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: Salon
March 3, 2011
The University of Virginia has acquired a rare first edition of an 1829 anti-slavery manifesto that was considered a rallying cry for black Americans and a major threat to Southern leaders, who worked vigorously to ban it.
The copy of abolitionist David Walker's "Appeal in Four Articles; Together With a Preamble to the Coloured Citizens of the World, But in Particular, and Very Expressly to Those of the United States of America" is one of seven known to still exist. The pa
Source: The Root
March 1, 2011
When Lonnie G. Bunch III outlines plans for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the historian can barely sit still. This is a buoyant man on the move, overseeing the design for what could be the last major building on the National Mall; urging citizens to bring their family mementos out of the attic; deciding which stories out of more than 400 years of American history should be told; and preaching the necessity of this enterprise.
"This is a museum abo
Source: National Parks Traveler
March 1, 2011
Ken Wild knew that somewhere in Virgin Islands National Park's tangle of mango, lime, and tamarind trees, intertwined with various palm species and thick, cloaking pockets of Sansevieria, was an ancient carving in rock. An old roll of film confirmed as much.
But where?
The images, taken from the roll that had itself gotten overlooked for an unknown period of time -- in the park's archives, not within its lush tropical forests -- included some of the well-known Taino car
Source: Guardian (UK)
March 3, 2011
Not "O Hamlet" but O'Hamlet: Shakespeare's Prince of Denmark, according to literary research, derives his peculiar name from ancient Irish origins.
The identity of the Prince of Denmark has fascinated scholars for centuries, with disputes about the name's Jutish, Icelandic or Latin etymology jostling for academic pre-eminence.
Now Dr Lisa Collinson, a medieval Scandinavian expert at Aberdeen University, has published research which traces the unusual word to a
Source: NYT
February 28, 2011
RAMAT GAN, Israel — One of the mysteries that scholars have puzzled over for centuries is the exact shade of blue represented by “tekhelet,” which the Bible mentions as the color of ceremonial robes donned by high priests and ritual prayer tassels worn by the common Israelite.
What was known about tekhelet (pronounced t-CHELL-et) was that the Talmud said it was produced from the secretion of the sea snail, which is still found on Israeli beaches.
Traditional interpretat
Source: AP
March 1, 2011
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- Savannah's city manager has granted an exemption for Girl Scouts to sell cookies outside the historic mansion of the woman who founded the organization nearly a century ago.
A complaint had halted the longtime practice of selling cookies on the public sidewalk outside the home of Juliette Gordon Low near a busy Savannah intersection. Savannah has an ordinance banning peddling on public sidewalks....
Source: Guardian (UK)
February 27, 2011
The archaeologist stares down into the enormous hole that edges up to the back of Rome's rugby stadium and gestures helplessly. "Make no mistake, this Roman necropolis we have found stretches right under the pitch."
Marina Piranomonte is talking about the Stadio Flaminio, after seeing how the "City of the Dead" she has dug up behind Gate 7 has fared under the winter rains. With 23 funeral inscriptions, dozens of bronze coins, oil lamps and more than 1,000 ceramic
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
March 2, 2011
Many people will have had bad experiences with postal delivery in the past, but it's unlikely any of us will ever have to wait as long for a letter as one American lady has.
A World War II-era letter addressed to a woman at a Red Cross hospital in California has been delivered 66 years after was sent in Alabama.
The letter, postmarked August 9, 1944, only arrived last month, on February 16.
It is addressed to Miss R.T. Fletcher, American Red Cross Station H
Source: Fox News
March 2, 2011
Pope Benedict XVI has made a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, tackling one of the most controversial issues in Christianity in a new book.
In "Jesus of Nazareth-Part II" excerpts released Wednesday, Benedict explains biblically and theologically why there is no basis in Scripture for the argument that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus' death.
Interpretations to the contrary have been used for centur
Source: Shropshire Star
March 1, 2011
Three hoards of medieval coins found in Shropshire have been declared as treasure by a coroner.
The coins – dating from the 13th to 17th centuries – were discovered in Baschurch and near Oswestry.
Mr John Ellery, coroner for north and mid Shropshire, declared all three finds as treasure trove at inquests in Wem yesterday.
