Were cats domesticated as early as 9,500 years ago? A new discovery in Cyprus seems to show that the beasties were pets some 4,000 years earlier than previously thought. So the manipulation may have begun that early? National Geographic teaches me a new phrase, too: “commensal domesticates.” The phrase describes animals like mice, rats, sparrows, …

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Former counterterrorism officials said at least half a dozen [of their former colleagues] have left the White House Office for Combating Terrorism or related agencies in frustration in the 2 1/2 years since the attacks. Some also left because they felt President Bush had sidelined his counterterrorism experts and paid almost exclusive heed to the …

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