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: AFP
Jun 13, 2008
Genetic material from outer space found in a meteorite in Australia may well have played a key role in the origin of life on Earth, according to a study to be published Sunday.
European and US scientists have proved for the first time that two bits of genetic coding, called nucleobases, contained in the meteor fragment, are truly extraterrestrial.
Previous studies had suggested that the space rocks, which hit Earth some 40 years ago, might have been contaminated upon im
Source: BBC
Jun 13, 2008
A treasure trove of artefacts is being recovered from what experts describe as one of the most important maritime discoveries since the Mary Rose.
The late 16th Century shipwreck hails from a pivotal point in England's military history.
The raised haul includes a 2m-long (7ft) cannon, which will give archaeologists an insight into Elizabeth I's naval might.
The wreck, discovered 30 years ago, is situated off the coast of Alderney.
Dr Mensun Bou
Source: AP
Jun 13, 2008
A 22-gun British warship that sank during the American Revolution and has long been regarded as one of the "Holy Grail" shipwrecks in the Great Lakes has been discovered at the bottom of Lake Ontario, astonishingly well-preserved in the cold, deep water, explorers announced Friday.
Shipwreck enthusiasts Jim Kennard and Dan Scoville used side-scanning sonar and an unmanned submersible to locate the HMS Ontario, which was lost with barely a trace and as many as 130 people ab
Source: LiveScience
Jun 13, 2008
Scientists have grown a tree from what may be the oldest seed ever germinated.
The new sapling was sprouted from a 2,000-year-old date palm excavated in Masada, the site of a cliff-side fortress in Israel where ancient Jews are said to have killed themselves to avoid capture by Roman invaders.
Dubbed the "Methuselah Tree" after the oldest person in the Bible, the new plant has been growing steadily, and after 26 months, the tree was nearly four feet (1.2 meter
Source: Editor & Publisher
Jun 13, 2008
Bucking conventional wisdom, Ann Coulter in her latest syndicated column calls President Bush a "great president" and predicts that "the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years now will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents."
She adds: "It is unquestionable that Bush has made this country safe by keeping Islamic lunatics pinned down fighting our troops in Iraq.... O
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 13, 2008
The UN Human Rights Council said the UK must "consider holding a referendum on the desirability or otherwise of a written constitution, preferably republican".
The council has 29 members including Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sri Lanka.
It was the Sri Lankan envoy who raised concerns over the British monarchy.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 13, 2008
A quintessentially British item accidentally invented by New York merchant Thomas Sullivan celebrates its centenary this month.
In June 1908, tea dealer Mr Sullivan was sending samples to potential customers when, to cut costs, he put a few pinches of loose leaves in several small silk pouches.
The confused clients received the samples and, unsure of the instructions, reputedly dunked them into hot water, and the tea bag was born.
Previously, all tea had to
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 13, 2008
British archaeologists have for the first time unearthed "absolute" proof of the remains of British soldiers at a recently-discovered mass World War I grave in northern France.
Two British Army buttons, a collar fastener and a British matchbox have been unearthed at the site of the grave in Fromelles, the British ministry of defence has announced.
Source: Ireland.com | The Irish Times
Jun 13, 2008
The Lisbon Treaty has been rejected by Irish voters, sparking a crisis for plans to reform European Union structures. A total of 53.4 per cent voted to reject the treaty, while 46.6 per cent voted in favour. All but 10 constituencies rejected the treaty, with a total of 752,451 voting in favour of Lisbon and 862,415 votes against. Turnout was 53.1 per cent.
Tallies from early on in the count this morning showed the No campaign appeared to be winning in most constituencies across th
Source: BBC News | World | Europe
Jun 13, 2008
From January 2009, the European Union will have its own president to chair EU summits and unite the views of 27 member states. Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has described the top job as Europe's "own George Washington". The race for the presidency is likely to go down to the wire at the December 2008 summit of the European Council of leaders. Although a decision will be made by majority voting, the 27 member states will be hoping that a unity candidate comes forwa
Source: Times (UK)
Jun 13, 2008
The names “Thomas and Dorothy” were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said “Bob and Carma”. Other trees were marked with soldiers’ home states - Iowa, Maine or Alabama - and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend.
The beech trees of Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair forest bore a poignant testimony to the D-Day landings for more than six decades. Thousands of American soldiers stationed there after the liberation of Normandy spent their spare
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun
Jun 12, 2008
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have dug up the skeletons of 16 horses and a two-wheeled chariot in a grave dating back to the Roman Empire in north-east Greece, the culture ministry announced today.
Half of the horses were buried in pairs, whilst two human skeletons were also discovered in a dig near Lithohori, in the Kavala region.
Near to the remains of six of the horses archaeologists found a shield, weapons and various other accessories.
Source: Independent Online (South Africa)
Jun 12, 2008
Members of the Tseycum First Nation visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City this week to reclaim the remains of ancestors taken from their land about a century ago.The group planned to take the remains late Wednesday back to Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia. An interment is planned for Friday, Chief Vern Jacks said.
"Our people don't belong in boxes in a museum," he said. "This is our life, we still respect our
Source: Pan Armenian Net
Jun 12, 2008
The Swedish parliament, with a vote 245 to 37 , rejected a call for recognition of the 1915 genocide in the Ottoman Empire. On June 11, a long debate took place in the Swedish Parliament in regard to the Foreign Committee report on Human Rights, including five motions calling upon the Swedish Government and Parliament to officially recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide
The argumentation for why recognition should be rejected was based on four main assumptions: “n
Source: Secrecy News, written by Steven Aftergood, is published by the Federation of American Scientists
Jun 12, 2008
Secrecy News was removed from the distribution list for the U.S. State
Department history publication"Foreign Relations of the United States"
(FRUS) after we reported on errors in several FRUS volumes on March 24
and 26, 2008.
click here and
here.
A spokesman for the State Department Historian's Office confirmed that
Source: AP
Jun 12, 2008
Thousands of tourists watched last summer as archaeologists, working in the shadow of Independence Hall, unearthed remnants of the home where George Washington lived with his wife and several slaves.
Now, the city's best-known Colonial-era church is dramatically bringing to light how slaves worshipped alongside parishioners like Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross.
Historians have long known that slaves attended Christ Church — and were baptized, married and buried there. But it h
Source: http://allafrica.com
Jun 12, 2008
The President of the opposition DTA wants the colonial monument of a German soldier on his horse in Windhoek to stay exactly where it is.
Government plans to move the statue from its prominent position next to the Alte Feste museum to make way for a new museum. Katuutire Kaura said in the National Assembly yesterday that he wanted the House to debate the plan to move the monument, "with the view of leaving it in place and to find another suitable spot for the new museum".
Source: LAT
Jun 12, 2008
Students and fellow educators are rallying behind a fired Jordan High School teacher they say was sacked for encouraging political activism among her students.
About 60 students rallied Wednesday at the Watts campus, while a colleague of the fired teacher said he and 15 other instructors planned to resign or transfer to other schools to protest the dismissal of Karen Salazar, a second-year English teacher.
The dust-up has gone digital as well. Salazar backers have poste
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 12, 2008
Anna Goeldi, a maid in the small alpine region of Glarus, was beheaded in 1782 for being a witch after she confessed under torture to conversing with the devil and poisoning the daughter of the house.
But her name could now be cleared following a decision yesterday by local lawmakers to recommend a reversal of the conviction.
Campaigners claim she was the victim of a conspiracy between the eastern town's judical and Protestant church authorities.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 12, 2008
Two pieces of fine 18th century porcelain currently housed in British museums and worth more than £10,000 apiece were looted by the Nazis, a Government-appointed panel has ruled.
They include a 12-inch wide Viennese dish described as "one of the most important examples of early Viennese porcelain in the British Museum collection".
The other is a "monteith", a bowl filled with water used to cool glasses, held at Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Muse
