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: Rick Perlstein in Newsweek
Dec 6, 2008
It is Dec. 28, 1972, and President Richard Nixon and national-security
adviser Henry Kissinger are over the moon. B52s have just visited upon
North Vietnam the heaviest American bombing raids since World War
II—something, Nixon exults, that"pricked the boil, didn't it?" But what
thrills him most is how exquisitely the raids were timed—just before the
next week's newsmagazine deadlines:"They'll open up for this, don't
worry," he says confidently. They did.
The conversation can
Source: CNN
Dec 6, 2008
Caroline Kennedy, who spent most of her life looking to steer clear of the
spotlight, is capping off a year of unusually public -- and political --
activity with interest in the Senate seat that would vacated by Secretary
of State-designate Hillary Clinton.
And her interest in that seat could mean the continuation of a Kennedy
legacy in the Senate that began 56 years ago with the election of her
father, John F. Kennedy, as the junior senator from Massachusetts.
Her uncle Edwar
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Dec 6, 2008
George W Bush would not have ordered the invasion of Iraq if the intelligence had shown that Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction, according to his former chief adviser and closest confidant.
Karl Rove made the claim as the president's inner circle launched an unofficial "Bush legacy project", with their old boss preparing to leave the White House next month.
The final mission on behalf of President Bush is reportedly being spearheaded by two t
Source: Deutsche Welle
Dec 6, 2008
The images were made available to the Wikimedia Commons page, a database of over three million freely usable media files, from Thursday, Dec. 4.
The donated pictures cover periods such as the Weimar Republic, the German colonial era, the Third Reich and Germany after reunification.
It was the largest donation of media to the Commons page since it was set up in September 2004.
The public had a right to access the photos, said Angelika Menne-Haritz, vice-pres
Source: BBC
Dec 6, 2008
The man who led the anti-apartheid movement in the UK for nearly 20 years, Mike Terry, has died of a heart attack at the age of 61.
He played a key role in transforming public opinion, turning the South African apartheid government into an international pariah.
A tireless campaigner, he organised two huge concerts in support of the campaign to free Nelson Mandela.
Source: CNN
Dec 6, 2008
It's a position that John Quincy Adams once called downright pathetic:
that of a former president.
After all, the process of relinquishing the most powerful job in the world
isn't an easy one, especially given the American public's notoriously
fleeting attention span and penchant for paying little heed to
once-prominent political figures after they exit the public stage.
As the days dwindle until President Bush joins what Herbert Hoover called
the"most exclusive trade union in
Source: BBC
Dec 6, 2008
Further evidence has emerged that King Edward VIII was seeing a mystic
during the abdication crisis, prompting the Archbishop of Canterbury to
intervene.
Previously undisclosed archives tell the story of a king in the grip of a
man known as"The Yorkshire Yogi".
Dr Alexander Cannon trained as a medic, and dabbled in alternative
treatments, mystic techniques and black magic.
Lambeth Palace was tipped off that the King was receiving hypnotic
treatment from Dr Cannon for a
Source: Washington Post
Dec 6, 2008
George W. Bush is not generally prone to introspection. "I really do not feel comfortable in the role of analyzing myself," he once said.
But with only weeks left in his presidency, the self-analysis has begun. After a year of relentless criticism from both parties, the departing president has embarked on a valedictory tour, touting his record in television interviews and public appearances while admitting, with some hesitation, that things did not always go as planned.
Source: Justin Lahart blog at the WSJ
Dec 5, 2008
Friday’s dismal November jobs report brings the old joke to mind: A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours. The truth is that there is no good rule of thumb for a depression, like the two quarters of consecutive GDP declines that many people use for a recession. And unlike recessions, which are semi-officially declared by the National Bureau of Economic Research’s business cycle dating committee, there’s no arbiter to say that an economy has fallen so hard it’s in a depression. In the old days, what we now call recessions used to be called depressions. The word recession only came into common use after the Great Depression, in order to distinguish garden-variety downturns from that epic crash. Sort of like the World Meteorological Association retiring a devastating hurricane’s name. That said, with the economy in the midst of what may be its worst downturn in the postwar period, it is worth thinking about what it would take to dust off the “depression” moniker.
Source: National Geographic News
Dec 5, 2008
Some pre-Hispanic cultures in South America had elaborate celebrations at
their cemeteries, complete with feasting and drinking grounds much like
modern barbecue pits, according to a new archaeological study.
Excavations of 12th- and-13th-century burial mounds in the highlands of
Brazil and Argentina revealed numerous earthen ovens. The finds suggest
that the graves were also sites of regular festivals held to commemorate
the death of the community's chief."After they buried an im
Source: AP
Dec 5, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama is making public details and documents of official meetings between his transition team and outside organizations such as interest groups. The policy, outlined in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, goes into effect immediately.
It is retroactive to the Nov. 4 election and covers the transition period until Jan. 20 when Obama is sworn into office as the country's 44th president.
"Every day we meet with organizations who present ide
Source: Bill Ayers in a NYT op ed
Dec 5, 2008
IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama. I refused, and here’s why.
Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama’s campaign, his opponents invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. The refrain was a question: “What do we really know about this man?”
Source: Peter Steinfels in the NYT
Dec 5, 2008
Last Monday was a 50th anniversary that you have absolutely no reason to know about. Unless, perhaps, you were living in Chicago on Dec. 1, 1958.
Unless, perhaps, you happened to be in that city on Tuesday and were visiting an exhibition on “Catholic Chicago” at the Chicago History Museum when the switchboard of your memory lit up at the words on a wall placard: “Our Lady of the Angels School Fire.”
Or unless, of course, you were among the families and friends of the 92
Source: Politico.com
Dec 5, 2008
More than 18 publishers have expressed interest in a book that former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe is writing in an unusual dual appeal to political and business audiences.
Obama wrote “The Audacity of Hope,” and Plouffe’s book is tentatively titled “The Audacity to Win.”
The Obama campaign was a billion-dollar business, and Plouffe plans to write about the use of technology, grassroots organizing, crisis management, use of the Web, public relations and person
Source: AP
Dec 5, 2008
A 105-year-old singer whose past as a singer in Nazi Germany has dogged his reputation for decades is back in the spotlight after telling a Dutch television show Adolf Hitler was a"good guy."
The Dutch-born Johan Heesters, who now has Austrian citizenship and is still popular and performing in Germany, was asked by a Dutch journalist what he thought of Hitler."A good guy, that's what he was," he said on the clip shown Thursday on the current affairs show"De Wereld Draait Door" ("The World
Source: CNN
Dec 5, 2008
They share a deep sorrow: an idealistic American who tried to protect the
Kurds of Iraq, a Canadian general who refused to follow orders in Rwanda,
a French priest who fought for the soul of Cambodia.
Each one tried to focus the world's attention on the world's most heinous
crime: genocide. Each time, they were shunned, ignored or told it was
someone else's problem.
To understand why, CNN's Christiane Amanpour traveled to the killing
fields of Europe, Africa and Asia for a two
Source: International Herald Tribune
Dec 5, 2008
Patriarch Aleksy II of the Russian Orthodox Church, who presided over the restoration of his church as the largest Orthodox church in the world and a powerful influence in Russian society after decades of Soviet persecution, died on Friday at his country residence in Peredelkino, outside of Moscow. He was 79.
The Moscow Patriarchate said that doctors were determining the cause of death. The patriarch had reportedly suffered from myocardial ischemia for years and been treated in Russ
Source: BBC News
Dec 5, 2008
Patriarch Alexiy II, who died on Friday, had an extraordinary career, in which he switched from suppressing the Russian Orthodox Church to being its champion.
A favourite of the KGB, he was promoted rapidly through the Church hierarchy, doing the Kremlin's bidding at a time when dissident priests were thrown into jail.
As the Church's effective foreign minister, he helped cover up the repression of Russian Christians, defending the Soviet system to the outside world.
Source: TheDailyBeast.com (summary of WaPo op ed)
Dec 5, 2008
The resurrection of Henry Kissinger was one of the more unusual side stories of the last election, and the former secretary of state seems determined to make good on his newfound popularity. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Kissinger praises Obama's national security team. Most interesting is his advice to Hillary. "I know of no exception to the principle that secretaries of state are influential if and only if they are perceived as extensions of the president," Kissinger writes. &
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Dec 5, 2008
A remarkable First World War letter from the Prince of Wales has been uncovered which echoes the same frustrations felt today by Princes William and Harry in their military careers.
The note written from the British Army HQ at St Omer in Northern France in March 1915 gives a fascinating insight into the mind of the future Edward VIII who was just 19.
Just like Prince William and Prince Harry he complains at being denied the right to go on to the front line to fight for
