starts to rage and scoff
Just like the young girl in
That book by Nabokov
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
Don't stop, don't stop your
Don't stop your atheism!
2 lines in and I already loled. Dawkins was out calling himself a "cultural Christian" and lamenting that Christianity was fading for Islam in the UK, like a year ago.
Even their heros lament the fruit of their labors.
u/#ridetofreedom
How can we have government "of the people for the people by the people" if the people don't participate?
How can people participate with informed opinions when they. aren't even allowed to know the true nature of their own existence?
This is the exact reason why I have such an open an accepting view of others. We’re all in this together.....unless you’re one of “them.” They walk amongst us.
Yeah. And why can't we live in Truth?
We are getting there but waking up from the matrix is not easy. Not just for the normies.
The veil is being lifted. These are truly the apocalyptic times (that word meant something entirely different originally)
It’s almost like humanity is about to be born
"Nothing is impossible with God.". (Luke 1:37)
Matthew 10:28 - And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. https://www.bible.com/bible/59/mat.10.28
Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Amen! 🙌