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: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 17, 2009
The oldest bird of prey nest ever recorded, that was first used before the time of Jesus, has been discovered in Greenland.
The nesting site on a precarious cliff edge is still continually used by gyrfalcons, the world's largest species of falcon.
Three other nests, each over 1,000 years old, have also been found, one of which contains feathers from a bird that lived more than 600 years ago.
However it is feared climate change may soon drive the birds fr
Source: Globe and Mail
Jun 17, 2009
As high school students across the country sit to write their final examinations this month, Canadians may be shocked to discover that few of them will be tested on what they know about Canada's history.
For more than a decade, the Dominion Institute has commissioned surveys chronicling the national malaise about Canada's history: Four in 10 Canadians cannot name our first prime minister or identify the year of Confederation. Young Canadians often know even less about our country's
Source: Independent (UK)
Jun 17, 2009
How King Louis XV came to shoot his own horse in the bottom is described, by the monarch himself, in a batch of royal letters to be auctioned in Paris today.
The hunting accident took place near Versailles in September 1766 and appears to have caused the 18th-century equivalent of banner headlines all over the country.
In a laconic note to his cousin, the Duc de Penthièvre, the king reports that his "adventure" has been "certainly exaggerated".
Source: New Republic
Jun 17, 2009
In early May, White House Counsel Greg Craig circulated a memo inside the West Wing. Part of a series of memos on protocol, it explained how to deal with writers researching books and articles on the White House. (Craig's unsurprising instructions: Clear interview requests with the press office.) While the memo didn't mention any journalists by name--and while there are currently no fewer than half a dozen major reporters under contract to write books about the nascent Obama presidency and the 2
Source: National Geographic
Jun 16, 2009
For about as long as humans have created works of art, they've also left behind handprints. People began stenciling, painting, or chipping imprints of their hands onto rock walls at least 30,000 years ago.
Until recently, most scientists assumed these prehistoric handprints were male. But "even a superficial examination of published photos suggested to me that there were lots of female hands there," Pennsylvania State University archaeologist Dean Snow said of European ca
Source: WaPo
Jun 16, 2009
"We do not believe that Israel will embark on the development of nuclear weapons with the aim of actually starting a nuclear war," reads the declassified 48-year-old CIA Special National Intelligence Estimate.
The estimate, publicly released June 5 by George Washington University's National Security Archives, continues, "Possession of a nuclear weapon capability, or even the prospect of achieving it, would clearly give Israel a greater sense of security, self-confiden
Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Jun 16, 2009
An archaeological excavation in Jerusalem has revealed an ancient aqueduct that brought water to the Sultan's Pool and to the Temple Mount, supplying clean water to the city's residents and visiting pilgrims.
The Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered the main aqueduct that conveyed water to the Sultan's Pool during an excavation prior to the construction of the Montefiore Museum in Mishkenot Sha'ananim by the Jerusalem Foundation. The ancient aqueduct supplied pilgrims and resident
Source: Zenit
Jun 16, 2009
New evidence published today by the newspaper of the Italian bishops gives more credence to the belief that Adolf Hitler had planned to either kidnap or kill Pope Pius XII.
It has long been conjectured that Hitler had ordered the SS commander in Italy, General Karl Wolf, to seize the Vatican and take the Pope.
Dan Kurzman wrote about it in his 1997 book "A Special Mission: Hitler's Secret Plot to Seize the Vatican and Kidnap Pope Pius the XII," which is based
Source: Voice of America
Jun 16, 2009
Senate confirmation hearings begin July 13 for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Barack Obama's choice for the U.S. Supreme Court. Experts say that Sotomayor's confirmation is likely, given the Democrats' majority in the Senate. But history shows that the confirmation process can be unpredictable.
If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Sotomayor would become the country's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.
From humble beginnings in New York City to some of the country's fi
Source: LAT
Jun 16, 2009
Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed told U.S. military officials that he had lied to the CIA after being abused, according to documents made public Monday. The claim is likely to intensify the debate over whether harsh interrogation techniques generated accurate information.
Mohammed made the assertion during hearings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was transferred in 2006after being held at secret CIA sites since his capture in 2003.
"I ma
Source: LAT
Jun 16, 2009
A 95-year-old Auschwitz survivor donated jewelry he took from the clothing of Jews who were gassed to death at the Nazi camp to Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum on Monday.
Polish-born Meyer Hack, who now lives in Boston, found the gems while sorting the clothing of victims sent to die in the gas chambers, which was his job at the camp where his mother, brother and two sisters died.
Source: Daily Mirror
Jun 16, 2009
The Customs Bio Diversity Protection Unit which cracked the biggest ever attempt to smuggle out a large stock of priceless artefacts including Buddha statues belonging to 19th Century Kandyan era last January concluded the case yesterday.
The BDPU fined the Swedish national Robert Ulvenkrantz Rs.50,000 after the inquiry and released him. He was taken into custody on May 2 for attempting to leave the country with two priceless antique Buddha statues.
According to Customs
Source: CNN
Jun 16, 2009
Some 65 years after their service, the 300 surviving Women Airforce Service Pilots are being honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a measure awarding the women one of the national's highest civilian honors. The Senate passed a similar measure in May and President Obama is expected to sign it.
With only about a quarter of the former WASPs still alive and all in their late 80s or older, it was important for the House to
Source: The Tennessean
Jun 16, 2009
Archaeologists complete exhumation of remains on construction site.
Using shovels, brushes and dirt sifters, the partial skeleton of an unknown Civil War solider was exhumed Monday from his longtime burial plot along Columbia Avenue by a team of archaeologists.
The newly exhumed remains, which included bones from both of the man's legs as well as burial artifacts, will be kept by state environmental officials until a final burial site can be determined.
The
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Jun 16, 2009
Rich Remer mined his family's Kensington past for a quarter-century.
He found deeds, wills, letters, newspaper clippings, maps, diaries. The material took him to the first Remer in the colonies, a German butcher who lived on Shackamaxon Street by the Delaware River in the mid-1700s.
Then came unexpected news two weeks ago: Archaeologists for the state had unearthed 25,000 artifacts from a Fishtown property once owned by his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, the
Source: BBC
Jun 16, 2009
The future of a hotel where Scott of the Antarctic planned his ill-fated expedition, has been secured by being taken over by a UK chain.
The 64-bedroom Royal Hotel in St Mary Street, Cardiff - which employs 30 people - has been rescued after six months in administration.
Now Legacy Hotels and Resorts have secured a three-year management deal..
Source: BBC
Jun 16, 2009
The funeral has been held of Millvina Dean, the last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic, who died aged 97.
Miss Dean was nine weeks old when the liner sank after hitting an iceberg in the early hours of 15 April 1912, on its maiden voyage from Southampton.
A private service, attended by family and friends, took place in Southampton on Tuesday.
Miss Dean died on 31 May at the care home in Netley Marsh, near Southampton, where she lived.
Source: BBC
Jun 16, 2009
Former US President Jimmy Carter has said he had to "hold back tears" while viewing destruction on a visit to Gaza.
He is due to meet leaders from Hamas, which controls Gaza but is considered a terrorist group by western countries.
The veteran politician is expected to hand over a letter for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from his family.
While Mr Carter is not visiting in an official capacity, many in Gaza hope he has the ear of US Presi
Source: Press Release
Jun 16, 2009
HOHENWALD, Tenn.—The possibility that famed explorer Meriwether Lewis committed suicide has been the source of considerable speculation since his death in October 1809. Some historians and scholars insist Lewis was mentally ill and shot himself to death. Others, however, firmly believe that he was murdered.
Whatever the case, collateral descendants of Lewis just want to know the truth.
“If it turns out Meriwether Lewis committed suicide, his relatives will not be ashame
Source: Times (UK)
Jun 16, 2009
Part of an ancient human skull has been recovered from the North Sea in an area described as a drowned Stone Age hunting ground.
The bone fragment is believed to belong to a late Neanderthal man and has been dated at around 60,000 years old.
It is the first time that an ancient human fossil has been found below the sea. Its discovery is likely to intensify scientific interest in the area, known as the Zeeland Ridges, where the skull was buried.
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