A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly is a proposed addition to the United Nations System that would allow for participation of member nations' legislators and, eventually, direct election of United Nations parliament members by citizens worldwide. The idea was raised at the League of Nations founding in the 1920s and again following the end of World War II in 1945, but remained dormant throughout the Cold War. In the 1990s and 2000s, the rise of global trade and the power of world organizations that govern it led to calls for a parliamentary assembly to scrutinize their activity. The International Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly was formed in 2007 to coordinate pro-UNPA efforts. Supporters have set forth possible UNPA implementations, including promulgation of a new treaty; creation of a UNPA as a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly; and evolution of a UNPA from the Inter-Parliamentary Union or another nongovernmental organization. Several proposals for apportionment of votes have been raised to address disparities in UN members' population and economic power. CEUNPA advocates initially giving the UNPA advisory powers and gradually increasing its authority over the UN system. Opponents cite issues such as funding, voter turnout, and undemocratic UN member nations as reasons for abandoning the project altogether.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Parliamentary_Assembly

Second Punic War: Hannibal had his first great victory over the Roman Republic at the Battle of the Trebia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Trebia)

Mongol ruler Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty in China.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kublai_Khan)

The first performance of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's fairy tale-ballet The Nutcracker was held at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker)

Epimetheus, one of the moons of Saturn, was discovered, but was mistaken as Janus. It took 12 years to determine that they are two distinct objects sharing the same orbit.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimetheus_(moon))

Programmer Larry Wall released the first version of the programming language Perl via the comp.sources.misc newsgroup.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl)

hymnody (n)      1. The writing, composing, or singing of hymns or psalms.
                        2. The hymns of a particular church or of a particular time.
(http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hymnody)

I cannot be grasped in the here and now. For I reside just as much with the dead as with the unborn. Somewhat closer to the heart of creation than usual. But not nearly close enough.