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: Deutsche Welle
December 3, 2008
It was probably the most defining moment in their recent history, but a new survey by the Stern news magazine suggests only a third of Germans know when the Berlin Wall came down. And only the same number knew it was built in 1961.
The timing could hardly have been worse: on November 9th next year, the country will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall.
However, this wasn't the only gap in the nation's knowledge of history. Only 35 percent of the
Source: CNN
December 3, 2008
The man's remains lie on a table. Next to him are the bones of his
22-year-old son and the remains of another son. But no one yet knows which
of the man's two missing boys the third set of remains could be.
Cheryl Katzmarzyk wants to be able to put a name to the remains, and to
those of hundreds of other bodies stacked around her in a building in
Lukavac, near Tuzla in the northeast of Bosnia.
The bones are from more than 8,000 men and boys slaughtered in 1995 during
the Bosni
Source: Deutsche Welle
December 4, 2008
A prosecutors responsible for war crimes has been sent to the home of an 89-year-old man alleged to have massacred an estimated 60 Jewish prisoners in Austria near the end of the Second World War, they said Thursday, Nov. 4.
An Austrian university student interested in the March 29, 1945 atrocity knew the names of a trio of Waffen SS members said to have gunned down the group of Hungarian Jewish slave laborers.
Professor conducted interviews
The student loc
Source: FoxNews.com
December 3, 2008
A new study of the well-known"Iceman" mummy finds that he ate moss,
though perhaps not on purpose.
In fact, his gut remains contained six different mosses, a new analysis
shows. The unappetizing plants shed light on the Neolithic man's lifestyle
and travels during the last few days of his life.
The remains of the Iceman (also called Ötzi, Frozen Fritz and Similaun
Man) were discovered accidentally in 1991 by German tourists in the
Eastern Alps. Since then, a suite of tests has
Source: NPR
December 4, 2008
When a group of pundits gathered for a recent Oxford-style debate, the proposition alone was provocative: "Bush 43 Is the Worst President of the Past 50 Years." But when you consider that one of the panelists defending President Bush's legacy was his longtime adviser Karl Rove, the night became even more interesting.
For instance, Rove said that President Bush probably would not have gone to war in Iraq if he had known the truth about Saddam Hussein's military capacity. &q
Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk
December 1, 2008
THE distinction between the nations of Britain is more in the eye of the beholder than in our genes.
Over thousands of years the blood spilled in wars between the ruling classes “artificially” created Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England, not the DNA in our blood.
DNA studies show that anyone with a few generations of ancestors who lived in any part of the British Isles is descended from the original inhabitants of Britain.
These people arrived in small numbers from the Iberia
Source: FoxNews.com
December 3, 2008
A group of atheists filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to remove part of a
state anti-terrorism law that requires Kentucky's Office of Homeland
Security to acknowledge it can't keep the state safe without God's help.
American Atheists Inc. sued in state court over a 2002 law that stresses
God's role in Kentucky's homeland security alongside the military, police
agencies and health departments.
Of particular concern is a 2006 clause requiring the Office of Homeland
Security to pos
Source: BBC
December 1, 2008
As the government battles to steer youngsters away from gangs and knife
crime, one group has enlisted the help of a 19th century explorer.
Elders from London's Congolese community have begun a scheme to teach
teenagers about Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
He was one of the Victorian age's greatest adventurers and helped to open
up the Congo basin.
The scheme hopes to give children with Congolese backgrounds a sense of
identity and stop them getting involved in gangs.
Source: CNN
December 2, 2008
Years before the first Gulf War, Saddam Hussein was slaughtering Iraq's
Kurds with bombs, bullets and gas.
The Reagan White House saw it as a ruthless attempt to put down a
rebellion by a minority ethnic group fighting for independence and allied
with Iraq's enemy, Iran.
But Peter Galbraith thought it was something worse.
"A light went off in my head, and I said, 'Saddam Hussein is committing
genocide,'" said Galbraith, who was on the staff of the Senate Foreign
Relations
Source: BBC
December 3, 2008
A treaty banning the stockpiling and use of cluster bombs is to open for
signature in Norway's capital, Oslo.
Campaigners are hailing the treaty as a major breakthrough.
More than 100 countries are expected to sign, but some of the biggest
stockpilers, including the US, Russia and China will not be among them.
First developed during World War II, cluster bombs contain a number of
smaller bomblets designed to cover a large area and deter an advancing
army.
But camp
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
December 3, 2008
A fortified citadel that appears to belong to the pre-Inca era has been discovered by a team of archaeologists in remote Amazonian rainforest in Peru.
The citadel comprises fortifications, parts of which are covered in rock paintings, stone houses and large platforms believed to be used to grind seeds and plants for food and medicine.
It sits atop a chasm that may have been used as a lookout, said archaeologist Benedict Goicochea Perez.
The encampment is th
Source: FoxNews.com
December 3, 2008
The biggest obstacle facing Hillary Clinton's Senate confirmation as President-elect Barack Obama's top diplomat may not be her husband's wheeling and dealing abroad for his foundation, as many suspected.
Instead, it could be the U.S. Constitution.
According to an emolument clause in the Constitution, no lawmaker can be appointed to any civil position that was created or received a wage increase during the lawmaker's time in office.
President Bush ordered
Source: Times (of London)
December 3, 2008
A bottle of whisky recovered from the wreck of a ship that inspired the film Whisky Galore! was sold at auction for £2,200 to a teenager fascinated by its story.
The bottle of Ballantine Scotch was one of about 240,000 that sank with the SS Politician in the Outer Hebrides in 1941. For weeks the islanders celebrated on the spirits they had looted from the wreck, hiding the bottles from government officials.
The incident inspired a novel by Compton Mackenzie and
Source: Deutsche Welle
December 1, 2008
Knobloch was speaking at ceremonies marking 50 years of work by the so-called central office, which was established Dec. 1, 1958.
The agency's greatest achievements include compiling evidence between 1963 and 1965 to prosecute the key surviving commanders and guards from the Auschwitz death camp.
At Ludwigsburg in south-western Germany, where the agency has its office, German President Horst Koehler highlighted its contribution to restoring German honor in the world by
Source: Times (of London)
December 3, 2008
Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect.
Hussein Onyango Obama, Mr Obama’s paternal grandfather, became involved in the Kenyan independence movement while working as a cook for a British army officer after the war. He was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two years in a high-security prison where, according to his family, he was subjected
Source: MSNBC First Read (blog)
December 2, 2008
Richard Nixon's reputation takes a fresh pounding every time the National Archives releases another batch of audio tapes from his presidency, and today's opening of nearly 200 hours of Nixon White House recordings is no exception.
Again and again, Nixon comes across as ruthless, cynical and profane in conversations with staff members.
Here are some examples:
-- On July 1, 1971, Nixon instructs Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman to have someone break into the Brookings
Source: Dr. Luke A. Nichter at nixontapes.org
December 2, 2008
On December 2, 2008, the Nixon Presidential
Library released 198 additional hours of Nixon tapes originally recorded
between November 1972 and January 1973. With this release, 2,217 hours of
tapes have been declassified and released to the public out of a total of
approximately 3,700 hours recorded. This release was a sequel to a small
release of tapes that occurred on July 11, 2007. For more information on the
2007 release, click here.
Source: NYT
December 1, 2008
The Bank of New York — America’s first financial firm — was founded in a rich man’s house on Pearl Street in 1784. While it is no surprise that the august institution has a long history of business in the country, it is less well known that it has also made a business of the country’s history — writing, for example, the first loan to the federal government (for $20,000) that helped retire debts from the Revolutionary War.
The original copy of that note hangs today in a small alcove
Source: CNN
December 2, 2008
Two U.S. lawmakers have urged U.S. Army Secretary Peter Geren to recognize
350 American soldiers held as slaves by Nazi Germany during World War II,
saying"these heroes have not received the recognition and honor they
deserve.""As Anthony Acevedo, one of the soldiers chosen, recently described to
CNN, the Nazis picked those soldiers who looked Jewish, had a Jewish name
or were considered 'undesirable,'" Reps. Joe Baca, D-California, and
Spencer Bachus, R-Alabama, said in a later sent to
Source: CNN
December 2, 2008
January, President-elect Barack Obama and his family will make history,
becoming the first African-American first family to move into the White
House -- a house with a history of slavery. In fact, the legacy of
American presidents owning slaves goes all the way back to George
Washington.
Twelve American presidents owned slaves and eight of them, starting with
Washington, owned slaves while they lived in the White House. Almost from
the very start, slaves were a common sight in the e
