Breaking News
Follow Breaking News updates on RSS and Twitter
This page features brief excerpts of news stories published by the mainstream media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in each source note. Quotation marks are not used.
Highlights
Breaking News
This page features brief excerpts of news stories published by the mainstream media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in each source note. Quotation marks are not used. Because most of our readers read the NYT we usually do not include the paper's stories in HIGHLIGHTS.
Name of source: AP
SOURCE: AP (3-18-08)
Baghdad's National Museum, a treasure trove of antiquities from the stone age and Babylon to the
Assyrians and Islamic art, cannot open to the public despite the renovation of two of its galleries nearing completion, an Iraqi
official said Tuesday.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 22:24
Comments
SOURCE: AP (3-15-08)
The smuggling of stolen antiquities from Iraq's rich cultural heritage is helping finance Iraqi extremist groups, says the U.S. investigator who led the initial probe into the looting of Baghdad's National Museum.
Marine Reserve Col. Matthew Bogdanos claimed both Sunni insurgents such as al-Qaida in Iraq and Shiite militias are receiving funding from the trafficking.
Bogdanos, a New York assistant district attorney, noted that kidnappings and extortion remain the insurgents' main source of funds. But he said the link between extremist groups and antiquities smuggling in Iraq was "undeniable."
"The Taliban are using opium to finance their activities in Afghanistan," Bogdanos told The Associated Press in an interview during a two-day UNESCO-organized conference that ended Tuesday on returning antiquities to their country of origin.
"Well, they don't have opium in Iraq," he said. "What they have is an almost limitless supply of is antiquities. And so they're using antiquities."
Marine Reserve Col. Matthew Bogdanos claimed both Sunni insurgents such as al-Qaida in Iraq and Shiite militias are receiving funding from the trafficking.
Bogdanos, a New York assistant district attorney, noted that kidnappings and extortion remain the insurgents' main source of funds. But he said the link between extremist groups and antiquities smuggling in Iraq was "undeniable."
"The Taliban are using opium to finance their activities in Afghanistan," Bogdanos told The Associated Press in an interview during a two-day UNESCO-organized conference that ended Tuesday on returning antiquities to their country of origin.
"Well, they don't have opium in Iraq," he said. "What they have is an almost limitless supply of is antiquities. And so they're using antiquities."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:46
SOURCE: AP (3-18-08)
Thousands of pages of Hillary Rodham Clinton 's schedules as first lady are being released to the public after months of pressure and criticism that the Clintons were delaying the disclosure.
The National Archives, which operates former President Clinton's presidential library in Little Rock, announced Tuesday it would release 11,046 pages of Clinton's daily schedules at the Little Rock facility and online Wednesday morning.
Clinton has faced criticism from fellow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republicans over the number of White House documents from her husband's administration that have not been made public.
The documents to be released include schedules for 2,888 days and are the files from Patti Solis Doyle, who was the former first lady's scheduling director. Doyle served as manager of Clinton's presidential campaign but stepped down in February after a series of losses to Obama in the Democratic nomination battle.
The National Archives, which operates former President Clinton's presidential library in Little Rock, announced Tuesday it would release 11,046 pages of Clinton's daily schedules at the Little Rock facility and online Wednesday morning.
Clinton has faced criticism from fellow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republicans over the number of White House documents from her husband's administration that have not been made public.
The documents to be released include schedules for 2,888 days and are the files from Patti Solis Doyle, who was the former first lady's scheduling director. Doyle served as manager of Clinton's presidential campaign but stepped down in February after a series of losses to Obama in the Democratic nomination battle.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:37
SOURCE: AP (3-17-08)
YREKA, Calif. - In extreme Northern California, far from the bright lights of Hollywood and the foggy charms of San Francisco, is a place unknown to most people: a handful of counties that once sought to make themselves into a separate state called Jefferson.
The idea lasted only a few days in 1941 before it was quashed by the attack on Pearl Harbor. But for a few who remember its history, the movement embodies the mindset of this sparsely populated country that still longs for more autonomy.
"We've always fostered an independent streak up here," said Pete LaFortune, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Yreka (pronounced why-REEK-ah), about 270 miles north of San Francisco.
More than six decades later, many residents of the mountainous region along the California-Oregon border continue to complain that their concerns are overlooked and undervalued by decision makers in more populated areas.
The State of Jefferson began as part publicity stunt, part political gesture. Even today, the movement is made up of tourist-friendly whimsy intertwined with more serious themes of discontent.
The idea lasted only a few days in 1941 before it was quashed by the attack on Pearl Harbor. But for a few who remember its history, the movement embodies the mindset of this sparsely populated country that still longs for more autonomy.
"We've always fostered an independent streak up here," said Pete LaFortune, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Yreka (pronounced why-REEK-ah), about 270 miles north of San Francisco.
More than six decades later, many residents of the mountainous region along the California-Oregon border continue to complain that their concerns are overlooked and undervalued by decision makers in more populated areas.
The State of Jefferson began as part publicity stunt, part political gesture. Even today, the movement is made up of tourist-friendly whimsy intertwined with more serious themes of discontent.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:15
SOURCE: AP (3-17-08)
Israel and Germany strengthened their ties on Monday in one of the highlights of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's three-day visit to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation.
Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert chaired a joint session of members of the two countries' Cabinets, at which both governments signed off on a range of projects, including in education, the environment and defense.
The two sides agreed to hold such meetings once a year, alternating as hosts.
Germany already has similar arrangements with France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Russia, but it was the first time Israel had entered into such an agreement since it formed diplomatic ties in 1965.
At a joint news conference, Olmert praised Germany's friendship -- it is one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe and its second biggest trading partner, after the U.S.
Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert chaired a joint session of members of the two countries' Cabinets, at which both governments signed off on a range of projects, including in education, the environment and defense.
The two sides agreed to hold such meetings once a year, alternating as hosts.
Germany already has similar arrangements with France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Russia, but it was the first time Israel had entered into such an agreement since it formed diplomatic ties in 1965.
At a joint news conference, Olmert praised Germany's friendship -- it is one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe and its second biggest trading partner, after the U.S.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 21:02
SOURCE: AP (3-16-08)
RIGA, Latvia: Thousands of people marched through this capital Sunday under heavy police protection to honor countrymen who fought in a German combat unit during World War II.
Protesters jeered as the procession of about 3,000 people - a few surviving members of the Waffen SS unit, known as the Latvian Legion, among them - arrived at the Freedom Monument in central Riga.
Participants in the march sang patriotic songs and waved Latvian flags before laying roses at the base of the monument as protesters chanted "Disgrace!" and "Hitler is dead!" in Russian and blew whistles to drown out the singing....
Veterans who fought on the side of Nazi Germany say they were simply fighting for their freedom against the Soviet menace. But many ethnic Russians, who make up approximately one-third of the country's 2.3 million people, claim that the Soviet army liberated the Baltic state from fascism.
Protesters jeered as the procession of about 3,000 people - a few surviving members of the Waffen SS unit, known as the Latvian Legion, among them - arrived at the Freedom Monument in central Riga.
Participants in the march sang patriotic songs and waved Latvian flags before laying roses at the base of the monument as protesters chanted "Disgrace!" and "Hitler is dead!" in Russian and blew whistles to drown out the singing....
Veterans who fought on the side of Nazi Germany say they were simply fighting for their freedom against the Soviet menace. But many ethnic Russians, who make up approximately one-third of the country's 2.3 million people, claim that the Soviet army liberated the Baltic state from fascism.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:46
SOURCE: AP (3-16-08)
A search for an Australian navy battle cruiser lost in 1941 has led to the wreck of the German raider that sank it, the prime minister said Sunday.
Both the HMAS Sydney and the German vessel, the DKM Kormoran, sank after a battle off Australia's western coast on Nov. 19, 1941 during World War II.
None of the 645 men aboard the Sydney survived. But 317 of the Kormoran's 397 crew rowed to the Australian coast in life boats and were taken prisoner. The 9,500 ton Kormoran had been disguised as a Dutch merchant ship when it opened fire on the Sydney.
Both the HMAS Sydney and the German vessel, the DKM Kormoran, sank after a battle off Australia's western coast on Nov. 19, 1941 during World War II.
None of the 645 men aboard the Sydney survived. But 317 of the Kormoran's 397 crew rowed to the Australian coast in life boats and were taken prisoner. The 9,500 ton Kormoran had been disguised as a Dutch merchant ship when it opened fire on the Sydney.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:32
SOURCE: AP (3-16-08)
Bone-white stretches of salt, leached up from the lifeless soil, lay like a shroud over the high desert where a paranoid Charles Manson holed up after an orgy of murder nearly four decades ago.
Now, as then, few venture into this alkaline wilderness -- gold-diggers, outlaws, loners content to live and let live.
But a determined group of outsiders recently made the trek. They were leading forensic investigators searching for new evidence of death -- clues pointing to possible decades-old clandestine graves.
Now, as then, few venture into this alkaline wilderness -- gold-diggers, outlaws, loners content to live and let live.
But a determined group of outsiders recently made the trek. They were leading forensic investigators searching for new evidence of death -- clues pointing to possible decades-old clandestine graves.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:16
SOURCE: AP (3-15-08)
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, according to officials involved with the dig.
The temple on the periphery of the Sacsayhuaman fortress casts added light on pre-Inca cultures of Peru, showing that the site had religious as well as military aims, according to researchers.
It includes 11 rooms thought to have held mummies and idols, lead archaeologist Oscar Rodriguez told The Associated Press.
The temple on the periphery of the Sacsayhuaman fortress casts added light on pre-Inca cultures of Peru, showing that the site had religious as well as military aims, according to researchers.
It includes 11 rooms thought to have held mummies and idols, lead archaeologist Oscar Rodriguez told The Associated Press.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:11
SOURCE: AP (3-15-08)
That would be Ralph Archbold, Philadelphia's best-known Franklin portrayer, and Linda Wilde, who's been at his side lately, portraying the flag-stitcher.
The couple met Sept. 1 after Wilde hired Archbold for a friend's wedding toast. Archbold had initially declined the gig.
"I don't do weddings," Archbold recalled telling Wilde. "It's the bride's day to shine."
But Wilde begged, and he relented. During the appearance, Wilde told Archbold about her interest in history and her desire to dress up.
Archbold, 66, later called her in search of a last-minute Ross. "Think you can put together a costume?" he asked.
She did, joining Archbold on a few outings, including the Thanksgiving parade. That turned into dating.
The couple met Sept. 1 after Wilde hired Archbold for a friend's wedding toast. Archbold had initially declined the gig.
"I don't do weddings," Archbold recalled telling Wilde. "It's the bride's day to shine."
But Wilde begged, and he relented. During the appearance, Wilde told Archbold about her interest in history and her desire to dress up.
Archbold, 66, later called her in search of a last-minute Ross. "Think you can put together a costume?" he asked.
She did, joining Archbold on a few outings, including the Thanksgiving parade. That turned into dating.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:09
Name of source: National Security Archive
SOURCE: National Security Archive (3-18-08)
As if the sub-prime credit crisis was not enough, the U.S. Treasury Department today won the fourth annual Rosemary Award for the worst performance by a federal agency under the Freedom of Information Act.
Given annually by the Emmy- and George Polk Award-winning National Security Archive at George Washington University, the Rosemary recognizes outstandingly bad responsiveness to the public that flouts the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. The Award is named after President Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods and the backwards-leaning stretch with which she erased an eighteen-and-a-half minute section of a key Watergate conversation on the White House tapes.
"The Treasury Department has brought new meaning to the notion of sub-prime performance," remarked the Archive's director Tom Blanton. "Instead of answering Freedom of Information requests, Treasury puts the burden on requesters to repeatedly confirm interest in their requests and actually destroys the original request letters the way Rose Mary Woods erased the tapes."
Given annually by the Emmy- and George Polk Award-winning National Security Archive at George Washington University, the Rosemary recognizes outstandingly bad responsiveness to the public that flouts the letter and spirit of the Freedom of Information Act. The Award is named after President Nixon's secretary Rose Mary Woods and the backwards-leaning stretch with which she erased an eighteen-and-a-half minute section of a key Watergate conversation on the White House tapes.
"The Treasury Department has brought new meaning to the notion of sub-prime performance," remarked the Archive's director Tom Blanton. "Instead of answering Freedom of Information requests, Treasury puts the burden on requesters to repeatedly confirm interest in their requests and actually destroys the original request letters the way Rose Mary Woods erased the tapes."
On one Archive request filed in 1997 about the Clinton administration's certification of Mexican efforts against drug trafficking, Treasury:
(1) repeatedly asked the Archive (in 2001, 2004 and 2007) if we were still interested (Treasury has sent the Archive 74 such letters for 42 different requests in the past seven years),
(2) asked for another copy of the request since the original had been "destroyed," (Treasury has asked for similar replacement letters for other Archive requests 42 times),
(3) finally closed the request without ever processing a document, claiming so much time had elapsed that the records had been retired to the National Archives (Treasury has asserted such claims in at least 10 of the Archive's FOIA cases).
Air Force was the recipient of the 2007 Rosemary for its status as an "E-Delinquent" in the 2007 National Security Archive audit of agency compliance with the Electronic FOIA, which found 139 broken links on the Air Force FOIA Web sites. In its latest Audit, 'Mixed Signals, Mixed Results: How President Bush's Executive Order on FOIA Failed to Deliver,' the National Security Archive found that the Air Force has since made significant strides in improving its FOIA Web site and developing it into an effective tool for FOIA requesters.
