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: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
On September 29, the National Archives and Records Administration announced that it has selected IBM to provide operations and maintenance of the Electronic Records Archives system (ERA).This award represents the achievement of a goal established by the Archivist of the United States and is consistent with guidance from the Office of Management and Budget to conclude development of the ERA System by the end of September 2011.ERA is designed to receive, preserve, and provide access to the permanently-valuable electronic records created by the Federal government. Deployed in five increments, ERA has multiple instances to handle the unique needs of electronic records from Federal agencies, Presidential Administrations, and the U.S. Congress.As a central part of the National Archives mission to provide access to records documenting the actions of the Federal government, the ERA system has an Online Public Access component to make these electronic records searchable and accessible to the general public.The contract award is for one base year with nine one-year options. Performance of the contract will take place in Gaithersburg and College Park, Maryland and Rocket Center, West Virginia.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
On September 15, the White House released an Open Government Status Report detailing a series of changes they have made to make the Executive branch more open since the beginning of the Obama Administration in January 2009.The report focuses on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Open Government Directive, Data.gov, spending transparency, White House transparency, and efforts to limit the use of security restrictions to keep information secret. Notably, the report acknowledges that the Administration has more work to do to meet the level of unprecedented openness the President committed to creating on his first day in office, and includes a description of the Administration’s plans to build on their transparency initiatives.The report focuses on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Open Government Directive, Data.gov, spending transparency, White House transparency, and efforts to limit the use of security restrictions to keep information secret.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
The National Archives and Records Administration is completing a multi-year nationwide reappraisal of the historical significance of our nation’s court records. Recent articles and postings have led to some confusion on what is occurring. In reality, the National Archives has developed objective criteria by which District Court case files are identified for permanent retention.Archives appraisal staff led a nationwide project, meeting with District Court judges and clerks, legal scholars and historians, reviewing files for each type of civil case to determine the value, having the scholars and historians review the appraisal and recommended disposition, and publishing the schedule in the Federal Register seeking public comment.Under the previous schedule for District Court civil case files, only the case files that went to trial were scheduled as permanent records. Non-trial cases were appraised as temporary unless they were specifically identified to be “historically significant.” The National Archives believed that non-trial cases often had historical significance, but were not being identified.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
On September 8, the National Coalition for History joined OpenTheGovernment.org, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) and other groups in sending a letter urging the Administration to create a Presidential Advisory Committee on Open Government under the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA).The hope is this committee will be a key objective in the initial U.S. OGP Action Plan scheduled to be announced today as part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).The OGP is an initiative that will bring together partners from many countries and sectors to support governments’ efforts to become more transparent, accountable, and participation.This Committee would help raise the profile of open government on the international stage, throughout the U.S. federal government, and set an example for other countries. A Presidential Advisory Committee on Open Government, subject to the constraints and responsibilities of FACA, is a good model for effectively developing an action plan and can help build a stronger foundation for open government work. Learn more about the proposal here.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
On August 18, 2011, the National Archives released the statement below, addressing an allegation that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been destroying documents it wasn’t authorized to destroy.“In July 2010, the National Archives contacted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an allegation that the SEC had been destroying files pertaining to Matters Under Inquiry (MUI) for the past 17 years. Because a NARA-approved disposition schedule did not exist for these records, the SEC did not have authority to dispose of them per the Federal Records Act, 44 USC 3314 and 36 CFR 1220.18.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
September 30, 2011
OpenTheGovernment.org recently released the 2011 Secrecy Report, a quantitative report on indicators of government secrecy. This year’s report chronicles positive changes in some indicators of secrecy as a result of the Obama Administration’s openness directives.The indicators tracked by the report also show a national security bureaucracy that continues to expand the size of the secret government. Formerly known as the Secrecy Report Card, this year’s edition includes a “Progress Report on Openness and Secrecy in the Obama Administration” that shows success, although uneven, in carrying through on past commitments and some troubling trends.One more significant addition to the 2011 Secrecy Report is the inclusion of FOIA data from users’ perspectives. The report analyzes the often inexplicably long delays users face in receiving information they request from the government and brings attention to other issues that continually complicate users’ attempts to get government information.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
October 10, 2011
NEW DELHI – History Channel launched in India Sunday, promoted by AETN18, a joint venture between History parent A+E Networks and leading Indian broadcasting group Network18.The high definition channel roped in top Bollywood star Salman Khan as its brand ambassador, who features in the channel's launch campaign. AETN18 claims the channel is already available in over 40 million households distributed via various cable and direct to home (DTH) platforms. In addition, History is available in six languages, including English....
Source: Ynet News
October 11, 2011
Palestinians are using archeology to advance their statehood bid. Prominent archaeologist Gabriel Barkai called it "cultural Intifada."The PA will seek World Heritage status for the birthplace of Jesus, Bethlehem, once the UN’s cultural agency (UNESCO) admits them as a full member. Hamdan Taha, the Palestinian Authority minister who deals with antiquities and culture, also listed Nablus and Hebron among 20 cultural heritage sites which he said could be nominated as World Heritage Sites....Taha's bid at UNESCO is supported by the Vatican Custody of the Holy Land, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Church. As th UN bid brings the Palestinians closer to an independent state, the historical and archeological claims are playing an increasingly prominent role in the building of the national consciousness.Taha, who did his undergraduate work in Berlin, worked in Jericho with Paolo Matthiae, an Italian scholar who discovered Ebla, the Syrian site that is most famous for the “Ebla tablets.” In Herodion (Herod’s fortress in the Judean hills), Taha worked with Michele Piccirillo, a Fransciscan priest who has been one of the most famous Italian archaeologists. Taha gets funds and support from UNESCO, European governments and societies like the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, a major Catholic association in Jerusalem....
Source: BBC
October 8, 2011
A rail consultant has told of his surprise at finding a Victorian engineer's proposals for a rail link between Scotland and Ireland.Edinburgh-based David Spaven believed the plans for a tunnel, causeway or an undersea bridge between Stranraer and Belfast were not widely known today.The plans feature in a new book, Mapping the Railways, Mr Spaven has co-written with author Julian Holland.It also includes abandoned ideas for light railways on Skye and Lewis.Published for the The Times by Collins, the book has been described as the most comprehensive collection of British railway maps dating from 1819 to the present day....
Source: The Star Phoenix
October 10, 2011
EDINBURGH -- An exhibition devoted to one of Scotland's most colourful sailors, and inspiration for such fictional heroes of the Napoleonic wars as Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, is giving visitors a taste of a bygone age at the national museum in Edinburgh.The exhibition devoted to Admiral Lord Cochrane (1775-1860) has brought together a number of documents and memorabilia never seen in public before, and includes portraits, weaponry and charts from the Napoleonic wars. It runs to next February 19.Through a turbulent career, Fife-born Thomas Cochrane went from naval hero as a famed frigate commander and a Radical member of parliament to scandal and disgrace over an 1814 stock market fraud.He reinvented himself to command Chile's rebel navy in its fight to overthrow Spanish colonial rule - he remains a national hero in Chile to this day - and finally to participate in the Greek war of independence from Turkish rule....
Source: NYT
October 11, 2011
Sea explorers announced Monday the discovery of a new sunken treasure that they plan to retrieve from the bottom of the North Atlantic.Off Ireland in 1917, a German torpedo sank the British steamship Mantola, sending the vessel and its cargo of an estimated 20 tons of silver to the seabed more than a mile down. At today’s prices, the metal would be worth about $18 million.Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Tampa, Fla., said it had visually confirmed the identity of the Mantola with a tethered robot last month during an expedition and had been contracted by the British Department for Transport (a successor to the Ministry of War Transport) to retrieve the lost riches....
Source: Discovery News
October 10, 2011
They had endured months of cold and hunger. The Donner-Reed party had set out for California in 1846 in a journey that normally took four to six months. But after trying a new route, called Hastings Cutoff, rugged terrain left the group snowbound in the Sierra Nevada.Now a new book analyzing one of the most spectacular tragedies in American history reveals what the 81 pioneers ate before resorting to eating each other in a desperate attempt to survive. On the menu: family pets, bones, twigs, a concoction described as "glue," strings and, eventually, human remains.The book, "An Archaeology of Desperation: Exploring the Donner Party's Alder Creek Camp," centers on recent archaeological investigations at that campsite near Truckee, Calif., where one quarter of the 81 emigrants spent their nightmarish winter of 1846-47.No human bone was identified in the fragments analyzed from the extensive bone sample at Alder Creek, but the researchers conclude that "some Donner Party members participated in cannibalism" during the last week of February 1847....
Source: LA Times
October 7, 2011
Coral reefs have been dying off at alarming rates because of modern human activity, and conservationists struggle to preserve them. Now scientists have found such efforts have a long history. By the beginning of the 15th century, native Hawaiian islanders were engaging in sustainable practices to preserve their reefs — ushering in 400 years of recovery. The research, published Monday in the journal PLoS One, shows that sustainable practices go back a long way and that coral reefs may be better able to regenerate than previously thought. Coral reefs are some of the world's richest ecosystems, supporting a diverse array of marine life, including reef fish and mollusks. But they're highly susceptible to modern-day threats such as changing water temperatures, pollution and aggressive fishing practices....
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
October 7, 2011
The Taj Mahal will collapse within five years unless urgent work is carried out at the site of the famous domed building, an Indian historian says.The 358-year-old mausoleum, one of the wonders of the world which attracts some four million visitors each year, is suffering the consequences of a drying nearby Yamuna River, Britain's Daily Express newspaper reports.Mahogany posts driven into wells which form the main support for the construction are drying and cracking and causing sections of the building to tilt.Advertisement: Story continues below
"If the crisis is not tackled on a war-footing, the Taj Mahal will collapse in between two and five years," said MP Ramshankar Katheria, who is leading a campaign to build a STG71 million ($114 million) dam to preserve water levels....
