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: BBC
October 8, 2010
The International Criminal Court's appeals chamber has ruled that a trial of a Congolese warlord should resume after a three-month suspension.
In July, judges halted Thomas Lubanga's trial on war crimes charges and ordered his release when prosecutors refused to hand information to the defence.
Friday's ruling reversed the decision, but also rebuked Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo for flouting court orders.
Mr Lubanga has denied using child soldiers in easter
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 8, 2010
Decision Points – the memoirs of George W Bush, former US president – is out next month and will have a print run of 1.5 million copies, the same as Bill Clinton's My Life, which went on to sell 2 million copies.
The huge first printing run would be accompanied by an e-book and multimedia extras, Crown Publishers said in a statement.
Crown, an imprint of Random House, also said there would be video highlights of Mr Bush's presidency, photographs not included in the har
Source: AP
October 8, 2010
Filipino World War II veterans and widows of those who already have died are suing the federal government over benefit payments that they say are inadequate and discriminatory.
The suit was filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in San Francisco federal court Friday.
It claims one-time payments of either $9,000 or $15,000 given to the Filipino soldiers or their survivors are a pittance compared with what other veterans receive....
Source: CNN
October 8, 2010
Americans are divided over whether President Barack Obama or his predecessor has performed better in the White House, according to a new national poll.
And a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Friday also indicates in the battle for Congress, Republicans hold large advantages over the Democrats among independents, men and blue-collar whites. The poll also indicates that Republicans are much more enthusiastic than Democrats to vote.
By 47 to 45 percent, Ame
Source: CNN.com
October 2, 2010
Britain recognized Druidry, an ancient belief that worships deities that take different forms in nature, as a religion for the first time and gave it charitable status on Saturday.
"There is a sufficient belief in a supreme being or entity to constitute a religion for the purposes of charity law," declared the Charity Commission for England and Wales in response to the Druid Network's application.
The decision will give the neo-pagan religion, known for its cl
Source: NYT
October 8, 2010
Many New Yorkers were suspicious of the newcomers’ plans to build a house of worship in Manhattan. Some feared the project was being underwritten by foreigners. Others said the strangers’ beliefs were incompatible with democratic principles.
Concerned residents staged demonstrations, some of which turned bitter.
But cooler heads eventually prevailed; the project proceeded to completion. And this week, St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Lower Manhattan — the locus of a
Source: The Boston Globe
October 7, 2010
Stored and forgotten for decades, artifacts from the site of Lexington’s historic Hancock-Clarke House will soon offer a rare glimpse into family life in the early 18th century.
Beranek leads a team from the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at University of Massachusetts Boston that has been cataloging the items and studying their significance.
Beranek leads a team from the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at University of Massachusetts Boston that has b
Source: Live Science
October 7, 2010
While most scientists agree that a large object from space likely crashed into Earth and led to the eventual demise of the dinosaurs, a new study takes aim at theories that suggest similar events spelled bad news for large animals and Stone Age hunters nearly 13,000 years ago.
For about three years, scientists have debated over what caused drastic climate changes and gaps in the archaeological record at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, a period of time spanning from about 1.8 mill
Source: AFP
October 5, 2010
Culture lovers in Italy have a chance to help save some of the country's cherished sites from ruin by donating two euros in a text message with a new campaign by the Italian Environment Foundation.
From a picturesque bay on the Amalfi coast to a crumbling medieval tower in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, the money collected will go towards protecting vulnerable nature spots and restoring beloved heritage sites.
A similar campaign last year raised 300,000 euros (415,00
Source: Discovery News
October 5, 2010
A dinosaur recently unearthed in Arizona possessed incredibly strong hands, according to a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The new dinosaur, named Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis (after the philanthropist Sarah Butler), was a sauropodomorph, a small but closely related ancestor to sauropods, the largest land animals in history. Its hands were probably more powerful and dexterous than those for any other known sauropodorph, paleontologists believe.
Source: Discovery News
October 4, 2010
Forget childhood obesity and behavioral problems. Little ones in the 17th Century met colorful ends from eating poisonous beans, falling off wharves and the vague “failure to thrive,” according to Dr. Howard A. Pearson's analysis of colonial doctors' letters in the most recent issue of Pediatrics magazine.
Over one-fifth of infants in some colonial communities died before their first birthdays. So, what was pediatric health-care coverage like in colonial times when kids had it so t
Source: Discovery News
October 5, 2010
Neanderthals are often depicted as brutish club wielders, but a new book suggests Neanderthals had a sensitive side, displaying "a deep seated sense of compassion."
The findings, also published in the journal Time & Mind, are part of a larger study charting how empathy and other related feelings evolved in early humans.
Researchers Penny Spikins, Andy Needham and Holly Rutherford from the University of York Archaeology Department examined archaeological ev
Source: BBC
October 7, 2010
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is stepping down from public life, as he celebrates his 79th birthday.
The man described as the "conscience" of South Africa was a prominent voice during the country's struggle against white minority rule.
He has since been the voice of reconciliation in a number of regional conflicts.
As a young cleric back in the 1970s, he was a vocal critic of the apartheid regime.
In the mid-1980s, when South Africa was s
Source: BBC
October 7, 2010
A woman's account of escaping the sinking Titanic in 1912 has been published for the first time.
Laura Francatelli from London said she heard an "awful rumbling" as the liner went down and "then came screams and cries" from 1,500 drowning passengers.
Her account was recorded in a signed affidavit for the official British inquiry into the disaster.
The historic document is expected to sell for up to £15,000 when it is auctioned in Wiltshi
Source: BBC
October 7, 2010
A lost flute concerto by the composer Vivaldi has been discovered at the National Archives of Scotland.
Il Gran Mogol, which belonged to a quartet of lost concertos, has been authenticated as the work of the 18th Century Italian composer.
Southampton University research fellow Andrew Woolley found the piece among the Marquesses of Lothian's family papers at the archives in Edinburgh.
It will receive its modern day premiere at Perth Concert Hall in January..
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 8, 2010
A set of John Lennon’s fingerprints being auctioned for at least $100,000 (£63,000) has been seized by the FBI, 30 years after the singer’s death.
The 1976 signed application for Lennon’s US citizenship was one of the hallmarks of about 850 celebrity items in an online sale timed around Lennon’s birthday on Saturday.
The fingerprint card was being shown to media at a midtown New York shop early on Wednesday in an auction preview of more than 90 Beatles items when the
Source: BBC
October 7, 2010
The story of Edinburgh's contribution to World War I, including accounts of Girl Guides helping M15, has gone online.
The archive shows how Serbian refugee boys were educated at George Heriot's School and how soldiers were taught to cook at James Gillespie's High school.
The Edinburgh University archive shows how ordinary people helped win a war.
Researchers have been working with Edinburgh City Libraries, historians and community groups to compile it.
Source: CNN
October 7, 2010
A detailed and well-preserved Roman parade helmet -- complete with fine facial features on its face mask, tight curly hair, and a griffin-topped cap -- sold at auction Thursday for 10 times its estimated amount.
The helmet sold at Christie's auction house in London for 2.28 million pounds ($3.6 million). It had been estimated at 200,000 to 300,000 pounds (about $316,000 to $475,000).
The buyer of the helmet was not immediately known.
The Tullie House Museum
Source: AP
October 6, 2010
GENEVA — He's one of the titans of 20th Century architecture, but Le Corbusier is suddenly feeling the weight of history working against him.
The modernist master's legacy is coming under pressure after Switzerland's largest bank dropped an ad campaign featuring the architect and artist last week. Now, Zurich authorities are debating whether to dump plans to name a square after him.
Letters made public in recent years and a 2008 biography suggest that the visionary know
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 7, 2010
Spanish Navy vessels looking for sunken treasure off the country's coast have found about 100 possible shipwrecks.
Two minesweepers and other vessels, on a mission to protect the country's historical heritage from private salvagers, located the sites in Atlantic waters off the southwestern city of Cadiz as part of a campaign that began Sept. 8 and is due to last two months, the Culture Ministry said.
Spain wants to avoid a repeat of a saga that began in 2007 when Tampa
