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
Jun 25, 2009
On Saturday, more than 90 years after being shot for desertion, Pte James Smith's name will finally be added to Bolton's roll of honour to soldiers killed in World War I.
It is one of many events taking place across the UK to mark the first Armed Forces Day, which has replaced Veterans' Day.
The long-awaited recognition for Pte Smith, known as Jimmy, comes after a campaign by his great, great nephew Charles Sandbach.
In 2006 the government formally pardon
Source: BBC
Jun 25, 2009
The international prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge tribunal has warned that the process is failing to make a connection with the Cambodian people.
Robert Petit said he was also concerned about political interference at the special courts.
The Canadian official has just announced his resignation after three years of leading the prosecution of former Khmer Rouge leaders.
He said his resignation was not connected to problems at the tribunal.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 25, 2009
A needle-worker has created a jaw-dropping vision of the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling in simple cross-stitch.
Using a British concept by cross-stitch 'guru' Dave Peters, called Xstitch Professional, Canadian Joanna Lopianowski-Roberts, 44, who lives in San Francisco, California, spent at least one hour a day for eight years with the work on her lap.
Over the following decade and by committing a total of 3,572 hours, which the IT management consultant and her
Source: Reuters
Jun 24, 2009
Russian communists have put up giant billboards of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in a southern city, promoting his tough methods as the best remedy for the world economic crisis.
Stalin killed millions of people during his 30 year rule until his death in 1953, but many in recession-hit Russia have grown nostalgic for his strong leadership, and he was voted the third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll.
"Everybody knows that under Stalin our country a
Source: AP
Jun 24, 2009
Archeologists have discovered a water well in Cyprus that was built as long as 10,500 years ago, and the skeleton of a young woman at the bottom of it, an official said Wednesday.
Pavlos Flourentzos, the nation's top antiquities official, said the 16-foot (5-meter) deep cylindrical shaft was found last month at a construction site in Kissonerga, a village near the Mediterranean island nation's southwestern coast.
After the well dried up it apparently was used to dispose
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 24, 2009
The world's oldest instrument has been found in a German cave,
suggesting humans were piping tunes from bone and ivory flutes more
than 35,000 years ago, new research has shown.
Scientists discovered remains of the instruments in a German cave once
populated by some of the first modern humans to settle in Europe after
leaving Africa.
The finds suggest that our oldest ancestors in Europe had a
well-established musical tradition.
The most significant discovery was a compl
Source: Bay State Banner
Jun 24, 2009
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass spoke to a majority white audience in Rochester, N.Y. The great orator and abolitionist had been asked to deliver an address commemorating the Declaration of Independence, following a formal reading of the document that day.
What followed was a fiery speech, considered by some to be Douglass’ greatest, titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” In it, he expressed the unique disconnect from the notion of American independence that he felt
Source: http://www.canada.com
Jun 24, 2009
Fear of relic-hunting thieves mean artifact site has to be kept under wraps to protect priceless historic artifacts
Archeologists are keeping quiet about First Nations artifacts they've uncovered on Vancouver Island for fear that relic-hunting thieves will swipe the priceless items before work is complete.
Snuneymuxw First Nation archeologist Lorraine Littlefield said she wants the community to learn about the interesting find that's been uncovered, but is worried publi
Source: rhttp://www.sciencecentric.com
Jun 24, 2009
USC's first pilgrims to a temple of high-energy physics will be seeking answers to worldly questions about ancient commerce.
Archaeologist Lynn Swartz Dodd of USC College and her students are taking trade artefacts from Egypt to the Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source, home of the most powerful X-rays in the country.
The group may be the first from USC to secure precious 'beam time' at the celebrated particle accelerator, according to Gene Bickers, vice
Source: BBC
Jun 24, 2009
The discovery of stones that are thought to date back to the Bronze Age have halted a multi-million pound sewage treatment project in Cornwall.
South West Water has stopped work while Cornwall Council's archaeologists investigate the site at Trevalga, which lies between Boscastle and Tintagel.
The stones encircle a dark circular stain in the ground and are thought to denote the location of a round house.
Archaeologists believe the site could date back to ab
Source: Bloomberg News
Jun 24, 2009
Governments have failed to live up to commitments to track down and return looted art to Nazi victims and their heirs, claimants’ representatives said before an international meeting on Holocaust-era assets.
The June 26-30 conference in Prague, attended by delegates from some 50 countries, will review how far nations put into action a non-binding 1998 agreement, known as the Washington principles. Delegates also aim to agree a new declaration on stolen art. Groups representing Jewi
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 24, 2009
Britain has "failed" in Iraq by not having enough troops and by switching resources to Afghanistan before the mission was finished in Basra, General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has said.
Gen Dannatt said deploying a substantial force to Helmand in 2006 left the military without the troops for any potential 'surge' in Basra as the city descended into near anarchy and under the control of rogue militias.
He admitted that "in truth, we faile
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 24, 2009
A 1.5 million pound painting by Camille Pissarro which was looted by the Nazis has been withdrawn from auction at the last minute because of infighting between the descendants of its original Jewish owners.
Le Quai Malaquais et l'Institut, which features a view of the Seine from the French impressionist's hotel room on the third floor of the Hotel du Quai Voltaire, was due to be auctioned by Christie's in London on Tuesday.
But lawyers representing various scions of t
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 24, 2009
Early Europeans were cannibals with a particular taste for the flesh of children, archaeologists have claimed.
The claim has come after bones of the ancestors of Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens who first settled in Europe around 800,000 years ago were unearthed in the Atapuerca caves in northern Spain.
A study of the prehistoric remains has revealed that human flesh formed part of the diet of early man and children and adolescents in particular were regularly killed and
Source: Timees Online (UK)
Jun 24, 2009
China’s most prominent dissident has been arrested formally after more than six months in detention at a secret location near Beijing on charges that could bring a lengthy prison term.
Liu Xiaobo had been held virtually incommunicado under “residential surveillance”, being allowed only two visits from his wife, since he was taken from his Beijing home on December 8 – a day before publication of a document that he co-authored calling for democracy in China.
State media
Source: AP
Jun 24, 2009
Mexico vowed to keep looking for a mysterious island that could extend its offshore oil claims after university researchers said they couldn't find it.
"The island doesn't exist" in the area where it was shown on maps, a National Autonomous University of Mexico study concluded after conducting studies with underwater sensing devices and aerial reconnaissance in the area.
"Isla Bermeja" appeared on maps from the 1700s as a speck of land off the northw
Source: AP
Jun 24, 2009
A towering sculpture in the Maryland mountains depicting three New York City firefighters raising the U.S. flag at ground zero was financed by investor fraud, federal regulators say.
Now the 40-foot bronze statue unveiled in November 2007 at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md., is for sale. A court-appointed receiver and the sculptor, Stanley J. Watts of Kearns, Utah, say they hope to raise at least $425,000 to repay investors in Coadum Advisors Inc. — and perh
Source: AP
Jun 24, 2009
At age 88, John Kalymon is a man stuck in the past.
He lost his U.S. citizenship two years ago after the government said he shot Jews while working in a Nazi-controlled police unit during World War II. Now, Poland is conducting a criminal investigation into what happened nearly 70 years ago in a town called L'viv.
The Justice Department has agreed to help Poland by questioning Kalymon about murder, death camps and other atrocities against Jews that occurred there in 194
Source: TheDailyBeast.com
Jun 24, 2009
Not all words written by Dick Cheney are classified: The Associated Press reports that Cheney has signed a deal to write his memoirs with a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster. The book will be published in the spring of 2011, shortly after President Bush’s memoir, and will cover Cheney’s long career dating back to the Ford administration. "I'm persuaded there are a lot of interesting stories that ought to be told," Cheney told the Associated Press. "I want my grandkids,
Source: AP
Jun 24, 2009
An 88-year-old man living in Michigan who is now the subject of a criminal investigation in Poland into allegations he shot Jews while working in a Nazi-controlled police unit during World War II insists he did nothing wrong.
Polish officials are investigating what happened nearly 70 years ago in what is now the Ukrainian city of Lviv. The U.S. Justice Department has also agreed to help by questioning John Kalymon about murder, death camps and other atrocities against Jews there in
