The Battle of Warsaw was fought on 31 July 1705 as part of a power
struggle for the Polish–Lithuanian throne during the Great Northern
War. Augustus II the Strong, the elector of Saxony and king of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, was allied with Denmark–Norway and
Russia against Stanisław Leszczyński, who had seized the Polish throne
in 1704 with the support of the army of Charles XII of Sweden. The
Polish nobility of the Sandomierz Confederation supported Augustus and
his allies, while the Warsaw Confederation supported Leszczyński and
Sweden. Augustus helped to develop a grand strategy to crush the Swedish
forces and restore himself to the Polish throne, sending an allied army
of up to 10,000 cavalry under the command of Otto Arnold von Paykull
towards Warsaw to interrupt the Polish parliament. A 2,000-strong
Swedish cavalry contingent under the command of Carl Nieroth defeated
Paykull's army on the plains west of Warsaw, and Leszczyński was
crowned in early October.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_%281705%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
The Second Continental Congress passed a resolution
commissioning the Marquis de Lafayette as a major general in the
American revolutionary forces.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_du_Motier,_Marquis_de_Lafayette>
1941:
The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann
Göring authorised SS General Reinhard Heydrich to handle preparations
for "the Final Solution of the Jewish question".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Solution>
1975:
The Troubles: In a botched paramilitary attack, three members
of the popular Miami Showband and two Ulster Volunteer Force gunmen were
killed in County Down, Northern Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Showband_killings>
2002:
Hamas detonated a bomb at the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, killing nine students and injuring about 100
more.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_University_bombing>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
brach:
(chiefly hunting) Originally, a synonym of scent hound (“a hunting dog
that tracks prey using its sense of smell rather than by its vision”);
later, any female hound; a bitch hound. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brach>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
With some notable exceptions, businessmen favor free enterprise
in general but are opposed to it when it comes to themselves.
--Milton Friedman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman>
Scanners (Autumn/Winter 2003) was the twenty-second collection by
British fashion designer Alexander McQueen for his eponymous fashion
house. The collection is based on the idea of exiles travelling eastward
through northern Eurasia: Siberia, Tibet and finally Japan. The designs
borrow heavily from the traditional clothing and art of those areas, and
reflect an overall aesthetic of luxury, with voluminous silhouettes and
rich materials. Cultural motifs include heavy embroidery, traditional
patterns and kimono-like shapes. The runway show was staged at the
Grande halle de la Villette in Paris. The set was made to look like a
desolate tundra with rocks and snow. A clear plastic wind tunnel was
suspended over the runway for some models to walk through. Fifty-nine
looks were presented in roughly three stages, representing the journey
through each of Siberia, Tibet and Japan. Critical reception was mostly
positive and sales were strong.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanners_%28collection%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1930:
In Montevideo, the Uruguay national football team (team
pictured) won the inaugural FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 4–2 in
the final.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup_final>
1950:
At the height of a political crisis known as the royal
question, four workers were shot dead by the Belgian Gendarmerie at a
strike in Grâce-Berleur.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_question>
1975:
American labor-union leader Jimmy Hoffa disappeared after last
being seen outside a restaurant near Detroit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Hoffa>
2006:
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force attacked a three-story
building near the Lebanese village of Qana, killing at least 28
civilians, including 16 children.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Qana_airstrike>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hoolie:
1. (slang) Short for hooligan (“a young person who causes trouble or
violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group”).
2. (Ireland) Alternative spelling of hooley (“a noisy celebration or
party”).
3. (Scotland) Alternative spelling of hooley (“a strong wind”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoolie>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
They say that the devil is a charming man And just like you, I
bet he can dance.
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>
Gaetano Bresci (1869–1901) was an Italian anarchist who assassinated
King Umberto I of Italy. He became an anarchist after experiencing
exploitation in the workplace and later emigrated to the United States,
where he joined the Italian immigrant anarchist movement in Paterson,
New Jersey. News of the Bava Beccaris massacre motivated him to return
to Italy to assassinate Umberto. Bresci killed the king on 29 July
1900, during Umberto's scheduled appearance in Monza, amid a sparse
police presence. The government of Italy suspected that Bresci had been
a part of a conspiracy but no evidence was found to indicate that others
were involved. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and
confined on Santo Stefano Island, where he was found dead of an apparent
suicide the following year. After his death, Bresci became a martyr for
the Italian left-wing. He inspired the American anarchist Leon Czolgosz
to assassinate United States president William McKinley.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaetano_Bresci>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1567:
The infant James VI was crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_James_VI>
1914:
The first shots of World War I were fired by the Austro-
Hungarian river monitor Bodrog on Serbian defences near Belgrade.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Sava>
1950:
Korean War: Over fears that North Korean soldiers were
infiltrating refugee columns, U.S. forces concluded a four-day massacre
of hundreds of civilians through shootings and air attacks near the
village of Nogeun-ri.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Gun_Ri_massacre>
1981:
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million
watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (combined
coat of arms pictured) at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Prince_Charles_and_Lady_Diana_Spen…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fail-deadly:
(military) Of a nuclear weapons strategy: encouraging deterrence by
guaranteeing an automatic, immediate, and overwhelming response to an
attack, even if the command-and-control infrastructure has been damaged
by the enemy's first strike.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fail-deadly>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Those who invoke history will certainly be heard by history. And
they will have to accept its verdict.
--Dag Hammarskjöld
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dag_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld>
Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897) was an
American zoologist, paleontologist, comparative anatomist,
herpetologist, and ichthyologist. Born to a Quaker family, he published
his first scientific paper at age 19. He made regular trips to the
American West, prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s. A feud between Cope
and Othniel Charles Marsh led to an intense fossil-finding competition
called the Bone Wars. Cope's financial fortunes soured after failed
mining ventures in the 1880s, forcing him to sell much of his fossil
collection. His contributions helped to define the field of American
paleontology and wrote more than 1,400 published papers, although rivals
debated the accuracy of his rapidly published works. He discovered,
described, and named more than 1,000 vertebrate species, including
hundreds of fishes and dozens of dinosaurs. His proposal for the origin
of mammalian molars is notable among his theoretical contributions.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Drinker_Cope>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1915:
U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince to begin a nineteen-year
occupation of Haiti.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_Haiti>
1940:
At the Salzburg Conference, German dictator Adolf Hitler
demanded the replacement of much of Slovakia's cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburg_Conference>
2005:
Britain's costliest tornado struck Birmingham, injuring 39
people and causing £40 million of damage across the city.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Birmingham_tornado>
2010:
In the deadliest air accident in Pakistan's history, Airblue
Flight 202 crashed into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, killing
all 152 aboard.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airblue_Flight_202>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sort of:
1. (informal) Preceded by a (and sometimes also followed by a): of a
person, thing, etc.: similar but not identical to another person, thing,
etc.
2. (informal) Sometimes expressing hesitation, reluctance, etc.: to some
extent but not entirely; approximately, in a way, not quite, somewhat.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sort_of>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I'd like to take you now, on wings of song as it were, and try
and help you forget for a while your drab, wretched lives.
--Tom Lehrer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Lehrer>
Dick Cresswell (27 July 1920 – 12 December 2006) was an officer and
pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in Tasmania, he
joined the RAAF in July 1938. He commanded No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron
from April 1942 to August 1943, in Australia's North Western Area
Campaign, against Japanese raiders. He claimed the squadron's first
victory—the first by an Australian over the mainland—in
November 1942. He commanded No. 81 (Fighter) Wing from May 1944 to
March 1945, and simultaneously No. 77 Squadron between September and
December 1944. In September 1950, during the Korean War, he took
command of No. 77 Squadron for the third time. He oversaw its
conversion to Gloster Meteors, becoming the first RAAF commander of a
jet squadron in war, and earned the Commonwealth and US Distinguished
Flying Crosses. Cresswell resigned from the RAAF in 1957, and flew with
Bobby Gibbes's Sepik Airways in New Guinea before joining de Havilland
Australia in 1959. He retired in 1974.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cresswell>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1955:
The Austrian State Treaty came into effect, ending the Allied
occupation of Austria, although the country was not free of Allied
troops until October.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-occupied_Austria>
1965:
Mattachine Midwest, a gay rights organization in Chicago, held
its first meeting.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattachine_Midwest>
2007:
While covering a police pursuit in Phoenix, Arizona, two news
helicopters collided in mid-air, killing both crews.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_news_helicopter_collision>
2020:
A major oil spill from the Colonial Pipeline was discovered in
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (system map pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Colonial_Pipeline_oil_spill>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
affiant:
(originally US, now Canada, US, law) An individual witness whose
statement is contained in an affidavit; (generally) an individual who
makes a sworn deposition; a deponent.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/affiant>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Reach inside carefully. Feel my psyche. Make it last. Put this
moment under glass.
