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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: NYT
SOURCE: NYT (3-20-11)
John Randel Jr., the secretary, surveyor and chief engineer for New York City’s street commissioners, was hardly the most popular public servant of his day.
Beginning in 1808, Randel and his colleagues were pelted with artichokes and cabbages; arrested by the sheriff for trespassing (and often bailed out by Richard Varick, a former mayor); sued for damages after pruning trees; and attacked by dogs sicced on them by property owners irate at the prospect of streets’ being plowed through their properties (“many of whose descendants have been made rich thereby,” Randel noted later).
Randel had the unenviable task of meticulously drafting and executing the street grid plan for Manhattan, which, the commissioners concluded, “appeared to be the best; or, in other and more popular terms, attended with the least inconvenience.”...
Beginning in 1808, Randel and his colleagues were pelted with artichokes and cabbages; arrested by the sheriff for trespassing (and often bailed out by Richard Varick, a former mayor); sued for damages after pruning trees; and attacked by dogs sicced on them by property owners irate at the prospect of streets’ being plowed through their properties (“many of whose descendants have been made rich thereby,” Randel noted later).
Randel had the unenviable task of meticulously drafting and executing the street grid plan for Manhattan, which, the commissioners concluded, “appeared to be the best; or, in other and more popular terms, attended with the least inconvenience.”...
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 15:44
Comments
SOURCE: NYT (3-23-11)
SIOUX COUNTY, Iowa — In the 1970s, the divorce rate was so low in this rural northwest Iowa County that it resembled the rest of America in the 1910s. Most of its 28,000 residents were churchgoers, few of its women were in the work force, and divorce was simply not done.
So it is a bitter mark of modernity that even here, divorce has swept in, up nearly sevenfold since 1970, giving the county the unwelcome distinction of being a standout in this category of census data....
The reason can be traced to Sioux County’s roots. About 80 percent of residents, most of whom are descendants of Dutch immigrants, belong to a major denomination church, compared with 36 percent of all Americans.
Its main city, Sioux Center, issued its first liquor license in the late 1970s. Stores were closed on Sundays for decades, and women’s participation in the work force was far below the national average.
Very few people divorced. In 1980, there were more than 52 married people for every divorced person, according to census data, a rate not seen on a national level since the 1930s....
Maria Kefalas, a sociology professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and co-author of “Hollowing Out the Middle,” a 2009 book about the migration of the educated class from rural Iowa, said that changes in families have been profound. She noted that the alarm sounded by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1965 about the rise of out-of-wedlock births among African-Americans applies to the country as a whole today: One in three babies is born to unmarried parents....
So it is a bitter mark of modernity that even here, divorce has swept in, up nearly sevenfold since 1970, giving the county the unwelcome distinction of being a standout in this category of census data....
The reason can be traced to Sioux County’s roots. About 80 percent of residents, most of whom are descendants of Dutch immigrants, belong to a major denomination church, compared with 36 percent of all Americans.
Its main city, Sioux Center, issued its first liquor license in the late 1970s. Stores were closed on Sundays for decades, and women’s participation in the work force was far below the national average.
Very few people divorced. In 1980, there were more than 52 married people for every divorced person, according to census data, a rate not seen on a national level since the 1930s....
Maria Kefalas, a sociology professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and co-author of “Hollowing Out the Middle,” a 2009 book about the migration of the educated class from rural Iowa, said that changes in families have been profound. She noted that the alarm sounded by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1965 about the rise of out-of-wedlock births among African-Americans applies to the country as a whole today: One in three babies is born to unmarried parents....
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 09:50
SOURCE: NYT (3-22-11)
Fifth Avenue, the glittering central spine of Manhattan, is the undisputed divider of the city’s famous street grid: east of Fifth is East, and west of Fifth is West. Been that way since 1838.
So when Scott M. Stringer, the borough president of Manhattan, was walking along Fifth Avenue by Central Park this week, he noticed something peculiar: every bus stop sign on the sidewalk seemed to be wrong.
A stop across the avenue from East 84th Street was identified as “5 Avenue & West 84 St.” Same for the stop at Fifth Avenue and “West” 72nd Street. The peculiar signage continued all along the length of the park.
Mr. Stringer, who deemed the signs misleading, sent a stern note on Tuesday to the city’s Transportation Department, demanding that the apparent errors be fixed.
It is unclear, however, whether the signs are in error at all.
Since these signs sit on the west side of Fifth Avenue, they are technically in the western zone of the street grid. So can West 84th Street exist on the west side of Fifth Avenue, even if the street itself begins on the other side of Central Park?
The answer, steeped in the arcane history of New York’s streetscape, is hazy, even among historians. But the dispute points to the prevailing mysteries of Manhattan’s street grid, which, despite celebrating its 200th birthday on Tuesday, can continue to flummox....
So when Scott M. Stringer, the borough president of Manhattan, was walking along Fifth Avenue by Central Park this week, he noticed something peculiar: every bus stop sign on the sidewalk seemed to be wrong.
A stop across the avenue from East 84th Street was identified as “5 Avenue & West 84 St.” Same for the stop at Fifth Avenue and “West” 72nd Street. The peculiar signage continued all along the length of the park.
Mr. Stringer, who deemed the signs misleading, sent a stern note on Tuesday to the city’s Transportation Department, demanding that the apparent errors be fixed.
It is unclear, however, whether the signs are in error at all.
Since these signs sit on the west side of Fifth Avenue, they are technically in the western zone of the street grid. So can West 84th Street exist on the west side of Fifth Avenue, even if the street itself begins on the other side of Central Park?
The answer, steeped in the arcane history of New York’s streetscape, is hazy, even among historians. But the dispute points to the prevailing mysteries of Manhattan’s street grid, which, despite celebrating its 200th birthday on Tuesday, can continue to flummox....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 20:38
SOURCE: NYT (3-22-11)
One hundred years after the Triangle Waist Company fire, the fashion that employed small armies of seamstresses at the turn of the last century endures.
The American shirtwaist was a trend that, quite literally, had legs. This brash but sensible pairing of tailored shirt and skirt offered a glimpse of the ankles, which was as rare in its day as it was freeing.
Designed for utility, the style was embraced at the turn of the 20th century by legions of young women who preferred its hiked hemline and unfettered curves to the confining, street-sweeping dresses that had hobbled their mothers and aunts.
Few looks have been as versatile — or as egalitarian — adapting through the decades to all sorts of shifting conditions and sociopolitical landscapes.
And few have so nimbly walked the line between function and frivolity....
The American shirtwaist was a trend that, quite literally, had legs. This brash but sensible pairing of tailored shirt and skirt offered a glimpse of the ankles, which was as rare in its day as it was freeing.
Designed for utility, the style was embraced at the turn of the 20th century by legions of young women who preferred its hiked hemline and unfettered curves to the confining, street-sweeping dresses that had hobbled their mothers and aunts.
Few looks have been as versatile — or as egalitarian — adapting through the decades to all sorts of shifting conditions and sociopolitical landscapes.
And few have so nimbly walked the line between function and frivolity....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 13:00
SOURCE: NYT (3-22-11)
Laying bare the country’s most startling example of modern urban collapse, census data on Tuesday showed that Detroit’s population had plunged by 25 percent over the last decade. It was dramatic testimony to the crumbling industrial base of the Midwest, black flight to the suburbs and the tenuous future of what was once a thriving metropolis....
Nearly a century ago, the expansion of the auto industry fueled a growth spurt that made Detroit the fourth-largest city in the country by 1920, a place it held until 1950, when the population peaked at almost two million. By 2000, Detroit had fallen to 10th place.
Depending on final numbers from all cities, Detroit now may have dropped to 18th place, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution....
“This is the biggest loss of blacks the city has shown, and that’s tied to the foreclosures in the city’s housing,” Mr. Frey said. Because of the Great Migration — when blacks flowed from the South to the North — and the loss of whites, he said, “Detroit has been the most segregated city in the country and it is still pretty segregated, but not as much.” At one point, the city was 83 percent black....
Nearly a century ago, the expansion of the auto industry fueled a growth spurt that made Detroit the fourth-largest city in the country by 1920, a place it held until 1950, when the population peaked at almost two million. By 2000, Detroit had fallen to 10th place.
Depending on final numbers from all cities, Detroit now may have dropped to 18th place, said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution....
“This is the biggest loss of blacks the city has shown, and that’s tied to the foreclosures in the city’s housing,” Mr. Frey said. Because of the Great Migration — when blacks flowed from the South to the North — and the loss of whites, he said, “Detroit has been the most segregated city in the country and it is still pretty segregated, but not as much.” At one point, the city was 83 percent black....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 12:59
SOURCE: NYT (3-22-11)
HENDERSON, Nev. — Tom Stevens sat at a Starbucks in this Las Vegas suburb and watched his grandfather, Babe Ruth, cavort across the computer screen.
“I haven’t seen anything like that,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that there isn’t other stuff out there, but I haven’t seen it.”
There are so few moving images of Babe Ruth that even Major League Baseball’s monstrous archive contains less than an hour’s worth. The bulk of Ruth footage may, in fact, still be buried in basements or stashed in attics.
One recent discovery, from a cellar in Illinois, might be unlike any other, showing Ruth in his prime and shot from close range, sitting atop a pony while wearing a child’s cowboy hat and muttering into a home movie camera, as a boyish Lou Gehrig, who never had children and was known for his dignified demeanor, held children and framed his smile with big dimples....
“I haven’t seen anything like that,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that there isn’t other stuff out there, but I haven’t seen it.”
There are so few moving images of Babe Ruth that even Major League Baseball’s monstrous archive contains less than an hour’s worth. The bulk of Ruth footage may, in fact, still be buried in basements or stashed in attics.
One recent discovery, from a cellar in Illinois, might be unlike any other, showing Ruth in his prime and shot from close range, sitting atop a pony while wearing a child’s cowboy hat and muttering into a home movie camera, as a boyish Lou Gehrig, who never had children and was known for his dignified demeanor, held children and framed his smile with big dimples....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 12:55
SOURCE: NYT (3-21-11)
Some history is in order.
In the late 1850s, an architect whose name is lost in the mists of time designed a five-story building at 45-47 Park Place, in the neighborhood now called TriBeCa.
Leap forward to 1989. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission considered designating the building a landmark, but saw no reason to take action. If any New Yorkers felt that an injustice had been done, they kept it to themselves for many years....
In 2009, the building was bought by a real estate developer who intended to turn the site into an Islamic community center and mosque. His plans inflamed passions among those who were appalled that anything Islamic would rise near the trade center. (Never mind that hundreds of Muslims, without anyone saying so much as boo in protest, were already praying on Fridays inside the shuttered building.)
Suddenly, for some people, 45-47 Park Place became not just another building that they had long ignored. They declared it to be part of ground zero. Dozens of other structures in Lower Manhattan had also been damaged by debris from the twin towers and the airplanes-cum-missiles that had destroyed them. Yet it was the Park Place building that all of a sudden came to be described with words like “sacred” and “hallowed.”...
In the late 1850s, an architect whose name is lost in the mists of time designed a five-story building at 45-47 Park Place, in the neighborhood now called TriBeCa.
Leap forward to 1989. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission considered designating the building a landmark, but saw no reason to take action. If any New Yorkers felt that an injustice had been done, they kept it to themselves for many years....
In 2009, the building was bought by a real estate developer who intended to turn the site into an Islamic community center and mosque. His plans inflamed passions among those who were appalled that anything Islamic would rise near the trade center. (Never mind that hundreds of Muslims, without anyone saying so much as boo in protest, were already praying on Fridays inside the shuttered building.)
Suddenly, for some people, 45-47 Park Place became not just another building that they had long ignored. They declared it to be part of ground zero. Dozens of other structures in Lower Manhattan had also been damaged by debris from the twin towers and the airplanes-cum-missiles that had destroyed them. Yet it was the Park Place building that all of a sudden came to be described with words like “sacred” and “hallowed.”...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 13:38
SOURCE: NYT (3-21-11)
Supreme Court arguments often concern not just the narrow issue in the case but also the implications of a ruling. You sometimes catch the justices squinting, trying to see over the legal horizon.
Nine years ago, for instance, the court heard arguments in a case about whether Congress was free to add 20 years of copyright protection for works that had not yet entered the public domain.
Several justices asked about a different and even tougher question: Was Congress also free to restore copyright protection to works that had entered the public domain and become public property?
“If Congress tomorrow wants to give a copyright to a publisher solely for the purpose of publishing and disseminating Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, it can do it?” Justice Stephen G. Breyer asked a lawyer for the government....
This month, the court agreed to hear a case on the question Justices Breyer and Souter anticipated, one that will test whether there is indeed a constitutional line Congress may not cross when it comes to the public domain.
The new case asks whether Congress acted constitutionally in 1994 by restoring copyrights in foreign works that had belonged to the public, including films by Alfred Hitchcock and Federico Fellini, books by C. S. Lewis and Virginia Woolf, symphonies by Prokofiev and Stravinsky and paintings by Picasso, including “Guernica.”...
Nine years ago, for instance, the court heard arguments in a case about whether Congress was free to add 20 years of copyright protection for works that had not yet entered the public domain.
Several justices asked about a different and even tougher question: Was Congress also free to restore copyright protection to works that had entered the public domain and become public property?
“If Congress tomorrow wants to give a copyright to a publisher solely for the purpose of publishing and disseminating Ben Jonson, Shakespeare, it can do it?” Justice Stephen G. Breyer asked a lawyer for the government....
This month, the court agreed to hear a case on the question Justices Breyer and Souter anticipated, one that will test whether there is indeed a constitutional line Congress may not cross when it comes to the public domain.
The new case asks whether Congress acted constitutionally in 1994 by restoring copyrights in foreign works that had belonged to the public, including films by Alfred Hitchcock and Federico Fellini, books by C. S. Lewis and Virginia Woolf, symphonies by Prokofiev and Stravinsky and paintings by Picasso, including “Guernica.”...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 08:22
SOURCE: NYT (3-21-11)
Morton Sobell, who was convicted with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1951 in an espionage conspiracy case and finally admitted nearly six decades later that he had been a Soviet spy, now says he helped copy hundreds of pages of secret Air Force documents stolen from a Columbia University professor’s safe in 1948.
According to an article by two cold war historians, Ronald Radosh and Steven T. Usdin, in The Weekly Standard, Mr. Sobell, who is 93, said in an interview last December that he, Julius Rosenberg, William Perl and an unidentified fourth man spent a weekend, probably Independence Day, frantically copying the classified documents in a Greenwich Village apartment before they were missed.
That Monday, Mr. Sobell is quoted as saying, he and Mr. Rosenberg filled a box with canisters of 35-millimeter film and delivered it to Soviet agents on a Long Island Rail Road platform.
According to an article by two cold war historians, Ronald Radosh and Steven T. Usdin, in The Weekly Standard, Mr. Sobell, who is 93, said in an interview last December that he, Julius Rosenberg, William Perl and an unidentified fourth man spent a weekend, probably Independence Day, frantically copying the classified documents in a Greenwich Village apartment before they were missed.
That Monday, Mr. Sobell is quoted as saying, he and Mr. Rosenberg filled a box with canisters of 35-millimeter film and delivered it to Soviet agents on a Long Island Rail Road platform.
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 14:16
Name of source: Cincinnati
SOURCE: Cincinnati (3-24-11)
Damage caused by vandals at the Harrison Tomb last week will be repaired quickly, according to officials from the Ohio Historical Society.
The Harrison Tomb is the final resting place of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States of America. His family is also buried in the mausoleum within the tomb. The memorial on Cliff Road is a 60-foot marble obelisk in a 14-acre park.
On March 17, Bev Meyers, a member of the Harrison-Symmes Memorial Foundation, discovered damage to the balustrade near the tomb’s entrance.
Meyers, who is also the vice mayor of Cleves, said she contacted the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and that agency is conducting the investigation into the damage at the memorial. She said the damage occurred between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
The Ohio Historical Society owns the tomb, and has a fund set aside to pay for minor repairs to state monuments, according to George Kane, director of historic sites and facilities for the OHS....
The Harrison Tomb is the final resting place of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States of America. His family is also buried in the mausoleum within the tomb. The memorial on Cliff Road is a 60-foot marble obelisk in a 14-acre park.
On March 17, Bev Meyers, a member of the Harrison-Symmes Memorial Foundation, discovered damage to the balustrade near the tomb’s entrance.
Meyers, who is also the vice mayor of Cleves, said she contacted the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and that agency is conducting the investigation into the damage at the memorial. She said the damage occurred between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, March 17.
The Ohio Historical Society owns the tomb, and has a fund set aside to pay for minor repairs to state monuments, according to George Kane, director of historic sites and facilities for the OHS....
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 11:48
Name of source: BBC
SOURCE: BBC (3-24-11)
British observational documentary maker Richard Leacock, who filmed John F Kennedy on his 1960 presidential campaign, has died at the age of 89.
Leacock, a pioneer of unobtrusive camera technique Cinema Verite, died at his home in Paris on Wednesday.
He solved the puzzle of how to sync speech and video by inventing a system using US-made Bulova watches.
His work on films like the 1960 Kennedy film Primary paved the way for new wave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard....
Leacock, a pioneer of unobtrusive camera technique Cinema Verite, died at his home in Paris on Wednesday.
He solved the puzzle of how to sync speech and video by inventing a system using US-made Bulova watches.
His work on films like the 1960 Kennedy film Primary paved the way for new wave directors such as Jean-Luc Godard....
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 11:37
SOURCE: BBC (3-23-11)
Bolivia has said it will take Chile to international courts to try to recover access to the Pacific Ocean, which it lost in a war 132 years ago.
President Evo Morales said Chile had failed to respond to a deadline he had set for progress in negotiations.
He said Bolivia would continue dialogue with Chile while seeking a legal solution to its landlocked status.
Bolivia's loss of the sea was an "open wound" that must be healed, he added.
Mr Morales was speaking on Bolivia's "Day of the Sea", when it commemorates its defeat by Chile in the 19th Century War of the Pacific....
President Evo Morales said Chile had failed to respond to a deadline he had set for progress in negotiations.
He said Bolivia would continue dialogue with Chile while seeking a legal solution to its landlocked status.
Bolivia's loss of the sea was an "open wound" that must be healed, he added.
Mr Morales was speaking on Bolivia's "Day of the Sea", when it commemorates its defeat by Chile in the 19th Century War of the Pacific....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 20:32
SOURCE: BBC (3-23-11)
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has said he will formally ask the US for classified intelligence documents on human rights violations during the rule of Gen Augusto Pinochet.
Mr Pinera was speaking a day after US President Barack Obama said he would consider any Chilean requests.
Mr Obama - who was visiting Chile - ducked a request that he apologise for US support for Gen Pinochet.
More than 3,000 Chileans were killed under military rule in 1973-90.
More than 1,000 human rights cases are still unresolved, and hundreds are being investigated by Chile's independent judiciary....
Mr Pinera was speaking a day after US President Barack Obama said he would consider any Chilean requests.
Mr Obama - who was visiting Chile - ducked a request that he apologise for US support for Gen Pinochet.
More than 3,000 Chileans were killed under military rule in 1973-90.
More than 1,000 human rights cases are still unresolved, and hundreds are being investigated by Chile's independent judiciary....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 20:31
SOURCE: BBC (3-22-11)
German prosecutors have called for a six-year jail term for John Demjanjuk, saying there is "no reasonable doubt" that he participated in the Nazi slaughter of Jews in World War II.
The 90-year-old is accused of having helped to murder 27,900 Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943.
A verdict is expected in May. Mr Demjanjuk denies the charges.
Born in Ukraine, he was extradited to Germany from the US in 2009.
The prosecution alleges that he was among Ukrainian guards called "Trawniki" - Soviet prisoners-of-war recruited by the SS to help murder Jews at the death camps....
The 90-year-old is accused of having helped to murder 27,900 Jews at the Sobibor death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943.
A verdict is expected in May. Mr Demjanjuk denies the charges.
Born in Ukraine, he was extradited to Germany from the US in 2009.
The prosecution alleges that he was among Ukrainian guards called "Trawniki" - Soviet prisoners-of-war recruited by the SS to help murder Jews at the death camps....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 23:10
SOURCE: BBC (3-22-11)
An archaeologist believes he has discovered the remains of a Roman quarry in the old harbour at Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Karl-James Langford says the pottery find reinforces his belief that beach man-made walls may be 1,900 years old.
The quarry was operational until the 19th Century but its origins were unknown.
He believes the quarry to be the source of limestone used for the Roman fort whose remains can be seen in the walls around Cardiff Castle, although historical records do not mention such a quarry....
Karl-James Langford says the pottery find reinforces his belief that beach man-made walls may be 1,900 years old.
The quarry was operational until the 19th Century but its origins were unknown.
He believes the quarry to be the source of limestone used for the Roman fort whose remains can be seen in the walls around Cardiff Castle, although historical records do not mention such a quarry....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 23:08
SOURCE: BBC (3-22-11)
An investigation ordered by the Ulster Museum has quashed speculation that an Old Master hanging in Belfast was part of a haul looted by Nazis.
A Dutch art historian was called in to carry out an inquiry into the history of the ownership of the painting.
The Ulster Museum bought the painting in 1966 for £9,000. But in recent years, questions began to surface about the provenance of the masterpiece when it was linked to the Dutch Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker.
The painting was mentioned in an inventory notebook that Mr Goudstikker carried with him when he died fleeing Nazi-occupied Holland in 1940....
A Dutch art historian was called in to carry out an inquiry into the history of the ownership of the painting.
The Ulster Museum bought the painting in 1966 for £9,000. But in recent years, questions began to surface about the provenance of the masterpiece when it was linked to the Dutch Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker.
The painting was mentioned in an inventory notebook that Mr Goudstikker carried with him when he died fleeing Nazi-occupied Holland in 1940....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 23:07
SOURCE: BBC (3-22-11)
A unique image, for the first time, has mapped organic compounds that are still surviving in a 50-million-year-old sample of reptile skin.
The infra-red picture reveals the chemical profile of the skin, offering an insight into how it was preserved.
A team of UK scientists say the sample was so well preserved that it was hard to tell the difference between the fossil and the fresh samples.
The details appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B....
The infra-red picture reveals the chemical profile of the skin, offering an insight into how it was preserved.
A team of UK scientists say the sample was so well preserved that it was hard to tell the difference between the fossil and the fresh samples.
The details appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 23:02
SOURCE: BBC (3-21-11)
Beavers are to be re-introduced to the Welsh countryside for the first time in at least 900 years.
Ceredigion-based Wales Wild Land Foundation will create an enclosed habitat for a pair of European beavers at Artist's Valley, near Machynlleth.
Beavers lived in Wales until the 12th Century and the rest of Britain until the 16th Century but were hunted to extinction.
Gerald of Wales reported in 1188 that by then the river Teifi was its only habitat in Wales.
Scotland managed to hang onto its beavers - the last in the UK - until the 1600s and by the beginning of the 20th Century only a few colonies remained across Europe.
Successful reintroduction programmes have taken place in Scotland during the last few years....
Ceredigion-based Wales Wild Land Foundation will create an enclosed habitat for a pair of European beavers at Artist's Valley, near Machynlleth.
Beavers lived in Wales until the 12th Century and the rest of Britain until the 16th Century but were hunted to extinction.
Gerald of Wales reported in 1188 that by then the river Teifi was its only habitat in Wales.
Scotland managed to hang onto its beavers - the last in the UK - until the 1600s and by the beginning of the 20th Century only a few colonies remained across Europe.
Successful reintroduction programmes have taken place in Scotland during the last few years....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:46
SOURCE: BBC (3-21-11)
He is the new chaplain of the Titanic Quarter. His parish is forever linked with a name that is an international by-word for catastrophe.
But Church of Ireland minister Chris Bennett's enthusiasm is unsinkable.
His parish is a building site on the edges of east Belfast - one of Europe's biggest water regenerations projects.
It is the place where the great ship was built and launched, only to hit an iceberg and sink on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912 with the loss of 1,517 lives.
Now, looming over the old Harland & Wolff shipyard, there is a new £5m White Star House - named after the shipping line that launched Titanic.
There are £1bn plans for a visitors' centre, hotel, business space, a film studio and thousands of homes....
But Church of Ireland minister Chris Bennett's enthusiasm is unsinkable.
His parish is a building site on the edges of east Belfast - one of Europe's biggest water regenerations projects.
It is the place where the great ship was built and launched, only to hit an iceberg and sink on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912 with the loss of 1,517 lives.
Now, looming over the old Harland & Wolff shipyard, there is a new £5m White Star House - named after the shipping line that launched Titanic.
There are £1bn plans for a visitors' centre, hotel, business space, a film studio and thousands of homes....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:44
SOURCE: BBC (3-20-11)
Scotland's five world heritage sites are to link up in a series of interactive events exploring the theme of cultural identity.
The events will be part of the World Heritage Day celebrations on 18 April.
Edinburgh Old and New Town, New Lanark, Heart of Neolithic Orkney, The Antonine Wall and St Kilda will all participate.
The project is entitled 'Shadows of our Ancestors' and will see special events at each of the five sites.
At the Antonine Wall - in the grounds of Callendar House in Falkirk - a light installation and soundscape will recreate the effect of a Roman encampment....
The events will be part of the World Heritage Day celebrations on 18 April.
Edinburgh Old and New Town, New Lanark, Heart of Neolithic Orkney, The Antonine Wall and St Kilda will all participate.
The project is entitled 'Shadows of our Ancestors' and will see special events at each of the five sites.
At the Antonine Wall - in the grounds of Callendar House in Falkirk - a light installation and soundscape will recreate the effect of a Roman encampment....
Sunday, March 20, 2011 - 22:54
SOURCE: BBC (3-20-11)
An experiment has shed light on how Iron Age people communicated from their hilltop homes 2,500 years ago.
About 200 volunteers stood on the summit of 10 hillforts in north Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire, and signalled to each other with torches.
Their aim was to learn if communities used the summits to warn each other.
Saturday night's Hilltop Glow event was rescheduled after December's severe weather.
The ancient sites used were on the Clwydian Range; Halkyn Mountain, near Holywell, Flintshire; a lowland site at Wirral; and the Sandstone Ridge, Cheshire.
Beacon fires have previously used on hilltops around the UK to mark the Queen's golden and silver jubilees....
About 200 volunteers stood on the summit of 10 hillforts in north Wales, the Wirral and Cheshire, and signalled to each other with torches.
Their aim was to learn if communities used the summits to warn each other.
Saturday night's Hilltop Glow event was rescheduled after December's severe weather.
The ancient sites used were on the Clwydian Range; Halkyn Mountain, near Holywell, Flintshire; a lowland site at Wirral; and the Sandstone Ridge, Cheshire.
Beacon fires have previously used on hilltops around the UK to mark the Queen's golden and silver jubilees....
Sunday, March 20, 2011 - 22:52
Name of source: AP
SOURCE: AP (3-24-11)
The spokesman for the Norwegian Nobel Committee says the panel is very concerned over the lack of information about Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Chinese dissident awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year.
Permanent Secretary Geir Lundestad says the committee hasn't received any updates about Liu's whereabouts or wellbeing since October, when the prize was announced and Liu's wife went to visit him in prison.
Liu won the prize for his nonviolent struggle for human rights in his homeland. The award infuriated Beijing, which accused the Nobel committee of honoring a criminal....
Permanent Secretary Geir Lundestad says the committee hasn't received any updates about Liu's whereabouts or wellbeing since October, when the prize was announced and Liu's wife went to visit him in prison.
Liu won the prize for his nonviolent struggle for human rights in his homeland. The award infuriated Beijing, which accused the Nobel committee of honoring a criminal....
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 11:31
SOURCE: AP (3-22-11)
A fire has ripped through a two-century-old theater in northern Paris said to be a birthplace of French cabaret-style cancan dancing.
The blaze gutted the building whose internal structural supports were designed by Gustave Eiffel, famed for the Eiffel Tower.
The fire at the the Elysee Montmartre theater spewed plumes of smoke over the Montmartre neighborhood that is also home to the Moulin Rouge cabaret....
The blaze gutted the building whose internal structural supports were designed by Gustave Eiffel, famed for the Eiffel Tower.
The fire at the the Elysee Montmartre theater spewed plumes of smoke over the Montmartre neighborhood that is also home to the Moulin Rouge cabaret....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 22:49
SOURCE: AP (3-22-11)
President Barack Obama stood, eyes closed, in a personal moment of silence before the tomb of slain Roman Catholic Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, whose fight for the poor during El Salvador's bloody civil war made him a national hero — and an international figure in human rights.
The visit Tuesday in the final hours of Obama's five-day swing through Latin America was a symbolic gesture that some called U.S. recognition of Romero's cause.
Obama toured the national cathedral with Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar Alas, the current archbishop, and paid respects to a man ordered killed 31 years ago by an official in El Salvador's U.S.-backed army....
The visit Tuesday in the final hours of Obama's five-day swing through Latin America was a symbolic gesture that some called U.S. recognition of Romero's cause.
Obama toured the national cathedral with Monsignor Jose Luis Escobar Alas, the current archbishop, and paid respects to a man ordered killed 31 years ago by an official in El Salvador's U.S.-backed army....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 22:46
SOURCE: AP (3-22-11)
Frank Neuhauser, who in 1925 won the first national spelling bee with the word "gladiolus," and went on to become a patent lawyer, has died. He was 97.
Neuhauser died March 11 in his home Silver Spring, Md., home, Francis J. Collins Funeral Home verified on Tuesday.
He was 11 years old when he won the championship. His prizes included $500 in gold and a trip to the White House to meet President Calvin Coolidge....
Neuhauser died March 11 in his home Silver Spring, Md., home, Francis J. Collins Funeral Home verified on Tuesday.
He was 11 years old when he won the championship. His prizes included $500 in gold and a trip to the White House to meet President Calvin Coolidge....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 22:38
SOURCE: AP (3-21-11)
For Andrew Carroll and Thomas Smith, two North Texas sixth-graders, the adventure began when they found a bone while exploring a creek southeast of Sherman.
"We all got excited because I knew it was too big to be a cow bone, so we knew it was a dinosaur bone," Andrew said of himself and his Pottsboro Middle School classmate.
What it was, once the Dallas Paleontological Society investigated. The bone was a pelvis of a Columbian mammoth, one of the two largest species of mammoth.
"This area is a fossil gold mine," society member Ed Swiatovy of Sherman told the Herald Democrat of Sherman and Denison for a story in Sunday editions. "At one time, it was under an inland sea. When it came to the end of the dinosaurs, when mammals took over, this area was grass plains and woodlands -- everything that mammals like. This area has always been conducive to marine or mammal life forms."...
"We all got excited because I knew it was too big to be a cow bone, so we knew it was a dinosaur bone," Andrew said of himself and his Pottsboro Middle School classmate.
What it was, once the Dallas Paleontological Society investigated. The bone was a pelvis of a Columbian mammoth, one of the two largest species of mammoth.
"This area is a fossil gold mine," society member Ed Swiatovy of Sherman told the Herald Democrat of Sherman and Denison for a story in Sunday editions. "At one time, it was under an inland sea. When it came to the end of the dinosaurs, when mammals took over, this area was grass plains and woodlands -- everything that mammals like. This area has always been conducive to marine or mammal life forms."...
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:00
Name of source: CNN
SOURCE: CNN (3-24-11)
An Argentine Dirty War-era general has been sentenced to life in prison for the killing of five people during the dictatorship.
Luciano Benjamin Menendez, former head of the Third Army Corps, was already serving a life sentence for violating the human rights of four others.
A panel of judges on the Argentine court handed down the sentence Wednesday.
Sentenced along with Menendez was former policeman Roberto Heriberto Albornoz, who was also sent to prison for life.
Up to 30,000 students, labor leaders, intellectuals and leftists who ran afoul of the dictatorship because of their political views disappeared or were held in secret jails and torture centers during the nation's eight-year Dirty War.
Menendez's most recent trial stems from an army and police assault on a home in Tucuman province on May 20, 1976, according to Argentina's Center for Judicial Information....
Luciano Benjamin Menendez, former head of the Third Army Corps, was already serving a life sentence for violating the human rights of four others.
A panel of judges on the Argentine court handed down the sentence Wednesday.
Sentenced along with Menendez was former policeman Roberto Heriberto Albornoz, who was also sent to prison for life.
Up to 30,000 students, labor leaders, intellectuals and leftists who ran afoul of the dictatorship because of their political views disappeared or were held in secret jails and torture centers during the nation's eight-year Dirty War.
Menendez's most recent trial stems from an army and police assault on a home in Tucuman province on May 20, 1976, according to Argentina's Center for Judicial Information....
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 11:27
SOURCE: CNN (3-22-11)
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro said Tuesday he resigned as the head of the Communist Party five years ago and has never tried to resume the post -- one that he was thought to still hold.
It was the first time that the 84-year-old leader of Cuba's revolution stated so directly that he no longer heads up the party he founded.
Cubans and foreign observers had believed that the head of the Communist Party was the one title that Castro still held after he was forced to cede power to his younger brother, Raul Castro, due to a health emergency caused by intestinal problems.
Cuba plans to hold its first Communist Party Congress in almost 14 years next month.
Raul Castro has stressed that the focus of the meeting will be sweeping economic changes to the Soviet-style economy. But there was intense speculation that the elder Castro would step down as the head of the party during the event, and his brother would move into the role....
It was the first time that the 84-year-old leader of Cuba's revolution stated so directly that he no longer heads up the party he founded.
Cubans and foreign observers had believed that the head of the Communist Party was the one title that Castro still held after he was forced to cede power to his younger brother, Raul Castro, due to a health emergency caused by intestinal problems.
Cuba plans to hold its first Communist Party Congress in almost 14 years next month.
Raul Castro has stressed that the focus of the meeting will be sweeping economic changes to the Soviet-style economy. But there was intense speculation that the elder Castro would step down as the head of the party during the event, and his brother would move into the role....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 22:33
SOURCE: CNN (3-22-11)
Grammy-winning blues pianist Willie "Pinetop" Perkins died at his home in Austin, Texas, Monday, his official website said.
He was 97.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce Pinetop Perkins passed away," the web page said.
The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award winner scored solo success late in his seven-decade-long career, releasing 14 albums between 1988 and 2010. He was the oldest person ever awarded a Grammy.
Before Perkins stepped into the spotlight, he played in Muddy Waters' band for 12 years, starting in the late 1960s.
"In 1980, Pinetop and other members of Muddy's crew struck out on their own and formed the Legendary Blues Band," according to his online biography.
He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Mississippi, on July 7, 1913....
He was 97.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce Pinetop Perkins passed away," the web page said.
The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award winner scored solo success late in his seven-decade-long career, releasing 14 albums between 1988 and 2010. He was the oldest person ever awarded a Grammy.
Before Perkins stepped into the spotlight, he played in Muddy Waters' band for 12 years, starting in the late 1960s.
"In 1980, Pinetop and other members of Muddy's crew struck out on their own and formed the Legendary Blues Band," according to his online biography.
He was born Joe Willie Perkins in Belzoni, Mississippi, on July 7, 1913....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 09:51
SOURCE: CNN (3-21-11)
Though they sit quietly beneath the waves, shipwrecks are a cause of much wrangling above the surface. The issue of underwater archaeology is clouded by concerns about treasure hunting, the safety of wrecks, and the sale of finds.
A planned 2012 exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, featuring 9th century Chinese artifacts salvaged from a wreck in Indonesian waters in 1998 is at the center of the latest row.
Archaeologists within the institution -- and further afield -- are criticizing the curator's decision to mount the show and, in particular, questioning the nature of the original salvage.
Discovered off the coast of the island Belitung in the Java Sea by fishermen diving for sea cucumbers in 1998, the 9th century Arab dhow was a treasure trove of objects including glazed ceramics, and silver and gold wares.
The Indonesian government granted permission to a private German salvage company, Seabed Explorations GbR, to excavate the wreck using divers.
The collection of finds, which included 60,000 objects, was sold largely intact to Sentosa Leisure Group, a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, for $32 million, according to the Smithsonian....
A planned 2012 exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, featuring 9th century Chinese artifacts salvaged from a wreck in Indonesian waters in 1998 is at the center of the latest row.
Archaeologists within the institution -- and further afield -- are criticizing the curator's decision to mount the show and, in particular, questioning the nature of the original salvage.
Discovered off the coast of the island Belitung in the Java Sea by fishermen diving for sea cucumbers in 1998, the 9th century Arab dhow was a treasure trove of objects including glazed ceramics, and silver and gold wares.
The Indonesian government granted permission to a private German salvage company, Seabed Explorations GbR, to excavate the wreck using divers.
The collection of finds, which included 60,000 objects, was sold largely intact to Sentosa Leisure Group, a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, for $32 million, according to the Smithsonian....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:55
Name of source: NPR
SOURCE: NPR (3-22-11)
Among the casualties of Egypt's revolution are many of its famous historical sites and artifacts.
Vandalism and looting at these sites skyrocketed in the weeks after the Egyptian police force — including those responsible for tourism and antiquities — vanished from their posts.
Even now, as the security forces resume their duties, archaeologists and experts complain that far more needs to be done by Egypt's new government to protect the country's heritage.
Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum suffered some of the worst damage. It is home to famous ancient Egyptian artifacts like the golden mask of the boy King Tutankhamen.
Tourists, who are slowly returning, see few signs of the damage and looting that took place at the museum in late January. But the museum's deputy director, Mahmoud el Halwagi, says it feels like it happened yesterday. The veteran curator cringes when he recounts the events.
The ruling party's headquarters next door was set ablaze. Thousands of protesters flooded nearby Tahrir Square and clashed with the police. They, in turn, fled. Halwagi says the chaos provided the perfect cover for the thieves and vandals who climbed onto the museum roof....
Vandalism and looting at these sites skyrocketed in the weeks after the Egyptian police force — including those responsible for tourism and antiquities — vanished from their posts.
Even now, as the security forces resume their duties, archaeologists and experts complain that far more needs to be done by Egypt's new government to protect the country's heritage.
Cairo's famed Egyptian Museum suffered some of the worst damage. It is home to famous ancient Egyptian artifacts like the golden mask of the boy King Tutankhamen.
Tourists, who are slowly returning, see few signs of the damage and looting that took place at the museum in late January. But the museum's deputy director, Mahmoud el Halwagi, says it feels like it happened yesterday. The veteran curator cringes when he recounts the events.
The ruling party's headquarters next door was set ablaze. Thousands of protesters flooded nearby Tahrir Square and clashed with the police. They, in turn, fled. Halwagi says the chaos provided the perfect cover for the thieves and vandals who climbed onto the museum roof....
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 20:44
Name of source: BBC News
SOURCE: BBC News (3-23-11)
Dame Elizabeth Taylor, one of the 20th Century's biggest movie stars, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 79.
The double Oscar-winning actress had a long history of ill health and was being treated for symptoms of congestive heart failure.
Her four children were with her when she died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her publicist said.
In a statement, her son Michael Wilding called her "an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest".
"We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it," he continued.
"Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."...
The double Oscar-winning actress had a long history of ill health and was being treated for symptoms of congestive heart failure.
Her four children were with her when she died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her publicist said.
In a statement, her son Michael Wilding called her "an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest".
"We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it," he continued.
"Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 10:12
SOURCE: BBC News (3-21-11)
It was one of Northern Ireland's darkest days - the Belfast Blitz.
15 April 1941 was a night when nearly 1,000 people were killed during a sustained bombing campaign by the Germans.
The city was regarded as a legitimate target during World War II because of its shipyard and aircraft factory.
The night chosen by the bombers to carry out their deadly attack was Easter Tuesday 1941.
An air warden in Belfast that night said "The sirens started at quarter to eleven, and by eleven o'clock my team was on the street - that started six hours of horror, death and destruction."
For hours, hundreds of tons of high explosive bombs and incendiaries rained down on the city.
Around the targets in the docks area were crowded terraced houses. Back-to-back streets of industrial squalor, the housing of those who worked in the factories and mills....
15 April 1941 was a night when nearly 1,000 people were killed during a sustained bombing campaign by the Germans.
The city was regarded as a legitimate target during World War II because of its shipyard and aircraft factory.
The night chosen by the bombers to carry out their deadly attack was Easter Tuesday 1941.
An air warden in Belfast that night said "The sirens started at quarter to eleven, and by eleven o'clock my team was on the street - that started six hours of horror, death and destruction."
For hours, hundreds of tons of high explosive bombs and incendiaries rained down on the city.
Around the targets in the docks area were crowded terraced houses. Back-to-back streets of industrial squalor, the housing of those who worked in the factories and mills....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 09:59
SOURCE: BBC News (3-22-11)
Israel's former President Moshe Katsav has been jailed for seven years for rape and other sex offences.
He was convicted at an earlier hearing of raping an employee in the 1990s when he was tourism minister, and of later sexual offences while he was president.
The rape victim, known as Woman A, told the court he had first attacked her at the tourism ministry office, and later at a hotel in Jerusalem.
Katsav resigned from the largely ceremonial post of president in 2007.
He had initially agreed with prosecutors to plead guilty to sexual misconduct, avoiding more serious charges....
He was convicted at an earlier hearing of raping an employee in the 1990s when he was tourism minister, and of later sexual offences while he was president.
The rape victim, known as Woman A, told the court he had first attacked her at the tourism ministry office, and later at a hotel in Jerusalem.
Katsav resigned from the largely ceremonial post of president in 2007.
He had initially agreed with prosecutors to plead guilty to sexual misconduct, avoiding more serious charges....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 09:48
SOURCE: BBC News (3-21-11)
Twitter launched five years ago with the simple message "just setting up my twttr". In the same way, many technological breakthroughs that ultimately shaped the world began life, not with a fanfare of trumpets, but with a few humble words.
"Alright, so here we are in front of the elephants."
And so with great understatement, the first words were uttered on YouTube, in its first video posted in April 2005.
Me at the Zoo depicts co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo. And yes, he's in front of the elephants.
Six years, and billions of page views later, YouTube has become part of the media landscape, used by the Queen, world leaders and the owners of pets that do weird things.
If Karim knew back then how big his new venture would become, maybe he would have given that first video more of a sense of occasion. But maybe not. Every new phenomenon has to start somewhere, after all....
"Alright, so here we are in front of the elephants."
And so with great understatement, the first words were uttered on YouTube, in its first video posted in April 2005.
Me at the Zoo depicts co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo. And yes, he's in front of the elephants.
Six years, and billions of page views later, YouTube has become part of the media landscape, used by the Queen, world leaders and the owners of pets that do weird things.
If Karim knew back then how big his new venture would become, maybe he would have given that first video more of a sense of occasion. But maybe not. Every new phenomenon has to start somewhere, after all....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 09:43
Name of source: Telegraph (UK)
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-18-11)
Mexico's pyramids are at risk of being damaged by thousands of people who will gather at them for the Spring Equinox, the country's heritage protection body has warned.
Large numbers of tourists and Mexicans are expected to descend on historic sites such as Chichen-Itza and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan this Sunday.
But the National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH), the government agency entrusted with protecting Mexico's rich cultural heritage, takes rather a different view.
The main Mexican celebration is at the Mayan site of Chichen-Itza, where during the equinox the sun's rays make a play of light and shadow on the steps of a pyramid temple which is said to resemble a serpent.
Another popular site is the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, construction of which began around 100 AD.
Nowadays, performers there dress in Aztec costumes and many other visitors wear white in the belief it helps them absorb energy....
Large numbers of tourists and Mexicans are expected to descend on historic sites such as Chichen-Itza and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan this Sunday.
But the National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH), the government agency entrusted with protecting Mexico's rich cultural heritage, takes rather a different view.
The main Mexican celebration is at the Mayan site of Chichen-Itza, where during the equinox the sun's rays make a play of light and shadow on the steps of a pyramid temple which is said to resemble a serpent.
Another popular site is the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, construction of which began around 100 AD.
Nowadays, performers there dress in Aztec costumes and many other visitors wear white in the belief it helps them absorb energy....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 23:00
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-22-11)
A Kremlin holiday retreat that was a favourite of Boris Yeltsin, the late Russian president, complete with tennis court, sauna and crystal chandeliers is to be auctioned off for more than £6 million after falling into a state of disrepair.
In what is being billed as a unique opportunity to snap up a piece of modern Russian history, Yeltsin's dacha or country estate in northwest Russia is to go on the block next month with a recommended starting price of £6.25 million.
The estate includes a three-storey hotel, a two-storey house and four cottages. The retreat, which was originally built in the 1930s as a holiday destination for senior Communist party officials, has its own pier jutting into a nearby lake. Other mod cons include a billiard room, silk wallpaper, marble floors, Italian crystal chandeliers and extensive under floor heating, an important detail in a part of the world where temperatures plunge well below zero in winter....
In what is being billed as a unique opportunity to snap up a piece of modern Russian history, Yeltsin's dacha or country estate in northwest Russia is to go on the block next month with a recommended starting price of £6.25 million.
The estate includes a three-storey hotel, a two-storey house and four cottages. The retreat, which was originally built in the 1930s as a holiday destination for senior Communist party officials, has its own pier jutting into a nearby lake. Other mod cons include a billiard room, silk wallpaper, marble floors, Italian crystal chandeliers and extensive under floor heating, an important detail in a part of the world where temperatures plunge well below zero in winter....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 22:56
SOURCE: Telegraph (UK) (3-21-11)
Historic homes are already 'green', warn experts, as fears grow that insulation could be damaging old buildings
Home owners are in danger of harming historic buildings to make them more ‘green’ because of failure to understand how traditional building techniques already make houses energy efficient.
All homes now have to display an 'Energy Performance Certificate’ to show how energy efficient the building is before it can be rented out or sold.
However the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) has shown that the techniques for assessing the efficiency of buildings are underestimating the energy efficiency of older homes.
The system for measuring heat loss from walls known as the “U-Value” fails to calculate the energy efficiency value of traditional materials like wattle and daub, cob or wood. It only accounts for more modern materials like concrete or bricks.
The SPAB calculated that 79 per cent of ancient buildings are more efficient than originally thought....
Home owners are in danger of harming historic buildings to make them more ‘green’ because of failure to understand how traditional building techniques already make houses energy efficient.
All homes now have to display an 'Energy Performance Certificate’ to show how energy efficient the building is before it can be rented out or sold.
However the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) has shown that the techniques for assessing the efficiency of buildings are underestimating the energy efficiency of older homes.
The system for measuring heat loss from walls known as the “U-Value” fails to calculate the energy efficiency value of traditional materials like wattle and daub, cob or wood. It only accounts for more modern materials like concrete or bricks.
The SPAB calculated that 79 per cent of ancient buildings are more efficient than originally thought....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:03
Name of source: Fox News
SOURCE: Fox News (3-21-11)
One issue and two words comprised the debate at Philadelphia's Constitutional Convention on August 17, 1787.
The Founders struggled with whether they should grant war authority to the legislature or the executive. And the Founders also wrestled with what verb they should use when entering into war: "make" or "declare."
Charles Pinckney of South Carolina worried about vesting war power with the legislature. Pinckney argued that legislative proceedings were "too slow" to respond to something as critical as war.
Meantime, Virginia's George Mason expressed concern about depositing war powers in the lap of the executive. Mason didn't think the executive branch could be "trusted" with such a broad prerogative.
Pierce Butler of South Carolina indicated the president would never "make war" unless the nation backed him.
Butler's use of the word "make" apparently caught the attention of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts and Virginia's James Madison. They moved to strike "make" and inserted "declare" instead. But Connecticut's Roger Sherman resisted Elbridge and Madison. Sherman fretted that the word "declare" narrowed "the power too much."...
The Founders struggled with whether they should grant war authority to the legislature or the executive. And the Founders also wrestled with what verb they should use when entering into war: "make" or "declare."
Charles Pinckney of South Carolina worried about vesting war power with the legislature. Pinckney argued that legislative proceedings were "too slow" to respond to something as critical as war.
Meantime, Virginia's George Mason expressed concern about depositing war powers in the lap of the executive. Mason didn't think the executive branch could be "trusted" with such a broad prerogative.
Pierce Butler of South Carolina indicated the president would never "make war" unless the nation backed him.
Butler's use of the word "make" apparently caught the attention of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts and Virginia's James Madison. They moved to strike "make" and inserted "declare" instead. But Connecticut's Roger Sherman resisted Elbridge and Madison. Sherman fretted that the word "declare" narrowed "the power too much."...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 21:21
Name of source: The Independent
SOURCE: The Independent (3-20-11)
It was one of the biggest and probably the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil. Such was its ferocity almost 1 per cent of the English population was wiped out in a single day. Yet mention the Battle of Towton to most people and you would probably get a blank stare.
Next week marks the 550th anniversary of the engagement that changed the course of the Wars of the Roses. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 soldiers took part in the battle in 1461 between the Houses of York and Lancaster for control of the English throne. An estimated 28,000 men are said to have lost their lives.
But this bloody conflict is unlikely to remain forgotten for much longer. Archaeologists believe they will unearth what is likely to be Britain's largest mass grave this summer.
Work is to begin in June, at a site 12 miles south of York between the villages of Saxton and Towton where the battle took place in snowy March weather. The locations of the graves were discovered by archaeologists using geophysical imagery and now, with funding in place, they are able to begin excavating....
Next week marks the 550th anniversary of the engagement that changed the course of the Wars of the Roses. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 80,000 soldiers took part in the battle in 1461 between the Houses of York and Lancaster for control of the English throne. An estimated 28,000 men are said to have lost their lives.
But this bloody conflict is unlikely to remain forgotten for much longer. Archaeologists believe they will unearth what is likely to be Britain's largest mass grave this summer.
Work is to begin in June, at a site 12 miles south of York between the villages of Saxton and Towton where the battle took place in snowy March weather. The locations of the graves were discovered by archaeologists using geophysical imagery and now, with funding in place, they are able to begin excavating....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 21:21
Name of source: Kent Online (UK)
SOURCE: Kent Online (UK) (3-21-11)
Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient burial ground in Kent where around a hundred people were laid to rest.
The site - dating back to the late Roman era - is on the former Hallets garage site in Canterbury's St Dunstan's.
Experts have found hardly any grave goods and since most of the bodies are lying east/west they are believed to be mainly Christian.
The excavation is being carried by Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
Director Paul Bennett said it was proving to be an exceptionally busy site, with later Anglo-Saxon rubbish pits and buildings....
The site - dating back to the late Roman era - is on the former Hallets garage site in Canterbury's St Dunstan's.
Experts have found hardly any grave goods and since most of the bodies are lying east/west they are believed to be mainly Christian.
The excavation is being carried by Canterbury Archaeological Trust.
Director Paul Bennett said it was proving to be an exceptionally busy site, with later Anglo-Saxon rubbish pits and buildings....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 10:03
Name of source: Polskie Radio (Poland)
SOURCE: Polskie Radio (Poland) (3-20-11)
A major stronghold and a Medieval settlement have been discovered by Polish archeologists in Sudan at the start of a three year research project realized by the Prehistory Institute of Poznan University and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan.
The Hosh esh-Sheitan stronghold, or Satan’s Court, is situated in the Nile valley.
“There is no written mention of it and yet it is one of the biggest strongholds in this part of the Nile Valley”, says Polish archeologist Mariusz Drzewiecki.
Another interesting find is a settlement on the Nurein hill.
“It was a big agglomeration, judging by the number of houses – we found 70-80 of them, as well as the size of cemeteries at the foot of the hill”, Drzewiecki said....
The Hosh esh-Sheitan stronghold, or Satan’s Court, is situated in the Nile valley.
“There is no written mention of it and yet it is one of the biggest strongholds in this part of the Nile Valley”, says Polish archeologist Mariusz Drzewiecki.
Another interesting find is a settlement on the Nurein hill.
“It was a big agglomeration, judging by the number of houses – we found 70-80 of them, as well as the size of cemeteries at the foot of the hill”, Drzewiecki said....
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 10:02
Name of source: Jerusalem Post
SOURCE: Jerusalem Post (3-21-11)
Labor Party lawmaker Anders Mathisen tells newspaper the Holocaust never happened and challenges readers to prove him wrong.
“There is no evidence the gas chambers or mass graves existed," he told the newspaper, according to reports. "Even reputable Holocaust historians have admitted it cannot be established.”
Mathisen reportedly has spent months researching World War II concentration camps and is advocating changing history books, according to the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism. He also published his reported his "findings" on his Facebook page.
Mathisen reportedly has accused Holocaust survivors of exaggerating their stories. He also said that the public has been brainwashed into believing in the Holocaust by films such as "Schindler's List," according to the forum.
The lawmaker has refused to resign from the party.
"Holocaust survivors are aghast at the morally repugnant comments of a Norwegian member of Parliament," Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a statement. "They are an insult to the memory of all victims of Nazi brutality, Jew and non-Jew."...
“There is no evidence the gas chambers or mass graves existed," he told the newspaper, according to reports. "Even reputable Holocaust historians have admitted it cannot be established.”
Mathisen reportedly has spent months researching World War II concentration camps and is advocating changing history books, according to the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism. He also published his reported his "findings" on his Facebook page.
Mathisen reportedly has accused Holocaust survivors of exaggerating their stories. He also said that the public has been brainwashed into believing in the Holocaust by films such as "Schindler's List," according to the forum.
The lawmaker has refused to resign from the party.
"Holocaust survivors are aghast at the morally repugnant comments of a Norwegian member of Parliament," Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a statement. "They are an insult to the memory of all victims of Nazi brutality, Jew and non-Jew."...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 10:00
Name of source: The Guardian (UK)
SOURCE: The Guardian (UK) (3-21-11)
A century after Machu Picchu's rediscovery, ancient Mayan and Moche sites are being ransacked for tourist baubles.
Etched into the surviving art of the Moche, one of South America's most ancient and mysterious civilisations, is a fearsome creature dubbed the Decapitator. Also known as Ai Apaec, the octopus-type figure holds a knife in one hand and a severed head in the other in a graphic rendition of the human sacrifices the Moche practiced in northern Peru 1,500 years ago.
For archaeologists, the horror here is not in Moche iconography, which you see in pottery and mural fragments, but in the hundreds of thousands of trenches scarring the landscape: a warren of man-made pillage. Gangs of looters, known as huaqueros, are ransacking Peru's heritage to illegally sell artefacts to collectors and tourists.
A looting epidemic in Peru and other Latin American countries, notably Guatemala, has sounded alarm bells about the region's vanishing heritage.
The issue is to come under renewed scrutiny in the run-up to July's 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel in southern Peru, by US historian Hiram Bingham. He gave many artefacts to Yale university, prompting an acrimonious row with Peru's government which ended only this year when both sides agreed to establish a joint exhibition centre.
A recent report, Saving our Vanishing Heritage, by the Global Heritage Fund in San Francisco, identified nearly 200 "at risk" sites in developing nations, with South and Central America prominent....
Etched into the surviving art of the Moche, one of South America's most ancient and mysterious civilisations, is a fearsome creature dubbed the Decapitator. Also known as Ai Apaec, the octopus-type figure holds a knife in one hand and a severed head in the other in a graphic rendition of the human sacrifices the Moche practiced in northern Peru 1,500 years ago.
For archaeologists, the horror here is not in Moche iconography, which you see in pottery and mural fragments, but in the hundreds of thousands of trenches scarring the landscape: a warren of man-made pillage. Gangs of looters, known as huaqueros, are ransacking Peru's heritage to illegally sell artefacts to collectors and tourists.
A looting epidemic in Peru and other Latin American countries, notably Guatemala, has sounded alarm bells about the region's vanishing heritage.
The issue is to come under renewed scrutiny in the run-up to July's 100th anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel in southern Peru, by US historian Hiram Bingham. He gave many artefacts to Yale university, prompting an acrimonious row with Peru's government which ended only this year when both sides agreed to establish a joint exhibition centre.
A recent report, Saving our Vanishing Heritage, by the Global Heritage Fund in San Francisco, identified nearly 200 "at risk" sites in developing nations, with South and Central America prominent....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:57
Name of source: The Times of India
SOURCE: The Times of India (3-21-11)
Very few of us know that 99 years back, an archaeological excavation was conducted at Patna to establish the existence of ancient Pataliputra. It's a coincidence that today Bihar is also celebrating 99 years of its foundation.
In 1912, Ratan Tata of Bombay made an offer to the Government of India to conduct archaeological excavations at his own expense. On the advice of the director general of archaeology, the site of Pataliputra near Patna was selected and work began there during the winter of 1912-13. The excavations met with remarkable success. The local superintendent of archaeological survey, Spooner, had located five parallel rows of Ashokan columns.
In another instance, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland gave a sum of 218 pounds to the archaeological department for the exploration of the site of the old Buddhist university at Nalanda. The work was undertaken by Spooner, the then superintendent of archaeology, eastern circle. Portion of walls of the buildings of the old Buddhist monasteries were uncovered and 603 seals or tablets were found.
These are some of the lesser known facts related to Bihar. Bihar state archives has decided to put several such rare information, documents and photographs on Bihar on display from Tuesday on the occasion of the three-day Bihar Diwas celebration. In all, 43 documents have been shortlisted for exhibition at the state archives premises, said director, Bihar state archives, Vijay Kumar.
Rare documents related to distribution of reward amount of Rs 5,000 after the arrest of revolutionary Khudiram Bose, arrival of George V at Ara and Bankipore in 1911, notification of a separate Bihar state (March 22, 1912), establishment of Patna University (October 1, 1917) and setting up of Patna high court (March 1, 1916) would be on display, Kumar told TOI.
Photographs of 11 eminent personalities who were instrumental in the creation of a separate Bihar state would also be on display. These personalities are Mahatma Gandhi, Sachchidanand Sinha, Rajendra Prasad, Syed Hasan Imam, Maulana Mazharul Haque, Braj Kishore Prasad, Charls Stuart Bayley, Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, Sri Krishna Singh, Jayaprakash Narayan and Ali Imam.....
In 1912, Ratan Tata of Bombay made an offer to the Government of India to conduct archaeological excavations at his own expense. On the advice of the director general of archaeology, the site of Pataliputra near Patna was selected and work began there during the winter of 1912-13. The excavations met with remarkable success. The local superintendent of archaeological survey, Spooner, had located five parallel rows of Ashokan columns.
In another instance, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland gave a sum of 218 pounds to the archaeological department for the exploration of the site of the old Buddhist university at Nalanda. The work was undertaken by Spooner, the then superintendent of archaeology, eastern circle. Portion of walls of the buildings of the old Buddhist monasteries were uncovered and 603 seals or tablets were found.
These are some of the lesser known facts related to Bihar. Bihar state archives has decided to put several such rare information, documents and photographs on Bihar on display from Tuesday on the occasion of the three-day Bihar Diwas celebration. In all, 43 documents have been shortlisted for exhibition at the state archives premises, said director, Bihar state archives, Vijay Kumar.
Rare documents related to distribution of reward amount of Rs 5,000 after the arrest of revolutionary Khudiram Bose, arrival of George V at Ara and Bankipore in 1911, notification of a separate Bihar state (March 22, 1912), establishment of Patna University (October 1, 1917) and setting up of Patna high court (March 1, 1916) would be on display, Kumar told TOI.
Photographs of 11 eminent personalities who were instrumental in the creation of a separate Bihar state would also be on display. These personalities are Mahatma Gandhi, Sachchidanand Sinha, Rajendra Prasad, Syed Hasan Imam, Maulana Mazharul Haque, Braj Kishore Prasad, Charls Stuart Bayley, Satyendra Prasanna Sinha, Sri Krishna Singh, Jayaprakash Narayan and Ali Imam.....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:53
Name of source: Media Matters (liberal media watchdog group)
SOURCE: Media Matters (liberal media watchdog group) (3-21-11)
Glenn Beck mocked AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka for saying that Dr. Martin Luther King lost his life while fighting for the rights of public union workers. In fact, King was shot while in Memphis to support striking municipal workers, and in his eulogy honoring King, Benjamin Mays -- King's mentor and friend -- spoke of King's dedication to "fighting to get a just wage" for workers.
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 19:27
Name of source: PressofAtlanticCity.com
SOURCE: PressofAtlanticCity.com (3-20-11)
The last time George Kroll and Jerry Lory saw each other, they were leaving Italy after flying 50 combat missions together.
Kroll was a nose gunner. Lory, a radio operator.
That was 66 years ago.
A fortuitous twist of fate brought the two World War II veterans together for the first time in nearly seven decades on Saturday afternoon, in the lobby of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
From July to December of 1944, Kroll and Lory were part of a 10-man crew aboard a B-24 that flew dangerous bombing missions over Europe, including heavy-fire missions over Vienna, Austria and oil fields in Romania where Axis forces would re-fuel.
Most of the team members shared a tent and became inseparable friends. If one of them couldn't fly on a mission, none of them would....
Kroll was a nose gunner. Lory, a radio operator.
That was 66 years ago.
A fortuitous twist of fate brought the two World War II veterans together for the first time in nearly seven decades on Saturday afternoon, in the lobby of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
From July to December of 1944, Kroll and Lory were part of a 10-man crew aboard a B-24 that flew dangerous bombing missions over Europe, including heavy-fire missions over Vienna, Austria and oil fields in Romania where Axis forces would re-fuel.
Most of the team members shared a tent and became inseparable friends. If one of them couldn't fly on a mission, none of them would....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:12
Name of source: The Examiner (MO)
SOURCE: The Examiner (MO) (3-20-11)
In his cramped gunnery position behind the tail section of a B-26 Marauder bomber, Raymond Nolt fought Nazi Germany with his .50-caliber machine gun.
During the 13 months and 18 days he spent in the European Theater of War as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, Raymond made 66 combat missions over France, Germany and Holland as a tailgunner on the medium-size World War II bomber.
In his apartment at Valley View Residential Center at John Knox Village, the 92-year-old veteran shared his wartime experiences. However, he was reluctant to take credit for any heroic acts or achievements that drew attention to himself.
Raymond said little about successfully completing 66 combat missions, knowing each mission could be his last, since the B-26 Marauder – nicknamed the “Widowmaker” – had a high rate of accidents during takeoffs and landings.
But that didn’t bother Raymond, who credits the “good Lord” for bringing him through the war unscathed....
During the 13 months and 18 days he spent in the European Theater of War as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, Raymond made 66 combat missions over France, Germany and Holland as a tailgunner on the medium-size World War II bomber.
In his apartment at Valley View Residential Center at John Knox Village, the 92-year-old veteran shared his wartime experiences. However, he was reluctant to take credit for any heroic acts or achievements that drew attention to himself.
Raymond said little about successfully completing 66 combat missions, knowing each mission could be his last, since the B-26 Marauder – nicknamed the “Widowmaker” – had a high rate of accidents during takeoffs and landings.
But that didn’t bother Raymond, who credits the “good Lord” for bringing him through the war unscathed....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:12
Name of source: Deutsche Welle (Germany)
SOURCE: Deutsche Welle (Germany) (3-18-11)
Jewish organisations and the US government have raised objections to Poland's decision to suspend work on the restitution of Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis during WWII and under communism.
Jewish organizations and the US administration have both raised objections to Poland's decision to suspend work on the restitution of Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis during World War II and under communism.
The Polish government suspended work on the restitution package on March 10, due to its spiraling budget deficit. The decision comes just three years after Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a piece of legislation would be drafted to offer compensation totaling 20 percent of the property value for the Jewish families of former property owners.
"It is unacceptable that Poland cannot find some way to meet its responsibility," said Ronald S. Lauder, chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, in response to the decision.
"Most Central and Eastern European countries have adopted some type of law to provide for the restitution of or compensation for confiscated property. Poland stands out for its failure to do so," he added.
While recognizing that not enough has been done to address past wrongs when it comes to Jewish property restitution, Tusk explained that budget deficits simply wouldn't allow payments to continue. The country is wary of exceeding the public debt ceiling, which could jeopardize Poland's entry into the eurozone, a goal set for as early as 2015....
Jewish organizations and the US administration have both raised objections to Poland's decision to suspend work on the restitution of Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis during World War II and under communism.
The Polish government suspended work on the restitution package on March 10, due to its spiraling budget deficit. The decision comes just three years after Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a piece of legislation would be drafted to offer compensation totaling 20 percent of the property value for the Jewish families of former property owners.
"It is unacceptable that Poland cannot find some way to meet its responsibility," said Ronald S. Lauder, chairman of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, in response to the decision.
"Most Central and Eastern European countries have adopted some type of law to provide for the restitution of or compensation for confiscated property. Poland stands out for its failure to do so," he added.
While recognizing that not enough has been done to address past wrongs when it comes to Jewish property restitution, Tusk explained that budget deficits simply wouldn't allow payments to continue. The country is wary of exceeding the public debt ceiling, which could jeopardize Poland's entry into the eurozone, a goal set for as early as 2015....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:05
Name of source: Iberosphere
SOURCE: Iberosphere (3-21-11)
The ‘División Azul’, a Spanish force that fought alongside the German army against Russia in World War II, has mostly been overlooked by history books and filmmakers. A new book by Jorge Martínez Reverte seeks to redress the balance.
On June 24, 1941, two days after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, General Francisco Franco announced the creation of a Spanish volunteer unit “to fight Bolshevism” that would eventually grow to include some 48,000 troops.
The División Azul, or Blue Division, was incorporated into the German Armed Forces as the 250th Division of the 16th Army and fought on the Russian Front. Its name came from the blue shirts worn by the Falange, the political movement that Franco took over, but its soldiers wore German Wehrmacht uniforms. In 1944, with the United States in the war and Soviet troops advancing on Germany, it was disbanded, although some Spanish soldiers fought in the defence of Berlin in 1945....
On June 24, 1941, two days after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, General Francisco Franco announced the creation of a Spanish volunteer unit “to fight Bolshevism” that would eventually grow to include some 48,000 troops.
The División Azul, or Blue Division, was incorporated into the German Armed Forces as the 250th Division of the 16th Army and fought on the Russian Front. Its name came from the blue shirts worn by the Falange, the political movement that Franco took over, but its soldiers wore German Wehrmacht uniforms. In 1944, with the United States in the war and Soviet troops advancing on Germany, it was disbanded, although some Spanish soldiers fought in the defence of Berlin in 1945....
Monday, March 21, 2011 - 10:04
