An invasion is a military action consisting of armed forces of one
geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such
entity, generally with the objective of conquering territory or
altering the established government. An invasion can be the cause of a
war, it can be used as a part of a larger strategy to end a war, or it
can constitute an entire war in and of itself. The term usually
connotes a strategic endeavor of substantial magnitude; because the
goals of an invasion are usually large-scale and long-term, large
forces are needed to hold territory and protect the interests of the
invading entity. Smaller and lighter tactical infiltrations are not
generally considered invasions, being more often classified as
skirmishes, sorties, targeted killings, assassinations or
reconnaissance in force. By definition, an invasion is an attack from
outside forces. As such, rebellions, civil wars, coups d'etat, and
internal acts of democide or other acts of oppression are generally
not considered invasions.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1768:
Philip Astley staged the first modern circus in London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus)
1839:
The French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype
photographic process, named after its inventor, Louis Daguerre.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype)
1878:
Humbert the Good became King of Italy.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_I)
1916:
World War I: In Gallipoli, the Ottoman Empire was victorious in the
Battle of Çanakkale.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gallipoli)
1964:
Martyrs' Day in Panama: A four-day riot erupted over sovereignty of
the Canal Zone.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs'_Day)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I think it is possible, and that is the most dramatic element in
modern civilization, that a human truth is opposed to another human
truth no less human, ideal against ideal, positive worth against worth
no less positive, instead of the struggle being as we are so often
told, one between noble truth and vile selfish error. -- Karel Čapek
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karel_%C4%8Capek)
Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian
missionaries from the United States to make contact with the Huaorani
people of the rainforest of Ecuador. The Huaorani, also known as the
Aucas, were an isolated tribe known for their violence, both against
their own people and outsiders who entered their territory. With the
intention of being the first Protestants to evangelize the Huaorani,
the missionaries began making regular flights over Huaorani
settlements in September 1955, dropping gifts. After several months
of exchanging gifts, on January 2, 1956, the missionaries established
a camp at "Palm Beach", a sandbar along the Curaray River, a few miles
from Huaorani settlements. Their efforts culminated on January 8,
1956, when all five—Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming,
and Roger Youderian—were attacked and speared by a group of Huaorani
warriors. The news of their deaths was broadcast around the world,
and Life magazine covered the event with a photo essay. The deaths of
the men galvanized the missionary effort in the United States,
sparking an outpouring of funding for evangelization efforts around
the world. Their work is still frequently remembered in evangelical
publications, and in 2006, was the subject of the film production End
of the Spear.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Auca
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1198:
Lotario de Conti became Pope Innocent III. His first act was the
restoration of the papal power in Rome.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_III)
1815:
War of 1812: The United States Army led by Andrew Jackson won the
Battle of New Orleans two weeks after the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans)
1889:
Herman Hollerith received a patent for his electric tabulating
machine.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Hollerith)
1989:
British Midland Flight 92 crashed onto the embankment of the M1
motorway in the Kegworth air disaster.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegworth_air_disaster)
2004:
RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, was
christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary_2)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Some marry the first information they receive, and turn what comes
later into their concubine. Since deceit is always first to arrive,
there is no room left for truth. -- Baltasar Gracián
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baltasar_Graci%C3%A1n)
The Adventures of Tintin is a comic book series created by Belgian
artist Hergé. The series first appeared in 1929 in a children's
supplement to the French-language Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième
Siècle. Set in a painstakingly researched world closely mirroring
reality, The Adventures of Tintin presents colourful characters in
distinctive, well-realised settings. The hero of the series is the
eponymous Tintin, a young reporter and traveller aided in his
adventures by his faithful dog Snowy. The success of the series saw
serialised strips collected into albums, spun into a successful
magazine, and adapted for both film and theatre. The series is one of
the most popular European comics of the 20th century, with
translations published in over 50 languages and more than 200 million
copies of the books sold to date. The comic strip series has long been
admired for its clean, expressive drawings, done in Hergé's signature
ligne claire style. The Adventures of Tintin straddles a variety of
genres, from mysteries to political thrillers to science fiction.
Stories always feature slapstick humour, offset in later albums by
sophisticated satire and political and cultural commentary.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1477:
Charles the Bold died at the Battle of Nancy, leading to the
annexation of Burgundy by France.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I%2C_Duke_of_Burgundy)
1527:
Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zürich, was
executed by drowning.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Manz)
1968:
Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, beginning a
political reform known as "Socialism with a human face".
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Dub%C4%8Dek)
2005:
Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System, was
discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David
L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken in 2003 at the Palomar
Observatory.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet))
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
All statements are true in some sense, false in some sense,
meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and
meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and
true and false and meaningless in some sense. -- Principia Discordia
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Principia_Discordia)
John Brooke-Little was an influential and popular writer on heraldic
subjects and a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in
London, England. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded
the "Society of Heraldic Antiquaries", now known as The Heraldry
Society and recognized as one of the leading learned societies in its
field. He served as the society's chairman for 50 years and then as
its President from 1997 until his death in 2006. In addition to
founding this group, Brooke-Little was involved in other heraldic
groups and societies and worked for many years as an officer of arms.
