120px|Dr. Heiter attempts to 'train' his completed human centipede.
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) is a 2010 Dutch body horror film
written and directed by Tom Six. The film tells the story of a German
doctor who kidnaps three tourists and joins them surgically, mouth to
anus, forming a "human centipede". It stars Dieter Laser as the
villain, Dr. Heiter, with Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, and
Akihiro Kitamura as his victims. According to Six, the concept of the
film arose from a joke he made with friends about punishing child
molesters by stitching their mouths to the anus of a "fat truck
driver." Six also stated that inspiration for the film came from Nazi
medical experiments carried out during World War II, such as the
actions of Josef Mengele at Auschwitz concentration camp. When
approaching investors prior to filming, Six did not mention the
mouth-to-anus aspect of the plot, fearing it would put off potential
backers. The financiers of The Human Centipede did not discover the
full nature of the film until it was complete. The film received mixed
reviews from mainstream film critics, but it won several accolades at
international film festivals. The film was released in the United
States on a limited release theatrically on 30 April. A sequel, The
Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence), also written and directed by Six,
was released in 2011. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1517:
According to traditional accounts, Martin Luther first posted his
Ninety-Five Theses onto the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg,
present-day Germany, marking the beginning of the Protestant
Reformation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther>
1864:
Nevada was admitted as the 36th U.S. state, in part to help ensure
Abraham Lincoln's re-election as President of the United States eight
days later.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada>
1941:
More than 101 crew members of the USS Reuben James perished when their
vessel became the first United States Navy ship sunk by hostile action
during World War II after it was torpedoed by the German submarine
U-552.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Reuben_James_%28DD-245%29>
1973:
Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escaped from Mountjoy
Prison in Dublin after a hijacked helicopter landed in the prison's
exercise yard.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_Mountjoy_Prison_helicopter_escape>
1999:
All 217 people on board EgyptAir Flight 990 were killed when the
aircraft suddenly plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of
Nantucket, Massachusetts.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_990>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
etiolate (v):
1. To make pale through lack of light, especially of a plant.
2. To make a person pale and sickly-looking
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/etiolate>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand
voices
They pass by the bridge and me.
--Loreena McKennitt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Loreena_McKennitt>
125px|Old Trafford after its most recent expansion
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football
club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the
Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the
club earned its first FA Cup victory on 30 October 1886. The club
changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford
(pictured) in 1910. In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby,
Manchester United was the first English football club to win the
European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster that claimed the
lives of eight players. The current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has won
37 major honours since he took over in November 1986. Manchester United
has won more titles than any other club in English football: 53
domestic trophies, a record 19 league titles, a record 11 FA Cups, four
League Cups and 19 FA Charity/Community Shields. The club has also been
successful globally, winning seven international titles: three European
Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one
Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club
won a "Treble" of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Cup.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1226:
Tran Thu Do, head of the Tran clan of Vietnam, forced Ly Hue Tong, the
last emperor of the Ly dynasty, to commit suicide.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tran_Thu_Do>
1863:
Seventeen-year-old Danish Prince Vilhelm arrived in Athens to become
George I , King of Greece.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_I_of_Greece>
1960:
Surgeon and scientist Michael Woodruff performed the first successful
kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at The Royal Infirmary of
Edinburgh.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Woodruff>
1961:
The Soviet hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba was detonated over Novaya Zemlya
Island in the Arctic Ocean as a test. With a yield of around 50
megatons, it is the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar_Bomba>
1991:
The Madrid Conference, an attempt by the international community to
start a peace process through negotiations involving Israel and the
Arab countries, convened in Madrid, Spain.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid_Conference_of_1991>
1995:
In a referendum, 50.58 percent of voters supported the province of
Quebec remaining a part of Canada, narrowly averting sovereignty.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_independence_referendum%2C_1995>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Mediterraneanize (v):
to make (someone or something) Mediterranean in behaviour or style
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mediterraneanize>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
As to the history of the revolution, my ideas may be peculiar, perhaps
singular. What do we mean by the Revolution? The war? That was no part
of the revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The
revolution was in the minds of the people.
--John Adams
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Adams>
90px|Lester Brain
Lester Brain (1903–1980) was a pioneer Australian aviator and airline
executive. Born in New South Wales, he trained with the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF) before joining Qantas as a pilot in 1924.
He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1929, after locating the lost
aircraft Kookaburra in northern Australia. As a member of the RAAF
reserve, Brain coordinated his airline's support for the Australian
military during World War II. He earned a King's Commendation for his
rescue efforts during an air raid on Broome, Western Australia in 1942,
and was promoted to wing commander in 1944. Brain left Qantas to join
the fledgling government-owned domestic carrier Trans Australia
Airlines (TAA) in June 1946. Appointed its first General Manager, he
swiftly built up the organisation to the stage where it could commence
scheduled operations later in the year. By the time he resigned in
March 1955, TAA was firmly established as one half of the Commonwealth
government's two-airline system. After his departure from TAA, Brain
became Managing Director of de Havilland Aircraft in Sydney, before
joining the board of East-West Airlines as a consultant in January
1961. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1979,
Lester Brain died in June the following year, at the age of
seventy-seven. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1929:
About 16 million shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange on
"Black Tuesday", a record that stood for almost 40 years, making a
total of $30 billion that had been lost over two days.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929>
1986:
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opened the last segment of the
M25 motorway, an orbital road encircling London that is one of the
world's longest.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M25_motorway>
1991:
Galileo became the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid when it made a
flyby of 951 Gaspra .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/951_Gaspra>
1998:
Four teenagers who were denied entry to a discothèque in Gothenburg,
Sweden, set it on fire, killing 63 patrons and injuring over 200
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg_discoth%C3%A8que_fire>
1999:
About 15,000 people died when a supercyclone hit the Indian state of
Orissa near the city of Bhubaneswar.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Orissa_cyclone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
nom de Web (n):
A pseudonym used when publishing on the World Wide Web
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nom_de_Web>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you're a leader, you don't push wet spaghetti, you pull it. The U.S.
Army still has to learn that. The British understand it. Patton
understood it. I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard
was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages.
Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I
certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his
men out of their foxholes.
--Bill Mauldin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bill_Mauldin>
90px|The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty
Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated
on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the
people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas,
the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a
tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of American
independence. It has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the
United States. Fundraising for the statue proved difficult, especially
for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the statue's pedestal was
threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World
initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the
campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less
than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas
in crates, and reassembled on the completed pedestal on what was then
called Bedloe's Island. Its completion was marked by New York's first
ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President
Grover Cleveland. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1664:
The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, the forerunner
to the Royal Marines, was established at the grounds of the Honourable
Artillery Company in London.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Marines>
1835:
Māori chiefs signed the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand
and established the United Tribes of New Zealand.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_the_Independence_of_New_Zealand>
1928:
Indonesian composer Wage Rudolf Supratman introduced "Indonesia Raya",
now the country's national anthem.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia_Raya>
1965:
In St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot (190 m) tall parabolic steel
Gateway Arch was completed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch>
1995:
The world's deadliest subway disaster took place in Baku, Azerbaijan,
when an electrical malfunction caused a fire that killed 289 passengers
and injured 265 more.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Baku_Metro_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cornhusking (n):
Removal of the husk from corn
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cornhusking>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Paradoxically, the man who has failed and one who is at the peak of
success are in exactly the same position. Each must decide what he will
do next, choose the course that will lead him to the future.
--Jigoro Kano
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jigoro_Kano>
Rudolph Cartier (1904–1994) was an Austrian television director who
worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC. He
is best known for his 1950s collaborations with screenwriter Nigel
Kneale, most notably the Quatermass serials and their 1954 adaptation
of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. After studying
architecture and then drama, Cartier's initial career was as a
screenwriter and then film director in Berlin, working for UFA Studios.
After a brief spell in the United States he moved to the United Kingdom
in the 1930s, and began working for BBC Television in 1952. He went on
to produce and direct over 120 productions in the next 24 years, ending
his television career with the play Loyalties in 1976. Active in both
dramatic programming and opera, Cartier won the equivalent of a BAFTA
in 1957 for his work in the former, and one of his operatic productions
was given an award at the 1962 Salzburg Festival. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1838:
Governor of Missouri Lilburn Boggs issued the Mormon Extermination
Order, ordering all Mormons to leave the state or be killed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Executive_Order_44>
1916:
Supporters of deposed Ethiopian Emperor-designate Lij Iyasu were
defeated at the Battle of Segale, ending their attempt to restore him
to the throne.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Segale>
1944:
World War II: German forces captured Banská Bystrica, the center of
anti-Nazi opposition in Slovakia, bringing the Slovak National Uprising
to an end.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bansk%C3%A1_Bystrica>
1958:
General Ayub Khan deposed Iskander Mirza in a bloodless coup d'état to
become the second President of Pakistan, less than three weeks after
Mirza had appointed him the enforcer of martial law.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayub_Khan_%28Field_Marshal%29>
1981:
Cold War: Soviet Whiskey-class submarine U137 ran aground near Sweden's
Karlskrona naval base, sparking an international incident termed
"Whiskey on the rocks".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_S-363>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
wife-beating question (noun):
A question which presupposes some controversial premise, such that it
cannot be directly answered without incriminating oneself; a loaded
question
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wife-beating_question>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
No man is justified in doing evil on the grounds of expediency.
--Theodore Roosevelt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt>
85px
The Northern Bald Ibis is a migratory bird found in barren,
semi-desert or rocky habitats, often near running water. This 70–80 cm
(28–31 in) glossy black ibis has an unfeathered red face and head, and
a long, curved red bill. Unlike other members of the ibis family, it
does not wade. Breeding takes place in colonies on coastal or mountain
cliff ledges, where it typically lays 2–3 eggs in a stick nest, and
feeds on lizards, insects, and other small animals. The Northern Bald
Ibis was once widespread across the Middle East, northern Africa, and
southern Europe, with a fossil record dating back at least 1.8 million
years. It disappeared from Europe over 300 years ago, and is now
considered critically endangered. There are believed to be about 500
wild birds remaining in southern Morocco, and fewer than 10 in Syria,
where it was rediscovered in 2002. To combat these ebbing numbers,
recent reintroduction programs have been instituted internationally,
with a semi-wild breeding colony in Turkey, as well as sites in
Austria, Spain, and northern Morocco. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1881:
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of the most famous gunfights in
the history of the American Old West, took place in Tombstone, Arizona,
between the faction of Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton's gang.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral>
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy won a Pyrrhic victory in the
Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands>
1947:
Maharaja Hari Singh, ruler of Kashmir and Jammu, executed the
Instrument of Accession to accede the princely state to the newly
created India.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir_and_Jammu_%28princely_state%29>
1985:
The Australian government returned ownership of Uluru, also known as
Ayers Rock, to the local Pitjantjatjara people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru>
2000:
Laurent Gbagbo became the first President of Côte d'Ivoire since
Robert Guéï was thrown out of power during the 1999 Ivorian coup
d'état.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent_Gbagbo>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
antihero (n):
(literature) A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as
by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antihero>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Strategy is a system of expedients; it is more than a mere scholarly
discipline. It is the translation of knowledge to practical life, the
improvement of the original leading thought in accordance with
continually changing situations.
--Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Helmuth_von_Moltke_the_Elder>
120px|HMAS Australia
HMAS Australia was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers
built for the defence of the British Empire. She was launched in 1911,
and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy
(RAN) in 1913. At the start of World War I, Australia was tasked with
finding and destroying the German East Asia Squadron, which was
prompted to withdraw from the Pacific by the battlecruiser's presence.
Repeated diversions to support the capture of German colonies in New
Guinea and Samoa, as well as an overcautious Admiralty, prevented the
battlecruiser from engaging the German squadron before the latter's
destruction. Australia was then assigned to North Sea operations, which
consisted primarily of patrols and exercises, until the end of the war.
During this time, Australia was involved in early attempts at naval
aviation, and 11 of her personnel participated in the Zeebrugge Raid.
Post-war budget cuts saw Australia's role downgraded to a training ship
before she was placed in reserve in 1921. The disarmament provisions of
the Washington Naval Treaty required the destruction of Australia as
part of Britain's commitment, and she was scuttled off Sydney Heads in
1924. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1861:
The Toronto Stock Exchange, the stock exchange with the most mining and
petrochemical companies listed in the world, was established.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Stock_Exchange>
1875:
The first performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, one of his
most popular compositions, was given in Boston with Hans von Bülow as
soloist.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._1_%28Tchaikovsky%29>
1920:
Irish playwright and politician Terence MacSwiney died after 74 days on
hunger strike in Brixton Prison, bringing the Irish struggle for
independence to international attention.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_MacSwiney>
1983:
The United States and Caribbean allies invaded Grenada, six days after
Bernard Coard seized power in a violent coup d'état.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada>
1997:
Denis Sassou Nguesso seized the presidency of the Republic of the Congo
after ousting Pascal Lissouba after the first phase of the Congolese
civil war.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Sassou_Nguesso>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
verily (adv):
1. Truly, doubtlessly, in truth.
2. Confidently, certainly
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/verily>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne.
Th’ assay so hard, so sharp the conquerynge,
The dredful joye,
alwey that slit so yerne;
Al this mene I be love.
--Geoffrey Chaucer
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Chaucer>
120px|The Political Cesspool logo
The Political Cesspool is a weekly talk radio show founded by James
Edwards, and syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio
Network. First broadcast in October 2004 twice a week from radio
station WMQM, it is broadcast on Saturday nights on WLRM, a Christian
radio station in Millington, Tennessee. Its sponsors include the white
separatist Council of Conservative Citizens and the Institute for
Historical Review, a Holocaust denial group. According to its statement
of principles, the show stands for the "Dispossessed Majority" and
represents "a philosophy that is pro-White." It has attracted criticism
from multiple organizations for its promotion of anti-semitic, white
nationalist and white supremacist views. The show features Edwards and
his co-hosts Bill Rolen, Winston Smith, Keith Alexander, and Eddie
Miller, as well as producer Art Frith. Its guests have included author
Jerome Corsi, Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist, former
Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, actor Sonny
Landham, British National Party leader Nick Griffin, Vermont
secessionist Thomas Naylor, and paleoconservative activist Pat
Buchanan. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, was assassinated by a fellow Mamluk
leader, Baibars, who then seized power for himself.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutuz>
1861:
The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States was
completed from Omaha, Nebraska, to Carson City, Nevada, spelling the
end of the Pony Express.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Telegraph>
1912:
First Balkan War: Serbian forces defeated the Ottoman army at the
Battle of Kumanovo in Vardar Macedonia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kumanovo>
1931:
The George Washington Bridge, today considered one of the world's
busiest bridges in terms of vehicle traffic, connecting New York City
to Fort Lee, New Jersey, was dedicated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
miniver (n):
A light gray or white fur used to trim the robes of judges or state
executives, used since medieval times.
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miniver>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Courage is not the absence of fear but the awareness that something
else is more important.
--Stephen Covey
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Covey>
Calabozos is a Holocene caldera in the Maule Region in central Chile.
Part of the Chilean Andes' volcanic segment, it is considered a member
of the Southern Volcanic Zone. This most active section of the Andes
runs through central and western Chile, and includes more than 70 of
Chile's stratovolcanoes and volcanic fields. Calabozos and the majority
of the Andean volcanoes formed from the subduction of the oceanic Nazca
Plate under the continental South American continental lithosphere. The
caldera is in a transitional region between thick and thin lithosphere,
and is probably supplied by a pool of andesitic and rhyolitic magma. It
sits on a historic bed of volcanic and plutonic sedimentary rock that
in turn sits on top of a layer of merged sedimentary and metamorphic
rock. Calabozos is responsible for the huge Loma Seca Tuff, a body of
material 200 cubic kilometres (48 cu mi) to 500 cubic kilometres
(120 cu mi) in volume. It accumulated over at least three eruptive
periods, beginning 800,000 years ago (0.8 mya) and lasting until
150,000 years ago (0.15 mya). The caldera's dimensions are 26
kilometres (16 mi) by 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), and it has an elevation
of 3,508 metres (11,509 ft). (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
425:
Valentinian III became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire at the age
of six.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_III>
1642:
The Battle of Edgehill, the first pitched battle of the First English
Civil War between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, was fought to
an inconclusive result near Edge Hill and Kineton in southern
Warwickshire.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Edgehill>
1739:
Great Britain declared war on Spain, starting the War of Jenkins' Ear.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Jenkins%27_Ear>
1956:
The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration
which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the
Parliament building.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Revolution_of_1956>
1983:
Lebanese Civil War: Suicide bombers destroyed two barracks in Beirut,
Lebanon, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and 58 French paratroopers of the
international peacekeeping force.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
palatal (adj):
1. (anatomy) Pertaining to the palate.
2. (dentistry, not comparable) Of an upper tooth, on the side facing
the palate.
3. (phonetics) Articulated at the hard palate
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palatal>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The best doctors found a middle position where they were neither
overwhelmed by their feelings nor estranged from them. That was the
most difficult position of all, and the precise balance — neither too
detached nor too caring — was something few learned.
--Michael Crichton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton>
The Liberal Movement was a minor South Australian political party in
the 1970s. Stemming from discontent within the ranks of the Liberal and
Country League, it was organised in 1972 by former premier Steele Hall
as an internal group in response to a perceived resistance to sought
reform within its parent. A year later, when tensions heightened
between the LCL's conservative wing and the LM, it was established in
its own right as a progressive liberal party. When still part of the
league, it had eleven parliamentarians; on its own, it was reduced to
three. In the federal election of 1974, it succeeded in having Hall
elected to the Australian Senate with a primary vote of 10 per cent in
South Australia. It built upon this in the 1975 state election, gaining
almost a fifth of the total vote and an additional member. However, the
non-Labor parties narrowly failed to dislodge the incumbent Dunstan
Labor government. That result, together with internal weaknesses, led
in 1976 to the LM's being re-absorbed into the LCL, which by then had
become the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia.
The LM and its successor parties gave voice to what is termed "small-l
liberalism" in Australia. (more...)
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Movement_%28Australia%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1707:
In one of the greatest maritime disasters in the history of the British
Isles, more than 1,400 sailors on four Royal Navy ships were lost in
stormy weather off the Isles of Scilly.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scilly_naval_disaster_of_1707>
1879:
Thomas Edison performed a successful test using a carbon filament
thread in an incandescent light bulb , which would become the most
successful version of the product.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/incandescent_light_bulb>
1907:
A bank run forced New York's Knickerbocker Trust Company to suspend
operations, which triggered the Panic of 1907.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1907>
1962:
Cold War: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced that Soviet nuclear
weapons had been discovered in Cuba and that he had ordered a naval
"quarantine" of the island nation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis>
2008:
India launched Chandrayaan-1, the country's first unmanned lunar
mission.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
subduct (v):
1. (transitive) To draw or push under or below.
2. (intransitive) To move downwards underneath something.
3. (rare) To
remove; to deduct; to take away; to disregard
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/subduct>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Individual societies begin in harmonious adaptation to the environment
and, like individuals, quickly get trapped into nonadaptive,
artificial, repetitive sequences.
When the individual's behavior and consciousness get hooked to a
routine sequence of external actions, he is a dead robot, and it is
time for him to die and be reborn. Time to "drop out," "turn on," and
"tune in." This period of robotization is called the Kali Yuga, the Age
of Strife and Empire...
--Timothy Leary
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary>