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: NYT
Nov 13, 2010
A secret history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II, and it details decades of clashes, often hidden, with other nations over war criminals here and abroad.
The 600-page report, which the Justice Department has tried to keep secret for four years, provides new evidence about more than two dozen of the most notorious Na
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Nov 13, 2010
George W Bush has gained an unlikely fan after Bill Clinton praised his fellow White House alum's book.
Mr Clinton never ran against the younger Bush, but he is winning so far in a key ex-presidential competition: book sales. According to Random House, Inc., which published "Decision Points" and Mr Clinton's "My Life," Mr Bush's memoir had first-day sales of around 220,000 copies. "My Life," released in 2004, debuted with sales of 400,000 copies....
Source: H-Net
Nov 12, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. – Stanley Harris received one of the first charters for a Boy Scout troop in the United States in 1908. He was instrumental in the founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1910, and served as the founder and leader of the Interracial Service of Boy Scouts of America for years.
Harris grew up in Avery County, and a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker will be dedicated to him on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 11:30 a.m. at the junction of West King Street and Poplar Grove Co
Source: Discovery News
Nov 12, 2010
Standing on a pedestal high up by Florence Cathedral’s dome, a 400-kilogram (800-pound) fiberglass reproduction of Michelangelo’s David has shown today how the towering sculpture acclaimed for its depiction of male beauty would have looked in the destination first envisaged for it.
Commissioned in 1501 for Florence Cathedral, David was originally supposed to be placed along the roofline of the east end of the Cathedral together with a series of statues.
It never ended u
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Nov 12, 2010
The Church of England is planning to sell a collection of historic paintings by the Spanish Old Master Francisco Zurbarán which have been in its possession for 250 years.
The paintings of Jacob and his sons, completed in the 1640s, are expected to raise at least £15 million for Church funds when they are sold.
The Church Commissioners, who manage the Church of England’s assets, are said to be considering replacing the 12 paintings, which hang in Auckland Castle, with
Source: NYT
Nov 12, 2010
LONDON — As treasure-in-the-attic stories go, the 18th-century Chinese vase sold at a suburban auction house in outer London on Thursday night will be hard to beat.
The delicate, decorative 16-inch vase started at a not-inconsequential $800,000, but after a half-hour of unexpectedly spirited bidding, the gavel fell at $69.5 million. It was the highest price ever paid at auction for a Chinese antiquity.
Adding in the 20 percent buyer’s premium levied by the auction house
Source: Telegraph (UK)
Nov 12, 2010
The British government has rejected pleas to grant a royal pardon to Boer War soldier Harry Breaker Morant.
Earlier this year Commander James Unkles, an Australian military lawyer, and Nick Bleszynski, a Scottish-born writer, sent a petition to the Queen, calling for a review of the trials of Lieutenant Morant and his co-accused Peter Handcock and George Witton.
The trio were found guilty of the murder of 12 prisoners of war more than 100 years ago in South Africa. De
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
Nov 12, 2010
A 14th century manuscript containing what is believed to be the oldest surviving account of the legends of King Arthur is to be sold for up to £2 million, it was announced today.
The Rochefoucauld Grail, a colourful, illustrated account of the knights of the round table is said to be one of the finest medieval texts in private hands.
It is due to be sold by auction house Sotheby's in London for a price estimated between £1.5 million and £2 million....
Source: USA Today
Nov 12, 2010
As communities across the nation prepare to commemorate next year's 150th anniversary of the Civil War, some are struggling with a lack of funding, while a bill that could change that is stuck in a House committee.
The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act, which would establish a national, federally funded committee to help organize commemorative events, was introduced to the House on March 4 by Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and then referred to the House Committee
Source: Physorg.com
Nov 12, 2010
With no hope of saving all of these sites, archaeologists Leslie Reeder of Southern Methodist University, Torben Rick from the Smithsonian Institution, and Jon Erlandson of the University of Oregon have issued a call to action for scientists to assess the sites most at risk.
Writing in the Journal of Coastal Conservation and using California's Santa Barbara Channel as a case study, the researchers illustrate how quantifiable factors such as historical rates of shoreline change, wave
Source: PressTV
Nov 12, 2010
A New York exhibition of ancient tablets has revealed the highly sophisticated mathematical practices and education in central-southern Mesopotamia.
Before Pythagoras: The Culture of Old Babylonian Mathematics displays thirteen Babylonian tablets which show that people of the region were math experts more than 1,000 years before Greek mathematicians were even born.
Held at the New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), the event exh
Source: Times of Malta
Nov 12, 2010
Peruvian archaeologists have discovered six mummified dogs, all dating from the 15th century and apparently presented as religious offerings at a major pre-Columbian site just south of Lima.
The dogs “have hair and complete teeth,” said Jesus Holguin, an archaeologist at the museum in Pachacamac, located some 25 kilometres south of Lima.
Mr Holguin said that experts were still trying to determine their breed....
Source: Huffington Post
Nov 12, 2010
When Crown Publishing inked a deal with George W. Bush for his memoirs, the publisher knew it wasn't getting Faulkner. But the book, at least, promises "gripping, never-before-heard detail" about the former president's key decisions, offering to bring readers "aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America's most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; at the head of the table in the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq," and other undisclos
Source: AOL News
Nov 12, 2010
(Nov. 12) -- Jewish leaders have condemned Glenn Beck for comments he made on Fox News accusing billionaire philanthropist George Soros -- a Jew -- of being complicit with the Holocaust as a child in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
On three TV programs this past week, the conservative commentator has focused on Soros, a Hungarian-born financier and democracy advocate, calling him a "puppet master" who is "notorious for collapsing economies and regimes all around the world.&quo
Source: BBC News
Nov 12, 2010
Palaeontologists have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos, belonging to a species that lived some 190 million years ago.
The eggs of Massospondylus, containing well-perserved embryos, were unearthed in South Africa back in 1976.
The team writes in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology that the dino was an ancestor of the giant, plant-eating sauropods, such as Brontosaurus.
The study also sheds light on the dinosaurs' early development.
Source: BBC News
Nov 12, 2010
Polish composer Henryk Gorecki has died at the age of 76, the country's national orchestra has announced.
He was best known for his Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, which was composed in 1976 and sold more than a million copies following a 1992 re-release.
The symphony, re-issued to commemorate those who died in the Holocaust, featured vocals from US soprano Dawn Upshaw.
It was often played on radio station Classic FM when it launched in 1992.
Monu
Source: BBC News
Nov 12, 2010
Celebrations leading up to the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015 have got under way.
Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger and Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke will address a public launch at a memorial site in Runnymede, Surrey, where King John sealed the document in 1215.
Exhibitions of the charter of rights are planned in the UK and Commonwealth.
The Magna Carta Trust is also campaigning for a national holiday and a commemorative stamp and coin.
Source: CNN.com
Nov 11, 2010
(CNN) -- In the days before there was an organized baseball draft, there was a military draft.
In September 1940 as the United States braced for a possible entry into the war, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act into law, requiring all American males ages 21 to 36 to register for military service.
More than 500 Major League players served during World War II; more than 4,000 minor league players also put their careers aside to serv
Source: Navy Times
Nov 11, 2010
PITTSBURGH — With all their texting, tweeting and Internet surfing, today's kids might be the right-now generation.
Who among them has time for what some call the greatest generation?
Jordan Brown, for one.
An 11-year-old from Lebanon County, he has long been fascinated by World War II and one old soldier in particular — Dick Winters, the Easy Company commander made famous by the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers."
Winters, a Lancaster
Source: Yahoo News
Nov 11, 2010
PARIS – A solemn ceremony at Paris' Grand Mosque has been held to honor the memory of Muslims who fought for France in World War I.
Defense Minister Herve Morin and Veterans Affairs Minister Hubert Falco took part in Thursday's ceremony, one of several official events marking the 92nd anniversary of the end of World War I....