The finds could now go on display at Rowley’s House Museum in Shrewsbury and Powysland Museum.
Mr Ellery heard the Baschurch
Source: WaPo
March 2, 2011
MOSCOW -- Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded Russia's highest medal on his 80th birthday Wednesday, a belated tribute from the homeland where many blame him for the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Gorbachev during a meeting that he would be awarded the Order of St. Andrew for his service as the last Soviet leader. Medvedev said leading the Soviet Union during a "very complex, dramatic period" was a tough job.
"It can b
Source: NYT
March 2, 2011
PARIS — The regime of the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, has been badly undermined, but he retains enough support among critical tribes and institutions, including parts of the army and the air force, that he might be able to retain power in the capital, Tripoli, for some time to come, say experts on Libya and its military.
They caution that the situation on the ground is both fluid and confusing. But they emphasize that tribal loyalties remain an important indicator, and
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
March 2, 2011
The excavation of a 1,000-year-old canoe began at dawn Tuesday with a long trek through shallow water.
Rain poured. Smelly muck filled with sharp shells covered everything. Flesh-hungry sand gnats did what they do best.
And this was the fun part.
After years of anticipation, paperwork, fundraising and waiting for the tides to ebb just right, a small team of experts were finally ready to pull the prehistoric vessel from its grave at the Weedon Island Preserv
Source: National Parks Traveler
March 3, 2011
If you have even a passing interest in archeology, the upcoming Archeology Day at Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday, March 19 will be a great chance for some hands-on activities and learning opportunities.
Who were the people who lived in and around the Grand Canyon centuries ago, and how did they live? What do archeologists really do to solve those mysteries, and what have they learned? Archeology Day is intended to help park visitors answer those questions—and have fun in the
Source: Telegraph (UK)
March 3, 2011
Irish traveller John Maughan snatched the 313-year-old instrument from South Korean-born violinist Min-Jin Kym as she stopped to buy a sandwich at London’s Euston railway station.
Despite researching the violin online, Maughan, 40, and his two teenage accomplices were so ignorant of its value that they offered it to a stranger in an internet café for just £100.
But the man turned down the offer claiming that his daughter already owned a recorder, Blackfriars Crown Court
Source: CNN
March 3, 2011
The fate of famed aviator Amelia Earhart remains a mystery after DNA tests on one of three bone fragments discovered on a Pacific island proved inconclusive.
Cecil M. Lewis Jr. of the University of Oklahoma's Molecular Anthropology Laboratories reported "the question of whether the bone is human must remain unanswered" until new technologies may make a determination possible.
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) asked Lewis to test t
Source: BBC News
March 2, 2011
A congressional commission in Chile has blamed the mine owners for the rockfall which left 33 men trapped underground for 69 days last year.
The commission said Alejandro Bohn and Marcelo Kemeny were guilty of negligence, a charge they deny.
The investigation also concluded that the Chilean mine safety regulator bore some responsibility for failing to enforce its rules.
Workers said the mine lacked basic safety standards.
The commission unanimo
Source: BBC
March 2, 2011
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has been given Russia's highest award, the Order of St Andrew, to mark his 80th birthday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the award was for his "enormous work as head of state" when they met at a presidential residence outside Moscow.
Mr Gorbachev played a key role in dismantling the Iron Curtain.
But many Russians revile him for the economic meltdown and conflicts after the collapse of the USSR in 199
Source: BBC
March 2, 2011
A set of four Chinese stamps from the Cultural Revolution era has sold at auction in Hong Kong for more than $1.15m (£708,000).
The stamps, which were never issued for use, feature a design called Mao's 1968 Inscription to Japanese Worker Friends.
The set was bought by a collector in Hong Kong.
The 600-lot auction, which featured both pre- and post-revolutionary Chinese stamps and also issues from Taiwan, raised more than $12m.
The auctioneer
Source: BBC
March 2, 2011
School children in Clackmannanshire are hoping to solve the mystery of a wall apparently built by German prisoners of war in the 1940s.
The stone construction in Sauchie is known as the "German wall" - but the council said it had no records of Germans being held prisoner nearby.
Italians were held at a camp just half a mile away in Fishcross.
Pupils at Craigbank Primary School visited the wall as part of their studies on World War II.