Having started his career as Bluemantle Pursuivant, Brooke-Little
worked his way up to the second-highest heraldic office in
England–Clarenceux King of Arms.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brooke-Little
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1698:
Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the
English monarchs, was destroyed by fire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Whitehall)
1884:
The Fabian Society, a socialist intellectual movement, was founded in
London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Society)
1936:
Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine))
1948:
Thakin Nu of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League presided over
the independence of Burma (now Myanmar) from the British Empire.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Myanmar)
2004:
The NASA Mars Rover Spirit landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MER-A)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Men learn little from others' experience. But in the life of one man,
never the same time returns. -- T.S. Eliot, in Murder in the Cathedral
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot)
Yarralumla is a large suburb within Canberra, the capital city of
Australia. Located approximately 3.5 kilometres south-west of the city
centre, Yarralumla extends along the southern bank of Lake Burley
Griffin. Europeans first settled the area in 1828, and it was named
Yarralumla in 1834 from the Ngunnwal Indigenous Australian name for
the area. Yarralumla is most noted for being the site of Government
House, the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia,
built in 1891. The suburb was officially gazetted in 1928 and today is
home to approximately 3000 people and many diplomatic missions. In
recent years, it has become one of Canberra's most desirable and
expensive suburbs because of its leafy streets, attractive lakeside
setting and central location.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarralumla%2C_Australian_Capital_Territory
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1521:
Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther from the Roman Catholic Church
after Luther refused to retract 41 of his 95 theses.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_X)
1749:
Benning Wentworth began to issue the New Hampshire Grants on land
which was also claimed by New York, and is now Vermont.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_Grants)
1958:
Ten former British colonies in the Caribbean joined to form a new
independent country, the West Indies Federation.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies_Federation)
1973:
George Steinbrenner and a group of investors bought the New York
Yankees for US$8.7 million.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Steinbrenner)
1990:
United States invasion of Panama: General Manuel Noriega, the deposed
"strongman of Panama", surrendered.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Each comprehended only that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he
came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly.
Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and
increased in unison and harmony. -- J. R. R. Tolkien in The
Silmarillion
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien)
Influenza is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an
RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae. Typically, influenza is
transmitted from infected mammals through the air by coughs or
sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus, and from infected
birds through their droppings. Infections occur through contact with
these bodily fluids or with contaminated surfaces. Flu viruses can
remain infectious for over 30 days at 0°C (32°F), about one week at
human body temperature, and indefinitely at very cold temperatures.
Flu spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics, killing millions
of people in pandemic years and hundreds of thousands in non-pandemic
years. Three influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century—each
following a major genetic change in the virus—and killed tens of
millions of people. Often, these pandemics result from the spread of a
flu virus between animal species. Since it first killed humans in Asia
in the 1990s a deadly avian strain of H5N1 has posed the greatest
influenza pandemic threat. Vaccinations against influenza are most
common in high-risk humans in industrialised countries and farmed
poultry. The most common human vaccine is the trivalent flu vaccine
that contains purified and inactivated material from three viral
strains.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
The Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain,
adding St. Patrick's saltire to the Union Flag.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Union_1800)
1818:
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, a novel by Mary Shelley, was
first published in London.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein)
1901:
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South
Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federated as the
Commonwealth of Australia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Federation)
1959:
Cuban Revolution: President Fulgencio Batista of Cuba fled to the
Dominican Republic as forces under Fidel Castro took control of
Havana.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Revolution)
1999:
The Euro, the official currency of the European Union, was introduced.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I do not believe in Belief. But this is an Age of Faith, and there are
so many militant creeds that, in self defence, one has to formulate a
creed of one's own. Tolerance, good temper and sympathy are no longer
enough in a world where ignorance rules, and Science, which ought to
have ruled, plays the pimp. Tolerance, good temper and sympathy —
they are what matter really, and if the human race is not to collapse
they must come to the front before long. -- E. M. Forster
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._M._Forster)
Maraba Coffee is a Fairtrade coffee produced in the Maraba area of
southern Rwanda. About 2,000 smallholder farmers grow the coffee
plants under the Abahuzamugambi cooperative, founded in 1999. Since
2000, the cooperative has been supported by the National University of
Rwanda and the Partnership for Enhancing Agriculture in Rwanda through
Linkages. The cooperative, which includes many growers who lost family
members in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, has improved coffee quality and
penetrated the specialty market. Farmers' revenues have increased,
allowing for livestock investments, affordable medical insurance, and
improved education. Maraba's coffee plants are the Bourbon variety of
the Coffea arabica species and are grown on fertile volcanic soils on
high-altitude hills. The fruit is handpicked, mostly during the rainy
season between March and May, and brought to a washing station in
Maraba where the coffee beans are extracted and dried. At several
stages, the beans are sorted according to quality. The beans are sold
to various roasting companies, with the highest quality beans going to
Union Coffee Roasters of the United Kingdom and Community Coffee of
the United States.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maraba_Coffee
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
406:
The Vandals, Alans and Suebians crossed the Rhine River to begin an
invasion of Gaul.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaul)
1600:
The British East India Company was founded by a Royal Charter of Queen
Elizabeth I.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company)
1963:
The Central African Federation officially collapsed, eventually to
become Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federation_of_Rhodesia_and_Nyasaland)
1972:
American baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en
route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente)
1999:
Boris Yeltsin, the first democratically elected President of Russia,
resigned and named Vladimir Putin as Acting President.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward to your
next objective. -- George Marshall
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Marshall)
Kroger Babb was an American film and television producer. His
marketing techniques were similar to a travelling salesman's, with
roots in the medicine-show tradition. Self-described as "America's
Fearless Young Showman," he is best known for his presentation of the
1945 exploitation film Mom and Dad, which was added to the National
Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2005. Babb was involved in
the production and marketing of many films and television shows,
promoting each according to his favorite marketing motto: "You gotta
tell 'em to sell 'em." His films ranged from sex education–style
dramas to "documentaries" on foreign cultures intended to titillate
audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via
marketing gimmicks.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kroger_Babb
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1853:
Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought 30,000 square miles of land
south of the Gila River and west of the Rio Grande from Mexico for
US$10 million.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase)
1880:
Paul Kruger became the President of the Transvaal Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kruger)
1927:
The Ginza Line, the oldest subway line in Asia, opened in Tokyo,
Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metro_Ginza_Line)
1947:
King Michael I was forced to abdicate as Romania became a People's
Republic.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Romania)
1965:
Ferdinand Marcos became President of the Philippines.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too...
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And — which is more — you'll be a Man, my son!
-- Rudyard Kipling
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling)
Sylvanus Morley was an American archaeologist, epigrapher and Mayanist
scholar who made significant contributions towards the study of the
pre-Columbian Maya civilization in the early 20th century. He is
particularly noted for his extensive excavations of the Maya site of
Chichen Itza. He also published several large compilations and
treatises on Maya hieroglyphic writing, and wrote popular accounts on
the Maya for a general audience. To his contemporaries he was one of
the leading Mesoamerican archaeologists of his day; although more
recent developments in the field have resulted in a re-evaluation of
his theories and works, his publications (particularly on calendric
inscriptions) are still cited. Overall, his commitment and enthusiasm
for Maya studies would generate the interest and win the necessary
sponsorship and backing to finance projects which would ultimately
reveal much about the Maya of former times. His involvement in
clandestine espionage activities at the behest of the U.S. Office of
Naval Intelligence was another, surprising, aspect of his career,
which came to light only well after his death.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvanus_Morley
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1831:
Aboard the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin left Plymouth, England on what
became an historic expedition to South America.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_HMS_Beagle)
1918:
A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski
in Poznań sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Poland_Uprising_(1918-1919))
1945:
International ratification of the Bretton Woods Agreement, leading to
the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_system)
1949:
Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signed the papers that relinquished
sovereignty of most of Dutch East Indies, now known as Indonesia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia)
1979:
Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet forces seized control of Kabul and
killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
I am on the edge of mysteries and the veil is getting thinner and
thinner. -- Louis Pasteur
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur)
The British African-Caribbean community are residents of the United
Kingdom who are of West Indian background, and whose ancestors were
indigenous to Africa. As immigration to the UK from Africa increased
in the 1990s, the term has been used to include UK residents solely of
African origin, or as a term to define all Black British residents,
though this is usually denoted by "African and Caribbean". The largest
proportion of the African-Caribbean population in the UK are of
Jamaican origin; others trace origins to smaller nations including
Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Barbados, Saint Lucia,
Grenada, Montserrat, Dominica, Antigua and Guyana, which though
located on the South American mainland, has close cultural ties to the
Caribbean, and was historically considered to be part of the British
West Indies. African-Caribbean communities exist throughout the United
Kingdom, though by far the largest concentrations are in London,
Birmingham and the broader West Midlands conurbation.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_African-Caribbean_community
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to
the Sea ended with the capture of Savannah, Georgia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman's_March_to_the_Sea)
1885:
Itō Hirobumi, a samurai from Chōshū, became the first Prime Minister
of Japan.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itō_Hirobumi)
1989:
Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate re-opened after nearly 30 years,
symbolizing the unity of East and West Germany.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_Gate)
2001:
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in
Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai)
2001:
CC the cat, the first cloned pet, was born.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CC_(cat))
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
It takes great labor to uncover the convincing simple speech of the
heart. Poetic candor comes with hard labor, so even does impetuosity
and impudence. -- Kenneth Rexroth
(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Rexroth)