--Juliana Hatfield
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juliana_Hatfield>
Liz Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who was prime
minister from September to October 2022. A Liberal Democrat in her
youth, she defected to the Conservatives in 1996. After several bids for
public office she was elected as an MP in 2010 and served continuously
in government in the Cameron, May and Johnson ministries, latterly as
foreign secretary. After Johnson resigned in July 2022 Truss stood in
the election to replace him, defeating Rishi Sunak and becoming the
leader of the party. Two days after her appointment as prime minister
Queen Elizabeth II died, freezing government business for ten days
during a national mourning period; after its conclusion Truss's ministry
announced a mini-budget which was received badly by markets, the fallout
from which subsequently engulfed her government. Facing a rapid loss of
confidence in her leadership, Truss resigned fifty days into her
premiership and was succeeded by Sunak, becoming the shortest-serving
British prime minister.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Truss>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1778:
On the orders of Catherine the Great the first of tens of
thousands of Greek and Armenian Christians were removed from Crimea and
resettled in Pryazovia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eviction_of_Christians_from_the_Crimea_%28177…>
1953:
In Short Creek, Arizona, police conducted a mass arrest of
approximately 400 Mormon fundamentalists for polygamy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Creek_raid>
1993:
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashed into a mountain during a
failed attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea, leading to the
deaths of 68 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_733>
2016:
Hillary Clinton became the first female nominee for president
of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic
National Convention in Philadelphia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
snooty:
1. Haughty, pompous, snobbish; inclined to turn up one's nose.
2. (by extension)
3. Of an event, a thing, etc.: elite, exclusive.
4. (uncommon) Easily angered or irritated; irritable, short-tempered.
5. (informal, uncommon) Synonym of snoot (“an elitist or snobbish
person”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snooty>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness;
it is generally the by-product of other activities.
--Aldous Huxley
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley>
Lesley James McNair (25 May 1883 – 25 July 1944) was a lieutenant
general of the United States Army who served in both world wars, and
previously saw service in the Veracruz occupation and the Pancho Villa
Expedition. During World War I, he served with the American
Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front. At 35, he became the Army's
second-youngest general officer. During the early stages of World
War II, he was the commander of Army Ground Forces, and played the
leading role in the organization, equipping, and training of Army units
before they departed for overseas combat. He was killed on 25 July 1944
while in France as commander of the fictitious First United States Army
Group, part of Operation Quicksilver, a deception plan for the invasion
of Normandy. McNair died when the US Eighth Air Force attempted to use
heavy bombers in support of ground combat troops, and several planes
dropped payloads short of their targets. He received a posthumous
promotion to general.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_J._McNair>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
The Corinth Canal was formally opened, bisecting the narrow
Isthmus of Corinth in Greece to connect the Ionian Sea's Gulf of Corinth
with the Aegean Sea's Saronic Gulf.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinth_Canal>
1950:
Korean War: After American troops withdrew, North Korean forces
captured the village of Yongdong in South Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yongdong>
2000:
Air France Flight 4590 (plane used pictured), a Concorde en
route from Paris to New York, crashed in Gonesse, France, killing all
109 passengers on board and four people on the ground.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590>
2010:
WikiLeaks published 75,000 classified documents about the War
in Afghanistan in one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_documents_leak_of_the_War_in_Af…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Christmas come early:
(chiefly Ireland, UK, idiomatic) Something very delightful or fortunate
that is happening or has happened, especially earlier than expected.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Christmas_come_early>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The sick in soul insist that it is humanity that is sick, and
they are the surgeons to operate on it. They want to turn the world into
a sickroom. And once they get humanity strapped to the operating table,
they operate on it with an ax.
--Eric Hoffer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer>
The Second Test of the 1948 Ashes series was one of five Tests in The
Ashes cricket series between Australia and England. The match was played
at Lord's in London between 24 and 29 June 1948. Australia won the
match by 409 runs to take a 2–0 lead, meaning that England would need
to win the remaining three matches to regain The Ashes. The Australian
captain Don Bradman (pictured) won the toss and elected to bat.
Australia scored 350 in their first innings. England finished their
first innings at 215 early on the third morning; the Australian paceman
Ray Lindwall took 5/70. Australia reached 460/7 in their second innings
before Bradman declared, setting England a target of 596. The hosts
reached 106/3 at stumps on the fourth day, but then collapsed on the
final morning to be all out for 186, handing Australia a 409-run
victory. The leading English batsman Len Hutton was controversially
dropped for the following match. The match set a new record for the
highest attendance at a Test in England.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Test,_1948_Ashes_series>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
Ottoman forces captured the city of Shkodër, ending the
Albanian revolt of 1910 (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_revolt_of_1910>
1920:
Franco-Syrian War: At the Battle of Maysalun forces of the Arab
Kingdom of Syria were defeated by a French army moving to occupy the
territory allocated to them by the San Remo conference.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maysalun>
1923:
The Treaty of Lausanne was signed to settle part of the
partition of the Ottoman Empire, establishing the boundaries of Greece,
Bulgaria and Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne>
2019:
Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after
winning the Conservative Party leadership election.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Fenian:
1. (Ireland, historical)
2. (chiefly in the plural) A member of a roving band of hunter-warriors
in ancient Ireland, especially the band led by the hero Fionn mac
Cumhaill in Irish mythology; (generally) a person of ancient Ireland.
3. (also UK) A member of an organization opposing British rule in
Ireland, especially the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican
Brotherhood which were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries;
(generally) an Irish nationalist or republican. [...]
4. (Ireland, historical)
5. Of or relating to roving bands of hunter-warriors in ancient Ireland,
especially the band led by the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill in Irish
mythology; (generally) of or relating to the people of ancient Ireland.
6. (also UK) Of or relating to organizations opposing British rule in
Ireland, especially the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican
Brotherhood which were active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Fenian>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I am wary of a lot of things, such as plastic credit cards,
payroll deductions, insurance programs, retirement benefits, savings
accounts, Green Stamps, time clocks, newspapers, mortgages, sermons,
miracle fabrics, deodorants, check lists, time payments, political
parties, lending libraries, television, actresses, junior chambers of
commerce, pageants, progress, and manifest destiny. I am wary of the
whole dreary deadening structured mess we have built into such a
glittering top-heavy structure that there is nothing left to see but the
glitter, and the brute routines of maintaining it.
--John D. MacDonald
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_D._MacDonald>
The Daily News Building is a skyscraper in Manhattan, New York City. The
original tower, completed on July 23, 1930, was designed by Raymond
Hood and John Mead Howells in the Art Deco style; a similarly-styled
expansion, designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, was completed in 1960. The
36-story tower, rising 476 feet (145 m), consists of a 14-story
printing plant and an 18-story annex. There is a large carved-granite
entrance leading to a rotunda lobby with a rotating painted globe
(pictured). The Daily News' parent company, Tribune Media, sold the
building in 1982, and the newspaper moved out entirely in 1995. SL Green
Realty bought the building in 2003 and sold a partial ownership stake to
Meritz Alternative Investment Management in 2021. When it opened, the
building received mixed reviews and was described as having a
utilitarian design. It is a National Historic Landmark and its exterior
and lobby are designated city landmarks.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_News_Building>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1940:
Sumner Welles, U.S. Under Secretary of State, issued a
declaration that the U.S. government would not recognize the Soviet
Union's annexation of the Baltic states.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welles_Declaration>
1982:
A helicopter crashed during the filming of Twilight Zone: The
Movie in Valencia, California, killing actor Vic Morrow and two child
actors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_Zone_accident>
2001:
Megawati Sukarnoputri was sworn in as the first female
president of Indonesia following her predecessor's impeachment.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megawati_Sukarnoputri>
2010:
The English-Irish boy band One Direction were formed while
auditioning for the 2010 series of the British singing competition The X
Factor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Direction>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
moulder:
1. (transitive)
2. (chiefly Northern England, Scotland) Often followed by away or down:
to cause (something) to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces.
3. (figurative, obsolete) To cause (someone or something) to die away or
disappear.
4. (intransitive)
5. Often followed by away: to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces.
6. (figurative)
7. To die away, to disappear.
8. (obsolete) Often followed by away: of a group of people (especially
an army): to diminish in number; to dwindle.
9. (archaic) A person who moulds dough into loaves for baking into
bread.
10. (by extension)
11. A person who moulds or shapes material into objects, especially clay
into bricks, pottery, etc.
12. An instrument or machine used to mould or shape material into
objects.
13. (figurative) A person or thing that influences or shapes; an
influencer, a shaper.
14. (metalworking) A person who makes moulds for casting metal; a
mouldmaker. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/moulder>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Survival is my legacy … People go … why don't I throw the
towel in? … People still want to buy my records. People still want to
see me, so why should I? It motivates me to get off my backside and do
something. I mean, if my career had gone down the toilet and I knew it
was the end, I'd be pretty miserable. … Never give up. If you’ve got
a passion for something, you’ve got to find a way around it to carry
on the passion.
--Ozzy Osbourne
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ozzy_Osbourne>
The hippocampus is a major component of the brain of humans and many
other vertebrates. It plays important roles in the consolidation of
information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial
memory that enables navigation. In humans and other primates, the
hippocampus is located in the archicortex, one of the three regions of
allocortex, in each hemisphere. The hippocampus is a structure found in
all vertebrates. In Alzheimer's disease (and other forms of dementia),
the hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer
damage; short-term memory loss and disorientation are included among the
early symptoms. Damage to the hippocampus can also result from oxygen
starvation, encephalitis or medial temporal lobe epilepsy. Since
different neuronal cell types are neatly organized into layers in the
hippocampus, it has frequently been used as a model system for studying
neurophysiology.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1817:
Windham William Sadler made the first successful aerial
crossing of the Irish Sea, which he accomplished by balloon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windham_William_Sadler>
1975:
Stanley Forman took the Pulitzer Prize–winning photo Fire
Escape Collapse, which spurred action to improve the safety of fire
escapes across the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Escape_Collapse>
1997:
Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece, the best-
selling manga series in history, debuted in Weekly Shōnen Jump.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece>
2002:
The Israel Defense Forces bombed the home of Salah Shehade, the
leader of the military arm of Hamas, killing him, his family and
neighboring civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salah_Shehade>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
chokehold:
1. (martial arts, wrestling) A grappling hold around a person's neck,
especially one in which the neck is grasped tightly from behind with an
arm, cutting off the flow of blood to the brain and restricting
breathing.
2. (figurative) A powerful and restrictive control or influence over
something.
3. (transitive) To put a hold around the neck of (someone), especially
one in which the neck is grasped tightly from behind with an arm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chokehold>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
If we're ever going to get the world back on a natural footing,
back in tune with natural rhythyms, if we're going to nurture the Earth
and protect it and have fun with it and learn from it — which is what
mothers do with their children — then we've got to put technology (an
aggressive masculine system) in its proper place, which is that of a
tool to be used sparingly, joyfully, gently and only in the fullest
cooperation with nature. Nature must govern technology, not the other
way around.
--Tom Robbins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins>