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)
Oct 11, 2008
English Heritage has spent over a year painstakingly recreating the garden once known as the "Glory of England" and wants to finish it off authentically by planting carnation varieties that were available to 16th Century gardeners.
Unlike the modern version, which are better known for being found wrapped in cellophane on a garage forecourt, 400 years ago the carnation was considered one of the most beautiful flowers around.
It is hoped they will provide the
Source: LAT
Oct 10, 2008
In one homeland they were treated as outcasts, in the other as refugees. Now thousands of these Amerasians are uniting and lobbying Congress for what they feel is a birthright: 'We are Americans.'
Source: Times (UK)
Oct 10, 2008
The London auctioneers Bonhams are under pressure to withdraw several of the prized pieces from its forthcoming antiquities sale after a senior Italian politician raised questions over their provenance.
Francesco Rutelli, the former Italian Minister for Culture and Deputy Prime Minister, told the Italian Parliament he had believed that some of the antiquities to be auctioned in London next week had been exported illegally from Italy.
In an "urgent question" to
Source: CQ & http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk
Oct 10, 2008
Evidently taking a page from John Kerry ’s quest for the presidency in 2004, John McCain ’s campaign has decided — for now, anyway — not to respond to provocative attacks aimed squarely at his strong point: his reputation as a military hero.
The much talked about main broadside came in the form of a 12,000-word attack in Rolling Stone, which portrayed the hard-partying young McCain as a reckless pilot who totaled three jets, and whose career as a pilot was saved only by the pull of
Source: Spiegel Online
Oct 10, 2008
The fall of Pompeii began with a small cloud of smoke drifting out of Mt. Vesuvius. Within a few days, though, the affluent Roman city lay coated in a meter-thick shroud of ash. Even more devastating were the effects of a giant meteorite that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, bringing an end to the age of the dinosaurs.
Such violent events, putting human beings and animals at the mercy of destructive natural forces, have always stimulated the fantasies of those b
Source: AP
Oct 10, 2008
Tourists in Switzerland can soon sleep in the world's first "zero-star hotel," a former nuclear bunker several yards below the ground.
A group of 15 guests inaugurated the hotel, sleeping the night from Thursday to Friday in the former bunker embellished with artistic decoration and real hotel duvets.
But that was only a trial run, and regular operation of the hotel will require approval of an operating budget by the town of Sevelen.
The hostelry
Source: AP
Oct 10, 2008
ALLENSWORTH, Calif. — Spirals of alkaline dust swirl across the hardpan where a century ago 300 black Americans planted alfalfa and corn hoping racial tolerance would take root.
They were led to this remote place by escaped slave Allen Allensworth, a retired Army chaplain and the first black lieutenant colonel. Their goal: to build a prosperous African-American farming community that would change perceptions about people who first suffered slavery, then Jim Crow segregation laws.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Oct 10, 2008
An Australian revisionist historian wanted in Germany for alleged Holocaust denial was greeted in court with a Nazi salute from the public gallery.
Dr Fredrick Toben, 64, appeared before City of Westminster Magistrates' Court for an extradition hearing.
He was arrested by Scotland Yard's extradition unit as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on October 1.
Toben, who is fighting extradition, was remanded in British custody for at least another week
Source: International Herald Tribune
Oct 10, 2008
As America's financial crisis has deepened, Japan has found itself gripped by a sense of déjà vu.
The unfolding drama on Wall Street and in Washington has brought an outpouring of comparisons by Japan's press and policy makers to their own country's banking meltdown in the 1990s and its costly government bailouts. Overwhelmingly, the conclusion seems to be that last week's $700 billion rescue package is only the first step in an arduous journey toward financial recovery similar to t
Source: International Herald Tribune
Oct 10, 2008
An award that generates as much interest as the Nobel Peace Prize is bound to be surrounded by myths. Geir Lundestad, secretary of the secretive committee that awards the prize, outlines for The Associated Press some of the most common misunderstandings:
_ Myth: The awards committee announces a shortlist of candidates.
The committee does not release the names of any candidates and keeps records sealed for 50 years.
_ Myth: A campaign for a particular candid
Source: Southeast European Times
Oct 10, 2008
Not far from the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is the town of Visoko. Any resident, asked to cite the primary local attraction, will respond, "It's the Bosnian Valley of Pyramids."
Independent researcher Semir Osmanagic, who has no formal training, started digging three years ago. His work enjoys the backing of a full-fledged foundation called the Archaeological Park of the Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun. Osmanagic labours on despite mockery from almost all journalis
Source: http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk
Oct 10, 2008
This toy hedgehog, found in a child's grave at Stonehenge, is proof of what we have always known - children have always loved to play.
The chalk figurine was probably a favourite possession of the three year old, and placed next to the child when they died in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age, around 3,000 years ago.
Source: Times (UK)
Oct 10, 2008
Mysterious shrimp-like creatures from 525 million years ago have been identified as the first to exhibit collective behaviour.
All but one of dozens of the fossilised creatures found by researchers were linked together in chains that had survived even sudden death. The reason for linking in chains is uncertain but researchers believe it is most likely the animals sought safety in numbers while migrating.
Other animals, including trilobites, are known from their distri
Source: Times (UK)
Oct 10, 2008
The famous eve-of-battle speech by Colonel Tim Collins electrified the British public and drew widespread praise, but it left the men under his command fearful and demoralised, according to one of his officers.
In a new book, Captain Doug Beattie claims that Colonel Collins’s address to the 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, just a few hours before they went into battle against Saddam Hussein’s troops in March 2003, was rousing but also sobering.
Many commentato
Source: National Parks traveler Online
Oct 9, 2008
If you can prove that "George Washington Slept Here," your house is
Historic with a capital "H". Washington really did sleep at the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House at 105 Brattle Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The house is the focal attraction of Longfellow National Historic Site, which celebrates its 36th anniversary October 9.
Nearly everyone has heard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). Sure, you know him. He's the literary genius who wrot
Source: BBC
Oct 9, 2008
In October 1929 shares on Wall Street fell sharply following a speculative boom during the "Roaring Twenties".
In two days the Dow Jones industrial average fell by 25% (ending on Black Tuesday, 29 October).
The volume of stocks traded set a record that was not broken for 40 years.
When it finally reached its record low in July 1932, the Dow Jones had fallen 89%, and it did not recover to 1929 levels until 1954.
WHAT WAS THE CAUSE?
Source: AP
Oct 9, 2008
A woman who fabricated a best-selling memoir about surviving the Holocaust by living with wolves has won a Massachusetts court battle with her former publisher.
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday filed by publisher Jane Daniel against Misha Defonseca (dee-fohn-SAY'-kuh) and her ghost writer. He said Daniel had missed a one-year statute of limitations.
Daniel sued this year after Defonseca admitted she made up the story of her tortured childhood in her 1997 book, "
Source: FoxNews.com
Oct 9, 2008
Barack Obama's campaign is trying to fend off a withering attack from his opponents surrounding the Democratic candidate's relationship with former domestic terrorist William Ayers, co-founder of the radical Weather Underground group in the turbulent Sixties.
But there are still questions over when Obama truly learned about Ayers' radical background.
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor told FOXNews.com that the Democratic presidential candidate was unaware of Ayers' past when
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Oct 9, 2008
As CNN's pundits wondered whether instant post-debate polls favoring Sen. Barack Obama meant he would win on election day, analyst David Gergen - who has been an adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents - stopped them.
"I think it's too early to declare victory, because Barack Obama is black," Gergen said Tuesday night. "And until we play out the issue of race in this country, I don't think we'll know and maybe (not until) late in the campaign."
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Oct 9, 2008
A Second World War pilot is to be buried with full military honours 64 years after his plane was shot down after his remains were tracked down by a comrade who survived the crash.
Sgt John Bremner was among eight crewmen on a Halifax bomber which came down near Berlin during a night raid on the city in 1944.
Four men died but the bodies of Mr Bremner, then 21, and Canadian Warrant Officer Charles Dupueis were never found.
The plane's wreckage, scattered acr
