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Revised Plan by N.Y.U. Would Preserve Walls of Provincetown Playhouse

The walls of the historic Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village will be preserved under a plan released by New York University on Friday, a move that Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, hailed as “tremendous progress” in the talks between the university and community leaders about the site. Plans had included a proposal to demolish the building.

Japanese Nobel winner's trial over history is over

WITH his trial over, Kenzaburo Oe, the 1994 Nobel laureate in literature, was free again to write. He had already completed the preface and first chapter of a new novel, and found a title, “Death by Water,” in T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land.” Mr. Oe’s eyes lit up behind his trademark round glasses as he spoke of striking a new approach in what he declared would be his final novel. If Mr. Oe (pronounced OH-ay), 73, kept his pace of writing two hours every morning, it would take two ye

Einstein Letter on God Sells for $404,000

From the grave, Albert Einstein poured gasoline on the culture wars between science and religion this week. A letter the physicist wrote in 1954 to the philosopher Eric Gutkind, in which he described the Bible as “pretty childish” and scoffed at the notion that the Jews could be a “chosen people,” sold for $404,000 at an auction in London. That was 25 times the presale estimate. The Associated Press quoted Rupert Powell, the managing director of Bloomsbury Auctions, as

New York subway cars find new life on ocean floor

After four decades carrying millions of New Yorkers, 44 of the city's subway cars are now home to millions of fish. The worn-out cars were dumped on Friday into the Atlantic Ocean, 21 miles off the Maryland coast, to create an artificial reef, designed to attract fish for the state's lucrative sport-fishing industry. "These reefs provide quality habitat for marine life off our coast which benefits not only the environment

Fort Ticonderoga to commemorate anniversary of 1758 battle

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (AP) — Before the Civil War and Antietam, the bloodiest battle fought on American soil was here, on a narrow but strategically vital strip of land between Lake Champlain and Lake George. A 15,000-strong British army sailed up Lake George 250 years ago this summer, intent on taking Fort Ticonderoga, France's southernmost outpost in the region. The French, outnumbered nearly five to one but well fortified, hastily built 8-foot-high log barriers as the enemy approache

Late Idaho Senator figures in 2008 presidential furor

Being dead since 1940 hasn't kept Idaho U.S. Sen. William Borah from being inserted squarely into 2008 presidential politics after Democratic candidate Barack Obama took issue with President Bush's borrowing of a quote from Borah. In a speech Thursday to the Israeli Knesset, Bush mentioned the president of Iran, and said:"Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.

Experts assess extent of Iraq's cultural catastrophe five years after the US invasion

Five years later, robber gangs still loot Iraq's cultural heritage at the estimated 11,000 archaeological sites across the country, with dealers buying the protection of the clans who control large tracts of the country. A 1,400-strong Mobile Archaeological Site Protection Force was mustered in 2006 but it proved to totally ineffective - usually outgunned by the gangs, its men poorly paid and motivated. Security officials estimate that it would take a force of 50,000-75,000 to protect the sites

Montpelier celebrates the "first" first lady: Dolley Madison

May 20, 1768 marks the birth of Dolley Madison, one of the most revered political spouses to grace the White House. Visitors to James Madison’s Montpelier can join in the celebration on May 20 with free cake as well as free admission for those who share Dolley’s birthday. Known as the “first” First Lady, Dolley’s warmth, hospitality, and political acumen shaped much of the culture we find still today in our nation’s capital. In fact, it was 1808 when James Madison was first elected

Dambusters remembered 65 years on

A service and fly-past has been held to mark the 65th anniversary of the World War II Dambusters mission. A Lancaster bomber flew three times over Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire, which was used by the original pilots to train ahead of their famous raid. In 1943, the RAF's 617 Squadron set out to destroy three dams in Germany's Ruhr valley. They managed to breach two, giving a boost to Britain's war effort. The service remembered the eight aircraft and 53 crew who were lost.

Germany: clean-up of World War I poison-gas plant finished

The clean-up of a former plant which made horrific German poison-gas shells used in the First World War is complete after 20 years of work, an official told legislators Thursday. The Espagit factory in Hallschlag, Rhineland Palatinate state accidentally exploded in 1920 when an estimated 20,000 poison-gas shells were on the premises. The debris meant the site was an ecological disaster area for decades. Attacks with gas clouds on enemy lines during the First World War left huge numb

Inkatha Freedom Party activists demand that South Africa withdraw a history book

IFP NATIONAL Organiser Albert Mncwango said the party was prepared to go to court if Education Minister Naledi Pandor and her KwaZulu-Natal counterpart did not withdraw a grade 12 book, titled In Search of History. He was speaking at a march at Port Shepstone . About 2000 party supporters took to the streets to call for the immediate withdrawal of the book. Mncwango said it was untrue that the IFP and its leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi were perpetrating violence in the province

Anti-Semitic Hate Speech in the Name of Islam

Though most Muslims reject Islamism and its propaganda, anti-Semitic messages from satellite channels like the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa are helping to bring a message of hate and intolerance to Europe. The effects of such hate preaching can already be felt in Germany.

Museums worried about live shells

WAUPUN, WI—It wasn't a bomb threat, but the bomb squad was called to Waupun on Wednesday. Jim Laird, Waupun Historical Society member, contacted Waupun Police Chief Dale Heeringa on Tuesday to have some ammunition at the Waupun Historical Museum checked for being potentially explosive. The ammunition is from the Civil War and World War I. Laird heard of an expert cannonball de-fuser having an old cannonball explode because of unstable contents. With people working a wall's width aw

Relic hunter steals Civil War shell (Petersburg)

A relic hunter has been charged with stealing an intact Civil War shell that was embedded in a downtown brick building and was one of the last visible artifacts from the 10-month siege of the city. Timothy Clary, 49, of Chester was arrested Tuesday and charged with three felonies — destruction of property with intent, grand larceny and the use of explosives, according to police and court records. Clary was charged with stealing a federal Hotchkiss shell — roughly 7 in

Reclaiming the forgotten veterans (Mass.)

They wait in dusty basements, long forgotten on darkened shelves. Some have been neglected for 100 years or more. They served their country, then died, and were never claimed. Urns holding the cremated remains of war veterans are stacked in funeral homes, cemeteries, state hospitals, and even prisons around the state - a sad end for those who served their country. It isn't right, says Don MacNeill, coordinator of the Missing in America Project in Massachusetts. The 47-y

El Nino may have helped Magellan cross the Pacific

The El Nino phenomenon that has puzzled climate scientists in recent decades may have assisted the first trip around the world nearly 500 years ago. Explorer Ferdinand Magellan encountered fair weather on Nov. 28, 1520, after days of battle through the rough waters south of South America. From there his passage across the Pacific Ocean may have been eased by the calming effects of El Nino, researchers speculate in a new study. When an El Nino occurs, the waters of the E

Chris Matthews roasts radio talk show host who can't answer history question about 1930s appeasement

Bush appeasement slur angers Democrats

President George Bush used a visit to Israel yesterday to denounce Democratic party offers to negotiate with America's enemies in the Middle East as comparable to appeasement of Hitler. Although Bush did not name any Democratic politician, the party's presidential contender Barack Obama has offered to open negotiations with the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Obama and other Democratic leaders expressed outrage at being compared to the

Palestinians mark 1948 uprooting with rallies

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinians marked the 60th anniversary of their uprooting with rallies, sirens and black balloons Thursday — an annual ritual made even darker this year by crippling internal divisions and diminishing independence hopes. The memorial provided a stark contrast to Israel's all-out birthday bash, which included a high-profile visit by President Bush for the 60th independence day celebration. Bush's embrace of Israel at a time when the Palestinians w

Obama's Appalachian problem

According to exit polls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won 67 percent of the white vote in West Virginia, America's third-whitest state. Sen. Barack Obama in early March won 60 percent of the white vote in Vermont, the nation's second-whitest state. What gives? America is learning a lot about race this year, most recently that not all white voters are alike. There are enormous regional differences in how whites vote, differences with deep historical roots. Cl