100px|Abbas Kiarostami at the 65th Venice Film Festival in 2008
Abbas Kiarostami (born 1940) is an internationally acclaimed Iranian
film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active
filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films,
including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical
acclaim for directing the Koker Trilogy (1987–94), Taste of Cherry
(1997), and The Wind Will Carry Us (1999). Kiarostami has worked
extensively as a screenwriter, film editor, art director and producer
and has designed credit titles and publicity material. He is also a
poet, photographer, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.
Kiarostami is part of a generation of filmmakers in the Iranian New
Wave, a Persian cinema movement that started in the late 1960s and
includes pioneering directors such as Forough Farrokhzad, Sohrab Shahid
Saless, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Bahram Beizai, and Parviz Kimiavi. The
filmmakers share many common techniques including the use of poetic
dialogue and allegorical storytelling dealing with political and
philosophical issues. Kiarostami has a reputation for using child
protagonists, for documentary style narrative films, for stories that
take place in rural villages, and for conversations that unfold inside
cars, using stationary mounted cameras. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1600:
Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, best-known as a proponent of
heliocentrism and the infinity of the universe, was burned at the stake
as a heretic by the Roman Inquisition.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno>
1859:
The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was
manned by 1,000 Nguyễn Dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon
and other regions of southern Vietnam.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_of_Saigon>
1862:
American Civil War: The Union Army captured Columbia, South Carolina,
and began burning it to the ground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Columbia>
1913:
In the U.S. National Guard's 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, the
Armory Show opened, introducing Americans to avant-garde and modern
art.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armory_Show>
2006:
A massive landslide in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte
killed over 1,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Southern_Leyte_mudslide>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ultracrepidarian (adj):
Of a critic, giving opinions on something beyond his or her knowledge
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ultracrepidarian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
88px
I understand Being in all and over all, as there is nothing without
participation in Being, and there is no being without Essence. Thus
nothing can be free of the Divine Presence.
--Giordano Bruno
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno>
100px|Spanish Leopard 2E in Madrid, October 2006
The Leopard 2E is a variant of the German Leopard 2 main battle tank,
tailored to the requirements of the Spanish Army, which acquired it as
part of an armament modernization program named Program Armor. The
acquisition program for the Leopard 2E began in 1994, five years after
the cancellation of the Lince tank program that culminated in an
agreement to transfer 108 Leopard 2A4s to the Spanish Army in 1998 and
started the local production of the Leopard 2E in December 2003.
Despite postponement of production due to the 2003 merger between Santa
Bárbara Sistemas and General Dynamics and continued fabrication issues
between 2006 and 2007, 219 Leopard 2Es have been delivered to the
Spanish Army. The Leopard 2E is a major improvement over the M60 Patton
tank, which it replaced in Spain's mechanized and armored units. Its
development represented a total of 2.6 million hours worth of work,
9,600 of them in Germany, at a total cost of 1.9 billion euros. This
makes it one of the most expensive Leopard 2s built. It has thicker
armor on the turret and glacis plate than the German Leopard 2A6, and
uses a Spanish-designed tank command and control system, similar to the
one fitted in German Leopard 2s. The Leopard 2E is expected to remain
in service until 2025. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1804:
United States Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a raid to destroy the
captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli, denying her use to the Barbary
States in the First Barbary War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Decatur>
1918:
The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania,
proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania governed by
democratic principles, despite the presence of German troops in the
country during World War I.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania>
1946:
The Sikorsky S-51, the first helicopter to be built for civilian
instead of military use, made its first flight.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_H-5>
1977:
Archbishop Janani Luwum of the Church of Uganda, a leading voice
against the regime of Idi Amin, was arrested for treason and murdered
the next day.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janani_Luwum>
1983:
The Ash Wednesday fires burned 513,979 acres (2,080 km2) in South
Australia and 518,921 acres (2,100 km2) in Victoria, killing 75 people
and injuring 2,676 others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_fires>
1985:
"The Hizballah Program" was released, describing the ideology and goals
of the Shia Islamic political and paramilitary organization Hizballah.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology_of_Hezbollah>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
dandification (n):
The condition or state of a man who is overly concerned about his
clothes and appearance
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dandification>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
88px
Knowledge of human nature is the beginning and end of political
education.
--Henry Adams
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams>
Tom Driberg (1905–1976) was a British journalist and politician who was
a Labour Party MP between 1942 and 1974. On retirement he was raised to
the peerage, with the title of Baron Bradwell. After his death,
allegations were published about his long-term role as an MI5
informant, or a KGB agent, or both; however, the extent of his
involvement with these agencies remains uncertain. Driberg never held
ministerial office, although he rose to senior positions within the
Labour Party and was a popular and influential figure in left-wing
politics for many years. After leaving Christ Church, Oxford, in 1927
he joined the Daily Express and in 1933 began the "William Hickey"
society column; he later contributed regularly to various left-leaning
journals. As a biographer his subjects included the press baron Lord
Beaverbrook and the fugitive British diplomat Guy Burgess. Driberg was
a practising homosexual whose risky and often brazen behaviour
frequently shocked or amused his colleagues. His friends included
respected figures from literature and politics alongside outsiders such
as the black magic practitioner Aleister Crowley and the Kray twins.
Throughout his life he maintained an unvarying devotion to
Anglo-Catholicism. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1898:
The United States Navy battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in
Havana, Cuba, killing more than 260 people and precipitating the
Spanish–American War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_%28ACR-1%29>
1900:
Second Boer War: British cavalry under Major-General John French
defeated Boer forces to end a 124-day siege of Kimberley, present-day
South Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kimberley>
1989:
The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had
withdrawn from Afghanistan after a nine-year conflict.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan>
1995:
Kevin Mitnick, the most wanted computer hacker in the United States at
the time, was arrested and charged with computer fraud and wire fraud.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mitnick>
2005:
Three former PayPal employees launched the popular website YouTube,
where individuals and companies can upload, view and share videos.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Cisatlantic (adj):
Situated on the same side of the Atlantic Ocean
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Cisatlantic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Religion will not regain its old power until it can face change in the
same spirit as does science. Its principles may be eternal, but the
expression of those principles requires continual development.
--Alfred North Whitehead
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead>
{| align="left" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; background-color:
#f9f9f9; width: 95px;"
|-
| align="center"|60px|alt=Gabriel Fauré |Gabriel Fauré in
1896
<small>Play the "Berceuse" from Dolly</small>
85px|Listen
|}
The
piano music of Gabriel Fauré is among his best known work. Written
between the 1860s and the 1920s, Fauré's major sets of piano works are
13 nocturnes, 13 barcarolles, six impromptus and four valses-caprices.
These sets display the change in his style, over the decades, from
uncomplicated youthful charm to a final enigmatic but sometimes fiery
introspection, by way of a turbulent period in his middle years. His
other notable piano pieces, including shorter works, or collections
composed or published as a set, are Romances sans paroles, Ballade in
F♯ major, Mazurka in B♭ major, Thème et variations in C♯ major, and
Huit pièces brèves. For piano duet, Fauré composed the Dolly Suite and,
together with his friend and former pupil André Messager, an exuberant
parody of Wagner in the short suite Souvenirs de Bayreuth. Much of the
ambidextrous Fauré's piano music is difficult to play, but it is rarely
virtuoso in style. The composer disliked showy display, and the
predominant characteristic of his piano music is a classical restraint
and understatement. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1542:
Catherine Howard , the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, was
executed for adultery.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Howard>
1880:
American inventor Thomas Edison observed the Edison effect, which later
formed the basis of vacuum tube diodes designed by English electrical
engineer John Ambrose Fleming.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermionic_emission>
1970:
The English rock band Black Sabbath released their eponymous debut
album, which is recognised as the first major album to be credited with
the development of the heavy metal genre.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath_%28album%29>
1981:
Sewer explosions caused by the ignition of hexane vapors destroyed more
than two miles (3 km) of streets in Louisville, Kentucky, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville_sewer_explosions>
2010:
A terrorist bombing at a bakery popular among foreigners in Pune,
India, killed 17 people and injured 60 more.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Pune_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
ventripotent (adj):
1. Having a big belly.
2. [[gluttonous
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ventripotent>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
188px
He could not be captured,
He could not be bought,
His running was
rhythm,
His standing was thought;
With one eye on sorrow
And one eye on
mirth,
He galloped in heaven
And gambolled on earth.
And only the poet
With wings to his brain
Can mount him and ride him
Without any rein,
The stallion of
heaven,
The steed of the skies,
The horse of the singer
Who sings as he
flies.
--Eleanor Farjeon
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eleanor_Farjeon>
100px|Trevor Linden playing for the Vancouver Canucks
Trevor Linden (born 1970) is a retired Canadian professional ice
hockey player. He played centre and right wing with four different
teams: the Vancouver Canucks (in two stints), New York Islanders,
Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals. In addition to appearing
in two NHL All-Star Games, Linden was a member of the 1998 Canadian
Olympic team and participated in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Throughout his career, Linden has been recognized as a respected leader
on and off the ice. He was named captain of the Canucks at the age of
21, making him one of the youngest captains in league history. While
captaining the Canucks, Linden led the team to within a game of winning
the Stanley Cup in 1994. It was during this time that he began to be
called Captain Canuck. In 1998 he was elected President of the National
Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), a position he held for
eight years. As President, he played an instrumental role in the
2004–05 NHL lockout, including negotiations with league owners. After
19 seasons in the NHL, Linden retired on June 11, 2008, twenty years to
the day after he was drafted into the NHL. Linden's jersey number 16
was retired by the Canucks on December 17, 2008, the second number
retired by the team. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1250:
Seventh Crusade: After three days of fighting, the Ayyubids
successfully defended Al Mansurah, Egypt, from invading crusaders.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Al_Mansurah>
1826:
University College London was founded as the first secular university
in England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_College_London>
1858:
Fourteen-year-old peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous reported the first
of eighteen Marian apparitions in Lourdes, France, resulting in the
town becoming a major site for pilgrimages by Catholics.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes_apparitions>
1919:
Friedrich Ebert was elected the first President of the German Weimar
Republic by the Weimar National Assembly.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ebert>
1990:
Anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27
years, was released from Victor Verster Prison near Paarl, South
Africa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
thin-film interference (n):
(optics) [[interference
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thin-film_interference>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I was sixteen years old when the first World War broke out, and I lived
at that time in Hungary. From reading the newspapers in Hungary, it
would have appeared that, whatever Austria and Germany did was right
and whatever England, France, Russia, or America did was wrong. A good
case could be made out for this general thesis, in almost every single
instance. It would have been difficult for me to prove, in any single
instance, that the newspapers were wrong, but somehow, it seemed to me
unlikely that the two nations located in the center of Europe should be
invariably right, and that all the other nations should be invariably
wrong. History, I reasoned, would hardly operate in such a peculiar
fashion, and it didn't take long until I began to hold views which were
diametrically opposed to those held by the majority of my schoolmates.
--Leó Szilárd
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Szil%C3%A1rd>
100px|Willow Lake, located in the Big Butte Creek watershed
Big Butte Creek is a 12-mile (19 km) long tributary of the Rogue
River located in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately 245
square miles (630 km2) of Jackson County. The north fork of the creek
begins on Rustler Peak and the south fork's headwaters are near Mount
McLoughlin. They meet near Butte Falls, and Big Butte Creek flows
generally northwest until it empties into the Rogue River about 1 mile
(1.6 km) southwest of Lost Creek Dam (William L. Jess Dam). Big Butte
Creek's watershed was originally settled over 8,000 years ago by the
Klamath, Upper Umpqua, and Takelma tribes of Native Americans. In the
Rogue River Wars of the 1850s, most of the Native Americans were either
killed or forced into Indian reservations. The first non-indigenous
settlers arrived in the 1860s, and the area was quickly developed. The
creek was named after Snowy Butte, an early name for Mount McLoughlin.
