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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: Reuters
SOURCE: Reuters (3-27-09)
An Italian archaeologist says she has discovered what is believed to be the oldest site of religious worship in Cyprus, a temple which is about 4,000 years old.
The find at the Pyrgos-Mavroraki site close to the southern city of Limassol predates any other discoveries in Cyprus by about 1,000 years, Italian archaeologist Maria Rosaria Belgiorno said.
"This is the first evidence of religion in Cyprus at the beginning of the second millennium BC," she was quoted as telling the Cyprus Weekly newspaper from Rome.
The find at the Pyrgos-Mavroraki site close to the southern city of Limassol predates any other discoveries in Cyprus by about 1,000 years, Italian archaeologist Maria Rosaria Belgiorno said.
"This is the first evidence of religion in Cyprus at the beginning of the second millennium BC," she was quoted as telling the Cyprus Weekly newspaper from Rome.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:21
Comments
SOURCE: Reuters (3-26-09)
Four centuries after the lure of Venezuelan gold brought ruin to English explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, the riches at one giant mine some say is cursed still haunt treasure hunters from across the globe.
Located south of the Orinoco river and near a town bearing the name of the mythical golden city of El Dorado, the Las Cristinas deposit captivates miners and prospectors even though no ore has been legally dug there in two decades.
Studies show it may be Latin America's top gold deposit.
But the Las Cristinas saga, involving a ghost town, environmental devastation and fist-sized nuggets, underlines the risks of business in Venezuela, where the draw of natural wealth has been dulled by rule changes and economic turmoil.
Located south of the Orinoco river and near a town bearing the name of the mythical golden city of El Dorado, the Las Cristinas deposit captivates miners and prospectors even though no ore has been legally dug there in two decades.
Studies show it may be Latin America's top gold deposit.
But the Las Cristinas saga, involving a ghost town, environmental devastation and fist-sized nuggets, underlines the risks of business in Venezuela, where the draw of natural wealth has been dulled by rule changes and economic turmoil.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:11
Name of source: AP
SOURCE: AP (3-26-09)
The Alabama Legislature has passed a resolution honoring black lawmakers who served during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War.
The resolution by Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery says black Alabama residents played an integral part in the Legislature from 1868 to 1878. At the height of Reconstruction in 1874, there were 33 blacks in the Legislature.
The resolution by Democratic Rep. Alvin Holmes of Montgomery says black Alabama residents played an integral part in the Legislature from 1868 to 1878. At the height of Reconstruction in 1874, there were 33 blacks in the Legislature.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:17
SOURCE: AP (2-25-09)
When Gustav Mahler's niece greeted new arrivals at a Nazi death camp, she knew that any woman who stepped off the train with a musical instrument had a chance to live. Women in Alma Rose's orchestra were forced to entertain SS officers at the Birkenau concentration camp. All the women survived — except Rose.
Now, an American chorus and orchestra is paying tribute to those musicians with concerts in the U.S. and Germany titled "Music in Desperate Times: Remembering The Women's Orchestra of Birkenau."
On Saturday, Ars Choralis will play at Manhattan's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, whose Episcopal bishop had spoken against the persecution of Jews in Europe already in 1933.
During the 18 months the Birkenau orchestra existed, its musicians played pieces the German officers loved — Beethoven symphonies, Puccini arias, Chopin and Strauss waltzes. The women also had to play marches for emaciated, often sick prisoners as they struggled to walk to their forced labor jobs.
When the Vienna-born Rose (pronounced roh-ZAY') was sent to the camp, the SS guards realized she was Mahler's relative and had conducted an all-women's orchestra. She was asked to form one at Birkenau, for the pleasure of the Nazis.
With the orchestra, Rose saved more than 50 women, including Fenelon, who died in 1983; three are still alive.
Now, an American chorus and orchestra is paying tribute to those musicians with concerts in the U.S. and Germany titled "Music in Desperate Times: Remembering The Women's Orchestra of Birkenau."
On Saturday, Ars Choralis will play at Manhattan's Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, whose Episcopal bishop had spoken against the persecution of Jews in Europe already in 1933.
During the 18 months the Birkenau orchestra existed, its musicians played pieces the German officers loved — Beethoven symphonies, Puccini arias, Chopin and Strauss waltzes. The women also had to play marches for emaciated, often sick prisoners as they struggled to walk to their forced labor jobs.
When the Vienna-born Rose (pronounced roh-ZAY') was sent to the camp, the SS guards realized she was Mahler's relative and had conducted an all-women's orchestra. She was asked to form one at Birkenau, for the pleasure of the Nazis.
With the orchestra, Rose saved more than 50 women, including Fenelon, who died in 1983; three are still alive.
Exactly what killed the great composer's niece remains a mystery. A document signed by Josef Mengele on April 4, 1944, shows that the Nazi SS physician who performed experiments on prisoners was summoned to a special private room where Rose lay, slipping in and out of consciousness from an undiagnosed illness. Mengele signed a form requesting medical tests for meningitis and pneumonia that came out negative.
Rose died the next day, her arms twisted in seizures. She was respectfully laid out atop a white cloth, with floral tributes sent by SS officers, according to Fenelon's book.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:07
SOURCE: AP (3-26-09)
Two Jewish groups have denounced a Pat Oliphant political cartoon on Gaza as anti-Semitic, likening its fanged Star of David to Nazi imagery before the Holocaust.
The syndicated cartoon published Wednesday in newspapers across the country depicts a goose-stepping uniformed figure wheeling the Jewish symbol as it menaces a small female figure labeled "Gaza."
The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights group with more than 400,000 members in the United States, said the cartoon is meant to denigrate and demonize Israel.
The syndicated cartoon published Wednesday in newspapers across the country depicts a goose-stepping uniformed figure wheeling the Jewish symbol as it menaces a small female figure labeled "Gaza."
The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights group with more than 400,000 members in the United States, said the cartoon is meant to denigrate and demonize Israel.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:17
SOURCE: AP (3-25-09)
A book coming this fall will offer one of the ultimate inside takes on the economic crisis — from former Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
"I didn't come to Washington thinking I was going to leave and write a book, but this period was so significant and there are so many insights and so many lessons learned that I think an understanding of this extraordinary period is important," Paulson told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Wednesday from his office at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, in Washington.
The book, currently untitled, will be released in October by Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing and the Hachette Book Group (USA). Paulson, a former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, is not writing for money. He is taking no advance and will donate all profits to the nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which helps families in danger of foreclosure.
"I didn't come to Washington thinking I was going to leave and write a book, but this period was so significant and there are so many insights and so many lessons learned that I think an understanding of this extraordinary period is important," Paulson told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Wednesday from his office at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, in Washington.
The book, currently untitled, will be released in October by Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing and the Hachette Book Group (USA). Paulson, a former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, is not writing for money. He is taking no advance and will donate all profits to the nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation, which helps families in danger of foreclosure.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 11:38
SOURCE: AP (3-25-09)
JERUSALEM –- The Israel Antiquities Authority says archaeologists have discovered a Byzantine-era bathhouse in the south of the country dating back more than 1,500 years.
Archaeologist Gregory Serai headed the excavation and says the impressive size of bathhouse, 20 by 20 yards (meters), showed the area between Beersheba and Gaza was more heavily populated in the Byzantine era then previously thought.
Serai added in Wednesday's statement that the evidence found at the site shows "the villagers based their economy on wine production."
The statement said the bathhouse was destroyed in a cave-in and the site became a garbage dump.
The dig precedes work to lay a railroad track through the area.
Archaeologist Gregory Serai headed the excavation and says the impressive size of bathhouse, 20 by 20 yards (meters), showed the area between Beersheba and Gaza was more heavily populated in the Byzantine era then previously thought.
Serai added in Wednesday's statement that the evidence found at the site shows "the villagers based their economy on wine production."
The statement said the bathhouse was destroyed in a cave-in and the site became a garbage dump.
The dig precedes work to lay a railroad track through the area.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 02:56
SOURCE: AP (3-25-09)
John Hope Franklin, a revered Duke University historian and scholar of life in the South and the African-American experience in the United States, died Wednesday. He was 94.
Duke spokesman David Jarmul said Franklin died of congestive heart failure at the university's hospital in Durham.
Born and raised in an all-black community in Oklahoma where he was often subjected to humiliating incidents of racism, he was later instrumental in bringing down the legal and historical validations of such a world.
As an author, his book ''From Slavery to Freedom'' was a landmark integration of black history into American history. As a scholar, his research helped Thurgood Marshall win Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed the doctrine of ''separate but equal'' in the nation's public schools.
Duke spokesman David Jarmul said Franklin died of congestive heart failure at the university's hospital in Durham.
Born and raised in an all-black community in Oklahoma where he was often subjected to humiliating incidents of racism, he was later instrumental in bringing down the legal and historical validations of such a world.
As an author, his book ''From Slavery to Freedom'' was a landmark integration of black history into American history. As a scholar, his research helped Thurgood Marshall win Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed the doctrine of ''separate but equal'' in the nation's public schools.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 21:52
SOURCE: AP (3-25-09)
NORFOLK, Va. –- Nearly a century after the Titanic struck ice in the North Atlantic, a federal judge in Virginia is poised to preserve the largest collection of artifacts from the opulent oceanliner and protect the ship's resting place.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an "international treasure," is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public. That would ensure the 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings won't end up in a collector's hands or in a London auction house, where some Titanic artifacts have landed.
The judgment could also end the legal tussle that began when a team of deep-sea explorers found the world's most famous shipwreck in 1985.
The salvage company, RMS Titanic Inc., wants the court to grant it limited ownership of the artifacts.
At the same time, a cadre of government lawyers is helping Smith shape covenants to strictly monitor future activity at the Titanic wreck 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic. Amid evidence of the ship's deterioration, experts and government lawyers say the sanctity of the Titanic must be properly protected as a memorial to the 1,522 people who died when it went down.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith, a maritime jurist who considers the wreck an "international treasure," is expected to rule within weeks that the salvaged items must remain together and accessible to the public. That would ensure the 5,900 pieces of china, ship fittings and personal belongings won't end up in a collector's hands or in a London auction house, where some Titanic artifacts have landed.
The judgment could also end the legal tussle that began when a team of deep-sea explorers found the world's most famous shipwreck in 1985.
The salvage company, RMS Titanic Inc., wants the court to grant it limited ownership of the artifacts.
At the same time, a cadre of government lawyers is helping Smith shape covenants to strictly monitor future activity at the Titanic wreck 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic. Amid evidence of the ship's deterioration, experts and government lawyers say the sanctity of the Titanic must be properly protected as a memorial to the 1,522 people who died when it went down.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:27
SOURCE: AP (2-25-09)
During World War II, the best brains in Britain cracked Germany's encrypted secrets but never broke their own code of silence.
Now gray-haired and using walking sticks and at least one wheelchair, the legendary code breakers returned for a reunion Tuesday at Bletchley Park, where they labored in the grim, blacked-out rooms and played a key role in defeating the Nazis.
The code breakers who worked here in anonymity helped alter history, frustrating Adolf Hitler's ambitions by giving Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wartime Cabinet crucial advance knowledge of Germany's invasion plans, defenses, and U-boat movements.
Age has not dimmed the code breakers' fierce pride. They don't boast — the British don't do that — but they know they saved lives.
"Do you know what Churchill called us?" said Jean Valentine, 84, her blue eyes flashing. "He called us 'the geese that laid the golden eggs but never cackled.'"
Tuesday's event was to honor a rebuilt replica of the Turing Bombe, the machine invented by mathematician Alan Turing that was an outsized forerunner of the modern computer. That invention deciphered the Germans' top-secret messages that were encoded by the Nazis' typewriter-like Enigma machines.
Now gray-haired and using walking sticks and at least one wheelchair, the legendary code breakers returned for a reunion Tuesday at Bletchley Park, where they labored in the grim, blacked-out rooms and played a key role in defeating the Nazis.
The code breakers who worked here in anonymity helped alter history, frustrating Adolf Hitler's ambitions by giving Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wartime Cabinet crucial advance knowledge of Germany's invasion plans, defenses, and U-boat movements.
Age has not dimmed the code breakers' fierce pride. They don't boast — the British don't do that — but they know they saved lives.
"Do you know what Churchill called us?" said Jean Valentine, 84, her blue eyes flashing. "He called us 'the geese that laid the golden eggs but never cackled.'"
Tuesday's event was to honor a rebuilt replica of the Turing Bombe, the machine invented by mathematician Alan Turing that was an outsized forerunner of the modern computer. That invention deciphered the Germans' top-secret messages that were encoded by the Nazis' typewriter-like Enigma machines.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 11:35
Name of source: Telegraph (UK)
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-26-09)
Gordon Brown has opened talks with Buckingham Palace on removing the 308-year-old law which bars members of the Royal Family from marrying Roman Catholics.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:13
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (2-25-09)
Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French far-Right leader, faced calls for his prosecution after he repeated a claim that Nazi death camps were a "detail of Second World War history".
MEPs have moved to prevent the 80-year-old French National Front leader from presiding over the opening of the first session of the new European Parliament on July 14 as the doyen of the house.
Officials have also indicated that he could face disciplinary action for "bringing the parliament into disrepute" by using his immunity as an MEP to avoid criminal prosecution for Holocaust denial.
Mr Le Pen on Wednesday caused a storm in the parliament by defiantly hitting back at "inflammatory accusations" that he was a convicted Holocaust denier who should be denied his right next year to become "father" of the Parliament as the oldest sitting MEP. Mr Le Pen will celebrate his 81st birthday following European elections in June, making him the parliament's oldest member.
"I just said that the gas chambers were a detail of Second World War history, which is clear," he told a sitting of the EU assembly.
Martin Schulz, a German Social Democrat and leader of the parliament's Socialists, led the calls for Le Pen to be stripped of the privilege.
But despite fines and convictions for making identical remarks twice in the past, the French politician cannot be prosecuted for his comments on Wednesday because he is protected by parliamentary immunity.
Mr Le Pen was convicted by a Munich court in 1999 for "minimising the Holocaust" after telling a German far-right meeting that Nazi concentration camps and the gas chambers are "what one calls a detail".
On that occasion, the EU assembly lifted his immunity because the comments had been outside the parliament chamber.
MEPs have moved to prevent the 80-year-old French National Front leader from presiding over the opening of the first session of the new European Parliament on July 14 as the doyen of the house.
Officials have also indicated that he could face disciplinary action for "bringing the parliament into disrepute" by using his immunity as an MEP to avoid criminal prosecution for Holocaust denial.
Mr Le Pen on Wednesday caused a storm in the parliament by defiantly hitting back at "inflammatory accusations" that he was a convicted Holocaust denier who should be denied his right next year to become "father" of the Parliament as the oldest sitting MEP. Mr Le Pen will celebrate his 81st birthday following European elections in June, making him the parliament's oldest member.
"I just said that the gas chambers were a detail of Second World War history, which is clear," he told a sitting of the EU assembly.
Martin Schulz, a German Social Democrat and leader of the parliament's Socialists, led the calls for Le Pen to be stripped of the privilege.
But despite fines and convictions for making identical remarks twice in the past, the French politician cannot be prosecuted for his comments on Wednesday because he is protected by parliamentary immunity.
Mr Le Pen was convicted by a Munich court in 1999 for "minimising the Holocaust" after telling a German far-right meeting that Nazi concentration camps and the gas chambers are "what one calls a detail".
On that occasion, the EU assembly lifted his immunity because the comments had been outside the parliament chamber.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:08
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (2-27-09)
Kenyan police in the port city of Mombasa arrested a Croatian passport holder on allegations that he was linked to war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, police and diplomats said Friday.
A diplomatic official said that the man's name was Igor Majeski, who ran the watersports business at the luxury Sarova Whitesands Resort north of Mombasa. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the man, arrested Thursday morning, was being brought to Nairobi for questioning.
A Serbian official was reported to have said the suspect was not wartime Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who is wanted for genocide, or former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic. The pair are the remaining fugitives wanted by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Deputy Police Spokesman Charles Owino said it was possible that the man was living under a fake name and possibly had a fake passport, and that his true identity had not been firmly established.
"When we conclusively get information, we will brief you, we will brief the whole world," Owino said.
A diplomatic official said that the man's name was Igor Majeski, who ran the watersports business at the luxury Sarova Whitesands Resort north of Mombasa. Police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said the man, arrested Thursday morning, was being brought to Nairobi for questioning.
A Serbian official was reported to have said the suspect was not wartime Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, who is wanted for genocide, or former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic. The pair are the remaining fugitives wanted by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Deputy Police Spokesman Charles Owino said it was possible that the man was living under a fake name and possibly had a fake passport, and that his true identity had not been firmly established.
"When we conclusively get information, we will brief you, we will brief the whole world," Owino said.
Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:57
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (2-26-09)
US President Barack Obama will travel to France on June 6 to attend commemorations of the Second World War D-Day landings, the French presidency said on Thursday.
Mr Obama will travel to the Normandy coast for events marking the 65th anniversary of the allied invasion, said President Nicolas Sarkozy's chief of staff, Claude Gueant.
The US leader had hoped to make the visit to Normandy next week, but the plan was dropped due to scheduling problems.
Mr Obama will travel to the Normandy coast for events marking the 65th anniversary of the allied invasion, said President Nicolas Sarkozy's chief of staff, Claude Gueant.
The US leader had hoped to make the visit to Normandy next week, but the plan was dropped due to scheduling problems.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 14:36
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-26-09)
More than 77 million ancestry records, including the family histories of David Beckham, Britney Spears and JK Rowling, have been put online.
The London Historical Records 1500s-1900s features details of the capital's citizens such as Oliver Cromwell and William Blake.
Josh Hanna, senior vice president of Ancestry.co.uk, which is hosting the records, said: "We estimate that half of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection, which pre-dates civil registration and census, and documents the history of a great city and its people, their birth, poverty, fortunes, faith, education, marriage and death.
The London Historical Records 1500s-1900s features details of the capital's citizens such as Oliver Cromwell and William Blake.
Josh Hanna, senior vice president of Ancestry.co.uk, which is hosting the records, said: "We estimate that half of Brits will be able to find an ancestor in this collection, which pre-dates civil registration and census, and documents the history of a great city and its people, their birth, poverty, fortunes, faith, education, marriage and death.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:14
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-25-09)
MEPs have moved to prevent the 80-year-old French National Front leader from presiding over the opening of the first session of the new European Parliament on July 14 as the doyen of the house.
Officials have also indicated that he could face disciplinary action for "bringing the parliament into disrepute" by using his immunity as an MEP to avoid criminal prosecution for Holocaust denial.
Mr Le Pen on Wednesday caused a storm in the parliament by defiantly hitting back at "inflammatory accusations" that he was a convicted Holocaust denier who should be denied his right next year to become "father" of the Parliament as the oldest sitting MEP. Mr Le Pen will celebrate his 81st birthday following European elections in June, making him the parliament's oldest member.
"I just said that the gas chambers were a detail of Second World War history, which is clear," he told a sitting of the EU assembly.
Officials have also indicated that he could face disciplinary action for "bringing the parliament into disrepute" by using his immunity as an MEP to avoid criminal prosecution for Holocaust denial.
Mr Le Pen on Wednesday caused a storm in the parliament by defiantly hitting back at "inflammatory accusations" that he was a convicted Holocaust denier who should be denied his right next year to become "father" of the Parliament as the oldest sitting MEP. Mr Le Pen will celebrate his 81st birthday following European elections in June, making him the parliament's oldest member.
"I just said that the gas chambers were a detail of Second World War history, which is clear," he told a sitting of the EU assembly.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 08:16
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (2-25-09)
Officials in Kazakhstan claim to have have a found the world's oldest person - a woman who will this week celebrate her 130th birthday.
If their records are correct, Sakhan Dosova is 16 years older than the oldest known human currently living.
The mother of ten, whose birth date is said to be March 27 1879, attributes her longevity to staying away from sweets, and the doctor. However, she is a fan of cheese and yoghurt, and says her sense of humour has kept her young at heart.
Her record-breaking and remarkable age came to light during a census in Karaganda in northern Kazakhstan. Demographers were astonished to find that she was also on Stalin's first census of the region in 1926 when her age was given as 47.
However, her fame did not extend far beyond the far flung city until the census, although some officials have raised doubts about her claims.
Nailya Dosayeva, head of social and demographical department of Karaganga regional statistics bureau, said there is no doubt that her claim is authentic.
"Sakhan Dosova was found during our census held in February and March. She has an old passport and documents which are genuine, and based on these we can judge her age as being correct."
If Sakhan's year of birth is accurate, it means she was born when Queen Victoria still had 22 more years to rule in Britain and Benjamin Disraeli was prime minister.
It was the year that Stalin and Einstein were born, the Anglo-Zulu war started, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first story.
The year 1879 also saw Edison present his new invention - the light bulb - while the ill-fated last tsar of Russia was just 11 years old.
If their records are correct, Sakhan Dosova is 16 years older than the oldest known human currently living.
The mother of ten, whose birth date is said to be March 27 1879, attributes her longevity to staying away from sweets, and the doctor. However, she is a fan of cheese and yoghurt, and says her sense of humour has kept her young at heart.
Her record-breaking and remarkable age came to light during a census in Karaganda in northern Kazakhstan. Demographers were astonished to find that she was also on Stalin's first census of the region in 1926 when her age was given as 47.
However, her fame did not extend far beyond the far flung city until the census, although some officials have raised doubts about her claims.
Nailya Dosayeva, head of social and demographical department of Karaganga regional statistics bureau, said there is no doubt that her claim is authentic.
"Sakhan Dosova was found during our census held in February and March. She has an old passport and documents which are genuine, and based on these we can judge her age as being correct."
If Sakhan's year of birth is accurate, it means she was born when Queen Victoria still had 22 more years to rule in Britain and Benjamin Disraeli was prime minister.
It was the year that Stalin and Einstein were born, the Anglo-Zulu war started, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first story.
The year 1879 also saw Edison present his new invention - the light bulb - while the ill-fated last tsar of Russia was just 11 years old.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:35
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (2-25-09)
A self-portrait of Adolf Hitler, thought to be the first he ever painted, is to go under the hammer for the first time.
The watercolour painting is among 13 works by the Nazi dictator, created back in 1910 when he was just 21.
The small portrait has no nose or mouth, but the side parting hairstyle is unmistakable and experts are sure it is him because of the markings on the piece.
All of the pictures had been kept under lock and key in storage since their liberation during the Second World War.
But the paintings, which were dated between 1908 and 1912, have now been brought out for the public to see before they go under the hammer in April.
Each of the pieces by the then struggling artist have been individually viewed and authenticated by the late Peter Jahn, a renowned expert on the Austrian period of Hitler's life.
The pictures are mainly of flowers and picturesque landscapes.
Now they will be auctioned at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire by Mullocks on April 23 where they are expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds.
The watercolour painting is among 13 works by the Nazi dictator, created back in 1910 when he was just 21.
The small portrait has no nose or mouth, but the side parting hairstyle is unmistakable and experts are sure it is him because of the markings on the piece.
All of the pictures had been kept under lock and key in storage since their liberation during the Second World War.
But the paintings, which were dated between 1908 and 1912, have now been brought out for the public to see before they go under the hammer in April.
Each of the pieces by the then struggling artist have been individually viewed and authenticated by the late Peter Jahn, a renowned expert on the Austrian period of Hitler's life.
The pictures are mainly of flowers and picturesque landscapes.
Now they will be auctioned at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire by Mullocks on April 23 where they are expected to fetch tens of thousands of pounds.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:33
Name of source: BBC
SOURCE: BBC (2-26-09)
Israel is marking 30 years since its first peace treaty with an Arab state, although in the other signatory, Egypt, there is little public acknowledgement.
The Camp David Accord was sealed with a handshake on the White House lawn on 26 March 1979 between Israeli PM Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat.
The Israeli foreign ministry organised a reception with the Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Yasser Reda.
Relations have cooled over Israel's offensive in Gaza, correspondents say.
Though the Egyptian authorities are not marking the anniversary, the main pro-government newspaper, al-Ahram, used it to publish harsh criticism of Israel.
The Camp David Accord was sealed with a handshake on the White House lawn on 26 March 1979 between Israeli PM Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat.
The Israeli foreign ministry organised a reception with the Egyptian ambassador to Tel Aviv, Yasser Reda.
Relations have cooled over Israel's offensive in Gaza, correspondents say.
Though the Egyptian authorities are not marking the anniversary, the main pro-government newspaper, al-Ahram, used it to publish harsh criticism of Israel.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:05
SOURCE: BBC (3-27-09)
Downing Street said the scrapping of the ban on heirs to the throne marrying Roman Catholics was also discussed.
Mr Brown said people expected discrimination to be removed and Tory leader David Cameron backed the reform.
Meanwhile a BBC poll suggests public support for reform, with 80% wanting equal succession rights for women.
Mr Brown said people expected discrimination to be removed and Tory leader David Cameron backed the reform.
Meanwhile a BBC poll suggests public support for reform, with 80% wanting equal succession rights for women.
Friday, March 27, 2009 - 09:00
SOURCE: BBC (3-26-09)
Mikhail Gorbachev introduced many changes with his perestroika policy when he became Soviet leader in 1985 and one of the most important went under the banner of "democratisation".
This began in earnest in January 1987, but there was still no discussion of transition to a Western-style democracy.
The authorities considered that the USSR had no problems with its version of democracy, it just needed to be "widened and deepened", to use Mikhail Gorbachev's favourite expression.
Soviet society came to understand that a professional parliament should do some of the work previously fulfilled by the unelected Communist Party apparatus.
A new body, the Congress of People's Deputies, was proposed - the result of a compromise between reformists and orthodox Communists.
This began in earnest in January 1987, but there was still no discussion of transition to a Western-style democracy.
The authorities considered that the USSR had no problems with its version of democracy, it just needed to be "widened and deepened", to use Mikhail Gorbachev's favourite expression.
Soviet society came to understand that a professional parliament should do some of the work previously fulfilled by the unelected Communist Party apparatus.
A new body, the Congress of People's Deputies, was proposed - the result of a compromise between reformists and orthodox Communists.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 11:37
SOURCE: BBC (3-26-09)
Arthur West scrambled down the rope of a rescue boat to give his wife and two daughters a flask of hot milk before returning to the deck, and his fate.
The 36-year-old's act of bravery was revealed in an account written by his wife, Ada, which is being auctioned next month with the flask and letters.
The items could fetch up to £60,000 at the sale in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The luxury liner struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, killing 1,517 people.
The 36-year-old's act of bravery was revealed in an account written by his wife, Ada, which is being auctioned next month with the flask and letters.
The items could fetch up to £60,000 at the sale in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The luxury liner struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, killing 1,517 people.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 07:25
SOURCE: BBC (2-25-09)
The US historian John Hope Franklin, a pioneering scholar of black American history, has died at the age of 94.
His 1947 book From Slavery to Freedom is regarded as a landmark volume of black American history, and remains on US school syllabuses.
Mr Franklin, born and raised in an all-black community in Oklahoma, helped in the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case against racial segregation.
He was also the first black president of the American Historical Association.
Franklin was the first black department chair at a predominantly white institution, Brooklyn College as well as the first black professor to hold an endowed chair at Duke University.
His book delved into the important contribution African-Americans had made to the nation right back to its very founding - he pointed out that black patriots had fought in the War of Independence and had accompanied George Washington on his march across the Delaware.
Often exasperated by the state of America, he refused to give up on the country.
His 1947 book From Slavery to Freedom is regarded as a landmark volume of black American history, and remains on US school syllabuses.
Mr Franklin, born and raised in an all-black community in Oklahoma, helped in the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case against racial segregation.
He was also the first black president of the American Historical Association.
Franklin was the first black department chair at a predominantly white institution, Brooklyn College as well as the first black professor to hold an endowed chair at Duke University.
His book delved into the important contribution African-Americans had made to the nation right back to its very founding - he pointed out that black patriots had fought in the War of Independence and had accompanied George Washington on his march across the Delaware.
Often exasperated by the state of America, he refused to give up on the country.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 02:53
SOURCE: BBC (2-25-09)
A gem-encrusted tiger's head from the throne of Tipu Sultan - the Indian king famed for resisting British rule - is due to be sold in the UK next month.
The sale takes place less than a month after personal possessions of the Indian independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, were sold in the US.
Auctioneers Bonhams say the head is one of the most important Tipu Sultan belongings to be sold.
It had been left undiscovered in an English castle for at least 100 years.
The tiger's head is a finial - or decorative piece - from the octagonal golden throne of Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore", and is valued at about $1,169,278 (£800,000). It is due to be sold at Bonhams in London on 2 April.
Correspondents say that the auction is bound to be controversial in India, where the recent sale of Gandhi's spectacles, pocket watch, sandals and other personal items in New York was not well received.
The sale takes place less than a month after personal possessions of the Indian independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, were sold in the US.
Auctioneers Bonhams say the head is one of the most important Tipu Sultan belongings to be sold.
It had been left undiscovered in an English castle for at least 100 years.
The tiger's head is a finial - or decorative piece - from the octagonal golden throne of Tipu Sultan, the "Tiger of Mysore", and is valued at about $1,169,278 (£800,000). It is due to be sold at Bonhams in London on 2 April.
Correspondents say that the auction is bound to be controversial in India, where the recent sale of Gandhi's spectacles, pocket watch, sandals and other personal items in New York was not well received.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 11:55
Name of source: Daily Mail (UK)
SOURCE: Daily Mail (UK) (3-27-09)
A five-year-old British hostage made to pose alongside Saddam Hussein in the run up to the first Gulf War, has been reunited with U.S. civil rights campaigner the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who helped secure his eventual release.
The haunting images of a clearly terrified Stuart Lockwood clad in a football top and stood before the Iraqi dictator, who playfully ruffled the child's hair, provoked outrage and consternation across the West.
Mr Lockwood, now 24, his brother and parents, were amongst a number of Britons used as human shields by the Iraqis during the 1990 conflict.
The haunting images of a clearly terrified Stuart Lockwood clad in a football top and stood before the Iraqi dictator, who playfully ruffled the child's hair, provoked outrage and consternation across the West.
Mr Lockwood, now 24, his brother and parents, were amongst a number of Britons used as human shields by the Iraqis during the 1990 conflict.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:03
SOURCE: Daily Mail (UK) (3-25-09)
In 12 months between 1940 and 1941, the plucky mutt combined all the inherited skills of uncertain parentage to rescue more than 100 victims of the Blitz from the air-raid ruins of London.
Then he carried on the good work for another four years until the end of the war.
But what made this tale of a shaggy dog so remarkable was that Rip was never trained for search and rescue - he simply attached himself to a Civil Defence team after being bombed out of his home. Then he mucked in as a sniffer dog solely because he enjoyed it.
His astonishing success rate earned him the rare honour of a PDSA Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of a Victoria Cross.
It was an accolade he took to his grave when illness and old age finally laid him to rest in 1946, buried beneath a headstone which records that he 'played his part in the Battle of Britain'.
But the medal itself lived on. Now it is being put up for auction, one of only 62 awarded 'for gallantry' to a range of animals including a cat, three horses and 32 pigeons.
Then he carried on the good work for another four years until the end of the war.
But what made this tale of a shaggy dog so remarkable was that Rip was never trained for search and rescue - he simply attached himself to a Civil Defence team after being bombed out of his home. Then he mucked in as a sniffer dog solely because he enjoyed it.
His astonishing success rate earned him the rare honour of a PDSA Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of a Victoria Cross.
It was an accolade he took to his grave when illness and old age finally laid him to rest in 1946, buried beneath a headstone which records that he 'played his part in the Battle of Britain'.
But the medal itself lived on. Now it is being put up for auction, one of only 62 awarded 'for gallantry' to a range of animals including a cat, three horses and 32 pigeons.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 11:34
SOURCE: Daily Mail (UK) (3-25-09)
Children will no longer study the Second World War and Queen Victoria, but instead learn about Twitter and blogging under radical plans to overhaul primary school teaching.
The new draft curriculum commissioned by the Government claims that pupils can do without learning about the battle against Nazism and the rise and fall of the British Empire.
In a move which will horrify many parents, it would see children focus on internet tools such as Wikipedia and podcasting, as well as innovations such as blogging and Twitter, which allows users to post instant minute-by-minute updates about their lives.
The new draft curriculum commissioned by the Government claims that pupils can do without learning about the battle against Nazism and the rise and fall of the British Empire.
In a move which will horrify many parents, it would see children focus on internet tools such as Wikipedia and podcasting, as well as innovations such as blogging and Twitter, which allows users to post instant minute-by-minute updates about their lives.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 17:54
Name of source: Independent (UK)
SOURCE: Independent (UK) (3-27-09)
His name is immortalised in modern Italian as the word for a public urinal, but tomorrow that humiliation will be forgotten as Rome sets about throwing a massive party for the Emperor Vespasian's 2,000th birthday. Naturally enough, the celebratory bash – which takes the form of a 10-month exhibition – is focused on the building for which he is most famous, the Colosseum.
By far the largest amphitheatre the ancient Romans built, it is capable of holding at least 50,000 and perhaps as many as 70,000 screaming plebs. When it was inaugurated, in the reign of Vespasian's son and heir Titus, 5,000 wild animals were put to the sword over 100 days for the amusement of the punters, and despite the halt called by Constantine, the emperor who converted to Christianity, bloody gladiatorial combat remained standard fare until it was banned early in the fifth century.
By far the largest amphitheatre the ancient Romans built, it is capable of holding at least 50,000 and perhaps as many as 70,000 screaming plebs. When it was inaugurated, in the reign of Vespasian's son and heir Titus, 5,000 wild animals were put to the sword over 100 days for the amusement of the punters, and despite the halt called by Constantine, the emperor who converted to Christianity, bloody gladiatorial combat remained standard fare until it was banned early in the fifth century.
Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 00:02
SOURCE: Independent (UK) (3-26-09)
The Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, angered critics of the Iraq war yesterday when he indicated that a long-awaited inquiry into the planning and execution of the conflict, promised by the Prime Minister, would be held behind closed doors.
He told MPs that the inquiry would be approved "as soon as practicable" once most British combat troops had returned home at the end of July. He admitted there were "important lessons to be learnt" from how the campaign was planned and carried out. But Mr Miliband also suggested its proceedings should be held in secret, similar to the Franks inquiry into the Falklands War. He said a private inquiry – proposed by the Conservatives – would prevent leaks, preserve the privacy of troops involved and enable those overseeing the investigation to see confidential Cabinet papers.
"It would preserve confidentiality that's very, very important for all of our troops," he said. "The fact that [Franks] was conducted in private meant it had access to all the relevant papers. Franks was not a judicial inquiry so it did not require its witnesses to have lawyers. There were no leaks or interim findings to distract from the final conclusions and recommendations of the inquiry."
He told MPs that the inquiry would be approved "as soon as practicable" once most British combat troops had returned home at the end of July. He admitted there were "important lessons to be learnt" from how the campaign was planned and carried out. But Mr Miliband also suggested its proceedings should be held in secret, similar to the Franks inquiry into the Falklands War. He said a private inquiry – proposed by the Conservatives – would prevent leaks, preserve the privacy of troops involved and enable those overseeing the investigation to see confidential Cabinet papers.
"It would preserve confidentiality that's very, very important for all of our troops," he said. "The fact that [Franks] was conducted in private meant it had access to all the relevant papers. Franks was not a judicial inquiry so it did not require its witnesses to have lawyers. There were no leaks or interim findings to distract from the final conclusions and recommendations of the inquiry."
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 08:45
SOURCE: Independent (UK) (3-24-09)
Greece has returned to Italy two murals smuggled from an Italian church more than 20 years ago, the Culture Ministry said today.
The frescoes dating to the 13th century were seized from the church in the southern region of Campania, in 1982. Greek police found them in 2006 on a small island in the southern Aegean during an anti-smuggling mission.
"This is one step further in our cooperation with the Italians," Culture Minister Antonis Samaras said in a statement. "We are together in this 'war' against the disease which bedraggles our countries."
Greece and Italy, often characterised "as open-air museums", have stepped up in recent years their campaign to recover ancient artefacts. Last year, Italy returned to Greece two fragments of the Parthenon marbles after years of negotiations.
The frescoes dating to the 13th century were seized from the church in the southern region of Campania, in 1982. Greek police found them in 2006 on a small island in the southern Aegean during an anti-smuggling mission.
"This is one step further in our cooperation with the Italians," Culture Minister Antonis Samaras said in a statement. "We are together in this 'war' against the disease which bedraggles our countries."
Greece and Italy, often characterised "as open-air museums", have stepped up in recent years their campaign to recover ancient artefacts. Last year, Italy returned to Greece two fragments of the Parthenon marbles after years of negotiations.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 08:04
Name of source: CNN
SOURCE: CNN (3-26-09)
Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain has no illusions about the 2008 White House race.
"Over 50 million people voted for me and Sarah Palin - mostly for Sarah Palin," McCain said to an eruption of laughter. But "there was a sizable majority of the other party returned to Congress. And, elections have consequences. Elections have consequences. And these consequences we are seeing now in full display."
McCain described himself as "very nervous" about the Obama administration's proposal for FDIC-like resolution authority over non-bank financial institutions like AIG in order to prevent another near calamity in the global financial system.
"Over 50 million people voted for me and Sarah Palin - mostly for Sarah Palin," McCain said to an eruption of laughter. But "there was a sizable majority of the other party returned to Congress. And, elections have consequences. Elections have consequences. And these consequences we are seeing now in full display."
McCain described himself as "very nervous" about the Obama administration's proposal for FDIC-like resolution authority over non-bank financial institutions like AIG in order to prevent another near calamity in the global financial system.
Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:39
SOURCE: CNN (2-26-09)
Thirty years ago, on March 26, 1979, three couples sat down for a celebratory lunch in the White House.
President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his wife Aliza, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and his wife Jehan, talked privately before greeting the hundreds of people who witnessed the signing of the historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that day.
Jehan Sadat remembers crying with joy that day at seeing Israelis and Egyptians putting aside their differences and talking simply as people. Sadat and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for the treaty they negotiated under the auspices of President Carter.
Her happiness was shattered October 6, 1981, when Anwar Sadat was gunned down while reviewing a military parade.
Jehan and Anwar Sadat had been married for 32 years. The daughter of a British teacher and an Egyptian government official, she met the former Army officer at her cousin's house, not long after he had been released from prison for opposing Britain's occupation of Egypt. She was 15 and he was almost 30, but they fell in love and married soon after.
In her new book, "My Hope for Peace," Jehan Sadat says she was crushed by her husband's death and at first almost immobilized. But she eventually decided to continue her work outside the home.
Today she splits her time between homes in Egypt and in Virginia and seeks to continue her husband's work for peace while finding time for her grandchildren and for gardening. A teacher who earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature, she is a senior fellow with the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.
President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his wife Aliza, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and his wife Jehan, talked privately before greeting the hundreds of people who witnessed the signing of the historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that day.
Jehan Sadat remembers crying with joy that day at seeing Israelis and Egyptians putting aside their differences and talking simply as people. Sadat and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for the treaty they negotiated under the auspices of President Carter.
Her happiness was shattered October 6, 1981, when Anwar Sadat was gunned down while reviewing a military parade.
Jehan and Anwar Sadat had been married for 32 years. The daughter of a British teacher and an Egyptian government official, she met the former Army officer at her cousin's house, not long after he had been released from prison for opposing Britain's occupation of Egypt. She was 15 and he was almost 30, but they fell in love and married soon after.
In her new book, "My Hope for Peace," Jehan Sadat says she was crushed by her husband's death and at first almost immobilized. But she eventually decided to continue her work outside the home.
Today she splits her time between homes in Egypt and in Virginia and seeks to continue her husband's work for peace while finding time for her grandchildren and for gardening. A teacher who earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature, she is a senior fellow with the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 14:26
SOURCE: CNN (2-25-09)
One of the earliest photographs in existence is expected to fetch as much as $70,000 when it is auctioned off later this month at Sotheby's auction house in New York.
A half-plate daguerreotype dating from 1848 shows a country estate in Manhattan on what was then known as old Bloomingdale Road and referred to as "a continuation of Broadway."
In the foreground of the 5.5-by-4-inch, black and white daguerreotype, a dirt road leads to an entry gate that surrounds the grounds.
A half-plate daguerreotype dating from 1848 shows a country estate in Manhattan on what was then known as old Bloomingdale Road and referred to as "a continuation of Broadway."
In the foreground of the 5.5-by-4-inch, black and white daguerreotype, a dirt road leads to an entry gate that surrounds the grounds.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 01:37
Name of source: Kilkenny People (Ireland)
SOURCE: Kilkenny People (Ireland) (2-25-09)
A human skull believed to be that of a murder victim dating back to medieval times has been unearthed embedded in the walls of the moat of Kilkenny Castle.
The moat walls were discovered on Tuesday by archaeologists working on the Parade development. The moat is believed to date back some 800 years to 1209. "This is the most significant find since we began our excavations last April. We always believed that the moat existed but it was never found and we thought that it was located closer to where the Kilkenny Design Centre presently is," consultant archaeologist Patrick Neary told the Kilkenny People.
The moat, which follows the footprint of the castle is ten metres from the Parade Tower and holds a sinister secret. Embedded in the walls is the remains of a human skull, which almost certainly belonged to someone who died in suspicious circumstances.
"It seems almost certain that a body was deliberately put down there when the moat was being built. This is obviously not a Christian burial and it looks like the body was concealed in the walls where it was highly unlikely that it would ever be found," Mr Neary said.
An osteo archaeologist, who specialises in human remains is due to arrive in Kilkenny today (Wednesday) to carry out further investigations.
However, archaeologists working on the site believe that it is unlikely that the remainder of the skeleton will be discovered. "There was a water main put down very close to the moat wall in the early 1900's and more than likely this severed the body," added Mr Neary.
The moat walls were discovered on Tuesday by archaeologists working on the Parade development. The moat is believed to date back some 800 years to 1209. "This is the most significant find since we began our excavations last April. We always believed that the moat existed but it was never found and we thought that it was located closer to where the Kilkenny Design Centre presently is," consultant archaeologist Patrick Neary told the Kilkenny People.
The moat, which follows the footprint of the castle is ten metres from the Parade Tower and holds a sinister secret. Embedded in the walls is the remains of a human skull, which almost certainly belonged to someone who died in suspicious circumstances.
"It seems almost certain that a body was deliberately put down there when the moat was being built. This is obviously not a Christian burial and it looks like the body was concealed in the walls where it was highly unlikely that it would ever be found," Mr Neary said.
An osteo archaeologist, who specialises in human remains is due to arrive in Kilkenny today (Wednesday) to carry out further investigations.
However, archaeologists working on the site believe that it is unlikely that the remainder of the skeleton will be discovered. "There was a water main put down very close to the moat wall in the early 1900's and more than likely this severed the body," added Mr Neary.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 15:03
Name of source: New Times (CT)
SOURCE: New Times (CT) (3-23-09)
Artifacts from Revolutionary War encampments are the stuff Connecticut historians dream about.
Perhaps a button from a uniform coat or a bit of flint from an infantryman's musket can be found during an archeological dig to confirm the presence of past military action at a local farm.
On Monday, a group of eight volunteers were on Ridgebury Road hoping to find just such treasures. They were part of an archeological dig on the old farm property there along Stagecoach Road.
"French Comte de Rochambeau's camp site was in the area," said Dan Cruson, a local archeologist. "If there's something here connected with his troops' presence, we want to know it."
Cruson had been contacted by Nicholas Bellantoni, Connecticut's state archeologist, from the Office of State Archeology at the University of Connecticut's Archeology Center.
The two men contacted students and amateur archeologists in the area and from UConn to take part in the dig. Work was ongoing at the dig site Monday.
As of noon Monday, only some broken shards of pottery and small pieces of metal had been found. Bellantoni said it was difficult to say how old the fragments were or if they were from farming operations that occurred on the property over the years.
Perhaps a button from a uniform coat or a bit of flint from an infantryman's musket can be found during an archeological dig to confirm the presence of past military action at a local farm.
On Monday, a group of eight volunteers were on Ridgebury Road hoping to find just such treasures. They were part of an archeological dig on the old farm property there along Stagecoach Road.
"French Comte de Rochambeau's camp site was in the area," said Dan Cruson, a local archeologist. "If there's something here connected with his troops' presence, we want to know it."
Cruson had been contacted by Nicholas Bellantoni, Connecticut's state archeologist, from the Office of State Archeology at the University of Connecticut's Archeology Center.
The two men contacted students and amateur archeologists in the area and from UConn to take part in the dig. Work was ongoing at the dig site Monday.
As of noon Monday, only some broken shards of pottery and small pieces of metal had been found. Bellantoni said it was difficult to say how old the fragments were or if they were from farming operations that occurred on the property over the years.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 14:53
Name of source: Foxnews
SOURCE: Foxnews (2-26-09)
An eerie image of a figure at a Scottish castle has experts spooked.
The picture, taken in May last year, shows a spectral figure in 15th century dress peering out of a barred window at Tantallon Castle in Fife.
No mannequins or costumed guides are used at the castle and photo experts have confirmed that no digital trickery was used.
Even ghost sceptic Professor Richard Wiseman admitted to being puzzled.
“It is certainly very curious,” he said. "We ran it by three photographic experts and they said it hadn’t been Photoshopped at all."
Tantallon Castle, a ruined fortress dating back to the 14th century, stands on a remote rocky headland near North Berwick on the East coast of Scotland. It was badly damaged in an attack by Oliver Cromwell’s forces in 1651.
The picture, taken in May last year, shows a spectral figure in 15th century dress peering out of a barred window at Tantallon Castle in Fife.
No mannequins or costumed guides are used at the castle and photo experts have confirmed that no digital trickery was used.
Even ghost sceptic Professor Richard Wiseman admitted to being puzzled.
“It is certainly very curious,” he said. "We ran it by three photographic experts and they said it hadn’t been Photoshopped at all."
Tantallon Castle, a ruined fortress dating back to the 14th century, stands on a remote rocky headland near North Berwick on the East coast of Scotland. It was badly damaged in an attack by Oliver Cromwell’s forces in 1651.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 14:31
SOURCE: Foxnews (2-25-09)
A milk flask now represents the final few moments between a heroic husband and his wife as they attempted to flee the sinking Titanic liner in 1912.
It forms part of an untold tragedy which has only just emerged after a collection of artifacts and letters came to light almost a century after the disaster.
Shop worker Arthur West, then 36, thrust the flask into his wife Ada West's hands as the rescue boat she and the couple's two children were aboard was lowered into the ocean.
Newly widowed, Ada, then 33, described her husband's bravery in numerous letters she wrote to relatives and in the account she gave to investigators following the accident.
After the disaster Ada and her girls returned to Britain but barely spoke about the nightmare to people outside of their family.
The family archive -- including the flask and letters -- was handed to Barbara, the youngest of the couple's children who, until her death in 2007, was the second to last British survivor of the legendary liner.
The collection, which has finally come to light 97 years on and is now being sold by family members, is expected to fetch around $87,460 at auction.
It forms part of an untold tragedy which has only just emerged after a collection of artifacts and letters came to light almost a century after the disaster.
Shop worker Arthur West, then 36, thrust the flask into his wife Ada West's hands as the rescue boat she and the couple's two children were aboard was lowered into the ocean.
Newly widowed, Ada, then 33, described her husband's bravery in numerous letters she wrote to relatives and in the account she gave to investigators following the accident.
After the disaster Ada and her girls returned to Britain but barely spoke about the nightmare to people outside of their family.
The family archive -- including the flask and letters -- was handed to Barbara, the youngest of the couple's children who, until her death in 2007, was the second to last British survivor of the legendary liner.
The collection, which has finally come to light 97 years on and is now being sold by family members, is expected to fetch around $87,460 at auction.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 01:44
Name of source: http://fredericksburg.com
SOURCE: http://fredericksburg.com (3-19-09)
Local support is building for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the Wilderness area, but the company is lagging behind expectations from Orange County's Planning Department.
The county Economic Development Authority is the latest group to endorse the store. On Tuesday night, it unanimously passed a resolution that says Wal-Mart would provide "needed tax revenues for the county" and "convenient shopping opportunities" for residents who now must leave the county to buy certain goods.
Both the town and county have representatives on the authority.
Last month, the Orange County Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution supporting the retail giant's plans.
The county Economic Development Authority is the latest group to endorse the store. On Tuesday night, it unanimously passed a resolution that says Wal-Mart would provide "needed tax revenues for the county" and "convenient shopping opportunities" for residents who now must leave the county to buy certain goods.
Both the town and county have representatives on the authority.
Last month, the Orange County Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution supporting the retail giant's plans.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:15
Name of source: http://www.fredericknewspost.com
SOURCE: http://www.fredericknewspost.com (3-23-09)
ANNAPOLIS -- A state committee will soon have the option to take up a bill that could prevent a proposed trash incinerator near the Monocacy National Battlefield.
The Senate Rules committee voted Friday to move forward the bill sponsored by Frederick County Sen. Alex Mooney.
The Senate Rules committee voted Friday to move forward the bill sponsored by Frederick County Sen. Alex Mooney.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:08
Name of source: Evening Sun
SOURCE: Evening Sun (3-23-09)
For the first time since 2001, Gettysburg National Military Park has a budget that includes money for land acquisition - to the tune of $2.2 million.
And, if the pieces fall into place, some of those funds could potentially be used to purchase an easement to protect the Gettysburg Country Club from further development.
"At the moment our goal is to discuss an easement," said park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon. But the park might consider outright purchase if an easement limiting development weren't possible, she said.
And, if the pieces fall into place, some of those funds could potentially be used to purchase an easement to protect the Gettysburg Country Club from further development.
"At the moment our goal is to discuss an easement," said park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon. But the park might consider outright purchase if an easement limiting development weren't possible, she said.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:06
Name of source: nola.com
SOURCE: nola.com (3-21-09)
Armed with a site plan to guide his search, Plaquemines Parish historian Rod Lincoln recently led his latest expedition through Fort St. Philip in search of a bomb-proof hidden amid the historic fortification's 60 acres along the Mississippi River's east bank.
Likely built during the mid-1800s, the bunker-like structure where soldiers sought refuge during bombardments has been overtaken by brush and debris like much of the outpost.
"It's a shame," Lincoln said to a small entourage of historians and history buffs. "We know it's here somewhere. We just have to find it. It's so overgrown here, it's hard to see where everything is."
Likely built during the mid-1800s, the bunker-like structure where soldiers sought refuge during bombardments has been overtaken by brush and debris like much of the outpost.
"It's a shame," Lincoln said to a small entourage of historians and history buffs. "We know it's here somewhere. We just have to find it. It's so overgrown here, it's hard to see where everything is."
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:04
Name of source: http://www.cathnews.com
SOURCE: http://www.cathnews.com (3-25-09)
International expert on church unity, Rev Günther Gassmann, a German Lutheran theologian, has urged the Catholic Church to declare officially that its excommunication of Martin Luther no longer applies.
Such a statement, "in these ecumenically less exciting times ... would be a remarkable step and a sign of hope and encouragement," said Rev Günther Gassmann, who was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission from 1984 to 1995, according to an Ekklesia report.
Luther trained as a Catholic monk, but was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521 after refusing to retract teachings the Church judged to be heretical.
Such a statement, "in these ecumenically less exciting times ... would be a remarkable step and a sign of hope and encouragement," said Rev Günther Gassmann, who was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission from 1984 to 1995, according to an Ekklesia report.
Luther trained as a Catholic monk, but was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521 after refusing to retract teachings the Church judged to be heretical.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 12:03
Name of source: Times (UK)
SOURCE: Times (UK) (3-26-09)
Flowers are placed in front of the Freedom monument in Riga, the Latvian capital, right, to commemorate the people who were deported to Siberia in 1949.
On the 60th anniversary of the start of the mass deportations carried out by the Soviet Union under Stalin, memorial services were held in the Baltic republics to commemorate tens of thousands sent to Siberia in an effort to eradicate opposition to the communist takeover of their countries.
The repression, launched on March 25, 1949, remains a sensitive issue in relations with Russia, which has never acknowledged the Soviet action as a crime. The Russian Foreign Ministry made no mention of the anniversary yesterday.
On the 60th anniversary of the start of the mass deportations carried out by the Soviet Union under Stalin, memorial services were held in the Baltic republics to commemorate tens of thousands sent to Siberia in an effort to eradicate opposition to the communist takeover of their countries.
The repression, launched on March 25, 1949, remains a sensitive issue in relations with Russia, which has never acknowledged the Soviet action as a crime. The Russian Foreign Ministry made no mention of the anniversary yesterday.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 08:45
Name of source: Deutsche Welle
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle (3-25-09)
A Munich court ruled on Wednesday that a British publisher's popular history series called Zeitungszeugen, or Witness Reports would be allowed to reprint old Nazi newspapers printed before 1939. The court based its decision on a copyright law, which says that reproduction rights can be exercised after a seventy year period.
Germany's state of Bavaria controls the copyright to most Nazi era newspapers as well as Adolf Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf and forbids their reproduction. Since Hitler died without leaving any heirs, Bavaria holds the rights to his estate, which includes Nazi newspapers "owned by" the dictator.
The newspaper reprints with articles on Hitler being sworn in as chancellor on January 30, 1933, have been available on German newsstands since January this year.
Germany's state of Bavaria controls the copyright to most Nazi era newspapers as well as Adolf Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf and forbids their reproduction. Since Hitler died without leaving any heirs, Bavaria holds the rights to his estate, which includes Nazi newspapers "owned by" the dictator.
The newspaper reprints with articles on Hitler being sworn in as chancellor on January 30, 1933, have been available on German newsstands since January this year.
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 07:44
Name of source: Factcheck.org (Annenberg)
SOURCE: Factcheck.org (Annenberg) (3-25-09)
[President Obama] said he is reducing “nondefense discretionary spending” to less than it was under the past four presidents. Not true. His own forecast for the final budget of his four-year term puts this figure higher than in many years under Reagan, Clinton or either Bush.
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In 2006, we criticized President Bush for bragging about reducing "nondefense discretionary spending" without mentioning that overall spending had increased dramatically. Obama is adopting at least that page of the Bush playbook. He said:
Obama: [A]s a percentage of gross domestic product, we are reducing non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level since the '60s, lower than it was under Reagan, lower than it was under Clinton, lower than it was under Bush, or both Bushes.
Even if Obama’s claim were accurate, it would be misleading. Nondefense discretionary spending amounts to just under 20 percent of total spending in Obama’s 2010 budget proposal. It excludes military spending, homeland security spending and rapidly rising "mandatory" spending including Social Security and Medicare.
And anyway, it's not exactly true that the figure would be "lower than it was under Clinton" or any of the other presidents he mentions. Using Obama’s own GDP and spending projections (scroll to the summary tables at the bottom), we found that nondefense discretionary spending would be 3.8 percent of GDP in fiscal 2013, the last budget of Obama's four-year term. That's actually higher than it was during Ronald Reagan's last four years, George H.W. Bush's first three years, Bill Clinton's entire eight years and at least one year of President George W. Bush's time in office, fiscal 2002, when it was 3.7 percent. See table 8.4 from the historical tables in last year's federal budget, on page 137.
Bush may also have achieved a lower figure in fiscal 2007, 2008 and 2009, the current fiscal year, for which he was projecting a 3.6 percent figure. New historical tables are expected soon from the Office of Management and Budget, which may revise the estimates for those years.
Obama's OMB is projecting that the figure will drop to 3.3 percent of GDP by 2018. That’s still higher than the 3.2 percent achieved under Clinton in 1999. Anyway, the fiscal 2018 budget won’t be Obama’s. Even if he runs for a second term and wins, his last budget would cover fiscal 2017.
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In 2006, we criticized President Bush for bragging about reducing "nondefense discretionary spending" without mentioning that overall spending had increased dramatically. Obama is adopting at least that page of the Bush playbook. He said:
Obama: [A]s a percentage of gross domestic product, we are reducing non-defense discretionary spending to its lowest level since the '60s, lower than it was under Reagan, lower than it was under Clinton, lower than it was under Bush, or both Bushes.
Even if Obama’s claim were accurate, it would be misleading. Nondefense discretionary spending amounts to just under 20 percent of total spending in Obama’s 2010 budget proposal. It excludes military spending, homeland security spending and rapidly rising "mandatory" spending including Social Security and Medicare.
And anyway, it's not exactly true that the figure would be "lower than it was under Clinton" or any of the other presidents he mentions. Using Obama’s own GDP and spending projections (scroll to the summary tables at the bottom), we found that nondefense discretionary spending would be 3.8 percent of GDP in fiscal 2013, the last budget of Obama's four-year term. That's actually higher than it was during Ronald Reagan's last four years, George H.W. Bush's first three years, Bill Clinton's entire eight years and at least one year of President George W. Bush's time in office, fiscal 2002, when it was 3.7 percent. See table 8.4 from the historical tables in last year's federal budget, on page 137.
Bush may also have achieved a lower figure in fiscal 2007, 2008 and 2009, the current fiscal year, for which he was projecting a 3.6 percent figure. New historical tables are expected soon from the Office of Management and Budget, which may revise the estimates for those years.
Obama's OMB is projecting that the figure will drop to 3.3 percent of GDP by 2018. That’s still higher than the 3.2 percent achieved under Clinton in 1999. Anyway, the fiscal 2018 budget won’t be Obama’s. Even if he runs for a second term and wins, his last budget would cover fiscal 2017.
Obama repeated his claim that his proposed budget will "cut our deficit in half by the end of my first term, even under the most pessimistic estimates." But cut in half compared with what? And according to whom?
Obama starts with a figure of $1.3 trillion, saying "some of those Republican critics have a short memory, because, as I recall, I'm inheriting a $1.3 trillion deficit, annual deficit, from them." He did inherit a huge deficit, but not entirely from Republicans. Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress for the past two years. Furthermore, the size is a bit slippery. The Congressional Budget Office projected a $1.18 trillion deficit on Jan. 8, 2009, its last estimate before Obama took office Jan. 20. That was the CBO's estimate for the current fiscal year, which ends in September.
The president's $1.3 trillion figure comes from an analysis released by Obama's Office of Management and Budget in late February. We can assume that part of the reason for the higher estimate is that the economy worsened more than expected, which will reduce the government's revenue from taxes even more than CBO had projected earlier.
If $1.3 trillion is the starting point, it is roughly accurate to say that Obama is proposing to cut the figure in half. CBO's most recent projections of Obama's budget put the deficit in fiscal 2013 (the last budget that would come from Obama's current term in office) at $672 billion. That's a 48 percent reduction from $1.3 trillion. The reduction would be even greater under the more optimistic projections from his own Office of Management and Budget. OMB projects the deficit will be about $533 billion in fiscal 2013, amounting to a cut of 59 percent.
However, both OMB and CBO predict that deficits would begin to shoot up again after the initial four-year period. OMB predicts a rise to $712 billion in 2019, and CBO forecasts a much sharper rise, reaching more than $1 trillion in fiscal 2018 and nearly $1.19 trillion in 2019 – about the same amount Obama inherited upon entering office.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 21:35
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) (3-25-09)
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), along with co-sponsors Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Byrd (D-WV), recently introduced a bill (S. 659) called the “Improving the Teaching and Learning of American History and Civics Act of 2009.”
The bill would do the following.
- Authorize 100 summer academies for outstanding students and teachers of U.S. History and align those academies with locations in the national park system
- Double authorization (from $100m to $200m) for funding “Teaching American History” programs in local school districts, which today involve 20,000 students as a part of No Child Left Behind
- Require states to develop and implement standards for student assessments in U.S. History, although there would be no federal accountability requirement as there is for reading and mathematics
- Allow states to compare history and civics test scores of 8th- and 12th-grade students by establishing a 10-state pilot program that would expand the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
The bill has been referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Senator Kennedy chairs. Senator Byrd is the originator of the Teaching American History grants program and is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. In addition, Senator Alexander is a former-Secretary of Education and the Ranking Republican on the Children and Families that has jurisdiction over the Department of Education. So the key players are in a position to move this bill quickly.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 21:04
Name of source: Chronicle of Higher Ed
SOURCE: Chronicle of Higher Ed (3-24-09)
Ward Churchill acknowledged some flaws in his scholarship, but strenuously denied that any merited his 2007 dismissal by the University of Colorado, in testimony delivered today in a trial in which he is attempting to prove that his firing violated his First Amendment rights.
Throughout his second day on the witness stand, the controversial ethnic-studies scholar expressed defiance toward his accusers at the university, according to reports on the courtroom proceedings published in The Denver Post, the Colorado Daily, and The New York Times. At one point, he called several of the university administrators and faculty members who faulted his scholarship “pathetic,” the Daily’s account says.
Asked by his lawyer, David A. Lane, what he hoped to gain from the proceedings, Mr. Churchill said, “I want my job and I want restitution and acknowledgment that the entire process to remove me from the university was fraudulent.” He testified that he has been out of work since his 2007 dismissal from his job, which had paid $94,000 a year, and has been so distracted by the need to defend himself that he has been forced to put aside work on four books.
Throughout his second day on the witness stand, the controversial ethnic-studies scholar expressed defiance toward his accusers at the university, according to reports on the courtroom proceedings published in The Denver Post, the Colorado Daily, and The New York Times. At one point, he called several of the university administrators and faculty members who faulted his scholarship “pathetic,” the Daily’s account says.
Asked by his lawyer, David A. Lane, what he hoped to gain from the proceedings, Mr. Churchill said, “I want my job and I want restitution and acknowledgment that the entire process to remove me from the university was fraudulent.” He testified that he has been out of work since his 2007 dismissal from his job, which had paid $94,000 a year, and has been so distracted by the need to defend himself that he has been forced to put aside work on four books.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 20:39
Name of source: The Daily Beast
SOURCE: The Daily Beast (3-25-09)
Is the new administration turning out to love secrets as much as the last one? The Justice Department is attempting to dismiss an Oregon civil lawsuit under the "state secrets" privilege, claiming that some of the information will jeopardize national security. The al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, which was suspected of funding terrorism, is suing White House officials, the National Security Agency, Treasury Department and the FBI, regarding warrantless wiretaps they claim were placed on its board members. It is the second time the new Justice Department has followed the last one in claiming the state-secrets privilege, reports The Washington Post. Others say the state secrets privilege is necessary to keep government sources and intelligence gathering methods out of the public eye.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:47
Name of source: WaPo
SOURCE: WaPo (3-25-09)
The latest budget cut in the District: a four-year-old holiday for city workers called Emancipation Day.
Under Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's proposed fiscal 2010 spending plan, the April 16 holiday, which commemorates the day in 1862 when President Lincoln freed the District's 3,000 slaves, would be discontinued next year. The reason? Not having to pay workers who work that day holiday rates would save the city about $1.3 million, the mayor's office said.
Emancipation Day was the brainchild of then-D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D) and signed into law by then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2005.
"Creating this holiday will help to make this day of remembrance a permanent part of the District's civic culture and an appropriate celebration of those who sacrificed in fighting slavery," Williams said at the time.
Under Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's proposed fiscal 2010 spending plan, the April 16 holiday, which commemorates the day in 1862 when President Lincoln freed the District's 3,000 slaves, would be discontinued next year. The reason? Not having to pay workers who work that day holiday rates would save the city about $1.3 million, the mayor's office said.
Emancipation Day was the brainchild of then-D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D) and signed into law by then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams in 2005.
"Creating this holiday will help to make this day of remembrance a permanent part of the District's civic culture and an appropriate celebration of those who sacrificed in fighting slavery," Williams said at the time.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:44
Name of source: Jack Cafferty at CNN
SOURCE: Jack Cafferty at CNN (2-24-09)
People are losing faith in their ability to realize the American dream. While AIG pays out $165 million in bonuses to people who arguably contributed to the need for the federal government to hand them $170 billion of our money, and while politicians lie about who crafted the language that allowed this kind of stuff to happen (Are you listening Chris Dodd?), the average American is seeing his future disintegrate in front of his eyes.
Here are some numbers that suggest we are losing hope:
A CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll shows 39 percent of those surveyed say they're very confident they'll be able to keep up their quality of life. That's down from 45 percent a year ago.
Fifty percent of homeowners with a mortgage say they're very confident they can keep making their house payments. Again, that's down from 58 percent a year ago.
Also down are the percentages of Americans who are confident they can pay their other debts, things like credit cards and car loans.
When it comes to saving for long-term goals, it's even worse.
Only 24 percent of parents say they're very confident they'll be able to pay to send their children to college, and only 22 percent of those who are still working think they'll be able to save enough for retirement.
This used to be the country where each succeeding generation could look forward to a better quality of life than their parents enjoyed.
Here are some numbers that suggest we are losing hope:
A CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll shows 39 percent of those surveyed say they're very confident they'll be able to keep up their quality of life. That's down from 45 percent a year ago.
Fifty percent of homeowners with a mortgage say they're very confident they can keep making their house payments. Again, that's down from 58 percent a year ago.
Also down are the percentages of Americans who are confident they can pay their other debts, things like credit cards and car loans.
When it comes to saving for long-term goals, it's even worse.
Only 24 percent of parents say they're very confident they'll be able to pay to send their children to college, and only 22 percent of those who are still working think they'll be able to save enough for retirement.
This used to be the country where each succeeding generation could look forward to a better quality of life than their parents enjoyed.
One of the enduring strengths of the dollar has been that it has always been the currency of choice in times of crisis. But that's not the case anymore. Our ballooning deficits have driven down the value of the dollar so much that the Chinese government recently asked for guarantees from Washington that the Treasury bills they own are safe.
All of this isn't lost on the average American. Last week there were protests and demonstrations by taxpayers in cities all around the country who are beginning to object in increasing numbers to runaway government spending, taxes, bailouts and our growing national debt. These protests were called tea parties. Has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?
Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 19:37
