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: Florida Times-Union
October 24, 2010
EULONIA - Lt. Col. John McIntosh was laid in his final resting place Saturday as hundreds looked on.
At least they hope it was his final resting place.
By some reckonings, he has had two others. The first when the Revolutionary War hero died in 1826 and then another, perhaps when hurricane flooding washed his coffin out of the ground. The latter is historians' best guess. It is known that a cast iron Fisk Coffin fell into the marsh in December 2006. The Fisk Coffin wasn
Source: AP
October 26, 2010
An audit prompted in part by the loss of the Wright Brothers' original patent and maps for atomic bomb missions in Japan finds some of the nation's prized historical documents are in danger of being lost for good.
Nearly 80 percent of U.S. government agencies are at risk of illegally destroying public records and the National Archives is backlogged with hefty volumes of records needing preservation care, the audit by the Government Accountability Office found.
The repor
Source: AP
October 27, 2010
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Two Civil War-era dolls thought to have been used to smuggle medicine past Union blockades have received a modern X-ray exam....
The conclusion: yes....
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
October 28, 2010
The undercover British officer crept silently through the bushes, his tartan kilt a bizarre form of dress for a man who did not want to be conspicuous.
Then he stopped to take in the awesome might of the enemy. Through the gloom, he could make out the 15,000 battle-scarred men and 200 machines of the cruellest and most feared of all the SS forces in war-torn France in the summer of 1944.
Parked up for the night, their tanks, half-tracks and heavy guns stretched as far a
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 27, 2010
The human family tree may not have taken root in Africa after all, claim scientists, after finding that its ancestors may have travelled from Asia.
While it is widely accepted that man evolved in Africa, in fact its immediate predecessors may have colonised the continent after developing elsewhere, the study says.
The claims are made after a team unearthed the fossils of anthropoids – the primate group that includes humans, apes and monkeys – in Libya's Dur At-Talah...
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 27, 2010
Germany has signalled its support for the proposed Bomber Command Memorial by donating a £25,000 yew tree to be planted at the site in central London.
The tree, which will take pride of place in a garden of remembrance next to the monument in Green Park, will be a symbol of reconciliation as well as recognising the sacrifice made by the 55,573 airmen who died to help free Europe, including Germany, from Nazi tyranny.
It was originally planted in Potsdam, near Berlin, t
Source: BBC News
October 27, 2010
The former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has warned Nato that victory in Afghanistan is "impossible".
Mr Gorbachev said that the US had no alternative but to withdraw its forces if it wanted to avoid another Vietnam.
As Soviet leader, he pulled his troops out of Afghanistan more than 20 years ago after a 10-year war.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said troops would not be withdrawn from the country until their "very diffi
Source: AP
October 27, 2010
LONDON (AP) — One of the world's most famous James Bond cars — the specially equipped silver Aston Martin first driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" — was auctioned off Wednesday in London for 2.6 million pounds ($4.1 million.)
The unique car, which boasts an ejector seat, machine guns, rotating license plates and other spy gear, was initially expected to go for more than 3.5 million pounds ($5.5 million)....
Source: NYT
October 26, 2010
Maya Angelou’s paper trail includes a rambling, typewritten letter from James Baldwin, dated Nov. 20, 1970, addressed to “Dear, dear Sister” discussing everything from his new book to his feelings about death.
And one from Malcolm X, written on Jan. 15, 1965, assuring her, “You can communicate because you have plenty of (soul) and you always keep your feet firmly rooted on the ground.”...
All of these things and more — a total of 343 boxes containing her personal papers
Source: AP
October 26, 2010
Authorities in Bosnia and Serbia said Tuesday they had recovered the skeletal remains of at least 97 people from the banks of a border lake that was partially drained this summer for maintenance.
Officials from the Bosnian and Serbian Commissions for Missing Persons said 372 bone fragments were found on the Bosnian bank of Perucac lake and 79 on the Serbian side.
By counting the right femurs recovered, experts determined the bones belonged to at least 97 people — victim
Source: Reuters
October 27, 2010
Fishermen have found a dozen bombs believed to be from World War Two buried on the Galapagos Islands, a local government official said Tuesday.
The bombs were found on Bartolome Island, one of the Galapagos group located about 600 miles off South America's northwestern coast.
The islands are a province of Ecuador, which let the United States set up a military base on one, Baltra Island, during World War Two due to its strategic location southwest of the Panama Canal.
Source: BBC News
October 27, 2010
Argentina's former President, Nestor Kirchner, has died after suffering a sudden heart attack, doctors say.
Mr Kirchner, 60, who had been operated on in September for heart problems, died in the southern Argentine city of El Calafate, local media reported.
His wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is the current president of the country.
Mr Kirchner served as president from 2003 to 2007, and was being tipped to stand for election again in 2011.
Source: Minnesota Public Radio
October 25, 2010
It started with a fingerprint of a 25-year-old college professor who opposed the Vietnam War and ended with a search for his remains, 32 years later, in a wooded area near Eveleth, Minn.
The FBI's files on Paul and Sheila Wellstone, many of which are being made public for the first time, shed new light on the extent of the relationship between the FBI and the political activist who would go on to become a U.S. senator from Minnesota.
Some of the information uncovered in
Source: NYT
October 27, 2010
MOSCOW — Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who once supported Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, is voicing growing frustration with Mr. Putin’s leadership, saying that he had undermined Russia’s fledgling democracy by crippling the opposition forces.
“He thinks that democracy stands in his way,” Mr. Gorbachev said.
“I am afraid that they have been saddled with this idea that this unmanageable country needs authoritarianism,” Mr. Gorbachev said, referring to Mr. Putin and his close
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the grant-making arm of the National Archives, has announced a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia (UVA) Press to make freely available online the historical documents of the Founders of the United States of America.
The NHPRC and UVA Press will create a new web site which provides access to the fully annotated published papers of key figures in the nation’s Founding era. The project is designed t
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) has released a major report detailing the state of sound-recording preservation and access. “The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States: A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age,” outlines the issues that threaten the long-term survival of America’s sound-recording history.
The report identifies the public and private policy issues that strongly bear on whether the nation’s most culturally an
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
As Veterans Day approaches, programs are underway to promote the preservation of the history of the nation’s veterans and to honor their service to our country. These include the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress and “Take a Veteran to School Day” sponsored by the History Channel.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington recently launched a new campaign asking America to “collect and preserve the story of at least one veteran” and to “pledge to preserve this impor
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the agency created by Congress to oversee compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and serve as an ombudsman for FOIA requesters, recently marked its first year of existence. OGIS has issued a report on its website documenting the agency’s performance over the past year.
OGIS is part of the National Archives and Records Administration.
OGIS is responsible for reviewing policies and procedures of administ
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
The National Archives recently launched DocsTeach.org, a new online tool for teaching with documents. DocsTeach combines primary source content with the interactive capabilities of the Internet.
“DocsTeach.org is a significant and welcome addition to our popular education programs,” said Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero. “It will engage teachers and students in new ways and stir their interest in history through the use of original documents in the National Archives.
Source: Lee White at the National Coalition for History
October 22, 2010
The 2010 Secrecy Report Card was recently released by the watchdog group OpenTheGovernment.org. The report shows a continued decrease in most indicators of secrecy since the end of the Bush Administration and growing backlogs in the declassification system as old secrets move through the system. The report covers the first 9 months of President Obama’s Administration.
OpenTheGovernment.org is a coalition of more than 70 groups advocating for open government, including the National C
