Roundup

Tea Party Would Defeat Obama by Supporting McConnell Plan on Debt

George Will writes for the Washington Post.The Tea Party, the most welcome political development since the Goldwater insurgency in 1964, lacks only the patience necessary when America lacks the consensus required to propel fundamental change through our constitutional system of checks and balances. If Washington’s trajectory could be turned as quickly as Tea Partyers wish — while conservatives control only one-half of one of the two political branches — their movement would not be as necessary as it is. Fortunately, not much patience is required.The Goldwater impulse took 16 years to reach fruition in the election of Ronald Reagan. The Tea Party can succeed in 16 months by helping elect a president who will not veto necessary reforms. To achieve that, however, Tea Partyers must not help the incumbent achieve his objectives in the debt-ceiling dispute....

Germany approves genetic testing of human embryos

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's parliament agreed in a conscience vote on Thursday to allow the limited use of genetic testing of human embryos.Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) -- in which a cell or two are extracted from a developing embryo to test for genetic disorders -- has divided governments around the world, with many people opposing it on religious and ethical grounds, or arguing that it would let parents choose a "designer baby."The new law will allow screening embryos of parents who have a predisposition to severe genetic disorders, where a pregnancy would be likely to result in either stillbirth or miscarriage....

Wreck of Canadian schooner found in Lake Ontario

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — After 105 years, the three masts of the Queen of the Lakes still stand erect — all the more remarkable because the 19th-century Canadian schooner has sat in the dark depths of Lake Ontario since it wrecked in 1906."We think it hit bow first because the bowsprit is broken off, but the rest of the ship looks pretty nice," undersea explorer Jim Kennard said Friday.Kennard and fellow shipwreck enthusiasts Dan Scoville and Roland Stevens located the 129-foot-long vessel using side-scan sonar in 2009. They confirmed the find and captured images of it in early July using a remotely operated submersible.Loaded with 480 tons of coal, the 53-year-old ship ran into a stiff gale in November 1906, sprung a leak and sank rapidly some 10 miles off Sodus Bay on the lake's southern shore. The crew of six clambered aboard a yawl and rowed to safety.

Bin Laden Eyed Attack for 10th Anniversary of 9/11

Former Al Qaeda leader Usama Bin Laden was working to assemble a team to coordinate an attack on the U.S. on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, a senior U.S. official tells Fox News.The information was discovered in the data that Navy SEALs seized from Bin Laden’s Pakistan compound during a raid in May that killed the terrorist leader.In the data, Bin Laden repeatedly rejected suggestions from his operations chief Attiyah Abd al-Rahman over who should be in the attack team, the Wall Street Journal reports... 

CIA Analyst Who Located Bin Laden Remains Mystery, but Popular One

After U.S. Navy SEALs killed Usama bin Laden, the White House released a photo of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet inside the Situation Room, watching the daring raid unfold.Hidden from view, standing just outside the frame of that now-famous photograph was a career CIA analyst. In the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist, there may have been no one more important. His job for nearly a decade was finding the al Qaeda leader.

Solved puzzle reveals fabled Cambodian temple

It has taken half a century, but archaeologists in Cambodia have finally completed the renovation of an ancient Angkor temple described as the world's largest three dimensional puzzle. The restoration of the 11th-century Baphuon ruin is the result of decades of painstaking work, hampered by tropical rains and civil war, to take apart hundreds of thousands of sandstone blocks and piece them back together again.  The story of the 10-million-euro ($14m) renovation began in the 1960s when a French-led team of archaeologists dismantled the pyramidal building because it was falling apart, largely due to its heavy, sand-filled core that was putting pressure on the thin walls... 

Roger Ailes’ Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint for Fox News

Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a "fair and balanced" counterpoint to what he regarded as the liberal establishment media. But according to a remarkable document buried deep within the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, the intellectual forerunner for Fox News was a nakedly partisan 1970 plot by Ailes and other Nixon aides to circumvent the "prejudices of network news" and deliver "pro-administration" stories to heartland television viewers.

Julian E. Zelizer: War Powers belong to Congress and the President

Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter," published by Times Books, and editor of a book assessing former President George W. Bush's administration, published by Princeton University Press.

The end of an era for Zimbabwe's last white farmers?

Despite the introduction of a power-sharing government two years ago, state-backed farm seizures have continued. Colin Freeman meets one of the last white farmers still at work in Zimbabwe.

Righting of Confederate sub is nearing completion

The delicate job of righting the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley in South Carolina is nearing completion following some delays.Work to right the vessel began Wednesday and is now expected to be completed Friday. The job was slowed Thursday when a laser monitoring system had to be readjusted and the submarine's bow dipped. Workers had to get it level again.Turning the Hunley upright will reveal the sub's entire hull for the first time since it sank in 1864 and that may provide clues as to why it sank....

Knights Templar heirs demand apology from Vatican

The heirs to the Knights Templar have demanded an apology from the Vatican for the murder of their last leader, who was burned at the stake in the 14th century.The last Grand Master of the warrior monks who fought in the Crusades, Jacques de Molay, was executed in Paris in 1314 on charges of heresy, black magic and idolatry.His death was part of a concerted campaign to suppress the chivalric order by King Philip IV of France, who had grown suspicious of the Templars' power and envious of their wealth.

Shock and awe: Nijmegen helmet gives Carlisle museum a boost

The beautiful face with lips slightly parted and a shimmering androgynous appearance is eerily familiar. It could be the cousin of the world-famous Crosby Garrett helmet, which a small museum in Cumbria raised an astonishing £1.7m for last year, only to be outbid at auction, sparking a continuing controversy over protection for major archaeological finds in Britain. Tullie House museum in Carlisle is being loaned the Nijmegen helmet for the opening of its new Roman gallery next week.

William J. Astore: Remembering the Quiet, Unsung Heroes of America

William J. Astore a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and a professor of history. He welcomes reader comments at wjastore@gmail.com

Sudan: SPLM rejects South Kordofan win for Ahmed Haroun

Sudan's former rebels have rejected the election victory of Ahmed Haroun, indicted for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur. He has been declared the winner of the governorship poll in the oil-rich South Kordofan state, which borders potential flashpoints Darfur and South Sudan. South Sudan is set to become independent in July, while civil war is still raging in Darfur. Analysts fear the dispute could spark yet another conflict in Sudan. The International Criminal Court accuses Mr Haroun of mobilising Arab militias to

Pre-Christian gravesite discovered in Austria

Builders assigned to construct a new railroad in Carinthia found what is believed to be an ancient gravesite.Federal Railways (ÖBB) said today (Fri) four skeletons and funerary objects such as chains and various trinkets were discovered in the town of Kühnsdorf.An archaeologist who was asked to examine the bones and objects described them as "the most important discovery in the region in decades."He added that they may date back to 130 to 50 years before Christ.

Drew Gilpin Faust featured as "A Historian's Historian"

 

Capt. Kidd Shipwreck Site to Be Dedicated 'Living Museum of the Sea'

Nearly three years after the discovery of the shipwreck Quedagh Merchant, abandoned by the scandalous 17th century pirate Captain William Kidd, the underwater site will be dedicated as a "Living Museum of the Sea" by Indiana University, IU researcher and archeologist Charles Beeker, and the government of the Dominican Republic.  The dedication as an official underwater museum will take place off the shore of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic on May 23, the 310th anniversary of Kidd's hanging in Londo

Hossein Askari: Pandering to the Al-Sauds

Nick Turse: Is U.S. Aid Suppressing Another Mideast Freedom Struggle?

Nick Turse is a historian, essayist, investigative journalist, the associate editor of TomDispatch.com, and currently a fellow at Harvard University’s Radcliffe Institute.

New Yorker writer upset with archivists at NYC library