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)
May 30, 2010
The secret of the strength and longevity of the Great Wall of China lies in the sticky rice that was used as its mortar, Chinese scientists have found.
Workers built the Ming dynasty sections of the Great Wall about 600 years ago by mixing together a paste of sticky rice flour and slaked lime, the standard ingredient in mortar, said Dr Zhang Bingjian.
The sticky rice mortar bound the bricks together so tightly that in many places weeds still cannot grow. However, ther
Source: AP
May 30, 2010
Archaeologists have discovered the 3,300-year-old tomb of the ancient Egyptian capital's mayor, whose resting place had been lost under the desert sand since 19th century treasure hunters first carted off some of its decorative wall panels, officials announced Sunday.
Ptahmes, the mayor of Memphis, also served as army chief, overseer of the treasury and royal scribe under Seti I and his son and successor, Ramses II, in the 13th century B.C.
The discovery of his tomb ear
Source: AP
May 30, 2010
Israel's Army Radio on Sunday played parts of an interview given by Israel's most famous spy, marking 45 years since his capture and execution.
In the 1962 interview on Damascus Radio, Eli Cohen is in character as businessman Kamal Amin Thabit. He comments on Arabic music and society, but the sound quality of some of the excerpts heard Sunday was unclear.
The broadcast came as tensions between Israel and Syria have been on the rise, as each side charges that the other i
Source: AP
May 30, 2010
In a somber military ceremony, President Felipe Calderon of Mexico escorted skulls and bones believed to be the 200-year-old remains of 12 independence heroes from downtown crypts to a historic hilltop castle where they will be examined for authenticity.
The remains, deposited in crypts under the landmark Angel of Independence statue in 1925, were removed Sunday morning by gloved soldiers carrying five ornate gold and wooden boxes. Several skulls were visible through the boxes' glas
Source: LA Times
May 29, 2010
Ulysses S. Grant IV, a grandson of the Civil War general and U.S. president, was a geology professor at UCLA.
More than 30 Confederate soldiers are buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Rosecrans Avenue was named for Union Army general (and later Los Angeles-area resident) William Rosecrans.
UCLA history professor Joan Waugh ticks off such facts to illustrate that, though it's natural to associate the Civil War with cities in the East and the South, links t
Source: NYT
May 28, 2010
WHEN Big Brother regimes crumble, they sometimes leave an unintended paper trail, a pathway into the dark tradecraft of oppression.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, for just one example, many Germans discovered from files kept on them that children or spouses had spied on them for the Stasi secret police. And in Romania, Doru Pavaloiae, an economist, learned that a man he thought of as a friend, a popular singer in his hometown, was an informer — code name: Minstrel — for
Source: NYT
May 28, 2010
THREE hundred years ago, after becoming king of the creaky behemoth that was Russia, Peter Romanov went west. Traveling under a pseudonym, the czar turned himself into an apprentice — studying European advances in shipbuilding, firefighting, dentistry, locksmithing and parliamentary procedure, among other cutting-edge technologies.
He returned to remake Russia. The poor rebelled at switching to the European calendar (as far as they knew, it was 7208) and aristocrats stood in livid s
Source: NYT
May 28, 2010
USUALLY, there is a familiar cycle to Korea crises.
Like a street gang showing off its power to run amok in a well-heeled neighborhood, the North Koreans launch a missile over Japan or set off a nuclear test or stage an attack — as strong evidence indicates they did in March, when a South Korean warship was torpedoed. Expressions of outrage follow. So do vows that this time, the North Koreans will pay a steep price.
In time, though, the United States and North Korea’s n
Source: LA Times
May 28, 2010
Sitting along a lonely stretch of highway in the Texas Panhandle, McLean isn't so small that you'd miss this hamlet in the blink of an eye.
It would take probably five or six blinks to blow through this town, which has never recovered from being bypassed by Interstate 40.
McLean's heyday coincided with Route 66's, when a seemingly endless stream of vehicles sped through. Each day, thousands of motorists drove by a large cinder-block building on the south side of the hig
Source: AP
May 27, 2010
Last fall, a fossil skeleton named "Ardi" shook up the field of human evolution. Now, some scientists are raising doubts about what exactly the creature from Ethiopia was and what kind of landscape it inhabited.
New critiques question whether Ardi really belongs on the human branch of the evolutionary tree, and whether it really lived in woodlands. That second question has implications for theories about what kind of environment spurred early human evolution.
