This page features brief excerpts of 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.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 9, 2010
The invasion of English words poses more of a "grave threat" to French national identity than the imposition of German under the Nazi occupation, according to a group of self-styled guardians of the French language.
Avenir de la langue française (Future of the French language) and eight other groups called on the government to put a stop to the Anglo-onslaught in a pair of opinion pieces in two national daily newspapers on Friday.
As France is embroiled in a
Source: Fox News
January 9, 2010
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country suffered after invasions during World War II and he will "stand to the end" to get full compensation, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Ahmadinejad said he'd write to U.N. secretary General Ban Ki-moon to ask for compensation for damages caused to Iran during the war, and for use of its territory and resources by allied powers, the Post reported.
Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran on August 26, 1941, to s
Source: AFP
January 7, 2009
A 3,000 year-old inscription discovered at a site where the Bible says David slew Goliath has been deciphered, showing it to be the earliest known Hebrew writing, Israeli archaeologists said on Thursday.
The pottery shard with five lines of text in the proto-Canaanite script that was used by Hebrews, Philistines and others in the region was discovered 18 months ago.
The writing was decrypted by Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who "has shown this is a Hebre
Source: The Times of India
January 8, 2010
A rare 15th-century relic — a combination of veeragallu and mastigallu — was discovered at Kalkeri village in Hangal taluk of Haveri district recently.
In an official release, deputy director of archaeology and museums, S K Potnis, said that the stone was rare as it was a memorial to a brave soldier and his wife who laid down her life after a `Sati' (bride burning) ritual. The stone was erected during the reign of king Veera Harihara Rama of the Vijayanagara kingdom.
Laboure
Source: AFP
January 8, 2010
Iraqi archaeologists said on Friday they have discovered a 2,000-year-old Sumerian settlement in southern Iraq, yielding a bounty of historical artefacts.
The site, in the southern province of Dhi Qar, is in the desert near ancient Ur, the biblical birthplace of Abraham.
Hamdani said the artefacts, which included sickles and knives, largely dated back to around 2000 BC, during the rule of King Amarsin, the third king of the third Sumerian dynasty.
Source: BBC
January 8, 2010
A High Court judge has quashed decisions to demolish an historic Victorian building in Belfast city centre and replace it with apartments.
Planning chiefs must now reconsider an application to redevelop the 19th Century warehouse on Queen Street.
It was accepted a conservation area architect should have been consulted, and that a report did not include the costs for alternative schemes.
Heritage campaigners who mounted the challenge have welcomed the deci
Source: BBC
January 8, 2010
A previously unseen painting by Marc Chagall is to go on display after it was acquired by a small London gallery.
The Ben Uri London Jewish Museum of Art bought the work, titled Apocalypse in Lilac, Capriccio, for a bargain £26,000 at an auction in Paris last year.
The gallery bought the work in a secret operation designed to avoid alerting the world's big galleries to the existence of the painting.
It will be unveiled at the Osborne Samuel gallery, in Ma
Source: BBC
January 7, 2010
The French government has announced that it will set up a new panel to try cases of genocide and war crimes committed in France or abroad.
The new court would speed up the way genocide cases are tried where the suspect is on French territory but the process involves several jurisdictions.
The unit is to include linguists and specialists with historical knowledge.
French authorities are currently hearing several cases against Rwandan genocide suspects livi
Source: BBC
January 8, 2010
The heavy eye make-up favoured by ancient Egyptians such as Cleopatra may have had medical as well as aesthetic benefits, French research suggests.
The study, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, suggests it helped to protect against eye disease.
The key appears to be lead salts contained in the make-up.
At very low levels, salts produce nitric oxide, which boosts the immune system to fight off bacteria which can cause eye infection.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 8, 2010
The mystery surrounding Yuri Gagarin's death in an aircraft crash more than forty years ago may finally have been solved by a report which quashes decades of conspiracy theories.
Independent Russian investigators say they have uncovered crucial new evidence which finally reveals how the world's first man in space died aged just 34.
The study claims Gagarin's death during a routine training flight in 1968 was caused by his panicked reaction after realising an air vent
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 8, 2010
The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has reproduced the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
They were used to illustrate an article about Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist whose home was broken into by an Islamist armed with an axe a week ago.
It printed six out of the 12 drawings that infuriated Muslims around the world when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten first published them in 2005.Several of the drawing
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 8, 2010
A US nickel dubbed the "Mona Lisa of rare coins" has sold at auction for £2.3 million.
Tens of millions of the Liberty Head coins were made between 1883 and 1912 but the design changed to depict an American Indian in 1913.
However, five nickels with the old design were secretly were made at the Philadelphia Mint that year and eventually sold to collectors.
The coin became famous when it was featured in an episode of Hawaii Five-O entitled The $
Source: Fox News
January 7, 2010
A classic turn-of-the-century English novelist whose works have been read by countless millions of people is having his work sanitized for a new generation of readers.
Joseph Conrad, whose "Heart of Darkness" and "Lord Jim" have been scrutinized by English students on multiple continents for decades, wrote a lesser known novel in 1897 called "The Nigger of the Narcissus."
Now, in what critics are calling a blatant act of politically correct
Source: AP
January 8, 2010
More than 1,000 unreleased recordings of lectures by L. Ron Hubbard and reams of corresponding writings have been unveiled in the culmination of a 25-year project to locate, restore and transcribe lost pieces of the Scientology founder's work.
Though sure to be derided by the church's many critics, its followers say the materials amount to an opportunity to deepen understanding of the religion and to release the last known unpublished Hubbard works dealing with Scientology and Diane
Source: Times (UK)
January 8, 2010
President Sarkozy may have cooled to Gordon Brown, but France has just fallen for the charms of another British leader — Sir Winston Churchill.
“Le Vieux Lion,” as the British leader was known, has found new popularity thanks to two bestselling books — a fresh translation of his Second World War memoirs and a prize-winning biography.
Enthusiasm for Churchill is being fed by new interest in the war era among a generation born since France preferred to forget the trauma
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 8, 2010
The justice ministry said it will hand over to the South Korean government a list of Koreans who were forced to work in Japan during the war and repatriated after the conflict without receiving any pay.
Even the admission that the records exist is a breakthrough as previous Japanese governments had steadfastly refused to admit that they had survived the war. The documents will detail the 200,000 Koreans who worked without pay at mines and factories and list the amount each should h
Source: Telegraph (UK)
January 7, 2010
Lord Lloyd Webber’s art charity last night settled a three year old dispute over a £33 million Picasso painting with a German professor who had claimed one of his forebears had been forced to sell it by the Nazis.
The multi-millionaire British composer had been due to sell The Absinthe Drinker at Christie’s in New York in November 2006 and donate the proceeds to his charity, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation.
However a judge halted the sale on the eve of the auctio
Source: AP
January 6, 2010
The Mexican government says it has notified Starbucks Corp. that Mexico is owed intellectual property rights for a line of coffee mugs showing pre-Hispanic images.
Starbucks says it is working with Mexico to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. It says the mugs have been removed from its shop shelves pending the discussions.
The mugs show images of the Aztec calendar stone and the Pyramid of the Moon from the pre-Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City.
Source: Hürryet Daily News (Turkey)
January 7, 2010
An ancient city located in the Turunç district of the resort town of Marmaris will be restored to serve tourism.
The Marmaris Chamber of Commerce, or MTO, Muğla University Archeology Department, Turunç Municipality and The Union of Tourism and Infrastructure in Marmaris and its Environs, or MARTAB, have joined forces for the project.
Speaking at the amphitheater of the 4,000-year-old city of Amos, located approximately 20 kilometers from Marmaris, MTO President
Source: Washington Post
January 6, 2010
In World War II, members of the Ukrainian underground fought to make their vision of an independent nation real. They battled Hitler and Stalin. Ultimately they lost, and the Soviets took control of most of Eastern Europe after the war.
The Ukrainians finally achieved independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Now many in this fledgling nation would like to formally recognize those earlier nationalists -- the "brave defenders of the Motherland," as President Vik
