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 21, 2011
The Van Gogh Museum said on Tuesday its experts now believe one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings previously thought to be a self-portrait actually depicts his brother, Theo.
Source: AP
Jun 21, 2011
Brazilian woman listed by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest person has died -- just weeks shy of her 115th birthday.
On May 18, Guinness determined that Valentim was 48 days older than the person previously considered the world's oldest human, Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia.
Guinness verified that Valentim was born July 9, 1896, in Carangola, where she lived all her life....
Source: CNN
Jun 21, 2011
Eliot Ness would probably be a little annoyed to see his nemesis's revolver drawing six-figure bids.
The Prohibition agent of "Untouchables" fame spent about two years trying to nail Al Capone and his murderous cabal, only to see the Chicago gangster dodge charges of smuggling, bootlegging, prostitution or, if we're pointing fingers in the 1929 St.
Source: NYT
Jun 21, 2011
PRORA, Germany — Three years before the outbreak of World War II, Adolf Hitler’s lieutenants ordered the construction of what was portrayed as a remarkable perquisite for the toiling masses of the Third Reich — a vacation complex along the Baltic coast with 10,000 sea-view rooms in eight identical six-story blocks of steel-reinforced concrete, each one the length of five football fields.
Source: Guardian (UK)
Jun 20, 2011
A major dig close to Hadrian's Wall has revealed traces of a suspected refugee camp which would have housed tribespeople fleeing south from a breakdown of society north of the imperial border in the third century AD.Archaeologists were initially puzzled to unearth the foundations of temporary but well-built structures on the site of an earlier fort within the sprawling perimeter of the Roman fortress of Vindolanda.
Source: Guardian (UK)
Jun 20, 2011
A scrap of twisted silver found a few weeks ago by a metal detector in Lancashire will take its place among masterpieces of medieval art at the British Museum, in an exhibition opening this week of the bejewelled shrines made to hold the relics of saints and martyrs.
Source: eWeek Europe
Jun 20, 2011
Google is teaming up with the British Library to digitise 250,000 books, published between 1700 and 1870.
Source: Science Daily
Jun 20, 2011
A recent find by a University of Cincinnati archeologist suggests an ancient Cypriot city was well protected from outside threats.
That research, by UC's Gisela Walberg, professor of classics, will be presented at the annual workshop of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Center in Nicosia, Cyprus, on June 25, 2011.
Since 2001, Walberg has worked in modern Cyprus to uncover the ancient city of Bamboula, a Bronze Age city that was an important trading center for the Middle East, Egypt and Greece.
Source: NYT
Jun 20, 2011
There are certainly many photo albums of Nazi leaders and many photo albums of the Nazis’ victims. But it’s hard to imagine many albums depicting both, just a few pages apart.At least one does, however, and it has surfaced in New York City. Its creator was able — apparently within weeks — to photograph Hitler as he warred on Russia and also to photograph some of the earliest victims of that brutal campaign, known as Operation Barbarossa, which began 70 years ago Wednesday.
Source: USA Today
Jun 20, 2011
Nicknamed Otzi, for his resting place in the Ötztal Alps, the "Iceman" was outfitted with a copper ax, flint knife and bearskin hat, a surprise to archaeologists because they all were so well-crafted.
Source: BBC
Jun 20, 2011
Glasgow's new £74m Riverside Museum will be officially opened later.
The venue, on the banks of the River Clyde, will showcase the city's transport, shipbuilding and engineering heritage.
It was designed by prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and houses more than 3,000 exhibits, in about 150 displays.
The Riverside Museum will be the third home for Glasgow's transport collection since the 1960s and the first major museum the council has built since The Burrell Collection
Source: BBC
Jun 20, 2011
Ancient remains uncovered in Ukraine represent some of the oldest evidence of modern people in Europe, experts have claimed.
Archaeologists found human bones and teeth, tools, ivory ornaments and animal remains at the Buran-Kaya cave site.
The 32,000-year-old fossils bear cut marks suggesting they were defleshed as part of a post-mortem ritual.
Details have been
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 20, 2011
They are among Britain’s most bitter rivals, but despite two world wars and any number of football matches, it would seem we are closer to the Germans than many might imagine. Geneticists claim that as many as half of Britons have German blood, a consequence of Anglo-Saxon migration after the Roman Empire fell.
Source: CNN
Jun 20, 2011
Officials from New York and the United States Mint unveiled the 9/11 National Medal on Monday just three months before the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The one-ounce silver medal's heads side features Lady Liberty with the inscription "always remember 2001-2011," while the reverse side portrays an eagle against the backdrop of cascading water.
The medal, which went on sale Monday, is available at an introductory rate of $56.95 through August 18, after which the price will go up to $66.95.
Source: LA Times
Jun 20, 2011
The dress that famously billowed up around Marilyn Monroe as she stood over a subway vent while filming "The Seven-Year Itch" sold for $4.6 million on Saturday at an auction of memorabilia belonging to actress Debbie Reynolds."Oh, do you feel the breeze from the subway?" Monroe said in the 1955 film. "Isn't it delicious?"Delicious indeed -- the winning bid for the "subway grate" dress easily outstripped the $1 million to $2 million estimated value placed on the frock by dealer Profiles in History.
Source: National Parks Traveler
Jun 20, 2011
Creaking on the tides under the weight of its three masts and 55 miles of rigging, the Friendship is a floating reminder of a time when the upstart United States laid a commercial claim to the high seas.From tiny Salem, Massachusetts, up the coast from another Massachusetts seaport that soon would become known as the whaling capital of the world, ships set out to navigate the globe and return home with spices, water buffalo hides, silks, and porcelains.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 20, 2011
The set of four goblets - emblazoned with a swastika, spread-winged eagle, and the dictator's initials, A.H., are expected to fetch up to £8,000 when they are auctioned on Tuesday.Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert, of J.P Humber auctioneers, in Towcester, Northants, said his firm were "excited" to be selling the pieces.He said: "There is every chance that Adolf Hitler himself sipped from these very glasses.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Jun 20, 2011
The work shows Saint Augustine poring over his books at a desk and has been dated to around 1600, when the artist would have been 28.The oil on canvas piece was unattributed until it was restored and showed Caravaggio’s characteristics.Fewer than 50 of Caravaggio’s paintings survive and this new discovery will appear in print for the first time next month.
Source: BBC News
Jun 20, 2011
Thousands of pages from one of the world's biggest collections of historic books, pamphlets and periodicals are to be made available on the internet.The British Library has reached a deal with search engine Google about 250,000 texts dating back to the 18th Century.It will allow readers to view, search and copy the out-of-copyright works at no charge on both the library and Google books websites.The library gets more than a million visitors a year.
Source: AP
Jun 20, 2011
VIENNA (AP) — Authorities say a suspected Nazi war criminal sought by Croatia has died at 98 in Austria.They say Milivoj Asner died Tuesday at a home for the aged in the southern city of Klagenfurt.Austrian authorities had said Asner, a naturalized Austrian citizen, suffers from dementia and was not healthy enough to be extradited to Croatia for trial on alleged atrocities....
