1. nation&world11.23.16 | Wednesday | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT | PAGE 6
Auction house sells dodo skeleton for $416K
The Associated Press
Summers Place Auctions in
England has sold a compos-
ite dodo skeleton to a private
collector for 336,100 pounds
($416,300), including buyer’s
premium.
The unique specimen of a
creature once found on the is-
land of Mauritius in the Indian
Ocean was created by a dodo
enthusiast who collected the
bird’s bones for 40 years un-
til he realized he had enough
bones to create an almost com-
plete skeleton.
Hunted into extinction, the
dodo has come to epitomize
the cruel impact that man can
have on an ecosystem. The
bird’s name recognition was
enhanced by Lewis Carroll,
who included a dodo in “Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland.”
Summers Place had put a
guidepriceofbetween300,000
poundsand500,000ontheitem
auctioned Tuesday.
Enthusiast collected
bones for 40 years
and then created
composite skeleton
GARETH FULLER | PA VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
James Rylands auctions off a dodo skeleton Tuesday at
Summers Place Auctions in Billingshurst, England.
After Kim Kardashian’s robbery,
another mega-jewelry heist in Paris
By James McAuley
The Washington Post
A Paris travel tip for the
uber-rich: Think about keep-
ing your valuables at home.
For the second time in two
months, thieves – relying on
surprise and precision tim-
ing – have gotten away with
millions of dollars in jew-
els and left authorities with
few clues but much embar-
rassment.
ThelatesttargetswereQa-
tari women in their 60s head-
edintoParisonMondayfrom
Le Bourget airport, where
private planes often land.
Masked men stopped the
Bentley carrying the wom-
en, sprayed them with tear
gas and made off with no less
than $5.6 million in jewelry
and other valuables.
One police source told the
AFP news agency that “ev-
erything in the vehicle” was
taken.
Theincidentcamejusttwo
months after reality TV icon
and Instagram maven Kim
Kardashian was tied up and
robbed at gunpoint in an ex-
clusive private hotel during
Paris Fashion Week. In that
episode, the thieves – whose
identities remain unknown
– stole a reported $9 million
worth of jewelry, including
a 20-karat diamond ring giv-
en to Kardashian by her hus-
band, rapper Kanye West.
Inrecentyears,therehave
been a number of similar
smash-and-grab robberies
in the same area where the
Qatariwomenwereattacked.
Police say criminals fa-
vor the portion of highway
around the lengthy so-called
Landy Tunnel because of the
steady flow of wealthy trav-
elers who frequently pass
between Le Bourget or the
bigger Charles de Gaulle In-
ternational Airport and the
city.
In a tight, contained envi-
ronment, there is often traf-
fic gridlock – plus plenty of
exit routes where assailants
can easily escape.
In February 2010, Chris-
tine Chernovetska, the
daughter of Kiev’s then-
mayor, told Paris police that
thieves stole 4.8 million eu-
ros in jewelry from her as
she was stopped in traffic
(although the details were
later disputed).
In August 2014, a troop of
Kalashnikov-wielding men
stole $330,000 worth of valu-
ables from a convoy of cars
belonging to a Saudi prince
headed into Le Bourget.
Likewise, in April 2015,
three robbers shattered the
window of a taxi carrying
a Taiwanese art collector,
stealing a handbag that con-
tained $5.6 million worth of
her jewelry.
Earlier this month, the
French government pledged
to install more surveillance
cameras in portions of Paris
where robbers often strike.
Thieves take $5.6M
in valuables from
Qatari women
By Matt Sedensky
The Associated Press
Thatelectoralelephantinthe
room threatening political ten-
sion this Thanksgiving? Story-
Corpsbelievesitcouldbeauni-
fying main course.
The oral history project’s
“Great Thanksgiving Listen
2016” is urging Americans,
particularly teens, to use the
holiday weekend to record a
conversation with a grandpar-
ent or another elder on their
feelings about the election,
their hopes and fears for the
country and their thoughts on
how to bring people together
in a time of division.
Dave Isay, StoryCorps’
founder and president, said
the project could strengthen
ties across the country when
the chasm is deep.
“We’re living in a moment
where the divide is just so mas-
sive,” and the discussions will
give people a chance to reflect
on what happened in the last
two weeks, he said. “I can’t
think of anything more impor-
tant right now than listening to
each other and finding a way
forward.”
StoryCorps debuted the
Thanksgivingprojectlastyear,
prompting intergenerational
conversations just as this time
around, though without the
election theme. The result was
staggering: more than 50,000
recordings, as many as Story-
Corps amassed in its first de-
cade of operation combined.
The “Great Thanksgiving
Listen”ispartneringwithorga-
nizations including the Amer-
ican Federation of Teachers
and the National Education
Association, as well as school
districts and educators in all
50 states, many of whom will
assign a conversation to stu-
dents. The hope is to meet or
exceed the volume of record-
ings from 2015.
Anyone at least 13 years old
is invited to take part in the
“Great Thanksgiving Listen”
bydownloadingtheStoryCorps
app and inviting someone to
take part. Isay said through-
out StoryCorps’ history, peo-
ple have delved into the most
personal and tense moments of
their lives: “We’ve never seen
one of these conversations go
wrong.”
Stories have popped up
around the country of people
dreadingaThanksgivingspent
with relatives with different
political leanings than their
own, and of the fraught polit-
ical divide prompting some
to skip the holiday altogeth-
er. StoryCorps conversations
aren’t aimed at diving into the
particulars of the political de-
bate, but simply listening to the
feelings of another. Because of
that,andbecausetheconversa-
tion is generally between two
people who love and respect
each other, Isay said there’s
little risk of acrimony.
“They’re not talking about
political issues,” he said,
“they’re talking about the peo-
ple they care about.”
StoryCorps was founded in
2003, and for most of its exis-
tence, participants went to a
recording booth to share their
story. After winning a TED
Prize last year, though, Story-
Corps launched an app that al-
lows people to record and up-
load their conversations from
anywhere, with the files be-
ing preserved by the Library
of Congress.
Isay says his 13 years work-
ing on his brainchild have left
him more hopeful than ever,
and that this week’s conver-
sations could be an example
across the country. “It’s time
that the bubbles start to break
and we start to listen to each
other again and recognize how
much we have in common,”
he said.
Listening as a way forward
Seeking to find common ground, oral
history project urges conversations on
the election this Thanksgiving weekend
PATRICK SEMANSKY | AP FILE PHOTO
Teacher Carol Mowen works with student Kirsten Delauney, preparing to participate in StoryCorps at Washington
County Technical High School in Hagerstown, Md., last year. The oral history project is charging Americans,
particularly teens, to use the holiday to record a conversation with elders on their feelings about the election.
MARK LENNIHAN | AP FILE PHOTO
StoryCorps founder Dave Isay demonstrates how to
record a story using a smartphone app. Isay says the
project could strengthen ties across the country.
Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for families to gather,
as depicted in Norman Rockwell’s painting “Freedom From
Want,” and StoryCorps wants it to be a time to talk things
out during its “Great Thanksgiving Listen 2016.”
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