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: Cronaca
October 9, 2008
Enrollment in Latin classes here in this Westchester County suburb has increased by nearly one-third since 2006, to 187 of the district's 10,500 students
Alas, still a tiny number in total.
The resurgence of a language once rejected as outdated and irrelevant is reflected across the country as Latin is embraced by a new generation of students . . .
The number of students in the United States taking the National Latin Exam has risen steadily to more than 134,000 student
Source: Globe & Mail
October 9, 2008
Snobs in the French chattering classes have always made great sport out of mocking the unrefined accent of their Québécois cousins. Scholars have gone so far as to suggest that the language spoken by early Quebeckers was a patois scarcely related to French.
But an eminent Quebec linguist now contends that the roots of that relaxed accent, with its loose consonants, many contractions and pervasive “ay” sounds, can be found in the 17th-century court of Louis XIV.
“The Qué
Source: International Herald Tribune
October 9, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday that he hoped his predecessor Pius XII, whom some Jews have accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust, could proceed on the road to Roman Catholic sainthood.
In a homily at a Mass commemorating the 50th anniversary of his death in 1958, Benedict defended Pius, saying he worked "secretly and silently" in World War II to "avoid the worst and save the greatest number of Jews possible."
Some Jews assert that Pius di
Source: International Herald Tribune
October 9, 2008
Five hundred years on, it still takes a canoe to reach the fields that fed this city when it ruled a great empire.
On the map, Xochimilco's gardens are a tiny wedge of green in the southern reach of the Mexican capital's expanding urban sprawl. Along the area's maze of canals, the raised farming beds are the last living vestige of the city's Aztec past.
Anastasio Santana still farms here, growing herbs and vegetables on two hectares, or five acres, surrounded by water.
Source: Science News Daily
October 7, 2008
Analyses give clues to composition of ash, seek to identify its source.
Scientists now have geochemical clues about the composition of volcanic ash used in Maya pottery between the 7th and 10th centuries, although the ash's source is still a mystery. Results of a new study definitively discount one Mexican volcano, long thought to be the likely supplier of the ash.
Researchers have long known that Maya of the Late Classic period, an archaeological interval that stretche
Source: AP
October 9, 2008
Libya has started making payments into a nearly $2 billion fund to compensate the families of American victims of Libyan-linked terror attacks in the 1980s, another step in the full normalization of long-strained ties between Washington and Tripoli, the State Department said Thursday.
The "substantial amount" deposited overnight into a U.S. government account is not the full amount needed to fulfill a compensation agreement reached earlier this year, but officials said it
Source: KWTX
October 8, 2008
The City of Waco is suing American Archaeological Group for a mistake it says has cost the city more than a million dollars.
The city says the costs are due to construction fees after delays to the renovation at the Texas Ranger Museum. The project ran into trouble when construction uncovered human bones during May of last year.
The graves were part of an old cemetery the city says it thought had been excavated more than 40 years ago.
The city points a fing
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 9, 2008
Stonehenge was used as a cremation cemetry throughout its history, according to new evidence that divides archaeologists over whether England's most famous ancient monument was about celebrating life or death.
The origins and purposes of Stonehenge have eluded academics and historians for centuries and been the subject of much debate.
The circle of standing stones was originally through to have been erected in 2,600 BC, to replace an earlier wood and earth structure whe
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 9, 2008
Competition between the economies of Britain and Iceland led to diplomatic clashes, shots being fired and ships being holed during the three "Cod Wars" of the 20th century.
Iceland's repeated expansion of its fishing grounds and its aggressive means of protecting its territory led to Royal Navy warships being deployed and the intervention of Nato, while the loss of the final war cost more than 1,000 British trawlermen and thousands more onshore their jobs.
The
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
October 9, 2008
Crammed together in their unwieldy aircraft and utterly dependant on one another, the bomber crews of the Second World War forged friendships that often only death could break.
Which is why Pilot Officer Reg Wilson never forgot the night more than 60 years ago when he lost two friends in the night skies over Germany.
As he entered his old age - the memories of his youth perhaps more powerful than ever - Mr Wilson began a quest to find their remains.
Source: NYT
October 4, 2008
There’s that word again: maverick. In Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican candidate, used it to describe herself and her running mate, Senator John McCain, no fewer than six times, at one point calling him “the consummate maverick.”
But to those who know the history of the word, applying it to Mr. McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.
“I’m just enraged that McCain call
Source: AP
October 7, 2008
DULUTH, Minn. - Tucked into a collection of Duluth memorabilia for sale at a Canal Park antique store is a souvenir of one of the most shameful incidents in the city's history: a postcard featuring images of the 1920 lynching of black circus workers Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie.
The "lynching postcard" was part of a private collection of postcards, glass negatives and other Duluth memorabilia entrusted to local dealer Craig Lipinski for sale after the owne
Source: AP
October 7, 2008
VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican stepped up its defense of Pope Pius XII on Tuesday, countering allegations the wartime pontiff was silent about the Holocaust by saying he saved Jews through his prudent diplomacy.
The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano dedicated an entire page to praising Pius, including an impassioned tribute from the Holy See's secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
"It was precisely by means of a prudent approach that Pius XII pro
Source: Deutsche Welle
October 9, 2008
In his 1895 last will and testament, Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and philanthropist who invented dynamite, decreed that part of his vast fortune be used to create the awards that now carry his name, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Peace Prize, the only one awarded by a Norwegian committee, was to be presented each year to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies a
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 9, 2008
The only surviving terrorist from the Iranian embassy siege in 1980 will be freed from jail within days and allowed to remain in Britain to protect his human rights.
Fowzi Badavi Nejad, 50, has been granted parole after serving 28 years in prison following the London attack.
But he will not be deported to Iran because of fears he would be tortured or executed in his home country, it has emerged.
Nejad will also receive food vouchers from the Government,
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 9, 2008
In the end it was the North Yorkshire restorers, in the Great Hall, with the lead piping.
Competition was stiff: runners-up included a bedroom rehung with 18th-century Chinese wallpaper and refurnished with Chinese Chippendale near Harrogate, and a rejuvenated 1820s kitchen with roasting range and baking oven in Scotland. But this week the first annual restoration award sponsored by Sotheby's and the Historic Houses Association (HHA) goes to Markenfield Hall, near Ripon, for work o
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
October 8, 2008
Sarah Palin is related to Princess Diana, experts revealed today.
John McCain’s White House race running mate is a 10th cousin of Princes Harry and William’s late mother, according to genealogists.
And in another bizarre twist it emerged that the Republican governor of Alaska is also related to Democrat hero President Franklin D Roosevelt.
Hardline conservative Mrs Palin, 44, who was today branded a 'disgace to women' by French actress Brigitte Bardot, is t
Source: Daily Mail (UK)
October 8, 2008
She survived Hitler's Luftwaffe, rescued hundreds of Allied servicemen stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk and played a vital role during the D-Day landings.
But despite her heroic service throughout the Second World War, the boat known only as High Speed Launch 102 may be scrapped.
The warning comes only 12 years after she was restored to her former glory and then relaunched by the late Queen Mother.
Her owner, Phil Clabburn, says he can no longer afford he
Source: Newsweek
October 8, 2008
The children of Paul Emery Washington think of their father as an unpretentious, generous guy who climbed the corporate ladder to become regional manager at CertainTeed manufacturing, a building-supply company. Now 82, he takes care of his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, while spending time on the San Antonio, Texas, property that he shares with his children. "I think he would've been a great king," says son Bill Washington—a statement, we admit, that might seem a little od
Source: Telegraph (UK)
October 8, 2008
It is the first time the priceless fungus has been spotted in the UK since 1911.
The Tuber Macrosporum was discovered in a garden just outside Norwich during a routine tidy-up.
But it is so rare the details of who found it will never be revealed to stop truffle hunters digging up their neighbourhood.
Dr Anne Edwards, a microbiologist at the Norwich-based St John Innes Centre and a member of Wymondham Nature Group (WyNG) said: "Scientifically it's quit
