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)
August 5, 2009
The court in Lower Saxony cleared the way for the debt-ridden hotel's receiver to evict the neo-Nazis, who had been occupying the premises amid a tense standoff with police and local anti-Nazi protesters.
Hours before the decision, German commandos had raided the hotel after hearing what they thought to be gunshots.
They found several fake firearms, a concealable truncheon and pepper spray. Twelve neo-Nazis were on the premises, four of whom were minors and were handed
Source: Telegraph (UK)
August 5, 2009
They included rescue and recovery workers, neighbouring office staff and passers-by.
A follow-up study of more than 46,000 people caught up in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, found one in 10 had been diagnosed with asthma five or six years after the disaster. None of these 4,600 individuals had a previous history of the disease.
There was a strong association between exposure to the choking dust cloud generated by the collapse of the towers and asthma, the
Source: BBC
August 5, 2009
Sergei Khadzhikurbanov and brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov were acquitted in February of involvement in Ms Politkovskaya's death.
But critics said the trial was farcical and Russia's Supreme Court ordered a retrial over procedural violations.
Ms Politkovskaya was a staunch critic of the Kremlin - her supporters allege official involvement in her death.
The Kremlin has dismissed such claims.
Source: The Independent
August 4, 2009
Fatah, the dominant Palestinian movement under Yasser Arafat that has gone from debacle to defeat since his death, begins its first leadership convention in 20 years today.
The big question as more than 2,000 delegates gather in Bethlehem is whether the secular group on which the world pins any remaining hopes for a peace deal with Israel can cast off the taint of corruption, regain its legitimacy and put forward new faces who can take back the ground lost to the Islamic fundamental
Source: Michael Hirsh at the website of Newsweek
August 4, 2009
The White House today described Bill Clinton's surprise visit to North Korea as a "solely private" effort to secure the release of two captive American journalists. But the real story behind the trip very likely goes back to the public diplomacy that then-president Clinton was conducting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il nearly 10 years ago, during Clinton's final months in office.
At the time, the United States and North were tantalizingly close to a deal to stop all N
Source: thisisgloucestershire.co.uk
August 4, 2009
A Cotswolds history buff has unearthed a piece of weaponry believed to be among the rarest ever discovered in Gloucestershire.
Steve Taylor, from Hatherley, stumbled across the treasure, part of an ancient sword handle, while metal detecting on a farm near Cirencester.
The bronze head, which would have been fitted to the end of a Celtic sword to keep the blade in place, is worth about £5,000.
Steve has given the artefact, which dates from 200-400BC, to Cire
Source: BBC
August 3, 2009
A chapter in Culloden: The History and Archaeology of the Last Clan Battle said the risk of friendly fire was a"very real one".
Archaeologists found shrapnel from mortar shells close to where frontline infantry had stood.
Sites where fallen government soldiers were buried have also been discovered.
University of Glasgow's Dr Tony Pollard, who edited the book, said large pieces of shrapnel were found close to where the Barrel's and Munro's regiments w
Source: france24.com
August 3, 2009
A vast operation in search of WWII-era bombs in the western French city of Brest on Sunday forced 16,000 people to leave their homes for the day.
About 16,000 residents in Brest were evacuated Sunday to make way for a major operation to rid the northern French city of unexploded ordnance dating from World War II.
Sirens wailed as some 400 police officers and firefighters fanned out to ensure everyone had left the designated security zone in downtown Brest before mine-cl
Source: BBC
August 4, 2009
Rarely seen images from the early days of photography will be revealed in the British Library's first ever major photographic exhibition.
About 250 original images, including work by 19th century pioneers William Henry Fox Talbot and Julia Margaret Cameron, will go on display in London.
Curator John Falconer said it would examine the history of photography.
The British Library's collection of 300,000 images includes pictures taken in the fields of science
Source: BBC
August 3, 2009
Stealing from a rabbit warren or impersonating a Chelsea Pensioner may not sound like crimes of the century, but in Victorian England they could land you with a hangman's noose around your neck.
Trial records newly released by the National Archives and put online have lifted the lid on a brutal penal system and showcased some of the most infamous criminal cases.
Executions were public spectacles, with the wealthy hiring balconies to get better views, and it did not tak
Source: BBC
August 3, 2009
Opinions on graffiti are as diverse as the designs themselves, which either blight or brighten city walls the world over, depending on how you view them.
The issue could not be more topical than in the Italian capital, Rome, where no less a person than the prime minister has immersed himself in the debate.
The ancient city centre, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site, is home to some of the most stunning monuments and architecture to be found anywhere in the world.
Source: BBC
August 4, 2009
For many Germans, deployment in Afghanistan meant delivering aid and reconstruction to the country's relatively peaceful north.
But now the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. And Germany seems to have found itself unwillingly dragged into a war.
Back home, meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel last month awarded four soldiers the Bundeswehr's new cross of honour.
It was the first time since the end of World War II that Germany had awarded medals f
Source: CNN
August 2, 2009
The remains of the first American shot down in the 1991 Persian Gulf War have been uncovered, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Sunday.
U.S. Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher was shot down in an F/A-18 Hornet on January 17, 1991, the first night of the war.
An Iraqi civilian told U.S. forces in Iraq in early July about the location of the crash that killed Speicher, according to the statement. U.S. Marines in Anbar province went to the site and spoke
Source: BBC
August 4, 2009
A history enthusiast may have unearthed a rusting relic of Royal Navy "fire and sword" tactics from the 1700s while weeding his Highlands garden.
John Hodgson found what is believed to be bar shot - metal balls, linked together by an iron bar - at his home in Morven.
Retired marine archaeologist Dr Colin Martin said the ammunition was designed for tearing a ship's rigging.
But he said it could be from one of two warships that attacked Morven in
Source: CNN
August 4, 2009
"Read my lips: No new taxes."
That famous phrase from George H.W. Bush came as he accepted his party's presidential nomination at the Republican National Committee convention in 1988.
Pushing forward to 2009, another president may have trekked onto the same territory.
On Monday, the White House sought to shoot down concerns that middle-class families may face a tax increase in order to combat rising deficits and a struggling economy after its two
Source: BBC
July 30, 2009
A serving soldier who is refusing to return to Afghanistan has delivered a letter to the prime minister urging him to "bring our soldiers home".
L/Cpl Joe Glenton, of the Royal Logistic Corps, delivered his letter to 10 Downing Street on Thursday.
He said: "I know that the Afghan people are very resilient. I can't see us getting much further."
The soldier, who lives in York, faces a preliminary court martial on Monday for refusing to go
Source: NYT
August 3, 2009
The central figure in a scandal that badly tarnished the legacy of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the father of German unification, arrived in Germany on Monday to face charges of bribery and tax evasion after a final attempt to delay his extradition from Canada failed.
The figure, Karlheinz Schreiber, an arms dealer and lobbyist, returned to Germany after a 10-year legal battle to remain in Canada, his adopted homeland.
Coming six weeks before national elections, Mr. Schreibe
Source: NYT
August 3, 2009
The current crisis over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons has unmistakable parallels with the events of spring 1994. Then, as now, North Korea was plunging ahead to make bomb-grade plutonium at its nuclear complex in Yongbyon.
Then as now, the United States was rallying international support for sanctions against the North. Tensions spiked as North Korea warned it would consider any sanctions an "act of war."
There is, however, one key difference. In 19
Source: Spiegel Online International
July 31, 2009
The lost Roman city of Altinum has been found in Italy. Sophisticated aerial images released this week reveal fascinating new details about Venice's predecessor, which was abandoned by its citizens and then sank into the lagoon.
After a long search, the ancient city of Altinum -- considered to be the predecessor of Venice -- has been discovered. In a report published this week in Science, archaeologists at the University of Padua also report that the most popular of Venetian tourist
Source: NPR
August 3, 2009
Human fossils have been found from the Ethiopian highlands to the Indonesian island of Java. However, the single site with the biggest deposits is located in northern Spain.
About 150 miles north of Madrid, a jeep pulls up to a clump of trees in the Sierra de Atapuerca, a collection of hills that are rich with caves.
A man with a helmet and a miner's headlamp gets out. He looks more like a mountain guide than a scientist. He's Juan Luis Arsuaga, Spain's best-known paleo
