Fantastic Universe was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began
publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March
1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of
science fiction magazine publishing in the 1950s in the United States,
and was moderately successful, outlasting almost all the other
magazines of the period. The main editors were Leo Margulies
(1954–1956) and Hans Stefan Santesson (1956–1960); under Santesson's
tenure the quality declined somewhat, and the magazine became known for
printing much UFO-related material. A collection of stories from the
magazine, edited by Santesson, appeared in 1960 from Prentice-Hall,
titled The Fantastic Universe Omnibus.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Universe>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1747:
The London Lock Hospital, the first clinic specialising in the
treatment of venereal diseases, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Lock_Hospital>
1862:
American telescope-maker and astronomer Alvan Graham Clark first
observed the faint white dwarf companion of Sirius , the brightest star
in the night sky.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius>
1961:
Aboard NASA's Mercury-Redstone 2, Ham the Chimp became the first
hominid launched into outer space.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_the_Chimp>
1968:
Vietnam War: Forces of the Viet Cong and the Vietnam People's Army
launched the Tet Offensive to strike military and civilian command and
control centers throughout South Vietnam.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive>
2007:
Suspects were arrested in Birmingham, UK, accused of plotting to
kidnap, and eventually behead, a Muslim British soldier serving in
Iraq.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Plot_to_behead_a_British_Muslim_soldier>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sedition (n):
1. The organized incitement of rebellion or civil disorder against
authority or the state.
2. Insurrection or rebellion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sedition>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A full-spectrum approach to human consciousness and behavior means that
men and women have available to them a spectrum of knowing — a spectrum
that includes, at the very least, the eye of flesh, the eye of mind,
and the eye of spirit.
--Ken Wilber
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Wilber>
Hurricane Fabian was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane that hit
Bermuda in early September during the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season.
Fabian, the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major
hurricane of the season, developed from a tropical wave in the tropical
Atlantic Ocean on August 25. It moved west-northwestward under the
influence of the subtropical ridge to its north, and steadily
strengthened in an area of warm water temperatures and light wind
shear. The hurricane attained a peak intensity of 145 mph (230 km/h) on
September 1, and it slowly weakened as it turned northward. On
September 5, Fabian made a direct hit on the island of Bermuda with
wind speeds of over 120 mph (195 km/h). After passing the island, the
hurricane turned to the northeast, and became extratropical on
September 8. Fabian was the strongest hurricane to hit Bermuda since
Hurricane Arlene in 1963. It was both the most damaging and the first
hurricane to cause a death on the island since 1926. The hurricane's
powerful winds resulted in moderate damage and destroyed roofs
throughout the island. A strong storm surge associated with the
hurricane killed four people crossing a causeway on Bermuda,
temporarily closing the only link between two islands. In all, Fabian
caused around $300 million (2003 USD, $330 million 2006 USD) in damage
and eight deaths.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Fabian>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1649:
English Civil War: King Charles I, who was defeated in both the First
and the Second Civil War, was beheaded for high treason in front of the
Banqueting House in London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England>
1826:
The Menai Suspension Bridge, connecting the island of Anglesey and the
mainland of Wales, one of the world's first modern suspension bridges,
opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menai_Suspension_Bridge>
1930:
In Pavlovsk, USSR, meteorologist Pavel Molchanov launched one of the
world's first radiosondes, a device attached to weather balloons to
measure various atmospheric parameters.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/radiosonde>
1945:
World War II: Allied forces liberated over 500 prisoners of war from a
Japanese POW camp near Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, Philippines.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_at_Cabanatuan>
1948:
Nathuram Godse fatally shot Mahatma Gandhi , political and spiritual
leader of India and the Indian independence movement, at Birla House in
Delhi.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathuram_Godse>
1964:
In a bloodless coup, General Nguyen Khanh overthrew General Duong Van
Minh's military junta in South Vietnam, less than three months after
Minh came to power in a bloody coup against then-President of South
Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_South_Vietnamese_coup>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mansuetude (n):
(archaic) gentleness, meekness
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mansuetude>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much
is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of
Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt>
"Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a poem written by the English Romantic poet
John Keats in May 1819, published in January 1820. It is one of his
"Great Odes of 1819", which include "Ode on Indolence", "Ode on
