Changes

Protective powers of the color red against evil influence were common belief. Objects, animals and trees were covered in red paint, and warriors painted their axes and spear-catapults red to endow the weapons with magic powers. Some of the Australian aborigines abide by this custom up to the present times. Neolithic hunters and Germanic warriors used to paint their weapons and even themselves in the blood of slain animals. Roman gladiators drank the blood of their dying adversaries to take over their strength. In other cultures, the newly born were bathed in the blood of particularly strong and good looking animals.[[image:VanEyck.jpg‎|'''''Arnolfini Wedding'' by Jan Van Eyck 1434'''|center|300px]]Red painted amulets or red [[gems]], such as [[ruby]] or [[garnet]], were used as charms against the "evil eye". Wearing a red ruby was supposed to bring about invincibility. Red bed-clothes were customary in Germany up to the Middle Ages as protection against the "red illnesses", such as fever, rashes or even miscarriages (a famous example is the painting Arnolfini Wedding by Jan Van Eyck, dated 1434).<ref>http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/color/reds2.html</ref>

Protective powers of the color red against evil influence were common belief. Objects, animals and trees were covered in red paint, and warriors painted their axes and spear-catapults red to endow the weapons with magic powers. Some of the Australian aborigines abide by this custom up to the present times. Neolithic hunters and Germanic warriors used to paint their weapons and even themselves in the blood of slain animals. Roman gladiators drank the blood of their dying adversaries to take over their strength. In other cultures, the newly born were bathed in the blood of particularly strong and good looking animals.[[image:VanEyck.jpg‎|'''''Arnolfini Wedding'' by Jan Van Eyck 1434'''|center|300px]]Red painted amulets or red [[gems]], such as [[ruby]] or [[garnet]], were used as charms against the "evil eye". Wearing a red ruby was supposed to bring about invincibility. Red bed-clothes were customary in Germany up to the Middle Ages as protection against the "red illnesses", such as fever, rashes or even miscarriages (a famous example is the painting Arnolfini Wedding by Jan Van Eyck, dated 1434).<ref>http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/color/reds2.html</ref>

In [[politics]], red has become the color associated with the [[Republican]] Party since its use by the TV networks on their electoral maps for states won by George W. Bush during the presidential election of 2000. This had been done in a subtle attempt by the [[Mainstream Media]], which was predominantly of the left, to sabotage Republican efforts in the election due to the infamous connotations of the color red (see below).

In [[politics]], red has become the color associated with the [[Republican]] Party since its use by the TV networks on their electoral maps for states won by George W. Bush during the presidential election of 2000. This had been done in a subtle attempt by the [[Mainstream Media]], which was predominantly of the left, to sabotage Republican efforts in the election due to the infamous connotations of the color red (elsewhere in the world, red is used on TV networks to denote left-leaning parties).

Red is also used to symbolize [[Communism]] and is prevalent in the flags of China and Soviet Russia. The slogan, "Better Red than dead," was popularized as a way of characterizing the appeasement of [[Communism]] by [[Bertrand Russell]] and his mostly [[British]] supporters.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=uIRi0BOvTi4C&pg=PA391&lpg=PA391&dq=%22better+red+than+dead%22+%22Bertrand+Russell%22&source=web&ots=WwFRaEaAmY&sig=h5XEKBrZOQidfBaca9EqJySsISM&hl=en</ref> To a certain extent, it also was used to symbolize the Nazis, largely due to their being derived from the same ideology as Communism.

Red is also used to symbolize [[Communism]] and is prevalent in the flags of China and Soviet Russia. The slogan, "Better Red than dead," was popularized as a way of characterizing the appeasement of [[Communism]] by [[Bertrand Russell]] and his mostly [[British]] supporters.<ref>https://books.google.com/books?id=uIRi0BOvTi4C&pg=PA391&lpg=PA391&dq=%22better+red+than+dead%22+%22Bertrand+Russell%22&source=web&ots=WwFRaEaAmY&sig=h5XEKBrZOQidfBaca9EqJySsISM&hl=en</ref> To a certain extent, it also was used to symbolize the Nazis, largely due to their being derived from the same ideology as Communism.