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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: BBC
SOURCE: BBC (10-13-09)
He had appealed against a court ruling made in July that a trial would still be held despite his claim of immunity.
However, he was successful in appealing against the start date of his trial at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.
It was due to start on 21 October but has been postponed for five days as Mr Karadzic wanted more time to prepare.
Immunity claim
He is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide.
However, he was successful in appealing against the start date of his trial at the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.
It was due to start on 21 October but has been postponed for five days as Mr Karadzic wanted more time to prepare.
Immunity claim
He is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including genocide.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 17:47
Comments
SOURCE: BBC (10-13-09)
Colin Mildinhall was speaking as he and other relatives of those killed in Iraq met officials conducting the inquiry into the war and its aftermath.
He said the UK had been "lied to" by the government over the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The man heading the probe said he had "an open mind" about its conclusions.
'Accountability'
The first of a series of meetings with relatives of those killed during the UK's six-year mission in Iraq has taken place in London.
He said the UK had been "lied to" by the government over the presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The man heading the probe said he had "an open mind" about its conclusions.
'Accountability'
The first of a series of meetings with relatives of those killed during the UK's six-year mission in Iraq has taken place in London.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 17:44
SOURCE: BBC (10-12-09)
A Tudor fiddle and a leather "manbag" are just a few of the items The Mary Rose Trust has allowed to be filmed.
The move marks the launch of the Mary Rose 500 appeal to raise the remaining £4m needed to build the £35m museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
It also marks the 500th anniversary of the commissioning of the warship.
The Mary Rose sank on 19 July 1545 with the loss of more than 400 lives, after 34 years of service.
The wreck was discovered in the 1960s and in 1982 it was raised to the surface to be restored in dry dock in Portsmouth.
The move marks the launch of the Mary Rose 500 appeal to raise the remaining £4m needed to build the £35m museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
It also marks the 500th anniversary of the commissioning of the warship.
The Mary Rose sank on 19 July 1545 with the loss of more than 400 lives, after 34 years of service.
The wreck was discovered in the 1960s and in 1982 it was raised to the surface to be restored in dry dock in Portsmouth.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 07:36
SOURCE: BBC (10-9-09)
A pair of Sir Winston Churchill's customised gloves reached nearly three times their expected value at auction in Gloucestershire.
The tiny gloves, made to fit Churchill's famously small hands, sold for £1,400 at Dominic Winter in Cirencester on Thursday.
They had a guide value of between £500 and £800.
But fierce bidding between a Lincolnshire Churchilliana fan and a US collector pushed the price up.
The tiny gloves, made to fit Churchill's famously small hands, sold for £1,400 at Dominic Winter in Cirencester on Thursday.
They had a guide value of between £500 and £800.
But fierce bidding between a Lincolnshire Churchilliana fan and a US collector pushed the price up.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 00:02
Name of source: Guardian (UK)
SOURCE: Guardian (UK) (10-13-09)
The children of Martin Luther King Jr have finally resolved the long-running and bitter battle over their father's estate.
Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and Dexter King have been squabbling in open court in Atlanta for more than a year about the way their father's legacy is managed.
The three are the only surviving children of the civil rights activist, who was assassinated in 1968, and his wife Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006.
Among the contentious issues were the division of $32m (£20.3m) from the sale of the Nobel laureate's archives, and the ownership of love letters written to their mother from their father.
The siblings began negotiations yesterday morning as the threat loomed of a public trial that was expected to reveal personal and financial details about King Inc, the multimillion-dollar firm set up to control their father's estate. Had they not reached an agreement, jury selection would have started this week.
Martin Luther King III, Bernice King and Dexter King have been squabbling in open court in Atlanta for more than a year about the way their father's legacy is managed.
The three are the only surviving children of the civil rights activist, who was assassinated in 1968, and his wife Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006.
Among the contentious issues were the division of $32m (£20.3m) from the sale of the Nobel laureate's archives, and the ownership of love letters written to their mother from their father.
The siblings began negotiations yesterday morning as the threat loomed of a public trial that was expected to reveal personal and financial details about King Inc, the multimillion-dollar firm set up to control their father's estate. Had they not reached an agreement, jury selection would have started this week.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 10:39
Name of source: Fox News
SOURCE: Fox News (10-11-09)
MEXICO CITY — Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."...
... It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."...
... It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades — the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However — shades of Indiana Jones — erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 — including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:20
Name of source: NYT
SOURCE: NYT (10-7-09)
Read this rather breathless account of an admission wrested from William Ayers at Reagan National Airport, during an ambush moment by blogger Anne Leary, the “BackyardConservative.”
Indeed, stopped by a relative stranger after attending an education conference in Arlington, Va., Mr. Ayers revealed for the very first time that he did write — page-for-page — “Dreams From My Father,” the best-selling memoir of Barack Obama’s life.
Aha! Mr. Ayers, the 1960s radical whose ties to Mr. Obama have been mined for years now, has finally confirmed his intimate knowledge of the president’s entire life and affirmed the conspiracy whipping around the blogosphere. Mr. Ayers’ ghost-writing was recently reinforced by details in the incredibly authoritative book on the Obamas’ marriage by their extremely close BFF, Christopher Andersen...
... But then, uh-oh. Read Jonah Goldberg, no slouch in the conservative world of writers and bloggers, who deflates this amazing airport revelation by unearthing a little post from the National Journal magazine last week: “It sounds like Ayers is jerking some chains.”
He cites:
Indeed, stopped by a relative stranger after attending an education conference in Arlington, Va., Mr. Ayers revealed for the very first time that he did write — page-for-page — “Dreams From My Father,” the best-selling memoir of Barack Obama’s life.
Aha! Mr. Ayers, the 1960s radical whose ties to Mr. Obama have been mined for years now, has finally confirmed his intimate knowledge of the president’s entire life and affirmed the conspiracy whipping around the blogosphere. Mr. Ayers’ ghost-writing was recently reinforced by details in the incredibly authoritative book on the Obamas’ marriage by their extremely close BFF, Christopher Andersen...
... But then, uh-oh. Read Jonah Goldberg, no slouch in the conservative world of writers and bloggers, who deflates this amazing airport revelation by unearthing a little post from the National Journal magazine last week: “It sounds like Ayers is jerking some chains.”
He cites:
From National Journal (link w/ subscription):
Inside Washington
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009
Payment Due
Who actually wrote Dreams From My Father? The book cover says Barack Obama, but one corner of the right-wing blogosphere thinks Obama had a ghostwriter—and that it was Bill Ayers, onetime Weatherman, current academic, perpetual radical. National Journal caught up with Ayers at a recent book festival where he was exhorting a small crowd of listeners to remember that they are citizens, not subjects. “Open your eyes,” he said. “Pay attention. Be astonished. Act, and doubt.” When he finished speaking, we put the authorship question right to him. For a split second, Ayers was nonplussed. Then an Abbie Hoffmanish, steal-this-book-sort-of-smile lit up his face. He gently took National Journal by the arm. “Here’s what I’m going to say. This is my quote. Be sure to write it down: ‘Yes, I wrote Dreams From My Father. I ghostwrote the whole thing. I met with the president three or four times, and then I wrote the entire book.’” He released National Journal’s arm, and beamed in Marxist triumph. “And now I would like the royalties.” —Will Englund
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:15
SOURCE: NYT (10-11-09)
TOKYO — Growing up in prewar Tokyo, Makoto Kaneko recalls that the perfectly shaped, snow-capped cone of Mount Fuji was like a constant companion, visible on the horizon from the narrow streets of his hilly working-class neighborhood. The most majestic view was from a steep hillside affectionately named Fujimizaka, “the slope for seeing Mount Fuji.”
Today, Mr. Kaneko’s cramped 80-year-old shop selling foods cooked in soy sauce is one of several old wooden stores and Buddhist temples that still stand here, making the Nippori neighborhood a rare oasis of medieval charm in Tokyo’s concrete sprawl. But the distant volcano, Japan’s tallest peak and pre-eminent national symbol, has been increasingly blocked by skyscrapers and smog.
Mr. Kaneko said he and other residents did not mind because they still had the vista from Fujimizaka, which has become a minor tourist attraction. Then, one day a decade ago, they learned of plans for a 14-story apartment building a mile away that would partly obstruct that view.
“My mind went blank with disbelief,” said Mr. Kaneko, 83. “That is when we realized what we were losing.”
With the help of a university professor, the neighborhood’s mostly graying residents formed the Society to Protect Nippori’s Fujimizaka, which Mr. Kaneko leads. The group has approached developers, landowners and local governments, but their efforts have collided with a preservation problem: Protecting a building or a park may be one thing, but how do you protect a view? Saving the view from Nippori’s Fujimizaka would require capping building heights within an elongated fan-shaped corridor three miles long and up to 1,000 feet wide across densely populated neighborhoods. So far, the society has met stiff resistance from city officials and developers in Tokyo, whose properties rose rapidly from the postwar ashes thanks in part to unrestrained construction...
Today, Mr. Kaneko’s cramped 80-year-old shop selling foods cooked in soy sauce is one of several old wooden stores and Buddhist temples that still stand here, making the Nippori neighborhood a rare oasis of medieval charm in Tokyo’s concrete sprawl. But the distant volcano, Japan’s tallest peak and pre-eminent national symbol, has been increasingly blocked by skyscrapers and smog.
Mr. Kaneko said he and other residents did not mind because they still had the vista from Fujimizaka, which has become a minor tourist attraction. Then, one day a decade ago, they learned of plans for a 14-story apartment building a mile away that would partly obstruct that view.
“My mind went blank with disbelief,” said Mr. Kaneko, 83. “That is when we realized what we were losing.”