The Archive presented the 2006 Rosemary Award to the Central Intelligence Agency for "the most dramatic one-year drop-off in professionalism and responsiveness to the public we have seen in 20 years of monitoring federal government compliance with the freedom of information law." After this poor performance, however, the CIA received high marks for its E-FOIA performance in the Archive's audit, 'File Not Found: 10 Years After E-FOIA, Most Federal Agencies Are Delinquent,' and for its handling of backlogged FOIA requests in the Archive's latest audit 'Mixed Signals, Mixed Results: How President Bush's Executive Order on FOIA Failed to Deliver.'
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 22:08
SOURCE: National Security Archive (3-16-08)
Washington, D.C., March 16, 2008 - President Bush's executive order for a "citizen-centered" and "results-oriented" Freedom of Information system did improve customer service at federal agencies, but has failed to make consistent progress on backlogs and has not significantly improved compliance with electronic FOIA requirements, according to the Knight Open Government Survey released today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
"Many of the same old scofflaw agencies are still shirking their responsibilities to the public," said Tom Blanton, director of the Archive. "I'm reminded of how many psychiatrists it takes to change a light bulb - only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change."
The order set up Chief FOIA Officers at each of 90 federal agencies and asked for FOIA improvement plans from each agency. The Archive's Survey, the seventh in a series of unprecedented government-wide audits of FOIA performance, analyzed all the agency improvement plans, sent FOIA requests to all 90 agencies (plus 18 major agency components), and queried agency FOIA Service Centers and public liaison offices to test responsiveness.
"Many of the same old scofflaw agencies are still shirking their responsibilities to the public," said Tom Blanton, director of the Archive. "I'm reminded of how many psychiatrists it takes to change a light bulb - only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change."
The order set up Chief FOIA Officers at each of 90 federal agencies and asked for FOIA improvement plans from each agency. The Archive's Survey, the seventh in a series of unprecedented government-wide audits of FOIA performance, analyzed all the agency improvement plans, sent FOIA requests to all 90 agencies (plus 18 major agency components), and queried agency FOIA Service Centers and public liaison offices to test responsiveness.
The Knight Survey found across-the-board improvements in customer service for FOIA requesters based on the establishment of FOIA service centers, public liaisons, and chief FOIA officers as readily identifiable contacts for requesters across agencies.
But the survey found uneven progress and outright shortfalls on the problem of backlogs, because the order lacked any enforcement mechanisms or funding, and left goal-setting up to the agencies themselves. Two years into implementation of the order, the number of pending FOIA requests government-wide remains in the range of 200,000, with large variations between agencies, according to the Survey's analysis of agency plans and reports.
President Bush's order also prompted only limited improvement in compliance with the 1996 E-FOIA amendments, which require federal agencies to post certain records and FOIA guidance online.
"The order was only a small step for open government," remarked Meredith Fuchs, general counsel of the National Security Archive. "There are certainly mixed messages when the President asks for results under the Freedom of Information Act, and at the same time refuses to support funding of technology or personnel, opposes improvements to the law, and exempts parts of the Executive Office of the President from the law." In FOIA litigation involving the White House Office of Administration, the Office of Administration in 2007 began to claim that, despite processing FOIAs in the past, filing FOIA reports for Congress, and writing a FOIA improvement plan, it is not subject to FOIA.
"Freedom of information laws exist to provide American citizens with the facts they need to run their governments and their lives. Information may seem more plentiful these days, but that doesn't mean it's less important. Strong democracies are held together by the force of their facts," said Eric Newton, vice president of the journalism program at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, funder of the Knight Open Government Survey.
Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more information about today's posting.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 21:11
Name of source: Newsweek
SOURCE: Newsweek (3-19-08)
The discovery of ancient artifacts is usually cause for celebration and public excitement. But this being Rome, excavation often brings more heartache than joy. Engineers digging up 38 sites in the Italian capital for the construction of much-needed third subway line seem stymied at every turn by some piece of history or another. A $4.7 billion project set to be complete in 2015, the 15-mile subway line is designed to carry 24,000 passengers an hour, hopefully decreasing above-ground traffic congestion and reducing city-center air pollution by nearly half.
That's if, of course, it is ever completed. Each time a relic is found, work stops to study the object's historical significance. And while many of these finds might be museum-worthy, some will be reburied or even destroyed for the sake of the progress. "Navigating Rome's ruins is like a slalom course," says Rome's superintendent of archeology Angelo Bottini. "It is impossible that there will not be situations of conflict." Click here to see video of the project.
That's if, of course, it is ever completed. Each time a relic is found, work stops to study the object's historical significance. And while many of these finds might be museum-worthy, some will be reburied or even destroyed for the sake of the progress. "Navigating Rome's ruins is like a slalom course," says Rome's superintendent of archeology Angelo Bottini. "It is impossible that there will not be situations of conflict." Click here to see video of the project.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 22:00
Name of source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
SOURCE: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (3-19-08)
A silver coin that was used to pay the half-shekel head tax to the Temple was found in what was the main drainage channel of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:58
Name of source: http://en.rian.ru
SOURCE: http://en.rian.ru (3-19-08)
Archaeologists plan to resume excavations this summer in the southern Urals, where the remains of the last Russian tsar's children were allegedly found last July, a local archaeologist said Wednesday.
The remains of a boy and a young woman were exhumed near Yekaterinburg, where Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their four daughters and son, and several servants, were shot by the Bolsheviks in 1918. They are believed to belong to Nicholas II's son and heir Alexis, and his daughter Maria.
"There are plans to resume the excavations...to find items belonging to the Romanov family. This will make it clear whether the remains belong to the tsar's children," said Sergei Pogorelov, a senior archaeological expert at a local research center.
The remains of a boy and a young woman were exhumed near Yekaterinburg, where Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their four daughters and son, and several servants, were shot by the Bolsheviks in 1918. They are believed to belong to Nicholas II's son and heir Alexis, and his daughter Maria.
"There are plans to resume the excavations...to find items belonging to the Romanov family. This will make it clear whether the remains belong to the tsar's children," said Sergei Pogorelov, a senior archaeological expert at a local research center.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:55
Name of source: NYT op ed
SOURCE: NYT op ed (3-19-08)
A group made up of relatives of those killed aboard United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, announced Tuesday that it had agreed to buy a 903-acre tract to be part of a permanent memorial near Shanksville, Pa.
The land is owned by PBS Coals Inc., a company in Somerset, Pa., that previously mined the site. The company will also donate the 27 acres closest to the crash site. Both parcels will eventually be transferred to the National Park Service, which is overseeing the creation of the memorial.
The land is owned by PBS Coals Inc., a company in Somerset, Pa., that previously mined the site. The company will also donate the 27 acres closest to the crash site. Both parcels will eventually be transferred to the National Park Service, which is overseeing the creation of the memorial.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:53
SOURCE: NYT op ed (3-18-08)
Since the last big anti-Chinese riots in Tibet two decades ago, Beijing has sought to smother Tibetan separatism by sparking economic development and by inserting itself into the metaphysics of Tibetan Buddhism. But an influx of Han Chinese to Tibet, and a growing sense among Tibetans that China is irreparably altering their way of life, produced a backlash when Communist Party leaders most needed stability there, analysts say.
“Why did the unrest take off?” asked Liu Junning, a liberal political scientist in Beijing. “I think it has something to do with the long-term policy failure of the central authorities. They failed to earn the respect of the people there.”
“Why did the unrest take off?” asked Liu Junning, a liberal political scientist in Beijing. “I think it has something to do with the long-term policy failure of the central authorities. They failed to earn the respect of the people there.”
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:08
Name of source: CNN
SOURCE: CNN (3-19-08)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton got to work on health care reform within days of her arrival at the White House as first lady in 1993, newly released documents show.
Her first meeting on the subject came on January 23, 1993, only three days after her husband Bill Clinton's inauguration as president, and dozens of related events followed.
Despite her efforts, the Clinton health care reform foundered in Congress.
The National Archives on Wednesday released more than 11,000 pages of Sen. Hillary Clinton's schedule when she was first lady.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign pushed for the documents' release, arguing that their review is necessary to make a full evaluation of Clinton's experience as first lady....
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the trove of documents "shows she was a co-president," revealing an "extraordinary extent of meetings for an unelected official to be meeting with cabinet officials."
Her first meeting on the subject came on January 23, 1993, only three days after her husband Bill Clinton's inauguration as president, and dozens of related events followed.
Despite her efforts, the Clinton health care reform foundered in Congress.
The National Archives on Wednesday released more than 11,000 pages of Sen. Hillary Clinton's schedule when she was first lady.
Sen. Barack Obama's campaign pushed for the documents' release, arguing that their review is necessary to make a full evaluation of Clinton's experience as first lady....
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said the trove of documents "shows she was a co-president," revealing an "extraordinary extent of meetings for an unelected official to be meeting with cabinet officials."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:51
Name of source: International Herald Tribune
SOURCE: International Herald Tribune (3-18-08)
Atop the globe, the icy surface of the Arctic Ocean has remained relatively peaceful. But its depths have boiled with intrigue, no more so than in the Cold War.
Although the superpowers planned to turn those depths into an inferno of exploding torpedoes and rising missiles, the brotherhood of submariners - the silent service, both Russian and American - has worked hard over the decades to keep the particulars of those plans hush-hush.
Now, a few secrets are spilling through a crack in the wall of silence, revealing some of the science and spying that went into the doomsday preparations.
A new book, "Unknown Waters," recounts the 1970 voyage of a submarine, the Queenfish, on a pioneering dive beneath the ice pack to map the Siberian continental shelf. The United States did so as part of a clandestine effort to prepare for Arctic submarine operations and to win any military showdown with the Soviet Union.
Although the superpowers planned to turn those depths into an inferno of exploding torpedoes and rising missiles, the brotherhood of submariners - the silent service, both Russian and American - has worked hard over the decades to keep the particulars of those plans hush-hush.
Now, a few secrets are spilling through a crack in the wall of silence, revealing some of the science and spying that went into the doomsday preparations.
A new book, "Unknown Waters," recounts the 1970 voyage of a submarine, the Queenfish, on a pioneering dive beneath the ice pack to map the Siberian continental shelf. The United States did so as part of a clandestine effort to prepare for Arctic submarine operations and to win any military showdown with the Soviet Union.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:44
Name of source: Telegraph (UK)
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-18-08)
The world's most famous statue, Michelangelo's statue of David, has dodgy legs.
The results have come from a new method for analysing stress which has been applied to scans of the Renaissance masterpiece, a marble statue sculpted between 1501 to 1504.
Although the stress points in the magnificent symbol of strength and beauty have been charted before, this is a proof of principle for a computer-based method that is simpler, faster and more accurate than those used before, and can be applied to bones too, whether of patients or long extinct creatures.
Today, Vadim Shapiro of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Igor Tsukanov of Florida International University and their colleagues will present their latest results from their "Scan and Solve" computer technique at the International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The results have come from a new method for analysing stress which has been applied to scans of the Renaissance masterpiece, a marble statue sculpted between 1501 to 1504.
Although the stress points in the magnificent symbol of strength and beauty have been charted before, this is a proof of principle for a computer-based method that is simpler, faster and more accurate than those used before, and can be applied to bones too, whether of patients or long extinct creatures.
Today, Vadim Shapiro of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Igor Tsukanov of Florida International University and their colleagues will present their latest results from their "Scan and Solve" computer technique at the International Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineering and Sciences in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 21:42
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-19-08)
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has told Israel that her nation is "filled with shame" over the Nazi holocaust and that she bows before its victims.
Mrs Merkel delivered the speech, in German, on the last day of a three-day visit to the Middle Eastern country. Speaking to the Knesset, or parliament, the chancellor praised the warm ties between the two nations, and said that Germany would always stand by Israel's side.
She singled out Iran as the greatest threat to Israel's security.
Mrs Merkel delivered the speech, in German, on the last day of a three-day visit to the Middle Eastern country. Speaking to the Knesset, or parliament, the chancellor praised the warm ties between the two nations, and said that Germany would always stand by Israel's side.
She singled out Iran as the greatest threat to Israel's security.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:50
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-17-08)
A treasure-hunter could be in line for a small fortune after unearthing two rare coins that shed light on a little-known rebel Roman emperor.
Derrick Fretwell's finds, which date back to AD286 and the reign of Carausius, have been hailed "priceless" by experts at the British Museum.
Derrick Fretwell's finds, which date back to AD286 and the reign of Carausius, have been hailed "priceless" by experts at the British Museum.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:45
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-16-08)
An Egyptian mummy kept on display in a provincial museum for nearly 80 years has been identified as a son of the powerful pharaoh Ramesses II.
The 3,000-year-old relic was thought to have been a female temple dancer, but a hospital CT scan showed features so reminiscent of the Egyptian royal family that experts are 90 per cent sure it is one of the 110 children Ramesses is thought to have fathered.
The 3,000-year-old relic was thought to have been a female temple dancer, but a hospital CT scan showed features so reminiscent of the Egyptian royal family that experts are 90 per cent sure it is one of the 110 children Ramesses is thought to have fathered.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:15
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-16-08)
After a long and grim period in which weddings and parties have generally been outnumbered by funerals, bookings are finally on the up again for Haider Salah, one of Baghdad's liveliest and loudest mobile disc jockeys.
Last Thursday, at a private club overlooking the Tigris, his huge outdoor speakers were booming Arab pop music across the riverbanks - where, five years ago this week, an even heavier baseline resounded as the opening salvoes of Operation Shock and Awe, the coalition bombing campaign to remove Saddam Hussein, got under way.
The club's various guests - two groups of students holding graduation celebrations, and a wedding party - were not the only ones in a good mood.
Last Thursday, at a private club overlooking the Tigris, his huge outdoor speakers were booming Arab pop music across the riverbanks - where, five years ago this week, an even heavier baseline resounded as the opening salvoes of Operation Shock and Awe, the coalition bombing campaign to remove Saddam Hussein, got under way.
The club's various guests - two groups of students holding graduation celebrations, and a wedding party - were not the only ones in a good mood.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:12
Name of source: Guardian
SOURCE: Guardian (3-19-08)
On the day that dozens of US cruise missiles rained down on Serbia in an attempt to punish Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic for the country's onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, first lady Hillary Clinton was far from the White House war room: instead she was touring ancient Egyptian ruins, including King Tut's tomb and the temple of Hatshepsut. And on the day before the signing of the Good Friday agreement in Belfast she was at an event called "Hats on for Bella" in Washington.
In her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton has touted her experience in the Clinton White House as preparation to lead the nation in a time of crisis. "Ready on day one" has been her slogan.
But an initial reading of some of the more than 11,000 pages of Clinton's schedules from her days as first lady, released today by the National Archives and the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, shows that she was often far from the site of decision-making during some of the most pivotal events of Bill Clinton's presidency.
In her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton has touted her experience in the Clinton White House as preparation to lead the nation in a time of crisis. "Ready on day one" has been her slogan.
But an initial reading of some of the more than 11,000 pages of Clinton's schedules from her days as first lady, released today by the National Archives and the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, shows that she was often far from the site of decision-making during some of the most pivotal events of Bill Clinton's presidency.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 18:24
Name of source: Deutsche Welle
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle (3-19-08)
Chancellor Merkel's government gave the go-ahead on Wednesday, March 19, for a controversial documentation center in Berlin recalling the expulsions of millions of Germans from central Europe after World War II.
The center, to be built in Berlin at a cost of around 30 million euros ($46 million) is intended as a "visible symbol against flight and expulsions," according to the government. It will be located near Berlin's famous Potsdamer Platz and will be part of the German History Museum.
A permanent exhibition about an estimated 12 million to 14 million Germans forced out of their homes by Polish and Czech governments in reprisal for Nazi aggression will form the centerpiece of the project.
In addition, the center will also document forced expulsions of other peoples in Europe and the fate of refugees until the present day.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 12:10
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle (2-29-08)
Hidden beneath the vine-covered hills of the Ahr Valley, the enormous nuclear bunker was one of West Germany's best kept secrets during the Cold War. Now, part of the bunker is open to the public.
It's a 20-minute walk from the sleepy tourist town of Ahrweiler up a serpentine path to the entrance to the new Government Bunker Documentation Center. The 9-meter (30-foot) high concrete wall marking the museum's entrance seems completely out of place among the vineyards and woods of the Ahr Valley.
It's a 20-minute walk from the sleepy tourist town of Ahrweiler up a serpentine path to the entrance to the new Government Bunker Documentation Center. The 9-meter (30-foot) high concrete wall marking the museum's entrance seems completely out of place among the vineyards and woods of the Ahr Valley.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 21:00
Name of source: Lee White at the website of the National Coalition for History (NCH)
SOURCE: Lee White at the website of the National Coalition for History (NCH) (3-18-08)
The Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) recently unveiled its annual report on the status of the nation’s historic battlegrounds. The report, entitled History Under Siege: A Guide to America’s Most Endangered Civil War Battlefields, identifies the most threatened Civil War sites in the United States and what can be done to rescue them.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 01:28
Name of source: Forbes.com
SOURCE: Forbes.com (3-18-08)
To stand in the shadow of the past is a feeling unlike any other. That's why each year millions travel thousands of miles to see the world's most historic sites.
A monument like the Kremlin--where Peter the Great stored weapons used to fight Napoleon and Ivan the Great built a cathedral to serve as the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church--is a prime example of how historic structures provide a unique glimpse into a culture's evolution.
Machu Picchu is another. A testament to a civilization's ingenuity, Machu Picchu is a relic of 15th-century urban development. The Incan mountain citadel is surrounded by a tropical forest and is memorable for its engineered roads, buildings and defense walls.
In Pictures: 10 Must-See History-Making Sights...
A monument like the Kremlin--where Peter the Great stored weapons used to fight Napoleon and Ivan the Great built a cathedral to serve as the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church--is a prime example of how historic structures provide a unique glimpse into a culture's evolution.
Machu Picchu is another. A testament to a civilization's ingenuity, Machu Picchu is a relic of 15th-century urban development. The Incan mountain citadel is surrounded by a tropical forest and is memorable for its engineered roads, buildings and defense walls.
In Pictures: 10 Must-See History-Making Sights...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:53
Name of source: Yorkshire Post
SOURCE: Yorkshire Post (3-17-08)
HULL will today remember its war dead as residents join VIPs to pay tribute to those whose suffering was kept secret from the rest of Britain as their city was reduced to rubble.
The site of one of the last bombs to be dropped on Hull during the Second World War will be the focal point for a commemorative service to remember the hundreds of civilians killed in the 1941 Blitz.
During the fighting, the strategic importance of Hull's docks meant it suffered devastating air raids from Germany's Luftwaffe – leading to the heaviest bombardment of any city outside London.
At the height of the raids German bombers flew 22 missions between February and May 1941. Later in the war the city was targeted by V1 flying bombs.
In spite of the huge price in human life, the destruction of the city's landscape, and damage to 95 per cent of the city's houses, the devastation was an official secret.
The site of one of the last bombs to be dropped on Hull during the Second World War will be the focal point for a commemorative service to remember the hundreds of civilians killed in the 1941 Blitz.
During the fighting, the strategic importance of Hull's docks meant it suffered devastating air raids from Germany's Luftwaffe – leading to the heaviest bombardment of any city outside London.
At the height of the raids German bombers flew 22 missions between February and May 1941. Later in the war the city was targeted by V1 flying bombs.
In spite of the huge price in human life, the destruction of the city's landscape, and damage to 95 per cent of the city's houses, the devastation was an official secret.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:48
Name of source: BBC
SOURCE: BBC (3-15-08)
A classic sports car, once owned by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, has been sold for a record price for the model of vehicle.
The 1935 two-seater Pescara Spyder, one of only 60 made, attracted just a few bids when it went under the hammer in Cheltenham in February.
The best offer reached just over half the expected £800,000 and the owner chose not to sell at the time.
A private buyer has now bought it for £550,000, H&H Classic Auctions said.
The 1935 two-seater Pescara Spyder, one of only 60 made, attracted just a few bids when it went under the hammer in Cheltenham in February.
The best offer reached just over half the expected £800,000 and the owner chose not to sell at the time.
A private buyer has now bought it for £550,000, H&H Classic Auctions said.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:45
SOURCE: BBC (3-17-08)
France has given full military honours to its last World War I veteran, Lazare Ponticelli, who died on Wednesday at the age of 110.
President Nicolas Sarkozy led a ceremony in Paris to commemorate him, and eight million other Frenchmen who fought in the conflict.
Mr Sarkozy said it was a national duty to keep their memory alive.
President Nicolas Sarkozy led a ceremony in Paris to commemorate him, and eight million other Frenchmen who fought in the conflict.
Mr Sarkozy said it was a national duty to keep their memory alive.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:17
SOURCE: BBC (3-11-08)
The Gulf emirate of Dubai has said it is to set up the world's first museum dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad.
It aims to shed light on his life in 7th Century Arabia, as well as his legacy for the world's 1.3bn Muslims.
There will also be a wing explaining the Muslim pilgrimage, or Hajj, and another for the other pillars of Islam.
It aims to shed light on his life in 7th Century Arabia, as well as his legacy for the world's 1.3bn Muslims.
There will also be a wing explaining the Muslim pilgrimage, or Hajj, and another for the other pillars of Islam.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:25
Name of source: McClatchy Newspapers
SOURCE: McClatchy Newspapers (3-18-08)
... Vice President Dick Cheney gave an upbeat view of conditions in Iraq as he concluded his unannounced trip to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion. Cheney also defended the toppling of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as part of the struggle against terrorism following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
This month, an exhaustive Pentagon-sponsored review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents captured during the 2003 U.S. invasion found no evidence that Saddam's regime had any operational links with the al Qaida terrorist network.
But Cheney, who spent the night at a sprawling U.S. base in the northern town of Balad, told soldiers they were defending future generations of Americans from a global terror threat.
"This long-term struggle became urgent on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 . That day we clearly saw that dangers can gather far from our own shores and find us right there at home," said Cheney, who was accompanied by his wife, Lynne, and their daughter, Elizabeth.
"So the United States made a decision: to hunt down the evil of terrorism and kill it where it grows, to hold the supporters of terror to account and to confront regimes that harbor terrorists and threaten the peace," Cheney said. "Understanding all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our friends or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a staging area for further attacks against Americans."
This month, an exhaustive Pentagon-sponsored review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents captured during the 2003 U.S. invasion found no evidence that Saddam's regime had any operational links with the al Qaida terrorist network.
But Cheney, who spent the night at a sprawling U.S. base in the northern town of Balad, told soldiers they were defending future generations of Americans from a global terror threat.
"This long-term struggle became urgent on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 . That day we clearly saw that dangers can gather far from our own shores and find us right there at home," said Cheney, who was accompanied by his wife, Lynne, and their daughter, Elizabeth.
"So the United States made a decision: to hunt down the evil of terrorism and kill it where it grows, to hold the supporters of terror to account and to confront regimes that harbor terrorists and threaten the peace," Cheney said. "Understanding all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our friends or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a staging area for further attacks against Americans."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:43
Name of source: San Francisco Chronicle
SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle (3-18-08)
It was supposed to be a quick war and a cheap one. Five years later,
160,000 U.S. troops are still in Iraq. And the costs keep piling up - $12
billion every month - putting a strain on an already faltering economy.
The United States has poured more than $500 billion into Iraq, mostly for military operations. But that figure is just a small piece of the much larger bill that taxpayers will pay in the future. Because the money for the war is being borrowed, interest payments could add another $615 billion. A heavily depleted military will have to be rebuilt at a cost of $280 billion. Disability benefits and health care for Iraq war veterans, many of them severely injured, could add another half-trillion dollars over their lifetime.
Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard University public finance Professor Laura Bilmes, both of whom served in the Clinton administration, have included those calculations in a new study of the war's long-term costs. Their estimate of the war's price tag: $3 trillion.
"We are a rich country, and we can, in some sense, afford it. It's not going to bankrupt us," said Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor, who published the findings in a new book,"The Three Trillion Dollar War." But Stiglitz said the war has contributed to a weakening economy - partly by feeding the instability that has sent oil prices to record highs - and has saddled the country with debts that will make it harder to respond to a recession, fix Social Security or meet other future needs....
In historical perspective, the Iraq conflict is already one of the most expensive conflicts in U.S. history.
The price tag in Iraq now is more than double the cost of the Korean War and a third more expensive than the Vietnam War, which lasted 12 years. Stiglitz and Bilmes calculate that it will be at least 10 times as costly as the 1991 Gulf War and twice the cost of World War I.
Only World War II was more expensive. That four-year war - in which 16 million U.S. troops were deployed on two fronts, fighting against Germany and Japan - cost about $5 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 00:23
Name of source: CBS News
SOURCE: CBS News (3-17-08)
Bill Clinton’s reentry into the political arena appears to have come at some cost to his legacy. New polling now suggests that Clinton’s involvement in the Democratic nomination battle between his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Barack Obama, has significantly tarnished the former president’s image.
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Thursday found that more Americans view Bill Clinton negatively than positively, 45 to 42 percent. It marked the first time since January 2002 that a plurality of Americans disapproved of the former president. One month earlier, The Gallup Poll found that nearly as many Americans had an unfavorable as favorable view of Bill Clinton-for the first time in nearly five years.
Presidential historians said Clinton’s return to partisan politics made it likely that public perception of the former president would suffer.
"There is a certain historical glow that surrounds a president as some of his historical battles become more distant. Clinton getting back in the mud again makes him a much more partisan figure,” said Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian at American University. "And it’s not like it’s been an acclaimed experience for him."
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Thursday found that more Americans view Bill Clinton negatively than positively, 45 to 42 percent. It marked the first time since January 2002 that a plurality of Americans disapproved of the former president. One month earlier, The Gallup Poll found that nearly as many Americans had an unfavorable as favorable view of Bill Clinton-for the first time in nearly five years.
Presidential historians said Clinton’s return to partisan politics made it likely that public perception of the former president would suffer.
"There is a certain historical glow that surrounds a president as some of his historical battles become more distant. Clinton getting back in the mud again makes him a much more partisan figure,” said Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian at American University. "And it’s not like it’s been an acclaimed experience for him."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 21:16
Name of source: Boston Globe
SOURCE: Boston Globe (3-14-08)
Hillary Clinton, who has frequently described herself on the campaign trail as playing a pivotal role in forging a children's health insurance plan, had little to do with crafting the landmark legislation or ushering it through Congress, according to several lawmakers, staffers, and healthcare advocates involved in the issue.
In campaign speeches, Clinton describes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, as an initiative "I helped to start." Addressing Iowa voters in November, Clinton said, "in 1997, I joined forces with members of Congress and we passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program." Clinton regularly cites the number of children in each state who are covered by the program, and mothers of sick children have appeared at Clinton campaign rallies to thank her.
But the Clinton White House, while supportive of the idea of expanding children's health, fought the first SCHIP effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, because of fears that it would derail a bigger budget bill. And several current and former lawmakers and staff said Hillary Clinton had no role in helping to write the congressional legislation, which grew out of a similar program approved in Massachusetts in 1996.
In campaign speeches, Clinton describes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, as an initiative "I helped to start." Addressing Iowa voters in November, Clinton said, "in 1997, I joined forces with members of Congress and we passed the State Children's Health Insurance Program." Clinton regularly cites the number of children in each state who are covered by the program, and mothers of sick children have appeared at Clinton campaign rallies to thank her.
But the Clinton White House, while supportive of the idea of expanding children's health, fought the first SCHIP effort, spearheaded by Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, because of fears that it would derail a bigger budget bill. And several current and former lawmakers and staff said Hillary Clinton had no role in helping to write the congressional legislation, which grew out of a similar program approved in Massachusetts in 1996.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:44
Name of source: http://indiancountrynews.net
SOURCE: http://indiancountrynews.net (3-18-08)
To anyone driving over the Miami Bridge, it doesn’t look like much. Blink and you miss the small billboard that announces the Miami Circle sits just below on the river’s edge – a dusty parcel of 2.2 acres surrounded by chain-link fencing in the shadow of the giant Sheraton Hotel and 30-story condos. At its center is a circle of pale limestone, 38 foot in diameter, pitted with what looks like post-holes. But to historians and archaeologists who excavated here furiously for months in the late 1990s, this is nothing less than America’s Stonehenge.
The archaeological site in the heart of Miami, revealing secrets going back at least 2,000 years, received an eleventh-hour reprieve from the developers who wanted to obliterate the “Miami Circle.” At the last minute county commissioners voted to borrow $8.7 million to help buy them off.
Two 40-story towers were to go up on the plot, at the mouth of the Miami River on the edge of Biscayne Bay. Thus the way was opened for a deal that will see the building of a cultural museum on the site.
Native American tribes are certainly not news in Miami and South Florida, as the entire state was originally inhabited by Seminole and Miccosukee.
The archaeological site in the heart of Miami, revealing secrets going back at least 2,000 years, received an eleventh-hour reprieve from the developers who wanted to obliterate the “Miami Circle.” At the last minute county commissioners voted to borrow $8.7 million to help buy them off.
Two 40-story towers were to go up on the plot, at the mouth of the Miami River on the edge of Biscayne Bay. Thus the way was opened for a deal that will see the building of a cultural museum on the site.
Native American tribes are certainly not news in Miami and South Florida, as the entire state was originally inhabited by Seminole and Miccosukee.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:33
Name of source: Scotsman
SOURCE: Scotsman (3-17-08)
A RARE piece of Neolithic art has been discovered on a beach in Orkney. The 6,000-year-old relic, thought to be a fragment from a larger piece, was left exposed by storms which swept across the country last week.
Local plumber David Barnes, who found the stone on the beach in Sandwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, said circular markings had shown up in the late-afternoon winter sun, drawing his attention to the piece.
Local plumber David Barnes, who found the stone on the beach in Sandwick Bay, South Ronaldsay, said circular markings had shown up in the late-afternoon winter sun, drawing his attention to the piece.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:33
Name of source: LiveScience
SOURCE: LiveScience (3-18-08)
Long before Homer wrote the Iliad, the real-life progenitors of the epic poem's characters might have visited a small outpost on the Greek coast.
Archaeologists have discovered a spectacularly preserved ancient harbor town of the Mycenaeans, the civilization on which many ancient Greek legends were based. Though the settlement was built 3,500 years ago, hundreds of walls are still standing.
The site, which is partially underwater, lies along a rocky, isolated stretch of shoreline. Scientists suspect it may have been built as a military outpost.
Archaeologists have discovered a spectacularly preserved ancient harbor town of the Mycenaeans, the civilization on which many ancient Greek legends were based. Though the settlement was built 3,500 years ago, hundreds of walls are still standing.
The site, which is partially underwater, lies along a rocky, isolated stretch of shoreline. Scientists suspect it may have been built as a military outpost.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:31
Name of source: Fox News
SOURCE: Fox News (3-17-08)
The great-granddaughter of a Civil War-era storekeeper in Tampa, Fla. is suing the city for a 147-year-old unpaid promissory note. With interest, the note is now worth over $22 million.
The financially-strapped city of Tampa, in need of ammunition during the Civil War, issued the note to Thomas Pugh Kennedy on June 21, 1861, the St. Petersburg Times reported Sunday. Kennedy's great-granddaughter, Joan Kennedy Biddle and her family are suing to collect the payment, plus 8 percent annual interest.
The financially-strapped city of Tampa, in need of ammunition during the Civil War, issued the note to Thomas Pugh Kennedy on June 21, 1861, the St. Petersburg Times reported Sunday. Kennedy's great-granddaughter, Joan Kennedy Biddle and her family are suing to collect the payment, plus 8 percent annual interest.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 20:12
Name of source: http://www.aswataliraq.info
SOURCE: http://www.aswataliraq.info (3-18-08)
An ancient archeological city dating back to the neo-Babylonian era was unearthed in Diwaniya, the province's museum curator revealed, noting the ancient wide city comprised buildings of an advanced architectural nature.
"The Babylonian city was discovered in the district of al-Shamiya, (33 km) west of Diwaniya, where 341 archeological pieces were found during the first stage of excavations that lasted for the month of February," Muhammad Yahya Radi told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"The unearthed city is about eight donums (the Iraqi donum equals 2,000 square meters). The artifacts found included weights used by the ancient Babylonians. One of the weighing units was 30 kg, different from previously found granite duck-shaped units that did not exceed 10 kg," said Radi.
"The Babylonian city was discovered in the district of al-Shamiya, (33 km) west of Diwaniya, where 341 archeological pieces were found during the first stage of excavations that lasted for the month of February," Muhammad Yahya Radi told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
"The unearthed city is about eight donums (the Iraqi donum equals 2,000 square meters). The artifacts found included weights used by the ancient Babylonians. One of the weighing units was 30 kg, different from previously found granite duck-shaped units that did not exceed 10 kg," said Radi.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 19:22
Name of source: WaPo
SOURCE: WaPo (3-18-08)
Sen. Barack Obama today repudiated what he described as offensive comments by his former pastor, but he refused to "disown" the man who was once his spiritual mentor. The contender for the Democratic presidential nomination sought to explain the anger that persists in the black community over racism and that occasionally makes its way into sermons in black churches.
In what his campaign billed as a major speech in Philadelphia, Obama tried to come to grips with the issue of race in his run for the presidency and to reinforce his primary theme that he can help bring fundamental change to the nation. His remarks were aimed at repairing the damage his campaign has suffered from his association with Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and addressing what he called a "particularly divisive turn" in recent weeks as videos of the fiery pastor's sermons have circulated.
Saying that America remains stuck in "a racial stalemate," the Illinois senator said he was not naive enough to believe that the divisions could be overcome in a single election. But he said Americans working together "can move beyond some of our old racial wounds."
He described his own heritage as a biracial American married to a black woman "who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners."
In what his campaign billed as a major speech in Philadelphia, Obama tried to come to grips with the issue of race in his run for the presidency and to reinforce his primary theme that he can help bring fundamental change to the nation. His remarks were aimed at repairing the damage his campaign has suffered from his association with Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and addressing what he called a "particularly divisive turn" in recent weeks as videos of the fiery pastor's sermons have circulated.
Saying that America remains stuck in "a racial stalemate," the Illinois senator said he was not naive enough to believe that the divisions could be overcome in a single election. But he said Americans working together "can move beyond some of our old racial wounds."
He described his own heritage as a biracial American married to a black woman "who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave owners."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 15:27
Name of source: Times (UK)
SOURCE: Times (UK) (3-16-08)
It is one of the enduring mysteries of the second world war. More than 800 Jews based in this hospital in the middle of Nazi Berlin survived the war, seemingly — and bizarrely — protected by Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Final Solution. So who were they and why were they saved?
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:57
Name of source: Independent (UK)
SOURCE: Independent (UK) (3-17-08)
Gordon Brown has promised that the Government will hold a full-scale inquiry into the mistakes made in Iraq before and since the invasion five years ago.
His concession marks a significant break from his predecessor, Tony Blair, who steadfastly refused to hold a wide-ranging inquiry into the war.
Mr Brown, however, insists it is not the right time for an immediate investigation as the situation in Iraq remains "fragile" and British troops are still trying to bring stability to the country. The Prime Minister said: "There is a need to learn all possible lessons from the military action in Iraq and its aftermath."
His concession marks a significant break from his predecessor, Tony Blair, who steadfastly refused to hold a wide-ranging inquiry into the war.
Mr Brown, however, insists it is not the right time for an immediate investigation as the situation in Iraq remains "fragile" and British troops are still trying to bring stability to the country. The Prime Minister said: "There is a need to learn all possible lessons from the military action in Iraq and its aftermath."
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:48
Name of source: Reuters
SOURCE: Reuters (3-16-08)
Horst Rippert, an 88-year old former pilot of Germany's Luftwaffe, has said in a forthcoming book that he may have killed French writer and war pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery in 1944.
Saint-Exupery, who achieved worldwide fame with his fairy-tale-like book "The Little Prince," died in mysterious circumstances when his plane came down near Marseilles while on a reconnaissance mission. His body has never been found.
Extracts of the book "Saint-Exupery: The Final Secret" were published in Le Figaro magazine over the weekend, and Le Figaro quoted Rippert as saying: "It's me, I shot down Saint-Exupery."
Saint-Exupery, who achieved worldwide fame with his fairy-tale-like book "The Little Prince," died in mysterious circumstances when his plane came down near Marseilles while on a reconnaissance mission. His body has never been found.
Extracts of the book "Saint-Exupery: The Final Secret" were published in Le Figaro magazine over the weekend, and Le Figaro quoted Rippert as saying: "It's me, I shot down Saint-Exupery."
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:34
SOURCE: Reuters (3-16-08)
Japanese survivors of atomic bombs and American war veterans calling for peace joined hundreds of villagers on Sunday in prayers to mark 40 years since the worst U.S. atrocity of the Vietnam War.
On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company entered the hamlet of My Lai in central Quang Ngai province and killed 504 civilians, mostly women and children.
My Lai came to symbolize in the United States all that was wrong with the Vietnam conflict, which ended in 1975 when communist North Vietnam took over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, unifying the country.
Truong Thi Le, who survived the massacre near the village's observation tower, where 102 people were killed that morning, said she stills suffers horrific memories.
On March 16, 1968, the men of Charlie Company entered the hamlet of My Lai in central Quang Ngai province and killed 504 civilians, mostly women and children.
My Lai came to symbolize in the United States all that was wrong with the Vietnam conflict, which ended in 1975 when communist North Vietnam took over U.S.-backed South Vietnam, unifying the country.
Truong Thi Le, who survived the massacre near the village's observation tower, where 102 people were killed that morning, said she stills suffers horrific memories.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:32
Name of source: http://thatsnews.blogspot.com
SOURCE: http://thatsnews.blogspot.com (3-9-08)
While divers were conducting a unique submarine project in MacDonald Lake at the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, they encountered an ancient stone structure revealing proof of life from Central Ontario ancestors.
The history of Eastern Canada is generally viewed in two stages: 1st - recent history, measured in decades and centuries, involving the early, white settlers and 2nd - the early history, measured in many centuries and millennia, represented by petroglyphs, stone mounds and arrow heads that takes us several hundred, sometimes a thousand or two years back into North America's native past.
A third stage may now have to be added: the ancient past, when the landscape hardly resembled the forest clad hills of today and the environment was just recovering from thousands of years of glaciation. Some ten thousand years ago, human populations were not measured in thousands or even millions like today, but dozens, or at best hundreds. Even this handful of ancestors managed to leave us proof of their existence. In a cold lake in remote Central Ontario a possible artifact has been recently discovered.
The history of Eastern Canada is generally viewed in two stages: 1st - recent history, measured in decades and centuries, involving the early, white settlers and 2nd - the early history, measured in many centuries and millennia, represented by petroglyphs, stone mounds and arrow heads that takes us several hundred, sometimes a thousand or two years back into North America's native past.
A third stage may now have to be added: the ancient past, when the landscape hardly resembled the forest clad hills of today and the environment was just recovering from thousands of years of glaciation. Some ten thousand years ago, human populations were not measured in thousands or even millions like today, but dozens, or at best hundreds. Even this handful of ancestors managed to leave us proof of their existence. In a cold lake in remote Central Ontario a possible artifact has been recently discovered.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:33
Name of source: HNN Staff (Click here for BBC story)
SOURCE: HNN Staff (Click here for BBC story) (3-15-08)
The National Archives has released 48 hours of previously classified (and lost) recordings of interviews with witnesses to the My Lai massacre.
The BBC has broadcast selections in a documentary prepared by Celina Dunlop, 40 years after the event.
The BBC has broadcast selections in a documentary prepared by Celina Dunlop, 40 years after the event.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 20:21
Name of source: http://www.charlestonscrealestate.us (Click here to watch live video.)
SOURCE: http://www.charlestonscrealestate.us (Click here to watch live video.) (3-17-08)
Welcome to the world's first live webcam located in downtown Charleston providing our internet visitors with the ability to freely zoom, rotate and pan our webcam to experience amazing views of Historic Fort Sumter, the Charleston Battery, Downtown Historic Charleston, Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.... all from the comfort of their computer... no matter where they live.
Our internet visitors have real time control of our powerful zoom webcam. Simply choose a view from the 20 presets below to move the webcam lens to see sites and landmarks through the zoom lens up to 5 miles away in live, full motion video.
Our internet visitors have real time control of our powerful zoom webcam. Simply choose a view from the 20 presets below to move the webcam lens to see sites and landmarks through the zoom lens up to 5 miles away in live, full motion video.
Monday, March 17, 2008 - 19:40