Source: Science Daily
May 26, 2010
Genetic researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have combined data from existing archaeological and linguistic studies of Africa with human genetic data to shed light on the demographic history of the continent from which all human activity emerged.
The study reveals not just a clearer picture of the continent's history but also the importance of having independent lines of evidence in the interpretation of genetic and genomic data in the reconstruction of population histori
Source: BBC
May 28, 2010
A tiny piece of metal which gave vital clues to the true location of the Battle of Bosworth has been declared treasure by a coroner.
The silver boar badge was dropped in the mud more than 500 years ago by a knight who fought alongside King Richard III, historians believe.
The white boar was the king's personal emblem and silver gilt boars were made for his knights and nobles.
The emblem will be independently valued by a committee of experts.
Source: BBC
May 26, 2010
Hungary's decision to allow ethnic Hungarians living abroad to apply for dual citizenship has sparked an angry response from neighbouring Slovakia.
Slovakia has voted to amend its own citizenship law, stripping anyone of their Slovak citizenship if they apply for a second nationality.
Southern Slovakia is home to roughly 500,000 ethnic Hungarians, about a tenth of the country's population.
Hungary ceded two-thirds of its territory under the 1920 Treaty o
Source: BBC
May 26, 2010
The International Criminal Court has reported Sudan to the UN Security Council for refusing to arrest two suspected Darfur war criminals.
Former Minister Ahmed Haroun and militia leader Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Rahman are both alleged to have been involved in attacks on civilians.
The ICC took the unprecedented move after the government refused to accept arrest warrants for the two men.
It comes one day before President Omar al-Bashir starts a new term in
Source: BBC
May 27, 2010
French authorities have arrested a Rwandan doctor accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide.
Eugene Rwamucyo has been wanted by Interpol since 2006, and was dismissed from his job in a hospital in northern France last month.
Rwandan authorities, who allege Dr Rwamucyo committed war crimes during the genocide, welcomed the arrest.
Dr Rwamucyo has denied the accusations, saying he is the victim of a campaign by the Rwandan government.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
May 28, 2010
Silvio Berlusconi has compared himself to Benito Mussolini, complaining that like the Second World War leader he does not have enough real power.
The Italian prime minister said he empathised with Il Duce, who had complained that he lacked real authority and that true power lay with officials in his fascist administration.
Mr Berlusconi said he had recently been reading Mussolini's diaries, which had led him to reflect on the challenges of governing Italy in the 21st
Source: AP
May 28, 2010
A French auction house is selling rare memorabilia of Tintin, the comic strip reporter and globe trotter whose stories have been translated into 80 languages and sold over 200 million books in the past eight decades.
The late Belgian creator Herge launched the adventures of Tintin and Snowy the dog in 1929. Tintin fans, known as Tintinophiles or Tintinologists depending on their level of involvement, often compete fiercely for any artifact linked to the cartoon hero.
Th
Source: AP
May 28, 2010
Rwandan police arrested a U.S. lawyer on Friday on allegations of genocide denial days after he arrived in the country to organize legal defense for a Rwandan opposition leader, the police spokesman said.
Peter Erlinder, who came to Rwanda four days ago, will be presented in court to face charges, said police spokesman Eric Kayiranga.
Erlinder is in Rwanda to help a team provide legal defense for presidential hopeful Victoire Ingabire, an opposition leader who was arres
Source: CNN
May 28, 2010
In his West Virginia home, Peter Ruplenas, a three-time war veteran spends his days thumbing through his personal photography collection.
His compilation is vast and includes countless photographs of B-24 bombers, soldiers in the field and the aftermath of war.
He holds up a photograph of himself taken by fellow photographer Dick Durrance during the Vietnam War. In it, Ruplenas trudges through a rice paddy after returning from a sweep in Cu Chi, Vietnam. He struggles t
Source: The Hook (VA)
May 25, 2010
Dish had a chance recently to enjoy a bite to eat in Thomas Jefferson’s renovated kitchen, and to visit his restored wine cellar, projects that are part of a new exhibition at Monticello called “Crossroads,” which will attempt to bring to life the cellar-level intersection between Jefferson’s day-to-day life above and the lives of the enslaved servants, chefs, and house mangers below.
The new kitchen features an elaborate stew stove along the front wall, an idea Jefferson brought ba
