Caroline Island is the easternmost of the uninhabited coral atolls which
comprise the southern Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. First
sighted by Europeans in 1606 and claimed by the United Kingdom in 1868,
it has been part of the Republic of Kiribati since the island nation's
independence in 1979. Despite guano mining, copra (coconut meat)
harvesting, and human habitation in the 19th and 20th centuries,
Caroline Island has remained relatively unspoiled compared to other
tropical islands. It is home to one of the world's largest populations
of the coconut crab and is an important breeding site for seabirds, most
notably the sooty tern. The atoll is known for its role in celebrations
surrounding the arrival of the year 2000. A 1995 realignment of the
International Date Line made Caroline Island the easternmost land west
of the Date Line and therefore one of the first points of land on Earth
to see sunrise in the year 2000.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Island>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1870:
Franco-Prussian War: Prussian forces captured Napoleon III at
the Battle of Sedan, which led to the collapse of the Second French
Empire within days.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sedan>
1957:
South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began an official
visit to Australia, the first by a foreign incumbent head of state to
the country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Dinh_Diem_presidential_visit_to_Australia>
1985:
Hurricane Elena, an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone
that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf
Coast, made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 major
hurricane.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Elena>
1992:
An earthquake registering 7.7 Mw off the coast of Nicaragua
became the first tsunami earthquake to be captured on modern broadband
seismic networks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Nicaragua_earthquake>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
tar with the same brush:
(transitive, figuratively) To characterize (someone or something) using
the same undesirable attribute, especially unjustly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tar_with_the_same_brush>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I wanted to have a voice, and it was okay if I wasn't going to be
so famous or so rich. And this the one thing I learned: How do you
recognize what's your true dream and what is the dream that you are
dreaming for other people to love you? … The difference is very easy
to understand. If you enjoy the process, it's your dream. … If you are
enduring the process, just desperate for the result, it's somebody
else's dream.
--Salma Hayek
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Salma_Hayek>
Benedict Joseph Fenwick (1782–1846) was an American Catholic bishop
and educator who served as Bishop of Boston from 1825 until his death.
Born in Maryland, he entered the Society of Jesus and began his ministry
in the Diocese of New York, where he eventually became the vicar general
and administrator. In 1817, he became the president of Georgetown
College in Washington, D.C. Months later, Ambrose Maréchal, Archbishop
of Baltimore, sent him to St. Mary's Church in Charleston, South
Carolina, to resolve a longstanding schism. In 1825, Fenwick became the
bishop of Boston, during a period of rapid growth of the city's Catholic
population due to Irish immigration. Intense nativism and anti-
Catholicism culminated with the burning of the Ursuline Convent in 1834,
threats against Fenwick's life, and the formation of the Montgomery
Guards. He established numerous churches, charitable institutions,
newspapers, and schools, including The Pilot in 1829 and the College of
the Holy Cross in 1843.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Joseph_Fenwick>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1937:
The first group of around 172,000 Koreans were deported by
Soviet authorities from the Russian Far East to the Kazakh and Uzbek
SSRs; around 10 to 25 percent died.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_Koreans_in_the_Soviet_Union>
1939:
German forces began an invasion of Poland, including attacks at
Wieluń and at Westerplatte, starting World War II in Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Westerplatte>
1969:
Muammar Gaddafi led a coup d'état to overthrow King Idris of
Libya.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi>
1972:
In a match widely publicized as a Cold War confrontation,
American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer became the 11th World Chess
Champion with his victory over Russian Boris Spassky.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Spassky>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lum:
1. A chimney; also, the top part of a chimney.
2. (specifically, mining) A ventilating chimney over the shaft of a
mine.
3. (Northern England, Scotland, dialectal) A grove or wood; also, a
woody valley.
4. (Northern England, Scotland, dialectal) A deep pool, especially one
in a riverbed.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lum>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
This is what Russia wants. A primitive plot in three acts for the
world to make three dramatic mistakes. To get used to the war. To put up
with the war. To forget about the war. This intention should never
succeed. … Your position is important, your voice is influential, your
word is loud. The least you can do today, or rather, NOT do, is not to
be silent, not to be afraid, not to turn away, not to pass by and not to
be indifferent to the war in Ukraine, which was unleashed by Russia.
--Volodymyr Zelenskyy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy>
Carlton Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in
Gedling, Nottinghamshire, England. Founded in 1904 as Sneinton Football
Club, it was described in 1909 as "the leading amateur football club in
Nottingham". Its reputation declined thereafter, with the team
participating in obscure county divisions until the 1995–96 season saw
the club join the nationwide league system. Carlton competes in the
Northern Premier League's Division One East in the eighth tier of the
English football pyramid. Its home base since the early 1990s has been
the Bill Stokeld Stadium (entrance pictured). It won promotion in
2006–07 from the Premier Division of the Northern Counties East
Football League. Tournament records include reaching the third round of
the FA Amateur Cup four times; the third qualifying round of the FA Cup
twice; the first round of the FA Trophy in 2021–22; and the third
round of the FA Vase in 2005–06. The club is nicknamed "the Millers"
and its main colours are yellow and blue.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Town_F.C.>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1897:
Thomas Edison was granted a patent for the Kinetoscope, a
precursor to the modern movie projector.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetoscope>
1959:
A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu, younger brother and
chief adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm, failed
to kill Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister of Cambodia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng%C3%B4_%C4%90%C3%ACnh_Nhu>
1997:
Diana, Princess of Wales, her partner Dodi Fayed, and their
driver were killed in a car accident in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Diana,_Princess_of_Wales>
2002:
Typhoon Rusa made landfall in Goheung as the most powerful
typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, killing at least 236 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Rusa>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
mislike:
1. (transitive)
2. To disapprove of or dislike (someone or something); to have an
aversion to.
3. (archaic) To displease or offend (someone).
4. (intransitive)
5. (archaic) To displease or offend.
6. (obsolete)
7. To disapprove; also, to be displeased or unhappy.
8. To become sickly or weak due to poor health; to waste away.
9. (uncountable, archaic) Aversion or distaste for something; dislike;
(countable, archaic) an instance of this.
10. (obsolete)
11. (uncountable) Lack of comfort; discomfort; also, difficulty;
trouble; or sadness; unhappiness.
12. (uncountable) The characteristic or state of incapacity, physical
distress, or weakness due to poor health; sickliness; (countable) an
instance of this.
13. (uncountable) Discontent, unrest; (countable) an instance of this.
[...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mislike>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Solidarity is a universal value which is becoming indispensable
for progress and for the survival of humankind.But a modern state has to
be worthy of solidarity, in other words, it should pursue, in both
domestic and international affairs, policies that bring together the
interests of its people and those of the world community. This task,
however obvious, is not a simple one. Life is much richer and more
complex than even the most perfect plans to make it better. It
ultimately takes vengeance for attempts to impose abstract schemes, even
with the best of intentions.
--Mikhail Gorbachev
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev>
Judith Resnik (1949–1986) was an American electrical, software and
biomedical engineer, pilot and astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle
Challenger disaster in January 1986. Resnik was the fourth woman and
second American woman to fly in space, logging 145 hours in orbit. With
a PhD in electrical engineering, she worked for RCA as an engineer on
Navy missile and radar projects, and for Xerox as a senior systems
engineer. She published research on special-purpose integrated
circuitry. At age 28, she was selected by NASA as a mission specialist
in the first NASA astronaut group to include women. While training she
developed software and operating procedures for NASA missions. Her first
space flight was the STS-41-D mission, the maiden voyage of
Space Shuttle Discovery which launched on August 30, 1984, during
which her duties included operating the orbiter's robotic arm. Her
second shuttle mission was STS-51-L aboard Challenger. She died when it
broke up shortly after liftoff.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Resnik>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1959:
Writer and politician Abdul Muis became the first person to be
awarded the posthumous title of National Hero of Indonesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hero_of_Indonesia>
1959:
South Vietnamese opposition figure Phan Quang Đán was elected
to the National Assembly, despite soldiers being bussed in to vote
multiple times for President Ngô Đình Diệm's candidate.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Quang_%C4%90%C3%A1n>
1984:
Discovery, the third orbiter of NASA's Space Shuttle program,
lifted off on its maiden voyage from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery>
1992:
German racing driver Michael Schumacher won the Belgian Grand
Prix, the first of his 91 Formula One Grand Prix wins.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schumacher>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
fascine:
1. (chiefly construction) Originally a cylindrical bundle of small
sticks of wood, and now often a bundle of plastic pipes, bound together,
and used for strengthening purposes, such as in revetments for
riverbanks, and in mats for dams, jetties, etc.
2. (specifically, military fortification) A similar bundle of sticks of
wood or plastic pipes used for filling in ditches for armoured fighting
vehicles to drive over, and for making parapets, raising batteries, and
strengthening ramparts.
3. (figuratively, rare) Something which is used for defensive purposes.
4. (transitive, originally military, chiefly New Zealand) To use
fascines to build or reinforce (something), or to fill in (a trench,
etc.).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fascine>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I call investing the greatest business in the world … because
you never have to swing. You stand at the plate, the pitcher throws you
General Motors at 47! U.S. Steel at 39! and nobody calls a strike on
you. There's no penalty except opportunity lost. All day you wait for
the pitch you like; then when the fielders are asleep, you step up and
hit it.
--Warren Buffett
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett>
A filibuster lasting 24 hours and 18 minutes was conducted on August
28–29, 1957, by Democratic U.S. senator Strom Thurmond (pictured),
intended to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He read
the election laws of each U.S. state, Supreme Court decisions, and
George Washington's Farewell Address. The bill's power to protect the
voting rights of African Americans had already been significantly
watered down by Senate Democrats, but Thurmond saw the bill as "cruel
and unusual punishment" and felt more intervention was needed. In
filibustering the bill, Thurmond went against a prior agreement among
Senate Democrats and therefore received backlash from some members of
his own party in addition to the disapproval of Republicans. Despite
this, the filibuster was wildly popular among citizens of the South. The
filibuster ultimately failed to change any votes in the Senate and the
bill was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower less than two
weeks later.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond_filibuster_of_the_Civil_Rights…>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1842:
Under the Treaty of Nanking, an "unequal treaty" that ended the
First Opium War, the Chinese island from which Hong Kong would grow was
ceded to Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong>
1903:
Slava, the last of five Borodino-class battleships, was
launched by the Imperial Russian Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Slava>
1984:
Followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh began deliberately
infecting people in The Dalles, Oregon, with Salmonella in the first and
largest bioterrorist attack in United States history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Rajneeshee_bioterror_attack>
1996:
Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 crashed on approach to Svalbard
Airport, Norway, killing all 141 on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vnukovo_Airlines_Flight_2801>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
espy:
1. (transitive)
2. To find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy
to see) by spying or looking; to catch sight of; to see; to spot.
3. To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly.
4. (obsolete)
5. To observe (someone) as a spy; also, to examine or observe (someone
or something) carefully; or to look out or watch for.
6. To become aware of (a fact, information, etc.).
7. (intransitive, archaic) To observe as a spy, to spy; also, to examine
or observe carefully; or to look out or watch.
8. (countable)
9. An act of finding out or observing by spying or looking; an espial or
espying.
10. A scout or spy.
11. (uncountable) The act or process of learning secret information
through clandestine means; espionage.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/espy>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We’re going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic
benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers: the Artemis
Generation. While maintaining American leadership in exploration, we
will build a global alliance and explore deep space for the benefit of
all. … All that we build, all that we study, all that we do, prepares
us to go. … OUR SUCCESS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD
--NASA
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/NASA>
SS Edward L. Ryerson is a steel-hulled American Great Lakes freighter
which entered service in 1960. Built between 1959 and 1960 for the
Inland Steel Company, she was a member of the so-called 730-class of
lake freighters, which shared the unofficial title of "Queen of the
Lakes" due to their record-breaking length of 730 feet (222.5 m). The
last steam-powered freighter built on the lakes, she began her maiden
voyage on August 4, 1960, heading from Escanaba, Michigan, for Indiana
Harbor, Indiana, with a cargo of iron ore. Edward L. Ryerson quickly
became popular, to the point that there were rumors she would regularly
be directed through the lock closest to the shore, the MacArthur Lock,
for the benefit of boat watchers. She set two Great Lakes cargo haulage
records during the 1960s, with the latter, set on August 28, 1962, being
broken in 1965. Edward L. Ryerson has been laid up in Superior,
Wisconsin, since 2009.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edward_L._Ryerson>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1640:
Bishops' Wars: Scottish Covenanter forces led by Alexander
Leslie defeated the English army near Newburn, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Newburn>
1950:
In tennis, Althea Gibson became the first African-American
woman to compete at the U.S. National Championships.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althea_Gibson>
1987:
Construction on the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, the tallest
structure in North Korea, began.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel>
1993:
The NASA spacecraft Galileo flew by the asteroid 243 Ida and
took photographs that later revealed the first known asteroid moon (both
pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/243_Ida>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stipend:
1. (archaic) A regular fixed payment made to someone (especially a
clergyman, judge, soldier, or teacher) for services provided by them; a
salary.
2. (by extension)
3. Some other form of fixed (and generally small) payment occurring at
regular intervals, such as an allowance, a pension, or (obsolete) a tax.
4. (education) A scholarship granted to a student.
5. (obsolete)
6. Money which is earned; an income.
7. A one-off payment for a service provided.
8. (transitive, obsolete or historical) To provide (someone) with a
stipend (an allowance, a pension, a salary, etc.).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stipend>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe>
Kelenken is a genus of phorusrhacid, an extinct group of large,
predatory birds, which lived in what is now Argentina about 15 million
years ago. The only known specimen was discovered by high school student
Guillermo Aguirre-Zabala in Patagonia, and was made the holotype of the
new genus and species Kelenken guillermoi in 2007. The generic name
references a spirit in Tehuelche mythology, and the specific name honors
its discoverer. The holotype consists of a nearly complete skull, a
lower leg bone and a toe bone. The discovery of Kelenken clarified the
anatomy of large phorusrhacids: flightless birds with long hind limbs,
small wings, huge skulls and hooked beaks. At 716 mm (28.2 in) long,
the skull of Kelenken is the largest known of any bird. Kelenken is
thought to have been about 3 m (10 ft) tall and exceeded 100 kg
(220 lb) in weight. It differs from its relatives in its larger size,
length of its beak and details of its skull. It is thought to have been
a fast-running ground predator.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelenken>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1964:
South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Khánh entered into a
triumvirate power-sharing arrangement with rival generals Trần Thiện
Khiêm and Dương Văn Minh, both of whom had been involved in plots to
unseat Khánh.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_V%C4%83n_Minh>
1990:
American musician Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the most
influential guitarists in the revival of blues in the 1980s, was killed
in a helicopter crash.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Stevie_Ray_Vaughan>
2003:
Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years,
passing within approximately 55,758,000 km (34,650,000 mi).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars>
2009:
The Myanmar military junta and ethnic armies began three days
of violent clashes in the region of Kokang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Kokang_incident>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
withdraw:
1. (transitive)
2. To draw or pull (something) away or back from its original position
or situation.
3. To remove (someone or (reflexive, archaic) oneself) from a position
or situation; specifically (military), to remove (soldiers) from a
battle or position where they are stationed.
4. (archaic) To draw or pull (a bolt, curtain, veil, or other object)
aside.
5. To take away or take back (something previously given or permitted);
to remove, to retract.
6. To cause or help (someone) to stop taking an addictive drug or
substance; to dry out.
7. To take (one's eyes) off something; to look away.
8. (figuratively)
9. To disregard (something) as belonging to a certain group.
10. To remove (a topic) from discussion or inquiry.
11. To stop (a course of action, proceedings, etc.)
12. To take back (a comment, something written, etc.); to recant, to
retract.
13. (archaic or obsolete) To distract or divert (someone) from a course
of action, a goal, etc.
14. (banking, finance) To extract (money) from a bank account or other
financial deposit.
15. (intransitive)
16. Chiefly followed by from: to leave a place, someone's presence,
etc., to go to another room or place.
17. (specifically, military) Of soldiers: to leave a battle or position
where they are stationed; to retreat.
18. Chiefly followed by from: to stop taking part in some activity;
also, to remove oneself from the company of others, from publicity, etc.
19. To stop talking to or interacting with other people and start
thinking thoughts not related to what is happening.
20. To stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to undergo
withdrawal.
21. Of a man: to remove the penis from a partner's body orifice before
ejaculation; to engage in coitus interruptus.
22. An act of drawing back or removing; a removal, a withdrawal or
withdrawing.
23. (law) Synonym of withdraught (“a dismissal of a lawsuit with
prejudice based on a plaintiff's withdrawal of the suit; a retraxit;
also, a fine imposed on a plaintiff for such a dismissal”)
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/withdraw>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Open your polling places to all your people. Allow men and women
to register and vote whatever the color of their skin. Extend the
rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land. There is no
constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain.
There is no moral issue. It is wrong — deadly wrong — to deny any of
your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no
issue of States rights or national rights. There is only the struggle
for human rights. We cannot, we must not, refuse to protect the right
of every American to vote in every election that he may desire to
participate in. … We have already waited a hundred years and more, and
the time for waiting is gone.
--Lyndon B. Johnson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson>
The Old Head coinage were British coins struck and dated between 1893
and 1901, with a portrait by Thomas Brock of an aged Queen Victoria
(example shown). It replaced the Jubilee coinage, struck since 1887,
which had been widely criticised. In 1891, a committee was appointed to
consider the matter, and recommended replacements. Some coins continued
with their old reverse designs, with Benedetto Pistrucci's design for
the sovereign extended to the half sovereign, and others gained new
ones, created either by Brock or by Edward Poynter. The issue became the
first to bear, as part of the monarch's royal titles, IND IMP,
abbreviated Latin for 'Empress of India'. The issue originally consisted
only of gold and silver coins, but in 1895, the Brock head of Victoria
was placed on the bronze coinage (the penny and its fractions) as well.
They continued to be struck until Victoria's death in 1901 caused a
change in the obverse design; starting in 1902, the coinage bore the
head of her successor, Edward VII.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Head_coinage>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1346:
Hundred Years' War: English forces established the military
supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow
and armoured knights at the Battle of Crécy (depicted).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cr%C3%A9cy>
1928:
At a cafe in Paisley, Scotland, a woman found the remains of a
snail in her bottle of ginger beer, giving rise to the landmark civil
action case Donoghue v Stevenson.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donoghue_v_Stevenson>
1955:
Pather Panchali, the first film in The Apu Trilogy by Satyajit
Ray, was released and went on to win many Indian and international film
awards.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pather_Panchali>
1966:
The South African Defence Force launched an attack against
SWAPO guerrilla fighters at Omugulugwombashe, starting the South African
Border War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Border_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
stockpile:
1. A supply (especially a large one) of something kept for future use,
specifically in case the cost of the item increases or if there a
shortage.
2. (specifically, military, weaponry) A supply of nuclear weapons kept
by a country.
3. (mining) A pile of coal or ore heaped up on the ground after it has
been mined.
4. (transitive)
5. To accumulate or build up a supply of (something).
6. (specifically, military, weaponry) To build up a stock of (nuclear
weapons).
7. (mining) To heap up piles of (coal or ore) on the ground after it has
been mined.
8. (intransitive) To build up a supply; to accumulate.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stockpile>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Christopher would find himself able to believe — as a
possibility, at least — that an eternal impersonal presence (call it
"the soul" if you like) exists within all creatures and is other than
the mutable non-eternal "person." He would then feel that all his
earlier difficulties had been merely semantic; that he could have been
converted to this belief at any time in his life, if only someone had
used the right words to explain it to him. Now, I doubt this. I doubt if
one ever accepts a belief until one urgently needs it.
--Christopher Isherwood
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Christopher_Isherwood>
Zufar ibn al-Harith al-Kilabi (died c. 695) was a Muslim commander
from the Arab tribe of Banu Amir, and the leader of the Qays faction in
the late 7th century. During the First Muslim Civil War he led his tribe
in A'isha's army against Caliph Ali at the Battle of the Camel in 656.
In 657 he fought under Mu'awiya against Ali at the Battle of Siffin.
During the Second Muslim Civil War he served Caliph Yazid I against
anti-Umayyad rebels in the Battle of al-Harra in 683. After Yazid died,
Zufar supported Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr's bid against the Umayyads. At
the Battle of Marj Rahit in 684, the Qays were crushed by the Umayyads
and their allies. Zufar then set up headquarters in Qarqisiya and led
the Qays tribes against the Kalb. After three sieges of Qarqisiya from
685 to 691, Zufar negotiated a peace with Caliph Abd al-Malik. Zufar's
troops were pardoned, rewarded and integrated into the Umayyad military.
The peace was sealed by the marriage of Zufar's daughter Rabab to the
caliph's son Maslama.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zufar_ibn_al-Harith_al-Kilabi>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1758:
Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the
Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zorndorf>
1942:
World War II: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at
Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay>
1989:
The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to
Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's
rings (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Neptune>
2001:
American singer Aaliyah and several members of her record
company were killed when their overloaded aircraft crashed shortly after
taking off from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Marsh_Harbour_Cessna_402_crash>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
as you sow, so shall you reap:
The consequences of one's actions to oneself are in proportion to one's
good or bad intentions towards others.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/as_you_sow%2C_so_shall_you_reap>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Nowhere on earth does the rose of happiness blossom without
thorns; but what bursts forth out of these thorns is everywhere and in
various guises the transient, yet beautiful rose of man’s joy in
living.
--Johann Gottfried Herder
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Herder>
The 1982 Embassy World Snooker Championship was a professional snooker
tournament that took place between 30 April and 16 May 1982 at the
Crucible Theatre, in Sheffield, England. It was the only event of the
1981–82 snooker season that carried world ranking points. Embassy, a
British cigarette company, sponsored the tournament, and the World
Professional Billiards and Snooker Association governed the organisation
of the event. It had a prize fund of £110,000, with the winner
receiving £25,000. The defending champion, Steve Davis (pictured), had
defeated Doug Mountjoy with a score of 18–12 in the previous year's
final. In 1982, Davis was the bookmaker's favourite to win the
tournament, but he lost 1–10 to Tony Knowles in the first round. Alex
Higgins won his second world title by defeating Ray Reardon 18–15 in
the final. Ten century breaks were made during the tournament, the
highest of which was a 143 scored by Willie Thorne.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_World_Snooker_Championship>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1643:
A Dutch expedition arrived at the mouth of the Valdivia River,
in present-day Chile, to establish a new colony in the ruins of the
abandoned Spanish settlement of Valdivia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_expedition_to_Valdivia>
1889:
The predominantly Māori New Zealand Native football team
played the last match of their 107-game tour, the longest in rugby union
history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888%E2%80%9389_New_Zealand_Native_football_t…>
1942:
World War II: At the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, bombers
from the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft
carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel Island, contributing to an Allied
victory.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons>
1992:
Hurricane Andrew, the third-most intense Category 5 cyclone to
impact the United States in the 20th century, made landfall in southern
Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Andrew>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
flutter in the dovecote:
(idiomatic) A disturbance, usually one caused within a group of people
who are generally placid and unexcited.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flutter_in_the_dovecote>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
As we pass from one century to another, one millennium to one
another, we would like to think that history itself is transformed as
dramatically as the calendar. However, it rushes on, as it always did,
with two forces racing toward the future, one splendidly uniformed, the
other ragged but inspired. There is the past and its continuing
horrors: violence, war, prejudices against those who are different,
outrageous monopolization of the good earth's wealth by a few, political
power in the hands of liars and murderers, the building of prisons
instead of schools, the poisoning of the press and the entire culture by
money. It is easy to become discouraged observing this, especially since
this is what the press and television insist that we look at, and
nothing more. But there is also the bubbling of change under the
surface of obedience: the growing revulsion against endless wars … the
insistence of women all over the world that they will no longer tolerate
abuse and subordination… There is civil disobedience against the
military machine, protest against police brutality directed especially
at people of color. … It is a race in which we can all choose to
participate, or just to watch. But we should know that our choice will
help determine the outcome.
--Howard Zinn
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn>