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: BBC News
Mar 14, 2011
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has cast doubt on Britain's public stance that countries should not torture British citizens on its behalf.
He said he was never told that was the policy and this may have been "tacit approval of whatever we were doing".
His comments raise questions about how much MI5 knew about torture being used in the fight against al-Qaeda.
Former MI5 director general Elizabeth Manningham-Buller denied that "a bl
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Mar 13, 2011
Children’s understanding of the past is being undermined by poor history teaching and crowded timetables, Government inspectors warned today.
Ofsted said history suffered in many primary schools because of weak subject knowledge among staff and the use of “disconnected topics” in lessons.
At secondary level, growing numbers of pupils are now exposed to just two years of compulsory history classes instead of the recommended three.
In a damning c
Source: NYT
Mar 13, 2011
In its heyday, it was the epitome of an era that haunts us still as a fleeting moment of America on the cusp of something it never quite duplicated or achieved — money with style, sin that seemed innocent, human-scale pleasures, a jazz-inflected version of the American dream minus today’s cynicism and rust....
There was croquet on the 13 acres of lawn, illumined by car headlights and parties at all hours for what Swope’s wife, Margaret, described as “an absolutely seething bordello
Source: Chicago Tribune
Mar 13, 2011
Descend beyond the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe's concrete slabs and you'll find informative, harrowing exhibits.
We were on our way to see the Brandenburg Gate when they came unexpectedly into view across the street — rows of muted gray concrete slabs of varying heights, their rise and fall taking up an entire city block.
The sight stopped us in our tracks.
"That must be the Holocaust Memorial," I said.
"It can't poss
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Mar 13, 2011
As the nation’s favourite grandmother, it might be expected that Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s musical tastes would have been rather old-fashioned.
But her private music library - details of which were made public for the first time - show that the royal's preferences were remarkably eclectic.
Her collection included Caribbean steel bands, Canadian yodelling, Rodgers and Hammerstein show tunes, folk music, ska and even a top-selling pop album by Paul Simon.
Source: BBC News
Mar 13, 2011
Previously undiscovered diaries have been found by an author based in the UK which show the intense relationship between Queen Victoria and the Indian man employed to be her teacher.
The diaries have been used by London-based author Shrabani Basu to update her book Victoria and Abdul - which tells the story of the queen's close relationship with a tall and handsome Indian Muslim called Abdul Karim.
The diaries add weight to suggestions that the queen was arguably far cl
Source: BBC News
Mar 13, 2011
From one of the earliest depictions of the continent - to the colonial scramble for land - the maps of Africa reveal a great deal about the people who have lived there through the centuries.
To try to shed new light on the African archives held by the Royal Geographical Society, London-based African community groups were asked for their views on the documents.
They spoke to Cliff Pereira and Zagba Oyortey - both African-born - who explain here how the maps tell the stor
Source: AOL News
Mar 13, 2011
Crime solvers follow the money, but experts searching for the lost city of Atlantis? In archaeology, "you should follow the stones," Richard Freund said.
Freund, a University of Hartford professor, believes he and his research team have found the legendary island-city described by Plato in about 360 B.C. as having "in a single day and night ... disappeared into the depths of the sea."
Using satellite photography, ground-penetrating radar, underwater
Source: WaPo
Mar 13, 2011
...Two days after a massive earthquake and the resulting tsunami turned a strip of Japan into wreckage, the hardest-hit areas still don't have enough of what they need, according to those in shelters. There's not enough food, not enough water and no heat. And there are not enough resources to quickly reach - or even contact - the tens of thousands who remain missing.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan called the disaster the country's biggest crisis since World War II. Kan said that along coa
Source: BBC
Mar 13, 2011
A political party which wants an English Parliament has called for a referendum on making the Welsh county of Monmouthshire part of England.
The English Democrats, at their spring conference in Middlesex, say they want the vote to settle the issue.
Monmouthshire was the only area in the recent referendum to reject direct law-making powers for the Welsh assembly.
History shows Monmouthshire has been part of the old Welsh county of Gwent and its English neigh
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Mar 13, 2011
Schoolchildren fail to grasp how events in history are linked because the subject is taught in “episodes”, an official report has warned.
The Ofsted report said many primary and secondary pupils are being let down by a curriculum which does not give them a “chronological understanding” of the subject - instead concentrating on individual topics from ancient Egypt to post-war Britain.
The education watchdog also said that history teaching is being marginalised in state
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Mar 12, 2011
One of Britain’s most traditionalist churches is threatening to tear itself apart over the introduction of hymns during services for the first time in a century.
Unhappy worshippers at the Free Church of Scotland have started a campaign to overturn the decision, arguing that it amounts to “new gimmicks to fill church pews”.
The staunchly Presbyterian church, nicknamed the Wee Frees, has traditionally sung unaccompanied psalms as many members believe they are singing sc
Source: National Parks Traveler
Mar 12, 2011
Ribbon cutting ceremonies for new buildings are commonplace, but the dedication of a new visitor center for Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore on March 3, 2011, included plenty of unique touches. Among them was a customized bakery creation that proved you can have your cake and shoot it too.
Given the history of the fort, it's appropriate that the event included deep drum rolls and cannon fire that could be heard a mile away, and when organizers decided
Source: CNN
Mar 12, 2011
She is one of the best-known crime writers of all time but few know the extent of Agatha Christie's archaeological pedigree.
Married in 1930 to eminent archaeologist Max Mallowan, Christie spent two decades living on excavation sites in the Middle East, writing her crime novels and helping out with her husband's work.
Travel by boat and on the Orient Express to far-flung places such as Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad inspired some of Christie's best-known works of detective
Source: NYT
Mar 12, 2011
In the ocean of multinational praise still swelling around last year’s Big British Movie, “The King’s Speech,” a lone curmudgeon’s dinghy managed to bob its way onto the waters of consent. The review, not surprisingly, came from France. “Here is but the latest manifestation of British narcissism,” grumbled Thomas Sotinel, a reviewer for Le Monde. “It can be summarized thusly: We are ugly and boring, but, by Jove! We are right!”
We get the ugly/boring part: in “The King’s Speech,” we
Source: NYT
Mar 12, 2011
The earthquake and tsunami that battered northern Japan on Friday set in motion one of the worst nuclear accidents in over two decades.
The International Atomic Energy Agency rates the severity of radiological events, with a scale starting at one, an “anomaly,” and rising to seven, a “major” accident. Six and seven designate full meltdown, where the nuclear fuel or core of a reactor overheats and melts. The scale of the ensuing uncontrolled release of radiation that follows differen
Source: CNN
Mar 12, 2011
She is one of the best-known crime writers of all time but few know the extent of Agatha Christie's archaeological pedigree.
Married in 1930 to eminent archaeologist Max Mallowan, Christie spent two decades living on excavation sites in the Middle East, writing her crime novels and helping out with her husband's work.
Travel by boat and on the Orient Express to far-flung places such as Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad inspired some of Christie's best-known works of detective
Source: BBC
Mar 12, 2011
It was known as the naughty boys' ship because it tried to turn around the lives of teenage delinquents.
The Clio trained hundreds for life in the royal or merchant navy when it was moored in the Menai Strait off Anglesey from 1877 to 1920.
Now its story is being retold at Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor.
The exhibition on HMS Clio, a naval gunship reborn as a correction vessel, runs until 17 September.
Part-funded by local people, the C
Source: Discovery News
Mar 11, 2011
Could a genetic disorder and a rare blood type explain Henry VIII's health problems, his wives' miscarriages, and even his madness?
Among a long list of personality quirks and historical drama, Henry VIII is known for the development of health problems in mid-life and a series of miscarriages for two of his wives. In a new study, researchers propose that Henry had an X-linked genetic disorder and a rare blood type that could explain many of his problems.
By suggesting b
Source: NYT
Mar 11, 2011
After five years and more than 700 hours of delicate restoration work, a green gown shimmering with the iridescent wings of 1,000 beetles, which caused a sensation when Ellen Terry wore it as Lady Macbeth in 1888, is going on display again.
The dress, transforming the beautiful red-haired actor into a cross between a jewelled serpent and a medieval knight, was the talk of the town after the first night. John Singer Sargent painted Terry wearing it, and the artist's neighbour, Oscar
