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: Chronicle of Higher Education
Feb 17, 2010
Every few minutes during a talk last week at the University of California at Irvine, the same thing happened. A student would get up, shout something critical of Israel, be applauded by some in the audience, and be led away by police.
The speaker -- Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States -- was repeatedly forced to stop his talk. He pleaded for the right to continue, and continued. University administrators lectured the students and asked them to let Oren speak. In t
Source: Pilot Online (VA)
Feb 17, 2010
North Carolina's education officials have confronted a firestorm of criticism about a proposal to teach only post-Reconstruction American history in high school, leaving lessons on the Founding Fathers and the Civil War to fifth- and seventh-grade classes....
...[S]tate educators say the proposed change in curriculum standards addresses a need to teach U.S. history after 1877 more in-depth, and is not an attempt to thwart learning about the Constitution or the Emancipation Proclamat
Source: NYT
Feb 17, 2010
Most Americans believe that colleges today operate like businesses, concerned more with their bottom line than with the educational experience of students, according to a new study. And the proportion of people who hold that view has increased to 60 percent, from 52 percent in 2007.
At the same time, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said that colleges should use federal stimulus money to hold down tuition, even if it means less money for operations and programs.
The
Source: Morristown Daily Record (NJ)
Feb 16, 2010
It was the humble request of a weary soldier who had served in the Continental Army for five years and had just survived the most severe winter of the Revolutionary War, weathering 23 snowstorms in wooden huts at Jockey Hollow in Morristown.
Dated: "Camp near Morristown April 16th 1780,'' Cpl. John Allison, a 25-year-old soldier in the 5th New York Regiment, sought the highest commander's relief to his plight, asking to be discharged as his three-year enlistment had expired.
Source: NYT
Feb 16, 2010
A new mini-series about John F. Kennedy’s presidency that is being prepared by the History channel does not yet have a cast or a premiere date. Not a frame of footage has been shot. It does, however, have prominent critics who want it brought to a halt.
The critics, including Theodore C. Sorensen, a former Kennedy adviser, say they have read the scripts for the project and that those contain errors of fact and emphasis. But like a similar controversy over a 2003 television film abou
Source: BBC News
Feb 16, 2010
Sir Paul McCartney has told the BBC he hopes the famous Abbey Road Studios can be saved, after reports that it has been put up for sale by owner EMI.
Selling the studios, best known for being the place where the Beatles recorded their albums, could raise £30m for the debt-stricken record company.
Sir Paul told the Newsnight programme some people associated with the studio may be "mounting some bid to save it".
EMI and its private equity owner Terr
Source: UPI
Feb 16, 2010
Archaeology professors have discovered in Illinois what they said appears to be a coppersmiths' workshop from the American Stone Age.
Ancient Mississippian-era hammered-copper decorations, including headdress ornaments, jewelry and clothing embellishments, have been unearthed near the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Collinsville, the Belleville News-Democrat reported Tuesday.
The site was the location of Cahokia, a large, prehistoric city of perhaps 20,000 inhabi
Source: BBC
Feb 16, 2010
Students at a Cambridgeshire college have begun an archaeological dig of their "artefact-rich" grounds.
Previous excavations at Linton Village College have revealed evidence of a Roman settlement and Bronze Age burial remains.
Neolithic pits dug 5,000 years ago and muskets and uniforms from the English Civil War have also been found there.
The dig is part of year-long art, archaeology and film-making project funded by a £25,000 lottery grant.
Source: BBC
Feb 16, 2010
Archaeologists have unearthed dozens of clay figures in Ghana, shedding light on a sophisticated society which existed before the arrival of Islam.
Experts from the University of Ghana found 80 sculptures believed to be between 800 and 1,400 years old.
They believe the figures, depicting animal and human forms, are part of a burial ground or shrine.
Archaeologists say the societies that constructed the figures simply disappeared when Islam arrived.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Feb 16, 2010
Joe the Plumber, the mascot of the 2008 John McCain campaign for the US presidency, has lashed out at the veteran US senator from Arizona for "screwing up" his life.
Mr Wurzelbacher was thrust into the international spotlight when Mr McCain made repeated reference to him during one of the televised presidential debates. The two men had met days before and Mr Wurzelbacher had voiced fears about likely tax increases if Barack Obama were to become president.
Bu
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Feb 16, 2010
A dog collar that belonged to Charles Dickens has fetched $11,590 (£7,350) at a New York City auction.
The leather and brass collar is inscribed with Dickens' name. It had been estimated to sell at $4,000 to $6,000. The buyer's name was not immediately disclosed.
The collar was auctioned on Tuesday at Bonhams New York's sale of dog art.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Feb 16, 2010
Egyptian pharaoh King Tutankhamun may have died from malaria, new research indicates.
The cause of the famous teenage king's death has long been a mystery, with a range of theories as to how he met his end.
But now scientists, who have analysed DNA from royal mummies, have managed to create a family tree for the ruler, and believe he may have died from a combination of malaria and bone abnormalities. But scientists have now analysed a
Source: Archaeo News
Feb 16, 2010
One of the world's oldest shipwrecks has been discovered off the coast of Devon (England) after lying on the seabed for almost 3,000 years. The trading vessel was carrying an extremely valuable cargo of tin and hundreds of copper ingots from the Continent when it sank. Experts say the 'incredibly exciting' discovery provides new evidence about the extent and sophistication of Britain's links with Europe in the Bronze Age as well as the remarkable seafaring abilities of the people during the peri
Source: FOX News
Feb 16, 2010
King Tut may be seen as the golden boy of ancient Egypt today, but during his reign, Tutankhamun wasn't exactly a strapping sun god. Instead, a new DNA study says, King Tut was a frail pharaoh, beset by malaria and a bone disorder—and possibly compromised by his newly discovered incestuous origins.
The report is the first DNA study ever conducted with ancient Egyptian royal mummies. It apparently solves several mysteries surrounding King Tut, including how he died and who his parent
Source: CNN.com
Feb 16, 2010
William Ward Warren was 15 when his dad dropped him off at Dallas Love Field to see President John F. Kennedy arrive in the city, on the same day JFK was assassinated.
Students in Dallas, Texas, had November 22, 1963, off from school in recognition of the visit. Warren decided to take along his 8mm camera.
The result was "the best home movie known to exist of the Kennedy arrival," according to Gary Mack, curator of the The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Source: BBC News
Feb 16, 2010
Secret love letters written by former US President John F Kennedy to a Swedish woman are being put up for auction.
The letters were written to Gunilla von Post when Mr Kennedy was an ambitious US senator in the 1950s.
Their love affair began before Mr Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier - but continued afterwards.
Bidding for the letters starts at $25,000 (£16,000), but they are expected to fetch much more.
Ms Von Post, now 78 years old, reveale
Source: Register Pajoronian (CA)
Feb 16, 2010
At the time it went down in 1,500 feet of frigid water five miles off the Point Sur coast, the USS Macon was among the largest airships ever built.
Now, after 75 years, the crash site has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.
The Macon was designed to serve as a reconnaissance dirigible in the Pacific Theater during World War II. She stretched 785 feet and carried f
Source: Reuters
Feb 16, 2010
France deliberately exposed its soldiers to nuclear explosions in Algeria in the 1960s to study the effect of radiation on humans, a newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing confidential documents.
The French government promised last year to compensate victims of nuclear tests in Algeria, carried out between 1960 and 1966, recognizing a link between the explosions and veterans' illnesses such as cancer.
While the government has said the tests were conducted as safely as p
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Feb 15, 2010
A raft of alleged inconsistencies in the evidence surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, has been published in a book by an investigative journalist.
Australian journalist John Morgan claimed he was disclosing a “tidal wave of evidence” that undermined the official conclusion that her death was an accident.
The inquest into the death of the Princess concluded that she and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed through a combination of the gross ne
Source: Wheaton Leader (IL)
Feb 15, 2010
Ed Finch was dumbfounded at his discovery.
As museum director for the Stephenson County Historical Society in Freeport, one of Finch's duties is keeping track of all the artifacts and information received at the museum. While exploring a fireproof safe at the museum last week, Finch ran across documents in a box which had obviously been untouched for some time.
As he examined the contents of the box, a small sheaf of papers commanded his attention.
“I thoug
