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This page features brief excerpts of news 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.
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Breaking News
This page features brief excerpts of news 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. Because most of our readers read the NYT we usually do not include the paper's stories in HIGHLIGHTS.
Name of source: Times-Dispatch
SOURCE: Times-Dispatch (2-20-07)
The Museum of the Confederacy will likely drop the word "Confederacy" from its name when it moves its collection to a new home.
"One of our challenges is a gap between the public's perception of who we are and the role we play, and the reality of who we are and the role we play," Waite Rawls, the museum's president and CEO, said yesterday.
"The repositioning we have done over the past 30 years is to be more of a modern education institution and less of a memorial . . . to the Confederacy."
The museum dates to Feb. 22, 1896, when The Confederate Museum opened in the former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
"One of our challenges is a gap between the public's perception of who we are and the role we play, and the reality of who we are and the role we play," Waite Rawls, the museum's president and CEO, said yesterday.
"The repositioning we have done over the past 30 years is to be more of a modern education institution and less of a memorial . . . to the Confederacy."
The museum dates to Feb. 22, 1896, when The Confederate Museum opened in the former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 00:50
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Name of source: Press Release -- American Revolution Center
SOURCE: Press Release -- American Revolution Center (2-20-07)
Today the American Revolution Center announced an extraordinary discovery surrounding the tent or "marquee" which George Washington used as his traveling "oval office" during the American Revolution. During the completion of the marquee's conservation process, a missing piece from the marquee ceiling was miraculously found. This announcement comes two days before the 275th birthday of the nation's first president.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 00:46
Name of source: CNN
SOURCE: CNN (2-19-07)
ZAGREB, Croatia (Reuters) -- Small packets of sugar bearing the likeness of Adolf Hitler and carrying Holocaust jokes have been found in some cafes in Croatia, prompting an investigation, the office of the state prosecutor said on Monday.
"The local district attorney in (the eastern town of) Pozega has opened an investigation and is currently looking at the matter," said Martina Mihordin.
The Novi List daily newspaper reported that officials at a small factory in Pozega have confirmed the sugar packs were produced on their premises.
The incident will embarrass the government which has been keen to play down the country's past links with Nazism.
"The local district attorney in (the eastern town of) Pozega has opened an investigation and is currently looking at the matter," said Martina Mihordin.
The Novi List daily newspaper reported that officials at a small factory in Pozega have confirmed the sugar packs were produced on their premises.
The incident will embarrass the government which has been keen to play down the country's past links with Nazism.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 00:37
Name of source: AP
SOURCE: AP (2-18-07)
A group of Virginia historians and an Army archaeologist say more research is needed before anyone can determine for sure that an early 17th-century settlement known as Henry Towne ever existed.
A Fort Eustis spokeswoman said Friday that Randy Amici, the Army's lead archaeologist for Fort Eustis on the Peninsula and Fort Story in Virginia Beach, has been at the center of the possible Henry Towne discovery and will continue to participate in that research.
"When I asked how long would it take, I was told years and maybe decades," spokeswoman Cindy Your said. "So, not any time soon."
Amici said the settlement was established as early as 1610--three years after Jamestown--at or near Baylake Pines, a neighborhood off Shore Drive near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia Beach.
Colonial Williamsburg's former chief archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume remains unconvinced but agreed that the historical documents "need to be looked at a lot more carefully."
A Fort Eustis spokeswoman said Friday that Randy Amici, the Army's lead archaeologist for Fort Eustis on the Peninsula and Fort Story in Virginia Beach, has been at the center of the possible Henry Towne discovery and will continue to participate in that research.
"When I asked how long would it take, I was told years and maybe decades," spokeswoman Cindy Your said. "So, not any time soon."
Amici said the settlement was established as early as 1610--three years after Jamestown--at or near Baylake Pines, a neighborhood off Shore Drive near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia Beach.
Colonial Williamsburg's former chief archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume remains unconvinced but agreed that the historical documents "need to be looked at a lot more carefully."
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 00:34
SOURCE: AP (2-19-07)
CAIRO -- A mud brick tomb dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered near Egypt's most ancient pyramid in the Saqqara complex south of Cairo, antiquities official announced Monday. The tomb, which was found by an Egyptian-Australian mission, belonged to Ka-Hay, who kept divine records, and his wife, said Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief.
Excavators found five wooden statues depicting the tomb's owner and his wife in a niche at the tomb's forefront. Among the wooden figures was a unique double statue of a seated Ka-Hay and his wife, Hawass said.
The tomb, which also features two offering tables and a wooden false door, was found near the famous Step Pyramid of King Djoser -- believed to be Egypt's oldest pyramid -- in the necropolis of King Teti, a funerary area containing scores of burial chambers, false doors that ancient Egyptians said the souls of the dead would use to leave their tombs, and temples.
[Update: According to a Reuters report Tuesday,"A third discovery, announced by the Supreme Antiquities Council on Monday, was of a cache of wooden statues dating back to about 2200 BC, the heyday of the Sakkara necropolis. The council said in a statement that the cache contained five statues, including a rare double wooden statue of the scribe Ka-Hay and his wife. But Hawass said there were only three wooden statues, two of the scribe and a separate one of his wife."http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2012923420070220]
Excavators found five wooden statues depicting the tomb's owner and his wife in a niche at the tomb's forefront. Among the wooden figures was a unique double statue of a seated Ka-Hay and his wife, Hawass said.
The tomb, which also features two offering tables and a wooden false door, was found near the famous Step Pyramid of King Djoser -- believed to be Egypt's oldest pyramid -- in the necropolis of King Teti, a funerary area containing scores of burial chambers, false doors that ancient Egyptians said the souls of the dead would use to leave their tombs, and temples.
[Update: According to a Reuters report Tuesday,"A third discovery, announced by the Supreme Antiquities Council on Monday, was of a cache of wooden statues dating back to about 2200 BC, the heyday of the Sakkara necropolis. The council said in a statement that the cache contained five statues, including a rare double wooden statue of the scribe Ka-Hay and his wife. But Hawass said there were only three wooden statues, two of the scribe and a separate one of his wife."http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2012923420070220]
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 18:50
SOURCE: AP (2-19-07)
Another irony of history: laws passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks aimed at keeping terrorists out of the United States have disqualified many Hmong refugees, the very people specially recognized by Congress for helping American troops in the Vietnam war.
Under provisions of the USA Patriot Act and the Real ID Act, the Hmong who fought alongside the Americans in the "secret war" against communists in Laos are considered terrorists and are therefore ineligible for asylum or green cards. These are laws from the same Congress that in 2000 passed a law easing the citizenship requirements for the Hmong in recognition of their Vietnam era efforts.
"Clearly, it's absurd that people who fought with us - people who have received special exemptions from the law precisely for that conduct - should be barred from coming to the U.S. as refugees as a result of that conduct," said Melanie Nezer, an attorney for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, who is coordinating a working group aimed at changing the laws.
The Hmong began arriving in large numbers during the 1970s, in the aftermath of Vietnam, and there were about 170,000 in the U.S. as of the 2000 U.S. Census, with most settled in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A later wave of about 15,000 settled in this country in 2005.
The anti-terror restrictions, which have ensnared other groups as well, also bar people who provided "material support" to terrorist organizations. Last month the Bush administration announced it was granting waivers of that restriction to eight groups, but the Hmong was not among them.
Under provisions of the USA Patriot Act and the Real ID Act, the Hmong who fought alongside the Americans in the "secret war" against communists in Laos are considered terrorists and are therefore ineligible for asylum or green cards. These are laws from the same Congress that in 2000 passed a law easing the citizenship requirements for the Hmong in recognition of their Vietnam era efforts.
"Clearly, it's absurd that people who fought with us - people who have received special exemptions from the law precisely for that conduct - should be barred from coming to the U.S. as refugees as a result of that conduct," said Melanie Nezer, an attorney for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, who is coordinating a working group aimed at changing the laws.
The Hmong began arriving in large numbers during the 1970s, in the aftermath of Vietnam, and there were about 170,000 in the U.S. as of the 2000 U.S. Census, with most settled in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A later wave of about 15,000 settled in this country in 2005.
The anti-terror restrictions, which have ensnared other groups as well, also bar people who provided "material support" to terrorist organizations. Last month the Bush administration announced it was granting waivers of that restriction to eight groups, but the Hmong was not among them.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 16:39
SOURCE: AP (2-19-07)
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that South Carolina should remove the Confederate flag from its Statehouse grounds, in part because the nation should unite under one banner while at war.
"I think about how many South Carolinians have served in our military and who are serving today under our flag and I believe that we should have one flag that we all pay honor to, as I know that most people in South Carolina do every single day," Clinton told The Associated Press in an interview.
"I personally would like to see it removed from the Statehouse grounds," the New York senator said during her first trip to the early voting state since announcing her White House bid.
Other Democratic hopefuls, including Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, have said the flag should come down. The banner, which once flew over the Statehouse dome and now flies nearby, is the subject of an ongoing NAACP boycott.
"I think about how many South Carolinians have served in our military and who are serving today under our flag and I believe that we should have one flag that we all pay honor to, as I know that most people in South Carolina do every single day," Clinton told The Associated Press in an interview.
"I personally would like to see it removed from the Statehouse grounds," the New York senator said during her first trip to the early voting state since announcing her White House bid.
Other Democratic hopefuls, including Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, have said the flag should come down. The banner, which once flew over the Statehouse dome and now flies nearby, is the subject of an ongoing NAACP boycott.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 21:14
SOURCE: AP (2-19-07)
President Bush honored the 275th birthday of the nation's first president on Monday, likening George Washington's long struggle that gave birth to a nation to the war on global terrorism.
"Today, we're fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life," said Bush, standing in front of Washington's home and above a mostly frozen Potomac River.
"And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the world, we remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone."
Bush chose the national Presidents Day holiday to make his first visit as president to Mount Vernon. He and first lady Laura Bush helped lay a wreath at Washington's tomb, then the president gave a speech from a platform on the bowling green lawn of the estate.
"I feel right at home here. After all, this is the home of the first George W. I thank President Washington for welcoming us today. He doesn't look a day over 275 years old," Bush said to laughter.
Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732.
"On the field of battle, Washington's forces were facing a mighty empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times. Yet George Washington's calm hand and determination kept the cause of independence and the principles of our Declaration alive," Bush said on a clear but frigid day, speaking to several hundred people.
"Today, we're fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life," said Bush, standing in front of Washington's home and above a mostly frozen Potomac River.
"And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the world, we remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone."
Bush chose the national Presidents Day holiday to make his first visit as president to Mount Vernon. He and first lady Laura Bush helped lay a wreath at Washington's tomb, then the president gave a speech from a platform on the bowling green lawn of the estate.
"I feel right at home here. After all, this is the home of the first George W. I thank President Washington for welcoming us today. He doesn't look a day over 275 years old," Bush said to laughter.
Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732.
"On the field of battle, Washington's forces were facing a mighty empire, and the odds against them were overwhelming. The ragged Continental Army lost more battles than it won, suffered waves of desertions, and stood on the brink of disaster many times. Yet George Washington's calm hand and determination kept the cause of independence and the principles of our Declaration alive," Bush said on a clear but frigid day, speaking to several hundred people.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 16:23
SOURCE: AP (2-18-07)
PARIS -- A prominent French political figure who ordered hundreds of Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II will be buried wearing his Legion of Honor medal, his lawyer said Sunday, even though the deceased man was stripped of his right to wear the decoration in 1998.
Maurice Papon, the No. 2 official in the Bordeaux region in southwestern France during Germany's World War II occupation, was convicted in 1998 on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity. The former French cabinet minister was sentenced to 10 years in prison for ordering the arrest and deportation of 1,690 Jews, including 223 children, to Nazi death camps.
He died on Saturday at age 96.
Maurice Papon, the No. 2 official in the Bordeaux region in southwestern France during Germany's World War II occupation, was convicted in 1998 on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity. The former French cabinet minister was sentenced to 10 years in prison for ordering the arrest and deportation of 1,690 Jews, including 223 children, to Nazi death camps.
He died on Saturday at age 96.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 22:42
SOURCE: AP (2-18-07)
An Israeli archaeologist said Sunday that what could be a Islamic prayer room was found at the site of the Mugrabi ramp in the Old City of Jerusalem, where excavation work has sparked angry protests by Muslims who say that the work endangers the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Muslim leaders and critics of the work said the announcement of the find, three years after it was discovered, confirmed their fears that the Antiquities Authority is intent on hiding Muslim attachment to the site.
Muslim leaders and critics of the work said the announcement of the find, three years after it was discovered, confirmed their fears that the Antiquities Authority is intent on hiding Muslim attachment to the site.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 17:18
Name of source: Boston Globe
SOURCE: Boston Globe (2-17-07)
To the uninitiated, the dirty mix of mud, bone, and cow dung is a 350-year-old piece of trash. But to archeologists, the recent discovery at Boston's oldest house is a gleaming, golden nugget.
The brick-hard concoction, used in the mid-17th century for insulation and retrieved during restoration at the James Blake House in Dorchester, is giving archeologists their earliest glimpse of the everyday lives of the city's first European settlers.
The mix, called wattle and daub, will be examined under a microscope beginning next week in the city's archeology lab. What researchers find, they say, could change long-held theories about what the early Puritans ate and farmed and how they built their houses.
"This is a window of opportunity that we have here right now," said city archeologist Ellen Berkland, who is live-in curator at the house in Edward Everett Square. "It will be sealed up soon with new shingles, and we won't be able to get to it for another 100 years."
The brick-hard concoction, used in the mid-17th century for insulation and retrieved during restoration at the James Blake House in Dorchester, is giving archeologists their earliest glimpse of the everyday lives of the city's first European settlers.
The mix, called wattle and daub, will be examined under a microscope beginning next week in the city's archeology lab. What researchers find, they say, could change long-held theories about what the early Puritans ate and farmed and how they built their houses.
"This is a window of opportunity that we have here right now," said city archeologist Ellen Berkland, who is live-in curator at the house in Edward Everett Square. "It will be sealed up soon with new shingles, and we won't be able to get to it for another 100 years."
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 - 00:31
SOURCE: Boston Globe (2-18-07)
Most people may believe that the reason for studying history is to learn what happened in the past," begins the foreword to Japan's "New History Textbook," "but that is not necessarily correct."
This is not the kind of opening that inspires confidence in a text's objectivity. The "New History Textbook" was introduced in 2001 by a group of right-wing scholars and politicians with the explicit aim of giving junior high school students a more positive sense of their national history. It characterizes Japanese aggression in World War II, notably its invasion of China, as a counterattack against Western imperialism, and consigns the Japanese Army's atrocities following its 1937 conquest of Nanjing -- known as the "Rape of Nanking" -- to a footnote, even questioning the number of victims.
The book has proven disastrous for Japan's image abroad; indeed, it seems there are more Chinese students who have rioted over the "New History Textbook" than Japanese students who have read it. Almost no Japanese junior high schools have actually adopted the text -- just 18 out of more than 11,000. But it is certified by the country's Education Ministry, and the Chinese find this deeply offensive.
This is not the kind of opening that inspires confidence in a text's objectivity. The "New History Textbook" was introduced in 2001 by a group of right-wing scholars and politicians with the explicit aim of giving junior high school students a more positive sense of their national history. It characterizes Japanese aggression in World War II, notably its invasion of China, as a counterattack against Western imperialism, and consigns the Japanese Army's atrocities following its 1937 conquest of Nanjing -- known as the "Rape of Nanking" -- to a footnote, even questioning the number of victims.
The book has proven disastrous for Japan's image abroad; indeed, it seems there are more Chinese students who have rioted over the "New History Textbook" than Japanese students who have read it. Almost no Japanese junior high schools have actually adopted the text -- just 18 out of more than 11,000. But it is certified by the country's Education Ministry, and the Chinese find this deeply offensive.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 05:56
Name of source: National Geographic News
SOURCE: National Geographic News (2-20-07)
Residents of a 15th-century new world mining colony founded by Christopher Columbus turned to desperate measures in the face of rapidly deteriorating conditions, a new study suggests.
According to researchers from the University of Arizona, the colony of La Isabela's situation was so dire that the miners tried to smelt their own supplies by extracting silver from lead ore they brought with them from Europe.
Archaeologists working at the site—-located in what is now the Dominican Republic—-in the 1990s found slag and other by-products of mining operations indicating that the miners had processed some ore there. The initial conclusion was that the ore had been found near La Isabela, processed there, and found to contain no significant amount of silver or other precious metals.
But the new report suggests that the colonists, beset by hunger, disease, hurricanes, mutiny, and conflicts with the natives, were instead pilfering their own supply of ore. The attempts came as the miners prepared to abandon the colony after a breakdown in authority, the authors speculate.
"Our paper, which describes the extraction of silver from lead ore at La Isabela, concludes that these ores were processed very late in the history of the settlement, just shortly before La Isabela was completely abandoned in late 1497," said Alyson Thibodeau, one of the study's authors.
The study appears this week on the Web site of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
According to researchers from the University of Arizona, the colony of La Isabela's situation was so dire that the miners tried to smelt their own supplies by extracting silver from lead ore they brought with them from Europe.
Archaeologists working at the site—-located in what is now the Dominican Republic—-in the 1990s found slag and other by-products of mining operations indicating that the miners had processed some ore there. The initial conclusion was that the ore had been found near La Isabela, processed there, and found to contain no significant amount of silver or other precious metals.
But the new report suggests that the colonists, beset by hunger, disease, hurricanes, mutiny, and conflicts with the natives, were instead pilfering their own supply of ore. The attempts came as the miners prepared to abandon the colony after a breakdown in authority, the authors speculate.
"Our paper, which describes the extraction of silver from lead ore at La Isabela, concludes that these ores were processed very late in the history of the settlement, just shortly before La Isabela was completely abandoned in late 1497," said Alyson Thibodeau, one of the study's authors.
The study appears this week on the Web site of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 19:57
Name of source: Reuters
SOURCE: Reuters (2-20-07)
SAKKARA, Egypt -- Egypt's chief archaeologist displayed on Tuesday the latest discoveries from the Sakkara cemetery south of Cairo and said many more treasures clearly lay hidden beneath the sands.
The new finds, outlined in statements over the past week, also show that Sakkara remained a necropolis, from the Greek "City of the Dead", for Egypt's elite long after the Old Kingdom period for which it is famous, said Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Antiquities Council.
The finds include the tomb of a royal cupbearer from the time of the "rebel" pharaoh Akhenaten, who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods in favor of the Aten sun disk and brought in a new and more expressive style of art.
Akhenaten ruled between 1379 and 1362 BC, just before the famous boy king Tutankhamun...
Maarten Raven, the field director of the Dutch mission which has excavated the tomb over the past two months, said he expected more tombs from the period to turn up in Sakkara, which is most famous for pyramids and tombs from 1,000 years earlier.
The nearby city of Memphis remained the de facto capital of Egypt for most of pharaonic history, even when the official capital was at Luxor in the south or in the new city which Akhenaten built at Tell el-Amarna in central Egypt.
"It was business as usual and Memphis still functioned as the capital, so there were courtiers and high officials and they must have had their burials, so I'm sure there is a lot more to be found in this area," Raven said.
"We thought all the tombs of the period were in Amarna but Akhenaten built temples in Sakkara ... and this shows that the officials who ruled the north were buried here," said Hawass.