In the late 19th century, the watershed was primarily used for
agriculture and logging. The small city of Butte Falls was incorporated
in 1911. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1862:
American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroyed the bulk of the
Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the
Pasquotank River in North Carolina.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Elizabeth_City>
1936:
Second Italo-Abyssinian War: The Battle of Amba Aradam began and ended
nine days later in a decisive tactical victory for Italy and the
neutralisation of almost the entire Ethiopian army as a fighting force.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amba_Aradam>
1962:
"Rudolf Abel", a Soviet spy arrested by the FBI, was exchanged for Gary
Powers, the pilot of the CIA spy plane that had been shot down over
Soviet airspace two years earlier.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilyam_Genrikhovich_Fisher>
2008:
An arson fire severely damaged the Namdaemun gate in Seoul, the first
of South Korea's National Treasures.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Namdaemun_fire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
love goggles (pl n):
(idiomatic, plurale tantum) Blindness to criticism or objectivity
directed at a person that one is in love with
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/love_goggles>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Let nothing be called natural
In an age of bloody confusion,
Ordered disorder, planned caprice,
And dehumanized humanity, lest all things
Be held unalterable!
--Bertolt Brecht
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertolt_Brecht>
100px|Frederick Russell Burnham in 1901
Frederick Russell Burnham (1861–1947) was an American scout and world
traveling adventurer known for his service to the British Army in
colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell, thus
becoming one of the inspirations for the founding of the international
Scouting Movement. Burnham had little formal education, attending high
school but never graduating. He began his career at 14 in the American
Southwest as a scout and tracker for the U.S. Army in the Apache Wars
and Cheyenne Wars. Sensing the Old West was getting too tame, as an
adult Burnham went to Africa where this background proved useful. He
soon became an officer in the British Army, serving in several battles
there. During this time, Burnham became friends with Baden-Powell, and
passed on to him both his outdoor skills and his spirit for what would
later become known as Scouting. Burnham eventually moved on to become
involved in espionage, oil, conservation, writing and business. His
descendants are still active in Scouting. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1825:
After no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes,
the U.S. House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams>
1913:
A group of meteors was visible across much of the eastern seaboard of
North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had
been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_procession_of_February_9%2C_1913>
1945:
World War II: HMS Venturer sank U-864 in history's only incident where
one submarine has intentionally sunk another while both were fully
submerged.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_9_February_1945>
1959:
The Soviet R-7 Semyorka, the world's first intercontinental ballistic
missile, became fully operational.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R-7_Semyorka>
1971:
A 6.6 Mw earthquake struck the northern San Fernando Valley near the
Los Angeles district of Sylmar, killing 65 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_San_Fernando_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
twitcher (n):
(informal) A compulsive bird watcher, travelling long distances to see
rare species
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/twitcher>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
thou goest.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift,
nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet
riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but
time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his
time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds
that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil
time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
--Ecclesiastes
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes>
100px|Stone Chariot at the Vitthala Temple in Hampi
The Vijayanagara Empire was an empire based in South Indian in the
Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his
brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to
prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers against
Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. It lasted until 1646
although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by
the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its capital city of
Vijayanagara (pictured), whose impressive ruins surround modern Hampi,
now a World Heritage Site in modern Karnataka, India. The writings of
medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes and
Niccolò Da Conti and the literature in local vernaculars provide
crucial information about its history. The empire's legacy includes
many monuments spread over South India, the best known being the group
at Hampi. Secular royal structures show the influence of the Northern
Deccan Sultanate architecture. Efficient administration and vigorous
overseas trade brought new technologies like water management systems
for irrigation. The empire's patronage enabled fine arts and literature
to reach new heights in the languages of Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and
Sanskrit, while Carnatic music evolved into its current form. The
Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in South Indian history that
transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor.
(more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1887:
The Dawes Act, a law meant to help the assimilation of Native Americans
into American society but ended up having a negative effect instead,
was signed by President Grover Cleveland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawes_Act>
1915:
Film director D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was released,
becoming one of the most influential and controversial films in the
history of American cinema.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_a_Nation>
1950:
The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, was established.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi>
1965:
After taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision just after
takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Eastern
Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and exploded,
killing all 84 people on board.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_663>
2010:
A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggered a
series of at least 36 avalanches, that buried over two miles (3.2 km)
of road, killed at least 172 people and trapped over 2,000 travellers.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Salang_avalanches>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hypocoristic (adj):
Pertaining to a nickname, usually indicating intimacy with the person
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hypocoristic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is no wealth but life. Life, including all its powers of love, of
joy, and of admiration. That country is the richest which nourishes the
greatest numbers of noble and happy human beings; that man is richest,
who, having perfected the functions of his own life to the utmost, has
also the widest helpful influence, both personal, and by means of his
possessions, over the lives of others.
--John Ruskin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Ruskin>
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the pilot episode of the animated
television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the
United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child
protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny
McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being
abducted by aliens. At the time of the writing of the episode, South
Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone did not yet have a series
contract with Comedy Central. Short on money, the creators animated the
episode using paper cutout stop motion technique, similarly to the
short films that were the precursors to the series. As such, "Cartman
Gets an Anal Probe" remains the only South Park episode animated
largely without the use of computer technology. Part of a reaction to
the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, South
Park is deliberately offensive. Much of the show's humor, and of
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", arises from the juxtaposition of the
seeming innocence of childhood and the violent, crude behavior
exhibited by the main characters. The episode also exemplifies the
carnivalesque, which includes humor, bodily excess, linguistic games
that challenge official discourse, and the inversion of social
structures. Initial reviews of the episode were generally negative;
critics singled out the gratuitous obscenity of the show for particular
scorn. Regarding the amount of obscenities in the episode, Parker later
commented that they felt "pressure" to live up to the earlier shorts
which first made the duo popular. (more...)
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_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1904:
The Great Baltimore Fire in Maryland began, and would destroy over
1,500 buildings in 30 hours.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Baltimore_Fire>
1907:
Over 3,000 women trudged through the cold and the rutty streets of
London in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, to advocate for women's
suffrage.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_March_%28Suffragists%29>
1943:
World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from Guadalcanal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ke>
1986:
President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country after a
popular uprising, ending 28 years of one-family rule in the nation.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Duvalier>
1995:
Ramzi Yousef , one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade
Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was
arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzi_Yousef>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
senescence (n):
The state or process of ageing, especially in humans; old age
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/senescence>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
In no victory do they glory so much as in that which is gained by
dexterity and good conduct without bloodshed. In such cases they
appoint public triumphs, and erect trophies to the honour of those who
have succeeded; for then do they reckon that a man acts suitably to his
nature, when he conquers his enemy in such a way as that no other
creature but a man could be capable of, and that is by the strength of
his understanding.
--Thomas More
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_More>
100px|Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg prior to 1915
Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854–1921) was a German prince related to
the British Royal Family. After a career in the United Kingdom's Royal
Navy lasting over forty years, in 1912 he was appointed First Sea Lord,
the professional head of the British naval service. He took steps to
ready the British fleet for combat as World War I began, but his
background as a German prince forced his retirement at the start of the
war when anti-German feeling was running high. Queen Victoria and her
son King Edward VII, when Prince of Wales, occasionally intervened in
his career—the Queen thought that there was "a belief that the
Admiralty are afraid of promoting Officers who are Princes on account
of the radical attacks of low papers and scurrilous ones". However,
Louis welcomed battle assignments that provided opportunities for him
to acquire the skills of war and to demonstrate to his superiors that
he was serious about his naval career. Posts on royal yachts and tours
arranged by the Queen and Edward actually impeded his progress, as his
promotions were perceived as royal favours rather than deserved. He
married a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and was the father of Earl
Mountbatten, who also served as First Sea Lord from 1954 to 1959.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II, is his
grandson. (more...)
Recently featured: Titania – Richard Barre – Pathways into
Darkness
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Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Louis_of_Battenberg>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1819:
British official Stamford Raffles signed a treaty with Sultan Hussein
Shah of Johor, establishing Singapore as a trading post for the British
East India Company.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_of_modern_Singapore>
1833:
Otto became the first modern King of Greece.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_of_Greece>
1922:
Britain, France, Japan, Italy and the United States signed the
Washington Naval Treaty to avoid a naval arms race.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Naval_Treaty>
1952:
Elizabeth II ascended to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and three other Commonwealth countries upon the
death of her father, George VI.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II>
1976:
In testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, Lockheed president Carl
Kotchian admitted that the company had paid out approximately
US$3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei
Tanaka.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_bribery_scandals>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
acculture (v):
To familiarize oneself with, and adopt a new culture, especially by an
immigrant
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acculture>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world
peace, and that use of force is always and only a last resort, when
everything else has failed, and then only with regard to our national
security.
--Ronald Reagan
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan>