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: BBC News (Click here to watch clips.)
September 23, 2008
The Romans gave us roads, plumbing, wine and irrigation and now it seems they may have also introduced Wales' unofficial icon - the garden leek.
The National Museum of Wales says the Romans probably planted domesticated varieties to flavour their stews.
The museum has recreated a Roman-design garden at the National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, near Newport.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 25, 2008
A one million pound banknote, believed to be one of only two in existence, is to be offered for sale for several times less than its face value at auction next month
The eight-inch-wide green note was issued by the Treasury on August 30, 1948, in connection with the Marshall Aid Plan after the Second World War.
The note, which is no longer legal tender, is expected to fetch up to £40,000 when it is auctioned by Spink, the specialist auctioneers, on October 1.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 25, 2008
Ministers have been asked to halt plans to reintroduce beaver 400 years after it was persecuted to extinction.
River proprietors claim it would be "recklessly irresponsible" to release the mammals in the wild without studying the likely impact on fish stocks.
They are concerned that the return of the European beaver, which is due to be released as part of a trial reintroduction next spring, could damage salmon and sea trout numbers.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 25, 2008
A slice of history was created when the first ever 600g loaf went on sale, ending centuries-old legislation that has governed the weight of bread.
The moment was greeted with little fanfare in a Tesco store in west London, but marked one of the most important landmarks in the colourful history of weights and measures.
Strict laws, stretching back to Assize of Bread and Ale of 1266, have meant that no baker in England has been allowed to bake a loaf unless it conforms to
Source: MSNBC
September 25, 2008
Hurricane Ike has reminded everyone here that the seawall, though tough and enduring, is not enough to protected Galveston from a painful past.
Source: Spiegel Online
September 17, 2008
Linz is to be Europe's Capital of Culture in 2009. Before the Austrian city takes on that mantle it is showing an exhibition about how Hitler had wanted to make Linz a "Culture Capital for the Führer."
Linz is taking on a lot. On New Year's Eve the Austrian city will kick off a three-day opening festival with fireworks and drum rolls, to celebrate its year as Europe's 2009 Capital of Culture. Under the direction of Martin Heller, it's planning an intensive program of exhib
Source: WSJ
September 25, 2008
No matter how powerful the Russian government may appear nowadays, it hasn't been able to quell nostalgia for some of the country's most brutal leaders.
Dictator Josef Stalin made the final cut Wednesday in a Kremlin-backed contest to identify Russia's most significant historical figure, though he was stripped of almost one million votes organizers called "illegal."
The "Name of Russia" contest is part of a broad effort by the Kremlin and state media
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 25, 2008
Roman Catholics would be permitted to marry into the Royal Family and could even succeed to the throne under plans being considered by Gordon Brown
The plan to abolish the Act of Settlement could ultimately lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England.
The Act also prevents Muslims and other non-Protestants from succeeding to the throne.
Source: Los Angeles Times
September 24, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Senior Bush administration officials held a series of meetings in the White House in 2002 and 2003 to discuss allowing the CIA to use harsh interrogation methods on Al Qaeda detainees, according to a written statement Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently provided to Senate investigators.
Rice's written response to investigators on the Senate Armed Services Committee marks the first time a high-ranking White House official has formally acknowledged the White Hou
Source: History Today
September 25, 2008
A box made from a barrel used to transport Nelson’s body after the Battle of Trafalgar has sold at auction. An anonymous bidder paid £8,160 at the Bonhams Knightsbridge Marine Sale on September 23rd, which also included a mourning ring (£18,000) made for friends and relatives of the naval commander. The wood used for the silver-mounted oak box is thought to have come from a water barrel filled with brandy to preserve Nelson’s remains on the journey to England on HMS Victory. Nelson was killed on
Source: History Today
September 25, 2008
Until now historians have believed that lead poisoning from badly tinned food was the primary cause of the death of all 129 men on the 1845-48 expedition led by Sir John Franklin to find a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His two ships, HMS Erebus and Terror, were trapped in the ice off King William Island in September 1846 and abandoned the following April as the crews tried to walk to safety. New evidence suggests that the level of lead found in the bodies and bone fragment
Source: Times (UK)
September 25, 2008
Fancy tasting the life of a polar explorer, albeit without the stewed penguin?
A City of London restaurant is offering a menu inspired by the exploits of Sir Ernest Shackleton that packs in a massive 6,000 calories.
The £75 four-course blow-out includes pork scratchings, a 20oz steak and “hoosh”, a thick stew eaten by the pioneering explorer, all washed down with wine, beer and an ice cream shake. There is a modern twist on the hoosh - while Shackleton and his men mad
Source: History Today
September 25, 2008
The first national day of commemoration for the harkis, the Algerian nationals who fought alongside the French during the Algerian War, was celebrated in 2001 under Chirac’s presidency. It was both a reflection of French attempts to defend its republican ideals of unity and solidarity and of practical concerns for the integration of the harkis into the French national community. Chirac argued in his speeches at the time that the recognition of the harkis’ sacrifices and of some of the shortcomin
Source: Telegraph
September 25, 2008
The plan to abolish the Act of Settlement could ultimately lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England.
The Act also prevents Muslims and other non-Protestants from succeeding to the throne.
Scrapping it would also end the practice of primogeniture where male heirs are given priority in the succession. That could pave the way for a first-born daughter of Prince William to ultimately succeed him as monarch.
It was reported last night that Chris Bry
Source: Los Angeles Times
September 24, 2008
OXFORD, MISS. -- For the University of Mississippi, Friday's debate is about more than presidential politics: Officials hope it also helps combat what may be one of the most enduring public relations problems in American higher education.
They know that for many Americans, Ole Miss means little more than the deadly 1962 riot sparked by the matriculation of the first black student, James Meredith, and the 1990s-era controversy over the display of the Confederate flag at football game
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 24, 2008
A statue of Ramses II, the most powerful of Egypt's ancient pharaohs, has been discovered five feet under the sands of a Nile delta town.
Source: Telegraph (UK)
September 24, 2008
The city, Itil, was the capital of the Khazars, a powerful nation that adopted Judaism as its official religion more than 1,000 years ago, only to disappear, leaving little trace of its culture.
It was mentioned in medieval travellers' accounts but Soviet dictator Josef Stalin banned any research into the city and the Khazars, fearing it would prove Russia was descended from a Jewish state.
The city made a fortune from trade but its prosperity declined and in the 14th c
Source: FoxNews.com
September 24, 2008
As the University of Mississippi prepares to hold the first debate of the presidential campaign on campus this Friday, it is also preparing a message for the millions who will be watching: Ole Miss has changed.
The university's chancellor, Robert Khayat, a former Ole Miss football star, sees the debate as an unprecedented opportunity to supplant the image of the university formed in 1962, when white students and residents rioted, leaving two dead, in protest against the enrollment o
Source: WFSB
September 24, 2008
MANCHESTER, Conn. -- Instead of dropping "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from its reading list, the Manchester school system has decided to hold seminars for teachers on how to deal with issues of race before bringing the book back to classrooms.The goal of the seminars is to put the book into perspective and create a dialogue on race, white privilege, satire and stereotyping, which were also issues when Twain published it in 1885."It does provide a very good platform to talk abo
Source: CNN
September 24, 2008
Serbia's war crimes prosecutors formally launched proceedings Wednesday against a World War II veteran accused of participating in mass killings of Jews and Serbs during the Nazi occupation.
Prosecutors said they lodged a request for an investigation against Hungarian citizen Sandor Kepiro with the Belgrade war crimes court. The move is the first step toward an indictment and a trial.
Prosecutors also urged the court to seek Kepiro's extradition to Serbia.