Melancholy", "Ode to a Nightingale", and "Ode to Psyche". Keats found
earlier forms of poetry unsatisfactory for his purpose, and the
collection represented a new development of the ode form. He was
inspired to write the poem after reading two articles by English artist
and writer Benjamin Haydon. The poem focuses on two scenes: one in
which a lover eternally pursues a beloved without fulfillment, and
another of villagers about to perform a sacrifice. The final lines of
the poem declare that "'beauty is truth, truth beauty,' – that is all /
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know", and literary critics have
debated whether they increase or diminish the overall beauty of the
poem. "Ode on a Grecian Urn" was not well received by contemporary
critics. It was only by the mid-19th century that it began to be
praised, although it is now considered to be one of the greatest odes
in the English language. A long debate over the poem's final statement
divided 20th-century critics, but most agreed on the beauty of the
work, despite various inadequacies that kept it from perfection.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_on_a_Grecian_Urn>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
904:
Sergius III, whose pontificate was marked with feudal violence and
disorder in central Italy, came out of retirement to take over the
papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sergius_III>
1845:
"The Raven", a narrative poem by American poet Edgar Allan Poe about a
talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, was first
published in the New York Evening Mirror.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raven>
1856:
Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issued a Warrant under the Royal
sign-manual that established the Victoria Cross , originally to
recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the
Crimean War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Cross>
1943:
The Battle of Rennell Island, the last major naval engagement between
the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during the
Guadalcanal campaign, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rennell_Island>
2002:
In his State of the Union Address, U.S. President George W. Bush
described governments he accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking
weapons of mass destruction as an "axis of evil", specifically naming
Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/axis_of_evil>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
usher (v):
1. To guide people to their seats.
2. To accompany or escort (someone).
3. (figuratively) To precede; to
act as a forerunner or herald
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/usher>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The refusal to rest content, the willingness to risk excess on behalf
of one's obsessions, is what distinguishes artists from entertainers,
and what makes some artists adventurers on behalf of us all.
--John Updike
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike>
Edward VI of England (1537–1553) became King of England and Ireland on
28 January 1547 and was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The
son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the
Tudor dynasty and England's first Protestant ruler. During Edward’s
reign, the realm was governed by a Regency Council, because he never
reached maturity. The Council was led from 1547 to 1549 by his uncle
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and from 1550 to 1553 by John
Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick, who in 1551 became 1st Duke of
Northumberland. Edward's reign was marked by economic problems,
military withdrawal from Scotland and Boulogne-sur-Mer, and social
unrest that in 1549 erupted into riot and rebellion. It also saw the
transformation of the Anglican Church into a recognisably Protestant
body. Henry VIII had severed the link between the Church of England and
Rome, and during Edward's reign, Protestantism was established for the
first time in England, with reforms that included the abolition of
clerical celibacy and the mass, and the imposition of compulsory
services in English. The architect of these reforms was Thomas Cranmer,
Archbishop of Canterbury, whose Book of Common Prayer has proved
lasting.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VI_of_England>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1077:
Walk to Canossa: Pope Gregory VII lifted the excommunication of Henry
IV after the Holy Roman Emperor made his trek from Speyer to Canossa
Castle to beg the pope for forgiveness for his actions in the
Investiture Controversy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_to_Canossa>
1754:
Horace Walpole first coined the word "serendipity" in a letter he wrote
to a friend, saying that he derived the term from the Persian fairy
tale The Three Princes of Serendip.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Walpole%2C_4th_Earl_of_Orford>
1820:
A Russian expedition led by naval officers Fabian Gottlieb von
Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev approached the coast of
Antarctica.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Gottlieb_von_Bellingshausen>
1855:
A train on the Panama Railway made the world's first transcontinental
crossing by rail, a 48-mile (77 km) trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Pacific Ocean across the Isthmus of Panama.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal_Railway>
1986:
The NASA Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its
tenth mission, killing all seven crew members.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
bier (n):
1. A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person
2. A platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bier>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had,
and I'm not sad because I have it no longer.
--Colette
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colette>
Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890–1998) was an American journalist,
writer, feminist, and environmentalist known for her staunch defense of
the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for
development. Moving to Miami as a young woman to work for The Miami
Herald, Douglas became a freelance writer, producing over a hundred
short stories that were published in popular magazines. Her most
influential work was the book The Everglades: River of Grass, which
redefined the popular conception of the Everglades as a treasured river
instead of a worthless swamp; its impact has been compared to that of
the influential 1962 book Silent Spring. Her books, stories, and
journalism career brought her influence in Miami, which she used to
advance her causes. Douglas lived until age 108, working until nearly
the end of her life for Everglades restoration. Upon her death, an
obituary in The Independent in London stated, "In the history of the
American environmental movement, there have been few more remarkable
figures than Marjory Stoneman Douglas."
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjory_Stoneman_Douglas>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
661:
The Rashidun Caliphate, the first Arab caliphate founded after
Muhammad's death in 632, effectively ended with the death of Ali.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali>
1343:
Pope Clement VI issued the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power
of the pope and the use of indulgences.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VI>
1918:
The first hostilities in the Finnish Civil War began when White Guards
attacked trains carrying a large shipment of weapons from Bolshevist
Russia to the Red Guards.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Civil_War>
1967:
The Apollo 1 spacecraft was destroyed by fire at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida, U.S., killing astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White
and Roger Chaffee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_1>
1996:
Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposed Mahamane Ousmane, the first
democratically elected president of Niger, in a military coup d'état.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Bar%C3%A9_Ma%C3%AFnassara>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
circumnavigate (v):
1. To travel completely around somewhere or something, especially by
sail.
2. To circumvent or bypass
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/circumnavigate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.
--Lewis Carroll
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lewis_Carroll>
The Accurate News and Information Act was a statute passed by the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada, in 1937, at the instigation of
William Aberhart's Social Credit government. Aberhart and the Social
Credit League had been in a stormy relationship with the press since
before the 1935 election, in which they were elected to government.
Virtually all of Alberta's newspapers—especially the Calgary
Herald—were critical of Social Credit, as were a number of publications
from elsewhere in Canada. Even the American media had greeted
Aberhart's election with derision. The act would have required
newspapers to print "clarifications" of stories that a committee of
Social Credit legislators deemed inaccurate. It would also have
required them to reveal their sources on demand. Though the act won
easy passage through the Social Credit-dominated legislature,
Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta John C. Bowen reserved royal assent
until the Supreme Court of Canada evaluated the act's legality. In
1938's Reference re Alberta Statutes, the court found that it was
unconstitutional, and it was never signed into law.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accurate_News_and_Information_Act>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1500:
Spanish navigator, explorer, and conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón
reached the north coast of what today is Brazil.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_Y%C3%A1%C3%B1ez_Pinz%C3%B3n>
1788:
Captain Arthur Phillip and the British First Fleet landed at Sydney
Cove on the shore of Port Jackson in present-day Sydney, establishing
the first permanent European settlement in Australia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Phillip>
1808:
Governor of New South Wales William Bligh was deposed by the New South
Wales Corps in the only successful armed takeover of government in
Australia's recorded history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_Rebellion>
1905:
The Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found
at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g), was discovered at the Premier Mine in
Cullinan, Gauteng, South Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cullinan_Diamond>
1950:
Indian independence movement: India officially became a republic under
a new constitution, with Rajendra Prasad as its first president.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajendra_Prasad>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
furcate (v):
To fork or branch out
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/furcate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I do believe that man is a rope between animal and superman. But the
superman I'm thinking of isn't Nietzsche's. The real superhuman, man or
woman, is the person who's rid himself of all prejudices, neuroses, and
psychoses, who realizes his full potential as a human being, who acts
naturally on the basis of gentleness, compassion, and love, who thinks
for himself and refuses to follow the herd. That's the genuine
dyed-in-the-wool superman.
--Philip José Farmer
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer>
Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological
theory concerning relationships between humans. The most important
tenet of attachment theory is that a young child needs to develop a
relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and
emotional development to occur normally. The theory was formulated by
psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby. Within attachment theory,
infant behaviour associated with attachment is primarily the seeking of
proximity to an attachment figure in stressful situations. Attachment
figures arise as infants become attached to adults, usually but not
necessarily parents, who are sensitive and responsive in social
interactions with them, and who remain as consistent caregivers for
some months during the period from about six months to two years of
age. During the latter part of this period, children begin to use
attachment figures (familiar people) as a secure base to explore from
and return to. Parental responses lead to the development of patterns
of attachment; these, in turn, lead to internal working models which
will guide the individual's feelings, thoughts and expectations in
later relationships. Separation anxiety or grief following the loss of
an attachment figure is considered to be a normal and adaptive response
for an attached infant. These behaviours may have evolved because they
increase the probability of survival of the child.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1554:
Jesuit missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega established
a mission at São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, which grew to become
São Paulo, Brazil.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo>
1755:
Russian Empress Elizabeth issued a decree ordering the establishment of
what is now Lomonosov Moscow State University , today the largest
university in Russia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomonosov_Moscow_State_University>
1924:
The first Winter Olympic Games opened at the foot of Mont Blanc in
Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France, attracting more than 200 athletes from
16 nations.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Olympic_Games>
1971:
Idi Amin Dada seized power in a military coup d'état from President
Milton Obote, beginning eight years of military rule in Uganda.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin_Dada>
2006:
Three independent observing campaigns announced the discovery of
OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, a super-Earth extrasolar planet 21,500 ± 3,300
light years away from Earth near the center of the Milky Way.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
copacetic (adj):
(US) Fine, excellent
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/copacetic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The strongest natures, when they are influenced, submit the most
unreservedly; it is perhaps a sign of their strength.
--Virginia Woolf
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf>
The hawksbill turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to
the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in its genus. The
species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific
subspecies. Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic
subspecies, while Eretmochelys imbricata bissa is found in the
Indo-Pacific region. The hawkbill's appearance is similar to that of
other marine turtles. It has a generally flattened body shape, a
protective carapace, and its flipper-like arms are adapted for swimming
in the open ocean. E. imbricata is easily distinguished from other sea
turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the
saw-like appearance of its shell margins. While the turtle lives a part
of its life in the open ocean, it is most often encountered in shallow
lagoons and coral reefs where it feeds on its chosen prey, sea sponges.
Some of the sponges eaten by E. imbricata are known to be highly toxic
and lethal when eaten by other organisms. Because of human fishing
practices, Eretmochelys imbricata populations around the world are
threatened with extinction and the turtle has been classified as
critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. By the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, it is illegal
to capture and to trade in hawksbill turtles and products derived from
them in many nations.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawksbill_turtle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
41:
Roman Emperor Caligula was murdered by Cassius Chaerea and the
disgruntled Praetorian Guards. Caligula's uncle Claudius was proclaimed
emperor in his place.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula>
1848:
James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma,
California, USA, leading to the California Gold Rush.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush>
1857:
The University of Calcutta, the first modern university in the Indian
subcontinent, was established in Calcutta, India.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calcutta>
1972:
Japanese soldier Shoichi Yokoi was found hiding in a Guam jungle, where
he had been since the end of World War II.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoichi_Yokoi>
1984:
The first Apple Macintosh, today known as the Macintosh 128K , went on
sale, becoming the first commercially successful personal computer to
feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than a command
line interface.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh>
1993:
Turkish journalist and writer Uğur Mumcu was assassinated by a car bomb
outside his home in Ankara.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U%C4%9Fur_Mumcu>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
at loggerheads (adj):
(figuratively) Unable to agree; opposing
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/at_loggerheads>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are two ways of spreading light: to be
The candle or the mirror that reflects it.
--Edith Wharton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton>
Sid Barnes (1916–1973) was an Australian cricketer and cricket writer,
who played 13 Test matches between 1938 and 1948. Able to open the
innings or bat down the order, Barnes was regarded as one of
Australia's finest batsmen in the period immediately following the
Second World War. He helped create an enduring record when scoring
234 in the second Test against England at Sydney in December 1946;
exactly the same score as his captain, Don Bradman, in the process
setting a world-record 405 run fifth wicket partnership. Barnes
averaged 63.05 over 19 innings in a career that, like most of his
contemporaries, was interrupted by the Second World War. Barnes had a
reputation as an eccentric and was frequently the subject of
controversy. This included a celebrated libel case, following his
exclusion from the national team in 1951–52 for "reasons other than
cricket ability". He was later involved in an incident where, acting as
twelfth man, he performed his duties on the ground in a suit and tie
(rather than 'whites'), carrying a bizarre range of superfluous items.
Despite this reputation, Barnes was a shrewd businessman who used the
opportunities afforded by cricket to supplement his income through
trading, journalism and property development.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Barnes>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1368:
Zhu Yuanzhang ascended to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor,
initiating Ming Dynasty rule over China that would last for three
centuries.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty>
1556:
The deadliest earthquake in history killed about 830,000 people in
Shaanxi Province, China.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1556_Shaanxi_earthquake>
1656:
Under the pseudonym Louis de Montalte, French mathematician, physicist,
and religious philosopher Blaise Pascal published the first of his
Lettres provinciales, attacking the Jesuits and their use of casuistic
reasoning.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lettres_provinciales>
1960:
The bathyscaphe Trieste reached the record depth of 10,916 m (35,813
feet) in Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathyscaphe_Trieste>
1968:
USS Pueblo was seized by North Korean forces, who claimed that it had
violated their territorial waters while spying.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_%28AGER-2%29>
2001:
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square, an act that many people later claimed was staged by the
Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their
persecution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tsuris (n):
(US, colloquial) Problems or troubles
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsuris>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
One can acquire everything in solitude — except character.
--Stendhal
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stendhal>
Operation Tractable was the final Canadian–Polish offensive to take
place during the Battle of Normandy. Its aim was to capture the
strategically important town of Falaise and subsequently the towns of
Trun and Chambois. The operation was undertaken by the First Canadian
Army against Germany's Army Group B, and was part of the largest
encirclement on the Western Front during World War II. Despite a slow
start to the offensive that was marked by limited gains north of
Falaise, innovative tactics by Stanisław Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured
Division during the drive for Chambois allowed for the Falaise gap to
be partially closed by August 19, 1944, trapping around 150,000 German
soldiers in the Falaise Pocket. Although the Falaise Gap had been
narrowed to a distance of several hundred yards, a protracted series of
fierce engagements between two battlegroups of the Polish 1st Armoured
Division and the 2nd SS Panzer Corps on Mont Ormel prevented the gap
from being completely closed, allowing thousands of German troops to
escape out of Normandy. During two days of nearly continuous fighting,
Polish forces utilized artillery barrages and close-quarter fighting
managed to hold off counterattacks by elements of seven German
divisions. On August 21, 1944, elements of the First Canadian Army
relieved Polish survivors of the battle, and were able to finally close
the Falaise Pocket, leading to the capture of the remaining elements of
the German Seventh Army.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tractable>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
565:
Justinian the Great deposed Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople,
after he refused the Byzantine Emperor's order to adopt the tenets of
the Aphthartodocetae, a sect of Monophysites.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Eutychius_of_Constantinople>
1879:
Anglo-Zulu War: In the greatest British military defeat at the hands of
native forces in history, Zulu forces of King Cetshwayo fought to a
decisive victory at the Battle of Isandlwana.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Isandlwana>
1919:
The Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National
Republic signed the Act Zluky in Kiev, an agreement aimed at creating a
unified Ukrainian state, although both governments retained their own
separate armies, administrations and government structure.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Zluky>
1946:
Iran Crisis: The Republic of Mahabad declared its independence, seeking
autonomy for the Kurds within Iran.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Mahabad>
1973:
The U.S. Supreme Court delivered its decision in the landmark case Roe
v. Wade, striking down laws restricting abortion during the first six
to seven months of pregnancy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_v._Wade>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
inane (adj):
Lacking sense or meaning (often implying, "to the point of boredom or
annoyance")
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inane>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Honor is, or should be, the place of virtue and as in nature, things
move violently to their place, and calmly in their place, so virtue in
ambition is violent, in authority settled and calm. All rising to great
place is by a winding stair; and if there be factions, it is good to
side a man's self, whilst he is in the rising, and to balance himself
when he is placed.
--Francis Bacon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon>