The Whistleblower is a 2010 thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki and starring Rachel Weisz (pictured). It was inspired by the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who worked as a United Nations peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina for DynCorp International in 1999 and discovered a sex trafficking ring serving (and being facilitated by) DynCorp employees, with the UN turning a blind eye. The Whistleblower—a co-production between Canada, Germany, and the United States—was filmed in Romania in 2009. It premiered on September 13, 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Samuel Goldwyn Films distributed the film in theaters in the United States. The film was advertised as a fictionalization of events occurring during the late 1990s. Kondracki said that the facts are broadly accurate but some details were omitted for the film. Despite garnering mixed reviews, The Whistleblower received several awards and nominations, including three nominations at the 2012 Genie Awards. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted a screening of the film and promised action would be taken to prevent further instances of human trafficking. The Guardian reported that other UN officials attempted to downplay the events depicted and that initiatives against trafficking in Bosnia were aborted.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Whistleblower

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1260:

Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines: Siena Ghibellines defeated the Florence Guelphs at the Battle of Montaperti thanks to an act of treachery, which was immortalised in Dante's Divine Comedy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montaperti

1774:

British explorer James Cook became the first European to sight the island of New Caledonia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia

1888:

American inventor George Eastman registered the trademark "Kodak" after receiving a patent for his roll film camera. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_Kodak

1964:

The Forth Road Bridge crossing the Firth of Forth in Scotland opened to traffic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Road_Bridge

1984:

The Progressive Conservative Party led by Brian Mulroney won the largest majority government by total number of seats in Canadian history during the federal election. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroney

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

snood: 1. A small hairnet or cap worn by women to keep their hair in place. 2. The flap of red skin on the beak of a male turkey. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snood

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Washington acted as the representative of the needs, the ideas, the enlightened men, the opinions of his age; he supported, not thwarted, the stirrings of intellect; he desired only what he had to desire, the very thing to which he had been called: from which derives the coherence and longevity of his work. That man who struck few blows because he kept things in proportion has merged his existence with that of his country: his glory is the heritage of civilisation; his fame has risen like one of those public sanctuaries where a fecund and inexhaustible spring flows.   --François-René de Chateaubriand https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Ren%C3%A9_de_Chateaubriand