What is the name of the Pakistani cricket captain jailed for his part in a betting fix during a match against England in 2010?

Salman Butt and Pakistan bowlers jailed for no-ball plot - BBC News Salman Butt and Pakistan bowlers jailed for no-ball plot 3 November 2011 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Image caption The charges related to the fourth Test between Pakistan and England at Lord's in August 2010 Former Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt has been jailed for 30 months for his part in the conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in last year's Test match against England. Former world number two Test bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, was jailed for one year and bowler Mohammad Amir, 19, has been sentenced to six months. Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was jailed for two years and eight months. Knowing when no-balls will be bowled can be of great value in betting scams. The judge, Mr Justice Cooke, said cricket matches would forever be tainted by the scandal. In his sentencing remarks, which have been published online, he told the defendants: "'It's not cricket' was an adage. It is the insidious effect of your actions on professional cricket and the followers of it that make the offences so serious. "The image and integrity of what was once a game but is now a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including the many youngsters who regarded you as as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the levels and with the skills that you had." 'Sad day' BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew tweeted: "Let's hope this is the necessary deterrent to restore the integrity of cricket. Tempted? Think again. Caught=prison." The Pakistan Cricket Board said the conviction of the players was "a sad day for Pakistan cricket". In February all three players were banned for five years by the International Cricket Council. All three are appealing against their suspensions. Media captionAmir's mother and Butt's sister speak to the BBC But former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said they should have been given lifetime bans. The three players have all been ordered to pay compensation towards prosecution costs. Butt, 27, was ordered to pay £30,937, Amir £9,389 and Asif £8,120. The men were arrested after the fourth Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. An undercover News of the World (NOTW) reporter paid Majeed £150,000 for details of the precise timing of three no-balls, which the players were persuaded to bowl, which were extremely valuable on the spot-fixing betting market. Majeed claimed to have paid Asif £65,000, Butt £10,000 and Amir £2,500. Investigative journalism The judge told all the players they would be released on licence half way through their sentences if they behaved. The trial heard that the cheating would never have been exposed without the investigative journalism of the NOTW. Image caption Butt (pictured) and the other two players have been banned from cricket for five years The judge said: "Whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, or whenever in the future there are surprising events or results, followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it live or watch it on television will be left to wonder whether there has been fixing and whether what they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball." He made no orders for compensation regarding the £150,000, adding: "I consider that the NOTW got what it bargained for." He's my only brother, he's my mum's only son; he means everything to us Salman Butt's sister Rubab Pakistan's murky cricket-fixing underworld How Pakistan cricket betting scam unfolded Butt, described as the "orchestrator" of the scam, was sentenced to 30 months for conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and two years conspiracy to help others to cheat at gambling, to run concurrently. His solicitor, Paul Harris, said he would be lodging an appeal against the severity of his sentence within 24 hours. The player's wife has just given birth to a son and his sister, Rubab, said the family were under stress. Speaking to the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Pakistan, she said: "His wife, ever since she had the surgery with the baby - they haven't been e


Which former World War II pilot land Head of the CIA did Ronald Reagan choose as his Vice President?

George H. W. Bush | whitehouse.gov Air Force One George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush, as the 41st President (1989-1993), brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the United States "a kinder and gentler nation" in the face of a dramatically changing world. George Bush brought to the White House a dedication to traditional American values and a determination to direct them toward making the United States "a kinder and gentler nation." In his Inaugural Address he pledged in "a moment rich with promise" to use American strength as "a force for good." Coming from a family with a tradition of public service, George Herbert Walker Bush felt the responsibility to make his contribution both in time of war and in peace. Born in Milton, Massachusetts, on June 12, 1924, he became a student leader at Phillips Academy in Andover. On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the armed forces. The youngest pilot in the Navy when he received his wings, he flew 58 combat missions during World War II. On one mission over the Pacific as a torpedo bomber pilot he was shot down by Japanese antiaircraft fire and was rescued from the water by a U. S. submarine. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action. Bush next turned his energies toward completing his education and raising a family. In January 1945 he married Barbara Pierce. They had six children-- George, Robin (who died as a child), John (known as Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. At Yale University he excelled both in sports and in his studies; he was captain of the baseball team and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation Bush embarked on a career in the oil industry of West Texas. Like his father, Prescott Bush, who was elected a Senator from Connecticut in 1952, George became interested in public service and politics. He served two terms as a Representative to Congress from Texas. Twice he ran unsuccessfully for the Senate. Then he was appointed to a series of high-level positions: Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1980 Bush campaigned for the Republican nomination for President. He lost, but was chosen as a running mate by Ronald Reagan. As Vice President, Bush had responsibility in several domestic areas, including Federal deregulation and anti-drug programs, and visited scores of foreign countries. In 1988 Bush won the Republican nomination for President and, with Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, he defeated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis in the general election. Bush faced a dramatically changing world, as the Cold War ended after 40 bitter years, the Communist empire broke up, and the Berlin Wall fell. The Soviet Union ceased to exist; and reformist President Mikhail Gorbachev, whom Bush had supported, resigned. While Bush hailed the march of democracy, he insisted on restraint in U. S. policy toward the group of new nations. In other areas of foreign policy, President Bush sent American troops into Panama to overthrow the corrupt regime of General Manuel Noriega, who was threatening the security of the canal and the Americans living there. Noriega was brought to the United States for trial as a drug trafficker. Bush's greatest test came when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, then threatened to move into Saudi Arabia. Vowing to free Kuwait, Bush rallied the United Nations, the U. S. people, and Congress and sent 425,000 American troops. They were joined by 118,000 troops from allied nations. After weeks of air and missile bombardment, the 100-hour land battle dubbed Desert Storm routed Iraq's million-man army. Despite unprecedented popularity from this military and diplomatic triumph, Bush was unable to withstand discontent at home from a faltering economy, rising violence in inner cities, and continued high deficit spending. In 1992 he lost his bid for reelection to Democrat Wil


The use of what widely used product was first demonstrated at Merstham Quarry, Surrey in 1867?

The 14th of July 1867 AD, 1st demonstration of Dynamite 1st demonstration of Dynamite Redhill , Surrey The 14th of July 1867 AD Alfred Nobel had already wooed Scandinavia and Germany with the power of dynamite as a practical, safe blasting explosive. But the British authorities were typically a little more reserved when it came to affording him permission to start production. Nobel had already defined himself as rare beast; he was an inventor who could turn in a profit. A remarkable chemist whose reputation preceded him, his 1865 demonstration of nitroglycerine in Cornwall may have been partly responsible for the British authoritiesï¿½ cold feet. The Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society ï¿½ a charitable organisation promoting science and the arts ï¿½ held an exhibition to which Nobel and his explosives were invited. The power of nitroglycerine was in no doubt, after the force of the blast damaged the societyï¿½s hall. Structural damage in Cornwall was not the best way to reverse Britainï¿½s conservative legislation regarding explosives. Indeed, Britainï¿½s legislation was somewhat anachronistic in the light of this new explosive ï¿½ nitroglycerine was a liquid, not a powder. Nobel was not deterred by the British insouciance. Returning in 1867, he applied for a British patent for dynamite. This was Nobelï¿½s third attempt. Britain was a tough market to crack. Mixing liquid nitroglycerine with an absorbent material, Nobel had created a malleable explosive, one which could be packed into sticks. Though it would prove to be an integral feature of spaghetti westerns, it was the quarrying and mining industries in the UK that should have been praying for permission for Nobelï¿½s dynamite to be used. On 14th July, 1867, Nobel demonstrated dynamite for the first time in the UK at Merstham Quarry, Surrey. It was a practical demonstration. No-one was injured, no buildings damaged, but again, he failed to convince the authorities. It took Nobel two more years of campaigning before he was allowed to go into production. Tragedies like the Caernarvon explosion, in which four people were killed when a consignment of nitroglycerine exploded, did not help. Eventually, in 1871, Nobel set up business in Ardeer, a remote location in the Clyde Estuary, in the West of Scotland. The British Dynamite Company was in business.


Which European Country has the oldest State Flag, dating back to the 14th century?

Oldest continuously used national flag | Guinness World Records Oldest continuously used national flag Share When 1625 The oldest, continuously used national flag is that of Denmark. The current design of a white Scandinavian cross on a red back ground was adopted in 1625 and its square shape in 1748. In Denmark it is known as the 'Dannebrog' or 'Danish cloth'. Although Denmark was never part of the Roman Empire, similar designs were used by the Empire to represent provinces, as the white cross is symbolic of Christianity. The Scandinavian cross has its horizontal stripe slightly to the left hand side of the square as you face it. Although there is no prescribed definition of what constitutes “continuous" use, the Danish flag was certainly in use in the 1370s, as the Gelre Armorial by Claes Heinenzoon (or Heynen 1345-1414) shows. It was also certainly used in the naval battles during the war against Sweden in the 1560s, as shown in a watercolour in Rudolf Dewenter’s Bericht von Pulver und Feuerwerken from 1585. In his War Articles, promulgated on 8 May 1625, King Christian IV issued the first known regulations for flying the flag and Colours of Command in the Navy in Denmark. It is often claimed that the Scottish Saltire can lay claim to a longer continuous use as a national flag. According to the Flag Institute, evidence for both the Saltire and the Dannebrog is fragmentary yet their vexillologists believe that the balance of evidence points to Denmark as being older: although St Andrew was named as the country's patron saint in the 14th century, there appears to be no direct evidence that the Saltire was always carried on a blue flag from that date. Flags captured at the battle of Flodden in 1513 bore a saltire, but they were not white on blue. A bill for the manufacture of flags from the same year mentions a red St Andrews flag, not a blue one. The flags captured in 1649–50 by Cromwell after the battles of Dunbar and Worcester include ones with black or red saltires in addition to white ones. Yet a white saltire on a blue flag was thought of as sufficiently emblematic of Scotland for it to be included in the Union Jack in 1606. It would therefore appear that the saltire, and the saltire alone, that was the symbol of Scotland – the colours of the flag were not of the first importance, particularly in the first half of the 16th century. This would, according to the Flag Institute, bar it from being defined as “continuous" use of the modern flag. All records listed on our website are current and up-to-date. For a full list of record titles, please use our Record Application Search. (You will be need to register / login for access)


Which poem by Keats and novel by Disraeli both have the same title?

Percy Bysshe Shelley | Poetry Foundation Percy Bysshe Shelley Poet Details 1792–1822 The life and works of Percy Bysshe Shelley exemplify Romanticism in both its extremes of joyous ecstasy and brooding despair. The major themes are there in Shelley’s dramatic if short life and in his works, enigmatic, inspiring, and lasting: the restlessness and brooding, the rebellion against authority, the interchange with nature, the power of the visionary imagination and of poetry, the pursuit of ideal love, and the untamed spirit ever in search of freedom—all of these Shelley exemplified in the way he lived his life and live on in the substantial body of work that he left the world after his legendary death by drowning at age twenty-nine. While Shelley shares many basic themes and symbols with his great contemporaries, he has left his peculiar stamp on Romanticism: the creation of powerful symbols in his visionary pursuit of the ideal, at the same time tempered by a deep skepticism. His thought is characterized by an insistence on taking the controversial side of issues, even at the risk of being unpopular and ridiculed. From the very beginning of his career as a published writer at the precocious age of seventeen, throughout his life, and even to the present day the very name of Shelley has evoked either the strongest vehemence or the warmest praise, bordering on worship. More than any other English Romantic writer, with the possible exception of his friend George Gordon, Lord Byron , Shelley’s life and reputation have had a history and life of their own apart from the reputation of his various works. Born on 4 August 1792—the year of the Terror in France—Percy Bysshe Shelley (the “Bysshe” from his grandfather, a peer of the realm) was the son of Timothy and Elizabeth Shelley. As the elder son among one brother, John, and four sisters, Elizabeth, Mary, Margaret, and Hellen, Percy stood in line not only to inherit his grandfather’s considerable estate but also to sit in Parliament one day. In his position as oldest male child, young Percy was beloved and admired by his sisters, his parents, and even the servants in his early reign as young lord of Field Place, the family home near Horsham, Sussex. Playful and imaginative, he devised games to play with his sisters and told ghost stories to an enrapt and willing-to-be-thrilled audience. However, the idyllic and receptive world of Field Place did not prepare him for the regimented discipline and the taunting boys of Syon House Academy, which Shelley entered in 1802. Here Shelley was subjected to the usual bullying, made all the worse by his failure to control his temper and his poor skills in fighting. The most positive memories Shelley had of his two years at Syon House were undoubtedly of the imaginative and lively lectures of Adam Walker on science-electricity, astronomy, and chemistry-an interest which Shelley retained throughout his life. In Shelley’s free-ranging mind there was no contradiction between an interest in science and an appetite for trashy Gothic romance thrillers, such as Matthew Gregory Lewis ’ s popular The Monk (1795). Shelley’s six years at Eton College, which he entered at age twelve in 1804, are more notable for his early love interests and for his early literary endeavors than for what he learned in the formal curriculum. Shelley often found himself the victim of bullying and fragging, as well as being taunted with epithets such as “Mad Shelley” and “Shelley the atheist,” a situation alleviated sometimes by the intervention of his older cousin, Tom Medwin, who was later to become one of Shelley’s first biographers. The strongest adult influence on Shelley during this time was not one of his masters but Dr. James Lind, the physician to the royal household at nearby Windsor, whom Shelley admired for his knowledge and free spirits and idealized as a kind of substitute father figure. As Newman Ivey White notes, Dr. Lind was the prototype of the benevolent old man who frees Laon from prison in The Revolt of Islam. Shelley’s access to Dr. Lind’s extensive library en


What species of rodent has the Latin name cavia porcellus?

Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) - JungleDragon JungleDragon Guinea pig Cavia porcellus The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus ''Cavia''. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea. They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggested they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as ''Cavia aperea'', ''C. fulgida'', or ''C. tschudii'' and, therefore, do not exist naturally in the wild. Recent studies applying molecular markers, in addition to studying the skull and skeletal morphology of current and mummified animals, revealed that the ancestor is most likely ''Cavia tschudii''. The guinea pig plays an important role in the folk culture of many Indigenous South American groups, especially as a food source, but also in folk medicine and in community religious ceremonies. Since the 1960s, efforts have been made to increase consumption of the animal outside South America. In Western societies, the guinea pig has enjoyed widespread popularity as a household pet since its introduction by European traders in the 16th century. Their docile nature, their responsiveness to handling and feeding, and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make the guinea pig a popular pet. Organizations devoted to competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide, and many specialized breeds of guinea pig, with varying coat colors and compositions, are cultivated by breeders. Biological experimentation on guinea pigs has been carried out since the 17th century. The animals were frequently used as a model organism in the 19th and 20th centuries, resulting in the epithet "guinea pig" for a test subject, but have since been largely replaced by other rodents such as mice and rats. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications. More Naming The scientific name of the common species is ''Cavia porcellus'', with ''porcellus'' being Latin for "little pig". ''Cavia'' is New Latin; it is derived from ''cabiai'', the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. ''Cabiai'' may be an adaptation of the Portuguese ''Ã§avia'' , which is itself derived from the Tupi word ''saujÃ¡'', meaning rat. Guinea pigs are called ''quwi'' or ''jaca'' in Quechua and ''cuy'' or ''cuyo'' in the Spanish of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Ironically, breeders tend to use the more formal "cavy" to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts it is far more commonly referred to by the more colloquial "guinea pig". How the animals came to be called "pigs" is not clear. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they also spend a large amount of time eating. They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a 'pig pen', and were thus easily transported on ships to Europe. The animal's name carries porcine connotations in many European languages. The German word for them is ''Meerschweinchen'', literally "sea piglet", which has been translated into Polish as ''Å›winka morska'', into Hungarian as ''tengerimalac'' and into Russian as ''Ð¼Ð¾Ñ€ÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÑÐ²Ð¸Ð½ÐºÐ°''. This derives from the Middle High German name "merswin". This originally meant "dolphin" and was used because of the animals' grunting sounds . There are however many other, possibly less scientifically based explanations of the German name. For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. The French term is ''Cochon d'Inde'' or ''cobaye''; the Dutch call it ''Guinees biggetje'' or cavia ; and in Portuguese the guinea pig is variously referred to as ''cobaia'', fro


Who is the only player to have captained the British Lions Rugby Union team on two tours?

Lions 100: The greatest players to have toured with the British & Irish Lions: Rugby Union - Telegraph First 15s: Full-backs JPR Williams (left) and Gavin Hastings Photo: COLORSPORT / GETTY IMAGES   Wing command: Jason Robinson (left) and Ieuan Evans Photo: EPA / GETTY IMAGES   Midfield maestros: Jeremy Guscott (left) and Mike Gibson Photo: GETTY IMAGES   Welsh wizards: Fly-halves Barry John (left) and Phill Bennett Photo: GETTY IMAGES   Prop idols: Graham Price (left) and Tom Smith Photo: COLORSPORT / GETTY IMAGES   Pack leaders: hookers Keith Wood (left) and Brian Moore Photo: GETTY IMAGES   Key locks: Martin Johnson (left) and Gordon Brown Photo: AP / GETTY IMAGES


"Which sauce derives its name from the Italian for ""pounded""?"

The Food Timeline history notes--sauce 3. Flavor enhancer Sauce ingredients, compostion, and preparation methods vary according to culture, cuisine and time period. The history of modern French sauces begins with Francois La Varenne. The French concept of "Mother Sauces" is an 18th century invention. Classification ensued. Careme is credited for this. Recommended reading ---introduction traces the history of sauce through time; special emphasis on French sauces Sauces : Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making / James Peterson, 2nd edition (1998) --Chapter 1 features the history of sauces from ancient times to the 20th century (15 pages) A History of Cooks and Cooking, Michael Symons --Chapter 6: 'On the Physical and Political Consequences of Sauces' (10 pages) plus numerous references to sauce throughout this book. Also check the index for stock, stew & soup. Larousse Gastronomique, any recent edition ---Recipes & history notes The Sauce Bible: Guide to the Saucier's Craft, David Paul Larousse ---Recipes & notes Sauce has many defintions & uses, depending upon time & place. One of the oldest sauce-type references (albeit fuzzy) is Ancient Roman Garum/Liquamen . Classic French Mother sauces were created in the 17th century (La Varenne)& codified in the 18th/19th (Caremen/Escoffier). "In France, there have alway been sauces, which is to say that the Franks and the Gauls moistened their food with a flavored liquid. These early sauces, spiced and pungent, sweet and sour, do not, however, qualify as ancestors of what we know today as French sauces. Tather, they-- and the sauces served in France until the beginning of the modern period--were a continuation of Roman and Mediterranean practice. Garum, the basic Roman sauce, was made from fermented fish. Typical seasonings were cumin, cardamom, and coriander, as well as honey,perfuem and flower petals. The Crusades reopened commerce with the East and broadened the palette of exotic spices that French chefs injected into their sauces. The first French cookbook, the celebrated Viandier of Taillevent (whose real name was Guillaume Tirel), provides ample proof that the fourteenth century still dotes on Oriental tastes. A typical Taillevent sauce for roasts consisted of mustard, red wine, powdered cinnamon, and sugar. Elsewhere, ginger and saffron crop up frequently. On the other hand, we do detect the beginnings of what we sould call sauce in Taillevent's coulis, broths thickened with cream, butter, and egg yolks, which served as the basis of the soups so popular at the time. Roux was unknown as a thickening agent, and the most commmon liaison was bread or toast. The next three hundred years, at least on the evidence of the leading cookbooks that have survived, was a chaos of invention, but few of the extant sauce recipes look like their modern counterparts. For the first half of the fifteenth century, the best indications of the style and substance of the cuisine come from Francois Rabelais, who catalogues the edible 'sacrifices' made by the Gastrolators to their god, Manduco... They can be assumed to be an accurate rundown of what people ate in the early 1500s. Out of dozens upon dozens of items, only the following came with a sauce: pates with hot sauce...and lampreys with sauce d'Hippocras (a sort of early vermouth). Perhaps we should also include among the sauced dishes the pork chops in oignonnade (a puree of onions?), chicken with blanc-mange, mutton shoulder with capers, loin of veal 'mustardized'...with powdered ginger, and myriad salted fish. in any case, it is clear that the concept of serving food with sauce had not taken hold in Rabelais's time, nor was it usual to build a sauce on a base of stock or coulis...Real change, in the sauce repetory, does not crop up in cookbooks until the following century." ---The Saucier's Apprentice: A Modern Guide to Classic French Sauces for the Home, Raymond Sokolov [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1976 (p. 3-4) ---An A-Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p.138) "Garum... a fermented fish sauce familiar in


What was the name of the oil tanker that ran aground in PrinceWilliam Sound off the Alaskan coast in 1989?

BBC ON THIS DAY | 24 | 1989: Exxon Valdez creates oil slick disaster About This Site | Text Only 1989: Exxon Valdez creates oil slick disaster An oil tanker has run aground on a reef off the Alaskan coast, releasing gallons of crude oil into the sea. The Exxon Valdez got into trouble in Prince William Sound when it hit Bligh Reef, splitting its side open and releasing oil, with reports of an eight-mile (12.8km) slick. High winds are affecting attempts to suck the slick from the sea's surface and residents have reported poor air quality as emergency crews try to burn off the top layer of oil. Booms, which are acting like necklaces on the surface of the sea to contain the oil, are failing to do the job. Environmentalists are also battling to save sea ducks, which number up to 10 million in the area. Ducks and seals have been discovered drenched in oil near the tanker. The Coast Guard is dropping chemicals in an attempt to break up the slick but local officials say Exxon is responding too slowly. The clean-up is not proceeding well Exxon Shipping president, Frank Iarossi Exxon Shipping president Frank Iarossi said: "The clean-up is not proceeding well. Believe me, that is an understatement. We have a mess on our hands." Mr Iarossi said the oil tanker was a mile off course although its navigational systems were working. It had encountered icebergs in the shipping lanes and Captain Joe Hazelwood ordered his helmsman to take the Valdez out of the lanes to go around the icebergs. The crew failed to make the turn back into the shipping lanes and the ship ran aground at 1204 local time. Cpt Hazelwood was in his quarters at the time. A spokesman for the Alaska department of environment said efforts to steer the Valdez back into the narrow shipping lane was like "trying to park a Cadillac in a Volkswagen spot". Businessmen are afraid the oil slick will affect tourism in the area, famous for whale-watching boat trips.


"Which major political figure won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1957book ""Profiles in Courage?"

John F. Kennedy - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com John F. Kennedy A+E Networks Introduction Elected in 1960 as the 35th president of the United States, 43-year-old John F. Kennedy became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office. He was born into one of America’s wealthiest families and parlayed an elite education and a reputation as a military hero into a successful run for Congress in 1946 and for the Senate in 1952. As president, Kennedy confronted mounting Cold War tensions in Cuba, Vietnam and elsewhere. He also led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement. His assassination on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, sent shockwaves around the world and turned the all-too-human Kennedy into a larger-than-life heroic figure. To this day, historians continue to rank him among the best-loved presidents in American history. Google John F. Kennedy’s Early Life Born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts , John F. Kennedy (known as Jack) was the second of nine children. His parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, were members of two of Boston’s most prominent Irish Catholic political families. Despite persistent health problems throughout his childhood and teenage years (he would later be diagnosed with a rare endocrine disorder called Addison’s disease), Jack led a privileged youth, attending private schools such as Canterbury and Choate and spending summers in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod. Joe Kennedy, a hugely successful businessman and an early supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt , was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934 and in 1937 was named U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. As a student at Harvard University, Jack traveled in Europe as his father’s secretary. His senior thesis about British’s unpreparedness for war was later published as an acclaimed book, “Why England Slept” (1940). Did You Know? John F. Kennedy's Senate career got off to a rocky start when he refused to condemn Senator Joseph McCarthy, a personal friend of the Kennedy family whom the Senate voted to censure in 1954 for his relentless pursuit of suspected communists. In the end, though he planned to vote against McCarthy, Kennedy missed the vote when he was hospitalized after back surgery. Jack joined the U.S. Navy in 1941 and two years later was sent to the South Pacific, where he was given command of a Patrol-Torpedo (PT) boat. In August 1943, a Japanese destroyer struck the craft, PT-109, in the Solomon Islands. Kennedy helped some of his marooned crew back to safety, and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. His older brother, Joe Jr., was not so fortunate: He was killed in August 1944 when his Navy airplane exploded on a secret mission against a German rocket-launching site. A grieving Joe Sr. told Jack it was his duty to fulfill the destiny once intended for Joe Jr.: to become the first Catholic president of the United States. JFK’s Beginnings in Politics Abandoning plans to be a journalist, Jack left the Navy by the end of 1944. Less than a year later, he was back in Boston preparing for a run for Congress in 1946. As a moderately conservative Democrat, and backed by his father’s fortune, Jack won his party’s nomination handily and carried the mostly working-class Eleventh District by nearly three to one over his Republican opponent in the general election. He entered the 80th Congress in January 1947, at the age of 29, and immediately attracted attention (as well as some criticism from older members of the Washington establishment) for his youthful appearance and relaxed, informal style. Kennedy won reelection to the House of Representatives in 1948 and 1950, and in 1952 ran successfully for the Senate, defeating the popular Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. On September 12, 1953, Kennedy married the beautiful socialite and journalist Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier. Two years later, he was forced to undergo a painful operation on his back. While recovering from the surgery, Jack wrote another be


Which English King was also crowned King of France in 1431?

King Henry VI | Britroyals Event 1422 Henry aged 8 months becomes King of England on the death of his father, Henry V, and then, two months later, King of France on the death of his grandfather, Charles VI. 1422 John, Duke of Bedford, is appointed Regent of France; Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, becomes Regent of England. 1429 Henry VI is crowned King of England 1429 The young peasant girl Joan of Arc begins her campaign to expel the English from France. She inspires the French army which relieves Orleans besieged by English troops. 1431 The English capture Joan of Arc. She is burned at the stake as a witch and heretic in Rouen on 30 May. 1431 Henry VI of England is crowned King of France in Paris 1437 Henry assumes personal rule of England 1440 Eton college founded giving free education to 70 scholars 1445 Henry marries Margaret of Anjou 1453 End of 100 Years� War. Gascony and Normandy fall to the French. England retains only Calais and The Channel Islands. 1453 Henry becomes mentally ill. Richard, Duke of York, is made Protector during Henry�s illness 1453 Battle of Heworth between supporters of the Neville and Percy families marks the beginning of the feud between the Houses of York and Lancaster 1454 Henry regains his senses but disaffected nobles take matters into their own hands. Supporters of the Dukes of York and Lancaster take sides. 1455 Beginning of the 'Wars of the Roses'. Duke of York is dismissed. York raises an army and defeats the King�s Lancastrian forces at the Battle of St. Albans.The Lancastrian leader, the Duke of Somerset, is killed. York takes over the government of England. 1457 Henry unsuccessfully tries to broker peace between the Yorkists and Lancastrians. 1459 War is renewed and the Lancastrians are defeated at Blore Heath; the Yorkists are then defeated at Ludford Bridge near Ludlow. Parliament declares York a traitor and he escapes to Ireland. 1460 Yorkist army led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeats Lancastrians at the Battle of Northampton. Henry VI is captured and his wife, Margaret, escapes to Scotland. Richard of York is again Protector. 1460 Margaret raises a Lancastrian army in the north and defeats and kills Richard of York at Wakefield. Henry VI captured by the Yorkists at Northampton. Earl of Warwick takes London for the Yorkists. 1461 Yorkists win Battle of Mortimers Cross. Queen Margaret marches her army South, defeats Earl of Warwick at St Albans, and frees Henry. Edward, son of Richard of York, defeats Margaret's Lancastrian forces on 29 March at the Battle of Towton - the largest and bloodiest battle ever on British soil when 28,000 lose their lives. Margaret and Henry flee to Scotland. Henry is deposed by Edward who declares himself King Edward IV 1462 Lancastrian revolts are suppressed. 1464 Warwick defeats Lancastrians at Battle of Hexham; Henry VI is captured and brought to the Tower of London. 1469 Warwick falls out with Edward IV, and defeats him at Edgecote. They are later reconciled but Warwick is banished. He makes peace with Margaret, returns to England with an army, and Edward flees to Flanders. Henry VI is restored to the throne. 1471 Edward returns to England and defeats and kills Warwick at the Battle of Barnet. Margaret is defeated at the Battle of Tewkesbury; her son Edward, Prince of Wales, heir to the Lancastrian throne is killed in battle. 1471


"Under what pseudonym did Dr Brooke Magnanti publish her notorious ""Diary of a Call-Girl""?"

Is Dr Brooke Magnanti, a scientist of 34, Belle de Jour? | Daily Mail Online Secret life: Dr Brooke Magnanti reportedly worked as a £300-a-night escort girl Her identity has been one of the great literary mysteries of the past decade. Now 'Belle de Jour' – whose best selling books lifted the lid on her secret life as a prostitute and inspired a popular TV series starring Billie Piper – is reported to have revealed herself as an obscure research scientist working in Bristol. Dr Brooke Magnanti, 34, is a neuro-specialist investigating the effects of pesticides on children.  But six years ago, as she struggled to complete her PhD thesis, Dr Magnanti is said to have run out of money and became a £300-a-night escort girl working in London.  More recent... Share this article Share She began blogging anonymously about her activities on the internet under the pseudonym 'Belle de Jour'. Her writing attracted millions of readers across the globe and its quality even sparked rumours that 'Belle' was a well-known author. Yet until last week not even her agent knew her real name. Only six people in the world knew Dr Magnanti's secret and she is reported to have told her parents for the first time yesterday. In an interview in today's Sunday Times, Dr Magnanti claims she was working on a doctoral study in the department of forensic pathology at Sheffield University when she took up prostitution in 2003. 'I was getting ready to submit my thesis,' she said. 'I saved up a bit of money. I thought, I'll just move to London, because that's where the jobs are, and I'll see what happens. 'I couldn't find a professional job in my chosen field because I didn't have my PhD yet. 'I didn't have a lot of spare time on my hands because I was still making corrections – and I got through my savings a lot faster than I thought I would.' Dr Magnanti claims her Jewish roots meant she had a 'pathological aversion to being in debt'. 'There's this hoarding thing, saving, being prepared. It got to the point where I didn't have quite enough money for my rent. 'I thought, "What can I do that I can start doing straight away, that doesn't require a great deal of training or investment to get started, that's cash in hand and that leaves me spare time to do my work in?"' After several meetings, Dr Magnanti eventually signed up with the Barbarella escort agency and embarked on her secret life. As well as prostitution, Dr Magnanti also tried her hand at computer programming – but she 'kept up with my other work because it was so much more enjoyable'. Calling: Billie Piper in the ITV drama Secret Diary Of A Call Girl. A scientist claims she is Belle de Jour, upon which the actress's character was based The average appointment lasted two hours and she saw clients two or three times a week – 'sometimes less, sometimes a great deal more'. Dr Magnanti admitted the number of men she has slept with lies 'somewhere between the dozens and hundreds'. She said some of the situations she found herself in could have been dangerous. 'You need to be aware of your surroundings: if it goes wrong, how can I get out of this room?' she said. 'It happened to me extremely rarely. I never left an appointment.' Dr Magnanti's blog led to a six-figure book deal and inspired ITV2 drama The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl starring the former pop star and Doctor Who actress Billie Piper. Now Dr Magnanti claims she wants to focus on her career as a scientist but assures her readers the Belle de Jour blog 'will continue for a bit – I'd like her to have a happy ending'. She added: 'I've felt worse about my writing than I ever have about sex for money.'


Who in 1964 became the first female group to have a Number 1 hit in the UK?

Record-Breakers and Trivia - everyHit.com Back To The 'Records & Trivia' Index Most Number 1s This, possibly the most important record, is held by Elvis Presley. He has had 21 chart-toppers, 18 of them different songs (three titles have topped the chart on two distinctly separate chart runs as part of the series of re-issues to commemorate what would have been Elvis' 70th birthday in 2005). You can see how this record has 'changed hands' over the years here . The Beatles are the top group with 17 number 1s. Madonna is the top woman with 13 (as of April 2008). Top female group is The Spice Girls with 9. Only seven acts in chart history have got into double figures with their tally of chart-toppers. They are: Elvis Presley (21, 18 different songs), The Beatles (17), Cliff Richard (14 : six of them with The Shadows, one with The Drifters, one with The Young Ones), Westlife (14 : one of them with Mariah Carey), Madonna (13), The Shadows (11 : six of them with Cliff Richard, two of these also with The Norrie Paramor Strings) and Take That (11: one featuring Lulu). Westlife hold the record for getting into double-figures in the shortest time (2 years and 10 months [ie. 149 weeks] - more than 3 months quicker than The Beatles (who took 165 weeks). Unlike Westlife, however, The Beatles tended to spend several weeks at the summit, slowing down their release rate.) It is worth pointing out that Paul McCartney has appeared on more Number 1s than any other artist under a diverse range of credits. He has, in fact, appeared on 24 Number 1s; solo (1), with Wings (1), Stevie Wonder, The Christians et al (1), Ferry Aid (1), Band Aid (1), Band Aid 20 (1) and The Beatles (17). In total, twenty-one artists have appeared on ten or more number one singles. They are: Paul McCartney (24), Elvis Presley (21), John Lennon (20), George Harrison (18), Ringo Starr (16), Cliff Richard (15), Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan (14), Robbie Williams, Madonna (13), Gary Barlow, Brian McFadden (12), Mel C , Geri Halliwell (11), Mel B, Emma Bunton, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen (10). Artist with Most Weeks at Number 1 It's Elvis Presley. He has topped the chart for a total of 80 weeks (as of w/e 5th Feb 2005). Top group is The Beatles (69 weeks). Top female performer is Madonna (29 weeks - as of w/e 17th May 2008). In his many different manifestations, however, Paul McCartney has spent 93 weeks at the top. Most Consecutive Number 1s 7 - by The Beatles and Westlife. The Beatles' stretch began with "A Hard Day's Night" in 1964 and lasted to "Yellow Submarine"/"Eleanor Rigby" in 1966. The run was broken when "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" merely made the number 2 position the following year! Westlife's stint began with their debut, "Swear it Again" in 1999 and ran through to "My Love" in November 2000 (though one hit was a 'duet' with Mariah Carey). It was broken by "What Makes A Man" which peaked at number 2 the following month. Beatles fans are, however, quick to point out that "Ain't She Sweet" (which made number 29 in 1964) was recorded in 1961, well before their EMI contract. It was issued by Polydor to 'cash in' on the success of the fab four. Fans argue that this was not an "official" Beatles release. If this logic is accepted (though the track did make the charts), The Beatles run of successive number ones begins with "From Me To You" in April 1963 - making a total of 11. Top female group is The Spice Girls (6 in a row from "Wannabe" through to "Too Much"). Longest Span of Number 1 Singles 47 years, 6 months and 23 days. Held by Elvis Presley. His first number 1 was "All Shook Up" in 1957 (w/e 13th June). His most recent chart-topper was the re-issue of "It's Now Or Never" in 2005 (w/e 5th Feb). Runner up is Cliff Richard. His first chart-topper was "Living Doll" in 1959. His latest was "The Millennium Prayer" in 1999, a span of 40, 4 months and 15 days. (+ 21 days for total span). Longest span for a female artist with solo credit is Madonna on 20 Years, 7 Months, 1 Day (from "Into The Groove", 3rd Aug 1985 to


Natives of which British overseas territory call themselves Llanitos?

Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Llanito - Meta Requests for new languages/Wikipedia Llanito From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki final decision This proposal has been rejected. This decision was taken by the language committee in accordance with the Language proposal policy based on the discussion on this page. The closing committee member provided the following comment: this request does not fulfill the requirement of having an ISO-639-3 code. GerardM 18:50, 17 July 2009 (UTC) Contents Language details: Llanito (ISO 639-3 ???) Editing community: ???? List your user name if you're interested in editing the wiki. Add "N" next to your name if you are a native speaker of this language. Please read the handbook for requesters for help using this template correctly. Llanito (pronounced [jɑˈnito] or [ʒɑˈnito]) or Yanito is an Andalusian Spanish based vernacular spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Gibraltarians also call themselves Llanitos. It consists of an eclectic mix of Andalusian Spanish and British English, marked by a great deal of code switching and loanwords from many other Mediterranean languages. The language is spoken by many people on the Rock, and a Wikipedia Llanito would benefit these speakers. The language has no official status, and limited publications and websites have been made in the language so this would help preserve Gibraltar's unique culture. Also: Pitkern, a similar type of language has a Wikipedia. Llanito has more speakers and therefore would be ideal to have it's own Wikipedia. this unsigned request was made 2008, September 16, by 92.10.77.101 Arguments in favour[ edit ] Arguments against[ edit ] This proposal is on a fast-track to be rejected. When assurances are given that a code is sought at SIL, I am happy to leave it on the current state. Thanks, 07:41, 12 November 2008 (UTC) I need people to include for the Community part of the template.. this is another good reason for rejecting the request. GerardM 07:41, 12 November 2008 (UTC) General Discussion[ edit ] As to my knowledge, SIL knows of Llanito and mentions it as a dialect of English spoken in Gibraltar but does not provide a language code for it. Reason unknown. How about requesting one? From all that I know about Llanito, I believe such request should be successful. -- Purodha Blissenbach 03:40, 9 November 2008 (UTC) The ethnologue info does not say anything about Llanito. At this stage this is full speculation. GerardM 02:33, 25 February 2009 (UTC)


Who Invented Facebook Who Invented Facebook? Who Invented Facebook? The history behind the number one social media network Facebook. Who Invented Facebook? - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (L) looks on as Facebook employee Ben Gertzfield strikes a cermonial gong to announce the launch of Facebook Places, a new application that allows Facebook users to document places they have visited.  Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images By Mary Bellis Updated October 23, 2016. Mark  Zuckerberg  was a Harvard computer science student when he, along with classmates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes invented Facebook. However, the idea for the web site, the world's most popular social networking page, oddly enough was inspired by a botched effort to get internet users to rate each other's photos.  Hot or Not? In 2003, Zuckerberg, a second year student at Harvard at the time, wrote the software for a web site called Facemash. He put his computer science skills to good use by hacking into Harvard's security network, where he copied the student ID images used by the dormitories and used them to populate his new website. Interestingly enough, he had initially created the site as a type of " hot or not " game for fellow students. Website visitors could use the site to compare two student photos side-by-side and decide who was "hot" and who was "not."  Facemash opened on October 28, 2003 and closed a few days later after it was shut down by Harvard execs. continue reading below our video Should I Roll Over my 401K to an IRA? In the aftermath, Zuckerberg faced serious charges of breach of security, violating copyrights and violating individual privacy for stealing the student photos he used to populate the site. He also faced expulsion from Harvard University for his actions. However, all charges were eventually dropped. TheFacebook On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched with a new website called "Thefacebook." He named the site after the directories that were handed out to university students to aid them in getting to know one another better. Six days later, he again got into trouble when Harvard seniors Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused him of stealing their ideas for an intended social network website called HarvardConnection and of using their ideas for TheFacebook. The claimants later filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg, but the matter was eventually settled out of court. Membership to the website was at first restricted to Harvard College students. Over time, Zuckerberg enlisted a few of his fellow students to help grow the website. Eduardo Saverin, for example, worked on the business end while Dustin Moskovitz was brought on as a programmer. Andrew McCollum served as the site's graphic artist and Chris Hughes became the de facto spokesperson. Together the team expanded the site to additional universities and colleges. Facebook In 2004, Napster founder and  angel investor  Sean Parker became the company's president. The company changed the site's name from TheFacebook to just Facebook after purchasing the domain name facebook.com in 2005 for $200,000. The following year, venture capital firm Accel Partners invested $12.7 million in the company, which enabled the creation of a version of the network for high school students. Facebook would later expand to other networks such as employees of companies. In September of 2006, Facebook announced that anyone who was at least 13 years old and had a valid email address could join. By 2009, it had become the world's most used social networking service, according to a report by the analytics site Compete.com.  While Zuckerberg's antics and the site's profits eventually led to him becoming the world's youngest multi-billionaire, he's done his part to spread the wealth around. He's donated $100 million dollars to the Newark, New Jersey public school system, which has long been underfunded. In 2010, he signed a pledged, along with other wealthy businessmen, to donate at least half of his wealth to charity. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have dona


Which British city has a railway station named after a series of novels written by Sir Walter Scott?

Waverley Station covered in novel quotes to mark anniversary - BBC News BBC News Waverley Station covered in novel quotes to mark anniversary 14 October 2014 Close share panel Image caption Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley book Edinburgh is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's Waverley at the railway station named after the novel. Waverley Station has been decorated with quotes from Sir Walter's writings to mark the 1814 publication. Waverley is regarded as the western world's first historical novel. About 25,000 copies of a book telling the story of the author's life will also be handed out as part of the Great Scott! campaign. Network Rail station manager Juliet Donnachie said: "As the only station in the world named after a novel, I like to think that Waverley Station retains a bit of romance not always associated with modern railways. "Sir Walter Scott was the most prominent Scot of his time and it's appropriate that the main railway station in Scotland's capital continues to acknowledge his influence. "Waverley Station is steeped in history - it has been the stage for millions of stories since the Victorian era and I think Sir Walter would like that." Waverley was the first novel of Sir Walter (1771-1832) who also penned the classics Rob Roy, The Heart of Midlothian and Ivanhoe. Star Wars The story follows the adventures of Englishman Edward Waverley in 1745 Scotland, where he becomes involved in the Jacobite rebellion and the attempt to restore the Stuart kings to the British throne. In the first year of its publication Waverley sold more copies than all other novels issued in the UK that year in total. Douglas McNaughton, manager of the Great Scott! campaign, said: "By inserting fictional characters into actual events, Scott invented the historical novel and influenced every writer who followed him, including Charles Dickens, Jules Verne and, by his own admission, George RR Martin, author of the phenomenally popular Game of Thrones series. "Waverley isn't a boring, dusty old story - it's essentially an action movie. The naive young hero is brought up by relatives, goes on a perilous journey and is caught up in the politics of an impossibly strange and exotic landscape. That's basically the plot of Star Wars. "And Scott wrote Waverley as a novel covering historical events in living memory. The 1745 Jacobite rebellion was exactly as recent for Scott's readers as the Second World War is to us now." The campaign coincides with the 10th anniversary of Edinburgh's designation as the world's first Unesco City of Literature. Quotes from Sir Walter have been written across the floors and walkways of Waverley Station, including the famous line: "O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive." Copies of the book will be available at the station in October and November while stocks last.:


What was the occupation of Olympic and World Champion skater Christopher Dean before he turned professional?

Torvill and Dean: we're recreating our Olympic triumph - Telegraph Lifestyle Torvill and Dean: we're recreating our Olympic triumph February 14 is the 30th anniversary of Torvill and Dean’s perfect 'Bolero’. In  an exclusive interview before they return to the scene of their Olympic  success in Sarajevo, they talk to Matthew Stadlen Taking to the ice: Torvill and Dean, Britain’s most famous sporting double act, are returning to Sarajevo once more  By Matthew Stadlen 12:30PM GMT 07 Feb 2014 No doubt you will remember it. Perhaps you even recall exactly where you were for those four minutes and 28 seconds on Valentine’s Day, 1984. The day Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean ice-danced their way into the hearts of an enthralled global audience to the erotic melody of Ravel’s “Bolero”. Two figures, dressed in floating purple, dancing as one in brilliantly choreographed synchronicity. The romance of the routine was lost on no one. In Britain alone, 24 million of us watched the Olympic performance of a generation. The country was hypnotised by ice-dance fever. That Torvill and Dean’s victory fell on February 14 was a temptation too far for a media desperate to conclude this ''love story’’. “I think people assumed that we would get married and especially after the Olympics – it was Valentine’s Day – and they said to Chris…” Torvill tells me, before Dean interrupts – “It’s always Bolero Day for us…” Torvill and Dean perform their Bolero dance in 1984 Related Articles Dancing on Ice stars Torvill and Dean teach Bolero 10 Feb 2009 Torvill continues: “The journalists were all saying, 'Are you going to get married now?’ And Chris sort of said, 'Not yet’. So they all went, 'Woooh! Not yet, that means they might do’. And then it just became, 'Are you going to?’ And at that point I didn’t want to get married to anybody, never mind Chris. It was all about the future and the career ahead of us.” Of course, they never did get married, but now, 30 years on from the thrill of that row of perfect sixes for artistic impression, Britain’s most famous sporting double act are returning to Sarajevo once more. At the invitation of the mayor, Torvill, 56, and Dean, 55, will mark the anniversary of their victory with a repeat of the “Bolero” in a rebuilt arena. Rebuilt because, within a decade of their mesmerising victory, the city was under siege, its inhabitants starving and tormented by snipers in the hills. Torvill and Dean first returned after the war, in the late Nineties. “It was still devastated. We went back to the Olympic Village,” says Dean. “Half the apartments had been knocked down and people were living in the halves that were still there,” Torvill adds. Dean resumes: “Going there to see it, and listening to some of the stories – 'How are we going to get water today and not get shot?’ – really brought it home.” During the fighting, Torvill remembers seening pictures in the newspapers of Zetra Stadium, the arena where they’d danced. The British Army had set up a little café there and named it the Bolero. Skating again in the same place will be a big moment, but Torvill anticipates it being “more of a celebration for [them] and for the town”. They are hoping to raise funds for the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival, which is to be staged there in 2017. “If we can, in some small way, attract a bit of attention for them, it will be worthwhile. Plus it will be fantastic for us personally to be able to go and do that there,” says Torvill. We meet at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where the pair are working on the final series of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, the show that reunited them professionally nine series ago. Talking to Torvill and Dean can resemble a conversation with one person split down the middle. They finish each other’s sentences, although not always as the other might intend. It’s 46 years since they first met at an ice rink in Nottingham when they were just 10 years old. Six appeal: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean backstage at Dancing On Ice (ANDREW CROWLEY) They took to the ice together six years later when Dean was lo


Which actress played the parts of Sheila Grant in Brookside and Barbara Royle in the Royle Family?

Sue Johnston to leave Coronation Street - BBC News BBC News Sue Johnston to leave Coronation Street 20 June 2013 Read more about sharing. Close share panel Image caption Sue Johnston is also known for her roles in in Waking the Dead, The Royle Family and Brookside Actress Sue Johnston, who plays Gloria Price in Coronation Street, is to leave the soap next year. Johnston stars as the interfering mother of Rovers Return landlady Stella Price, played by Michelle Collins. The actress joined the ITV show last September but her character is not expected to be killed off. A spokeswoman said: "Sue will be on screen until early spring 2014 when Gloria will leave Weatherfield for the time being." Johnston is also known for her role as Barbara Royle in BBC One comedy The Royle Family and for playing Sheila Grant in Channel 4 soap Brookside in the 1980s. Meanwhile, ITV has announced former Coronation Street actress Denise Black, who played hairdresser Denise Osbourne, has joined the cast of Emmerdale. The broadcaster said the actress began filming on the soap this week and will play the adoptive grandmother of Kyle, the child character Amy Wyatt gave up shortly after he was born. Black will be seen on screens from August. Series producer Kate Oates said: "Her story will see her playing against some of our best-loved characters, and I know an actress of her calibre will be a fabulous asset to the show."


In which 1976 film directed by Martin Scorsese did Robert De Niro play the head character Travis Bickell?

Taxi Driver (1976) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 31 titles created 30 Nov 2011 a list of 28 titles created 16 May 2012 a list of 28 titles created 23 Sep 2014 a list of 23 titles created 10 Jan 2016 a list of 23 titles created 8 months ago Search for " Taxi Driver " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Nominated for     4     Oscars. Another    21 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards  » Videos After a simple jewelry heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant. Director: Quentin Tarantino     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X   In future Britain, Alex DeLarge, a charismatic and psycopath delinquent, who likes to practice crimes and ultra-violence with his gang, is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan. Director: Stanley Kubrick Henry Hill and his friends work their way up through the mob hierarchy. Director: Martin Scorsese In Miami in 1980, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed. Director: Brian De Palma A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future. Director: Stanley Kubrick A criminal pleads insanity after getting into trouble again and once in the mental institution rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients. Director: Milos Forman A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue. Director: Stanley Kubrick During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe. Director: Francis Ford Coppola Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends, a mafia underboss and a casino owner, for a trophy wife over a gambling empire. Director: Martin Scorsese The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. Director: Quentin Tarantino An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it. Director: Martin Scorsese Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond. Director: Guy Ritchie Edit Storyline Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night, watching porn movies at seedy cinemas during the day, or thinking about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He's a loner who has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with mankind. For him, the one bright spot in New York humanity is Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine. He becomes obsessed with her. After an incident with her, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to make the world a better place in his opinion. One of his priorities is to be the savior for Iris, a twelve-year-old r


Which national park is named after the Maasai term for 'endless plains'?

PPT – Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains PowerPoint presentation | free to download - id: 5eb3-MTQxN Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains - PowerPoint PPT Presentation The presentation will start after a short (15 second) video ad from one of our sponsors. Hot tip: Video ads won’t appear to registered users who are logged in. And it’s free to register and free to log in! Loading... PPT – Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains PowerPoint presentation | free to download - id: 5eb3-MTQxN The Adobe Flash plugin is needed to view this content Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains Description: Located in northwestern Tanzania. Spans across 30,000 km ... Was Tanzania's first national park and remains the flagship of the country's tourism industry ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation Number of Views:157 Title: Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains 1 Named derived from the Maasai language meaning endless plains Hosts the largest and longest overland migration in the world of wildebeest and zebras, a semi-annual occurrence -Migration is one of the seven tourist travel wonders of the world -Nearly 2 million herbivores travel from the northern hills toward the southern plains, crossing the Mara River Sometimes called the Circular Migration Over 250,000 wildebeest will die along the journey from Tanzania to Masai Mara Reserve, a total of 500 miles Region has large diverse habitats ranging from riverine forests, swamps, kopjes, grasslands, and woodlands. Serengeti National Park was established in 1951 Was Tanzanias first national park and remains the flagship of the countrys tourism industry Well known for its healthy stock of resident wildlife, mainly the Big Five -Named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters Lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and buffalo About PowerShow.com PowerShow.com is a leading presentation/slideshow sharing website. Whether your application is business, how-to, education, medicine, school, church, sales, marketing, online training or just for fun, PowerShow.com is a great resource. And, best of all, most of its cool features are free and easy to use. You can use PowerShow.com to find and download example online PowerPoint ppt presentations on just about any topic you can imagine so you can learn how to improve your own slides and  presentations for free. Or use it to find and download high-quality how-to PowerPoint ppt presentations with illustrated or animated slides that will teach you how to do something new, also for free. Or use it to upload your own PowerPoint slides so you can share them with your teachers, class, students, bosses, employees, customers, potential investors or the world. Or use it to create really cool photo slideshows - with 2D and 3D transitions, animation, and your choice of music - that you can share with your Facebook friends or Google+ circles. That's all free as well! For a small fee you can get the industry's best online privacy or publicly promote your presentations and slide shows with top rankings. But aside from that it's free. We'll even convert your presentations and slide shows into the universal Flash format with all their original multimedia glory, including animation, 2D and 3D transition effects, embedded music or other audio, or even video embedded in slides. All for free. Most of the presentations and slideshows on PowerShow.com are free to view, many are even free to download. (You can choose whether to allow people to download your original PowerPoint presentations and photo slideshows for a fee or free or not at all.) Check out PowerShow.com today - for FREE. There is truly something for everyone! presentations for free. Or use it to find and download high-quality how-to PowerPoint ppt presentations with illustrated or animated slides that will teach you how to do something new, also for free. Or use it to upload your own PowerPoint slides so you can share them with your teachers, class, students, bosses, employees, customers, p


Whose 7th symphony is known as the Leningrad?

The enigma of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony - World Socialist Web Site World Socialist Web Site Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI)   The enigma of Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony By   Verena Nees 12 September 2012 Dmitri Shostakovich A memorable concert took place 70 years ago. On August 9, 1942, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, the “Leningrad”, was performed in the city of Leningrad, now St. Petersburg. At the time, the city had been besieged by German troops for more than a year and its inhabitants subjected to relentless starvation. Karl Eliasberg conducted an orchestra of 15 surviving musicians from his radio orchestra and other musicians who had been recalled from the front specifically for the occasion. The Leningrad Philharmonic, then under the direction of Yevgeny Mravinsky, had been evacuated to Novosibirsk, where its performance of the Seventh Symphony had already met with great success in July. The symphony’s musical score was transported in a special aircraft that flew around the blockade to reach the besieged city. On the very day of the concert, the German army began an offensive that subjected the city to heavy bombardments. The Soviet Army in Leningrad allowed their anti-aircraft guns to remain silent for the duration of the concert. “People came in small groups or individually. They hurried along the well-worn routes from the most remote parts of the city, widely avoiding places where notice boards warned: ‘Use the other side of the street. Danger of artillery shelling’. So they went to the other, safer side of the road and watched as plaster and cornices crumbled, as stone fell from the walls of the houses being shelled. They walked carefully, hearing the thunder from the front, and listening for detonations that perhaps signalled the approach of shelling to the street they were hurrying along to reach the concert in the great hall of columns”. [1] Valerian Bogdanov-Berezovsky, a composer friend of Shostakovich and a visitor to the concert, wrote two days later in the Leningradskaya Pravda newspaper that the concert was “stormy and passionate—like a ceremonial occasion, grand and solemn—as on a national holiday”. [2] It was said the music could also be heard in the trenches of the German soldiers. Soon after its premiere, the “Leningrad” symphony began a triumphal march through concert halls all over the world and became Shostakovich’s most popular work. Apart from its reception in the cities of the Soviet Union, there were 60 performances in America alone, as well as in most major cities in eastern and western Europe. It was first performed in Berlin at the German State Opera under the direction of Sergiu Celibidache in the winter of 1946-47. It received an enthusiastic response from audiences everywhere. Music critics, musicians and conductors compared Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony to Beethoven’s “Eroica”, declaring the composer to be a genius. His Seventh was generally identified with the struggle of the Soviet people against the forces of fascism. The Seventh Symphony was rarely performed in the postwar period. In the Soviet Union, Andrei Zhdanov, Stalin’s cultural functionary, disparaged the work for lacking optimism. Shostakovich was accused of failing to counterpose to the violence of the Nazi invaders, depicted in the first movement, the power of the Red Army. In the West during the Cold War, Shostakovich’s works and particularly the “Leningrad” symphony were denounced and abandoned because they were regarded as music commissioned by Stalin. This view remained unchallenged until 1979, when Shostakovich’s memoirs were posthumously published by Solomon Volkov, the young Soviet music critic who had emigrated to the United States after Shostakovich’s death in 1975. [3] The memoirs were based on minutes of meetings, authorised by the composer himself and revealing Shostakovich as an opponent of Stalin and the ruling Soviet bureaucracy. The memoirs were first violently attacked in the East and West and regarded as forgeries. Although it was kno


What in 1985 did the oceanographer Robert Ballard discover 370 metres south west of Nistaken Point, Newfoundland?

Wreck of the RMS Titanic | Titanic Database Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Wreck of the RMS Titanic 448pages on Share The bow of the wrecked RMS Titanic, photographed in June 2004 The wreck of the RMS Titanic is located about 370 miles (600 km) south-southeast of the coast of Newfoundland, lying at a depth of about 12,500 feet (3,810 m). Over the years since the sinking of the Titanic on 14/15 April 1912, many impractical, expensive and often physically impossible schemes have been put forward to raise the wreck from its resting place. They have included ideas such as filling the wreck with ping-pong balls, injecting it with 180,000 tons of Vaseline, or using half a million tons of liquid nitrogen to turn it into a giant iceberg that would float back to the surface. Until 1 September 1985 the location of the wreck was unknown. Various expeditions tried using sonar to map the sea bed in the hope of spotting the wreck, but failed due to a combination of bad weather, technological difficulties and poor search strategy. The wreck was finally located, 13.2 miles (21 km) from the inaccurate position transmitted by Titanics crew while the ship was sinking, by a joint French-American expedition led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The key to its discovery was an innovative remotely-controlled deep-sea vehicle called Argo, which could be towed above the sea bed while its cameras transmitted pictures back to a mother ship. The wreck lies in two pieces about a third of a mile (0.6 km) apart. The bow is still largely recognisable, though it is heavily damaged, and has been found to contain some surprisingly well-preserved interiors as well as many artifacts. The stern suffered catastrophic damage resulting from the stresses incurred by the sinking and its impact on the sea bed, and is now little more than a pile of twisted metal. A substantial section of the middle of the ship disintegrated and is scattered across the sea bed. A debris field covering about 5 by 3 miles (8 × 5 km) around the wreck contains hundreds of thousands of items spilled from Titanic as she sank, ranging from passengers' personal effects to machinery, furniture, utensils and coal. The bodies of passengers and crew once also lay in the debris field, but have been entirely consumed by sea creatures, leaving only their shoes lying together in the mud. Titanics wreck has been the focus of intense interest since its discovery and has been visited by numerous expeditions, including salvagers who have controversially recovered thousands of items to be conserved and put on public display. The wreck itself is far too fragile to be raised as it has severely deteriorated in the century that it has spent on the sea bed, with the deterioration accelerating since its rediscovery. It has been colonised by a wide variety of animals–including organisms new to science–and by great quantities of iron-eating bacteria, which have created " rusticles " covering the hull. The bacteria are gradually eating away the hull and will eventually reduce Titanic to a patch of rust on the sea bed, with the remaining scraps intermingled with her more durable fittings. Contents Edit Soon after Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, proposals were advanced to salvage her from her resting place in the North Atlantic Ocean, despite that its exact location – not to mention its condition – was unknown. The families of several wealthy victims of the disaster – the Guggenheims , Astors , and Wideners – formed a consortium and contracted with the Merritt and Chapman Derrick and Wrecking Company to raise Titanic. [1] The project was soon abandoned as impractical, as divers could not reach even a fraction of the necessary depth, where the pressure is over 6,000 pounds per square inch (410 bar). The company considered dropping dynamite on the wreck to dislodge bodies which would float to the surface, but finally gave up after oceanographers suggested that the extreme pressure would have compressed the bodies into gelatinous lumps. [2] In fact, this w


Which South African cricketer was banned for life after being found guilty of match fixing?

Top 10 Cricketers Banned for Match Fixing TOP 10 CRICKETERS BANNED FOR MATCH FIXING Top 10 Cricketers Banned for Match Fixing Topics Ajay Jadeja Mohammad Azharuddin Over the years, controversies surrounding cricket have marred the beauty of 'the gentleman's game', with match-fixing, being the ugliest blotch in it. The conviction of Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir on charges of spot-fixing has come as a shock to cricket-lovers and the cricketing community. Time and again, allegations of match-fixing against players surface bringing shame to the spirit of the game. Throughout the history of cricket, there have been a number of players that have been banned from the game of cricket for match-fixing and here are 10 of them. 1. Hansie Cronje Image Credit: Ãï¿½ï¿½ BCCL Hansie Cronje, the man whom batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar considered the toughest bowler to bat against, was charged with match-fixing on April 2000, along with other South African cricketers, Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Styrdom. Denials were made by the South African cricket board as well as the players with regard to the allegations levelled against them. 3 Days later, Cronje was sacked as captain after confessing that he hadn't been "entirely honest". a number of startling revelations were made by players and Cronje himself, about his dealings with bookmakers. Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life on 11 October. After approximately 2 years, Cronje, aged 32, died in a plane crash, which also killed his two pilots. 2. Mohammad Azharuddin Image Credit: Ãï¿½ï¿½ BCCL Azharuddin was the shining star of the Indian cricket team till the time he played for the team. He was an excellent batsman and fielder and an inspirational leader of his team. He is the one of the most successful captains of Team India, statistically, with a record win of 103 ODI matches as captain that is still unmatched. However, allegations of match fixing were levelled on him after Hansie Cronje's confession which named Azharuddin as the main person who introduced the bookies to him. A CBI enquiry followed and Azharuddin, eventually admitted to fixing 3 ODI matches. This led him into being banned from cricket for life by BCCI in the year 2000, which was lifted six years later. 3. Manoj Prabhakar Image Credit: Ãï¿½ï¿½ BCCL Manoj Prabhakar was a significant part of the Indian cricket team in the early 1990s. He was a shrewd bowler who made batting difficult for his opponents. His career was, however, short-lived as he retired immediately after being dropped from the squad in the 1995-96 World Cup. In 2000, he tried to implicate other cricketers, including Kapil Dev, in the match-fixing controversy which backfired on him. He was found guilty of involvement in match-fixing and was handed a 5-year ban by BCCI. He then tried, unsuccessfully, to enter politics and then took to coaching for good. 4. Herschelle Gibbs Image Credit: Ãï¿½ï¿½ BCCL The match-fixing allegation that consumed Hansie Cronje's cricketing career also blotted Herschelle Gibbs's career. In a heart-breaking moment he tearfully admitted that he had, in fact, accepted $15,000 to score "less than 20" in an ODI match from captain Cronje. He however, could not convince himself to keep his side of the bargain and scored 74 instead. He was therefore banned only for 6 months following which he came back to the South African team and resurrected himself as a player of class and worth. 5. Henry Williams Image Credit: sports (dot) in (dot) msn (dot) com Like Herschelle Gibbs, Williams too had agreed to underperform at an ODI match in Nagpur. The South African bowler, however injured his shoulder and couldn't complete his second innings, as a result of which he didn't receive any payment. He too was banned from international cricket for 6 months. He never returned to play cricket and later became the bowling coach at Boland. 6. Marlon Samuels Image Credit: Ãï¿½ï¿½ BCCL The West Indian cricketer was accused by the Indian Police of leaking out team information to a bookie prior


During 20th century what was the longest period in years between General Elections in Britain?

Twentieth Century Timeline , Puccini's Tosca Freud publishes his Interpretations of Dreams , Ferdinand Zeppelin invents a rigid framed dirigible or airship that became known as the Zeppelin, Max Planck formulates quantum theory, First Browning revolvers manufactured, Fessenden transmits human speech via radio waves, F.E. Dorn discovers Rad 1901Commonwealth of Australia formed, Australian Immigration Restriction Act, Persia sells a 60 year oil concession to William D'Arcy, Peace of Beijing ends Boxer Rebellion, Marconi transmits telegraphic radio message from Cornwall to Newfoundland, Mombasa to Lake Victoria railway completedDeath of Queen Victoria , Edward VII becomes King, First British Submarine launchedRoosevelt takes over from assasinated McKinley, Cuba becomes an American Protectorate, Treaty to build Panama Canal under US supervision, Trans-Siberian Railroad reaches Port ArthurPicasso's Blue Period (until 1905), Elgar's Cockaigne Overture , Kipling's Kim Max Planck's Laws of Radiation , W.H. Nernst postulates third law of thermodynamics, First Mercedes car constructed, The hormone adrenalin is isolated 1902Treaty of Vereeniging ends Boer War, Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Ashanti territory incorporated into Gold Coast , Aswan Dam opened in Egypt, Third Colonial Conference, Colonial Office takes over East Africa Protectorate Arthur James Balfour PM, King Edward establishes Order of Merit, The Anglo-American Pilgrim Society is foundedTriple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is renewed, Ibn Saud captures RiyadhJ.A. Hobson's Imperialism is published, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , Arthur Conan-Doyle's Hound of the Baskervilles , Kipling's Just So Stories , A.E.W. Mason's The Four Feathers , Elgar composes first of Pomp and Circumstance Marches , Claude Monet's Waterloo Bridge Heaviside discovers atmospheric layer which aids conduction of radio waves, Poulsen invents the arc generator 1903Britain incorporates Sokoto into Northern Nigeria , Great Coronation Durbar in Delhi, Curzon sends an expedition to Tibet, Dartmouth Naval College established, Settlement of Alaska-Canada Boundary with US, Joseph Chamberlain launches campaign for Tariff Reform Edward VII visits Paris, Suffragettes established Bolsheviks split from Mensheviks at London Congress, Sixth Zionist conference refuses to consider EAst Africa for Jewish settlement, First Tour de FranceHenry James' The Ambassadors , Jack London's The Call of the Wild , Erskine Childers' The Riddle of the Sands First powered flight by the Wright brothers, Perthe establishes link between X-Rays and cancer, Wilhelm Einthoven invents the electrical cardiograph, J.J. Thomson's The Conduction of Electricity through Gases 1904 First Empire day celebrated Entente Cordiale with France, Alcohol Licensing Laws introducedRusso-Japanese War (until 1905), Herero Revolt in South-West Africa is savagely put down by Germans, Paris Conference on white slave trade, Russian Interior Minister Plehve is assassinatedDvorak dies in Prague, Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard , Claude Monet's The Thames , Joseph Conrad's Nostromo , George Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island , J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan , Puccini's Puccini: Madama Butterfly , Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 , Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation , L.T. Hobhouse's Democracy and Reaction , Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism , G.K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill , Jack London's The Sea Wolf Freud's The Psychopathology of Everyday Life , Rutherford and Soddy develop general theory of radioactivity, Elster devises first practical photoelectric cell, W.C. Gorgas eradicates yellow fever from Panama Canal Zone, Rolls Royce founded, First telegraphic transmission of photographs, Sir John Fleming uses thermionic tube to generate radio waves, Wireless radio distress signal CQD is adopted 1905Colonial Office takes over Somaliland Protectorate, British partition of Bengal, British New Guinea transferred to Australia, Alberta and Saskatchewan become Provinces in Canada, Cullinan Diamond


Which future Nobel Prize winner did Bill Clinton choose as his Vice President?

Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize - US news - Environment - Climate Change | NBC News It cited Gore's awareness at an early stage "of the climatic challenges the world is facing." Panel's two decades The Nobel Peace Prize committee also cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for two decades of scientific reports that have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming." The IPCC groups 2,500 researchers from more than 130 nations and issued reports this year blaming human activities for climate changes ranging from more heat waves to floods. It was set up in 1988 by the United Nations to help guide governments. Climate change has moved high on the international agenda this year. The U.N. climate panel has been releasing reports, talks on a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate are set to resume and on Europe's northern fringe, where the awards committee works, there is growing concern about the melting Arctic. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said global warming "may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the Earth's resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states." Gore said he would donate his share of the $1.5 million that accompanies the prize to the non-profit Alliance for Climate Protection. Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the prize committee, said the award should not be seen as singling out the Bush administration for criticism. "A peace prize is never a criticism of anything," he said. "A peace prize is a positive message and support to all those champions of peace in the world." President Bush abandoned the Kyoto Protocol because he said it would harm the U.S. economy and because it did not require immediate cuts by countries like China and India. The treaty aimed to put the biggest burden on the richest nations that contributed the most carbon emissions. The U.S. Senate voted against mandatory carbon reductions before the Kyoto negotiations were completed. The treaty was never presented to the Senate for ratification by the Clinton administration. “Al Gore has fought the environment battle even as vice president,” Mjoes said. “Many did not listen ... but he carried on.” The White House said the prize was not seen as increasing pressure on the administration or showing that President Bush’s approach missed the mark. “Of course he’s happy for Vice President Gore,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. “He’s happy for the international panel on climate change scientists who also shared the peace prize. Obviously it’s an important recognition.” Fratto said Bush has no plans to call Gore. Fans and foes Reaction to the award was immediate. "He's like the proverbial nut that grew into a giant oak by standing his ground," Patrick Michaels, a scholar with the free market Cato Institute, said in a statement. "We can only hope that he can parlay his prize into a run for the U. S. presidency, where he will be unable to hide from debate on his extreme and one-sided view of global warming." British bookmakers once put 100-to-1 odds on Gore winning an Oscar, becoming a Nobel laureate and becoming president. He has now accomplished two of the three, and on Friday bookies slashed the odds to 8/1 from 10/1. Gore, 59, has been coy, saying repeatedly he’s not running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, without ever closing that door completely. FoxNews.com columnist Steve Milloy alleged that Gore "plays fast and loose with the facts to advance his personal agenda." British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Gore "inspirational in focusing attention across the globe on this key issue." Julia Marton-Lefèvre, head of the World Conservation Union,said that, "as Mr. Gore and the IPCC have clearly demonstrated, we can solve the grave dangers posed by climate change if we have the will. Let the Nobel Peace Prize become the embodiment of that will." "Al Gore made it okay to


Which former Portuguese African Colony joined the British Commonwealth in 1995?

africa - Why did Mozambique join the British Commonwealth? - History Stack Exchange Why did Mozambique join the British Commonwealth? up vote 18 down vote favorite 2 In short, the Commonwealth originated in the British Empire, as an association of Britain and its former colonies. Why did Mozambique (a former Portuguese colony) join? 3   Especially strange when you consider the huge political influence that Mozambique otherwise had on the world stage –  none Aug 26 '12 at 20:02 1   Since 1996 Mozambique is a full member of CPLP (the portuguese language countries community). – user2003 Mar 11 '13 at 13:54 up vote 13 down vote accepted There are few direct benefits of Commonwealth membership and some debate about its usefulness , so the question is a fair one. Mozambique gained neither trade nor aid by virtue of membership. I expect that the question would be addressed definitively in The Commonwealth Brand: Global Voice, Local Action by Victoria Te Velde (Ashgate, 2011) and in the SADC's Mozambique in the Commonwealth (1997), but I do not have access to the full text of either work. Factors seem to include the following : Impoverished shortly after independence, Mozambique had become highly dependent on foreign aid, especially from the Soviet Union. President Samora Machel in his later years, and his successor Joaquim Chissano, pursued stronger ties with other countries and international organizations to balance out this dependence. For example, Mozambique is a full member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and even an observer of the Francophonie The Commonwealth had worked against white minority rule in Rhodesia and South Africa with the cooperation of Mozambique. For example, Mozambique supported sanctions against Rhodesia and South Africa, seriously damaging its own economy. By the late 1980s, with Zimbabwe having achieved independence and the end of apartheid in sight, Chissano wanted to ensure Mozambique had some influence in the future of South Africa . He requested and was granted permission to attend the 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to voice Mozambican concerns. Although there are few direct benefits of Commonwealth membership, there are NGOs and professional associations affiliated with it. Improving Mozambican access to such institutions and their expertise would potentially assist with development. One must also consider the stalemate of the civil war. The main opposition RENAMO identified with the Portuguese, and took the pursuit of membership in the Commonwealth as something of an insult . Had they been victorious, such effort would not likely have been undertaken. But by the late 1980s, RENAMO was losing support from South Africa and FRELIMO had abandoned its earlier Marxist policies, making peace talks possible— and with the peace agreement in 1992 followed by free elections, Mozambique had fulfilled one of the prerequisites for Commonwealth membership. There are also all the usual reasons states pursue membership in international organizations: direct diplomacy at the ministerial and head-of-government levels with other members access to larger/wealthier members general cooperation on matters of common concern From the other side, Mozambique was long considered a "cousin" country to the Commonwealth for its trade ties and support of anti-apartheid efforts. They even drive on the left :). Since the Commonwealth does not have an "observer" status , making Mozambique a full member came under discussion. Mozambique fulfilled the requirements of the Harare Declaration , and it is said that at the Auckland CHOGM in 1995, Nelson Mandela himself made an impassioned speech supporting the application as an exceptional case.


Which device was originally a Louisette, named after its surgeon/inventor Antoine Louis?

The Guillotine’s First Cut - History in the Headlines The Guillotine’s First Cut April 25, 2012 By Christopher Klein Share The guillotine, the notorious killing machine of the French Revolution, was used to behead thousands, including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Why was it a humane form of execution for its time, and did victims' brains continue functioning after decapitation? Share this: The Guillotine’s First Cut Author The Guillotine’s First Cut URL Google On April 25, 1792, convicted felon Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier became the first person to be executed by the guillotine. While the guillotine became known as a ruthlessly efficient killing machine, its eponym was actually motivated by humanitarian impulses. As the spirit of liberté, égalité and fraternité swirled through Paris in the early days of the French Revolution, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin rose before the National Assembly in 1789 to lobby for equality in a most unlikely area: capital punishment. The Parisian deputy and anatomy professor argued that it was unfair for common criminals in France to be executed by tortuous methods such as hanging, burning at the stake and breaking on the wheel while aristocratic felons had the privilege of quick decapitations, particularly if they tipped their executioners to ensure swift sword chops. Guillotin beseeched his fellow lawmakers to follow their egalitarian principles and adopt a more humanitarian and equitable system of capital punishment whereby all criminals, irrespective of class, would be beheaded. In 1791 the National Assembly made decapitation the only legal form of capital punishment in France, but the state executioner, Charles-Henri Sanson, knew this presented practical problems. A fourth-generation executioner for whom capital punishment was the family business, Sanson warned the National Assembly that beheading by sword was an inexact science that would require dozens of skilled executioners, scores of fresh swords and a means of securing felons to guarantee quick cuts. “Swords have very often broken in the performance of such executions, and the Paris executioner possesses only two,” he wrote. The solution was found in another of Guillotin’s ideas: a beheading machine that ensured a rapid and merciful death. “The mechanism falls like lightning; the head flies off; the blood spurts; the man no longer exists,” Guillotin told his colleagues. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, who proposed the idea for the beheading machine that became known as the guillotine. While Guillotin proposed the device, Dr. Antoine Louis designed the prototype, which was originally nicknamed the “Louison” or “Louisette.” Decapitation machines dated back to ancient times, but the contraption unveiled at the Bicêtre Hospital in Paris in April 1792 was cutting-edge in more ways than one. As with many modern-day products, the testing began with animals. After Sanson cleanly severed the heads of live sheep and calves, he successfully tested the guillotine on the corpses of women and children. The cuts on male corpses were not as clean, however, and prompted a redesign. The height from which the knife dropped was increased, and the convex blade was changed to a sloping, triangular shape. (An apocryphal story popularized by an Alexandre Dumas novel has King Louis XVI suggesting the changes to the machine that would ultimately lop off his head nine months later.) After Sanson proclaimed himself satisfied with the redesign, it was time for the rollout. A throng of curious Parisians filled the plaza outside Hôtel de Ville and watched for two hours as the guillotine, appropriately painted blood red, was assembled on a scaffold. As a special unit of soldiers under American Revolution hero General Lafayette stood guard, the man whose blood would christen the new killing machine, Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier, was paraded onto the platform. Judge Jacob-Augustin Moreau had sentenced Pelletier to die for robbery and murder in December 1791. The execution was stayed, however, as the means of Pelletier’s death was being developed. Although Pelletier may n