On a cold winter night in 1941, Nazi soldiers entered the grand halls of the Catherine Palace near Leningrad, Russia, and laid their hands on a treasure that had once been described as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Within just a few days, they dismantled one of the most extraordinary creations of Baroque art: the Amber Room, a dazzling space lined with panels made entirely of amber, embellished with gold leaf, and inlaid with mirrors and semi-precious stones. As they packed the precious panels into crates and shipped them off to Königsberg, no one could have imagined that the Amber Room would soon vanish into the fog of war—never to be seen again. Autochrome of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace, 1917 The Origins of the Amber Room The Amber Room was originally crafted in the early 18th century, a gift from the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I to Tsar Peter the Great of Russia. Measuring 180 square feet and weighing over six tons, it was installed in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg. The room was a masterpiece of Baroque art, with amber panels backed by gold leaf, adorned with mirrors, mosaics, and semi-precious stones. Built with more than six tons of amber, which is fragile, difficult to work with, and extraordinarily rare, the room was an engineering marvel. The room contained ornate architectural features, such as gilding, carvings, amber panels, gold leaf, gemstones, statues of angels and children, and mirrors that illuminated the room with candle light. For over 200 years, the Amber Room adorned the Catherine Palace, symbolizing Russian imperial wealth. Its dazzling beauty even caught the eye of famous figures like Empress Elizabeth and Catherine the Great, both of whom had the room restored and expanded. By the time World War II broke out, the Amber Room had become an integral part of Russian cultural heritage, attracting visitors from all over the world. Yet, with the advance of the German army toward Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1941, the fate of this priceless treasure took a darker turn. Real Amber Room (pre-war photo) Nazi Looting and Disappearance As part of their campaign in the east, the Nazis sought to plunder art and artifacts, and the Amber Room was a prime target. Despite efforts to conceal it behind plain wallpaper, the Nazis—who had been meticulously tracking valuable artifacts across Europe—knew exactly where to find it. When German forces captured the town of Pushkin, where the Catherine Palace was located, they dismantled the room over a period of 36 hours and transported it to Königsberg Castle in East Prussia (modern-day Kaliningrad, Russia). There, it was displayed in a museum under the supervision of Alfred Rohde, a German art historian with a particular interest in amber. After being transported to Königsberg, the capital of East Prussia, the Amber Room was displayed briefly before disappearing amid the chaos of war. The room remained there until 1944, when Allied bombing raids began to target the city. At that point, records become murky. In the final months of the war, the Amber Room vanished. Some believe it was destroyed during bombing raids on the city, while others suggest it was hidden by the retreating Germans. The lack of definitive evidence has fueled a plethora of theories. Hand-coloured photograph of the original Amber Room, 1931. Search Efforts and Theories Over the years, numerous expeditions have been launched to locate the missing Amber Room, but none have been successful. One of the most straightforward explanations is that the Amber Room was destroyed in the Allied bombing of Königsberg in August 1944. Declassified documents from the Russian National Archives that were written by Alexander Brusov (head of the Soviet team charged with locating lost arts), concluded that the Amber Room was most likely destroyed in the resulting damage to the castle. His report also stated that three out of four of the Amber Room’s Florentine mosaics were discovered damaged and burnt in the castle’s cellar. Despite this, the Soviets continued to conduct extensive searches for the Amber Room within the castle grounds. It has been suggested that this was a means of early Cold War propaganda to hide the fact that they were responsible for its destruction during the artillery bombardment (placing the blame on the Nazis), or that they were simply investigating their own soldiers for its destruction. Königsberg Castle (Photo: Wikimedia Commons) Another theory posits that the Amber Room was hidden in a secret underground bunker or mine in Germany. This belief has been bolstered by the discovery of several art repositories used by the Nazis during the war, such as the Altaussee salt mines in Austria, where stolen artworks were recovered. However, extensive searches of such sites have yet to yield any evidence of the Amber Room. Some researchers believe that the Amber Room was loaded onto a ship that was sunk by the Allies during the final stages of the war. One name often cited is the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in January 1945, resulting in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. While divers have explored the wreck, no trace of the Amber Room has been found. In more recent years, there have been suggestions that Russian authorities may have already recovered parts of the Amber Room and are keeping it hidden for political reasons. This theory, however, is considered highly speculative and lacks credible evidence. In 2017, a team of Polish divers announced they had discovered a sunken German ship that might contain the Amber Room, but subsequent investigations found no evidence. In 2020, another search was launched in a cave system in Germany, based on newly uncovered documents, but again, no trace was found. Reconstruction of the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace Reconstruction In 1979, under the direction of Russian craftsmen, a project was launched to recreate the Amber Room based on historical photographs and descriptions. After 24 years of painstaking work, the replica was completed and installed in the Catherine Palace in 2003. The reconstruction was a massive undertaking, costing about $11 million and taking 25 years to complete. Its opening in 2003 marked the 300-year anniversary of St. Petersburg. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, visitors from around the world could view a reconstruction of the original Amber Room at the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve. The post The Eighth Wonder of the World: The Story of the Stolen Amber Room appeared first on Anomalien.com.

CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter joined The Source host Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday to react to Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier. Stelter tied himself into a rhetorical pretzel as he tried to simultaneously claim that Baier is basically “a Trump surrogate,” but also that “adversarial interviews are a good thing.” Collins began by trying to figure out how well Harris did, “Not that Twitter's real life ever, but looking at it, it seemed like a Rorschach test, right from the beginning. Of how people were going to see. Did she crush it? Did she blow it? What was the outcome of the interview?”     Stelter didn’t have anything to say on that front. Instead, he went straight to the Fox bashing, “I think Trump refused to debate Kamala Harris again. So, Harris did the next best thing. She booked a debate on Fox News, and that's what this was tonight.” He continued, “She essentially walked into a Trump campaign field office. Because anchor Bret Baier, who is a solid journalist, he is also incredibly sympathetic to Trump, because that's what his fans want. That's what his viewers want. His viewers want him to represent the Trump point of view. So, it was almost as if you had a Trump surrogate, interviewing Kamala Harris.” Speaking of viewers, Stelter acknowledged Baier is “a solid journalist,” but he couldn't just say that because his CNN viewers can’t accept that a non-caricaturized version of Fox. Stelter also couldn’t make up his mind if Baier was performing a public service or trying to appease his audience, “And look, adversarial interviews are a good thing. We should root for them. We should want more of them. You know, you're so fantastic at adversarial interviews, where we challenge newsmakers, and we get answers out of them.” He then repeated Collins’s early observation, but made sure to throw in some extra praise for Harris, “But yes, this was a Rorschach test. Some people think Baier was mansplaining. Other people think Harris was filibustering. I think at the end of the day, this was all about one word. The word, tough. It showed that Harris was tough. She went into the so-called Fox den, and that's how Harris' campaign is promoting it tonight. They're saying she went into the Fox den, and looked what -- look what happened.” Republicans do tough interviews with non-Fox outlets all the time, and they almost never get praise for their toughness, nor does Stelter call those anchors Democratic operatives who try to appease their viewers, but Harris and Fox get different standards. Here is a transcript for the October 16 show: CNN The Source with Kaitlan Collins 10/16/2024 9:21 PM ET KAITLAN COLLINS: Brian, just -- not that Twitter's real life ever, but looking at it— BRIAN STELTER: No, it's not. COLLINS: --it seemed like a Rorschach test, right from the beginning. STELTER: Yes. COLLINS: Of how people were going to see. Did she crush it? Did she blow it? What was the outcome of the interview? STELTER: I think Trump refused to debate Kamala Harris again. So, Harris did the next best thing. She booked a debate on Fox News, and that's what this was tonight. She essentially walked into a Trump campaign field office. Because anchor Bret Baier, who is a solid journalist, he is also incredibly sympathetic to Trump, because that's what his fans want. That's what his viewers want. His viewers want him to represent the Trump point of view. So, it was almost as if you had a Trump surrogate, interviewing Kamala Harris. And look, adversarial interviews are a good thing. We should root for them. We should want more of them. You know, you're so fantastic at adversarial interviews, where we challenge newsmakers, and we get answers out of them. But yes, this was a Rorschach test. Some people think Baier was mansplaining. Other people think Harris was filibustering. I think at the end of the day, this was all about one word. The word, tough. It showed that Harris was tough. She went into the so-called Fox den, and that's how Harris' campaign is promoting it tonight. They're saying she went into the Fox den, and looked what -- look what happened.

So, former President Barack Obama tells “the brothers” to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris because she’s a black woman -- and women have “been getting our backs this entire time.” Obama said: “My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. (This lack of enthusiasm) seems to be more pronounced with the brothers.” He also said, “(black) women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time.” Presumably, this does not apply to his devoted. Is this how Obama talks to “the brothers” down at the barbershop in Martha’s Vineyard? Of course, he wouldn’t implore “the brothers” to vote for, say, Republican Condoleezza Rice were she the GOP presidential nominee. If people voted based on their race, Obama could never have been elected state senator, U.S. senator or president. Obama also told “the brothers” to vote for Harris because “you have somebody who grew up like you.” This is quite a statement from someone who grew up unlike anyone most voters know. Obama was born in Hawaii. His mom obtained a PhD in anthropology and his father an economics degree from Harvard. Obama’s mom remarried an oil company executive, and Barack lived in Indonesia for a few years, where he attended a private school set up by his stepfather’s oil company for the children of its executives. Obama’s mom sent him back to Hawaii because she wanted her son to get an even better education. There he lived with his white maternal grandparents. His grandmother became a bank executive, and his grandfather was a successful salesman. In Hawaii, Obama attended the prestigious Punahou prep school where the tuition for the 2023-24 school year is $30,480, not including student activity fees. He did his first two years of college at an elite school in Los Angeles before getting his undergraduate degree from Columbia and his law degree from Harvard. If, according to Obama, people should vote for those who “grew up like you,” why should “the brothers” -- and for that matter most anyone else -- have voted for Obama given how he “grew up”? So much for content of character and not color of skin. Obama wants Jim Crow 2.0. Beyond this, consider how blacks fared under Preacher Obama. As I wrote in 2015: “In 2009, when Obama took office, the black poverty rate was 25.8 percent. As of 2014, according to Pew Research Center, the black poverty rate was 27.2 percent. “CNNMoney says, ‘Minority households’ median income fell 9 percent between 2010 and 2013, compared to a drop of only 1 percent for whites.’ The Financial Times (in October 2014) wrote: ‘Since 2009, median non-white household income has dropped by almost a 10th to $33,000 a year, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s survey of consumer finances.’ “What bout net worth and the black-white ‘wealth gap’? The Financial Times said: ‘The median non-white family today has a net worth of just $18,100 -- almost a fifth lower than it was when Mr. Obama took office. White median wealth, on the other hand, has inched up by 1 percent to $142,000. ... Both in relative and absolute terms, blacks are doing worse under Mr. Obama.’ “From 2010 to 2013, according to the Federal Reserve, white household median wealth increased a modest 2.4 percent, while Hispanic families’ wealth declined 14 percent, to $13,700. But blacks’ net worth fell from $16,600 to $11,000. This is an astonishing three-year drop of 34 percent. ... The black/white ‘wealth-gap’ has reached a 25-year high.” What about unemployment? By 2014, the black labor force participation rate -- the percentage of blacks working or seeking work -- stood at the lowest since these numbers have been recorded. As to home ownership? The Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies wrote, “Homeownership rates have fallen six percentage points among black households -- double that among white households.” Given Obama’s dismal economic record, why should “the brothers” listen to a race card hustler who tells them to vote on race and gender? Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on X @larryelder.

Jake E. Lee — a former guitar player for rock legend Ozzy Osbourne — was shot multiple times in a Las Vegas neighborhood early Tuesday morning, the Associated Press reported.Las Vegas police said Lee was shot around 2:40 a.m. in a neighborhood about 10 miles south of the Strip and was taken to a hospital, the AP said.'By the grace of God, no major organs were hit, he’s fully responsive, and expected to make a full recovery.'A representative for Lee confirmed the shooting in a statement, the outlet said, adding that the statement indicated Lee was conscious and “is expected to fully recover.” The AP added that the representative, Amanda Cagan, said the shooting occurred as the 67-year-old rocker was walking his dog.“As the incident is under police investigation, no further comments will be forthcoming," the rep's statement read. "Lee and his family appreciate respecting their privacy at this time."Tim Heyne, manager of Lee’s rock band Red Dragon Cartel, told the AP that "by the grace of God, no major organs were hit, he’s fully responsive, and expected to make a full recovery."No arrests have been made, and police said its investigation into the shooting was ongoing, the outlet noted.The AP reported that Lee — who was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in San Diego — played guitar in several bands amid the glam metal scene orbiting the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in the 1980s, including an early version of Ratt.Lee joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1982 and stayed on until 1987, playing on albums including 1983’s “Bark at the Moon," the outlet said. Lee later played in the metal band Badlands and released a pair of solo albums, the AP said.Osbourne on Tuesday night issued the following statement on X: "It’s been 37 years since I’ve seen Jake E. Lee, but that still doesn’t take away from the shock of hearing what happened to him today. It’s just another senseless act of gun violence. I just hope he’ll be OK."Anything else?In 2022, Osbourne — the original vocalist for hard rock pioneers Black Sabbath — criticized the United States and said he was moving back to England after more than two decades living in Los Angeles. His reason reflected the sentiments Osbourne expressed after Lee's shooting."Everything’s f***ing ridiculous there," Osbourne said at the time. "I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert. ... It’s f***ing crazy."Osbourne's wife, Sharon Osbourne, said in July that Ozzy's health issues — including numerous surgeries and a Parkinson's diagnosis — have stalled relocation plans.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Qualcomm's Intel takeover bid is on ice, at least for now. According to sources, the mobile chip maker is reportedly holding off on approaching Intel with a purchase offer due to the uncertainty caused by the US presidential election in a few weeks time, seeking “clarity” over who is going to take over in the Oval Office before it makes a bid or not. Intel hasn’t had the best year so far. Its current-gen Intel Raptor Lake CPUs have faced voltage instability issues that caused permanent damage, its share price has dropped over 50% since January, and in the battle to make the best gaming CPUs, it continues to lag behind AMD. Qualcomm, meanwhile, has seen its latest Snapdragon X Plus CPUs chip away at Intel and AMD’s hold over the market in the latest Windows Copilot+ laptops. Continue reading Qualcomm is pausing its bid to buy Intel for now, according to reports MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Core i5 14600K review, Best gaming CPU, Core i9 14900K review

One of the things you always want from a sequel is the same, but more. The original Citizen Sleeper is an RPG that focuses around a discarded android housing a simulated human personality, trying to find its way in a colossal space station that’s half abandoned and falling apart. The sequel, Citizen Sleeper 2 Starward Vector, looks to follow on with similar themes and mechanics, but add more - much more. You can also give it a try for free as part of Steam Next Fest. Continue reading Highly anticipated RPG sequel Citizen Sleeper 2 blasts off with new Steam demo MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs, Best cyberpunk games, Best story games

Arma Reforger is a great military shooter, and ever since it first graced our PCs developer Bohemia Interactive has always labeled it as a testbed, a bridge, that will eventually take us to Arma 4. Well, in rather bizarre fashion, Bohemia has now revealed when we will reach the promised lands of Arma 4 - sadly, though, you’ll be waiting for quite some time. Continue reading Arma 4 release window revealed, and it’ll probably disappoint you

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is reportedly going to be announced very soon, according to the latest word on the rumor mill. If this latest leak is correct, then AMD is apparently planning to spoiler the Intel Arrow Lake launch by announcing the 9800X3D the day after the CPUs are released, but it also looks as though there's a big catch with this new chip. If that rumored release window does indeed turn out to be the case, then the Intel Arrow Lake launch is going to be hit hard. Even Intel admits that, in all likeliness, the 9800X3D will beat the Core Ultra 9 285K when it comes to gaming performance, and it now looks as though there won’t be a honeymoon period for Intel’s new chips when they come out, leaving AMD to pick up the best gaming CPU medal almost straight away. Continue reading AMD Ryzen 9800X3D gaming CPU reportedly coming very soon, but there’s a catch MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review

The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 system requirements show that you won't need to clear too much space on your SSD as this new incarnation requires just a third of what its chunky predecessor needed. Elsewhere, while you can get away without needing the best graphics card, if you want the smoothest experience while playing Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, you might want to upgrade your internet connection. Early indications show that up to 180Mbps is required at times in order to stream the required map and environmental data. Despite this, only a 50Mbps connection is suggested as a requirement on the Steam store page. Continue reading Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 system requirements drop huge storage demands MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming