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: CNN
July 16, 2010
A top Libyan oil official on Friday denied allegations of an agreement to free the Lockerbie bomber in exchange for bolstered BP commercial interests in the country.
Britain and Libya had sparred over whether Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi should be included in a prisoner transfer agreement the two nations were negotiating. Under the agreement, Libyan prisoners in Britain would be transferred to Libya to serve out their sentences.
British officials and BP said the oil
Source: CNN
July 16, 2010
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared on the island's state-run television for the second time in less than a week on Friday, using the forum to again blast U.S. arms policy.
But a world limited to conventional arms would leave the United States in a position of power, he said. The 83-year-old former Cuban leader cited as an example the power of a Trident submarine to launch "in two minutes" a missile made of a material stronger than steel that could travel at speeds u
Source: BBC
July 17, 2010
A piece of Neolithic rock art has been unearthed during a weekend geological course in Cambridgeshire.
The hand-sized artefact discovered in the village of Over is unlike anything previously found in the east of England, Cambridge University said.
It consists of a slab of weathered sandstone with two pairs of concentric circles etched into the surface.
Archaeologists believe it is typical of art from the later Neolithic era and could date back to 2500BC.
Source: BBC
July 17, 2010
Welsh has been spoken for the first time in a ceremony at Westminster Cathedral to honour the martyred saint John Roberts.
On Saturday, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams addressed the congregation in both English and Welsh.
The service was part of a series of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Welsh saint.
The monk, from Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1610 for being a Catholic dissenter.
Source: BBC
July 17, 2010
The remains of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar have been exhumed in Venezuela to determine the cause of his death nearly 200 years ago. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered Bolivar's tomb be opened because he suspects he was murdered. Most accounts maintain Bolivar died from tuberculosis in Colombia in 1830. More than 50 experts including criminal investigators and forensic pathologists have been examining the remains to see if Bolivar was the victim of a conspiracy rather than disease, according to Venezuela's attorney-general, Luisa Ortega Diaz....
Source: BBC
July 16, 2010
The US has raised concerns about the release of the Lockerbie bomber, after the foreign secretary said the decision to free him was "a mistake".
William Hague spoke to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said Britain may wish to explain the circumstances behind Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's release.
Four US senators believe oil giant BP lobbied for the move to secure a deal with Libya....
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 17, 2010
Archeologists in Guatemala have discovered a Mayan king's tomb packed with a well-preserved hoard of carvings, ceramics and children's bones that cast fresh light on the vanished civilisation.
Researchers uncovered the burial chamber in Guatemala's the jungle-covered Peten region in May, but the discovery has only just been made public.
The tomb is thought to date from 300 – 600AD and is located beneath the El Diablo pyramid in the city of El Zotz.
The C
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 17, 2010
Lord Mandelson may be among the high-profile witnesses called to appear before US senators to respond to allegations that pressure from BP played a role in the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi.
Congressional investigators are considering summoning the former business secretary to hearings of the powerful Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
Despite the firm denials by the British government and BP that Megrahi
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 17, 2010
Naomi Campbell is preparing to appear before a war crimes tribunal in The Hague over allegations that she received a blood diamond from Liberian warlord Charles Taylor.
When a supermodel, a warlord and an actress gathered to dine at Nelson Mandela's historic residence on the slopes of Table Mountain, it was always set to be a memorable evening. Yet as Naomi Campbell slipped into her long white dress and fastened the straps of her gold sandals, it is certain that even she could not
Source: Politico
July 14, 2010
In 1971, then-27-year-old John Kerry delivered testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that contained a powerful message to the members of the upper chamber: You have the power to end to this.
“We are asking here in Washington for some action, action from the Congress of the United States of America, which has the power to raise and maintain armies, and which, by the Constitution, also has the power to declare war,” Kerry said. “We have come here, not to the preside
Source: The Post-Standard
July 16, 2010
The Montezuma Historical Society on Sunday will hold a program honoring the 185th anniversary of the Mentz Church’s first service.
The program begins at 2 p.m. at the old church, at the intersection of McDonald and Mentz Church roads in the town of Montezuma....
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 16, 2010
Leonardo da Vinci's painting technique of using multiple layers of paint and glaze has been examined in an attempt to crack the mystery of Mona Lisa's smile.
French researchers studied seven of Paris's Louvre Museum's Leonardo da Vinci paintings, including the Mona Lisa to analyse his technique that gave his works their dreamy quality.
Specialists from the Center for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France found that da Vinci painted up to 30 layers of paint o
Source: AP
July 14, 2010
In the middle of London, a plot of earth is dug across with trenches and studded with old bricks. If the world of theater ever has hallowed ground, this is it.
It's the site of London's first theater, where William Shakespeare's plays were performed and where the Bard himself once trod the boards.
Archaeologists who have been digging here since 2008 have uncovered a section of outer wall and floor surface from the building, completed in 1576 and known simply as The Thea
Source: Guardian (UK)
July 16, 2010
Archaeological dig at abandoned Roman city in Hampshire yields earliest representation of an Egyptian deity found in Britain.
A battered and corroded thumb-sized piece of bronze has turned out to be a unique find, the earliest representation of an Egyptian deity from any site in Britain – and appropriately, after almost 2,000 years hidden in the ground, it is Harpocrates, the god of secrecy and silence.
The little figure was found at Silchester, site of an abandoned Rom
Source: ABC News
July 16, 2010
Mount Vernon recreates Founding Father's rye whiskey recipe for the public.
The distillery, just three miles from Mount Vernon outside of Alexandria, Va. opened for business after the Virginia General Assembly approved sales in small amounts, selling out all 471 bottles at $85 dollars a pop.
Unlike whiskey made today, however, the general's batch wasn't aged. According to historians, the saying goes that Washington's whiskey was aged from the time it took to get from M
Source: Live Science
June 14, 2010
Scuba diving scientists today explored the remains of a ship that sank in 1914, but they weren't looking for buried treasures - at least not the kind that pirates in movies search for. They were in search of something far more valuable to archeologists - historical treasures.
Marine archaeologists swam in and around and photographed the wooden freighter Montana at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and broadcasted their
Source: AFP
July 16, 2010
New Yorkers raced against time Friday to reveal the secrets of a mostly intact, 18th century sailing ship found in the muddy foundations of the World Trade Center reconstruction site.
The ghostly vessel emerged from the mud earlier this week, its hull and deck virtually complete and still equipped with an anchor. But with sudden exposure to air wreaking havoc on the wood, archaeologists are hurrying to examine their find.
The unexpected echo from Manhattan's early years
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 15, 2010
Australian scientists have discovered bizarre prehistoric sea life thousands of feet below the Great Barrier Reef, in an unprecedented mission to document species under threat from ocean warming.
Ancient sharks, giant oil fish, swarms of crustaceans and a primitive shell-dwelling squid species called the Nautilus were among the astonishing life captured by remote controlled cameras at Osprey Reef.
Justin Marshall, the lead researcher, said his team had also found seve
Source: Telegraph (UK)
July 16, 2010
A long lost Hollywood silent film featuring Charlie Chaplin is to be screened for the first time in nearly a century after being discovered at an antiques fair.
The comedy called A Thief Catcher was made in 1914 and was missing for so many years that Chaplin's appearance in it as a buffoon policeman had been forgotten.
The 10-minute movie was discovered by the American cinema historian, Paul Gierucki, who bought a can of old film marked "Keystone" at an antiq
Source: Fox News
July 16, 2010
Lynne Stewart, the lawyer sentenced in 2006 to 28 months in prison for aiding convicted terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, got a new sentence Thursday -- 10 years -- after an appeals court ruled late last year her trial judge went too light on her.
Southern District Judge John Koeltl could've given the 70-year-old Stewart 30 years, but went easy on her considering her age and failing health.
Stewart was found guilty in February 2005 of conveying messages for Rahman fro
