The Manila Light Rail Transit System is the main metropolitan rail
system serving the Metro Manila area in the Philippines. The Manila
LRT is the first metro system in Southeast Asia, predating the
Singapore MRT by three years. The LRT forms part of Metro Manila's
rail transportation infrastructure, known as the Strong Republic
Transit System, and overall public transport system. Although one of
the original purposes of the system was to reduce traffic congestion
in the metropolis, many commuters who ride the LRT also take various
forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to reach the
intended destination from an LRT station and vice-versa. While this
forms a comprehensive transportation system serving many parts of
Metro Manila, the system has only been partially successful in
cutting
traffic congestion and travel times, which is further aggravated by
the rising number of motor vehicles in Metro Manila. The system is
operated by the Light Rail Transit Authority, a government-owned and
controlled corporation under the authority of the Department of
Transportation and Communications as an attached agency.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila_Light_Rail_Transit_System
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
U.S. National Parks: Abraham Lincoln granted Yosemite Valley to
California for "public ... recreation".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_park)
1905:
Albert Einstein published the article "On the Electrodynamics of
Moving Bodies" and introduced the theory of special relativity.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein)
1908:
The Tunguska impact event occurred in Siberia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunguska_event)
1934:
Adolf Hitler violently purged his political rivals on the Night of
the Long Knives.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives)
1971:
The Soyuz 11 spacecraft depressurised during reentry, killing
cosmonauts Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolski and Viktor Patsayev.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyuz_11)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from
mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the
man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses
instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly." -- Albert
Einstein
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein)
The right whales are the baleen whales belonging to the family
Balaenidae. There are four species in two genera: Eubalaena (three
species) and Balaena (one species, the Bowhead Whale). Right whales
grow to 18 m (60 ft) long and weigh up to 100 metric tons. Their
rotund bodies are mostly black, with distinctive white callosities
(skin abrasions) on their heads. They are called "right whales"
because whalers thought the whales were the "right" ones to catch
because they float when killed. Populations were vastly reduced by
intensive harvesting during the active years of the whaling
industry.
Nowadays, instead of hunting them, people often watch this acrobatic
family for pleasure. The three right whale species live in
geographically distinct locations. Around 300 Atlantic Northern
Right
Whales live in the North Atlantic, while the North Pacific has
approximately 200 Pacific Northern Right Whales. Finally, about
7,500
Southern Right Whales are spread throughout the southern part of the
southern hemisphere.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_whale
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1880:
Tahiti became a French territory.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti)
1922:
France granted 100 hectares at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time,
to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all
taxes".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimy_Memorial)
1956:
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of
1956, officially creating the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System)
1995:
During the STS-71 mission, the Space Shuttle Atlantis became the first
space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-71)
1995:
The Sampoong Department Store collapsed in the Seocho-gu district of
Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong_Department_Store_collapse)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is
tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to
them." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry)
Deconstructivism is a development of Postmodern architecture
beginning in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of
fragmentation, non-linear processes of design, an interest in
manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, and apparent
non-Euclidean geometry, which serve to distort and dislocate some of
the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope. The
finished visual appearance of buildings that exhibit the myriad
deconstructivist "styles" is characterized by a stimulating
unpredictability and a controlled chaos. Some of the architects
involved have been influenced by the writings of the French
philosopher Jacques Derrida and his ideas on Deconstruction; others
have been influenced by the idea of reiterating the geometric
imbalances of the Russian Constructivist movement. Important events
in the history of the deconstructivist movement include the 1982 Parc
de la Villette architectural design competition (especially the
entries by Jacques Derrida and Peter Eisenman and Bernard Tschumi's
winning entry), the 1988 Museum of Modern Art’s Deconstructivist
Architecture exhibition in New York, organized by Philip Johnson and
Mark Wigley, and the 1989 opening of the Wexner Center for the Arts,
Columbus, Ohio, designed by Peter Eisenman.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deconstructivism
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1880:
Australian outlaw and folk hero Ned Kelly was captured in Glenrowan,
Victoria.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly)
1914:
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was killed by Serb nationalist
Gavrilo Princip in the Assassination in Sarajevo, catalysing the
outbreak of World War I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_in_Sarajevo)
1919:
The Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles)
1978:
The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of
California v. Bakke 438 US 265 1978, barred quota systems in college
admissions but affirmed the constitutionality of programs giving
advantage to minorities.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regents_of_the_University_of_California_v._Bak…)
1990:
Paperback Software, a company founded by Adam Osborne, was found
guilty by a U.S. court of copyright violation for copying the
appearance and menu system of Lotus 1-2-3 in its competing
spreadsheet program.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Osborne)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Hatred, as well as love, renders its votaries credulous." --
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau)
Oroonoko is a short novel by Aphra Behn published in 1688, concerning
the tragic love of its hero, an enslaved African in Suriname in the
1660's, and the author's own experiences with the new American
colony.
It is generally claimed (most famously by Virginia Woolf) that Aphra
Behn was the first professional female author in English. While this
is not entirely true, it is true that Behn was the first professional
female dramatist and novelist, as well as one of the first novelists
in English. Although she had written at least one novel previously,
Oroonoko is both one of the earliest English novels and one of the
earliest by a woman. Behn worked for Charles II as a spy during the
outset of the Second Dutch War, working to solicit a double agent.
However, Charles either failed to pay her for her services or failed
to pay her all that he owed her, and Behn, upon returning to England
needed money. She was widowed and destitute and even spent some time
in debtor's prison before scoring a number of successes as an
author.
In the 1670's, only John Dryden had plays staged more often than
Behn.
She turned her hand to long prose toward the end of her dramatic
career, and Oroonoko was published in the same year as her death at
the age of 48.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oroonoko
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1846:
Irish potato famine: An Irish newspaper ran a story about a new potato
blight.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_potato_famine)
1967:
The world's first automatic teller machine was installed in the London
Borough of Enfield.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_teller_machine)
1969:
The Stonewall riots began in New York City, starting the modern gay
rights movement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots)
1979:
Muhammad Ali announced his retirement from boxing.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali)
1986:
The International Court of Justice ruled against the United States in
Nicaragua v. United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua_v._United_States)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"The highest result of education is tolerance. Long ago men fought
and
died for their faith; but it took ages to teach them the other kind
of
courage, — the courage to recognize the faiths of their brethren and
their rights of conscience. Tolerance is the first principal of
community; it is the spirit which conserves the best that all men
think." -- Helen Keller
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helen_Keller)
Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. It is
located in eastern India on the east bank of the River Hooghly. The
city has a population of almost 5 million, with an extended
metropolitan population of over 13 million, thus making it the
second-largest urban agglomeration and the fourth-largest city in
India. To the south of the city is the Sundarbans delta, the world's
largest mangrove forest. The city served as the capital of British
India, untill 1911. Once the centre of modern education, science,
culture and politics in India, Kolkata witnessed economic stagnation
in the years following India's independence in 1947. Since 2000
however, an economic rejuvenation has arrested the morbid decline,
leading to a spurt in the city's growth. Like other large cities,
Kolkata continues to struggle with urbanisation problems like
poverty,
pollution and traffic congestion. A vibrant city with a distinct
socio-political culture, Kolkata is noted for its revolutionary
history, ranging from the Indian struggle for independence to the
leftist Naxalite and trade union movements.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1409:
Western Schism: The Catholic church is led into a double schism as
Petros Philargos is crowned Pope Alexander V after the Council of
Pisa, joining Pope Gregory XII in Rome and Avignon Pope Benedict XIII
in Avignon.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism)
1940:
Under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Soviet Union gave Romania an
ultimatum requiring it to cede territory.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact)
1945:
The United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, California.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Charter)
1959:
The Saint Lawrence Seaway, a system of canals connecting the Great
Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, was officially opened.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_Seaway)
1963:
John F. Kennedy uttered "Ich bin ein Berliner."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"For the future, let all people live in harmony ... Men should be
taught and won over by reason, not by blows, insults, and corporal
punishments." -- Julian
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian)
Uma Thurman is an American model and Oscar-nominated film actress.
Thurman began her career as a model and modeled professionally
throughout the late 1980s before moving to acting in 1988. Thurman
performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of low-budget
and
major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to
science fiction and action thrillers. She is best known for her
films
released in the 1990s and 2000s, specifically those with director
Quentin Tarantino. Her most popular films include Dangerous Liaisons
(1988), Pulp Fiction (1994), Gattaca (1997), and Kill Bill (2003–04).
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uma_Thurman
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
Stand Watie was the last Confederate general to surrender in the
United States Civil War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_Watie)
1876:
Colonel George Armstrong Custer is killed at the Battle of the Little
Big Horn.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armstrong_Custer)
1950:
The Korean War, between North and South Korea, began.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War)
1991:
Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence from Yugoslavia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatia)
1996:
The Khobar Towers bombing in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, left 19 U.S.
servicemen dead.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khobar_Towers_bombing)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed
by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even
hearing
about them." -- George Orwell
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell)
Canada is the world's second largest country by area, occupying most
of the northern portion of North America. Extending from the Atlantic
Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, Canada
shares land borders with the United States to the south and to the
northwest. Inhabited originally by Aboriginal peoples, Canada was
founded as a union of British colonies, some of which had earlier been
French colonies. Now a federal dominion of ten provinces and three
territories, Canada peacefully obtained sovereignty from Britain in a
process spanning from 1867 to 1982. Canada is a parliamentary
democracy and constitutional monarchy, and defines itself as a
bilingual and multicultural nation; both English and French are
official languages.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1713:
After Queen Anne's War, French residents of Acadia were given one year
to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia)
1887:
Banff National Park was created, becoming Canada's first national
park.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banff_National_Park)
1894:
The International Olympic Committee was founded at the Sorbonne in
Paris.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee)
1941:
Lithuanian 1941 independence: Members of Lithuanian Activist Front
declared independence from the Soviet Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_1941_independence)
1985:
A bomb destroyed Air India Flight 182 above the Atlantic Ocean,
killing all 329 on board.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"We thought: we're poor, we have nothing, but when we started losing
one after the other so each day became remembrance day, we started
composing poems about God's great generosity and — our former
riches." -- Anna Akhmatova
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anna_Akhmatova)
"Ku Klux Klan" is the name of a number of past and present fraternal
organizations in the United States that have advocated white supremacy
and anti-Semitism; and in the past century, anti-Catholicism, and
nativism. These organizations have often promoted the use of terror
and violence against African Americans and others. Founded by veterans
of the Confederate Army, its main purpose was to resist
Reconstruction, and it focused as much on intimidating "carpetbaggers"
and "scalawags" as on putting down the freed slaves. The founding in
1915 of a second distinct group using the same name was inspired by
the newfound power of the modern mass media, via the film The Birth of
a Nation and inflammatory and anti-Semitic newspaper accounts
surrounding the trial and lynching of accused murderer Leo Frank. The
second KKK typically preached Racism, anti-Catholicism, nativism, and
anti-Semitism and some local groups took part in lynchings and other
violent activities. Its popularity fell during the Great Depression,
and membership fell again during World War II, due to scandals
resulting from prominent members' crimes and support of the Nazis.
Today, the third KKK, with operations in separated small local units,
is considered an extreme hate group which has been disowned by all
mainstream media and most political and religious leaders.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1854:
The British Parliament abolished feudalism and the seigneurial system
in British North America.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigneurial_system_of_New_France)
1937:
Camille Chautemps became Prime Minister of France in the second
Popular Front ministry.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Chautemps)
1941:
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with Operation Barbarossa.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barbarossa)
1986:
Argentine footballer Diego Maradona scored both the Hand of God goal
and the Goal of the Century against England during the quarter-final
match of the FIFA World Cup in Mexico City.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_God_goal)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"The intellectual is constantly betrayed by his vanity. Godlike he
blandly assumes that he can express everything in words; whereas the
things one loves, lives, and dies for are not, in the last analysis
completely expressible in words." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anne_Morrow_Lindbergh)
Global warming refers to the increases in the average temperature of
the Earth's atmosphere and oceans that have been observed in recent
decades. The scientific opinion on climate change is that much of the
recent change may be attributed to human activities. Carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels,
land clearing, agriculture, among other human activities, are the
primary sources of the human-induced component of warming.
Observational sensitivity studies and climate models referenced by the
IPCC predict that global temperatures may increase by between 1.4 and
5.8 °C between 1990 and 2100. An increase in global temperatures can
in turn cause other changes, including rises in sea level and changes
in the amount and pattern of precipitation. These changes may increase
the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as
tropical cyclones or floods. There are a few scientists who contest
the view about attribution of recent warming to human activity.
Uncertainties exist regarding how much climate change should be
expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and
public debate over attempts to reduce or reverse future warming, and
how to cope with possible consequences.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1734:
A black slave known as Marie-Joseph Angélique was tortured and then
hanged in New France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Joseph_Ang%C3%A9lique)
1788:
New Hampshire ratified the U.S. Constitution and was admitted as the
9th U.S. state.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire)
1813:
Laura Secord set out to warn British forces of an impending American
attack at Queenston, Ontario.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Secord)
1864:
Maori Wars: The Tauranga Campaign ended.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauranga_Campaign)
1985:
Greenland officially adopted its own flag, adding support to its
independence movement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Greenland)
2000:
The controversial amendment known as Section 28 was repealed in
Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"Liberty, as it is conceived by current opinion, has nothing inherent
about it; it is a sort of gift or trust bestowed on the individual by
the state pending good behavior." -- Mary McCarthy
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mary_McCarthy)
Absinthe is a distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored spirit
derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal
plant Artemisia absinthium, also called wormwood. Although it is
sometimes incorrectly called a liqueur, absinthe does not contain
added sugar and is therefore classified as a liquor. Absinthe
originated in Switzerland as an elixir, but is more well-known for its
popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly
among Parisian artists and writers whose romantic associations with
the drink still linger in popular culture. In its heyday the most
popular brand of absinthe worldwide was Pernod Fils. At the height of
this popularity, absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive,
psychoactive drug; the chemical thujone was blamed for most of its
deleterious effects. By 1915 it was banned in a number of European
countries and the United States. Modern evidence shows it to be no
more dangerous or psychoactive than ordinary alcohol. A modern-day
absinthe revival began in the 1990s, as countries in the European
Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
451:
The Battle of Chalons against Attila the Hun is the last major battle
of the Roman Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chalons)
1756:
A garrison of the British army in India was imprisoned in the Black
Hole of Calcutta.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta)
1789:
577 deputies of the French National Assembly took the Tennis Court
Oath, starting the French Revolution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath)
1837:
Queen Victoria succeeded to the British throne.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom)
1947:
A Mafia hitman murdered gangster Bugsy Siegel in Beverly Hills,
California, United States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugsy_Siegel)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
"We wanted to bring some love to the world. I thought we were good at
doing that. Bringin' love to the world." -- Brian Wilson
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brian_Wilson)