With the help of a university professor, the neighborhood’s mostly graying residents formed the Society to Protect Nippori’s Fujimizaka, which Mr. Kaneko leads. The group has approached developers, landowners and local governments, but their efforts have collided with a preservation problem: Protecting a building or a park may be one thing, but how do you protect a view? Saving the view from Nippori’s Fujimizaka would require capping building heights within an elongated fan-shaped corridor three miles long and up to 1,000 feet wide across densely populated neighborhoods. So far, the society has met stiff resistance from city officials and developers in Tokyo, whose properties rose rapidly from the postwar ashes thanks in part to unrestrained construction...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 00:47
SOURCE: NYT (10-8-09)
SECAUCUS, N.J. — Babe Ruth has struck out looking. Displeased, he leans on his bat, right hand on his hip, and looks back at the umpire. He utters something that can only be imagined. Lou Gehrig, on deck, leans on his bat, too, as if he has seen this act before. Ruth finally shuffles away, head turned to the umpire, dragging his bat through the dirt.
The scene, along with eight seconds of footage of Ruth playing the outfield, was found by a New Hampshire man in his grandfather’s home movie collection. It provides a rare look at Ruth, a showman even in defeat.
No American sport has a past as deep and cherished as baseball’s. But precious little of the sport’s history is preserved in moving images. Much occurred before the television age, leaving only grainy, scattershot clips culled from newsreels and home movies — and rarely do the clips show a player of Ruth’s stature.
The newly arrived Ruth film is part of the video collection of Major League Baseball Productions, the league’s official archivist, which spans more than 100 years and includes about 150,000 hours of moving images. Most of the collection is stored in plastic cases that line metal shelves of a room labeled “Major League Baseball Film and Video Archive.” The overflow is stored a few miles away in Fort Lee.
The scene, along with eight seconds of footage of Ruth playing the outfield, was found by a New Hampshire man in his grandfather’s home movie collection. It provides a rare look at Ruth, a showman even in defeat.
No American sport has a past as deep and cherished as baseball’s. But precious little of the sport’s history is preserved in moving images. Much occurred before the television age, leaving only grainy, scattershot clips culled from newsreels and home movies — and rarely do the clips show a player of Ruth’s stature.
The newly arrived Ruth film is part of the video collection of Major League Baseball Productions, the league’s official archivist, which spans more than 100 years and includes about 150,000 hours of moving images. Most of the collection is stored in plastic cases that line metal shelves of a room labeled “Major League Baseball Film and Video Archive.” The overflow is stored a few miles away in Fort Lee.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 23:16
SOURCE: NYT (10-10-09)
LOS ANGELES — At the end of “Manhattan,” the celebrated movie romance from 1979, a teenager played by Mariel Hemingway delivers some good news to the 42-year-old television writer, portrayed by Woody Allen, with whom she has had a long-running sexual affair.
“Guess what, I turned 18 the other day,” said Ms. Hemingway, in what was framed as a poignant encounter. “I’m legal, but I’m still a kid.”
That was then.
Roman Polanski’s arrest on Sept. 26 to face a decades-old charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl stirred global furor over both Mr. Polanski’s original misdeed and the way the authorities have handled it — along with some sharp reminders that, when it comes to adult sex with the under age, things have changed.
Manners, mores and law enforcement have become far less forgiving of sex crimes involving minors in the 31 years since Mr. Polanski was charged with both rape and sodomy involving drugs. He fled rather than face what was to have been a 48-day sentence after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.
But if he is extradited from Switzerland, Mr. Polanski could face a more severe punishment than he did in the 1970s, as a vigorous victims’ rights movement, a family-values revival and revelations of child abuse by clergy members have all helped change the moral and legal framework regarding sex with the young.
“Guess what, I turned 18 the other day,” said Ms. Hemingway, in what was framed as a poignant encounter. “I’m legal, but I’m still a kid.”
That was then.
Roman Polanski’s arrest on Sept. 26 to face a decades-old charge of having sex with a 13-year-old girl stirred global furor over both Mr. Polanski’s original misdeed and the way the authorities have handled it — along with some sharp reminders that, when it comes to adult sex with the under age, things have changed.
Manners, mores and law enforcement have become far less forgiving of sex crimes involving minors in the 31 years since Mr. Polanski was charged with both rape and sodomy involving drugs. He fled rather than face what was to have been a 48-day sentence after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.
But if he is extradited from Switzerland, Mr. Polanski could face a more severe punishment than he did in the 1970s, as a vigorous victims’ rights movement, a family-values revival and revelations of child abuse by clergy members have all helped change the moral and legal framework regarding sex with the young.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 23:16
SOURCE: NYT (10-10-09)
WASHINGTON — In case you missed it — the Nobel Prize announcement may have been distracting — a momentous milestone occurred last week in the presidency of Barack Obama: He spent his first Leif Erikson Day in the White House.
The occasion fell during Fire Prevention Week and National Wilderness Month. It followed fast on the heels of Mr. Obama’s first National Hunting and Fishing Day declaration (Sept. 22) and a week before he gets to proclaim White Cane Safety Day (Oct. 15.)
Every administration will commit countless words, trees and taxpayer-supported staff hours to issuing hundreds, if not thousands, of presidential proclamations. Why? Because they just do, and always have, and because giving a presidential shout-out to some constituency group, public interest or obscure milestone can reap goodwill with some sliver of the population.
So while Leif Erikson Day passed largely unnoticed Wednesday amid the daily presidential smorgasbord of Afghanistan and health care, the White House took care to mark the event with a soaring tribute to the great Scandinavian explorer, just as every White House has since the days of Lyndon B. Johnson.
The occasion fell during Fire Prevention Week and National Wilderness Month. It followed fast on the heels of Mr. Obama’s first National Hunting and Fishing Day declaration (Sept. 22) and a week before he gets to proclaim White Cane Safety Day (Oct. 15.)
Every administration will commit countless words, trees and taxpayer-supported staff hours to issuing hundreds, if not thousands, of presidential proclamations. Why? Because they just do, and always have, and because giving a presidential shout-out to some constituency group, public interest or obscure milestone can reap goodwill with some sliver of the population.
So while Leif Erikson Day passed largely unnoticed Wednesday amid the daily presidential smorgasbord of Afghanistan and health care, the White House took care to mark the event with a soaring tribute to the great Scandinavian explorer, just as every White House has since the days of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 23:15
Name of source: BBC News
SOURCE: BBC News (10-9-09)
This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.
But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
Climate change sceptics, who passionately and consistently argue that man's influence on our climate is overstated, say they saw it coming.
They argue that there are natural cycles, over which we have no control, that dictate how warm the planet is. But what is the evidence for this?
During the last few decades of the 20th Century, our planet did warm quickly.
But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
So what on Earth is going on?
Climate change sceptics, who passionately and consistently argue that man's influence on our climate is overstated, say they saw it coming.
They argue that there are natural cycles, over which we have no control, that dictate how warm the planet is. But what is the evidence for this?
During the last few decades of the 20th Century, our planet did warm quickly.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:14
Name of source: CNSNews.com
SOURCE: CNSNews.com (10-12-09)
Fort Edward, N.Y. (AP) - Crews dredging a polluted stretch of the upper Hudson River this year battled high water, old logging debris and unexpected levels of PCB contamination that slowed progress.
But as the first phase of one of the most costliest and complex federal Superfund projects wraps up this month, regulators say results are generally positive and show dredging can work. They are already preparing for a far more expansive second phase, which would clean up 40 miles of river and likely push total project costs over $700 million...
...Dredging began in the rural area in May after decades of argument over how to deal with tons of PCBs that flowed down the river in 1973 after a dam was removed. Upriver General Electric plants in Fort Edward and neighboring Hudson Falls discharged wastewater containing PCBs for decades before the popular lubricant and coolant was banned in 1977. PCBs, or polychlorinated vinyls, are considered probable carcinogens.
Under an agreement between General Electric Co. and the EPA, the company paid the cost of dredging concentrated pockets of PCBs this year about 40 miles north of Albany. GE treated the toxic waste at a nearby "dewatering" plant and shipped the dried remains by rail to a western Texas site for burial in a landfill designed to isolate the treated PCBs from the surroundings...
... At one point, dredging crews accidentally ripped into the original Fort Edward, which had been buried in a river bank, prompting an archaeological excavation of the 1750s British fort and revelations about military engineering of forts in the wilderness.
But as the first phase of one of the most costliest and complex federal Superfund projects wraps up this month, regulators say results are generally positive and show dredging can work. They are already preparing for a far more expansive second phase, which would clean up 40 miles of river and likely push total project costs over $700 million...
...Dredging began in the rural area in May after decades of argument over how to deal with tons of PCBs that flowed down the river in 1973 after a dam was removed. Upriver General Electric plants in Fort Edward and neighboring Hudson Falls discharged wastewater containing PCBs for decades before the popular lubricant and coolant was banned in 1977. PCBs, or polychlorinated vinyls, are considered probable carcinogens.
Under an agreement between General Electric Co. and the EPA, the company paid the cost of dredging concentrated pockets of PCBs this year about 40 miles north of Albany. GE treated the toxic waste at a nearby "dewatering" plant and shipped the dried remains by rail to a western Texas site for burial in a landfill designed to isolate the treated PCBs from the surroundings...
... At one point, dredging crews accidentally ripped into the original Fort Edward, which had been buried in a river bank, prompting an archaeological excavation of the 1750s British fort and revelations about military engineering of forts in the wilderness.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:14
SOURCE: CNSNews.com (10-12-09)
In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either.
When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being overrun by nearly 200 insurgents.
Which raises the question: Eight years into the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, do U.S. armed forces have the best guns money can buy?
When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being overrun by nearly 200 insurgents.
Which raises the question: Eight years into the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, do U.S. armed forces have the best guns money can buy?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 01:34
Name of source: Crain's Detroit Business
SOURCE: Crain's Detroit Business (10-11-09)
With the city facing a financial crisis, Detroit's mayor assembled a volunteer team of business and community leaders, led by a retired Ford Motor Co. executive, to help chart a course through murky fiscal waters.
Mass layoffs were looming, revenue was shrinking, and the city's budget deficit had exceeded $200 million.
After months of study, the crisis team advised the mayor to re-engineer city government: privatize or regionalize some services, cut wages for unionized workers, find new revenue streams and adjust the city's debt load. The end result would be a leaner organization more capable of weathering an economic downturn.
That mayor was Coleman Young. The year was 1981.
Last week, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's crisis turnaround team presented its findings.
Co-chaired by former Deputy Mayor Freman Hendrix, attorney and business owner Denise Ilitch and retired Ford executive Joe Walsh, the team's 50-plus members produced a 145-page report with more than 150 recommendations, such as cutting payroll costs, outsourcing as needed, consolidating city services where appropriate, bulking up revenue and trimming expenditures.
Few of the recommendations made by Young's Budget Stabilization Committee, aside from a city income tax, were enacted. The Budget Stabilization Committee was followed a decade later by the 21st Century Committee, a group of business leaders — including then-steel executive Dave Bing — with a similar charge, similar results and similar inaction.
Mass layoffs were looming, revenue was shrinking, and the city's budget deficit had exceeded $200 million.
After months of study, the crisis team advised the mayor to re-engineer city government: privatize or regionalize some services, cut wages for unionized workers, find new revenue streams and adjust the city's debt load. The end result would be a leaner organization more capable of weathering an economic downturn.
That mayor was Coleman Young. The year was 1981.
Last week, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's crisis turnaround team presented its findings.
Co-chaired by former Deputy Mayor Freman Hendrix, attorney and business owner Denise Ilitch and retired Ford executive Joe Walsh, the team's 50-plus members produced a 145-page report with more than 150 recommendations, such as cutting payroll costs, outsourcing as needed, consolidating city services where appropriate, bulking up revenue and trimming expenditures.
Few of the recommendations made by Young's Budget Stabilization Committee, aside from a city income tax, were enacted. The Budget Stabilization Committee was followed a decade later by the 21st Century Committee, a group of business leaders — including then-steel executive Dave Bing — with a similar charge, similar results and similar inaction.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:11
Name of source: Time
SOURCE: Time (10-12-09)
The march on Washington that gays staged Sunday on the National Mall drew something like 200,000 people — that's a good guess based on conversations with many of the organizers and local authorities, although estimates of Mall crowds are notoriously unreliable. But one number you can take to the bank: the average age of those backstage who wore walkie-talkie headsets and staff badges, the men (and a few women) who were behind much of the organizing effort, wasn't over 30. And that, by far, was the oddest thing about the march: Why would a generation wired to their mobile phones and Facebook accounts nearly from birth want to resurrect a form of political expression as old and musty as a mass gathering?...
... They didn't do it alone, of course. The macher behind the march was Cleve Jones, 55, a man who, in his younger days, was a compatriot of Harvey Milk's and, later, the conceiver of the most powerful work of American folk art, the AIDS quilt. Last year, Jones found himself in the spotlight again after the film Milk reminded the nation of what his close friend Harvey had died for. With relentless encouragement from David Mixner — a longtime gay activist and occasional friend of Bill Clinton's — Jones decided to pay attention to all the e-mails he was receiving from 20-something gays who were both angry about Prop 8 and inspired by Milk...
... Meanwhile, mid-career gay activists who run the day-to-day gay movement from the East Coast — men and women in their late 30s to early 50s who slogged away at gay causes during the Bush interregnum — were rather dumbstruck at the idea that young gays wanted to march on Washington. "Pointless," one seasoned gay activist told me. "If Cleve and David Mixner have really inspired so many kids to work on our behalf — finally, by the way, because I think these kids spent the early part of this decade playing Nintendo or something — why don't they tell them to go to Maine or Washington this weekend?" This activist was referring to the momentous votes coming up in Maine and Washington state that will determine how gay couples in those states can define their relationships.
... They didn't do it alone, of course. The macher behind the march was Cleve Jones, 55, a man who, in his younger days, was a compatriot of Harvey Milk's and, later, the conceiver of the most powerful work of American folk art, the AIDS quilt. Last year, Jones found himself in the spotlight again after the film Milk reminded the nation of what his close friend Harvey had died for. With relentless encouragement from David Mixner — a longtime gay activist and occasional friend of Bill Clinton's — Jones decided to pay attention to all the e-mails he was receiving from 20-something gays who were both angry about Prop 8 and inspired by Milk...
... Meanwhile, mid-career gay activists who run the day-to-day gay movement from the East Coast — men and women in their late 30s to early 50s who slogged away at gay causes during the Bush interregnum — were rather dumbstruck at the idea that young gays wanted to march on Washington. "Pointless," one seasoned gay activist told me. "If Cleve and David Mixner have really inspired so many kids to work on our behalf — finally, by the way, because I think these kids spent the early part of this decade playing Nintendo or something — why don't they tell them to go to Maine or Washington this weekend?" This activist was referring to the momentous votes coming up in Maine and Washington state that will determine how gay couples in those states can define their relationships.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:08
SOURCE: Time (10-12-09)
He is neither old nor a priest nor particularly attached to time-honored traditions. At 35, John Eriksen, one of the nation's youngest Catholic-school superintendents, offers a ruthless assessment of parochial education. "The biggest threat that urban Catholic schools face is nostalgia," he says both of districts nationwide and of his own diocese of Paterson, N.J. A Notre Dame and Harvard graduate fluent in Spanish and Arabic, Eriksen is part of the next generation of Catholic leaders in search of new ways to halt decades of student attrition. "We've been running these schools in a way that might have worked 30 or 40 years ago but doesn't work now," he says.
Of that, there is no doubt. Nearly 1 in 5 Catholic schools in the U.S. has closed its doors this decade. To non-Catholics, this may not appear to be something worth worrying about. But parochial schools are one of the largest (if not the largest) alternatives to the American public-education system, and their steady decline inordinately affects urban low-income minorities who would otherwise be left at the mercy of public schools that have proven incapable of educating them...
... Enrollment in Catholic schools peaked in the 1960s, when more than 5 million students attended nearly 13,500 parochial schools. Since then, both enrollment and the number of schools have dropped by more than half. Why? For starters, the number of priests, nuns and brothers able to teach for free has plummeted. In 1950, 90% of the teachers in Catholic schools came from religious orders; by 1967, the figure was 58%; today, it is 4%. This shift has meant that schools have had to raise tuition in order to pay more lay teachers. Meanwhile, increasingly middle-class Irish and Italian families started moving to the suburbs, leaving urban Catholic schools to cater to a majority of lower-income blacks and Hispanics. Less money coming into the church has led to even higher tuition, fewer students who can afford to attend the schools and the potential for even more closures...
Of that, there is no doubt. Nearly 1 in 5 Catholic schools in the U.S. has closed its doors this decade. To non-Catholics, this may not appear to be something worth worrying about. But parochial schools are one of the largest (if not the largest) alternatives to the American public-education system, and their steady decline inordinately affects urban low-income minorities who would otherwise be left at the mercy of public schools that have proven incapable of educating them...
... Enrollment in Catholic schools peaked in the 1960s, when more than 5 million students attended nearly 13,500 parochial schools. Since then, both enrollment and the number of schools have dropped by more than half. Why? For starters, the number of priests, nuns and brothers able to teach for free has plummeted. In 1950, 90% of the teachers in Catholic schools came from religious orders; by 1967, the figure was 58%; today, it is 4%. This shift has meant that schools have had to raise tuition in order to pay more lay teachers. Meanwhile, increasingly middle-class Irish and Italian families started moving to the suburbs, leaving urban Catholic schools to cater to a majority of lower-income blacks and Hispanics. Less money coming into the church has led to even higher tuition, fewer students who can afford to attend the schools and the potential for even more closures...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 01:16
Name of source: Haaretz
SOURCE: Haaretz (10-2-09)
Israel and Germany have agreed recently to establish a joint committee to study how school textbooks in each of the countries portrays the other country.
"It is important that students in Israel learn about modern Germany, until and after reunification, and for us it is an opportunity to present Israel to German students in various aspects, not only the Palestinian conflict," Ilan Mor, former political attache at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, said.
Mor is one of the founders of the initiative, which is expected to begin on the German side at the end of this year. In November 2008 the German parliament passed a resolution that the German government would fight anti-Semitism more vigorously, including education toward greater awareness of the Jewish faith and culture as well as of "modern Israel."
The decision was the catalyst for the establishment of the joint committee for the study of the school books.
"It is important that students in Israel learn about modern Germany, until and after reunification, and for us it is an opportunity to present Israel to German students in various aspects, not only the Palestinian conflict," Ilan Mor, former political attache at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, said.
Mor is one of the founders of the initiative, which is expected to begin on the German side at the end of this year. In November 2008 the German parliament passed a resolution that the German government would fight anti-Semitism more vigorously, including education toward greater awareness of the Jewish faith and culture as well as of "modern Israel."
The decision was the catalyst for the establishment of the joint committee for the study of the school books.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 02:04
Name of source: WSJ
SOURCE: WSJ (10-13-09)
American economists Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson, who study the way economic decisions are made outside markets, were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics Monday.
Ms. Ostrom, who teaches at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., is the first woman to win the economics prize, which had been awarded to 62 men since its launch in 1969. The judges cited her analysis of what happens when natural resources are shared commonly.
Mr. Williamson, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, was cited for explaining why some decisions are made more efficiently inside corporations rather than at arm's length in markets...
... Ms. Ostrom's work challenged the view that when people share a finite resource, they will end up destroying it -- what is known as the tragedy of the commons. That view argues that resources that are important for the common good need to be highly regulated or privatized.
As a graduate student in the early 1960s at the University of California, Los Angeles, Ms. Ostrom researched the way water was being managed in Southern California. Groundwater levels were falling, and saltwater was seeping into the system. But rather than collapsing into a tragedy of the commons, communities and water producers hashed out a solution. That led her to explore situations throughout the world where resources were commonly held, and she found that people often developed institutions, networks and other ways of interacting that solved problems...
... Mr. Williamson's work stems from time he spent in the late 1960s working in the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and noticing that experts there paid scant attention to the internal economic workings of companies. "The way economists used to think of the firm was as a black box that transfers inputs into outputs, and they didn't look inside," Mr. Williamson explained in an interview...
Ms. Ostrom, who teaches at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., is the first woman to win the economics prize, which had been awarded to 62 men since its launch in 1969. The judges cited her analysis of what happens when natural resources are shared commonly.
Mr. Williamson, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, was cited for explaining why some decisions are made more efficiently inside corporations rather than at arm's length in markets...
... Ms. Ostrom's work challenged the view that when people share a finite resource, they will end up destroying it -- what is known as the tragedy of the commons. That view argues that resources that are important for the common good need to be highly regulated or privatized.
As a graduate student in the early 1960s at the University of California, Los Angeles, Ms. Ostrom researched the way water was being managed in Southern California. Groundwater levels were falling, and saltwater was seeping into the system. But rather than collapsing into a tragedy of the commons, communities and water producers hashed out a solution. That led her to explore situations throughout the world where resources were commonly held, and she found that people often developed institutions, networks and other ways of interacting that solved problems...
... Mr. Williamson's work stems from time he spent in the late 1960s working in the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and noticing that experts there paid scant attention to the internal economic workings of companies. "The way economists used to think of the firm was as a black box that transfers inputs into outputs, and they didn't look inside," Mr. Williamson explained in an interview...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 01:24
SOURCE: WSJ (10-10-09)
The tradition of honoring Christopher Columbus for sailing the ocean blue in 1492 is facing rougher seas than the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria.
Philadelphia's annual Columbus Day parade has been canceled. Brown University this year renamed the holiday "Fall Weekend" following a campaign by a Native American student group opposed to celebrating an explorer who helped enslave some of the people he "discovered."
And while the Italian adventurer is generally thought to have arrived in the New World on Oct. 12, 517 years ago on Monday, his holiday is getting bounced all over the calendar. Tennessee routinely celebrates it the Friday after Thanksgiving to give people an extra-long weekend.
"You can celebrate the hell out of it if you get it the day after Thanksgiving -- it gives you four days off," says former Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter.
In California, Columbus Day is one of two paid holidays getting blown away by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a budget-cut proposal. In Washington, D.C., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled this year's weeklong Columbus Day recess so the senators can buckle down on health care. (They still get Monday off, though.)
Philadelphia's annual Columbus Day parade has been canceled. Brown University this year renamed the holiday "Fall Weekend" following a campaign by a Native American student group opposed to celebrating an explorer who helped enslave some of the people he "discovered."
And while the Italian adventurer is generally thought to have arrived in the New World on Oct. 12, 517 years ago on Monday, his holiday is getting bounced all over the calendar. Tennessee routinely celebrates it the Friday after Thanksgiving to give people an extra-long weekend.
"You can celebrate the hell out of it if you get it the day after Thanksgiving -- it gives you four days off," says former Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter.
In California, Columbus Day is one of two paid holidays getting blown away by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a budget-cut proposal. In Washington, D.C., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled this year's weeklong Columbus Day recess so the senators can buckle down on health care. (They still get Monday off, though.)
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 20:27
SOURCE: WSJ (10-10-09)
SHARANA, Afghanistan -- U.S. commanders here are enlisting some unusual allies: former mujahedeen guerrillas who battled the Russians with tactics now used by the Taliban.
Gen. Dawlat Khan, who commands the 2,000 Afghan police in the eastern Paktika province, came of age during the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. His father was a leader of the local resistance efforts, and during his teenage years Gen. Khan helped to funnel American-donated machine guns and weaponry to the tribal fighters.
Today, American commanders say former Islamic militants like Gen. Khan make valuable partners because they are well-schooled in the insurgency's tactics.
Gen. Dawlat Khan, who commands the 2,000 Afghan police in the eastern Paktika province, came of age during the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. His father was a leader of the local resistance efforts, and during his teenage years Gen. Khan helped to funnel American-donated machine guns and weaponry to the tribal fighters.
Today, American commanders say former Islamic militants like Gen. Khan make valuable partners because they are well-schooled in the insurgency's tactics.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:27
Name of source: The Chronicle of Higher Education
SOURCE: The Chronicle of Higher Education (10-11-09)
Kids these days. Just look at them. They've got those headphones in their ears and a gadget in every hand. They speak in tongues and text in code. They wear flip-flops everywhere. Does anyone really understand them?
Only some people do, or so it seems. They are experts who have earned advanced degrees, dissected data, and published books. If the minds of college students are a maze, these specialists sell maps...
... Everyone in higher education has pondered "the Millennials," people born between 1982 and 2004 or thereabouts (the years themselves are a subject of debate). Ever since the term went prime time about a decade ago, a zillion words have been written about who Millennials are, how they think, and why they always _______________. In short, Millennials talk is contagious.
Those who have shaped the nation's understanding of young people are not nearly as famous as their subjects, however. That's a shame, for these experts are colorful characters in their own right. Some are scholars, and some aren't. Many can recall watching the Beatles on a black-and-white television, and some grew up just before Barney the purple dinosaur arrived. Most can entertain an audience, though a few prefer to comb through statistics...
... Criticizing the young is inevitable, but so, too, is change. In 2000, Neil Howe and William Strauss published Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, which cast turn-of-the-century teenagers as rule followers who were engaged, optimistic, and downright pleasant. The authors assigned them seven "core traits": special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving. These conclusions were based on a hodgepodge of anecdotes, statistics, and pop-culture references, as well as on surveys of teachers and about 600 high-school seniors in Fairfax County, Va., which in 2007 became the first county in the nation to have a median household income of more than $100,000, about twice the national average.
The authors made a sweeping prediction. "This generation is going to rebel by behaving not worse, but better," they wrote of Millennials, a term they had coined. "Their life mission will not be to tear down old institutions that don't work, but to build up new ones that do." Such thinking promised to give educators, not to mention tens of millions of parents, a warm feeling. Who wouldn't want to hear that their kids are special?...
Only some people do, or so it seems. They are experts who have earned advanced degrees, dissected data, and published books. If the minds of college students are a maze, these specialists sell maps...
... Everyone in higher education has pondered "the Millennials," people born between 1982 and 2004 or thereabouts (the years themselves are a subject of debate). Ever since the term went prime time about a decade ago, a zillion words have been written about who Millennials are, how they think, and why they always _______________. In short, Millennials talk is contagious.
Those who have shaped the nation's understanding of young people are not nearly as famous as their subjects, however. That's a shame, for these experts are colorful characters in their own right. Some are scholars, and some aren't. Many can recall watching the Beatles on a black-and-white television, and some grew up just before Barney the purple dinosaur arrived. Most can entertain an audience, though a few prefer to comb through statistics...
... Criticizing the young is inevitable, but so, too, is change. In 2000, Neil Howe and William Strauss published Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation, which cast turn-of-the-century teenagers as rule followers who were engaged, optimistic, and downright pleasant. The authors assigned them seven "core traits": special, sheltered, confident, team-oriented, conventional, pressured, and achieving. These conclusions were based on a hodgepodge of anecdotes, statistics, and pop-culture references, as well as on surveys of teachers and about 600 high-school seniors in Fairfax County, Va., which in 2007 became the first county in the nation to have a median household income of more than $100,000, about twice the national average.
The authors made a sweeping prediction. "This generation is going to rebel by behaving not worse, but better," they wrote of Millennials, a term they had coined. "Their life mission will not be to tear down old institutions that don't work, but to build up new ones that do." Such thinking promised to give educators, not to mention tens of millions of parents, a warm feeling. Who wouldn't want to hear that their kids are special?...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 01:20
Name of source: Yahoo Buzz
SOURCE: Yahoo Buzz (10-9-09)
Fire up the barbecue. Get the mall-walking shoes on. About 517 years have passed since Christopher Columbus stumbled onto North America, and it's time to remember that with a three-day weekend.
Well, for some of us. While national government offices can be depended upon to celebrate a federal holiday, Columbus Day isn't a day off for all Americans. Some schools will stay open, and local bureaucrats will still shuffle paperwork...but the department store sales soldier on.
How a Holiday Is Made
Looking back, the formal recognition of Columbus Day is relatively recent. New York City threw the first recorded Columbus party in 1792, but it took New Yorkers 74 years for another big celebration. Then, Colorado scooted in to become the first state to have a Columbus Day (1905). President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided the Depression could use a new holiday, and made Oct. 12 a federal one in 1937. Under President Richard M. Nixon, Columbus Day got moved to the second Monday in October.
Columbus Controversy
According to the Wall Street Journal, 22 states don't observe the holiday. Why the disparity? Well, among other reasons, a strong contingent feels that the Genoese navigator's sailing the ocean blue in 1492 introduced a dark period of colonization. Protesters and academics have argued for years that the existing American population, plus earlier evidence of Viking houseguests, make the notion of"discovery" misleading.
These impassioned arguments around Columbus go back decades before any holiday: Efforts to make the Italian navigator a candidate for sainthood inspired a tart New York Times editorial that said Columbus got his"fleets at public expense, on the condition that he remove himself and his tediousness as far as possible toward the unknown west."
Floating Holiday
Some states have long just"observed" the holiday, but leave local government offices open. Others use the date to revere the native population who existed long before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailed in. According to a Wikipedia round-up, South Dakota declares October 12 as Indigenous People's Day. Hawaii celebrates the more general Discoverers' Day, which actually refers to the Aloha State's Polynesian founders (although the bureaucrats firmly emphasize"this day is not and shall not be construed to be a state holiday").
Tennessee, though, wins for creative calendaring: The Wall Street Journal points out that the state bumped Columbus Day to after Thanksgiving to create a four-day weekend. Indeed, the explorer's day leads in"holiday swapping"—work on that October date, get another day off later in the holiday season.
A Teachable Era
In a way, not having a day off encourages more attention and open discussion around the man, which academics encourage. Searches on Yahoo! for" christopher columbus,""pictures of christopher columbus,"" christopher columbus biography," and" christopher columbus ships" are all up—as are queries for the usual conquistadors like Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Francisco Pizarro, and Marco Polo.
They're not all from schoolkids either (though they do make up more than third of" columbus" searches). Incidentally, of all regions checking out" christopher columbus" online, the one fittingly leading the nation's lookups: Columbia, South Carolina. The state capitol may have his namesake, but it'll be working that day.
Well, for some of us. While national government offices can be depended upon to celebrate a federal holiday, Columbus Day isn't a day off for all Americans. Some schools will stay open, and local bureaucrats will still shuffle paperwork...but the department store sales soldier on.
How a Holiday Is Made
Looking back, the formal recognition of Columbus Day is relatively recent. New York City threw the first recorded Columbus party in 1792, but it took New Yorkers 74 years for another big celebration. Then, Colorado scooted in to become the first state to have a Columbus Day (1905). President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided the Depression could use a new holiday, and made Oct. 12 a federal one in 1937. Under President Richard M. Nixon, Columbus Day got moved to the second Monday in October.
Columbus Controversy
According to the Wall Street Journal, 22 states don't observe the holiday. Why the disparity? Well, among other reasons, a strong contingent feels that the Genoese navigator's sailing the ocean blue in 1492 introduced a dark period of colonization. Protesters and academics have argued for years that the existing American population, plus earlier evidence of Viking houseguests, make the notion of"discovery" misleading.
These impassioned arguments around Columbus go back decades before any holiday: Efforts to make the Italian navigator a candidate for sainthood inspired a tart New York Times editorial that said Columbus got his"fleets at public expense, on the condition that he remove himself and his tediousness as far as possible toward the unknown west."
Floating Holiday
Some states have long just"observed" the holiday, but leave local government offices open. Others use the date to revere the native population who existed long before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailed in. According to a Wikipedia round-up, South Dakota declares October 12 as Indigenous People's Day. Hawaii celebrates the more general Discoverers' Day, which actually refers to the Aloha State's Polynesian founders (although the bureaucrats firmly emphasize"this day is not and shall not be construed to be a state holiday").
Tennessee, though, wins for creative calendaring: The Wall Street Journal points out that the state bumped Columbus Day to after Thanksgiving to create a four-day weekend. Indeed, the explorer's day leads in"holiday swapping"—work on that October date, get another day off later in the holiday season.
A Teachable Era
In a way, not having a day off encourages more attention and open discussion around the man, which academics encourage. Searches on Yahoo! for" christopher columbus,""pictures of christopher columbus,"" christopher columbus biography," and" christopher columbus ships" are all up—as are queries for the usual conquistadors like Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Francisco Pizarro, and Marco Polo.
They're not all from schoolkids either (though they do make up more than third of" columbus" searches). Incidentally, of all regions checking out" christopher columbus" online, the one fittingly leading the nation's lookups: Columbia, South Carolina. The state capitol may have his namesake, but it'll be working that day.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 00:34
Name of source: Rhode Island News
SOURCE: Rhode Island News (10-12-09)
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
It was a courageous thing to do,
But someone was already here.
The Inuit and Cherokee,
The Aztec and the Menominee,
Onondaga and the Cree.
“I Will Be Your Friend,” by Nancy Schimmel, a songwriter and storyteller
PROVIDENCE — Christopher Columbus was a heroic explorer who discovered America, proved the Earth was round and led his nation to untold riches in the New World.
Not.
From elementary schools to college campuses, a new narrative is being written about the once-storied first contact between Columbus and the indigenous people of the West Indies. No longer is Columbus portrayed as an intrepid adventurer whose accidental arrival in the Bahamas ushered in wave after wave of civilizing European influence in North and South America.
In one elementary school in McDonald, Pa., a fourth-grade class put Columbus on trial for abusing his position, misrepresenting the crown of Spain and stealing gold. Students were asked to comment on whether Columbus was a hero or a criminal.
“We present a much more balanced view now,” said Sue Blanchette, vice president of the National Council for Social Studies. “We’re moving away from the Eurocentric point of view. We come from a generation where he was the be-all and end-all. He wasn’t.”
Today, students are taught that Columbus didn’t discover America, the Vikings did; that Columbus didn’t demonstrate that the Earth was round, that it was widely known during the late 15th century. In some colleges, students are being taught that far from being a hero, Columbus was, in fact, a villain because he and his men systematically enslaved and murdered the native Taino people...
It was a courageous thing to do,
But someone was already here.
The Inuit and Cherokee,
The Aztec and the Menominee,
Onondaga and the Cree.
“I Will Be Your Friend,” by Nancy Schimmel, a songwriter and storyteller
PROVIDENCE — Christopher Columbus was a heroic explorer who discovered America, proved the Earth was round and led his nation to untold riches in the New World.
Not.
From elementary schools to college campuses, a new narrative is being written about the once-storied first contact between Columbus and the indigenous people of the West Indies. No longer is Columbus portrayed as an intrepid adventurer whose accidental arrival in the Bahamas ushered in wave after wave of civilizing European influence in North and South America.
In one elementary school in McDonald, Pa., a fourth-grade class put Columbus on trial for abusing his position, misrepresenting the crown of Spain and stealing gold. Students were asked to comment on whether Columbus was a hero or a criminal.
“We present a much more balanced view now,” said Sue Blanchette, vice president of the National Council for Social Studies. “We’re moving away from the Eurocentric point of view. We come from a generation where he was the be-all and end-all. He wasn’t.”
Today, students are taught that Columbus didn’t discover America, the Vikings did; that Columbus didn’t demonstrate that the Earth was round, that it was widely known during the late 15th century. In some colleges, students are being taught that far from being a hero, Columbus was, in fact, a villain because he and his men systematically enslaved and murdered the native Taino people...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 00:30
Name of source: CNN
SOURCE: CNN (10-12-09)
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill commemorating Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician elected to public office in the state, a spokesman for the governor said Monday.
Under the measure, the governor each year would proclaim May 22 -- Milk's birthday -- as a day of significance across the state.
The bill was one of 704 signed Sunday -- most of them near the midnight deadline -- by Schwarzenegger, said spokesman Aaron McLear.
The legislation has been divisive, with the governor's office receiving more than 100,000 phone calls and e-mails, most of them in opposition, spokeswoman Andrea McCarthy said last month.
Under the measure, the governor each year would proclaim May 22 -- Milk's birthday -- as a day of significance across the state.
The bill was one of 704 signed Sunday -- most of them near the midnight deadline -- by Schwarzenegger, said spokesman Aaron McLear.
The legislation has been divisive, with the governor's office receiving more than 100,000 phone calls and e-mails, most of them in opposition, spokeswoman Andrea McCarthy said last month.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - 00:06
SOURCE: CNN (10-12-09)
Jury selection is set to start Monday in a trial pitting two children of Martin Luther King Jr. against their brother, whom they accuse of mishandling the late civil rights leader's estate.
Bernice King and Martin Luther King III issued their brother Dexter King in July 2008, one month after accusing him of converting "substantial funds from the estate's financial account at Bank of America" for his own use, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends Dexter King illegally and fraudulently converted estate funds and should be forced to repay the money and reimburse the plaintiffs' legal costs. The document, which lists five counts, does not say how much he is accused of taking.
Bernice King and Martin Luther King III issued their brother Dexter King in July 2008, one month after accusing him of converting "substantial funds from the estate's financial account at Bank of America" for his own use, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends Dexter King illegally and fraudulently converted estate funds and should be forced to repay the money and reimburse the plaintiffs' legal costs. The document, which lists five counts, does not say how much he is accused of taking.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:10
SOURCE: CNN (10-12-09)
Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, killing four fellow Marines. He'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate, collateral damage from the explosion.
None of it was true. On Friday, the FBI arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor."
Strandlof, 32, was held "for false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals," an FBI news release said. Charges had been filed in Denver, Colorado, the week before, the bureau.
None of it was true. On Friday, the FBI arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor."
Strandlof, 32, was held "for false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals," an FBI news release said. Charges had been filed in Denver, Colorado, the week before, the bureau.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:08
Name of source: WaPo
SOURCE: WaPo (10-12-09)
One day in 1791, President George Washington received a bill for 60 pounds, 1 shilling and 7 pence from his physician friend James Craik, who regularly made the rounds at Mount Vernon. The invoice ran two pages:
"Anodyne Pills for Breachy . . . Laxative Pills for Ruth . . . syphilic Pills for Maria . . . oz 1 Antiphlogistie Anodyne Tincture . . . Bleeding Charlotte . . . oz 4 Powdered Rhubarb . . . Extracting one of your Negroes tooth . . . a Mercurial Purge for Cook Jack . . ."
This brief glimpse of life in the 18th century is contained in what historians say is a vast and underappreciated cache of financial documents from the life of the first president. Washington's diaries and letters, many composed with one eye on history, have been carefully transcribed, annotated and bound in stately volumes. But his financial records have been treated as scraps.
Documenting the lives of ordinary people -- merchants, tradesmen, servants and slaves -- these records are scattered at multiple institutions. In most cases, they have never been transcribed or published in accessible form.
That archival quandary lured 25 scholars, some of them "forensic accountants," to Mount Vernon this past weekend for a workshop to strategize about how to get the records online, with hyperlinks to the already published letters and diaries.
"Anodyne Pills for Breachy . . . Laxative Pills for Ruth . . . syphilic Pills for Maria . . . oz 1 Antiphlogistie Anodyne Tincture . . . Bleeding Charlotte . . . oz 4 Powdered Rhubarb . . . Extracting one of your Negroes tooth . . . a Mercurial Purge for Cook Jack . . ."
This brief glimpse of life in the 18th century is contained in what historians say is a vast and underappreciated cache of financial documents from the life of the first president. Washington's diaries and letters, many composed with one eye on history, have been carefully transcribed, annotated and bound in stately volumes. But his financial records have been treated as scraps.
Documenting the lives of ordinary people -- merchants, tradesmen, servants and slaves -- these records are scattered at multiple institutions. In most cases, they have never been transcribed or published in accessible form.
That archival quandary lured 25 scholars, some of them "forensic accountants," to Mount Vernon this past weekend for a workshop to strategize about how to get the records online, with hyperlinks to the already published letters and diaries.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 20:29
Name of source: Rasmussen Reports
SOURCE: Rasmussen Reports (10-12-09)
Intrepid explorer who discovered America or merciless oppressor of the native peoples who already lived here? Some historians paint a darker picture of Christopher Columbus these days, and nearly a quarter (24%) of adults now don't think America should honor him with a national holiday.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) disagree and say Columbus should be honored with a holiday. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans favor continuance of Columbus Day, compared to 52% of Democrats and 54% of adults not affiliated with either party. Democrats are nearly twice as likely as Republicans to think Columbus should not be honored.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of whites say Columbus deserves a holiday, a view shared by just 50% of African-Americans and 51% of those in other racial categories.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) disagree and say Columbus should be honored with a holiday. Seventeen percent (17%) are undecided.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of Republicans favor continuance of Columbus Day, compared to 52% of Democrats and 54% of adults not affiliated with either party. Democrats are nearly twice as likely as Republicans to think Columbus should not be honored.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of whites say Columbus deserves a holiday, a view shared by just 50% of African-Americans and 51% of those in other racial categories.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 19:56
Name of source: Telegraph (UK)
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (10-12-09)
The Royal Bank of Scotland is to open its art collection – one of the largest in private hands and including work by David Hockney and LS Lowry – to the public.
The bank, which is 70% owned by the state, has more than 2,200 works of British art in offices and branches around the country, including rare 19th century pieces by Joshua Reynolds and Johann Zoffany.
It has come under pressure from art charities to display the works after it was saved from going bankrupt with a £20 billion bail-out from the Government.
The bank, which is 70% owned by the state, has more than 2,200 works of British art in offices and branches around the country, including rare 19th century pieces by Joshua Reynolds and Johann Zoffany.
It has come under pressure from art charities to display the works after it was saved from going bankrupt with a £20 billion bail-out from the Government.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:19
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (10-12-09)
A previously unknown portrait by Leonardo da Vinci potentially worth tens of millions of pounds is thought to have been discovered thanks to a fingerprint.
The painting, titled Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress, recently sold for a mere £12,000 ($19,000). It was billed at a Christie's sale in 1998 as "German, early 19th century".
A Paris laboratory discovered that a fingerprint from the tip of an index or middle-finger, found on the top left of the picture, was "highly comparable" to one found on da Vinci's work St Jerome, which he painted early in his career when he did not have assistants, according to the Antiques Trade Gazette.
The infrared analysis also showed "significant" stylistic parallels with those in da Vinci's Portrait of a Woman in Profile in Windsor Castle.
The painting, titled Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress, recently sold for a mere £12,000 ($19,000). It was billed at a Christie's sale in 1998 as "German, early 19th century".
A Paris laboratory discovered that a fingerprint from the tip of an index or middle-finger, found on the top left of the picture, was "highly comparable" to one found on da Vinci's work St Jerome, which he painted early in his career when he did not have assistants, according to the Antiques Trade Gazette.
The infrared analysis also showed "significant" stylistic parallels with those in da Vinci's Portrait of a Woman in Profile in Windsor Castle.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:18
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (10-12-09)
Speaking to a group of about 300 supporters in a small town outside Johannesburg, he used rousing sentiments from the past to call white farmers and their families to action.
"Now is not the time to be afraid," he shouted, to murmurs of approval from the audience.
"Now all true Afrikaners must reach out to each other and fight to the bitter end.
"Our country is being run by criminals who murder and rob. This land was the best, and they ruined it all.
"We are being oppressed again. We will rise again."
Terre'Blanche, 68, said he aims to bring together 23 far-right groups under the banner of the AWB and told the Times he would take the fight for a "free Afrikaner" to the Hague, demanding the right to a separate republic.
"Now is not the time to be afraid," he shouted, to murmurs of approval from the audience.
"Now all true Afrikaners must reach out to each other and fight to the bitter end.
"Our country is being run by criminals who murder and rob. This land was the best, and they ruined it all.
"We are being oppressed again. We will rise again."
Terre'Blanche, 68, said he aims to bring together 23 far-right groups under the banner of the AWB and told the Times he would take the fight for a "free Afrikaner" to the Hague, demanding the right to a separate republic.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 08:04
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (10-12-09)
But since the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago, the former jewel in the Communist crown has become symbolic of everything that is wrong with modern east Germany - with poverty, high unemployment and a dwindling population.
The town, around 100 miles south of Berlin, has lost almost half of its former population of 68,000 since 1989. For eastern Germany as a whole the figure is just nine per cent.
Since the coal industry collapsed in the wake of the reunification of Germany in 1990, nine out of 10 mining jobs have vanished and unemployment hovers at around 20 per cent, compared to 13.3 per cent for the rest of eastern Germany.
The town, around 100 miles south of Berlin, has lost almost half of its former population of 68,000 since 1989. For eastern Germany as a whole the figure is just nine per cent.
Since the coal industry collapsed in the wake of the reunification of Germany in 1990, nine out of 10 mining jobs have vanished and unemployment hovers at around 20 per cent, compared to 13.3 per cent for the rest of eastern Germany.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 08:01
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (10-12-09)
The proposals for the centre at Airman's Corner, 1.5 miles west of the prehistoric stones near Amesbury in Wiltshire, and plans to close the nearby A344 have been submitted to Wiltshire Council.
The centre, designed by architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall, is ''sensitive to its surroundings and to the significance of the monument'', English Heritage said.
English Heritage's Stonehenge project director, Loraine Knowles, said: ''The new centre is designed to blend into the World Heritage landscape which visitors will pass through on their way to the stones.
''It will provide enhanced opportunities for education and interpretation, and have first-class facilities in keeping with Stonehenge's status as a world-renowned tourist attraction.''
A recent public consultation revealed that 78% agreed the new centre - which will not be visible from the monument - would enhance visitors' experiences, while 69% thought the proposals would improve the setting of the stones.
The centre, designed by architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall, is ''sensitive to its surroundings and to the significance of the monument'', English Heritage said.
English Heritage's Stonehenge project director, Loraine Knowles, said: ''The new centre is designed to blend into the World Heritage landscape which visitors will pass through on their way to the stones.
''It will provide enhanced opportunities for education and interpretation, and have first-class facilities in keeping with Stonehenge's status as a world-renowned tourist attraction.''
A recent public consultation revealed that 78% agreed the new centre - which will not be visible from the monument - would enhance visitors' experiences, while 69% thought the proposals would improve the setting of the stones.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 07:58
Name of source: AP
SOURCE: AP (10-12-09)
Britain's Foreign Secretary says his country's interests would have suffered had the Lockerbie bomber died in prison.
David Miliband said in a statement before lawmakers Monday that British authorities believed the U.K.'s economic and security cooperation with Libya would have been damaged if Abdel Baset al-Megrahi died from cancer while he was still behind bars.
However Miliband says that those considerations played no role in the decision by Scottish authorities to release the bomber on compassionate grounds in August.
David Miliband said in a statement before lawmakers Monday that British authorities believed the U.K.'s economic and security cooperation with Libya would have been damaged if Abdel Baset al-Megrahi died from cancer while he was still behind bars.
However Miliband says that those considerations played no role in the decision by Scottish authorities to release the bomber on compassionate grounds in August.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:15
SOURCE: AP (10-12-09)
More than four decades after he allegedly hijacked a jetliner from a New York airport to Cuba, Luis Armando Pena Soltren voluntarily returned to the same airport to surrender and face prosecution, authorities said Monday.
Pena Soltren, who was arrested Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport after arriving on a flight from Havana, was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Manhattan on a 1968 indictment. The Cuban government authorized his departure, authorities said Monday.
Pena Soltren, a U.S. citizen, and two accomplices used weapons hidden in a diaper bag to hijack the Pan Am flight on Nov. 24, 1968, authorities said.
Pena Soltren, who was arrested Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport after arriving on a flight from Havana, was expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Manhattan on a 1968 indictment. The Cuban government authorized his departure, authorities said Monday.
Pena Soltren, a U.S. citizen, and two accomplices used weapons hidden in a diaper bag to hijack the Pan Am flight on Nov. 24, 1968, authorities said.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:12
Name of source: The Wall Street Journal
SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal (10-11-09)
The tradition of honoring Christopher Columbus for sailing the ocean blue in 1492 is facing rougher seas than the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria.
Philadelphia's annual Columbus Day parade was canceled. Brown University this year renamed the holiday "Fall Weekend" following a campaign by a Native American student group opposed to celebrating an explorer who helped enslave some of the people he "discovered."
And while the Italian adventurer is generally thought to have arrived in the New World on Oct. 12, 517 years ago on Monday, his holiday is getting bounced all over the calendar. Tennessee routinely celebrates it the Friday after Thanksgiving to give people an extra-long weekend.
In California, Columbus Day is one of two unpaid holidays getting blown away by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a budget-cut proposal. In Washington, D.C., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled this year's weeklong Columbus Day recess so the senators can buckle down on health care. (They still get Monday off, though.)
Philadelphia's annual Columbus Day parade was canceled. Brown University this year renamed the holiday "Fall Weekend" following a campaign by a Native American student group opposed to celebrating an explorer who helped enslave some of the people he "discovered."
And while the Italian adventurer is generally thought to have arrived in the New World on Oct. 12, 517 years ago on Monday, his holiday is getting bounced all over the calendar. Tennessee routinely celebrates it the Friday after Thanksgiving to give people an extra-long weekend.
In California, Columbus Day is one of two unpaid holidays getting blown away by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a budget-cut proposal. In Washington, D.C., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled this year's weeklong Columbus Day recess so the senators can buckle down on health care. (They still get Monday off, though.)
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 15:14
Name of source: Times (UK)
SOURCE: Times (UK) (10-12-09)
The 400-year-old mystery of whether William Shakespeare was the author of an unattributed play about Edward III may have been solved by a computer program designed to detect plagiarism.
Sir Brian Vickers, an authority on Shakespeare at the Institute of English Studies at the University of London, believes that a comparison of phrases used in The Reign of King Edward III with Shakespeare’s early works proves conclusively that the Bard wrote the play in collaboration with Thomas Kyd, one of the most popular playwrights of his day.
The professor used software called Pl@giarism, developed by the University of Maastricht to detect cheating students, to compare language used in Edward III — published anonymously in 1596, when Shakespeare was 32 — with other plays of the period.
Sir Brian Vickers, an authority on Shakespeare at the Institute of English Studies at the University of London, believes that a comparison of phrases used in The Reign of King Edward III with Shakespeare’s early works proves conclusively that the Bard wrote the play in collaboration with Thomas Kyd, one of the most popular playwrights of his day.
The professor used software called Pl@giarism, developed by the University of Maastricht to detect cheating students, to compare language used in Edward III — published anonymously in 1596, when Shakespeare was 32 — with other plays of the period.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 08:11
Name of source: Deutsche Welle
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle (10-12-09)
Porsche says it is taking the allegations seriously after a report published by a German economics journalist suggested that hundreds of people were forced to work at Porsche for little or no pay.
Porsche's head archivist confirmed that the company had commissioned an external expert to investigate the allegations.
"We need to process the subject; we are just at the start of the procedure" a Porsche spokesman said.
Porsche's head archivist confirmed that the company had commissioned an external expert to investigate the allegations.
"We need to process the subject; we are just at the start of the procedure" a Porsche spokesman said.
Monday, October 12, 2009 - 07:56
Name of source: Yahoo News
SOURCE: Yahoo News (10-11-09)
TAMPA, Fla. – Jeffrey Kolowith's kindergarten students read a poem about Christopher Columbus, take a journey to the New World on three paper ships and place the explorer's picture on a timeline through history.
Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance — though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.
"I talk about the situation where he didn't even realize where he was," Kolowith said. "And we talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy."
Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday. Although lessons vary, many teachers are trying to present a more balanced perspective of what happened after Columbus reached the Caribbean and the suffering of indigenous populations...
... The federal holiday itself also is not universally recognized. Schools in Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle will be open; New York City, Washington and Chicago schools will be closed.
The day is an especially sensitive issue in places with larger native American populations.
"We have a very large Alaska native population, so just the whole Columbus being the founder of the United States, doesn't sit well with a lot of people, myself included," said Paul Prussing, deputy director of Alaska's Division of Teaching and Learning Support.
Many recall decades ago when there was scant mention of indigenous groups in discussions about Columbus. Kracht remembers a picture in one of his fifth-grade textbooks that showed Columbus wading to shore with a huge flag and cross.
"The indigenous population was kind of waiting expectantly, almost with smiles on their faces," Kracht said. "'I wonder what this guy is bringing us?' Well, he's bringing us smallpox, for one thing, and none of us are going to live very long."
Kracht said an emerging multiculturalism led more people to investigate the cruelties suffered by the Taino population in the 1960s and '70s, along with the 500th anniversary in 1992.
Kolowith's students learn about the explorer's significance — though they also come away with a more nuanced picture of Columbus than the noble discoverer often portrayed in pop culture and legend.
"I talk about the situation where he didn't even realize where he was," Kolowith said. "And we talked about how he was very, very mean, very bossy."
Columbus' stature in U.S. classrooms has declined somewhat through the years, and many districts will not observe his namesake holiday on Monday. Although lessons vary, many teachers are trying to present a more balanced perspective of what happened after Columbus reached the Caribbean and the suffering of indigenous populations...
... The federal holiday itself also is not universally recognized. Schools in Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle will be open; New York City, Washington and Chicago schools will be closed.
The day is an especially sensitive issue in places with larger native American populations.
"We have a very large Alaska native population, so just the whole Columbus being the founder of the United States, doesn't sit well with a lot of people, myself included," said Paul Prussing, deputy director of Alaska's Division of Teaching and Learning Support.
Many recall decades ago when there was scant mention of indigenous groups in discussions about Columbus. Kracht remembers a picture in one of his fifth-grade textbooks that showed Columbus wading to shore with a huge flag and cross.
"The indigenous population was kind of waiting expectantly, almost with smiles on their faces," Kracht said. "'I wonder what this guy is bringing us?' Well, he's bringing us smallpox, for one thing, and none of us are going to live very long."
Kracht said an emerging multiculturalism led more people to investigate the cruelties suffered by the Taino population in the 1960s and '70s, along with the 500th anniversary in 1992.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 23:40
Name of source: telegraph.co.uk
SOURCE: telegraph.co.uk (10-11-09)
Step forward Jean d'Orléans, the Duke of Vendôme – or so he claims in a new book seeking to undo the Revolution of 1789, restore the monarchy and place him on the throne.
While President Nicolas Sarkozy is often half-mockingly referred to as the republican monarch, the Duke wishes to go a giant step further by getting France to admit that the Revolution was a mistake.
In "Un prince français", which reads like a manifesto, the man who would be king contends that the French Republic is inherently unstable and in urgent need of monarchical tradition. "The King, contrary to the President, is not subjected to elections," says the Duke, who descends from King Louis-Philippe III. "And that changes everything. A prince does not govern according to opinion polls, as is too often the case today. He can therefore listen to everyone, neglect no one, take advice from all and decide in all honesty, guided only by a desire for the common good."
While President Nicolas Sarkozy is often half-mockingly referred to as the republican monarch, the Duke wishes to go a giant step further by getting France to admit that the Revolution was a mistake.
In "Un prince français", which reads like a manifesto, the man who would be king contends that the French Republic is inherently unstable and in urgent need of monarchical tradition. "The King, contrary to the President, is not subjected to elections," says the Duke, who descends from King Louis-Philippe III. "And that changes everything. A prince does not govern according to opinion polls, as is too often the case today. He can therefore listen to everyone, neglect no one, take advice from all and decide in all honesty, guided only by a desire for the common good."
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:28
Name of source: Waco Tribune-Herald
SOURCE: Waco Tribune-Herald (10-10-09)
FLORENCE, Texas — In a big white tent pitched near Buttermilk Creek, archaeologists and volunteers are on their knees, scraping away sticky black clay a few tablespoons at a time. They wash the dirt and screen it for stone shards, spearpoints and flakes from some 13,000 years ago.
Little by little, those bits of stone are chipping away at long-held pictures of the earliest Americans, wiping away images that are still depicted in high school textbooks and museum dioramas.
The Gault Site is about 70 acres in a valley between Florence and Salado, about an hour from Waco. It remains unknown to many Central Texans, though it’s now open for tours and is the subject of a daylong event Thursday at McLennan Community College.
But it’s renowned among archaeologists worldwide as the continent’s biggest trove of knowledge about the Clovis people, nomadic hunters who overran the Americas some 13,500 years ago.
“It’s such a well-kept secret,” said Linda Pelon, an MCC anthropology instructor who is helping organize the Thursday event and whose students have volunteered at the site. “This is an internationally significant site that may help rewrite the story of the peopling of the Americas.”
Little by little, those bits of stone are chipping away at long-held pictures of the earliest Americans, wiping away images that are still depicted in high school textbooks and museum dioramas.
The Gault Site is about 70 acres in a valley between Florence and Salado, about an hour from Waco. It remains unknown to many Central Texans, though it’s now open for tours and is the subject of a daylong event Thursday at McLennan Community College.
But it’s renowned among archaeologists worldwide as the continent’s biggest trove of knowledge about the Clovis people, nomadic hunters who overran the Americas some 13,500 years ago.
“It’s such a well-kept secret,” said Linda Pelon, an MCC anthropology instructor who is helping organize the Thursday event and whose students have volunteered at the site. “This is an internationally significant site that may help rewrite the story of the peopling of the Americas.”
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:25
Name of source: Balkan Travellers
SOURCE: Balkan Travellers (9-22-09)
A royal burial vault was discovered by archaeologists in the area of Pavla chuka, between the villages of Bonche and Podmol near the town of Prilep in southern Macedonia.
The circular vault dates to the fourth century BC, the Vecher newspaper reported today. It has a diameter of 30 metres and is made of monolithic stones, each of them weighting two tons, which are undamaged although they are nearly 2,500 years old.
The vault has an opening dug into a wall, and antique tombs were discovered inside of it.
The find was made by a team of archaeologists, led by Viktor Lilcik, which has been working on the project for the past three years.
According to Lilcik, cited by the publication, the newly discovered burial vault belonged to an important ruler, most likely one from the Pelagonian Dynasty. The archaeologist said he expects to find an inscription that will help determining the exact ruler to which the vault belonged.
The circular vault dates to the fourth century BC, the Vecher newspaper reported today. It has a diameter of 30 metres and is made of monolithic stones, each of them weighting two tons, which are undamaged although they are nearly 2,500 years old.
The vault has an opening dug into a wall, and antique tombs were discovered inside of it.
The find was made by a team of archaeologists, led by Viktor Lilcik, which has been working on the project for the past three years.
According to Lilcik, cited by the publication, the newly discovered burial vault belonged to an important ruler, most likely one from the Pelagonian Dynasty. The archaeologist said he expects to find an inscription that will help determining the exact ruler to which the vault belonged.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:23
Name of source: DNA
SOURCE: DNA (10-4-09)
Hyderabad: We often talk and worry about brain drain, where the brightest Indians move out of the sub-continent, generally to the West, seeking better opportunities. However, it may turn out that this is hardly a new trend.
Geneticists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad released a study last week which suggested that the Indian population has its origin in migrants from Africa who arrived here 45,000 to 65,000 years ago. The next stage of the study, they say, will explore whether Europe got populated by migrating Indians. This will go against the belief that in ancient times, humans moving from Europe populated India.
Geneticists at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad released a study last week which suggested that the Indian population has its origin in migrants from Africa who arrived here 45,000 to 65,000 years ago. The next stage of the study, they say, will explore whether Europe got populated by migrating Indians. This will go against the belief that in ancient times, humans moving from Europe populated India.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:20
Name of source: The Vancouver Courier
SOURCE: The Vancouver Courier (10-9-09)
BALLYCASTLE, Ireland--It took 40 years, but Seamas Caulfield finally solved the puzzle of his father's peat bog, and in the process unearthed a 5,000-year-old Stone Age village.
Schoolteacher Patrick Caulfield was digging peat--long-decayed vegetation that has been used for domestic fuel in Ireland for centuries--in a bog near this western Ireland hamlet in the 1930s when his spade struck rocks two metres down.
He cleared the immediate area and discovered that the rocks formed part of a wall...
... What they unearthed has been called the most extensive Neolithic site in the world, a farming community dating back to before 3,000 B.C.
Now a state-of-the-art visitor centre has been built on the site to showcase the C?ide Fields dig. Byrne is the manager. She takes a visitor on a walk over part of the site, on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, pointing out stone-walled fields, livestock enclosures, dwellings and tombs used by people at the dawn of recorded history.
Schoolteacher Patrick Caulfield was digging peat--long-decayed vegetation that has been used for domestic fuel in Ireland for centuries--in a bog near this western Ireland hamlet in the 1930s when his spade struck rocks two metres down.
He cleared the immediate area and discovered that the rocks formed part of a wall...
... What they unearthed has been called the most extensive Neolithic site in the world, a farming community dating back to before 3,000 B.C.
Now a state-of-the-art visitor centre has been built on the site to showcase the C?ide Fields dig. Byrne is the manager. She takes a visitor on a walk over part of the site, on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, pointing out stone-walled fields, livestock enclosures, dwellings and tombs used by people at the dawn of recorded history.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:18
Name of source: Austrian Times
SOURCE: Austrian Times (10-5-09)
Archaeologists claim to have made a "sensational" find after they unearthed a 3,000-year-old wooden box used in central Europe’s biggest copper-mining operation at the Mitterberg mountain in Salzburg’s Pongau region.
They said the box from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, which was discovered using the latest high-tech research methods including laser scanning, dated to between 1,500 and 1,000 B.C...
... Groh said the objects found at the sites, which cover an area of two hectares, would lead to new understanding of the function of the Roman army.
He added: "Our work in this area last year and this year means that the history of the Roman presence in this region and in Austria will have to be rewritten."
They said the box from the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, which was discovered using the latest high-tech research methods including laser scanning, dated to between 1,500 and 1,000 B.C...
... Groh said the objects found at the sites, which cover an area of two hectares, would lead to new understanding of the function of the Roman army.
He added: "Our work in this area last year and this year means that the history of the Roman presence in this region and in Austria will have to be rewritten."
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:14
Name of source: EIRB.com
SOURCE: EIRB.com (10-8-09)
A group of archaeologists working in the Astigarraga cave in Deba have uncovered the oldest cave paintings discovered in Gipuzkoa to date. Dating back between 20,000 and 22,000 years, the markings represent a group of 16 "paired fragments" in red.
Doctor of History and expert in cave paintings, Marcos García Díez, speaking during a conference with press, stressed that this was one of the most important discoveries made in the Basque Country since the discovery of the Altxerri cave in Aia and Ekain in Deba, and highlighted the archeological "potential" of the site.
The Astigarraga cave, which was first discovered in 1967, contains other paintings such as one of a mass of black paint covered with concretions of lime, possibly intended to represent an equine animal; or another, of several engraved lines going in various directions which seemingly stand for an anthropomorph (or human-like creature).
Doctor of History and expert in cave paintings, Marcos García Díez, speaking during a conference with press, stressed that this was one of the most important discoveries made in the Basque Country since the discovery of the Altxerri cave in Aia and Ekain in Deba, and highlighted the archeological "potential" of the site.
The Astigarraga cave, which was first discovered in 1967, contains other paintings such as one of a mass of black paint covered with concretions of lime, possibly intended to represent an equine animal; or another, of several engraved lines going in various directions which seemingly stand for an anthropomorph (or human-like creature).
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:10
Name of source: TimesOf Malta.com
SOURCE: TimesOf Malta.com (10-10-09)
Studies are underway on two tombs believed to be 5000 years old, which have been discovered in an excavation site in Kercem, Gozo.
The tombs were unearthed during extension works at the parish priest's house, which lies adjacent to the parish church. Pottery recovered so far place the origins of tombs in the Tarxien phase of Maltese prehistory, currently dated to about 3000-2500 BC. The excavations are being carried out by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage under the direction of Anthony Pace.
The Department of Information said the rock-cut tombs lay undisturbed for almost 5000 years. They may have been first encountered during the construction of Kercem parish church, between 1846-51, which involved extensive quarrying. However the tombs did not draw any further attention and went unnoticed for another 163 years until the present development.
The tombs were unearthed during extension works at the parish priest's house, which lies adjacent to the parish church. Pottery recovered so far place the origins of tombs in the Tarxien phase of Maltese prehistory, currently dated to about 3000-2500 BC. The excavations are being carried out by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage under the direction of Anthony Pace.
The Department of Information said the rock-cut tombs lay undisturbed for almost 5000 years. They may have been first encountered during the construction of Kercem parish church, between 1846-51, which involved extensive quarrying. However the tombs did not draw any further attention and went unnoticed for another 163 years until the present development.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:08
Name of source: Archaeo News
SOURCE: Archaeo News (10-11-09)
The rescue operation of the Kolikho dolmen (located in the Tuapse region on the Black Sea coast, Russia) has been completed successfully. The dolmen was found by accident after the seasonal flood in 2008. It was buried beneath 3 m-thick river deposits and left untouched since the Bronze Age. This is the first case in Caucasian archaeology.
The burial chamber was full of partly disarticulated human remains. All of them were put in the chamber through the hole in the façade slab. Radiocarbon dates of human remains (72 persons) covers the period between 1800 and 1300 BCE with no signs of chronological gaps. In other word, the dolmen was in use for about 500 years.
The grave goods complex is small and consists of pottery, bronze javelin head, bronze spiral earring, bone belt buckle, few stone flakes and a sandstone disk with carvings on both sides. On one side of the disk are somewhat 'astral' symbols, while on the other side are possibly marks of calibration near the rim of the disk. The sandstone disk looks like a sort of device or the Caucasian version of the Nebra disk.
The burial chamber was full of partly disarticulated human remains. All of them were put in the chamber through the hole in the façade slab. Radiocarbon dates of human remains (72 persons) covers the period between 1800 and 1300 BCE with no signs of chronological gaps. In other word, the dolmen was in use for about 500 years.
The grave goods complex is small and consists of pottery, bronze javelin head, bronze spiral earring, bone belt buckle, few stone flakes and a sandstone disk with carvings on both sides. On one side of the disk are somewhat 'astral' symbols, while on the other side are possibly marks of calibration near the rim of the disk. The sandstone disk looks like a sort of device or the Caucasian version of the Nebra disk.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:06
Name of source: KITV.com
SOURCE: KITV.com (10-10-09)
Hundreds of people from Hawaii journeyed to Rome for the ceremony.
St. Peter's Square was packed with thousands of people for the canonization and Sunday mass from via della Conciliazione at the entrance to the piazza to the dome.
More than 500 Hawaii people were in St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica for the canonization mass. The mass was moved into the basilica because off rain.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka also attended the ceremony as a representative of the state and the country.
It has been 120 years since Saint Damien, who gave his life to comfort and care for the forgotten patients of Molokai, died from Hansen's disease.
St. Peter's Square was packed with thousands of people for the canonization and Sunday mass from via della Conciliazione at the entrance to the piazza to the dome.
More than 500 Hawaii people were in St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica for the canonization mass. The mass was moved into the basilica because off rain.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka also attended the ceremony as a representative of the state and the country.
It has been 120 years since Saint Damien, who gave his life to comfort and care for the forgotten patients of Molokai, died from Hansen's disease.
Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 22:04
