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 8, 2008
Josef Fritzl has blamed the Nazis for fostering the twisted morality that led him to imprison his daughter, Elisabeth, in a cellar for 24 years.
In an attempt to defend his conduct, he said Hitler's Germany had instilled "control and the respect of authority" in him.
He also said he had "rescued" Elisabeth, who was then 18, to keep her from "going out to seedy bars" and "drinking and smoking".
The claims were released
Source: National Geographic News
May 8, 2008
People living in the earliest known settlement in the Americas harvested seaweed and other marine plants from a coastline more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, new research shows.
Scientists discovered several species of seaweed and marine algae dating back more than 14,000 years at the Monte Verde archaeological site in south-central Chile.
The findings suggest that these early Americans were beachcombers with a tradition of using coastal resources, says study lead
Source: AFP
May 8, 2008
Scientists have confirmed that the famed Monte Verde archaeological site in southern Chile is about 14,000 years old, making it the earliest known human settlement in the Americas, the journal Science reported Thursday.
The age of Monte Verde has been the subject of controversy over the years, since estimates appeared to conflict with other archaeological evidence related to the settlement of North America.
The new findings support not only the age of the Monte Verde site, bu
Source: BBC
May 8, 2008
The Spanish government has demanded that treasure salvaged from a shipwreck in the North Atlantic be handed over, claiming the sunken ship was Spanish.
Some 17 tonnes of gold and silver coins, worth $500m (£255m), was salvaged in May 2007 by a US firm.
Spain is suing the Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration, saying it is the rightful owner of the treasure.
A lawyer for the country said there was "multiple evidence" that the vessel was a famous
Source: CWNews.com
May 7, 2008
Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance has identified Bishop Wieslaw Mering of Wloclawek as a former Communist collaborator, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper reports.
The Institute of National Remembrance, which has pored over the archives of the Communist regime, say that Mering, who used the pseudonym “Lucjan,” was an informer while pursuing graduate studies in France in the late 1970s. Questions about collaboration between clerics and the secret police of the old Polish regime h
Source: Reuters
May 7, 2008
The Druze people of Israel are a genetic sanctuary of ancient lineages of DNA, researchers reported on Wednesday.
Not only does the exclusive religious community offer a snapshot into the history of the Middle East, but their well-preserved diversity may provide opportunities for medical research, the team at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology said.
The researchers looked at mitochondrial DNA, a type of genetic material that is passed down virtually unchanged f
Source: http://www.caboodle.hu
May 8, 2008
The legend goes something like this: after the disastrous Battle of Mohács in 1526, the twenty-one-year-old Queen Mary of Hungary fled the encroaching Ottoman army on a caravan of ships headed to Vienna. But, on her way up the Danube a few ships sank along with their valuable cargo. It is said that to this day they remain hidden in the murky depths of the river. Soon, any truth to this story may soon be discovered, or disproved.
According to inforadio.hu, a team of Hungarian archaeo
Source: Scotsman
May 7, 2008
ARCHAEOLOGISTS were yesterday celebrating the discovery of 27 2,000-year-old tombs in Italy's "Valley of the Dead".
The tombs, some dating back to the 7th century BC, were found by chance while builders carried out work.
The whole area was sealed off yesterday and put under police guard to prevent anyone from trying to steal artefacts inside the burial chambeADVERTISEMENTrs.
Source: Spiegel Online
May 6, 2008
Germany has founded a pantheon of 40 sporting heroes including soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer and champion boxer Max Schmeling. Critics say some athletes on the list were members of the Nazi party. But the organizers insist that the Hall of Fame reflect the ravages of German history.
Germany inaugurated a Hall of Fame for its sporting legends on Tuesday in a ceremony marred by criticism that some of the 40 athletes selected were members of the Nazi Party.
World Cup winner Fr
Source: http://www.dailygazette.com
May 7, 2008
Siena College, which has an academic program that concentrates on the Revolutionary War era, is planning to open a satellite office near the Saratoga battlefield so students can be close to the site of what they are studying.
On Tuesday, staff from the college toured the former Schuylerville High School on routes 4 and 29. The college is considering renting space in the building, which is just a short drive from the battlefield.
The Saratoga battlefield is the site of the Ba
Source: http://www.episcopal-life.org
May 7, 2008
Grace Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina barely survived the Civil War, was seriously damaged by the earthquake of 1886 and withstood the ravages of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. No wonder the 162-year-old Gothic Revival building needs some serious restoration work. Cracks, settling and structural problems have taken their toll, especially in the steeple tower and clerestory walls.
Raising $12 million for repairs has been a challenge -- seven years into the "Saving Grace
Source: http://www.civilwarinteractive.com
May 8, 2008
The Gettysburg Foundation has purchased the George Spangler Farm, within Gettysburg National Military Park, protecting the historically significant site from private development.
The 80-acre farm — bounded by Granite Schoolhouse Lane and Blacksmith Shop Road, between Taneytown Road and Baltimore Pike — is located at what was the logistical center of the Union battle line during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. During and after the battle, the site als
Source: Reuters
May 7, 2008
Armenia's Orthodox leader on Wednesday used the pulpit of the Vatican to condemn the 1915 killing of 1.5 million ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks, saying the whole world should recognise it as a genocide.
"We Armenians are a people who have survived genocide, and we know well the value of love, brotherhood, friendship and a secure life," Karekin II said in a public address during Pope Benedict's general audience in St. Peter's Square.
"Today, many countr
Source: National Geographic News
May 6, 2008
Debate has heated up over a controversial theory that suggests huge comet impacts wiped out North America's large mammals nearly 13,000 years ago.
The hypothesis, first presented in May 2007, proposes that an onslaught of extraterrestrial bodies caused the mass extinction known as the Younger Dryas event and triggered a period of climatic cooling.
The theory has been debated widely since it was introduced, but it drew new scrutiny in March at the annual meeting of the S
Source: Guardian
May 5, 2008
Archaeologists and scientists have revealed that 1,000 years ago cod was traded extraordinary distances across Europe, from the Norwegian Arctic to England and the Baltic.
The research may force yet another revision of the image of the Vikings, from longship ram-raiders, to mainly traders and colonising farmers, to the fishmongers of Europe. Vikings in York were eating cod caught off the Norwegian coast.
Source: Evan Thomas in Newsweek
May 12, 2008
The outcome of this November's election may hinge on a single question: which presidential candidate will prevail among the "Reagan Democrats"? Those traditionally Democratic voters made history—and a place in the political lexicon—in 1980 when they bolted their party's disarrayed ranks to swing the polls in Ronald Reagan's favor. Until recently, however, few liberal-leaning historians took a respectful look at the Reagan phenomenon. That's finally changing, with the publication of Sea
Source: http://www.kctv5.com
May 6, 2008
A group of people came to City Hall Tuesday to fight plans to destroy a historical cemetery in Kansas City.
There are plans being made to redevelop about 100 acres of land on the border of Raytown in southeast Kansas City to build housing, stores and office buildings.
The Smith cemetery, which contains the remains of Civil War veterans and families from the 1800s, is housed on the land.
Source: Press Release--Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
May 6, 2008
Civil War enthusiasts will get an even better look at "The War of the Rebellion" with new interpretive and directional signs that will guide visitors along trails in six counties throughout the Dutch Country Roads region of the commonwealth, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.
The signs will expand "Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: Prelude to Gettysburg," a program that presents visitors with the rich history, welcoming communities, small towns, and accommodatio
Source: http://www.courier-journal.com
May 6, 2008
The budget for the Waterfront Park memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln -- designed by noted Louisville sculptor Ed Hamilton -- has received a $200,000 pledge from a Louisville family.
Meanwhile, work at the site just downriver from the Big Four Bridge is well under way, with a rescheduled dedication now set for June 4, 2009.
"It's going well and we're on time," Hamilton said of his work. "It will be a unique Lincoln site, and I hope it will be a national at
Source: http://www.progress-index.com
May 6, 2008
Officials at Petersburg National Battlefield have a new policy. If they find Civil War ordninance, call the bomb squad.
That is exactly what happened in late March when park officials uncovered a 44-pound, 8-inch diameter mortar shell. The shell was uncovered as workers and volunteers swept the future path of a park road for artifacts and explosives. The new road will go around the Taylor House.
After the shell was located, the area was marked, blocked off and the bomb
