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: Independent (UK)
May 23, 2010
Exactly a century after rumours of his death turned out to be entirely accurate, one of Mark Twain's dying wishes is at last coming true: an extensive, outspoken and revelatory autobiography which he devoted the last decade of his life to writing is finally going to be published.
The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently misquoted catchphrases in the English language left behind 5,000 unedited pages of memoirs when he died in 1910, together with han
Source: WTOP.com
May 24, 2010
The Rev. Richardson Libby certainly has an unflagging dedication to history. Thanks to his perseverance, the right version of the Stars and Stripes is hanging inside the State House rotunda.
Libby, who lives across the street from the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis, discovered that the flag thought to be an accurate reproduction of one made in 1783 was incorrect. The blue field of 13 eight-point stars should have been vertical instead of horizontal.
He worked with h
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
May 23, 2010
The old warship has been part of Philadelphia's waterfront for 50 years and left lasting impressions on thousands of visitors who heard gripping stories of its role in the Spanish-American War.
Now the Olympia - the last surviving vessel from that 1898 conflict - could face an ignoble end as an artificial reef off Cape May if a new benefactor cannot be found.
The Independence Seaport Museum and the Navy have already checked with officials of New Jersey's Artificial Reef
Source: Discovery News
May 24, 2010
The last wish of one of America's greatest authors is about to come true: Mark Twain's biography will hit stories 100 years after his death.
According to a report by The Independent, the late novelist, whose works include "Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," left behind 5,000 pages of unedited text that will be turned into a three-volume trilogy running about half a million words.
Intrigue, humor, politics, philosophy and an early 2
Source: Discovery
May 23, 2010
The rapid decline of mammoths and other megafauna after humans spread across the New World may explain a bone-chilling plunge in global temperatures some 12,800 years ago, researchers reported Sunday.
The 100-odd species of grass-eating giants that once crowded the North American landscape released huge quantities of methane -- from both ends of their digestive tracks.
As a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, methane is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).
Source: AP
May 24, 2010
A former dictator and convicted drug trafficker appears poised to regain political power in Suriname, where he has cultivated a following among young people despite facing trial for the execution of political opponents in the 1980s.
The main opposition party led by Desi Bouterse appears likely to gain at least some control in the South American parliament in Tuesday's election. His National Democratic Party currently holds 15 of the 51 seats.
Parliament routinely appoin
Source: Digital Journal
May 24, 2010
Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), whose remains were recently identified using modern forensic tools, was buried Saturday at the Frombork Cathedral, 467 years after his death.
Copernicus died in 1543 and was buried at the cathedral of Frombork, northern Poland, along with many other priests and lay people whose bodies remained anonymous under the floor of this large Gothic building. Although an epitaph was placed at the church, information on the exact location of
Source: BBC
May 24, 2010
A Welsh academic has revealed how he discovered a Middle East settlement buried under sand for about 125 years.
Dr Andrew Petersen first became aware of a possible settlement after finding masonry and pottery at Ras Al-Sharig in Qatar.
He thought something might be there after reading sources naming a town called Rubayqa.
The haul includes the remains of a fort, a mosque, several industrial and domestic buildings, and 100 kilos of pottery and artefacts.
Source: BBC
May 24, 2010
A monument marking an official battle site in the Cotswolds might be in the wrong place, historians have claimed.
The memorial to the Stow-on-the Wold battle stands about three miles (4.8km) north-west of the town, on a hill outside Donnington.
The Royalist defeat at Stow, in March 1646, was the last major battle of the first English Civil War.
But the local civic society said new investigations suggest the site was two miles closer to Stow itself.
Source: BBC
May 21, 2010
A group of squatters has finally been moved out of Nelson Mandela's old law office in the heart of Johannesburg. The "breakthrough" is being celebrated by the former president's lawyer, George Bizos, and others who have fought for years to restore the historic building and turn it into a resources centre for young lawyers.
But there's still one big hurdle ahead. The Essa family who own Chancellor House are reported to be asking for more than the current worth of the proper
Source: Telegraph (UK)
May 24, 2010
The last surviving member of the Romanov dynasty born in the Russian Empire has died in Spain. She was 95.
Grand Duchess Leonida Georgievna, known to her supporters as the Dowager Empress of Russia, was the widow of the Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, who until his death in 1992 was the head of the Romanov dynasty and pretender to the Russian throne.
Grand Duke Vladimir was the great-grandson of Alexander II, the third-to-last tsar of Russia.
Born in 1914
Source: WaPo
May 24, 2010
The empty eye sockets of the battered half-skull stared at me, lifeless, sightless and silent. They were topped by a heavy brow ridge of bone, and the upper jaw of the creature's broad face jutted forward. Not fully human but recognizably related, it sent a shiver down my spine as I looked across 12 inches of space and 2 1/2 million years in time.
There is something deeply humbling about coming face to face with one of humanity's distant early relatives, a practical demonstration of
Source: The Answer Sheet at the WaPo
May 24, 2010
Texas isn’t the only place with lousy social studies standards, though you might be forgiven for thinking so considering all the attention that the Texas Board of Education has received in recent months as it adopted a new set of standards....
In Indiana, for example, the state Board of Education last year warned local school districts in an open letter not to use many of the social studies texts that were actually adopted by the state because, it said, they are lousy. The letter e
Source: AP
May 24, 2010
A former dictator and convicted drug trafficker appears poised to regain political power in Suriname, where he has cultivated a following among young people despite facing trial for the execution of political opponents in the 1980s.
The main opposition party led by Desi Bouterse appears likely to gain at least some control in the South American parliament in Tuesday's election. His National Democratic Party currently holds 15 of the 51 seats.
Parliament routinely appoin
Source: AP
May 24, 2010
Cambodia's genocide tribunal announced Monday that it will give its verdict in July in the case of a notorious Khmer Rouge prison chief accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and torture.
Lars Olsen, spokesman for the U.N.-backed tribunal, said the court will hand down the verdict against Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, on July 26.
The tribunal is seeking justice for an estimated 1.7 million people who died from execution, overwork, disease and mal
Source: AP
May 24, 2010
William Stewart Simkins, who taught at the School of Law for 30 years until his death in 1929, organized the Klan in Florida after the Civil War. Now, 55 years after opening a dorm in his name, the University of Texas is about to begin a review that could result in the removal of Simkins' name from the building.
William Stewart Simkins, who taught at the School of Law for 30 years until his death in 1929, organized the Klan in Florida after the Civil War along with his brother, Eldr
Source: CNN
May 24, 2010
Rand Paul backed out of his Sunday morning talk show appearance, but that didn't stop people from talking about him.
Paul, the Tea Party-backed eye doctor who won Kentucky's Republican Senate primary last week, cited exhaustion as well as a desire to put behind him controversy over his comments on the Civil Rights Act in deciding against a previously scheduled appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," according to host David Gregory.
Gregory also said Paul's spoke
Source: CNN
May 24, 2010
Democratic Senate candidate and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has apologized for misstating his military record during the Vietnam War.
Blumenthal's comments come one week after the New York Times reported that he distorted his military service record. The article alleges that Blumenthal lied about serving in Vietnam and says that he never served in that war, even though the candidate has claimed he did in speeches before veterans groups and military families.
Source: NYT
May 23, 2010
It was an extraordinary week for rare coins and stamps, with two of the world’s most valuable specimens being sold within days of each other.
If anyone doubts the enduring appeal of American currency, a sale completed Thursday of a sparkling 1794 silver dollar should put that to rest. The coin, believed by some experts to be the first United States dollar ever minted, was sold to a nonprofit educational group for $7.85 million, a world record for any coin.
“This is a na
Source: SF Bay View
May 23, 2010
The ad hoc organizing committee of the Second International Criminal Defense Conference being held in Brussels on May 21-23 thanked Rwandan Chief Prosecutor Martin Ngoga and Kigali’s New Times for publicizing their efforts.
This week, as the conference dates approached, The New Times published several articles condemning it and quoting Ngoga saying, “For a few years now, some defense lawyers at the ICTR have badly deviated from their professional duties and turned into activists and