Source: NYT
October 9, 2011
BEIJING — Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese president who was said to have fallen gravely ill in July, appeared at a ceremony in Beijing on Sunday, fanning speculation about his health and the role he might play in power struggles accompanying the long-planned shift in the top leadership next year.A visibly frail Mr. Jiang, 85, was seen on state television on Sunday morning standing with other Chinese leaders in the Great Hall of the People and singing the national anthem along with others to honor the 100th anniversary of the revolution that ended the Qing Dynasty. One photograph showed Mr. Jiang, dressed in a dark suit and red tie and wearing square-rimmed glasses, waving as he took a seat.
Source: NYT
October 10, 2011
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, who often waxes nostalgic about his small-town roots, grew up in an almost all-white rural area where many referred to slingshots as “niggershooters.” One elderly black resident recalls being introduced by her boss at a party decades back as “my maid, Nigger Mae Lou,” while just four years ago, a black high school student found a noose in his locker.In 1968, Mr. Perry left home for Texas A&M, a deeply conservative university whose yearbooks early in the century included Ku Klux Klan-robed students and a dairy group called the Kream and Kow Klub. The school, having just graduated its first two black undergraduates, was in the early throes of desegregation; at the end of Mr. Perry’s four years there, blacks still made up less than 1 percent of the student body.By the time he inherited the governorship from George W. Bush in 2000, Mr. Perry appeared to have moved well beyond his racially sheltered background....
Source: Star Tribune (MN)
October 10, 2011
In the early 1960s, Minnesota Rep. John Blatnik lobbied for a new national holiday, Leif Erikson Day. The farthest he got was an annual presidential proclamation to commemorate the Norwegian explorer's accomplishments on Oct. 9, but Erikson's supporters might be getting the last laugh.Columbus Day -- originally Oct. 12 but now the second Monday in October -- has become largely ignored....But while Scandinavians take credit for undermining Columbus' celebrity status with their insistence that Erikson was the first European to reach North America, there's more to the holiday's falling profile.Increasing numbers of people consider paying homage to Columbus an insult to the nation's indigenous populations....Related LinksHNN Hot Topics: Columbus Day
Source: Reuters
October 7, 2011
(Reuters) - When Paul Friedman met the rag-tag youth camped out near Wall Street to protest inequality in the American economy, he felt he was witnessing the start of a protest movement not seen in America since the 1960s.And Friedman should know. The 64-year-old was a student organizer during the anti-Vietnam War movement, protesting from 1964 for 11 years until the war ended. He also joined Civil Rights actions against racial segregation in America.On Wednesday, as thousands of union workers marched to show solidarity with the movement called Occupy Wall Street, he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with dreadlocked college dropouts, unemployed youth and students, who for three weeks have camped out near Wall Street and who have no plans to leave."It felt in my gut very much like what I was a part of in the 1960s," Friedman said. "What people are expressing ... is an experience that their opportunities are shrinking, not growing and their hopes are shrinking, not growing, and that is an unnatural feeling for the young," he said.The protesters object to the Wall Street bailout in 2008, which they say left banks enjoying huge profits while average Americans suffered under high unemployment and job insecurity with little help from the federal government.
Source: CBS News
October 6, 2011
(AP) MEXICO CITY - Archaeologists found a round Aztec ceremonial platform studded with stone carvings of serpent heads at Mexico City's Templo Mayor ruin, raising hopes in the search for an emperor's tomb, authorities said Thursday.No Aztec ruler's tomb has ever been located and researchers have been on a five-year quest to find a royal tomb in the area of the Templo Mayor, a complex of two huge pyramids and numerous smaller structures that contained the ceremonial and spiritual heart of the pre-Hispanic Aztec empire.Mexico's National Institute of History and Anthropology said the stone platform is about 15 yards (meters) in diameter and probably built around A.D. 1469. The site lies in downtown Mexico City, which was built by Spanish conquerors atop the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan."The historical records say that the rulers were cremated at the foot of the Templo Mayor, and it is believed to be on this same structure — the 'cuauhxicalco' — that the rulers were cremated," said archaeologist Raul Barrera....
Source: LiveScience
October 7, 2011
A miniature airborne drone has helped archaeologists capture images for creating a 3-D model of an ancient burial mound in Russia, scientists say.Archaeological sites are often in remote and rugged areas. As such, it can be hard to reach and map them with the limited budgets archaeologists typically have. Scientists are now using drones to extend their view into these hard-to-reach spots."There are a lot possibilities with this method," said researcher Marijn Hendrickx, a geographer at the University of Ghent in Belgium....
