The Rampart Dam was a hydroelectric power proposal in the 1950s and
1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dam the Yukon River in
Alaska, United States. The project was planned for Rampart Canyon,
about 105 miles (169 km) west-northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska. The
resulting dam would have created a lake roughly the size of Lake Erie,
making it the largest man-made reservoir in the world. The plan for the
dam itself called for a concrete structure 530 feet (162 m) high with a
top length of about 4,700 feet (1,430 m). Though supported by many
politicians and businesses in Alaska, the project was canceled when
concerns arose about the project's cost. Native Alaskans in the area
protested the threatened loss of nine villages that would be flooded by
the dam. Conservation groups abhorred the threatened flooding of the
Yukon Flats, a large area of wetlands that provides a critical breeding
ground for millions of waterfowl. Fiscal conservatives opposed the dam
on the grounds of its large cost and limited benefit to Americans
outside Alaska. Because of these objections, United States Secretary of
the Interior Stewart Udall formally opposed construction of the dam in
1967, and the project was shelved.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_Dam>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1656:
Led by King Charles X Gustav, the armies of Sweden and Brandenburg
defeated the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth near Warsaw.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_%281656%29>
1927:
Five-year-old Michael I became King of Romania upon the death of his
grandfather Ferdinand I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_I_of_Romania>
1944:
Adolf Hitler survived an assassination attempt by German Resistance
member Claus von Stauffenberg, who hid a bomb inside a briefcase during
a conference at the Wolfsschanze military headquarters in East Prussia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_20_Plot>
1951:
Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian from the
Husseini clan while visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan>
1969:
The Apollo 11 lunar module landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, where
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the
moon six-and-a-half hours later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cavil (v):
To criticise for petty or frivolous reasons
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cavil>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sameness is the mother of disgust, variety the cure.
--Petrarch
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Petrarch>
Nevado del Ruiz is the northernmost volcano of the Andean Volcanic
Belt, lying about 129 kilometers (80 mi) west of Bogotá in the Tolima
Department of Colombia. It is a stratovolcano, composed of many layers
of lava alternating with hardened volcanic ash and other pyroclastic
rocks. Nevado del Ruiz has been active for about two million years,
since the early Pleistocene or late Pliocene epoch, with three major
eruptive periods. The current volcanic cone formed during the "present"
eruptive period, which began 150 thousand years ago. Nevado del Ruiz
usually generates Plinian eruptions, which produce swift-moving
currents of hot gas and rock called pyroclastic flows. These eruptions
often cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), which pose a threat
to human life and the environment. On November 11, 1985, a small
eruption produced an enormous lahar that buried and desolated the town
of Armero in Tolima Department, causing an estimated 23,000 deaths.
This event later became known as the Armero tragedy—the deadliest lahar
in recorded history. The volcano is part of Los Nevados National Park,
which also contains several other volcanoes. The summit of Nevado del
Ruiz is covered by large glaciers, although these have retreated
significantly since 1985 due to atmospheric warming.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevado_del_Ruiz>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
711:
According to estimations made by historian David Levering Lewis, Muslim
Arabs and Berbers led by Tariq ibn Ziyad defeated Roderic and the
Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guadalete>
1848:
The two-day Women's Rights Convention, the first women's rights and
feminist convention held in the United States, opened in Seneca Falls,
New York.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention>
1870:
A dispute over who would become the next Spanish monarch following the
deposition of Isabella II during the 1868 Glorious Revolution led
France to declare war on Prussia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Prussian_War>
1916:
World War I: Australian forces engaged the Germans at the Battle of
Fromelles in France, described as "the worst 24 hours in Australia's
entire history" since 5,533 Australian soldiers were eventually killed,
wounded or taken prisoner in the failed operation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fromelles>
1947:
Burmese nationalist Aung San and six members of his newly-formed
cabinet were assassinated during a cabinet meeting.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aung_San>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
legwork (n):
1. (idiomatic) Work, especially research, that involves significant
walking, travel, or similar effort
2. Skillful or vigorous use of the legs, as in dance or sports
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legwork>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everyone has talent at twenty-five. The difficulty is to have it at
fifty.
--Edgar Degas
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas>
The Age of Reason is a deistic treatise written by eighteenth-century
British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine that critiques
institutionalized religion and challenges the inerrancy of the Bible.
Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller
in America, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. British
audiences, however, fearing increased political radicalism as a result
of the French revolution, received it with more hostility. The Age of
Reason presents common deistic arguments; for example, it highlights
what Paine perceives as corruption of the Christian Church and
criticizes its efforts to acquire political power. Paine advocates
reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and
to view the Bible as an ordinary piece of literature rather than as a
divinely inspired text. The Age of Reason is not atheistic, but
deistic: it promotes natural religion and argues for a creator-God.
Most of Paine's arguments had long been available to the educated
elite, but by presenting them in an engaging and irreverent style, he
made deism appealing and accessible to a mass audience. The book was
also inexpensive, putting it within the reach of a large number of
buyers. Fearing the spread of what they viewed as potentially
revolutionary ideas, the British government prosecuted printers and
booksellers who tried to publish and distribute it.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Reason>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
64:
The Great Fire of Rome started among the shops around the Circus
Maximus, eventually destroying four of fourteen Roman districts and
severely damaging seven others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome>
1863:
American Civil War: Led by Union Army Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first formal African
American military unit, spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner near
Charleston, South Carolina .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Massachusetts_Volunteer_Infantry>
1969:
After a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, United States
Senator Ted Kennedy drove his car off a wooden bridge into a tidal
channel, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign
worker.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident>
1982:
Guatemalan military forces and their paramilitary allies slaughtered
over 250 Mayans in the village of Plan de Sánchez, Baja Verapaz.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_de_S%C3%A1nchez_massacre>
1989:
American actress Rebecca Schaeffer was shot and killed by stalker
Robert John Bardo, eventually prompting the passage of anti-stalking
laws in California.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
unbosom (v):
1. To tell someone about one's troubles, and thus obtain relief.
2. To confess a misdeed
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unbosom>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When I die, my money's not gonna come with me. My movies will live on
for people to judge what I was as a person. I just want to stay
curious.
--Heath Ledger
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Heath_Ledger>
The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly explosion that took place on
July 17, 1944, at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago,
California, in the United States. Munitions being loaded aboard a cargo
vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations detonated, killing
320 sailors and civilians and injuring 390 others. Most of the dead and
injured were enlisted African American sailors. A month later,
continuing unsafe conditions inspired hundreds of servicemen to refuse
to load munitions, an act known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. Fifty men,
called the Port Chicago 50, were convicted of mutiny and sentenced to
long prison terms. Forty-seven of the 50 were released in January 1946;
the remaining three served additional months in prison. During and
after the trial, questions were raised about the fairness and legality
of the court-martial proceedings. Due to public pressure, the United
States Navy reconvened the courts-martial board in 1945; the court
affirmed the guilt of the convicted men. Widespread publicity
surrounding the case turned it into a cause célèbre among African
Americans and liberal white Americans making it, along with other
race-related Navy protests of 1944–1945, a significant motivator for
the Navy to change its practices and begin in February 1946 to
desegregate its forces.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1936:
Nationalist rebels attempted a coup d'état against the Second Spanish
Republic, sparking the Spanish Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War>
1955:
Disneyland in Anaheim, California, the only theme park to be designed,
built, and operated by Walt Disney, opened during a televised ceremony.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Park_%28Anaheim%29>
1973:
Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, was ousted in a coup
by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing eye
surgery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Zahir_Shah>
1998:
Biologists reported in the scientific journal Science how they
sequenced the genome of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes
syphilis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treponema_pallidum>
2007:
TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crashed upon landing during rain at the
Congonhas-São Paulo Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people,
the highest death toll of any aviation accident in Latin America and
the highest death toll of any accident involving an Airbus A320
airliner in the world.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAM_Airlines_Flight_3054>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
susurrus (n):
A whispering or rustling sound; a murmur
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/susurrus>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Error is a hardy plant; it flourisheth in every soil;
In the heart of the wise and good, alike with the wicked and foolish;
For there is no error so crooked, but it hath in it some lines of
truth;
Nor is any poison so deadly, that it serveth not some wholesome use.
--Martin Farquhar Tupper
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Farquhar_Tupper>
Domitian was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 September 81 until his
death. The third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty, Domitian's
youth and early career was largely spent in the shadow of his elder
brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman
War. Domitian's father Vespasian died on 23 June 79 and was succeeded
by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck
by a fatal illness on 13 September 81. The following day Domitian was
declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard. As emperor, Domitian
strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the
border defenses of the Empire, and initiated a massive building
programme to restore the damaged city of Rome. As emperor, he saw
himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide
the Roman Empire into a new era of Flavian renaissance. Religious,
military and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by
nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and
private morals. As a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people
and the army but despised by members of the Roman Senate as a tyrant.
Domitian's reign came to an end on 18 September 96 when he was
assassinated by court officials. The same day he was succeeded by his
friend and advisor Nerva, who founded the long-lasting Nerva-Antonine
dynasty. After his death, Domitian's memory was condemned to oblivion
by the Roman Senate.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
622:
The epoch of the Islamic calendar occurred, marking the year that
Muhammad began his Hijra from Mecca to Medina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar>
1769:
Spanish friar Junípero Serra founded Mission San Diego de Alcalá
(pictured today), the first Franciscan mission in the Alta California
region of New Spain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1>
1945:
Manhattan Project: "Trinity", the first nuclear test explosion, was
detonated near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_%28nuclear_test%29>
1994:
Fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet began hitting the planet
Jupiter, with the first one causing a fireball which reached a peak
temperature of about 24,000 K.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker-Levy_9>
1999:
John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and
sister-in-law Lauren Bessette were killed in a plane crash off the
coast of Martha's Vineyard.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy%2C_Jr._airplane_crash>
2004:
Chicago's Millennium Park, currently the world's largest rooftop
garden, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Park>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
haphazard (adj):
Random, chaotic, incomplete; not thorough, constant or consistent
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/haphazard>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Ignorance perpetuates itself just as knowledge does. Men write false
documents, they preach false doctrine, and those beliefs survive to
inspire wickedness in later generations. ... Conversely, some men write
and teach about the truth, only to be declared heretic by the wicked.
In such cases evil has the advantage, for it will do anything to
suppress truth, but the good man limits what he will do to suppress
falsehood.
One might almost make a rule of it: "Whoever declares another heretic
is himself a devil. Whoever places a relic or artifact above justice,
kindness, mercy, or truth is himself a devil and the thing elevated is
a work of evil magic."
--Sheri S. Tepper
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper>
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin
Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1995. The band started as a
one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the
1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. By 1997, he had
recruited permanent members; this line-up, which consisted of Townsend
on vocals and guitar, Jed Simon on guitar, Byron Stroud on bass, and
Gene Hoglan on drums, lasted until the band's dissolution. Containing
elements of death, thrash, black and industrial metal, Strapping Young
Lad's music was characterized by the use of complex time signatures,
polyrhythmic guitar riffing and drumming, blast beats and Wall of Sound
production. The band's musical direction was mainly determined by
Townsend, whose battle with bipolar disorder and dark sense of humour
were major influences on his songwriting. Townsend was also noted for
his eccentric appearance and on-stage behaviour, which greatly
contributed to the band's intense live performances. The band gained
critical success and a growing underground fan base from their 1997
album City. After a hiatus between 1999 and 2002, the band released
three more albums, reaching their commercial peak with the 2006 effort,
The New Black. Townsend disbanded Strapping Young Lad in May 2007,
announcing his decision to retreat from public view while continuing to
record solo albums.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strapping_Young_Lad>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1240:
Swedish-Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky
defeated the Swedes on the Neva River near Ust-Izhora, present-day
Russia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neva>
1685:
James Scott, Duke of Monmouth , was executed for his role in the
Monmouth Rebellion, an attempt to overthrow King James II of England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Scott%2C_1st_Duke_of_Monmouth>
1823:
A fire, accidentally started by a workman who was repairing the lead of
the roof, destroyed the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the
Walls in Rome. The church would later be restored by 1840.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Saint_Paul_Outside_the_Walls>
1974:
Greek-sponsored nationalists overthrew Makarios III, President of
Cyprus, in a coup d'état and replaced him with Nikos Sampson.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makarios_III>
1997:
Serial killer Andrew Phillip Cunanan gunned down fashion designer
Gianni Versace outside his home in Miami, Florida.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Versace>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
doppelganger (n):
1. A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts such
a person.
2. An evil twin.
3. A remarkably similar double
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doppelganger>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Try to put well in practice what you already know; and in so doing, you
will in good time, discover the hidden things which you now inquire
about. Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now
you do not know.
--Rembrandt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rembrandt>
The Beauchamp–Sharp Tragedy refers to the murder of Kentucky legislator
Solomon P. Sharp by Jereboam O. Beauchamp. As a young lawyer, Beauchamp
had been an admirer of Sharp's until the latter allegedly fathered an
illegitimate child with a woman named Anna Cooke. Sharp denied
paternity of the stillborn child. Later, Beauchamp began a relationship
with Cooke, who agreed to marry him on the condition that he kill
Sharp. Beauchamp and Cooke married in June 1824, and in the early
morning of November 7, 1825, Beauchamp murdered Sharp at Sharp's home
in Frankfort, Kentucky. An investigation soon revealed Beauchamp as the
murderer, and he was apprehended at his home in Glasgow, Kentucky, four
days after the murder. He was tried, convicted, and hanged for his
crime on July 7, 1826. He was the first person legally executed in the
state of Kentucky. While the primary motive for Sharp's murder was
defending the honor of Anna Cooke, speculation raged that Sharp's
political opponents instigated the crime. Sharp was a leader of the New
Court party during the Old Court – New Court controversy in Kentucky.
At least one Old Court partisan alleged that Sharp denied paternity of
Cooke's son by claiming the child was a mulatto, the son of a family
slave. Whether Sharp actually made such a claim has never been
verified. New Court partisans insisted that the allegation was
concocted to stir Beauchamp's anger and provoke him to murder. The
Beauchamp–Sharp Tragedy served as the inspiration for literary works,
most notably Edgar Allan Poe's unfinished Politian and Robert Penn
Warren's World Enough and Time.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauchamp%E2%80%93Sharp_Tragedy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1698:
The Darien scheme began with five ships departing Leith to establish a
Scottish colony on the Isthmus of Panama.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darien_scheme>
1791:
The Priestley Riots began to drive out Joseph Priestley and other
religious Dissenters out of Birmingham, England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestley_Riots>
1958:
King Faisal II, the last king of Iraq, was overthrown by a military
coup d'état led by Abd al-Karim Qasim.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14_July_Revolution>
1969:
Political conflicts between El Salvador and Honduras erupted into the
four-day Football War, so-named because it coincided with the inflamed
rioting during the second CONCACAF qualifying round for the 1970 FIFA
World Cup.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War>
2002:
After being treated for medical conditions, the orca Springer was
released into the Johnstone Strait off the coast of British Columbia,
Canada, becoming the first whale in history to be re-integrated into a
wild pod after human intervention.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springer_%28orca%29>
2003:
The U.S. Government admitted the existence of Area 51, the secretive
military airfield in Nevada that has become a focus of various UFO and
conspiracy theories, conceding that the U.S. Air Force does have an
"operating location" there.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inculcate (v):
1. To teach by repeated instruction.
2. To induce understanding or a particular sentiment
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inculcate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The note of hope is the only note that can help us or save us from
falling to the bottom of the heap of evolution, because, largely, about
all a human being is, anyway, is just a hoping machine, a working
machine ... don't worry — the human race will sing this way as long as
there is a human to race. The human race is a pretty old place.
--Woody Guthrie
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Woody_Guthrie>
The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge preserved railway running for
7.25 miles (11.67 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol
near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1866 to carry
slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first
narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to
carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe under-investment,
the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the
world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers. Since
preservation, the railway has operated as a tourist attraction,
significantly expanding its rolling stock through acquisition and an
engineering programme to build new locomotives and carriages. In 1976
an extension was opened along the former mineral line from Abergynolwyn
to the new station at Nant Gwernol. In 2001 the preservation society
celebrated its 50th anniversary, and in 2005 a major rebuilding and
extension of Tywyn Wharf station took place, including a much expanded
facility for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. The fictional Skarloey
Railway, which formed part of the Railway Series of children's books by
the Rev. W Awdry, was based on the Talyllyn Railway. The preservation
of the line inspired the Ealing Comedy film The Titfield Thunderbolt.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talyllyn_Railway>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1643:
English Civil War: Royalists defeated the Parliamentarians at the
Battle of Roundway Down near Devizes in central Wiltshire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Roundway_Down>
1772:
Under the command of explorer James Cook, HMS Resolution set sail from
Plymouth, England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolution_%281771%29>
1863:
Three days of rioting began in New York City by opponents of new laws
passed by the United States Congress to draft men to fight in the
ongoing American Civil War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Draft_Riots>
1878:
The major powers in Europe signed the Treaty of Berlin, redrawing the
map of the Balkans.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_%281878%29>
1985:
Live Aid rock music concerts, organised by singers Bob Geldof and Midge
Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, were held at Wembley
Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Aid>
1995:
Bosnian Genocide: The Army of Republika Srpska under Ratko Mladić began
the Srebrenica massacre in the region of Srebrenica, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, eventually killing an estimated total of 8,000 Bosniaks.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
right as rain (adj):
1. Very good; healthy.
2. Correct; factually accurate
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/right_as_rain>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
People sometimes tell me that they prefer barbarism to civilisation. I
doubt if they have given it a long enough trial. Like the people of
Alexandria, they are bored by civilisation; but all the evidence
suggests that the boredom of barbarism is infinitely greater.
--Kenneth Clark
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark>
The 2006 Westchester County tornado was an F2 tornado that touched down
in Rockland County, New York, on July 12, 2006. It traveled 13 miles
(21 km) into southwestern Connecticut during a 33-minute span through
two states. The tornado touched down at 3:30 p.m. EDT on the shore of
the Hudson River before becoming a waterspout and traveling 3 mi (5 km)
across the river. Coming ashore, the tornado entered Westchester County
and struck the town of Sleepy Hollow at F1 intensity. After passing
through the town, it intensified into an F2 tornado and grew to almost
a quarter mile (400 m) in diameter, making it both the strongest and
largest tornado in the county's history. The tornado continued through
the county, causing damage to numerous structures, until it crossed
into Connecticut at 4:01 p.m. EDT. Not long after entering the state,
it dissipated in the town of Greenwich at 4:03 p.m. EDT. The tornado
left significant damage in its wake. Two barns and a warehouse were
destroyed, and a large stained-glass window was shattered. Numerous
homes and businesses were damaged and thousands of trees were uprooted.
There were no fatalities and only six minor injuries were associated
with the storm. Damages from the tornado totaled $12.1 million.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Westchester_County_tornado>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1543:
King Henry VIII of England married Catherine Parr , his sixth and last
wife, at Hampton Court Palace.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Parr>
1790:
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed, a law that
subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French
government.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Constitution_of_the_Clergy>
1862:
The Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the
United States government, was first authorized by the U.S. Congress.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor>
1943:
World War II: Nazi German and Soviet forces engaged each other at the
Battle of Prokhorovka, one of the largest tank battles in military
history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Prokhorovka>
1979:
The Gilbert Islands gained independence from the United Kingdom and
became known as Kiribati.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiribati>
2006:
Hezbollah forces crossed the Israel–Lebanon border and attacked Israeli
military positions while firing rockets and mortars at Israeli towns,
sparking the July War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zar%27it-Shtula_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
heirloom (n):
1. A valued possession that has been passed down through the
generations.
2. A crop variety that has been passed down through generations of
farmers by seed saving and cultivation
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heirloom>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every
man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the
contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour.
--Henry David Thoreau
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau>
The John Brownlee sex scandal occurred in 1934 in Alberta, Canada, and
forced the resignation of Premier John Edward Brownlee. Brownlee was
accused of seducing Vivian MacMillan, a family friend and a secretary
for Brownlee's attorney-general, in 1930 when she was eighteen years
old, and continuing the affair for three years. MacMillan claimed that
the married premier had told her that she must have sex with him for
his own sake and that of his invalid wife. She had, she testified,
relented after physical and emotional pressure. Brownlee called her
story a fabrication, and suggested that it was the result of a
conspiracy by MacMillan, her would-be fiancé, and several of Brownlee's
political opponents in the Alberta Liberal Party. MacMillan and her
father sued Brownlee for seduction. After a sensational trial in June
1934, the six man jury found in favour of the plaintiffs, awarding them
$10,000 and $5,000, respectively. In an unusual move, trial judge
William Ives disregarded the jury's finding and dismissed the case. The
Supreme Court of Canada eventually overturned the decision and awarded
MacMillan $10,000 in damages. This award was affirmed by the Judicial
Committee of the British Privy Council, Canada's highest court of
appeal at the time. All of this, however, was largely academic to
Brownlee, who resigned after the jury's finding. During the next
election, his United Farmers of Alberta were wiped out of the
legislature, failing to retain a single seat.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brownlee_sex_scandal>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1789:
French Revolution: Jacques Necker was dismissed as Director-General of
Finances of France, sparking public demonstrations in Paris that led to
the Storming of the Bastille three days later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Necker>
1804:
U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounded former U.S. Treasury
Secretary Alexander Hamilton during a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr-Hamilton_duel>
1921:
The Irish War of Independence ended with a truce between the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Irish Republican Army,
resulting in negotiations that eventually led to the Anglo-Irish Treaty
and the establishment of the Irish Free State.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_War_of_Independence>
1943:
In a massive ethnic cleansing operation, units of the Ukrainian
Insurgent Army attacked various Polish villages in the Volhynia region
of present-day Ukraine, killing the Polish civilians and burning those
settlements to the ground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia>
1960:
American author Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, featuring
themes of racial injustice and the destruction of innocence in the
American Deep South, was first published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
aflutter (adj):
In a state of excited anticipation or confusion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aflutter>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say the weather is a
great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things
can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed.
--E. B. White
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>