The recent release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has forced Israelis to reflect again on the cost of releasing kidnapped soldiers. Shalit was abducted by the military wing of Hamas from inside Israel’s borders in June 2006 and had been held captive for over five years. Israel agreed to release 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the …
Veterans Day is November 11, 2011. As Andrew wrote last year, the Library is home to the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project was created by Congress in 2000 (P.L. 106-380) as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Project’s mission is to collect, preserve, and make accessible personal …
The following is a guest post by Francisco Macías, Senior Legal Information Analyst. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake; Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,— from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth If you’ve read …
The following is a guest post by Nicole Atwill, Senior Foreign Law Specialist in the Global Legal Research Center. I recently watched Dominique Strauss Kahn’s return to France on the French news as I vacationed there. There was nonstop live television coverage during the day. Many commentators pointed out that although Dominique Strauss Kahn (“DSK”) …
As mentioned in my previous post, during my day-to-day work at my cool job, I never know what I’m going to stumble upon. It so happened that, as I was gathering information for my post on sumptuary laws, I came across a page of ‘legal curiosities’ compiled by the UK’s Law Commission and published by …
If you’ve ever seen this day marked on your desktop calendars and wondered what it was, think La Niña (née La Santa Clara), La Pinta, and La Santa María. On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the modern-day Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Although Columbus Day was formally recognized here in the United States on …
The following is a guest post by Francisco Macías, Senior Legal Information Analyst. In the United States, National Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15 to October 15. This month is set aside each year to recognize and honor the countless Hispanic Americans whose cultural legacy has enriched our country and our society. The …
We had a great time at the National Book Festival this past weekend talking with visitors about how the Law Library can help people connect with Congress, including through THOMAS. We handed out lots of gavel pencils as souvenirs! Andrew gave a presentation in the Library of Congress tent on Saturday about “THOMAS Takeaways for …
I took a walk last night down to the National Mall to see how the set-up for the National Book Festival was going. As Andrew mentioned yesterday, we will be there to talk with visitors about how we can help people connect with Congress, including THOMAS. The tent in the foreground is where we will …