The Age of Reason is a work by English and American political activist
Thomas Paine (pictured), arguing for the philosophical position of
deism. Following in the tradition of eighteenth-century British deism,
it challenges institutionalized religion and the legitimacy of the
Bible. It was published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, and
became a best-seller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived
deistic revival. Fearing its revolutionary ideas, the British government
prosecuted printers and book-sellers who tried to publish and distribute
it. The Age of Reason highlights what Paine saw as corruption among
Christian churches and criticizes their efforts to acquire political
power. Paine advocates reason over revelation, leading him to reject
miracles and to view the Bible as "an ordinary piece of literature
rather than as a divinely inspired text". He promotes natural religion
and argues for the existence of a creator-God. Most of Paine's arguments
had long been available to educated people, but his engaging, irreverent
and inexpensive pamphlets made deism appealing and accessible to a mass
audience.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Reason>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
Scottish settlers on the John Wickliffe, captained by William
Cargill, arrived at what is now Port Chalmers in the Otago Region of New
Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cargill>
1888:
Led by William McGregor, ten football clubs met in London for
the purpose of founding the English Football League, the oldest league
competition in world football.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGregor_(football)>
1908:
American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was assassinated in San Francisco by two
Korean American immigrants unhappy with his recent support of the
increasing Japanese presence in Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_Stevens>
1994:
Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into a hillside in Kemerovo Oblast,
Russia, after the pilot's 16-year-old son, while seated at the controls,
had unknowingly disabled the autopilot, killing all 75 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593>
2001:
The Russian Federal Space Agency deorbited the 15-year-old
space station Mir, causing it to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and
break up over the Pacific Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deorbit_of_Mir>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
thole:
1. (intransitive, dated) To suffer.
2. (transitive, now Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland) To
endure, to put up with, to tolerate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thole>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Science does not have a moral dimension. It is like a knife. If
you give it to a surgeon or a murderer, each will use it differently.
Â
--Wernher von Braun
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun>
The Thaddeus McCotter presidential campaign of 2012 began when he filed
papers on July 1, 2011, to run for the Republican Party's 2012
nomination for President of the United States. He officially announced
his candidacy the next day at a rock festival near Detroit. McCotter,
who had been a congressman from Michigan since 2003, was first mentioned
as a potential presidential candidate on an April 2011 episode of the
Fox News show Red Eye. During the campaign, he focused on reform of
government and Wall Street. Commentators noted that McCotter's lack of
name recognition hindered his chances for nomination. When included in
Republican presidential preference polls, he regularly received less
than one percent support. Following a last place finish in the Ames
Straw Poll and the lack of any invitation to presidential debates, he
dropped his candidacy on September 22, 2011, and endorsed Mitt Romney.
He resigned from Congress in July 2012 amid a fraud investigation
surrounding his congressional re-election campaign.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaddeus_McCotter_presidential_campaign,_2012>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
238:
Because of his father's advanced age, Gordian II was proclaimed
joint Roman emperor with Gordian I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordian_I>
1765:
The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, requiring
that many printed materials in the Thirteen Colonies in British America
carry a tax stamp.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765>
1943:
World War II: Almost the entire population of the village of
Khatyn in Belarus was massacred by Nazi forces, with participation from
their Ukrainian and Belarusian collaborators.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khatyn_massacre>
1995:
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov of the Soyuz programme
returned from the Mir space station after 437 days in space, setting a
record for the longest spaceflight.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov>
2004:
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian imam who was a founder and
the spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed by a missile from an Israeli
helicopter gunship as he left early morning prayers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Yassin>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
long drink of water:
(Scotland, US, slang) A tall person.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/long_drink_of_water>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Most Americans, in their sweet innocence, think that class has to
do with money. But a glance at Donald Trump and Leona Helmsley will
indicate that it has very little to do with money. It has to do with
taste and style, and it has to do with the development of those features
by acts of character. Â
--Paul Fussell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Fussell>
Capella is a star system of four stars in the constellation of Auriga,
appearing as a single star to the naked eye. It is the third-brightest
star or star system in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus
and Vega. Always above the horizon for observers north of 44°N, the
Capella system is only 42.9 light-years from the Sun. Its two largest
stars are Capella Aa and Capella Ab, bright yellow giant stars in a
binary pair, both around 2.5 times as massive as the Sun. They are in a
very tight circular 104-day orbit, some 0.76 astronomical units (au)
apart. Capella Aa is the cooler and more luminous of the two, with
around 79 times the Sun's luminosity. An ageing red clump star, it is
fusing helium to carbon and oxygen in its core. Ab is slightly less
massive, smaller and hotter, about 73 times as luminous as the Sun. The
Capella system is one of the brightest sources of X-rays in the sky,
thought to come primarily from the corona of the more massive giant. The
other two stars, a binary pair around 10,000 au from the first two, are
faint, small and relatively cool red dwarfs.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capella>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1556:
Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, one of the founders of
Anglicanism, was burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for heresy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cranmer>
1918:
First World War: The German Army opened the Spring Offensive
with Operation Michael, attempting to break through the Allied lines and
to seize ports on the English Channel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael>
1952:
The first major rock and roll concert, the Moondog Coronation
Ball, was held at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moondog_Coronation_Ball>
1968:
War of Attrition: The Israel Defense Forces clashed with the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Armed Forces during
the Battle of Karameh (aftermath pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karameh>
2006:
A man using a hammer smashed the statue of Phra Phrom in the
Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, and was subsequently beaten to death
by bystanders.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erawan_Shrine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sylvan:
1. Pertaining to the forest, or woodlands.
2. Residing in a forest or wood.
3. Wooded, or covered in forest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sylvan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 When the full-grown poet came, Out spake pleased Nature (the round
impassive globe, with all its shows of day and night,) saying, He is
mine; But out spake too the Soul of man, proud, jealous and
unreconciled, Nay he is mine alone; — Then the full-grown poet stood
between the two, and took each by the hand; And to-day and ever so
stands, as blender, uniter, tightly holding hands, Which he will never
release until he reconciles the two, And wholly and joyously blends
them. Â
--Leaves of Grass
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leaves_of_Grass>
Barry Voight (born 1937) is an American geologist, volcanologist,
author, and engineer. He was a professor of geology at Pennsylvania
State University from 1964 until his retirement in 2005. He still
conducts research on rock mechanics, plate tectonics, disaster
prevention, and geotechnical engineering. In April 1980, Voight's
publications on landslides, avalanches and other mass movements
convinced Rocky Crandell of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to ask him
to look at a growing bulge on the Mount St. Helens volcano in the state
of Washington. Voight predicted the collapse of the mountain's north
flank as well as a powerful eruption. After his predictions were
realized in May 1980, he was hired by the USGS to investigate the debris
avalanche that initiated the eruption. His work at St. Helens brought
him international recognition, and he continued researching and guiding
monitoring efforts at several active volcanoes, including Nevado del
Ruiz in Colombia, Mount Merapi in Indonesia, and Soufrière Hills, a
volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Voight>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
235:
Maximinus Thrax succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire, a
so-called barracks emperor who gained power by virtue of his command of
the army.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Thrax>
1852:
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was first published,
profoundly affecting attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in
the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin>
1922:
The United States Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier,
USSÂ Langley.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Langley_(CV-1)>
1987:
The antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT) became the first
antiviral drug approved for use against HIV and AIDS.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zidovudine>
1993:
The Troubles: The second of two bomb attacks by the Provisional
IRA in Warrington, England, killed two children.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_bomb_attacks>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
carious:
Having caries (bone or tooth decay); decayed, rotten.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carious>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 I've always assumed that every time a child is born, the Divine
reenters the world. Okay? That's the meaning of the Christmas story. And
every time that child's purity is corrupted by society, that's the
meaning of the Crucifixion story. Your man Jesus stands for that child,
that pure spirit, and as its surrogate, he's being born and put to death
again and again, over and over, every time we inhale and exhale, not
just at the vernal equinox and on the twenty-fifth of December. Â
--Tom Robbins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins>
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a 2004 science fiction action horror film
filmed in Toronto, Canada, directed by Alexander Witt and written by
Paul W. S. Anderson. It is the second installment in the Resident Evil
film series, which is based on the video game series of the same name.
Milla Jovovich (pictured) reprises her role as Alice, and is joined by
Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr as Carlos Oliveira.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is set directly after the events of the first
film, where Alice escaped from an underground facility overrun by
zombies. She now bands together with other survivors to escape the
zombie outbreak which has spread to the fictional Raccoon City. The film
borrows elements from several games in the Resident Evil series,
including the characters Valentine and Oliveira and the villain Nemesis.
While it received mostly negative reviews from critics for its plot, the
film was praised for its action sequences. Of the six films in the
series, it has the lowest approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Earning
$129 million worldwide on a $45 million budget, it surpassed the box
office gross of the original film.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Evil:_Apocalypse>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1865:
American Civil War: The last battle of the Carolinas Campaign,
the Battle of Bentonville, began, which contributed to the ultimate
Union victory in the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bentonville>
1915:
Pluto was photographed for the first time, 15 years before it
was officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto>
1979:
The American cable television network C-SPAN, dedicated to
airing non-stop coverage of government proceedings and public affairs
programming, was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-SPAN>
1987:
American televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as the head of The
PTL Club in the midst of a sex scandal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker>
2008:
The gamma-ray burst GRB 080319B (artist's impression pictured),
the farthest object that could be seen by the naked eye, was observed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRB_080319B>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
pingo:
1. (geomorphology) A conical mound of earth with an ice core caused by
permafrost uplift, particularly if lasting more than a year. […]
2. (Sri Lanka, dated) A flexible pole supported on one shoulder, with a
load suspended from each end; a carrying pole or carrying yoke.
3. (Sri Lanka, dated) A weight equivalent to that which can be carried
using a pingo.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pingo>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 In war, science has proven itself an evil genius; it has made war
more terrible than it ever was before. Man used to be content to
slaughter his fellowmen on a single plane — the earth's surface.
Science has taught him to go down into the water and shoot up from below
and to go up into the clouds and shoot down from above, thus making the
battlefield three times a bloody as it was before; but science does not
teach brotherly love. Science has made war so hellish that civilization
was about to commit suicide; and now we are told that newly discovered
instruments of destruction will make the cruelties of the late war seem
trivial in comparison with the cruelties of wars that may come in the
future. Â
--William Jennings Bryan
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan>
Elcor is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Minnesota that was inhabited
between 1897 and 1956. It was built on the Mesabi Iron Range near the
city of Gilbert in St. Louis County. At its peak around 1920, Elcor had
two churches, a post office, a general store, a primary school, a
railroad station and its own law enforcement, and housed a population of
nearly 1,000. Elcor was a mining town, built by the mining company to
house its workers. People were allowed to own their homes, but the land
on which the houses stood belonged to the company. In the early days,
houses were made of wooden boards and surrounded by a four-board-high
fence fronted with a boardwalk. Most of the streets were dirt roads. The
townspeople were pioneers and immigrants, largely Croatian, Slovenian,
Finnish, Italian, German, Scandinavian and English (especially Cornish).
After the last mine closed in 1954, the residents were ordered to vacate
the property; by 1956, Elcor was completely abandoned.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elcor,_Minnesota>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1241:
First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelmed the Polish
armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces in the Battle of Chmielnik
and plundered the abandoned city of Kraków.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chmielnik>
1834:
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to transportation to
Australia for swearing an illegal oath to join their friendly society in
Dorset, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolpuddle_Martyrs>
1921:
The Polish–Soviet War, which determined the borders between
the Republic of Poland and Soviet Russia, formally concluded with the
signing of the Peace of Riga.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Riga>
1938:
Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas created Pemex, the national
petroleum company, by expropriating all foreign-owned oil reserves and
facilities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pemex>
1990:
Thieves stole 13 works of art valued at $500 million from the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the largest-value theft of
private property in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum_theft>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
less-than-stellar:
(slang, sarcastic) Mediocre; not satisfactory; not very good, poor; not
meeting standards or expectations.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/less-than-stellar>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Fate and freedom alike play a part in history; and there are
times, as in wars and revolutions, when fate is the stronger of the two.
Freedom — the freedom of man and of nations — could never have been
the origin of two world wars. These latter were brought about by fate,
which exercises its power owing to the weakness and decline of freedom
and of the creative spirit of man. Almost all contemporary political
ideologies, with their characteristic tendency to state-idolatry, are
likewise largely a product of two world wars, begotten as they are of
the inexorability's of fate. Â
--Nikolai Berdyaev
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikolai_Berdyaev>
Freedom Planet is a two-dimensional platform video game developed and
published by independent developer GalaxyTrail, a studio set up for the
project by designer Stephen DiDuro. The player controls one of three
anthropomorphic animal protagonists: the dragon Lilac, the wildcat
Carol, or the basset hound Milla. Aided by the duck-like Torque (concept
art shown), the player attempts to defeat Lord Brevon, who plans to
conquer the galaxy. While the game focuses on fast-paced platforming,
its levels are interspersed with slower action scenes. Freedom Planet
began development as a Sonic the Hedgehog fangame, but DiDuro lost
interest in creating a derivative work and reconceived the project as
his own intellectual property. Developed in Denmark and the United
States, the game and its art have East Asian influences: its background
visuals were inspired by medieval Chinese art, and its title is written
in katakana. Critics praised its gameplay, aesthetics, and balance of
Sonic elements with original content, but were mixed on its pacing and
length.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Planet>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1452:
Reconquista: The combined forces of Castile and Murcia defeated
the Emirate of Granada at the Battle of Los Alporchones around the city
of Lorca.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Los_Alporchones>
1891:
The transatlantic steamship Utopia accidentally collided with
the battleship HMSÂ Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar, sinking in less than
twenty minutes and killing 562 (wreckage pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Utopia>
1955:
Ice hockey fans in Montreal rioted to protest the suspension of
Montreal Canadiens star Maurice Richard for hitting an official.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Riot>
1968:
Six thousand sheep were killed on ranches near Dugway Proving
Ground in Utah as a result of the U.S. Army spraying a nerve agent.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_sheep_incident>
2000:
Over 700 followers of the Ugandan sect Movement for the
Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God were killed or died in a fire
in a mass murder committed by its leaders.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Restoration_of_the_Ten_Comma…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
poteen:
1. (Ireland, countable, uncountable) Illegally produced Irish whiskey;
moonshine.
2. (Ireland, countable, by extension) An unlicensed drinking establishment
selling illegally produced Irish whiskey.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poteen>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 When the law can stop the blades of grass From growing as they
grow, And when the leaves in summer time Their verdure dare not show,
Then I will change the colour I wear in my caubeen, But till that day
I'll stick for aye To wearing of the green. Â
--Dion Boucicault
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dion_Boucicault>
Hurricane Marie is tied as the seventh-most intense Pacific hurricane on
record, attaining a barometric pressure of 918Â mbar (hPa; 27.11Â inHg)
in August 2014. At its peak, the hurricane's gale-force winds spanned
an area 575Â miles (925Â km) across. Although its center remained well
away from land, its large size created dangerous surf from Southwestern
Mexico to southern California. Off the coast of Los Cabos, three people
drowned after their boat capsized in rough seas. In Colima and Oaxaca,
heavy rains and flooding from outer bands caused two fatalities. Toward
the end of August, swells of 10 to 15Â ft (3.0 to 4.6Â m), the largest
seen from a hurricane in decades, battered coastlines in southern
California, with structural damage on Santa Catalina Island and in the
Greater Los Angeles Area. A breakwater near Long Beach sustained
$10Â million worth of damage, with portions gouged out. One person
drowned in the surf near Malibu. Hundreds of ocean rescues, including
over 100 in Malibu alone, were attributed to the storm, and overall
losses reached $20Â million.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Marie_(2014)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1621:
Samoset, a member of the Abenaki tribe, strolled into Plymouth
Colony and greeted the Pilgrims in English (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoset>
1689:
The Royal Welch Fusiliers, one of the oldest line infantry
regiments of the British Army, was founded.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Welch_Fusiliers>
1918:
Finnish Civil War: The Whites were victorious in the Battle of
Länkipohja, after which they executed at least 70 Reds.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_L%C3%A4nkipohja>
1988:
Using pistols and grenades, loyalist Michael Stone attacked the
funeral of three Provisional IRA members who had been killed in
Gibraltar ten days earlier, killing three attendees and injuring at
least sixty others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milltown_Cemetery_attack>
2014:
Annexation of Crimea: The Autonomous Republic of Crimea held a
controversial referendum where voters overwhelmingly chose to join
Russia as a federal subject.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_status_referendum,_2014>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
glower:
(intransitive) To look or stare with anger.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/glower>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to
be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.
War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and
armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the
many under the domination of the few. In war, too, the discretionary
power of the Executive is extended; its influence in dealing out
offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of
seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the
people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the
inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a
state of war, and in the degeneracy of manners and of morals engendered
by both. No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual
warfare. Â
--James Madison
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Madison>
Ferugliotherium was a mammal of the Late Cretaceous, around 70 million
years ago. The genus was first described in 1986 but misidentified as a
member of Multituberculata, an extinct group of rodent-like mammals, on
the basis of a single tooth, a low-crowned molar. It is thought to have
had a small body mass, about 70Â g (2.5Â oz), and may have eaten insects
and plant material. Its remains have been found in two geological
formations of present-day southern Argentina, as part of a mammal fauna
that included the sudamericid Gondwanatherium and a variety of
dryolestoids. The upper and lower incisors were long and rodent-like,
with enamel on only one side of the crown. A fragment of the lower jaw
shows that the tooth socket of the lower incisor was very long. Although
Ferugliotherium had much lower-crowned teeth than the sudamericids, they
shared the same backward jaw movement during chewing and essentially
similar patterns in their incisors and on the chewing surface of their
molar-like teeth, with small enamel prisms.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferugliotherium>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
44 BC:
Dictator Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic was stabbed to
death by Marcus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar>
1875:
Archbishop of New York John McCloskey was named the first
cardinal in the United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCloskey>
1917:
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia was forced to abdicate in the
February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution>
1943:
World War II: German forces recaptured Kharkov after four days
of house-to-house fighting against Soviet troops, ending the month-long
Third Battle of Kharkov.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Kharkov>
1990:
Iraqi authorities hanged freelance Iranian reporter Farzad
Bazoft for spying for Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farzad_Bazoft>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shock and awe:
(military, also figuratively) A doctrine based on the use of spectacular
displays of force.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shock_and_awe>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Life would be tragic if it weren't funny. … My expectations were
reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.
Â
--Stephen Hawking
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking>
Thomas R. Marshall (March 14, 1854 – June 1, 1925) was a Democratic
politician who served as the 28th Vice President of the United States
from 1913 to 1921. As the 27th Governor of Indiana, he proposed a new,
controversial state constitution and pressed for other Progressive Era
reforms. His popularity as governor, and Indiana's status as a critical
swing state, helped him secure the vice presidential nomination on a
ticket with Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and win the general election. During
World War I, after a small number of anti-war senators kept the Senate
deadlocked by refusing to end debate, Marshall led the body to adopt its
first rule allowing filibusters to be ended by a two-thirds majority
vote. After a stroke incapacitated Wilson in October 1919, many cabinet
officials and Congressional leaders urged Marshall to become acting
president, but he refused to forcibly assume the presidency for fear of
setting a precedent. Well known for his wit and sense of humor, he once
quipped during a Senate debate, "What this country needs is a really
good five-cent cigar".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_R._Marshall>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1489:
Queen of Cyprus Catherine Cornaro was forced to abdicate and
sell the administration of the island to the Republic of Venice.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Cornaro>
1885:
The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed
Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado>
1910:
Oil prospectors in Kern County, California, drilled into a
pressurized oil deposit, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill
in history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview_Gusher>
1978:
Israeli–Lebanese conflict: The Israel Defense Forces began
Operation Litani, invading and occupying southern Lebanon, and pushing
PLO troops north up to the Litani River.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_South_Lebanon_conflict>
1988:
China defeated Vietnam in a naval battle as the former
attempted to establish oceanographic observation posts on the Spratly
Islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_South_Reef_Skirmish>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Pi Day:
March 14th, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Pi_Day>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
 The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage
evil than from those who actually commit it. Â
--Albert Einstein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein>