The Arbiter is a playable character from the Halo science fiction universe, first voiced by Keith David in the 2004 video game Halo 2. A different Arbiter appears in the 2009 real-time strategy game Halo Wars, voiced by David Sobolov. Although the Arbiter is intended to die serving the High Prophets, he survives his missions and the Prophets' subsequent betrayal of his kind. When he learns that the Prophets' plans would doom all sentient life in the galaxy to extinction, he allies with the Covenant's enemies—humanity—to stop the Halo from being activated. The entertainment website IGN lamented the loss of the Arbiter's storyline in Halo 3, but the Arbiter character was not evenly received by critics and fans, nor was the humanization of the Covenant in general. The character's name was changed from "Dervish" to avoid reinforcing a perceived US-versus-Islam allegory in the game's plot.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbiter_(Halo)

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

3114 BC:

The epoch of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, a non- repeating, vigesimal calendar used by the Maya civilization and several other Mesoamerican cultures, occurred. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_Long_Count_calendar

106:

The region of Dacia, comprising regions of modern Romania, became a province of the Roman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Dacia

1786:

Captain Francis Light founded the British colony of Penang (City Hall pictured), beginning more than a century of British involvement in Malaya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang

1828:

William Corder was hanged at Bury St Edmunds, England, for the murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barn_Murder

1945:

Amid rumors of kidnappings of children by Jews in Kraków, a crowd of Poles engaged in a pogrom, which resulted in one dead and five wounded victims. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3%B3w_pogrom

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

metaknowledge: 1. (philosophy) Knowledge about knowledge itself. 2. (psychology, artificial intelligence) Knowledge about types, domains, functions, or preconditions of knowledge. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/metaknowledge

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The world is growing gentle, But few know what she owes To the understanding lily And the judgment of the rose.   --Nathalia Crane https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nathalia_Crane