The new finds, outlined in statements over the past week, also show that Sakkara remained a necropolis, from the Greek "City of the Dead", for Egypt's elite long after the Old Kingdom period for which it is famous, said Zahi Hawass of the Supreme Antiquities Council.
The finds include the tomb of a royal cupbearer from the time of the "rebel" pharaoh Akhenaten, who abandoned most of Egypt's old gods in favor of the Aten sun disk and brought in a new and more expressive style of art.
Akhenaten ruled between 1379 and 1362 BC, just before the famous boy king Tutankhamun...
Maarten Raven, the field director of the Dutch mission which has excavated the tomb over the past two months, said he expected more tombs from the period to turn up in Sakkara, which is most famous for pyramids and tombs from 1,000 years earlier.
The nearby city of Memphis remained the de facto capital of Egypt for most of pharaonic history, even when the official capital was at Luxor in the south or in the new city which Akhenaten built at Tell el-Amarna in central Egypt.
"It was business as usual and Memphis still functioned as the capital, so there were courtiers and high officials and they must have had their burials, so I'm sure there is a lot more to be found in this area," Raven said.
"We thought all the tombs of the period were in Amarna but Akhenaten built temples in Sakkara ... and this shows that the officials who ruled the north were buried here," said Hawass.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 17:40
SOURCE: Reuters (2-19-07)
DALLAS, Tex. -- Previously unreleased footage of John F. Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas moments before he was gunned down was released Monday, a surprising new twist in a saga that has gripped the United States for four decades.
The silent 8mm film shows a beaming Jacqueline Kennedy close up in vivid color waving to the crowd.
A group of excited bystanders -- women sporting big 1960s hairstyles -- waves to the cameraman shortly before the motorcade sweeps past.
The president's coat is clearly, if briefly, seen bunched up on his back -- a detail that will be scrutinized by conspiracy theorists who see evidence of a plot in, among other things, the fact the bullet wounds on his jacket and body did not appear to match.
The film was donated to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas by amateur photographer George Jefferies and his son-in-law, Wayne Graham. It was released to coincide with the Presidents Day federal holiday.
The silent 8mm film shows a beaming Jacqueline Kennedy close up in vivid color waving to the crowd.
A group of excited bystanders -- women sporting big 1960s hairstyles -- waves to the cameraman shortly before the motorcade sweeps past.
The president's coat is clearly, if briefly, seen bunched up on his back -- a detail that will be scrutinized by conspiracy theorists who see evidence of a plot in, among other things, the fact the bullet wounds on his jacket and body did not appear to match.
The film was donated to the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas by amateur photographer George Jefferies and his son-in-law, Wayne Graham. It was released to coincide with the Presidents Day federal holiday.
Related Links
Never-before-seen JFK footage (MSNBC video)
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 21:30
SOURCE: Reuters (2-18-07)
WARSAW -- A local joke runs that the luckiest man in Warsaw is the caretaker who lives on the top floor of its towering Palace of Culture -- because he is the only one who can look out of his window and not see it.
Loathed by many older Poles as a symbol of oppression, the 754-foot (230-meter) neo-Gothic skyscraper was a "gift" from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1950s, but as a post-Communist generation matures it is finding a new role.
The grey-brown stone edifice between the central station and the main shopping area has survived calls for its demolition, and now what was originally a trophy monument to communist solidarity houses one of the city's trendiest music venues.
The building was last week awarded the status of historic monument and now symbolizes how Poles, who ditched communism in 1989, straddle two starkly opposed systems as the capital booms.
"The palace is now the heart of our city and is used by huge numbers every year," said Krzysztof Markowski, the building's technical director and vice-president of its management board. "It may be a reminder of a long-gone epoch, but it is now having a second life, serving us all."
Still Poland's tallest building, the Palace dominates the capital's skyline and is visible for up to 20 miles: its peculiar, ornate design by Russian architect Lev Rudnev is part Empire State Building, part Socialist Realism...
Loathed by many older Poles as a symbol of oppression, the 754-foot (230-meter) neo-Gothic skyscraper was a "gift" from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the 1950s, but as a post-Communist generation matures it is finding a new role.
The grey-brown stone edifice between the central station and the main shopping area has survived calls for its demolition, and now what was originally a trophy monument to communist solidarity houses one of the city's trendiest music venues.
The building was last week awarded the status of historic monument and now symbolizes how Poles, who ditched communism in 1989, straddle two starkly opposed systems as the capital booms.
"The palace is now the heart of our city and is used by huge numbers every year," said Krzysztof Markowski, the building's technical director and vice-president of its management board. "It may be a reminder of a long-gone epoch, but it is now having a second life, serving us all."
Still Poland's tallest building, the Palace dominates the capital's skyline and is visible for up to 20 miles: its peculiar, ornate design by Russian architect Lev Rudnev is part Empire State Building, part Socialist Realism...
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 03:46
SOURCE: Reuters (2-18-07)
WASHINGTON -- In the Lincoln Bedroom, President George W. Bush likes to show off one of the most treasured historical artifacts in the White House, a handwritten copy of Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg Address.
The building's walls speak of past battles, victories, defeats, heartache. President George Washington's portrait hangs in the Oval Office. Civil War Commander and two-term President Ulysses Grant is placed in Bush's private study.
The Queen's Bedroom offers memories of Winston Churchill, who stayed there before and after World War Two, as Bush told C-SPAN, "waddling around ... with a cigar in one hand, a brandy in the other, demanding attention."
As Bush marks the Presidents Day holiday and George Washington's 275th birthday on Monday, he faces a drumbeat a criticism for the event that will likely be a big part of his legacy -- the Iraq war...
The building's walls speak of past battles, victories, defeats, heartache. President George Washington's portrait hangs in the Oval Office. Civil War Commander and two-term President Ulysses Grant is placed in Bush's private study.
The Queen's Bedroom offers memories of Winston Churchill, who stayed there before and after World War Two, as Bush told C-SPAN, "waddling around ... with a cigar in one hand, a brandy in the other, demanding attention."
As Bush marks the Presidents Day holiday and George Washington's 275th birthday on Monday, he faces a drumbeat a criticism for the event that will likely be a big part of his legacy -- the Iraq war...
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 03:44
Name of source: http://www.mlive.com
SOURCE: http://www.mlive.com (2-19-07)
A University of Michigan museum exhibit showing how Native Americans lived hundreds of years ago was the target of a unique protest Sunday by students who say it's offensive and should be taken down.
A group of six art students, as part of a class project, placed translucent screens over the collection of dioramas that are prominently displayed on the fourth floor of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History.
They handed out fliers asking why the museum won't remove what they called "racist and demeaning dioramas.'' Among the students' complaints: The dioramas show romanticized depictions of Native American life and don't tell how those lives were changed with the introduction of Europeans to North America.
A group of six art students, as part of a class project, placed translucent screens over the collection of dioramas that are prominently displayed on the fourth floor of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History.
They handed out fliers asking why the museum won't remove what they called "racist and demeaning dioramas.'' Among the students' complaints: The dioramas show romanticized depictions of Native American life and don't tell how those lives were changed with the introduction of Europeans to North America.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 17:24
Name of source: NYT
SOURCE: NYT (2-20-07)
MATSUE, Japan — As snow silently fell on the miniature garden outside, Bon Koizumi sat on the same tatami mat floor where, more than a century before, his great-grandfather wrote down some of Japan’s best-loved folk tales.
It was the perfect image of Japanese repose, except for the sepiatoned photo of Mr. Koizumi’s ancestor, whose bushy mustache and aquiline nose highlighted an unmistakably Western face.
His great-grandfather was Lafcadio Hearn, the Irish-Greek author whose wanderings brought him here after a career as a muckraking journalist in the United States. Mr. Hearn lived in Matsue only 15 months, but this remote castle city still claims him as its favorite son, displaying his face on park statues, street signs and local brands of beer, sake and even instant coffee.
Mr. Hearn’s descriptions of this medieval city and its ancient tales of gods and ghosts put Matsue on the map in the 1890s. Even now it is a popular tourist destination, thanks to Japan’s enduring fascination with Mr. Hearn, who married a local samurai’s daughter, took Japanese citizenship and died in Tokyo in 1904.
It was the perfect image of Japanese repose, except for the sepiatoned photo of Mr. Koizumi’s ancestor, whose bushy mustache and aquiline nose highlighted an unmistakably Western face.
His great-grandfather was Lafcadio Hearn, the Irish-Greek author whose wanderings brought him here after a career as a muckraking journalist in the United States. Mr. Hearn lived in Matsue only 15 months, but this remote castle city still claims him as its favorite son, displaying his face on park statues, street signs and local brands of beer, sake and even instant coffee.
Mr. Hearn’s descriptions of this medieval city and its ancient tales of gods and ghosts put Matsue on the map in the 1890s. Even now it is a popular tourist destination, thanks to Japan’s enduring fascination with Mr. Hearn, who married a local samurai’s daughter, took Japanese citizenship and died in Tokyo in 1904.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 12:44
SOURCE: NYT (2-19-07)
KONOPISTE CASTLE, Czech Republic — When a young Serb named Gavrilo Princip stepped forward on a Sarajevo street and fired a pistol at a middle-aged couple 93 years ago, he sent history stumbling down an unexpected new path.
The couple, of course, was Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Sophie. They were killed. The world went to war. Millions of people died and the political map of Europe was redrawn.
Now, Franz Ferdinand’s great-granddaughter, Her Serene Highness Princess Sophie von Hohenberg (or Sophie de Potesta to her neighbors), is trying to right what she sees as one of the wrongs from those years. She hopes to get Franz Ferdinand’s castle back in the bargain.
The 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye carved up the old Hapsburg empire into new states: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and parts of Poland. The Hapsburg family, which had ruled that part of Europe for more than 600 years, was stripped of its properties and titles. Franz Ferdinand’s children had already been turned out of their parents’ beloved home, Konopiste Castle, in the empire’s province of Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. It was taken by the state.
The problem, Princess von Hohenberg says, is that Franz Ferdinand’s children — Sophie, Maximilian and Ernst — were not Hapsburgs and so the castle and its dependencies — nearly 15,000 acres of woodland and a brewery — should never have been seized.
The couple, of course, was Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria-Este, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Sophie. They were killed. The world went to war. Millions of people died and the political map of Europe was redrawn.
Now, Franz Ferdinand’s great-granddaughter, Her Serene Highness Princess Sophie von Hohenberg (or Sophie de Potesta to her neighbors), is trying to right what she sees as one of the wrongs from those years. She hopes to get Franz Ferdinand’s castle back in the bargain.
The 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye carved up the old Hapsburg empire into new states: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and parts of Poland. The Hapsburg family, which had ruled that part of Europe for more than 600 years, was stripped of its properties and titles. Franz Ferdinand’s children had already been turned out of their parents’ beloved home, Konopiste Castle, in the empire’s province of Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. It was taken by the state.
The problem, Princess von Hohenberg says, is that Franz Ferdinand’s children — Sophie, Maximilian and Ernst — were not Hapsburgs and so the castle and its dependencies — nearly 15,000 acres of woodland and a brewery — should never have been seized.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 23:18
SOURCE: NYT (2-19-07)
IVREA, Italy, Feb. 18 — For the uninitiated, the annual orange battles of Ivrea in northern Italy are a lesson in both physics — the impact of the thrown fruit as it hits the flesh — and the history of this medieval town and its need to act out a legendary tale of civic rebellion in such a bruising fashion.
“It’s a bit masochistic,” admitted Elisabetta Dottelli, 20, an Ivrea native and a member of one of the participating teams, during a short lull in fighting at Piazza P. Ottinetti, one of five major battlegrounds. She was referring to the Historic Carnival of Ivrea, the three-day orange-throwing festival set here to mark the celebration before Lent.
Within moments, fighting would resume and the sky above would be filled, yet again, with a hailstorm of oranges.
Thousands of spectators gazed on the battles from behind canopies of fish netting stretched throughout the city. The netting served to protect noncombatants from any errant oranges among the hundreds of thousands thrown, smashed, mulched and stomped on throughout a daylong symbolic battle between the citizens of the city and the imaginary forces of oppression. Some of the spectators, though, joined right in.
The carnival is a bizarre and messy affair and, like most everything in Italy, has a long story behind it.
“It’s a bit masochistic,” admitted Elisabetta Dottelli, 20, an Ivrea native and a member of one of the participating teams, during a short lull in fighting at Piazza P. Ottinetti, one of five major battlegrounds. She was referring to the Historic Carnival of Ivrea, the three-day orange-throwing festival set here to mark the celebration before Lent.
Within moments, fighting would resume and the sky above would be filled, yet again, with a hailstorm of oranges.
Thousands of spectators gazed on the battles from behind canopies of fish netting stretched throughout the city. The netting served to protect noncombatants from any errant oranges among the hundreds of thousands thrown, smashed, mulched and stomped on throughout a daylong symbolic battle between the citizens of the city and the imaginary forces of oppression. Some of the spectators, though, joined right in.
The carnival is a bizarre and messy affair and, like most everything in Italy, has a long story behind it.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 23:13
SOURCE: NYT (2-18-07)
Maurice Papon, a prominent French functionary convicted in 1998 of complicity in Nazi crimes against humanity during the German occupation in World War II, died yesterday at a private clinic near Paris. He was 96.
He underwent heart surgery related to his pacemaker on Tuesday, and died in his sleep, said his lawyer, Francis Vuilleman, The Associated Press reported.
In the end, Mr. Papon served less than three years of his 10-year sentence for deporting hundreds of Jews to their deaths in German concentration camps from southwestern France, where he was an official of the Vichy government, which collaborated with the Germans. He always protested that he had done only what the Germans had made him do.
He appealed after his trial ended in April 1998, but fled to Switzerland the next year rather than go to jail, where French law required him to be before his appeal could be heard.
He underwent heart surgery related to his pacemaker on Tuesday, and died in his sleep, said his lawyer, Francis Vuilleman, The Associated Press reported.
In the end, Mr. Papon served less than three years of his 10-year sentence for deporting hundreds of Jews to their deaths in German concentration camps from southwestern France, where he was an official of the Vichy government, which collaborated with the Germans. He always protested that he had done only what the Germans had made him do.
He appealed after his trial ended in April 1998, but fled to Switzerland the next year rather than go to jail, where French law required him to be before his appeal could be heard.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 12:45
SOURCE: NYT (2-17-07)
A sharply divided House of Representatives passed a resolution on Friday formally repudiating President Bush’s decision to send more than 20,000 new combat troops to Iraq.
The rare wartime rebuke to the commander in chief — an act that is not binding, but that carries symbolic significance — was approved 246-to-182, with 17 Republicans breaking ranks to join all but two Democrats in supporting the resolution....
Several historians compared its significance to the repeal by Congress in 1971 of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution authorizing the Vietnam War. That vote did not halt the conflict as members of Congress approved continued financing for two more years....
Iraq has dominated this session of Congress. While Democrats are broadly aligned against the war, there is little unity on the next step. Some lawmakers seek to cut financing and cap troop levels while others propose delving into war strategy.
“There is a long tradition of Congressional dissent during wartime, but I don’t know that it’s ever formalized itself the way this is shaping up,” said the associate Senate historian, Donald Ritchie. “Taking a stand in opposition to a commander in chief’s decision on a war policy, that’s unusual.”
The rare wartime rebuke to the commander in chief — an act that is not binding, but that carries symbolic significance — was approved 246-to-182, with 17 Republicans breaking ranks to join all but two Democrats in supporting the resolution....
Several historians compared its significance to the repeal by Congress in 1971 of the Gulf of Tonkin resolution authorizing the Vietnam War. That vote did not halt the conflict as members of Congress approved continued financing for two more years....
Iraq has dominated this session of Congress. While Democrats are broadly aligned against the war, there is little unity on the next step. Some lawmakers seek to cut financing and cap troop levels while others propose delving into war strategy.
“There is a long tradition of Congressional dissent during wartime, but I don’t know that it’s ever formalized itself the way this is shaping up,” said the associate Senate historian, Donald Ritchie. “Taking a stand in opposition to a commander in chief’s decision on a war policy, that’s unusual.”
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 18:26
Name of source: New York Times
SOURCE: New York Times (2-18-07)
[Note: In a Sunday Times 'Week in Review' article by C.J. Chivers about a recent friendly-fire incident in Iraq in which an American pilot accidentally killed a British soldier (see link below), reference was made to a once-secret Vietnam War report by an Army captain"that provided a glimpse at [the] grim, ineludible facts [of friendly fire]. Replying to a request from another headquarters, he compiled a list of the small-arms mishaps in which American soldiers were killed or injured in the first six months of 1967.
["The record he sent back to the United States, of 353 incidents in 172 days that killed or injured 398 soldiers, is a catalog of fratricidal and self-inflicted bloodshed caused by mistakes, negligence, exhaustion, panic, horseplay, dim lighting, dense vegetation, inattentiveness, faulty equipment, poor training, foolishness, ill fortune or some combination of the above."
[The record is now at the National Archives center in College Park, Md. The sidebar has selected examples:]
1 KIA, 3 WIA, HG. Pin pulled out by heavy vegetation.
1 WIA, M16. Trigger caught on bushes.
2 WIA, M79. Unit on search and destroy mission fired from boat at movement on shore.
1 WIA, M16. Hit by ricochet while in friendly fire fight.
2 KIA, 2 WIA, M60. Men were guarding tank — took friendly troops under fire.
1 KIA, M60. Enlisted man was unable to swim and during a river crossing operation a friendly helicopter mistook the unit for an enemy force and fired upon them. Man panicked, submerged — body has not been found.
1 KIA, WU. One ambush patrol ambushed by another.
1 WIA, WU. Patrol leader failed to notify perimeter guards that individual was returning from patrol.
1 WIA, M16. Platoon leader was shot while checking ambush positions. Didn’t answer challenge.
1 KIA, M16. Mistaken for hostile infiltrator.
1 WIA, M16. Self-inflicted loading.
2 WIA, .45. Man tried to unload weapon injuring 2 men.
1 KIA, M14. Weapon accidentally discharged when man fell asleep riding in rear of 2 ½ ton truck fatally wounding driver...
["The record he sent back to the United States, of 353 incidents in 172 days that killed or injured 398 soldiers, is a catalog of fratricidal and self-inflicted bloodshed caused by mistakes, negligence, exhaustion, panic, horseplay, dim lighting, dense vegetation, inattentiveness, faulty equipment, poor training, foolishness, ill fortune or some combination of the above."
[The record is now at the National Archives center in College Park, Md. The sidebar has selected examples:]
1 KIA, 3 WIA, HG. Pin pulled out by heavy vegetation.
1 WIA, M16. Trigger caught on bushes.
2 WIA, M79. Unit on search and destroy mission fired from boat at movement on shore.
1 WIA, M16. Hit by ricochet while in friendly fire fight.
2 KIA, 2 WIA, M60. Men were guarding tank — took friendly troops under fire.
1 KIA, M60. Enlisted man was unable to swim and during a river crossing operation a friendly helicopter mistook the unit for an enemy force and fired upon them. Man panicked, submerged — body has not been found.
1 KIA, WU. One ambush patrol ambushed by another.
1 WIA, WU. Patrol leader failed to notify perimeter guards that individual was returning from patrol.
1 WIA, M16. Platoon leader was shot while checking ambush positions. Didn’t answer challenge.
1 KIA, M16. Mistaken for hostile infiltrator.
1 WIA, M16. Self-inflicted loading.
2 WIA, .45. Man tried to unload weapon injuring 2 men.
1 KIA, M14. Weapon accidentally discharged when man fell asleep riding in rear of 2 ½ ton truck fatally wounding driver...
Related Links
Killed in Action, but Not by the Enemy
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 05:38
SOURCE: New York Times (2-18-07)
SAN FRANCISCO -— For nearly 50 years, Bob Morgan and his family have kept a box full of charred debris that they swear fell out of the early morning sky on Dec. 8, 1957.
“My dad said it was glowing so bright that you couldn’t look at it with your naked eye,” Mr. Morgan said of the pieces of metal and plastic that came to rest behind his grandfather’s house in Encino, Calif. “So they grabbed some sunglasses until this thing had cooled down.”
Although no one has ever confirmed what the objects were, Mr. Morgan has long believed that he has a piece — or 13 pieces to be exact — of one of the most famous objects ever to fly: Sputnik I, the first man-made object to orbit the earth.
Experts are skeptical...
“My dad said it was glowing so bright that you couldn’t look at it with your naked eye,” Mr. Morgan said of the pieces of metal and plastic that came to rest behind his grandfather’s house in Encino, Calif. “So they grabbed some sunglasses until this thing had cooled down.”
Although no one has ever confirmed what the objects were, Mr. Morgan has long believed that he has a piece — or 13 pieces to be exact — of one of the most famous objects ever to fly: Sputnik I, the first man-made object to orbit the earth.
Experts are skeptical...
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 06:13
Name of source: Times (of London)
SOURCE: Times (of London) (2-19-07)
BEIJING -- When Deng Xiaoping came to power in the late 1970s, the tallest building in China was the 18-floor Beijing Hotel. Today the Jingguang building soars to 53 storeys and by 2008 will be eclipsed by the 330-metre China World Trade Centre.
China might still be low-rise but for Deng’s determination to open the country after decades of isolation, and to try to end grinding poverty by forcing through market-style economic reforms.
But despite his role in reshaping the nation, the memorials for Deng today, the tenth anniversary of his death, are likely to be as low-key as the man himself.
China might still be low-rise but for Deng’s determination to open the country after decades of isolation, and to try to end grinding poverty by forcing through market-style economic reforms.
But despite his role in reshaping the nation, the memorials for Deng today, the tenth anniversary of his death, are likely to be as low-key as the man himself.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 02:53
SOURCE: Times (of London) (2-18-07)
When Irène Némirovsky [one of France's leading novelists] was sent to Auschwitz she left behind a hidden literary sensation – [a suitcase full of manuscripts] ....
... The manuscripts inside the suitcase contained the text of Suite Française, the French publishing sensation of 2004 that is taking the Anglo-Saxon world by storm. It tells in vivid prose the story of the early days of the second world war and the reaction of the French to the German invasion.
... The manuscripts inside the suitcase contained the text of Suite Française, the French publishing sensation of 2004 that is taking the Anglo-Saxon world by storm. It tells in vivid prose the story of the early days of the second world war and the reaction of the French to the German invasion.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 12:22
SOURCE: Times (of London) (2-19-07)
ROME -- It was an architectural gem that Michelangelo never completed. Now the magnificent façade that he designed for the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, is to be erected five centuries late, thanks to the detective work of Renaissance scholars.
Gabriele Morolli, an architectural historian and a member of the reconstruction team, said that he had traced three of the façade’s columns to a depository at Pisa.
One has already been brought to Florence and is being guarded “day and night”. The team plans to dig up another of the columns, known to have been buried near the church in the 17th century.
Professor Morolli said that he was on the trail of other marble components of the façade, including reliefs and statues. A digital reconstruction of the façade is to be projected on to the front of San Lorenzo next weekend.
Gabriele Morolli, an architectural historian and a member of the reconstruction team, said that he had traced three of the façade’s columns to a depository at Pisa.
One has already been brought to Florence and is being guarded “day and night”. The team plans to dig up another of the columns, known to have been buried near the church in the 17th century.
Professor Morolli said that he was on the trail of other marble components of the façade, including reliefs and statues. A digital reconstruction of the façade is to be projected on to the front of San Lorenzo next weekend.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 05:01
SOURCE: Times (of London) (2-18-07)
The KGB hatched a plot to smear the late Pope Pius XII as an antisemitic Hitler supporter and fostered a controversial play that tarnished the pontiff, according to the highest-ranking Soviet bloc intelligence officer to have defected to the West.
Former Lieutenant-General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who headed the Romanian secret service before defecting in 1978, has broken a silence of nearly half a century to reveal [in an article for the National Review Online January 25--link below] that he was involved in the operation code-named Seat12, a Kremlin scheme launched in 1960 to portray Pius XII “as a cold-hearted Nazi sympathiser”.
The result, according to Pacepa, was the 1963 play The Deputy, by Rolf Hochhuth, which argued that Pius XII had supported Hitler and encouraged him to launch the Holocaust. It ignited a furious debate over Pius XII’s attitude towards Hitler...
Asked about Pacepa’s article, Hochhuth has denied any KGB influence and insisted that the play was all his own work. In the early 1960s he defended his portrayal of Pius XII, saying: “The facts are there — 40 crowded pages of documentation in the appendix to my play.”...
The Vatican is now pursuing its efforts to have Pius XII declared a saint. Among those who have defended Pius is Israel Zoller, the chief rabbi of Rome in 1943-44, who said the Pope had instructed bishops to allow Jews to seek refuge in convents and monasteries.
Former Lieutenant-General Ion Mihai Pacepa, who headed the Romanian secret service before defecting in 1978, has broken a silence of nearly half a century to reveal [in an article for the National Review Online January 25--link below] that he was involved in the operation code-named Seat12, a Kremlin scheme launched in 1960 to portray Pius XII “as a cold-hearted Nazi sympathiser”.
The result, according to Pacepa, was the 1963 play The Deputy, by Rolf Hochhuth, which argued that Pius XII had supported Hitler and encouraged him to launch the Holocaust. It ignited a furious debate over Pius XII’s attitude towards Hitler...
Asked about Pacepa’s article, Hochhuth has denied any KGB influence and insisted that the play was all his own work. In the early 1960s he defended his portrayal of Pius XII, saying: “The facts are there — 40 crowded pages of documentation in the appendix to my play.”...
The Vatican is now pursuing its efforts to have Pius XII declared a saint. Among those who have defended Pius is Israel Zoller, the chief rabbi of Rome in 1943-44, who said the Pope had instructed bishops to allow Jews to seek refuge in convents and monasteries.
Related Links
Moscow’s Assault on the Vatican
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 06:19
SOURCE: Times (of London) (2-18-07)
GORAZDEVAC, Kosovo/Serbia -- To the outside world, they are the bullyboys of Europe. The Serbs have a rather more romantic image of themselves; not so much Roman-style imperialists as the plucky Gauls of Asterix fame.
Like the cartoon character’s besieged village, Serbia is surrounded by enemy garrisons, according to a postcard on sale in Mitrovica. “One small country of indomitable Serbs still holds out against the invaders.”
But it is in this western corner of Kosovo, beneath the jagged peaks of the Mountains of the Damned, that the real siege is taking place.
The Serb enclave of Gorazdevac is surrounded not by hostile Roman garrisons but Albanian villages peopled by bitter survivors of Belgrade’s war against them. Instead of wooden stockades, they are protected by the tanks and soldiers of an Italian peacekeeping force.
When Serb and Kosovan leaders sit down next week to discuss UN plans for the province’s future, it is the fate of enclaves like Gorazdevac and its Kosovan Serbs that present the greatest threat to stability.
Like the cartoon character’s besieged village, Serbia is surrounded by enemy garrisons, according to a postcard on sale in Mitrovica. “One small country of indomitable Serbs still holds out against the invaders.”
But it is in this western corner of Kosovo, beneath the jagged peaks of the Mountains of the Damned, that the real siege is taking place.
The Serb enclave of Gorazdevac is surrounded not by hostile Roman garrisons but Albanian villages peopled by bitter survivors of Belgrade’s war against them. Instead of wooden stockades, they are protected by the tanks and soldiers of an Italian peacekeeping force.
When Serb and Kosovan leaders sit down next week to discuss UN plans for the province’s future, it is the fate of enclaves like Gorazdevac and its Kosovan Serbs that present the greatest threat to stability.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:29
Name of source: UPI
SOURCE: UPI (2-19-07)
BERLIN -- Maurice Papon, an infamous French Nazi collaborator, died Saturday in a Paris hospital at the age of 96. How France dealt with the man is exemplary for how the country continues to deal with dark chapters of its past.
A leading official in the Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis during France's occupation in World War II, Papon had personally organized the deportation of 1,690 Jews in southwestern France...Yet after the war, Papon embarked on a successful career in French politics. Before the end of the Nazi occupation, he had established contacts with resistance leaders, who vouched for him after the war. He served as a prefect in Algeria, served as the Paris police chief, then became a lawmaker; and later, from 1978 until 1981, was finance minister under Prime Minister Raymond Barre and President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
For decades, France was unwilling to deal with its Vichy past. Yet in 1981, a son of a man who died in a German concentration camp found documents showing that Papon had signed the man's deportation order, and several hundred more. It was not until 1995 however that President Jacques Chirac first acknowledged that France bore criminal responsibility for what officials like Papon had done during the Nazi occupation...
A leading official in the Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis during France's occupation in World War II, Papon had personally organized the deportation of 1,690 Jews in southwestern France...Yet after the war, Papon embarked on a successful career in French politics. Before the end of the Nazi occupation, he had established contacts with resistance leaders, who vouched for him after the war. He served as a prefect in Algeria, served as the Paris police chief, then became a lawmaker; and later, from 1978 until 1981, was finance minister under Prime Minister Raymond Barre and President Valery Giscard d'Estaing.
For decades, France was unwilling to deal with its Vichy past. Yet in 1981, a son of a man who died in a German concentration camp found documents showing that Papon had signed the man's deportation order, and several hundred more. It was not until 1995 however that President Jacques Chirac first acknowledged that France bore criminal responsibility for what officials like Papon had done during the Nazi occupation...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 02:38
Name of source: VOA News
SOURCE: VOA News (2-19-07)
LONDON -- A large-scale survey commissioned by the BBC finds that, despite current global tensions, the majority of people around the world reject the notion of a clash of civilizations between the west and Islam.
A violent clash between the west and the Islamic world is not inevitable. That is the view of the majority of those surveyed for the BBC.
The research, carried out by pollsters from GlobeScan, examined the views of around 28,000 people in 27 countries around the world.
Those who felt that common ground could be found between the west and the Islamic world outnumbered those who felt that a clash was inevitable by a two-to-one margin.
While 29 percent responded that religious and cultural differences lie at the heart of current tensions, many more, 52 percent, believe that political power and political interests stand as the most important root causes.
A violent clash between the west and the Islamic world is not inevitable. That is the view of the majority of those surveyed for the BBC.
The research, carried out by pollsters from GlobeScan, examined the views of around 28,000 people in 27 countries around the world.
Those who felt that common ground could be found between the west and the Islamic world outnumbered those who felt that a clash was inevitable by a two-to-one margin.
While 29 percent responded that religious and cultural differences lie at the heart of current tensions, many more, 52 percent, believe that political power and political interests stand as the most important root causes.
Related Links
Views of relationship between Muslim and Western cultures (table) BBC poll findings (PDF)
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 21:41
Name of source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
SOURCE: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2-19-07)
Japan has denounced a resolution before the US Congress demanding that Tokyo make amends for forcing foreign women into sexual slavery during World War II. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso says his country has already said and done enough on the issue of "comfort women".
"[The resolution] is extremely regrettable and not based on objective facts," Mr Aso said.
"Their action does not take into account the Japanese Government's response to the issue of comfort women."
He says Tokyo is working to persuade US law makers to accept its position.
The bill calls on Japan to "formally and unambiguously apologise and acknowledge the tragedy".
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 14:53
Name of source: Outer Banks Sentinel
SOURCE: Outer Banks Sentinel (2-19-07)
Scott Dawson, a native of Hatteras Island and now a resident of Colington, has shared the location of a discovery he made on National Park Service property with that agency, which has now secured the area and posted surveillance to insure that intruders don't disturb the site.
Doug Stover, park historian of the Park Service, said that park officials think that the site may be the remains of Fort Blanchard, a Civil War fort.
But if proven correct in his beliefs, Dawson will be the envy of many archaeologists who have spent their careers in the search of the long-lost Ft. Raleigh, Ralph Lane's 1585 fort on Roanoke Island.
Dawson located the site on Feb. 6 and shared his findings with the Sentinel on the following day. To ensure the preservation of the site, it was agreed at that time to alert the National Park Service, and that the Outer Banks Sentinel would delay writing about it until officials had time to examine and secure the site.
A call was placed to Stover by this reporter to make arrangements for Dawson to take officials to the area. Since then, the site which includes earthworks, trenches and embankments, has been visited by several interested parties, including NPS officials, head of the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research, Fred Willard and Dawson. During one of those visits, Dawson, under a permit issued by the NPS, used a metal detector and, he said, there were numerous "hits," most of which indicated silver down under the layers of dirt.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 14:43
Name of source: US News & World Report
SOURCE: US News & World Report (2-19-07)
It's too soon to judge the current one, but for past presidents, the verdict is in. U.S. News has averaged the results of five presidential polls to make a gallery of the worst chief executives. The years before the Civil War produced an era of failure: Six of seven presidents who served from 1841 to 1861 made the list.
Buchanan
Harding
A. Johnson
Pierce
Fillmore
Tyler
Grant
Wm. Henry Harrison
Hoover
Nixon
Taylor
Buchanan
Harding
A. Johnson
Pierce
Fillmore
Tyler
Grant
Wm. Henry Harrison
Hoover
Nixon
Taylor
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 13:28
Name of source: Telegraph
SOURCE: Telegraph (2-19-07)
Until Wednesday night, Margaret Thatcher will be hidden in a wooden box in the House of Commons. Then the Speaker, Michael Martin, will unveil her, and Britain's first woman Prime Minister will face Winston Churchill in the Members' Lobby.
The version of Lady Thatcher which will give her a permanent place in the Palace of Westminster is a 71-stone [994-pound], full-length, 7-foot 4-inch statue of silicon bronze.
As Mr Speaker sits in his chair and looks down the Chamber through the open doors beyond, he will see her, notes in one hand, leaning forward to make a point with the forefinger of the other. Her left heel lifts off the ground.
Although this is not literally the first time that skirts have been depicted in parliamentary sculpture – Queen Victoria is on the premises, and Pitt the Elder is there, wearing a toga – Antony Dufort, the artist, faced a challenge for which there were no real precedents.
How should he adjust the heroic traditions of formal sculpture to portray a modern woman in modern clothes?
Lady Thatcher herself helped him. She was impressed by pictures Mr Dufort sent her of his bronze of a Nottinghamshire coal miner...
The version of Lady Thatcher which will give her a permanent place in the Palace of Westminster is a 71-stone [994-pound], full-length, 7-foot 4-inch statue of silicon bronze.
As Mr Speaker sits in his chair and looks down the Chamber through the open doors beyond, he will see her, notes in one hand, leaning forward to make a point with the forefinger of the other. Her left heel lifts off the ground.
Although this is not literally the first time that skirts have been depicted in parliamentary sculpture – Queen Victoria is on the premises, and Pitt the Elder is there, wearing a toga – Antony Dufort, the artist, faced a challenge for which there were no real precedents.
How should he adjust the heroic traditions of formal sculpture to portray a modern woman in modern clothes?
Lady Thatcher herself helped him. She was impressed by pictures Mr Dufort sent her of his bronze of a Nottinghamshire coal miner...
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 04:46
SOURCE: Telegraph (2-18-07)
Hundreds of memorials dedicated to soldiers murdered by terrorists in Northern Ireland over the past 30 years are to be moved amid fears they will be vandalised by Irish republicans.
More than 250 memorials, including plaques, stone carvings and trees, located at more than 20 bases across Ulster will be removed to more secure locations within the province and the British mainland during the next few months.
Defence chiefs have ruled out any possibility of permanent memorials remaining at the Northern Ireland bases, which are now being abandoned as the MoD scales down operations in the province. Relatives of -hundreds of dead soldiers have been informed that the memorials cannot stay where their loved ones were murdered on active service, for fear that they might be destroyed by IRA sympathisers.
More than 250 memorials, including plaques, stone carvings and trees, located at more than 20 bases across Ulster will be removed to more secure locations within the province and the British mainland during the next few months.
Defence chiefs have ruled out any possibility of permanent memorials remaining at the Northern Ireland bases, which are now being abandoned as the MoD scales down operations in the province. Relatives of -hundreds of dead soldiers have been informed that the memorials cannot stay where their loved ones were murdered on active service, for fear that they might be destroyed by IRA sympathisers.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:27
SOURCE: Telegraph (2-18-07)
SAMARRA, Iraq -- The labour would be unpaid, but the rewards in Heaven would be guaranteed.
When Iraq's Shia religious leaders issued an appeal last summer for volunteers to help rebuild the bomb-damaged wreckage of Samarra's Golden Shrine, a task force of more than 3,000 people formed almost overnight.
Yet despite the massed show of willing hands, so far not a single tile of the distinctive gold-plated dome that once dominated the city's skyline has been put back in place.
It remains exactly as it was after last February's demolition job by Sunni insurgents -- a glaring, symbolic reminder of the orgy of sectarian violence that its destruction was intended to spark...
Everyone agrees that rebuilding the shrine would help rebuild Shia-Sunni relations, but so far the project, backed by both the Iraqi government and the United Nations, has slipped into the same sectarian faultlines that it is trying to bridge.
When Iraq's Shia religious leaders issued an appeal last summer for volunteers to help rebuild the bomb-damaged wreckage of Samarra's Golden Shrine, a task force of more than 3,000 people formed almost overnight.
Yet despite the massed show of willing hands, so far not a single tile of the distinctive gold-plated dome that once dominated the city's skyline has been put back in place.
It remains exactly as it was after last February's demolition job by Sunni insurgents -- a glaring, symbolic reminder of the orgy of sectarian violence that its destruction was intended to spark...
Everyone agrees that rebuilding the shrine would help rebuild Shia-Sunni relations, but so far the project, backed by both the Iraqi government and the United Nations, has slipped into the same sectarian faultlines that it is trying to bridge.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:24
SOURCE: Telegraph (2-18-07)
The US's standing in the world may have plummeted under President George W. Bush, but a bizarre cargo cult in the Vanuatu island nation holds America in god-like esteem.
The Jon Frum movement celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding yesterday with a lavish feast in which village men dressed up as US soldiers and marched in front of a giant Stars and Stripes flag on a bamboo pole...
The origins of the cult date back to the 1930s, when Britain and France jointly ran what was then the colony of New Hebrides. Tanna's inhabitants bridled at colonial rule and the missionaries who badgered them...
Village elders tell of how a mysterious outsider came to their forbears in a series of apparitions, telling them to go back to their traditional ways. The idea of a messiah-like outsider was given a huge boost during the Second World War...The movement was officially founded on Feb 15, 1957, to celebrate the release of cult leaders who had been imprisoned by the ruling Anglo-French authorities.
The Jon Frum movement celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding yesterday with a lavish feast in which village men dressed up as US soldiers and marched in front of a giant Stars and Stripes flag on a bamboo pole...
The origins of the cult date back to the 1930s, when Britain and France jointly ran what was then the colony of New Hebrides. Tanna's inhabitants bridled at colonial rule and the missionaries who badgered them...
Village elders tell of how a mysterious outsider came to their forbears in a series of apparitions, telling them to go back to their traditional ways. The idea of a messiah-like outsider was given a huge boost during the Second World War...The movement was officially founded on Feb 15, 1957, to celebrate the release of cult leaders who had been imprisoned by the ruling Anglo-French authorities.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:21
Name of source: Independent
SOURCE: Independent (2-18-07)
[London's] Natural History Museum has been accused by Tasmanian Aboriginals of "mutilating" the remains of their ancestors. Native Australians say the institution has defiled the 17th-century bones by removing parts for scientific tests.
The dispute centres on 17 skeletons held by the museum in London since the 1940s. Although it has agreed to return the remains in its possession, the museum has been collecting samples from skulls and bones for DNA analysis.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC), which is bringing legal action against the museum today, complained the tests were "racist" and desecrated the beliefs of the Aboriginal community.
The dead are believed to be "souls in torment" until buried according to Aboriginal custom, which involves being returned to their birthplace and read their last rites.
The dispute centres on 17 skeletons held by the museum in London since the 1940s. Although it has agreed to return the remains in its possession, the museum has been collecting samples from skulls and bones for DNA analysis.
The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC), which is bringing legal action against the museum today, complained the tests were "racist" and desecrated the beliefs of the Aboriginal community.
The dead are believed to be "souls in torment" until buried according to Aboriginal custom, which involves being returned to their birthplace and read their last rites.
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 04:40
SOURCE: Independent (2-18-07)
The rarest and most elaborate collection of religious manuscripts in the world, including one of the earliest Korans and a Torah from a lost community of Chinese Jews, is to be displayed at the British Library in a unique exhibition on the great religions.
Sacred texts from Christianity, Judaism and Islam are to be displayed side by side in an exhibition showing what the three great faiths have in common.
The exhibition includes one of the earliest surviving Korans, completed in the Arabian peninsula 160 years after the death of the Prophet Mohamed, and an elaborate book of fatwas.
Blasphemous and esoteric documents will also be on show. A 6th-century Christian text, suppressed by the church because it omits the genealogy of Christ, will be displayed, along with a Jewish manuscript containing an illustration of God's face -- forbidden in Jewish tradition.
The Torah scroll used by Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, a remote community which no longer exists, is made of strips of sheepskin sewn together with silk thread, rather than customary animal sinews. Many of the manuscripts have never been publicly displayed, including an extremely rare 16th-century book of psalms in Arabic.
Manuscripts from collections around the world, including the Royal Library in Rabat, Morocco, will sit alongside texts in the British Library's own collection, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, considered the masterpiece of early Anglo-Saxon book production.
Sacred texts from Christianity, Judaism and Islam are to be displayed side by side in an exhibition showing what the three great faiths have in common.
The exhibition includes one of the earliest surviving Korans, completed in the Arabian peninsula 160 years after the death of the Prophet Mohamed, and an elaborate book of fatwas.
Blasphemous and esoteric documents will also be on show. A 6th-century Christian text, suppressed by the church because it omits the genealogy of Christ, will be displayed, along with a Jewish manuscript containing an illustration of God's face -- forbidden in Jewish tradition.
The Torah scroll used by Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, a remote community which no longer exists, is made of strips of sheepskin sewn together with silk thread, rather than customary animal sinews. Many of the manuscripts have never been publicly displayed, including an extremely rare 16th-century book of psalms in Arabic.
Manuscripts from collections around the world, including the Royal Library in Rabat, Morocco, will sit alongside texts in the British Library's own collection, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, considered the masterpiece of early Anglo-Saxon book production.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:17
SOURCE: Independent (2-18-07)
A fierce bidding war erupted yesterday over a rare bottle of 1943 Führerwein featuring a portrait of Adolf Hitler on the label. The bottle, with a predicted auction price of £500, finally sold to an anonymous buyer for almost £4,000.
It came from a batch given to German officers during the Second World War. But, rather like the Nazi dream of a 1,000-year reich, the wine has spectacularly failed to stand the test of time and is undrinkable.
A spokeswoman for Plymouth Auction Rooms said competition for the bottle was "vigorous" in the room as six telephone lines buzzed with bids. "We understand that these bottles were given out to Hitler's top-ranking officers on his birthday," commented auctioneer Paul Keen. "I have never seen or heard about anything like this in my 20 years as an auctioneer. This is extremely rare."
It came from a batch given to German officers during the Second World War. But, rather like the Nazi dream of a 1,000-year reich, the wine has spectacularly failed to stand the test of time and is undrinkable.
A spokeswoman for Plymouth Auction Rooms said competition for the bottle was "vigorous" in the room as six telephone lines buzzed with bids. "We understand that these bottles were given out to Hitler's top-ranking officers on his birthday," commented auctioneer Paul Keen. "I have never seen or heard about anything like this in my 20 years as an auctioneer. This is extremely rare."
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 03:09
Name of source: Washington Post
SOURCE: Washington Post (2-19-07)
It was a speech so moving the crowd wept. It was a speech so personally important George Washington's hand shook as he read it until he had to hold the paper still with both hands. After the ceremony, he handed the thing to a friend and sped out the door of the State House in Annapolis, riding off by horse.
For centuries, his words have resonated in American democracy even as the speech itself -- the small piece of paper that shook in his hands that day -- was quietly put away, out of the public eye and largely forgotten.
Today, however, amid festivities celebrating his birthday, Maryland officials plan to unveil the original document -- worth $1.5 million -- after acquiring it in a private sale from a family in Maryland who had kept it all these years...
The speech, scholars say, was a turning point in U.S. history. As the Revolutionary War was winding down, some wanted to make Washington king. Some whispered conspiracy, trying to seduce him with the trappings of power. But Washington renounced them all.
By resigning his commission as commander in chief to the Continental Congress -- then housed at the Annapolis capitol -- Washington laid the cornerstone for an American principle that persists today: Civilians, not generals, are ultimately in charge of military power...
For centuries, his words have resonated in American democracy even as the speech itself -- the small piece of paper that shook in his hands that day -- was quietly put away, out of the public eye and largely forgotten.
Today, however, amid festivities celebrating his birthday, Maryland officials plan to unveil the original document -- worth $1.5 million -- after acquiring it in a private sale from a family in Maryland who had kept it all these years...
The speech, scholars say, was a turning point in U.S. history. As the Revolutionary War was winding down, some wanted to make Washington king. Some whispered conspiracy, trying to seduce him with the trappings of power. But Washington renounced them all.
By resigning his commission as commander in chief to the Continental Congress -- then housed at the Annapolis capitol -- Washington laid the cornerstone for an American principle that persists today: Civilians, not generals, are ultimately in charge of military power...
Related Links
George Washington's resignation speech (PDF)
Monday, February 19, 2007 - 04:27
Name of source: Press Release -- The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies
SOURCE: Press Release -- The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies (2-18-07)
A special event will be held in Silver Spring, Maryland this week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the voyage of the S.S. Ben Hecht, an unusual Jewish refugee ship that not only tried to crash the British blockade of Palestine, but also brought down the barriers of racial segregation in Baltimore, and played a role in one of the most spectacular prison breaks in history.
The commemoration will take place at the Silver Spring Jewish Center, 1401 Arcola Avenue, on Sunday evening, February 25, 2007, at 7:00 pm. There is no admission charge.
The event, which is sponsored by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, will feature remarks by:
David Miller of Silver Spring, a nephew of the ship’s captain, Bob Levitan.
Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the Wyman Institute, on the “Hollywood coalition” (Marlon Brando, Milton Berle, and others) that backed the ship.
Jeffrey Weiss, Esq., of Potomac, author of Am I My Brother’s Keeper?, a book about American volunteers in the Israeli War of Independence.
Rabbi Herzl Kranz of the Silver Spring Jewish Center, who will --for the first time in public-- discuss his involvement, as a teenager, in surreptitious efforts to aid the Jewish fighters in Palestine.
A rare video interview with Captain Levitan will be shown.
To coincide with the anniversary, the Wyman Institute will next week unveil an online photo exhibit, “The Voyage of the S.S. Ben Hecht: A Jewish Refugee Ship That Changed History.” The exhibit will be posted at: www.WymanInstitute.org
The commemoration will take place at the Silver Spring Jewish Center, 1401 Arcola Avenue, on Sunday evening, February 25, 2007, at 7:00 pm. There is no admission charge.
The event, which is sponsored by The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, will feature remarks by:
David Miller of Silver Spring, a nephew of the ship’s captain, Bob Levitan.
Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the Wyman Institute, on the “Hollywood coalition” (Marlon Brando, Milton Berle, and others) that backed the ship.
Jeffrey Weiss, Esq., of Potomac, author of Am I My Brother’s Keeper?, a book about American volunteers in the Israeli War of Independence.
Rabbi Herzl Kranz of the Silver Spring Jewish Center, who will --for the first time in public-- discuss his involvement, as a teenager, in surreptitious efforts to aid the Jewish fighters in Palestine.
A rare video interview with Captain Levitan will be shown.
To coincide with the anniversary, the Wyman Institute will next week unveil an online photo exhibit, “The Voyage of the S.S. Ben Hecht: A Jewish Refugee Ship That Changed History.” The exhibit will be posted at: www.WymanInstitute.org
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 19:12
Name of source: San Francisco Chronicle
SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle (2-18-07)
A tiny community of reindeer herders in Siberia holds intimate knowledge of the lives, the foraging and the rutting season of their priceless animals, and it's the kind of information that is vital to anyone concerned by the loss of human cultures -- and to biologists worried about the loss of species diversity anywhere in the world.
Of the 426 members of Siberia's isolated Chulym people, only 35 still speak Tuvan, their ancient language, fluently, and they're all older than 50. Everyone else speaks only Russian, according to K. David Harrison, an adventuresome linguist at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Harrison has lived with the Chulym and hopes to preserve their vanishing language.
The Chulym can fully describe a "2-year-old male castrated rideable reindeer" with only the single word chary, and to Harrison, that not only shows how ancient languages differ from their modern counterparts, but is symbolic of a worldwide loss in important cultural diversity.
Harrison was among those who addressed the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco. Of the estimated 7,600 languages known in the world today, half are endangered and could be lost forever within a few decades, he said...
Of the 426 members of Siberia's isolated Chulym people, only 35 still speak Tuvan, their ancient language, fluently, and they're all older than 50. Everyone else speaks only Russian, according to K. David Harrison, an adventuresome linguist at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Harrison has lived with the Chulym and hopes to preserve their vanishing language.
The Chulym can fully describe a "2-year-old male castrated rideable reindeer" with only the single word chary, and to Harrison, that not only shows how ancient languages differ from their modern counterparts, but is symbolic of a worldwide loss in important cultural diversity.
Harrison was among those who addressed the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco. Of the estimated 7,600 languages known in the world today, half are endangered and could be lost forever within a few decades, he said...
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 17:24
SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle (2-18-07)
A New Jersey man charged Saturday with attacking Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel at a San Francisco hotel earlier this month was a "lone wolf" who had also stalked the Nobel laureate in Florida, authorities said.
Police found 22-year-old Eric Hunt at a mental health treatment center in Belle Mead, N.J., where he had sought treatment within the past week for undisclosed reasons. He remained jailed Saturday night in Somerville, N.J.
Hunt faces charges of attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, elder abuse, stalking, battery and committing a hate crime. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris pledged to vigorously prosecute what she called "horrible, outrageous crimes" by "someone who traveled here" to target Wiesel on Feb. 1.
Police found 22-year-old Eric Hunt at a mental health treatment center in Belle Mead, N.J., where he had sought treatment within the past week for undisclosed reasons. He remained jailed Saturday night in Somerville, N.J.
Hunt faces charges of attempted kidnapping, false imprisonment, elder abuse, stalking, battery and committing a hate crime. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris pledged to vigorously prosecute what she called "horrible, outrageous crimes" by "someone who traveled here" to target Wiesel on Feb. 1.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 05:54
Name of source: Sky News
SOURCE: Sky News (2-18-07)
Two First World War soldiers shot for cowardice but pardoned 90 years later have been formally honoured on a war memorial.
The granddaughter of one of the men said her family now had the chance to "put everything to rest and carry on with our lives".
The names of Privates Harry Farr and James Swaine have finally been engraved on to Wealdstone war memorial in north-west London.
They were among 306 soldiers shot for military offences during the First World War to receive posthumous pardons last year.
The granddaughter of one of the men said her family now had the chance to "put everything to rest and carry on with our lives".
The names of Privates Harry Farr and James Swaine have finally been engraved on to Wealdstone war memorial in north-west London.
They were among 306 soldiers shot for military offences during the First World War to receive posthumous pardons last year.
Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 17:20
Name of source: Lee White in the newsletter of the National Coalition for History
SOURCE: Lee White in the newsletter of the National Coalition for History (2-16-07)
On February 14, the U.S. Senate passed a continuing budget resolution (H.J. Res. 20) to fund most federal government programs through the remainder of the 2007 fiscal year on September 30, 2007. The continuing resolution passed 81-15. Despite this show of bi-partisan support, many Republicans were upset that the new Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) brought the bill to the floor utilizing a parliamentary rule that did not allow amendments. Like the version passed by the House, the bill was also stripped of nearly all specially designated projects known as “earmarks.”
In general, federal agencies and their programs were flat-funded at the same amount they received in fiscal year 2006. However, there were exceptions to this general rule.
One agency that had some bright spots was the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). While the final operating expenses number of $278.2 million was relatively flat, some important programs within the agency received increased funding.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which had its budget zeroed out in the Bush administration’s FY ‘07 budget request, was funded at its FY ‘06 level. The NHPRC will receive $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for overhead expenses.
The Electronic Records Archives program received a nearly $10 million increase over the FY 2006 appropriated level of $37.5 million. NARA also received $3 million in mainly reprogrammed money to help repair damage to its Washington, DC headquarters from flooding last summer.
Another winner is the Department of Education's “Teaching American History” initiative which will see a funding level of $121 million –– the amount appropriated to the program in FY 2006. This figure is some $71 million more than recommended by the President in the FY 2007 budget proposal.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) would be allotted $141 million – about what was proposed for the agency in FY 2007 by President Bush. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will experience a significant loss as the agency will not get the $15 million (or 6% percent) increase that the White House supported for the IMLS in its FY 2007 budget proposal; funding for the IMLS will be set at $247 million.
In general, federal agencies and their programs were flat-funded at the same amount they received in fiscal year 2006. However, there were exceptions to this general rule.
One agency that had some bright spots was the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). While the final operating expenses number of $278.2 million was relatively flat, some important programs within the agency received increased funding.
The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which had its budget zeroed out in the Bush administration’s FY ‘07 budget request, was funded at its FY ‘06 level. The NHPRC will receive $5.5 million for grants and $2 million for overhead expenses.
The Electronic Records Archives program received a nearly $10 million increase over the FY 2006 appropriated level of $37.5 million. NARA also received $3 million in mainly reprogrammed money to help repair damage to its Washington, DC headquarters from flooding last summer.
Another winner is the Department of Education's “Teaching American History” initiative which will see a funding level of $121 million –– the amount appropriated to the program in FY 2006. This figure is some $71 million more than recommended by the President in the FY 2007 budget proposal.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) would be allotted $141 million – about what was proposed for the agency in FY 2007 by President Bush. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will experience a significant loss as the agency will not get the $15 million (or 6% percent) increase that the White House supported for the IMLS in its FY 2007 budget proposal; funding for the IMLS will be set at $247 million.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 19:46
Name of source: Los Angeles Times
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times (2-17-07)
PARIS —- More than a decade after the genocide, a mystery still lies at the heart of Rwanda's darkness.
But France's most celebrated anti-terrorism magistrate believes he knows who assassinated two African presidents on April 6, 1994. The shooting down of the Rwandan presidential jet that night was followed by the killings of an estimated 800,000 people, most of them members of the Tutsi minority.
In a report to French prosecutors late last year, Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere accused the Tutsi leader who is now president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, of ordering the assassination.
The investigation includes allegations that U.S. and U.N. officials helped quash earlier inquiries to protect Kagame, an ally of the United States.
The French judge's report, which was obtained by The Times, has caused an uproar in Africa and Europe, and led Kagame's government to break off relations with France.
A United Nations tribunal is judging perpetrators of the genocide, but the ghosts of Rwanda still haunt a world community that failed to intervene...
But France's most celebrated anti-terrorism magistrate believes he knows who assassinated two African presidents on April 6, 1994. The shooting down of the Rwandan presidential jet that night was followed by the killings of an estimated 800,000 people, most of them members of the Tutsi minority.
In a report to French prosecutors late last year, Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere accused the Tutsi leader who is now president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, of ordering the assassination.
The investigation includes allegations that U.S. and U.N. officials helped quash earlier inquiries to protect Kagame, an ally of the United States.
The French judge's report, which was obtained by The Times, has caused an uproar in Africa and Europe, and led Kagame's government to break off relations with France.
A United Nations tribunal is judging perpetrators of the genocide, but the ghosts of Rwanda still haunt a world community that failed to intervene...
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 18:09
Name of source: The Gramophone (UK)
SOURCE: The Gramophone (UK) (2-15-07)
It was already one of the strangest stories the classical music world had witnessed. But the discovery of the late English pianist Joyce Hatto as the greatest instrumentalist almost nobody had heard of, appears to have taken a bizarre, even potentially sinister turn.
It was around a year ago that Gramophone’s critics began to champion this little-known lady, whose discs –- miraculous performances, released by her husband William Barrington-Coupe on the tiny label Concert Artist –- were notoriously difficult to get hold of. Such was the brilliance of this pianist across Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Dukas and more in a dizzying range –- that it was worth making the effort to seek out Concert Artist to get these discs, and they became much sought-after. By the time she died in June 2006, Joyce Hatto was not only a sudden widespread success, she was a cause célèbre. To love Hatto recordings was to be in the know, a true piano aficionado who didn’t need the hype of a major label’s marketing spend to recognise a good, a great, thing when they heard it.
But at the same time as the cult of Hatto was burgeoning, there were persistent rumours on the internet as to the true origins of the recordings. How, wondered the doubters, could one woman –- especially one who had battled cancer for many years –- have mastered a range of repertoire and recorded a catalogue that arguably makes her more prolific than even the Richters and the Ashkenazys...
It was around a year ago that Gramophone’s critics began to champion this little-known lady, whose discs –- miraculous performances, released by her husband William Barrington-Coupe on the tiny label Concert Artist –- were notoriously difficult to get hold of. Such was the brilliance of this pianist across Liszt, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Dukas and more in a dizzying range –- that it was worth making the effort to seek out Concert Artist to get these discs, and they became much sought-after. By the time she died in June 2006, Joyce Hatto was not only a sudden widespread success, she was a cause célèbre. To love Hatto recordings was to be in the know, a true piano aficionado who didn’t need the hype of a major label’s marketing spend to recognise a good, a great, thing when they heard it.
But at the same time as the cult of Hatto was burgeoning, there were persistent rumours on the internet as to the true origins of the recordings. How, wondered the doubters, could one woman –- especially one who had battled cancer for many years –- have mastered a range of repertoire and recorded a catalogue that arguably makes her more prolific than even the Richters and the Ashkenazys...
Related Links
Piano ‘genius’ is branded a fake A Pianist’s Recordings Draw Praise, but Were They All Hers?
Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 18:02
