The 2008 Men's Olympics road race took place on August 9 at the Urban Road
Cycling Course. It started at 11:00 China Standard Time (UTC+8), and was
scheduled to last until 17:30 later that day. The 245.4-kilometre (152.5 mi)
course ran north across the heart of the Beijing metropolitan area, passing
such landmarks as the Temple of Heaven, the Great Hall of the People,
Tiananmen Square and the Beijing National Stadium. After rolling over
relatively flat terrain for 78.8 km (49.0 mi) north of the Beijing city
center, the route entered a decisive circuit encompassing seven loops on a
23.8 km (14.8 mi) section up and down the Badaling Pass, including ramps as
steep as a 10 percent gradient. The race was won by Spanish rider Samuel
Sánchez in 6 hours, 23 minutes, 49 seconds, after a six-man breakaway group
contested a sprint finish. The hot and humid conditions were in sharp
contrast to the heavy rain weathered in the women's road race the following
day. The event was one of the earliest to be concluded at the 2008 Summer
Olympics, taking place on the first day of competition. Concerns were raised
before the Olympics about the threat of pollution in endurance sports, but
no major problems were apparent in the race.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_at_the_2008_Summer_Olympics_%E2%80%93_…
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1282:
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the last independent Prince of Wales to rule in Wales,
was killed in an ambush.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llywelyn_the_Last)
1602:
Geneva successfully repelled a late night attack by the combined forces of
Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy and King Philip III of Spain, an event
commemorated annually during the Fête de l'Escalade.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Escalade)
1931:
The British Parliament enacted the Statute of Westminster, giving the option
of complete legislative independence to the Irish Free State, Newfoundland,
Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Westminster_1931)
1946:
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was established to provide
emergency food and health care to children in countries that had been
devastated by World War II.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Children%27s_Fund)
1994:
First Chechen War: Russian forces entered into the breakaway Russian
republic of Chechnya to control the secessionist movement.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_War)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
verbatim (adv) Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used
originally.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verbatim)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let us not forget that violence does not live alone and is not capable of
living alone: it is necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies
the most intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only
refuge in falsehood, falsehood its only support in violence. Any man who has
once acclaimed violence as his METHOD must inexorably choose falsehood as
his PRINCIPLE.
--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Solzhenitsyn)
Olivier Messiaen (1908 – 1992) was a French composer, organist, and
ornithologist. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11 and
numbered Paul Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré
among his teachers. He was appointed organist at the church of La Trinité in
Paris in 1931, a post he held until his death. On the fall of France in 1940
Messiaen was made a prisoner of war, and while incarcerated he composed his
Quatuor pour la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time") for the four
available instruments, piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. The piece was
first performed by Messiaen and fellow prisoners to an audience of inmates
and prison guards. Messiaen was appointed professor of harmony soon after
his release in 1941, and professor of composition in 1966 at the Paris
Conservatoire, positions he held until his retirement in 1978. Messiaen's
music is rhythmically complex (he was interested in rhythms from ancient
Greek and from Hindu sources), and is harmonically and melodically based on
modes of limited transposition, which were Messiaen's own innovation. Many
of his compositions depict what he termed "the marvellous aspects of the
faith", drawing on his unshakeable Roman Catholicism. Messiaen found
birdsong fascinating; he believed birds to be the greatest musicians and
considered himself as much an ornithologist as a composer. He notated
birdsongs worldwide, and he incorporated birdsong transcriptions into a
majority of his music.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivier_Messiaen
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1508:
The Papal States, France, Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire formed the League
of Cambrai, an alliance against the Republic of Venice.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai)
1868:
The first traffic lights were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in
London, resembling railway signals with semaphore arms and red and green gas
lamps for night use.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_light)
1901:
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded, on the anniversary of the 1896 death of
their founder, Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize)
1936:
Edward VIII signed his instrument of abdication, becoming the only British
monarch to voluntarily relinquish the throne.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VIII_abdication_crisis)
1948:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
froward (adj) Disobedient, unmanageable, with an evil disposition.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/froward)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of
the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you
say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
--Desmond Tutu
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu)
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami is a particular church of the Roman
Catholic Church in the United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes
Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties in Florida. The archdiocese is the
metropolitan see for the Roman Catholic Church in the State of Florida. The
current archbishop is John Favalora. As archbishop, Favalora also serves as
pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Mary, the mother church of the archdiocese.
Also serving are 428 priests, 160 Permanent Deacons, 50 Religious Brothers
and 300 Religious Sisters who are members of various Roman Catholic
religious orders. These priests, deacons and religious serve a Catholic
population in South Florida of 1,300,000 in 118 parishes and missions.
Because of the vast number of immigrants, Catholic Mass is offered in at
least a dozen languages in parishes throughout the archdiocese. The diocese
runs educational institutions, radio, print, and television media outlets,
social service organizations, and several charities. Catholic Charities of
the Archdiocese of Miami, is a separate non-profit organization operated by
the archdiocese. It claims to be the largest non-governmental provider of
social services to the needy in South Florida.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Miami
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1425:
Pope Martin V issued a papal bull establishing the Catholic University of
Leuven, the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_University_of_Leuven)
1856:
Anglo-Persian War: Bushehr, a city on the southwestern coast of the Persian
Gulf in present-day Iran, surrendered to occupying British forces.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushehr)
1905:
Legislation establishing state secularism in France was passed by the
Chamber of Deputies of France, triggering civil disobedience by French
Catholics.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905_French_law_on_the_Separation_of_the_Churc…
)
1968:
The NLS, a computer collaboration system that was the first to employ the
practical use of hypertext, the computer mouse, and other modern computing
concepts, was publicly demonstrated for the first time in San Francisco.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLS_(computer_system)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLS_%28computer_system%29>
)
1990:
Lech Wałęsa became the first President of Poland to be elected in a direct
presidential election after the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lech_Wa%C5%82%C4%99sa)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Torschlusspanik (n) The fear that time is running out to act, specifically
in regards to a border closing.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Torschlusspanik)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Man is appealed to to be guided in his acts, not merely by love, which is
always personal, or at the best tribal, but by the perception of his oneness
with each human being. In the practice of mutual aid, which we can retrace
to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and
undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the
ethical progress of man, mutual support — not mutual struggle — has had the
leading part.
--Peter Kropotkin
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Peter_Kropotkin)
Elaine Paige (born 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for
her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended
the Aida Foster stage school and made her first professional appearance on
stage in 1964. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West
End debut. Following a number of roles over the next decade, Paige was
selected to play Eva Perón in the first production of Evita in 1978, which
brought her to the attention of the broader public. The role won her the
Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a Musical. She went on
to originate the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with
"Memory", a song from the show. In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well"
with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the
biggest-selling record by a female duo, according to the Guinness Book of
Records. She has also worked in film and television. In addition to being
nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, Paige has won many other awards
for her theatre roles and has been called the First Lady of British Musical
Theatre. She has released 20 solo albums, of which eight were consecutively
certified gold and another four multi-platinum. Since 2004 she has hosted
her own show on BBC Radio 2 called Elaine Paige on Sunday.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elaine_Paige
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1609:
Milan's Biblioteca Ambrosiana opened its reading room to the public,
becoming the second public library in Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblioteca_Ambrosiana)
1941:
The Holocaust: The SS began killing operations at the Chelmno extermination
camp in Poland, the first Nazi extermination camp to kill the Jews of the
Ghetto Litzmannstadt and the Warthegau by poison gas.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelmno_extermination_camp)
1980:
Former Beatle John Lennon was fatally shot in the entrance hallway of the
Dakota apartments in New York City.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_John_Lennon)
1991:
Leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine signed the Belavezha Accords,
agreeing to dissolve the Soviet Union and establish the Commonwealth of
Independent States.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States)
2004:
Twelve South American countries signed the Cusco Declaration, announcing the
foundation of what is now the Union of South American Nations, an
intergovernmental union modelled after the European Union.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_American_Nations)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pandiculate (v) To stretch oneself.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pandiculate)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A hero is someone who rebels or seems to rebel against the facts of
existence and seems to conquer them. Obviously that can only work at
moments. It can't be a lasting thing. That's not saying that people
shouldn't keep trying to rebel against the facts of existence. Someday, who
knows, we might conquer death, disease and war.
--Jim Morrison
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_Morrison)
USS Nevada (BB-36), the second United States Navy ship to be named after the
36th state, was the lead ship of the two Nevada-class battleships; her
sister ship was OklahomaTemplate:WP Ships USS instances. Nevada was a giant
leap forward in dreadnought technology, as she showcased four new features
that would be included on almost every subsequent U.S. battleship: gun
turrets with three guns, anti-aircraft guns, oil in place of coal for fuel,
and the "all or nothing" armor principle. All of these new features resulted
in Nevada becoming the first U.S. Navy "super-dreadnought". Nevada served in
both of the World Wars: during World War I, Nevada was based in Bantry Bay,
Ireland, for the last few months of the war to support the supply convoys
that were sailing to and from Great Britain. In World War II, she was one of
the battleships that were trapped when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on
7 December 1941. Subsequently salvaged and modernized at Puget Sound Navy
Yard, Nevada served in four amphibious assaults: the Normandy Landings and
the invasions of Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. At the end of World
War II, the Navy decided that Nevada was too old to be retained in the
post-war fleet, so they assigned her to be a target ship in the Bikini
atomic experiments of July 1946. After being hit by two atomic bombs, she
was still afloat but heavily damaged and radioactive. She was sunk during
naval gunfire exercise in 1948.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX>(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_(BB-36)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_%28BB-36%29>
)
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1724:
In Toruń, Royal Prussia, Polish authorities executed the city's mayor and
nine other Lutheran officials following tensions between Protestants and
Catholics.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumult_of_Thorn_(Toru%C5%84)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumult_of_Thorn_%28Toru%C5%84%29>
)
1787:
Delaware became the first U.S. state to ratify the United States
Constitution.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware <goog_1228618768069>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware)
1815:
Michel Ney, Marshal of France, was executed by a firing squad near Paris'
Jardin du Luxembourg for supporting Napoleon Bonaparte.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Ney)
1941:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy made its surprise attack on Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii, intending to neutralize the United States Pacific Fleet
from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor)
1972:
The crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft took the famous photograph known as
"The Blue Marble" as they left Earth.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Marble <goog_1228618768082>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Marble)
1988:
An earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.9 struck the Spitak region of
Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union, killing at least 25,000 people.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Spitak_earthquake)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
abattoir (n) A public slaughterhouse for cattle, sheep, etc.
( <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/XXXXXXX>
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/abattoir)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense
of truthfulness. The stupid believe that to be truthful is easy; only the
artist, the great artist, knows how difficult it is.
--Willa Cather
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Willa_Cather)
Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928) was a political activist and leader of the
British suffragette movement. Although widely criticised for her militant
tactics, her work is recognised as a crucial element in achieving women's
suffrage in Britain. She became involved with the Women's Franchise League,
which advocated suffrage for women. When that organisation broke apart, she
joined the left-leaning Independent Labour Party through her friendship with
socialist Keir Hardie. After her husband died in 1898, Pankhurst founded the
Women's Social and Political Union, an all-women suffrage advocacy
organisation dedicated to "deeds, not words". The group quickly became
infamous when its members smashed windows and assaulted police officers.
Pankhurst, her daughters, and other WSPU activists were sentenced to
repeated prison sentences, where they staged hunger strikes to secure better
conditions. Eventually arson became a common tactic among WSPU members, and
more moderate organisations spoke out against the Pankhurst family. With the
advent of World War I, Pankhurst called an immediate halt to militant
suffrage activism, in order to support the British government against the
"German Peril". They urged women to aid industrial production, and
encouraged young men to fight. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act
granted votes to women over the age of 30. Pankhurst transformed the WSPU
machinery into the Women's Party, which was dedicated to promoting women's
equality in public life.
Read the rest of this article:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmeline_Pankhurst)
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1534:
Over 200 Spanish settlers led by conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar
founded what is now Quito, Ecuador.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito%29>
1768:
The first number out of 100 of the first edition of the Encyclopædia
Britannica was published in Edinburgh, Scotland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Encyclopaedia_Britannica<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica>
)
1917:
A ship in Halifax Harbour carrying trinitrotoluene (TNT) and picric acid
caught fire after a collision with another ship and exploded, devastating
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion)
1922:
The Irish Free State, the first independent Irish state to be recognised by
the British government, came into existence, one year to the day after the
signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Free_State <http://goog_1228526663800>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Free_State)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Irish_Treaty)
1989:
The École Polytechnique massacre: Twenty-five year-old Marc Lépine killed
fourteen people and injured fourteen others at the École Polytechnique in
Montreal, Quebec.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hypotrochoid (n) A geometric curve traced by a fixed point on the radius
line outside one circle which rotates inside the perimeter of another
circle.
( <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/XXXXXXX>
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hypotrochoid)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The Science of Language has taught us that there is order and wisdom in all
languages, and even the most degraded jargons contain the ruins of former
greatness and beauty. The Science of Religion, I hope, will produce a
similar change in our views of barbarous forms of faith and worship.
--Max Müller
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Müller<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_M%C3%BCller>
)
Interstate 70 in Utah runs east–west for 232.15 miles (373.61 km) across the
central part of the state. Richfield is the largest Utah city served by the
freeway, which does not serve or connect any urban areas in the state. The
highway was built as part of a connection between Los Angeles and the
northeastern United States. I-70 was the second attempt to connect southern
California to the east coast of the United States via central Utah, after a
previous failed attempt at a transcontinental railroad that would partially
serve as the guide for the route of I-70. Unlike most Interstate Highways,
I-70 in Utah was not constructed parallel to or on top of an existing U.S.
Highway. Portions of I-70 were constructed in areas where previously there
were no paved roads. Because it was built over an entirely new route, I-70
has many features that are notably unique in the Interstate Highway System.
The construction of the Utah portion of I-70 is listed as one of the
engineering marvels of the Interstate Highway System. The choice of the
route had a significant impact on the character and culture of the Sevier
Valley. It has also been a motivating factor for environmentalists to create
a new National Park along the path of the highway to protect scenic areas
around the route. I-70 from Green River to Grand Junction, Colorado, is part
of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway, making I-70 one of the few
Interstate Highways to be named a National Scenic Byway.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_70_in_Utah
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1484:
Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus,
giving Dominican Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer explicit authority to prosecute
witchcraft in Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus)
1492:
Christopher Columbus (pictured) became the first European to set foot on the
island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispaniola)
1757:
Seven Years' War: Prussian forces under Frederick the Great defeated
Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine at the Battle of
Leuthen in Leuthen, present-day Poland.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leuthen)
1933:
Prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States officially ended
when the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Co…
)
1945:
Flight 19, a squadron of five Avenger TBM torpedo bombers of the U.S. Navy,
disappeared in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Nidorous (adj) Emitting the odor or taste of roasted meat, especially
rotten meat.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nidorous)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Leadership means that a group, large or small, is willing to entrust
authority to a person who has shown judgement, wisdom, personal appeal, and
proven competence.
--Walt Disney
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Disney)
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record
producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa
wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He
also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album
covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released
with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His 1966 debut
album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in
conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and
studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and
experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was
one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs,
which—often humorously—reflected his skeptical view of established political
processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream
education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate
for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly
productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim.
Many of his albums are considered essential in rock history, and he is
regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time;
he remains a major influence on musicians and composers.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1639:
English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a transit
of Venus.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus)
1676:
Scanian War: Forces led by Swedish Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt
defeated the invading army of Denmark–Norway under the command of King
Christian V at the Battle of Lund in an area north of Lund, Sweden.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lund)
1791:
The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, was first published.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Observer)
1991:
Pan American World Airways, which was the principal international airline of
the United States and which was credited with many innovations, ended
operations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_World_Airways)
1992:
Operation Restore Hope: U.S. President George H. W. Bush ordered American
troops into Somalia to help provide humanitarian aid and restore order after
the dissolution of the country's central government during the ongoing
Somali Civil War.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Civil_War)
_______________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
grimalkin (n) 1. A cat, especially an elderly female.
2. An old, bad-tempered woman; a crone.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grimalkin)
______________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All creative art is magic, is evocation of the unseen in forms persuasive,
enlightening, familiar and surprising, for the edification of mankind,
pinned down by the conditions of its existence to the earnest consideration
of the most insignificant tides of reality.
--Joseph Conrad
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad)
Amateur radio in India is practised by more than 16,000 licensed users. The
first amateur radio operator was licensed in 1921, and by the mid-1930s,
there were around 20 amateur radio operators in India. Amateur radio
operators have played an important part in the Indian independence movement
with the establishment of pro-independence radio stations in the 1940s,
which were illegal. The three decades after India's independence saw only
slow growth in the numbers of operators until the then Prime Minister of
India, and ham operator Rajiv Gandhi waived the import duty on wireless
equipment in 1984. Since then, numbers have picked up, and as of 2007, there
were more than 16,000 operators in the country. Amateur radio operators have
played a vital role during disasters and national emergencies such as
earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and bomb blasts, by providing
voluntary emergency communications in the affected areas. The Wireless and
Planning and Coordination Wing (WPC)—a division of the Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology—regulates amateur radio in India.
The WPC assigns call signs, issues amateur radio licences, conducts exams,
allots frequency spectrum, and monitors the radio waves. In India, the
Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) represents amateur radio interests at
various forums, and represents India at the International Amateur Radio
Union.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_in_India
_________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1854:
At least 22 people were killed and 35 others were injured when rebelling
miners at the Eureka Stockade clashed violently with the police and the
military in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka_Stockade)
1904:
The Jovian moon Himalia was discovered by astronomer Charles Dillon Perrine
at the Lick Observatory in San Jose, California, USA.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalia_(moon)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalia_%28moon%29>
)
1967:
Cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human
heart transplant on Louis Washkansky at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town,
South Africa.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Barnard)
1984:
Bhopal gas disaster: The accidental release of methyl isocyanate over
Bhopal, India resulted in at least 20,000 total deaths and affected over
120,000 others in one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster)
1999:
NASA lost contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before it reached the
atmosphere of Mars and disappeared.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Polar_Lander)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
effectually (adv) In such a way as to achieve a desired result;
effectively.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/effectually)
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ultimately, leadership requires action: daring to take steps that are
necessary but unpopular, challenging the status quo in order to reach a
brighter future. And to push for peace is ultimately personal sacrifice, for
leadership is not easy. It is born of a passion, and it is a commitment.
Leadership is a commitment to an idea, to a dream, and to a vision of what
can be. And my dream is for my land and my people to cease fighting and
allow our children to reach their full potential regardless of sex, status,
or belief.
--Benazir Bhutto
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto)
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago 64 kilometres (40 mi) west-northwest of
North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands
of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea
cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom. The Gaelic-speaking population
probably never exceeded 180 and was never more than 100 after 1851. Although
St Kilda was permanently inhabited for at least two millennia, and despite
the inhabitants' unique way of life, the entire population was evacuated in
1930. The only residents are now military personnel. The islands are
administratively a part of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar local authority
area. The islands' human heritage includes numerous unique architectural
features from the historic and prehistoric periods, although the earliest
written records of island life date from the Late Middle Ages. The medieval
village on Hirta was rebuilt in the 19th century, but the influences of
religion, tourism and the First World War contributed to the island's
evacuation in 1930. The story of St Kilda has attracted artistic
interpretations, including a recent opera. The entire archipelago is owned
by the National Trust for Scotland. It became one of Scotland's four World
Heritage Sites in 1986 and is one of the few in the world to hold joint
status for its natural, marine and cultural qualities.
*
*Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Kilda,_Scotland
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1409:
The University of Leipzig in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, one of the oldest
universities in Europe, was established.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Leipzig)
1805:
Napoleonic Wars: French forces led by Emperor Napoleon I decisively defeated
a Russo-Austrian army commanded by Czar Alexander I in the Battle of
Austerlitz.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz)
1908:
Two-year-old Puyi became Emperor of China, the last one before the Republic
of China was declared in 1912.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyi)
1956:
Cuban Revolution: The yacht Granma, carrying Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and
80 other members of the 26th of July Movement, reached the shores of Cuba.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granma_(yacht)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granma_%28yacht%29>
)
1975:
The Pathet Lao overthrew the royalist government in Vientiane, forcing King
Savang Vatthana to abdicate, and established the Lao People's Democratic
Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos)
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
carry the message to Garcia (v) To perform a requisite task despite
obstacles.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carry_the_message_to_Garcia)
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
December will be magic again.
Don't miss the brightest star.
Kiss under mistletoe.
I want to hear you laugh.
Don't let the mystery go now.
--Kate Bush
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush)