This page features brief excerpts of stories published by the mainstream
media and, less frequently, blogs, alternative media, and even obviously
biased sources. The excerpts are taken directly from the websites cited in
each source note. Quotation marks are not used.
Source: Sign on San Diego
February 18, 2010
Kermit Tyler was a young fighter pilot stationed at Wheeler Field in Hawaii in 1941 when fate thrust him into a glaring spotlight. He happened to be the officer on duty at the aircraft tracking center on Oahu when the island was attacked by the Japanese on the morning of Dec. 7.
He wasn’t supposed to work that day, and he had been at the information center only once before. His assignment was vague; he just knew he was supposed to report for duty. The island’s radar system was in th
Source: Fox News
February 24, 2010
On the eve of the Obama administration's most aggressive push yet to pass a national health care plan, a 50-year-old audio recording of former President Ronald Reagan speaking out against "socialized medicine" has become a huge YouTube sensation.
On the eve of the Obama administration's most aggressive push yet to pass a national health care plan, a 50-year-old audio recording of Ronald Reagan speaking out against "socialized medicine" has become a huge You
Source: BBC News
February 25, 2010
The iTunes online store sold its 10 billionth track this week, with Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling officially the site's most downloaded track.
Their single Boom Boom Pow is the third biggest seller with Lady Gaga taking the number two slot with Poker Face.
Gaga's Just Dance and Bad Romance also feature in the top 25 most downloaded songs, according to Billboard.
The person who bought the 10 billionth track won a $10,000 (£6,500) iTunes gift card.
Source: NYT
February 24, 2010
When Pawel looks into the mirror, he can still sometimes see a neo-Nazi skinhead staring back, the man he once was before he covered his shaved head with a yarmulke, shed his fascist ideology for the Torah and renounced violence and hatred in favor of God.
“I still struggle every day to discard my past ideas,” said Pawel, a 33-year-old ultra-Orthodox Jew and former truck driver, noting with little irony that he had to stop hating Jews in order to become one.
“When I loo
Source: Telegraph (UK)
February 24, 2010
Greece has greatly damaged its chances of an EU bail-out by lashing out at Germany over war-time atrocities and accusing Italy of cooking its books to hide public debt.
The escalating dispute came as a general strike in Greece spilled over into violent clashes between hooded youths and riot police in Athens. Chants of "burn the banks" are a foretaste of tensions once austerity measures bite in earnest later this year.
Theodoros Pangalos, deputy prime ministe
Source: Live Science
February 23, 2010
A newfound horned crocodile may have been the largest predator encountered by our ancestors in Africa, researchers now suggest.
Scientists have even found bones from members of the human lineage bearing tooth marks from this reptile, whose scientific name, Crocodylus anthropophagus, means "man-eating crocodile."
This predator, which lived some 1.84 million years ago, possessed a deep snout that would have made it look more robust than modern crocodiles. It a
Source: Guardian(UK)
February 21, 2010
The discovery of the bones of tiny primitive people on an Indonesian island six years ago stunned scientists. Now, further research suggests that the little apemen, not Homo erectus, were the first to leave Africa and colonise other parts of the world, reports Robin McKie.
It remains one of the greatest human fossil discoveries of all time. The bones of a race of tiny primitive people, who used stone tools to hunt pony-sized elephants and battle huge Komodo dragons, were discovered
Source: Telegraph (UK)
February 24, 2010
They are synonymous with the 1970s, but the fashion for platform heels began in the 16th century as a symbol of extreme wealth, a new exhibition reveals.
Impractically high heels, known as chopines, were worn by upper-class women in Italy and Spain during the late Renaissance era.
The higher the heel, the longer - and therefore more expensive - the dress needed to cover them, and the more servants needed to support the wearer.
The exhibition at the Bata Sh
Source: Telegraph (UK)
February 24, 2010
When Dirk Hannema declared he had discovered a previously unknown Van Gogh painting in 1975, he became the laughing stock of the art world.
But 25 years after his death, Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum has said the notorious fantasist was right after all.
Yesterday experts said the anonymous work he bought for for 6,500 francs from a Paris dealer was almost certainly by the Dutch master.
Source: BBC News
February 24, 2010
Small dogs may all originate from the Middle East, according to research from the University of California.
A study published in the journal BioMed Central found a gene found in small dogs, IGF1, is closely related to one found in Middle Eastern wolves.
Archaeologists have found the remains of small dogs dating back 12,000 years in the region.
In Europe, older remains have been uncovered, dating from 31,000 years ago, but these are from larger dogs.
Source: Fox News
February 24, 2010
One of the nation's most highly decorated veterans was being laid to rest on Wednesday.
Ret. Colonel Robert L Howard, a Medal of Honor recipient who was awarded eight Purple Hearts for his service in the Vietnam War, was to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
Howard, who died on Dec. 23, was 70.
Howard was wounded 14 times during 54 months of combat duty — five tours — in Vietnam. He retired from the Army as a full colonel in 2006 aft
Source: BBC
February 24, 2010
Edinburgh Castle was the most popular paid for visitor attraction in Scotland last year, new figures reveal.
The castle welcomed 1,196,481 visitors through its doors in 2009, a 6% increase on the previous year.
Stirling Castle was the second most popular paid for attraction, drawing 383,293 visitors, an increase of 2%.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow was the most visited free attraction in Scotland, with 1,368,096 people passing through the
Source: BBC
February 24, 2010
The fossilised remains of a gigantic 10m-long predatory shark have been unearthed in Kansas, US.
Scientists dug up a gigantic jawbone, teeth and scales belonging to the shark which lived 89 million years ago.
The bottom-dwelling predator had huge tooth plates, which it likely used to crush large shelled animals such as giant clams.
Palaeontologists already knew about the shark, but the new specimen suggests it was far bigger than previously thought.
Source: AP
February 23, 2010
The search is finally over for Abel Madariaga, whose pregnant wife was kidnapped by Argentine security forces 33 years ago.
After decades of doubt and loneliness, of searching faces in the street in hopes they might be related, Madariaga has found his son.
The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo rights group believes about 400 children were stolen at birth from women who were kidnapped and killed as part of the 1976-1983 dictatorship's "dirty war" against politi
Source: BBC News
February 24, 2010
German pen maker Montblanc has apologised unconditionally to a court in southern India for a luxury pen containing images of Mahatma Gandhi.
The firm told the court in Kerala state it would suspend sales of the $24,000 (£16,000) pen until a ruling on whether it could continue to sell it in India.
Opponents of the pricey pen argue that it is an inappropriate way of honouring a man who was known for his austerity.
The gold and silver limited edition pen inclu
Source: Deadline Hollywood
February 23, 2010
In this tough marketplace, if you want to make another movie about a complex historical figure like Robert F Kennedy, you'd better bring to the table an actor with chops and bankability to excite a financier. Matt Damon does both those things. I've just heard that a deal closed at New Regency for an RFK film that has Damon attached, with Gary Ross directing and Steven Knight scripting. Damon will wait to see the script before we know whether or not the project will really happen. The film will b
Source: AP
February 24, 2010
John Demjanjuk served as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp in Germany during World War II, a former Soviet soldier who was taken prisoner by the Germans testified at his trial Wednesday.
However, witness Alex Nagorny cast doubt on the statement by saying that the man being tried at the Munich state court didn't look like his fellow guard at the Flossenbuerg camp.
Prosecutors allege that, like Nagorny, Demjanjuk agreed to serve the Germans and was trained at the Trawn
Source: WSJ
February 23, 2010
The car bomb that exploded in the Northern Ireland city of Newry Monday night highlights the resurgence in activity of Irish Republican splinter groups determined to wreck the province's fragile peace process with an increasingly sophisticated use of explosives.
Monday's 225-pound bomb went off in a car near the front security gates of the courthouse of Newry, a town near the border with the Republic of Ireland. Warnings were received by authorities giving 30 minutes' notice of the
Source: AP
February 23, 2010
Fossils of a previously undiscovered species of dinosaur have been found in slabs of Utah sandstone that were so hard that explosives had to be used to free some of the remains, scientists said Tuesday. The bones found at Dinosaur National Monument belonged to a type of sauropod — long-necked plant-eaters that were said to be the largest animal ever to roam land.
The discovery included two complete skulls from other types of sauropods — an extremely rare find, scientists said.
Source: AP
February 22, 2010
An Israeli archaeologist said Monday that ancient fortifications recently excavated in Jerusalem date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and support the biblical narrative about the era.
If the age of the wall is correct, the finding would be an indication that Jerusalem was home to a strong central government that had the resources and manpower needed to build massive fortifications in the 10th century B.C.
That's a key point of dispute among scholars, becaus
