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: Wired
May 23, 2011
Two ancient skeletons uncovered in 1976 on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, during construction at the home of a University of California chancellor, may be among the most valuable for genetic analysis in the continental United States. Dated between 9,000 and 9,600 years old, the exceptionally preserved bones could potentially produce the oldest complete human genome from the continent.But only if scientists aren’t barred from studying them.
Source: Medievalists.net
May 23, 2011
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of Westgate Castle in the northern English area of Weardale in the North Pennies region. The lost castle once was part of the Bishop of Durham’s great deer park of Stanhope.From the 13th century through until the early 17th, Westgate Castle served as the ‘west gate’ into the Bishop of Durham’s great deer park, and functioned as an administrative headquarters for the Bishop’s extensive estate encompassing the old Forest of Weardale. By the mid 17th century it lay in ruins and its masonry was quarried for new buildings.
Source: Medievalists.net
May 23, 2011
Twenty items have been selected from the UK’s libraries, archives and museums to represent the outstanding heritage of the United Kingdom, including several that date back to the Middle Ages. They new items listed in the UK Memory of the World Register include the Cura Pastoralis of Gregory, the Gough Map, Wakefield Court Rolls, Winchester Pipe Rolls and records of The Great Hospital in Norwich.
Source: Reuters
May 23, 2011
NEW DELHI (Reuters Life!) – In the capital of one of the world's most religiously-diverse countries, a Rabbi who has never been ordained bends ancient customs, ensuring New Delhi's ten Jewish families a place to worship.Unlike most synagogues, there is no separation of men and women as Jewish-born worshippers, converts and followers of other faiths chant Psalms in perfect Hebrew, with doors thrown open to all. The service leader never asks attendees what religion they follow, and envisions his daughter becoming India's first female rabbi.
Source: Emory University
May 23, 2011
Analysis of ancient Nubian-era mummies finds new evidence that disease spread from altering environment.Mummies from along the Nile are revealing how age-old irrigation techniques may have boosted the plague of schistosomiasis, a water-borne parasitic disease that infects an estimated 200 million people today.
Source: Guardian (UK)
May 23, 2011
Letter signed by Adolf Hitler asks for time off from his job to fight for the presidency of the reich in 1932.A letter typed and signed by Adolf Hitler asking for time off from his job to fight for the presidency of the reich in 1932 has emerged for sale.
Source: Chronicle of Higher Ed
May 23, 2011
There’s no shortage of fabulous archival material lurking in college and university collections. The trick is finding it.Without good metadata—labels that tell researchers and search engines what’s in a photograph, say—those archives are as good as closed to many students and scholars. But many institutions don’t have the resources or manpower to tag their archives thoroughly.
Source: WaPo
May 23, 2011
MOSCOW — For the first time ever, ordinary Russians can now see documents that appear to confirm long-standing rumors that Vladimir Lenin had Jewish heritage.In a country long plagued by anti-Semitism, such heritage can be a significant taint, especially for the founder of the Soviet Union who is still revered by many elderly Russians.
Source: Monroe County News (MI)
May 21, 2011
With the smell of bonfire smoke wafting in the air and a warm sun finally revealing itself, Saturday turned out to be a perfect day to officially welcome visitors to Monroe's newly named national park visitor center.He attended Saturday's River Raisin National Battlefield Park open house, which marked the first official day that the visitor center opened as a federal park.
Source: Star Tribune
May 20, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis man has petitioned that Lake Calhoun be renamed, arguing it's inappropriate that a South Carolina politician who was an ardent supporter of slavery should have his name attached to one of Minnesota's most popular recreational lakes.Retired computer programmer John Winters is suggesting that John C. Calhoun's name be taken off the lake and replaced by the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, a former Minneapolis mayor.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
May 20, 2011
The following post appears courtesy of Neal Katyal, Acting Solicitor General of the United States
Source: The Root
May 20, 2011
For more than 10 years, Richmond, Va.'s oldest municipal burial ground for people of African descent has been covered over by an active parking lot owned by Virginia Commonwealth University. The dead cannot speak, so Richmond's African-American community has been fighting to remove the parking lot and protect its ancestral legacy.
Source: The Root
May 20, 2011
The Anacostia Community Museum is one of the Smithsonian Institution's grand, federally chartered Washington, D.C., museums, but it is located miles from the Mall's gleaming white marble monuments where millions of eighth-grade history students pilgrimage each year.
Source: The Atlantic
May 20, 2011
After three years, Google announced today that it would shutter its ongoing quest to scan and archive printed newspapers. Google's News Archive, which has scanned nearly a million pages from 2,000 newspapers into an easily browsable database since 2008, was among the most ambitious attempts to record and archive newspapers in their printed form.
Source: NYT
May 20, 2011
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II wrapped up her groundbreaking four-day visit to the Irish Republic on Friday, a trip that ranked among the most politically freighted of her almost 60 years on the throne.
Source: NYT
May 20, 2011
TBILISI, Georgia — The Georgian Parliament voted Friday to recognize the 19th-century killings and deportations of ethnic Circassians by czarist Russia as genocide, a move that is likely to inflame tensions between the two countries.
Source: Vancouver Sun (Canada)
May 20, 2011
Mexican archaeologists discovered seven ancient Maya sites on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.The sites, named Oxmul, Polok Ceh, Nichak, Cuzam, Chan Much, Tzakan and Chankiuik, were found in the eastern edges of Merida, the capital city of the state of Yucatan, with just under one million residents.B a s e d o n t h e f i n d i n g , northern Yucatan was settled a lot earlier than was previously thought, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
May 20, 2011
As the Red Fort in Delhi is revealed to have once been white, here are five other colour-changing monuments: The Parthenon:The stark white stone of the Parthenon in Athens was once painted in garish red, blue and yellow, according to scientists who have found traces of pigments on the building's marble. St Basil's Cathedral:
Source: FoxNews
May 20, 2011
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Source: Spiegel Online
May 19, 2011
Roland Jahn had only been in office as the new Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Archives for a month before he met with a select group of about 30 agency employees with special skills in matters of state security.The meeting was organized by Sigurd Schulz, a union official with a well-documented past. Indeed, Schulz's name appears on the list of former full-time employees of the Ministry for State Security, East Germany's notorious secret police more commonly known as the Stasi. He worked in the personal protection department.
