In which Los Angeles memorial park was Michael Jackson buried?

Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009) - Find A Grave Memorial Los Angeles County California, USA Musician, Entertainer. He was called the "King of Pop," and is best remembered for his revolutionary videos such as "Thriller" (1982), and "Dangerous" (1991), as well as two Guinness World Records: Most successful entertainer of all time (with 13 Grammy Awards, 13 Number One single hits in a solo career, and sales of over 750 million in albums worldwide), and for having the greatest selling album of all time ("Thriller"). He is also remembered for his trademark single sequined white glove, and for The Moonwalk. Born Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Indiana, he was the seventh of nine children to Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson and Katherine Esther Scruse Jackson, a working class family living in an industrial suburb of Chicago. His father was a steel mill employee who also played guitar in a Rhythm and Blues band, the Falcons. Jackson showed his musical abilities early, performing in front of his kindergarten classmates at the age of 5, and later joining his four brothers in a singing group, The Jackson Brothers, which was changed to the Jackson 5 when Michael was eight years old. Michael was soon singing lead to the others playing, and in 1968, the group signed with Motown Records, their initial break into the recording industry. Even then, Michael was recognized as a singing prodigy. Their first four records set a Motown record when all four hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. By the early 1970s, the group was considered one of the most successful pop/soul groups in history. In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with CBS Records, and Michael also became the principal songwriter of the group. In 1978, he attempted to break into film, playing the Scarecrow in "The Wiz" but had better luck with his music videos, to which he changed from just a video recording of his singing to a short musical story of intense drama. His revolutionary remake of the video medium would change forever the video industry. In 1979, Michael broke away from his brothers to go solo, since he had become more popular than any of his brothers. During the 1980s, his record sales consistently hit number one in the charts, to be topped by his best selling album of all time, Thriller (1982). During this period, Jackson would claim to be suffering from both lupus and vitiligo. In a 1988 autobiography, "Moon Walk," Jackson would speak of facing his father's abuse during his childhood, his many periods of weight loss and weight gain, and the changes to his face (many doctors believe that he has undergone as many as a dozen facial cosmetic surgeries). In 1993, he would state in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he suffered from vitiligo, a rare disease that depigments the skin, turning it white. In the 1990s, as Jackson's fame grew, he become more introverted, building his Neverland Ranch retreat as a refuge from his fans and detractors alike.  Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, but settled out of court, paying his accuser 22 million dollars to end the stress of the pending court trial; this led many to believe he was hiding a tendency toward pedophilia, which lost him many fans. Ever the businessman, even his marriages were crafted to improve his image. He was married twice, first to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Rock King Elvis Presley, on May 26, 1994, but the marriage ended in divorce in January 1996. He then married Debbie Rowe on November 15, 1996, with whom he had two children, a daughter Paris Michael Katherine, and a son, Michael Jr, nicknamed "Prince." This marriage also ended in divorce in October 1999. During this period, Jackson became addicted to painkillers, and was able to break the habit with the help of his singer friend, Elton John. In 1997, Jackson would dedicate his album, HIStory, to Elton John; it would sell over 6 million copies worldwide. Jackson would have a third child in 2002, a son, Prince Michael Jackson II, and nicknamed "Blanket." To date, the name of the mother has not been revealed; she app


Ryan Tubridy took over which Irish (and world's longest running) TV chat show?

Ryan Tubridy set to take over 'The Late Late Show' from Pat Kenny | IrishCentral.com Ryan Tubridy set to take over 'The Late Late Show' from Pat Kenny KENNETH HAYNES SHARES / Ryan Tubridy is set to win the hottest seat in Irish Television as host of "The Late Late Show," the world’s longest running show. The 35-year-old will take over from Pat Kenny, who is stepping down at the end of this season. Speculation about who would take over the reins of Ireland's national broadcaster RTE’s signature show has been intense, with Tubridy, current affairs television presenter Miriam O’Callaghan and radio presenter Joe Duffy the favorites for the job. RTE have decided to err on the side of youth and Tubridy will take over the show, which first aired on July 6 1962. Irish Broadcasting legend Gay Byrne fronted the show for 35 years, stepping down in 1999 when Kenny took over. The latter announced on air this year that it was time for him to vacate the prime time Friday night slot and since then rumors have been flying around as to who would replace him. O'Callaghan was touted as a shoo-in, but it is the separated father-of-two who presents "The Tubridy Show" on Saturday nights who will assume the moust sought after gig in Irish TV. 0


Which South Pacific island nation became the first in the 21st century to change its driving on the road from right to left?

Samoa attempts time travel by jumping forward one whole day - Geek.com Samoa attempts time travel by jumping forward one whole day By Brian Osborne 05.09.2011 :: 1:37PM EST Samoa, an island nation located in the South Pacific and postioned halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand , has figured out a way to time travel and move its whole nation ahead by one day. They are doing so not through the use of wormholes or with the aid of a time lord in a blue police box. The country will simply switch its time zone to the west side of the international date line as it once was over a century ago. 119 years ago on July 4, 1892 the country moved to the east side of the international date line to make it easier to trade with American traders based in California and Europe. Samoa’s new reality is that Australia and New Zealand have grown to become the country’s biggest trading partners. That fact put pressure on the small nation of 180,000 people to make a change. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Samoa’s Prime Minister, stated that under the current time zone two working days a week were being lost when doing business with New Zealand and Australia due to how the weekend fell in Samoa. With the change, Samoa will no longer be 21 hours behind Sydney. It will be 3 hours ahead once the change goes into effect on December 29th this year. Shifting to the left seems to be a trend with Samoa. On September 7, 2009 the country mandated that drivers would switch to driving on the left side of the road to match other countries in the region. In doing so, Samoa became the first country in the 21st century to make such a move, but the move along with the switch in time zone is understandable. New Zealand governed Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, until its independence in 1962 and continues to have a strong cultural influence on the small island nation. Read more at the BBC Share


A large statue of Apollo was discovered at a Unesco Heritage site in which country?

September 8 A colossal statue of Apollo is discovered at a - BUS - 208 View Full Document September 8 A colossal statue of Apollo is discovered at a UNESCO World Heritage Site at Hierapolis, Turkey. Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Hussein is freed from one day in jail after being prosecuted for wearing trousers – the fine was paid by the Journalist Union. September 9 This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full                             Document US Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) interrupts President Barack Obama's health care speech to the Congress with an audible shout of "You lie!" "Beatles Day" is celebrated worldwide as remastered versions of The Beatles' albums are released, as well as The Beatles: Rock Band. September 10 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for the post-war treatment of celebrated WWII code- breaker Alan Turing, who was chemically castrated for having homosexual relations. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi says he will demand a permanent place in the United Nations Security Council for Africa and compensation worth 777 trillion dollars for years of colonialism in New York later this month. September 11 Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe condemns "bloody whites" for meddling in his country's affairs, specifically perceived British and American interference. The oldest person in the world, Gertrude Baines, dies in Los Angeles aged 115. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announces the discovery of a vast gas field off the coast of his country, one of the world's largest finds. September 12 Ireland's Taoiseach Brian Cowen denies Libertas founder Declan Ganley's claim that the second Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon is "profoundly undemocratic". In rugby union, South Africa defeat New Zealand 32-29 to win the 2009 Tri Nations Series. September 13 Kim Clijsters of Belgium defeats Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark to win the 2009 US Open Women's Singles. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva heavily criticises the "rich countries", the G8 and other international bodies over the global economic crisis. Two of the so-called Bermuda Triangle's most mysterious disappearances in the late 1940s may have been solved. September 14 Legislators in Aceh province in Indonesia pass a new law on stoning to death and other severe sentences for adultery, homosexuality and premarital sex. China lodges a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the United States' decision to impose import duties on Chinese-made tires. In tennis, Juan Martín del Potro defeats Roger Federer at the U.S. Open. American actor Patrick Swayze dies at age 57, after suffering from pancreatic cancer for more than 1 year. September 15 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke says the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s has likely ended, while warning that growth may not be strong enough to quickly reduce the unemployment rate. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accuses the United States of "blocking" Russia's accession to the World This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM Dreams and nightmares. We were plunged in to darkness. Screams pierced my ears. The d 22505330-Titanic-Nostalgia


What international organization did Albania and Croatia join on 1st April 2009?

What Happened on April 1st This Day in History 7th What happened This day in History on April 1st April Fools Jokes 50 years April Fool Jokes From The Media World The BBC creates a hoax Panorama programme about spaghetti crops in Switzerland and showing women carefully plucking strands of spaghetti from a tree and laying them in the sun to dry. It should be remembered in context that Spaghetti was not a widely-eaten food in the UK in 1957 and considered by many as an exotic delicacy. 20 more April Fools Jokes from around the world over the last 50 years are included at the bottom of the other This Day In History Stories 1918 Great Britain Royal Air force is Founded 1st April 1918 : The Royal Air force is founded in England, this is truly an amazing piece of History as the first flight was only made 8 years before by Wilbur and Wright and for countries around the World to set up a separate arms of the Forces shows how important politicians believed the aircraft would become as a part of the military. The aircraft in use in 1918 when the RAF started included the Sopwith Pup, Bristol F2B Fighters, Sopwith Camels and Royal Aircraft Factory SE5's 1933 Germany Persecution of Jews 1st April 1933 : Nazi Germany begins the persecution of German Jews by declaring a boycott of Jewish owned businesses 1945 U.S.A. US Forces Land on Okinawa 1st April 1945 : The United States Tenth Army commanded by Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. land on Okinawa, main island of the Ryukyus, 362 miles from the Japanese home islands. The Occupation of Island of Okinawa was considered crucial if there is to be an invasion of the Japanese mainland and during the campaign the U.S. Navy sustained greater casualties in this operation than in any other battle of the war and it was not until on about June 21st , ( 11 weeks ) that the main battles for the Island ended. ( In the event the Nuclear Bombs changed military strategy. ) 1946 U.S.A. Hawaii Earthquake and Tsunami 1st April 1946 : A major undersea earthquake measuring 7.4 magnitude in the north pacific ocean caused a Tsunami that by the time it reached Hawaii some 2,400 miles away and travelling at 500 miles per hour, only 4 1/2 hours after the quake waves reaching 60ft in height hit coastal areas of Hawaii causing the deaths of 150 + . This Tsunami prompted the setting up of the U.S. to establish the Seismic SeaWave Warning System to help in evacuation but any similar occurrence today would be even more devastating as can be shown with the damage and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina where the warning was greater than 6 hours. 1970 U.S.A. AMC Gremlin 1st April 1970 : The AMC group introduced one of the first sub compact cars way back in 1970 before many realized gas prices would be a critical factor in future car buying, the car was called the Gremlin and cost $1879. Car imports were just starting to have an impact on the US market including the Volkswagen Beetle and the new generation of Japanese imports like the Datsun. 1970 U.S.A. Cigarette Advertising Banned 1st April 1970 : President Nixon signed into law the banning of cigarette advertising on television and radio. 1983 UK CND Peace Demonstrators 1st April 1983 :  Tens of thousands of CND peace demonstrators form a human chain stretching 14 miles across Southern England from the American airbase at Greenham Common, via the Aldermaston nuclear research centre and ending at the ordnance factory in Burghfield. 1990 UK Strangeways Prison 1st April 1990 : A thousand prisoners run amok in Strangeways Prison in Manchester in a violent riot setting fire to the chapel and gymnasium, and a number of prison cells, the inmates are protesting the primitive conditions and severe overcrowding. The riot at Strangeways lasted 25 days  the longest in British penal history. . 1991 U.S.A. Riverboat Gambling 1st April 1991 : Iowa becomes one of the first states to allow riverboat gambling . 1999 Europe The Euro 1st April 1999 : Eleven countries in the European Union adopted the Euro as a common currency as the dream of moneta


Which African country replaced most of its senior police officers after they were blamed for post-election violence?

Machete-wielding gangs kill at least 15 as Kenyans vote - World News Machete-wielding gangs kill at least 15 as Kenyans vote By World News Slideshow: Kenyans vote in crucial election Goran Tomasevic / Reuters Five years after more than 1,200 people were killed in election-related violence, Kenyans went to the polls in a nationwide election seen as the most important in the country's 50-year history since independence. Launch slideshow By Joseph Akwiri, Reuters NAIROBI, Kenya - At least 15 people were killed in attacks by machete-wielding gangs on Monday as Kenyans lined-up to vote in a presidential election they hope will rebuild the nation's image after a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of tribal bloodshed. Just hours before the start of voting and with long queues across the east African country, at least nine security officers in Kenya's restive coastal region were hacked to death, and six attackers were also killed, regional police chief Aggrey Adoli said. The total toll had earlier been put at 17. <br> Follow @NBCNewsWorld There were two separate attacks which senior police officers blamed on a separatist movement - which, if confirmed, would suggest different motives to those that caused the post-2007 vote ethnic killings and could limit their impact. Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the tribal rampages that erupted five years ago when disputes over the poll result fuelled clashes between tribal loyalists of rival candidates. More than 1,200 people were killed, shattering Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies and bringing its economy to a standstill. As in 2007, the race has come down to a high-stakes duel between two candidates, this time between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the loser in 2007 to outgoing President Mwai Kibaki. Both contenders will depend heavily on votes from tribal loyalists. The United States and Western donors are worried about the stability of a nation that is an ally in the fight against militant Islam in the region but are also fretting what to do if the victor is Kenyatta, who faces charges by the International Criminal Court of orchestrating violence five years ago. Provisional results could emerge hours after polls close at 5 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) although the election commission has seven days to announce the official outcome. Polls suggest the election could go to a run-off, provisionally set for April. Jan 28, 2008: Ethnic clashes have killed more than 800 people across Kenya, and post-election violence threatens to engulf a country that has long been a model of stability in Africa. NBC's Ned Colt reports. "If elected, we will be able to discharge our duties," said Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto who also faces charges of crimes against humanity. "We shall cooperate with the court with a final intention of clearing our names." 'We want our own country' One of the attacks on Monday took place outside Mombasa and another in Kilifi about 80 miles to the north. Senior police officers blamed them on a separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), which wanted the national vote scrapped and a referendum on secession instead. At the Kilifi site, Reuters footage showed a piece of paper on the ground with the words: "MRC. Coast is not Kenya. We don't want elections. We want our own country." But there was no formal claim and no independent confirmation of the assailants. Even before the violence, many Kenyans were wary, notably in flashpoints last time. Some shopkeepers ran down stocks and some people in mixed tribal areas returned to their homelands. Bernard Otundo, 36, queuing in Nairobi shortly before polls opened at 6 a.m. said he expected a peaceful vote. Jan. 2, 2008: More than 100,000 people across Kenya have left their homes after riots and violence erupted following a disputed presidential election. NBC's Martin Fletcher reports. "Some of us have been here as early as 2 a.m. this morning. I got here slightly after 3 a.m.," he said. "There have been a l


What Israeli war film, named after the country of conflict featured in it, won the Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival?

Lebanon (2009) - 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 From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC During the First Lebanon War in 1982, a lone tank and a paratroopers platoon are dispatched to search a hostile town. Director: a list of 35 titles created 10 Sep 2011 a list of 31 titles created 08 Nov 2011 a list of 23 titles created 04 Apr 2012 a list of 30 titles created 03 Nov 2013 a list of 48 titles created 25 Jan 2015 Search for " Lebanon " 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. 15 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards  » Videos The story of a group of Israeli soldiers stationed in an outpost prior to the withdrawal of forces of 2000. Director: Joseph Cedar A family in the 80s with five kids get into a crisis when twin brothers fall in love with the same girl. Director: Reshef Levi Ajami is the religiously mixed community of Muslims and Christians in Tel Aviv. These are five stories about the everyday life in Ajami. Directors: Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani Stars: Fouad Habash, Nisrine Rihan, Elias Saba During his journey to Jerusalem young James learns the meaning of being Israeli. Director: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict. Director: Ari Folman A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town. Director: Eran Kolirin Edit Storyline June, 1982 - The First Lebanon War. A lone tank and a infantry platoon are dispatched to search a hostile town - a simple mission that turns into a nightmare. The four members of a tank crew find themselves in a violent situation that they cannot handle. Motivated by fear and the basic instinct of survival, they desperately try not to lose themselves in the most emblematic act of uncivilized problem solving: war. Written by Metro Communications Motion Picture Rating           ( MPAA ) Rated R for disturbing bloody war violence, language including sexual references, and some nudity | See all certifications  » Parents Guide: 15 October 2009 (Israel) See more  » Also Known As: $17,145        (USA) (6 August 2010) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia With the exception of three shots - the opening and two closing images - all the footage is shot from within the tank. See more » Goofs During the first part of film the tank zooms in on shelf with a bunch of 7 Up cans. The cans all have the current 7 Up graphics despite the films' 1982 setting. See more » Connections Music by Mustapha Skandrani and lyrics by Mustapha Kechekoui Performed by Sami Badra, with Vitali Podolski (accordion), Sanya Kroytor (violin) and Yisrael Bright (piano) (Wellington, New Zealand) – See all my reviews I had mixed reviews prior to seeing Lebanin and sadly this was a film that lacked in many departments and I am glad I resisted ordering on blu-ray. Situated inside a tank for several claustrophobic days during the Israel-Lebanon war and seen, largely, through the gun sight of the gunner this could have been a tense, gritty film with much in common with submarine films or the decent 80's film The Beast. Some reviews I have read complained about the emotive or manipulative images or events portrayed and I share these sentiments. The camera unnaturally/gun focuses in close up on "evocative" images like corpses, a poster of the virgin mary, more corpses, crying women - the gunner is spends the film watching like a tourist providing the audience with dramatic/tragic scenes in close up. Which feels unnatural, scripted and left myself and other reviewers feeling manipulated. The grime of the tank is palpable and the soldiers become dirtier as the


Ten paintings by which US artist were stolen from the private collection of Richard Wiseman in Los Angeles?

Stolen Art by Warhol Is Sought in California - The New York Times The New York Times U.S. |Stolen Art by Warhol Is Sought in California Search Continue reading the main story LOS ANGELES — The theft of 10 silkscreen paintings by Andy Warhol has the Los Angeles Police Department searching for clues, but it has people in the art world scratching their heads, too. The paintings were stolen from the West Los Angeles home of Richard L. Weisman, a businessman and prominent collector. A $1 million reward has been offered by Mr. Weisman for information leading to the paintings’ recovery. On Friday, the Los Angeles police said that the paintings — images of athletes including Muhammad Ali, Chris Evert, Dorothy Hamill, Tom Seaver, Jack Nicklaus and O. J. Simpson — were taken from Mr. Weisman’s dining room. A housekeeper called the police; Mr. Weisman was out of town at the time. Detective Donald Hrycyk, one of two investigators assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department’s art theft detail, said the paintings were stolen either on the day they were reported missing, Sept. 3, or the day before. “It’s hard to say what they want to do with them, but it looks like somebody knew about these pieces,” Detective Hrycyk said Saturday. He said that there was no sign of forced entry and that other valuable artwork and possessions had not been taken. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Weisman commissioned the paintings, known as the “Athlete Series,” from Warhol in late 1977. Each measuring 40 inches square, the paintings were all signed by the artist and by the individual sports stars, said Vincent Fremont, the exclusive sales agent for paintings and drawings at the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts . Warhol chronicled the project in his diaries that year. “Tom Seaver was adorable,” he wrote on July 18, 1977. “Athletes really do have fat in the right places, and they’re young in the right places.” Still, 30 years later, the public did not see it that way. In 2007, Mr. Weisman’s set of the “Athlete Series” was the subject of an exhibition at Martin Summers Fine Art, a London gallery, where they were for sale as a group for about $28 million, said several art experts. But they did not sell. Since then, the prices of Warhols, along with those of many other contemporary artists, have fallen. “These were sporting heroes of a particular moment,” said Brett Gorvy of Christie’s postwar and contemporary art department worldwide. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy While some of the works were beautifully painted, by far the standout is the portrait of Muhammad Ali. “It is truly iconic,” Mr. Gorvy said. “Even today it would still make a huge amount.” In 2007, a similar image of the boxer brought $9.2 million when it was for sale at Christie’s in New York. The rest, Mr. Gorvy said, would probably be worth a couple of hundred thousand dollars apiece. Mr. Weisman comes from a family of celebrated collectors. His father, Frederick Weisman, a Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist, started buying art in the late 1940s. Over the years, he bought examples of masters like Cézanne and Picasso, de Kooning, Rothko and Warhol. Some are on view at a foundation museum in Los Angeles. Mr. Weisman’s mother, Marcia Weisman, is the sister of the billionaire Norton Simon and is also an art collector. In 2003 Richard Weisman published a book about his collection called “From Picasso to Pop.” Even with the fame of the collection, art experts found it strange that anyone would walk off with just the “Athlete Series.” “The Warhol market is too insular,” Mr. Gorvy said. Tobias Meyer, international director of Sotheby’s contemporary art department, agreed. “Stealing Warhols is a very bad idea,” Mr. Meyer said. “The art world has become so transparent, and all these works are so traceable, ultimately they become an untradeable asset.” Advertisement Detective Hrycyk said that thefts from private collections are relativel


Which Belgian won the 2009 US Open Women's Tennis Singles Championship?

U.S. Open - Tennis Topics - ESPN Past Winners The U.S. Open is the final Grand Slam tournament of each season, held in late August and early September at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Having originated in 1881 as the United States National Championship -- a men's-only event -- the tournament now consists of championships in men's and women's singles, as well as men's, women's and mixed doubles. It also hosts junior, senior and wheelchair divisions. Currently held on hard courts, the U.S. Open had been played on grass and clay surfaces prior to the event's move to the USTA National Tennis Center (in 1978). In men's and women's singles at the U.S. Open, the final set is determined by a tiebreaker if it reaches six games all. That differs from the other three Grand Slam events in which the deciding set continues on indefinitely until a two-game lead is reached. The inaugural U. S. Open was held in 1881 in Newport, R.I. That year, only men's singles was featured, with Richard Sears capturing the championship after a 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over William Glyn in the finals. Sears went on to win the singles championship in each of the first seven years the tournament was held. By the time of his last title, women had begun contesting a singles championship at the U. S. Women's National Singles Championship. (Various divisions were held separately as national championship events, before all five major divisions -- men's and women's singles and doubles, plus the mixed doubles -- were consolidated into one tournament in 1968.) Throughout its early years, the U. S. Open men's championship was dominated by several players. Oliver Campbell won three straight competitions from 1890 to 1892. Malcolm Whitman won it from 1898 to 1900. William Larned won five titles in a row from 1907 to 1911, while "Big Bill" Tilden -- one of the first American superstars in the sport -- won six straight from 1920 to 1925. Molla Bjurstedt of Norway captured four straight women's championships from 1915 to 1918. Helen Wills won six times in a seven-year span from 1923 to 1929, and Helen Jacobs claimed four straight during the 1930s. The 1930s also saw Fred Perry and Don Budge emerge as international stars, and the two combined to win five of six U.S. men's singles titles between 1933 and 1938. The two met in the 1936 final, an epic match won by Perry after a 10-8 fifth set. That year marked the last time a British man has won the U.S. Open. American players proved dominant in the following decade, with Frank Parker, Jack Kramer and Pancho Gonzalez each winning two men's titles during the 1940s. U.S. women won each year between 1938 and 1958, with Pauline Betz winning four times in that period and Margaret Osbourne-Dupont and Maureen Connolly taking three titles each. Australians came into prominence in the sport and at the U.S. open during the 1960s. Neale Fraser, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver won multiple men's titles in that decade, while Margaret Smith Court claimed four women's trophies. The start of the Open era of tennis in 1968 provided a couple of major surprises at the U.S. Open that year, when all championship divisions were played together at Forest Hills in New York. Arthur Ashe won the men's singles crown -- the first time it was officially termed the "U.S. Open" -- defeating Tom Okker of the Netherlands in the final, 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Because of his amateur status, the 25-year-old Ashe, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was ineligible to receive the $14,000 first prize in the $100,000 event. (At the time, the Open was the richest tournament in tennis history.) Instead, Ashe received his $20 per diem. Ashe was the first American to win the U.S. men's singles title since 1955 and the first-ever African-American to win a men's singles title at a Grand Slam Championship. The women's tournament in 1968 also saw a shocker as Britain's Virginia Wade won the title, upsetting top-seed and heavy favorite Billie Jean King. King would rebound by winning three of four U.S. Open crowns between 1971 and 1974. Ch


For her performance in what film did Kate Winslet win her 2009 best actress Oscar?

Oscars 2009: Kate Winslet wins best actress for The Reader - Telegraph Oscars Oscars 2009: Kate Winslet wins best actress for The Reader Kate Winslet has won her first Oscar, for best actress, for her performance as  a former Nazi death camp guard in The Reader. By Tom Leonard in Los Angeles 6:10AM GMT 23 Feb 2009 The 33-year-old British actress had been nominated for an Academy Award on five previous occasions. In a widely-predicted win, she beat other nominees for the award who included Meryl Streep for Doubt, Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie for Changeling and Melissa Leo for Frozen River. She has already won a BAFTA award, two Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild award this season but her emotional, breathless acceptance speech made clear her delight at finally securing an Oscar. "To the academy thank you so much. My God," she said, adding that she had dreamed of winning an Oscar for a long time. "I'd be lying if I haven't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror and this would have been a shampoo bottle," she said. Related Articles Oscars 2009: Kate Winslet profile 22 Feb 2009 "It's not a shampoo bottle now. I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from there to here and I'd like to thank some of the people along the way who had faith in me." She also called on her father to whistle from the audience so she could see him in the crowd, which he did. "I can't believe we're in a category with Meryl Streep at all," Winslet said. "I'm sorry, Meryl, but you have to just suck that up." She was also praised for her role as a disillusioned housewife in Revolutionary Road alongside Leonardo di Caprio, her co-star in Titanic. Released within two weeks of The Reader, Revolutionary Road was widely regarded as her stronger performance. In The Reader, she plays Hanna Schmitz, a former Nazi prison guard who begins an affair with a teenage boy more than a decade later. Winslet, who is married to the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, has two young children. Start your free 30 day Amazon Prime trial»


The Raptorex Kriegsteini, as smaller version of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, was discovered in which country?

Smaller version of T. rex discovered | New York Post Smaller version of T. rex discovered Comment(required) September 17, 2009 | 7:40pm WASHINGTON — About 125 million years ago a tiny version of Tyrannosaurus rex roamed what is now northeastern China. Tiny, that is, by T. rex standards – you still wouldn’t want to meet it face to face. Described by paleontologist Paul Sereno as “punk size,” this early predator stood about nine feet tall. It just seems small compared to the giant T. rex that evolved millions of years later and was as much as 100 times more massive. “It really is the blueprint for the later (T. rex) dinosaurs,” Sereno said, “it was a blueprint that was scalable.” Described for the first time in Thursday’s ScienceExpress, the online edition of the journal Science, the new dinosaur has been named Raptorex kriegsteini. Sereno reports that Raptorex has all the hallmarks of T. rex, including a large head, tiny arms and lanky feet – just in a smaller size. “What we’re looking at is a blueprint for a fast-running set of jaws,” Sereno said at a briefing arranged by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The giant T. rex dominated much of the planet from about 90 million years ago until the great extinction 65 million years ago. Raptorex would have weighed only about 150 pounds, said Sereno, of the University of Chicago and also a National Geographic explorer in residence. The newly described remains were found by fossil hunters in northern China, smuggled out of that country and offered for sale to collector Henry Kriegstein of Higham, Mass., Sereno said. Kriegstein, for whom the animal is now named, donated the materials to science and they will be returned to China. The fossil was encased in a single block of stone, Sereno said. That stone allowed the researchers to trace the find to its original location. The way the bones were fused indicates the animal died at the age of five or six, which is nearly adult. It would have matured at eight or 10 and been old by 20, added co-author Stephen Brusatte of the American Museum of Natural History. The find also shows that features such as the animal’s tiny arms did not evolve as T. rex grew larger, but were present in the much earlier forms, Brusatte said. “Much of what we thought we knew about T. rex turns out to be simplistic or out-and-out wrong,” Brusatte said. Sereno said Raptorex was a predator. Some scientists debate whether T. rex was a predator or scavenger. Dinosaur expert John R. Horner of the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University was cautious about the find. “It’s hard to evaluate their conclusions,” he said, calling the report interesting but adding that the drawing in the paper shows some differences from a T. rex in addition to being smaller. However, he added, he didn’t see anything that would disprove their theory that Raptorex was an ancestor of T. rex. The research was funded by the Whitten-Newman Foundation and the National Geographic Society. Share this:


Becky Simmon of Guernsey and Lisa Cummings of Ireland were first from their islands to swim what stretch of water respectively once and both ways?

201409 by Navy News - issuu issuu SEPTEMBER 2014 LET THE CATS OUT l Six Wildcats of 700W Naval Air Squadron take to the skies of Lyme Bay for a farewell formation flight. The Yeovilton squadron disbanded after five years learning to fly and maintain the new helicopter – only to re-form two days later as 825 NAS to bring Wildcat into front-line service. See page 3. Picture: Lee Howard/leehowardphotography.co.uk 09 09 9 770028 167160 Off-sale date:167160 October 1, 2014 9 770028 £2.80 GREAT RESPECT: MARKING THE START OF WORLD WAR I GLOBAL REACH HMS Echo HMS Quorn HMS Ramsey Gibraltar Squadron FDU2 Training or on patrol around the UK Defender Severn Duncan Mersey Dragon Ocean Tyne FASLANE HMS Gannet HMS Protector HMS Iron Duke RFA Black Rover UKMCC HMS Defender HMS Northumberland HMS Atherstone HMS Shoreham HMS Ramsey HMS Penzance MASF MCM 3 RFA Cardigan Bay RFA Fort Austin RFA Diligence Naval Party 1023 814 NAS Naval Party 1022 HMS Clyde YEOVILTON DEVONPORT PORTSMOUTH CULDROSE Plus one strategic missile and undisclosed Fleet submarines on patrol somewhere beneath the Seven Seas This map is a depiction of many, though not all, of the Royal Navy’s commitments over the past month FLEET FOCUS Protecting our nation’s interests NAVY News look to the skies for much of the Royal Navy’s work this month, starting with the Wildcat and the decommissioning of 700W and the standing up of the aircraft’s operational squadron 825 NAS (see front page and page 3). The Lynx replacements were also in action on Dartmoor as Royal Marines and the Commando Helicopter Force practised the art of picking up troops from the battlefield (see page 3). All of the Royal Navy’s helicopter crews will have memories of training to fly the aircraft at 705 NAS and this year the RAF Shawbury-based squadron marks its 75th anniversary (see pages 14 & 15). Continuing with helicopters and the Baggers from 854 NAS are loaded into an RAF transporter for the flight home from Camp Bastion, ending the Royal Navy’s 13-year Afghanistan mission (see page 4). Baggers from 857 NAS spent two weeks getting their sea legs back with a two-week exercise based on RFA Argus (see page 4). Rotary aircraft were joined by fixed wing as more than 52,000 spectactors flocked to air days at RNAS Culdrose and Yeovilton (see page 8). A Vulcan bomber was joined by a Swiss airforce F-18 Hornet and Jordanian Falcons at Yeovilton. The Vulcan also put in an appearance at Culdrose, where the show ended in amazing fashion as a Sea Fury made an emergency landing, with the pilot being praised for his actions, (see right). Although the Fleet Air Arm were much to the fore last month, there was also plenty going on at sea. HMS Enterprise hit the headlines as she evacuated Britons from Libya. The survey ship made two trips to Tripoli, taking more than 200 British citizens to the safety of Malta (see page 6). The UK’s on-call helicopter carrier HMS Ocean successfully completed four weeks of intensive sea trials and is now preparing to take part in the Cougar deployment later this month (see page 5). Also busy training were three of the Type 45 destroyers, Dragon, Dauntless and Duncan, which met during OST ahead of their deployments (see page 5). Royal Navy sailors and divers joined more than 25,000 military personnel for the Rim of the Pacific war games – the biggest naval exercise of the year (see page 7). HMS Argyll continued her Caribbean deployment with visits to Montserrat, Anguilla and Martinique (see centre pages). While out in Africa, the crew of HMS Iron Duke enjoyed a walk on the wild side during a stopover in Ghana (see page 10). Back in the UK, friends and family of Britain’s youngest frigate celebrated the rebirth of HMS St Albans after a £25m revamp (see page 4). On a sombre note, Royal Navy bases and ships around the world joined in the international tribute to mark the start of WW1, paying respects at war memorials and taking part in the ‘Lights Out’ initiative (see pages 16-17). The Senior Service’s role in the Great War is also highlighted in the new WW1 galleries at the Imperial War Muse


Who in 2009 became the oldest person to have an album in the UK charts?

92-year-old outsells Beatles to top UK charts - CNN.com 92-year-old outsells Beatles to top UK charts Story Highlights Vera Lynn is oldest living artist to have a number one album 92-year-old made her name as "Forces' Sweetheart" during World War II Hits include "We'll Meet Again," and "White Cliffs of Dover" LONDON, England (CNN) -- Vera Lynn, who made her name entertaining troops in World War II after recording her first song 70 years ago, has become the oldest living artist to have a number one album. At 92, Vera Lynn is the oldest person to have a number one album. The 92-year-old's album "We'll Meet Again -- The Very Best of Vera Lynn" took the top spot in the British charts on Sunday, even outselling much-hyped re-mastered versions of the Beatles' back catalogue, according to the UK's Official Charts Company. The previous oldest living artist to top the charts was Bob Dylan, who at 67 saw his album "Together Through Life" become number one in the UK earlier this year. "I am extremely surprised and delighted, and a big 'thank you' to all my fans for putting me there," Lynn said, according the UK Press Association. During the war, Lynn was known as the "Forces' Sweetheart" for hits such as "The White Cliffs of Dover" which struck a chord with British soldiers fighting overseas and audiences at home. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II awarded the veteran singer the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1959 and in 1975 made her a dame. According to the Official Charts Company, the reissued Beatles albums took in the fifth, sixth, ninth, 10th, 21st, 24th, 29th, 31st, 33rd, 37th and 38th spots.


Arthur's Day celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the lease for which brewery?

Estelle Photos Photos - Gigs: Arthurs Day - The Guinness 250th Anniversary - Zimbio Gigs: Arthurs Day - The Guinness 250th Anniversary In This Photo: Estelle Singer Estelle performs onstage during the Arthurs Day Guinness 250th Anniversary Celebration held at the Odeon on September 24, 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The Arthur's Day Event celebrates the 250th anniversary of Arthur Guinness signing the lease on the St. James Gate Brewery. The festivities begin in Dublin at 17:59 local time with a toast to Arthur Guinness and continue as fans come together to experience live music events in over 30 venues across Dublin from intimate gigs in pubs and music venues to a concert at the St. James's Gate brewery itself. Celebrations will also take place around the globe, including New York, Lagos, and Kuala Lumpur to mark this milestone.


A painting by which surrealist artist was stolen from a Brussels museum?

Magritte painting stolen at gunpoint | Art and design | The Guardian René Magritte Magritte painting stolen at gunpoint Olympia, a portrait of the artist's wife, taken in raid on former home of the Belgian painter, now an exclusive museum A postcard showing Rene Magritte's Olympia. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters Thursday 24 September 2009 09.13 EDT First published on Thursday 24 September 2009 09.13 EDT Close This article is 7 years old A painting by the Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte was stolen from a Brussels museum today in a daring daylight raid by two armed men who rang the doorbell before putting a gun to the concierge's head. The 1948 painting, Olympia, a nude portrait of the artist's wife Georgette, is said to be worth up to €3m (£2.75m). It was hanging in Magritte's former terrace house, which is open as a museum by appointment only. The museum had been open for 10 minutes when a man rang the doorbell asking if visiting hours had started. He put a revolver to the museum attendant's temple and allowed his accomplice inside. The two men, who were not masked, rounded up the museum staff and visitors – a Japanese couple – and made them kneel in the courtyard. No one was hurt and the pair left carrying the 60cm by 80cm painting and got into a car. As soon as they had smashed the glass plate protecting the work, an alarm sounded but by the time the police arrived, the thieves, who spoke English and French, had made their getaway. Magritte lived with his wife for more than 20 years in the house in the northern Brussels suburb, and painted some of his most famous works there. The house also became a meeting point for other surrealists in the Belgian capital. Now a small museum, it is distinct from the big new Magritte museum which opened in Brussels in June. Since the opening of the vast new Brussels museum, there has been a surge of interest in Magritte's witty and surrealist images, such as his famous painting of a pipe with its warning: "This is not a pipe". The stolen painting, posed by Magritte's wife, shows a woman reclining with a shell balanced on her stomach. Maja Pertot Bernard of the Art Loss Register said Magritte was not a painter whose works were often stolen and there were very few missing Magrittes. "This painting, which is highly recognisable, is very unlikely to be attempted to be sold on the open market," she said. "In thefts like these, the paintings either tend to turn up very quickly when the thieves realise it's a lost cause, or if they do go missing for a long time, they often change hands so many times that the final seller doesn't realise there is a problem with the painting." She said paintings were sometimes held for ransom. "More often, they are used as collateral, in exchange for something, or to pay off a debt."


Who was arrested in Zurich on a 31 year old US warrant?

Roman Polanski arrested in Switzerland 31 years after fleeing trial | Film | The Guardian Roman Polanski arrested in Switzerland 31 years after fleeing trial • Zurich police act on 1978 US warrant • Director arrested before accepting festival prize Sunday 27 September 2009 15.01 EDT First published on Sunday 27 September 2009 15.01 EDT Close This article is 7 years old For 31 years he lived as the world's most celebrated fugitive, feted by his peers in the film industry while on the run from American police after admitting having sex with a child. But, it was revealed today, the past has finally caught up with Roman Polanski . The film director was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday on a decades-old warrant relating to the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. The director had travelled to Switzerland to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich film festival, the organisers of which expressed "great consternation and shock" at his detention. The 76-year-old director of Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown pleaded guilty to the assault at the time but jumped bail and fled the US the following year to avoid a lengthy jail sentence. For more than three decades he has lived in exile in Paris, refusing to return to the US even when he won an Oscar in 2002 for The Pianist. Zurich police said he was detained at immigration in Zurich on Saturday night at the request of the US justice department and was in custody awaiting extradition. "I confirm that Mr Polanski has been arrested. The American authorities issued an international search request in 2005 in relation to a 1978 warrant," said Guido Balmer of the Swiss justice ministry. "There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming. That's why he was taken into custody." The US will now need to make a formal extradition request, however, and Polanski is likely to challenge his detention in the Swiss courts. Polanski was born in Paris to Polish parents and has French citizenship; France's culture minister Frédéric Mitterand said he was "dumbfounded" at the arrest, adding that he "strongly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already experienced so many of them". The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, "is following the case with great attention and shares the minister's hope that the situation can be quickly resolved", the minister said. Polanski has a house in Switzerland and spent much of the summer there, according to British writer Robert Harris, who in recent months has been working closely with the director on a film adaptation of his novel The Ghost. Harris told the Guardian he thought there was "something very odd, very suspicious" about the timing of the arrest. "To my knowledge, Roman in recent years has travelled to Germany, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Greece, Russia, China. So why now, all of a sudden, is an elderly man grabbed off a plane on a Saturday night and stuffed into jail?" The director was permitted one call to his wife, French actor Emmanuelle Seigner, who left their two young children to travel to Switzerland, Harris said. "This is a high-profile action designed to send out some sort of message to someone somewhere. No one condones what happened in the 70s, but I think this is pretty appalling." A statement from the Swiss Association of Directors called it a "grotesque judicial farce and a monstrous cultural scandal", while the country's Association of Film Directors and Script Writers called the move "a slap in the face for the entire cultural community in Switzerland". Polanski was 44 and already a twice-Oscar-nominated director in March 1977 when he had sex with Samantha Gailey, a 13-year-old model he had hired for a photoshoot, at Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles. He has argued that the sex was consensual, saying the girl was "not unresponsive", though Gailey said he drugged her with painkillers and champagne before carrying out a "very scary" assault. The director pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in a deal with prosecutors that saw them drop charges of rape, drugging and sodomy, which could have carri


Which US city lost its bid to host the Summer 2016 Olympics?

Chicago loses bid to host 2016 Olympics to Rio - Oct. 2, 2009 or View results NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics Friday to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The news was announced by Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, at a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Like in every competition, there can be only one winner," said Rogge, just prior to announcing Rio as the host city. With help from hometown heroes like the Obamas, the Windy City was aggressively lobbying to host the games. The upside to the rejection is that Chicago possibly saved money, as making the Olympics profitable would not have been an easy win. Chicago was competing with Tokyo, Madrid, Spain and Rio de Janeiro in wooing the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen. The IOC also rejected Tokyo and Madrid Friday. Chicago 2016, the organization leading the effort to host the games, had projected a cost of $3.8 billion, including a "rainy day" fund of $450 million in case of unforeseen increases if the city won the bid. But there was good reason to be skeptical of that projection, said Robert Livingstone, producer of GamesBids.com and a leading expert in the Olympic selection process. Host cities routinely overrun their Olympic budgets, he said. "It's going to be more expensive than we think it's going to be, because it typically is," Livingstone said, before the decision was made Friday. "I think every [host] city is going to lose money. It's not an efficient event." The bidding process alone cost Chicago about $100 million, Livingstone estimated. An argument often made by host city advocates is that presenting the international spectacle is good for a local economy. But such "trickle-down effects," like benefits to local businesses, are "almost impossible to measure," Livingstone said. "I think a lot of people look at the Olympics, and they try to justify it by how much money it adds to the economy," said Livingstone. "[But] if you're in this to make money and improve your economy, you're in it for the wrong reasons." A Chicago 2016 spokesman, who asked not be named, had stood by the $3.8 billion projection. "Our numbers are completely feasible thanks to the infrastructure already in place, the number of venues already built and the temporary nature of the majority of those we're planning to build," he wrote, in an e-mail prior to the IOC rejection.  First Published: October 2, 2009: 11:50 AM ET


What was the name of the typhoon which hit the Philippines in October 2009?

Top 10 Most Destructive Philippine Typhoons of 2009 - Wikipilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia Top 10 Most Destructive Philippine Typhoons of 2009 From Wikipilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search The year 2009 brought about what could be considered the most destructive typhoons in Philippine history. Filipinos were tested for their courage and strength is coping with these miserable disasters. Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) Ondoy was considered a weak typhoon but it brought record rainfall and flooding in September. A state of calamity was declared in Metro Manila as well as 25 provinces. Marikina and Rizal province were the hardest hit areas. According to PAGASA , Ondoy dumped 455 millimeters of rain in Quezon City alone within 24 hours. As per the National Disaster Coordinating Council ’s last report, Ondoy left 337 people dead, 308 injured, and 37 missing. Estimated cost of damages amount to almost Php 10.5 billion in infrastructure and agriculture. Pepeng (international name: Parma) Pepeng was the slowest and longest staying typhoon that hit the country in 2009. PAGASA forecast its location as early as 29 September but it made landfall only on 3 October. After exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility, it made a second landfall in Cagayan on 8 October.  The “u-turn” was affected by Typhoon Melor which entered the country at the same time. Pepeng left 375 dead, 185 injured, and 48 missing as of NDCC’s last situation report made in 14 October. Estimated cost of damages was placed at Php 8.142 billion. Emong (international name: Chan-hom) Emong made landfall on 7 May in Bolinao , Pangasinan . It affected Northern Luzon and registered a 48 hour record rainfall from 6 to 8 May. Western Pangasinan was placed under a state of calamity with the whole province claiming 16 of the 60 deaths recorded by NDCC. The number of missing was reported at 13 and the number of injured at 53. Total damage was estimated at Php 1.2 billion. Santi (international name: Mirinae) Santi entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on the night of 29 October. Regions most affected were IV-A and V. The typhoon left 34 dead, 20 injured, and 15 missing. Estimated cost of damage to agriculture, infrastructure, and private property was placed at Php 704.97 million. Dante (international name: Kujira) Dante was the fourth tropical cyclone to hit the country in 2009. It left 27 people dead, 8 missing, and 5 injured. Provinces most affected included Sorsogon , Camarines Norte , Camarines Sur , and Catanduanes . NDCC reports that Dante damaged Php 451,737,631 worth of crops and livestock and Php 102 million worth of communal irrigation facilities. Kiko (international name: Morakot) Kiko flooded eleven villages in Botolan , Zambales with waters rising up to 4 to 5 feet high after the Pinatubo Dike overflowed on 6 August. It left 20 people dead, including miners trapped by mudslides in Baguio City. The NDCC declared Zambales under a state of calamity as more than 13,000 people were left homeless. Jolina (international name: Goni)


What was the descriptive and related name given to a smaller prehistoric site discovered near Stonehenge?

Sister monument to Stonehenge may have been found Sister monument to Stonehenge may have been found July 22, 2010            By RAPHAEL G. SATTER     , Associated Press Writer This is a Sept. 15, 2004. file photo of tourists looking at The Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in England. Scientists scouring the area around Stonehenge said Thursday July 22, 2010 they have uncovered the foundations of a second circular structure only a few hundred meters (yards) from the world famous monument. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin, File ) (AP) -- Scientists scouring the area around Stonehenge said Thursday they have uncovered a circular structure only a few hundred meters (yards) from the world famous monument. There's some debate about what exactly has been found. The survey team which uncovered the structure said it could be the foundation for a circle of freestanding pieces timber, a wooden version of Stonehenge. But Tim Darvill, a professor of archaeology at Bournemouth University in southern England, expressed skepticism, saying he believed it was more likely a barrow, or prehistoric tomb. Darvill did say that the circle was one of an expanding number of discoveries being made around Stonehenge which "really shows how much there is still to learn and how extensive the site really was." "In its day Stonehenge was at the center of the largest ceremonial center in Europe," he said. Although antiquarians have been poking around the area since the 18th century, excavations are now tightly restricted. So archeologists have been scanning the surrounding fields and pastures with magnetic and radar sensors pulled across the grass by tractors or quad bikes. The new structure was found when scans identified a cluster of deep pits surrounded by a ring of smaller holes about 900 meters (a little over half a mile) from Stonehenge and within sight of its famous standing stones. University of Birmingham archaeologist Henry Chapman said he was convinced the small holes were used to secure a circle of wooden poles which stood "possibly three or more meters (10 or more feet) high." The timber henge - a name given to prehistoric monuments surrounded by a circular ditch - would have been constructed and modified at the same time as its more famous relative, and probably had some allied ceremonial or religious function, Chapman said in a telephone interview from Stonehenge. Exactly what kind of ceremonies those were is unclear. The new henge joins a growing complex of tombs and mysterious Neolithic structures found across the area. The closest equivalent is probably the nearby Woodhenge, a monument once composed of six rings of wooden posts enclosed by an earth embankment. Excavations there in the 1970s revealed the body of child whose skull had been split buried at the center of the henge - hinting at the possibility of human sacrifice. A stone's throw from the newly found henge is a formation known as the Cursus, a 3-kilometer-long (1.8-mile-long) earthwork whose purpose remains unknown. Also nearby is a puzzling chunk of land known as the Northern Kite Enclosure; Bronze Age farmers seem to have avoided cultivating crops there, although no one is sure quite why. The whole area around Stonehenge is dotted with prehistoric cemeteries - some of which predate the monument itself - and new discoveries are made occasionally. Last year, researchers said they had found a small circle of stones on the banks of the nearby River Avon. Experts speculated the stone circle - dubbed "Bluehenge" because it was built with bluestones - may have served as the starting point of a processional walk that began at the river and ended at Stonehenge. Chapman's team is still in the early stages of its work, having surveyed only about four square kilometers (1.5 square miles) of the 16 square kilometers (six square miles) it eventually plans to map. The survey is being led by the University of Birmingham and the Austria-based Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, with support from other institutions and researchers from Ger


A new ring was discovered around which planet in 2009?

Huge 'ghost' ring discovered around Saturn : Nature News Published online 7 October 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.979 News Huge 'ghost' ring discovered around Saturn Spitzer Space Telescope reveals a supersized dust belt. Michelle Grayson Astronomers have found an enormous ghostly ring around Saturn.Science Photo Library Saturn's ring system has just got a lot larger, with the discovery of a faint ring that stretches out millions of kilometres into space. But this new ring, which follows the orbit of one of Saturn's moons, Phoebe, is unlike any of the other rings that are closer to the planet: as well as being much thicker and wider, it is tilted from the plane of the other rings. Saturn's rings were first described by astronomer and mathematician Christiaan Huygens in 1655. Since then, astronomers have discovered more details about the number of rings in the system and their composition, aided recently by NASA's Cassini–Huygens mission. It was thought that the farthest ring from Saturn — until now the largest known ring in the Solar System — was the E ring, which stretches from a distance of 3 Rs (where Rs is the radius of Saturn, equal to 60,330 kilometres) to 8 Rs, and is fed by active geysers on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. However, this new ring dwarfs all the others, extending from approximately 128 Rs to 207 Rs with a vertical thickness of 40 Rs. "It is an analogue of the 'tiny' rings around Saturn, but on an immense scale," says Michael Skrutskie of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and one of the paper's authors 1 . "It is also a very tenuous ring, with an optical depth of only 2 x 10–8. That is the equivalent of 20 grains of material per cubic kilometre." Cryogenic clues The extremely sparse nature of the ring means that it reflects very little light and is practically invisible, which is why it has previously escaped detection. Its existence was proposed based on the discovery of other satellite-associated rings — such as the Janus–Epimetheus Ring around Saturn detected in 2006 — which are formed from material ejected from planetary satellites following an impact. Phoebe Ring is much further out than Saturn's other rings.NASA/JPL-Caltech/R.Hurt (SSC) Inset image: NASA/WM.Keck Observatory/JPL-G. Orton "This was something that was not suspected before the Cassini mission," says Carl Murray, from the astronomy unit at Queen Mary, University of London, and a member of the Cassini imaging team. "We have since come to the conclusion that the origins of many of Saturn's inner rings are its satellites. Of course, these are very optically-thin rings and nothing like the spectacular rings we normally associate with Saturn." The new 'Phoebe Ring' describes the outer boundaries of Phoebe's orbit, and is at an angle of 27° with respect to the other rings. Phoebe travels in the opposite direction to most of the planet's other moons. The ring was detected by thermal emission using the Spitzer Space Telescope's Multiband Imaging Photometer, which uses a cryogenic system to enable it to see such weak infrared signals. Skrutskie and his team confirmed their observations with images from the Spitzer archive. And in a bonus discovery, the team think they may also have solved an astronomical mystery. One hemisphere of Iapetus, the next moon in from Phoebe, is much darker in colour than the other half — an observation that astronomers have never fully explained. The team now believes that the Phoebe Ring could be the missing source of the darker material, as well as being responsible for reddish deposits on Hyperion, another Saturnian moon. However, the team has not yet managed to accurately determine the ring's structure or composition to confirm this hypothesis: "Now that Spitzer has exhausted its cryogen, we cannot make any more observations that way," Skrutskie explains. Further observations of the Phoebe Ring will have to wait until the infrared-optimized James Webb Space Telescope is operational following its launch in 2014. Until then, there will almost inevitably be more surprises from Saturn, Murray


The Red Book, first published in 2009, largely unseen for 70 years, was written by what notable Swiss Psychiatrist?

The Portable Jung | SOLO - Sense of Life Objectivists From Wikipedia : The Red Book, also known as Liber Novus (The New Book), is a 205-page manuscript written and illustrated by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung between approximately 1914 and 1930, which was not published or even shown to the public until 2009. Until 2001, his heirs denied scholars access to the book, which he began after a falling-out with Sigmund Freud in 1913. Context Jung was associated with Freud for a period of approximately five years, beginning in 1907. Their relationship became increasingly acrimonious. When the final break came in 1913, Jung retreated from many of his professional activities for a time to further develop his own theories. Biographers disagree as to whether this period represented a psychological breakdown.[1] Anthony Storr, reflecting on Jung's own judgment that he was "menaced by a psychosis" during this time, concluded that the period represented a psychotic episode.[2] Jung referred to the episode as a kind of experiment, a voluntary confrontation with the unconscious.[3] Biographer Barbara Hannah, who was close to Jung later in his life, compared Jung's experiences to the encounter of Menelaus with Proteus in the Odyssey. Jung, she said, "made it a rule never to let a figure or figures that he encountered leave until they had told him why they had appeared to him."[4] About the Red Book, Jung said: The years… when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than one life. Everything later was merely the outer classification, scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.[5] Content The work is inscribed by Jung with the title Liber Novus (The New Book). The folio size manuscript, 11.57 inches (29 cm) by 15.35 inches (39 cm), was bound in a red leather binding, and was commonly referred to as the "Red Book" by Jung. Inside are 205 pages of text and illustrations, all from his hand: 53 are full images, 71 contain both text and artwork and 81 are pure calligraphic text.[6] He began work on it in 1913, first in small black journals, during a difficult period of "creative illness", or confrontation with the unconscious, and it is said to contain some of his most personal material.[7] During the sixteen years he worked on the book, Jung developed his theories of archetypes, collective unconscious, and individuation.[8] The Red Book was a product of a technique developed by Jung which he termed active imagination. As Jung described it, he was visited by two figures, an old man and a young woman, who identified themselves as Elijah and Salome. They were accompanied by a large black snake. In time, the Elijah figure developed into a guiding spirit that Jung called Philemon (ΦΙΛΗΜωΝ, as originally written with Greek letters). Salome was identified by Jung as an anima figure. The figures, according to Jung, "brought home to me the crucial insight that there are things in the psyche which I do not produce, but which produce themselves and have their own life."[3] The Philemon figure represented superior insight, and communicated through mythic imagery. The images did not appear to come from Jung's own experience, and Jung interpreted them as products of the collective unconscious. [edit] Publication and display Until 2001, Jung's heirs refused to permit publication of the book and did not allow scholars access to it.[9] Until September 2009, only about two dozen people had seen it.[10] Historian Sonu Shamdasani, an employee of the Jung heirs and their advisor in the handling of unpublished Jung material, and Stephen Martin, a Jungian analyst, created the Philemon Foundation in order to facilitate publication of Jung's works. Ulrich Hoerni, J


Which author's funeral took place in Baltimore US, 160 years after his death?

Edgar Allan Poe gets funeral 160 years after his death | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis Edgar Allan Poe gets funeral 160 years after his death Shares0 Mon, 12 Oct 2009-11:23am , Baltimore , Reuters American writer Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre who died penniless 160 years ago after a mysterious death, finally got proper send off in Baltimore on Sunday. American writer Edgar Allan Poe, the master of the macabre who died penniless 160 years ago after a mysterious death, finally got proper send off in Baltimore on Sunday. An elaborate funeral service was organised for Poe whose original funeral was attended by only seven people. The cause of his death remains unknown although some theories suggest it was alcohol-related. The author of works like The Raven and the The Black Cat was found in a confused state on the streets of Baltimore in October 1849 and died in a city hospital a few days later at the age of 40. A life-size replica of Poe's body went on display in a pine casket at the Poe House in Baltimore on October 7 for visitors to pay their respects, according to Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe Museum. "This actually is the bicentennial of Poe's birth and there was very little we could do with the birth so we thought we would recreate Poe's funeral since his original funeral was very quick. There were only seven people in attendance," Jerome told Reuters Television. "I thought this would be Baltimore's chance to make it right, to do it the right way." The casket was loaded onto an old fashioned hearse and taken through the city to Westminster Burying Ground where the writer is buried. Many Poe fans gathered to bid a proper farewell to the writer whose life had been a struggle as he made very little money from his writing. Many dressed in period costumes to join the funeral procession, some dressed as famous people who had either known Poe or had been inspired by him, such as Walt Whitman, Charles Baudelaire, and Alfred Hitchcock. "Personally Edgar Allan Poe has meant so much to me as far as his creativity and originality so it is great to be here. It's a privilege to be here and honour him," said one Poe fan, Roger Bow, who had come from New York for the event. TOP


The painting La Bella Principessa was attributed to which artist and inventor using fingerprint evidence?

La Bella Principessa: a £100m Leonardo, or a copy? - Telegraph La Bella Principessa: a £100m Leonardo, or a copy? La Bella Principessa has been touted as Leonardo’s missing masterpiece, but  the experts beg to differ.   The drawing known as La Bella Principessa    By Richard Dorment 5:13PM BST 12 Apr 2010 'Picture kept in a drawer 'is £100m da Vinci’.” That’s how the article in The Sunday Times on July 27, 2008 breathlessly reported the incredible story of how the Paris-based American dealer Peter Silverman discovered a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci . Visiting a friend in Switzerland, he opened a drawer and found himself looking at an unframed drawing of a young girl in profile, wearing Renaissance costume. Executed in ink and coloured chalks on a sheet of vellum measuring 330mmx39mm, it was laid down on an oak board. When Silverman asked who the artist was, his friend didn’t know – he’d bought it on a whim because it was “a nice pretty thing”. Then, Silverman told a reporter: “My heart started to beat a million times a minute. I immediately thought this could be a Florentine artist. The idea of Leonardo came to me in a flash.” So rare is it to discover an unknown drawing by the Renaissance master that Silverman admitted: “I saw it, but I didn’t dare speak the L-word.” Silverman’s discovery made a thrilling story, but it was a complete fabrication, and the first of several versions of the story he told. In fact, New York art dealer Kate Ganz acquired the drawing at Christie’s in 1998 for $21,850 catalogued as “19th century, possibly German” and she sold it, with the same attribution and for the same amount, nine years later to Silverman. During the time she owned it, the many museum curators, museum directors, conservators and collectors who saw it in her gallery all concurred that the drawing could not be more than 100 years old. As for the “L-word” Mr Silverman dared not utter, when he saw the picture at Ganz’s gallery in January 2007 it was described on the label as “obviously based on a number of paintings by Leonardo da Vinci”. Ganz (to whom I was married 30 years ago) told me that when she read about Silverman’s “discovery” in The New York Times, she simply faxed a copy of the original invoice to the paper, proving she had sold the drawing to him. The Times then ran a correction. The saga might have ended there, with Silverman exposed as a fantasist. But last month the issue was reopened by the publication of La Bella Principessa, a book by Professor Martin Kemp, strongly supporting the idea of Leonardo’s authorship. Kemp is emeritus Professor of Art History at Oxford, and a recognised expert on Leonardo’s scientific work. The book’s co-author Pascal Cotte claims to have used technology to prove the work’s authenticity, and its preface is written by Nicholas Turner, former curator of drawings at the British Museum and the Getty, now a freelance art consultant. Related Articles Christie's sued over '£100m Leonardo da Vinci' 06 May 2010 A campaign is under way to publicise what Kemp is calling “the most important rediscovered work by the artist in over a century”. As part of the promotional drive, the drawing is being shown to the public for the first time – not, as you might expect, in a museum in Paris, New York or London – but in a conference centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. Watching the opening on YouTube is like watching the circus come to town. The picture arrives in an armoured van under police escort. Flashbulbs pop. A man who is handcuffed to a metal briefcase opens it with a theatrical flourish and then produces the drawing that Silverman (or the “Swiss collector” he still claims owns the work) is now saying is worth $150?million. As a non-specialist, my opinion of the drawing’s status is irrelevant. My concern after reading Kemp’s book is not with its conclusions, but with the methods Kemp uses to present his case. Although purporting to be a work of scholarship, his book has none of the balanced analysis you would expect from such an acclaimed historian. For La Bella Principessa, as he called the g


What country first declared internet broadband access to be a legal right?

Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland - CNN.com Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland Story Highlights Providers will need to supply connection speeds of at least 1 megabit per second But Finland is aiming for speeds that are 100 times faster 95 percent of Finnish population have some sort of Internet access The law is designed to bring the Web to rural areas By Saeed Ahmed CNN (CNN) -- Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right. The move by Finland is aimed at bringing Web access to rural areas, where access has been limited. Starting in July, telecommunication companies in the northern European nation will be required to provide all 5.2 million citizens with Internet connection that runs at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second. The one-megabit mandate, however, is simply an intermediary step, said Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The country is aiming for speeds that are 100 times faster -- 100 megabit per second -- for all by 2015. "We think it's something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection," Vilkkonen said. Finland is one of the most wired in the world; about 95 percent of the population have some sort of Internet access, she said. But the law is designed to bring the Web to rural areas, where geographic challenges have limited access until now. "Universal service is every citizen's subjective right," Vilkkonen said. Should fast Internet access be everyone's legal right? It is a view shared by the United Nations, which is making a big push to deem Internet access a human right. In June, France's highest court declared such access a human right. But Finland goes a step further by legally mandating speed. On the other hand, the United States is the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote high-speed broadband , according to a study released in August by the Communications Workers of America, the country's largest media union. Forty-six percent of rural households do not subscribe to broadband, and usage varies based on income, the study found. In February, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to submit a national plan to Congress. The FCC says that expanding service will require subsidies and investment of as much as $350 billion -- much higher than the $7.2 billion President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package has set aside for the task.


Which island nation held the world's first underwater cabinet meeting to publicize global warming?

Maldives holds world’s first underwater cabinet meeting - Thaindian News Thaindian News Maldives holds world’s first underwater cabinet meeting October 17th, 2009 - 3:03 pm ICT by ANI   Tweet Male (Maldives), Oct 17 (ANI): Maldives held the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting on Friday to raise awareness about the threat to the archipelago on account of global warming. The cabinet chaired by President Mohamed Nasheed held the meeting about five meters underwater aimed at pushing for stronger climate change resolutions in the upcoming Copenhagen summit, President Nasheed and his ministers dressed in scuba suits used hand signals and slates to communicate. The Maldivian cabinet also signed a document calling for global cuts in carbon emissions. President Nasheed will present this document before the landmark UN climate change talks in Copenhagen in December. The Copenhagen summit is aimed at creating a consensus among the world leaders over the new agreement to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Earlier, while addressing the UN climate change summit in September, President Nasheed said: “The countries that embrace the Green New Deal will be the winners of the 21st century.” Today’s initiative of the Maldivian Cabinet is a part of a worldwide campaign to draw global attention to the pressing issue of climate change led by 350.org. Of late, Maldives has been drawing the attention of the world on the need to take steps to halt rising sea levels. For the first time in the country’s history, however, the Maldives is facing a new threat of apocalyptic, existential proportions. Now this island nation in Indian Ocean is looming silently, invisibly and menacingly over the azure horizon due to the climate change and rising sea levels. The average height of Maldivian islands is just 1.5 metres above sea level. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned “Sea levels could rise over half a metre by the end of the 21st century, unless urgent steps are taken to halt greenhouse gas emissions. Low-lying island states such as the Maldives are living on borrowed time.” (ANI)


What was Jenson Button's championship-clinching finishing place in the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix?

Jenson Button - 2009 Jenson Button Share The 2009 World Champion grew up in the sport, maturing from a carefree youngster distracted by having too much too soon into a seasoned survivor who toiled in obscurity for a decade before his perseverance suddenly paid off in a fairy tale finish with a team that came from nowhere. His unexpected title triumph was partly the product of circumstances that prevented other contenders from overcoming his sensational head start, but ultimately it was Jenson Button's talent and tenacity that took him to the top... Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 6 Jenson Button (GBR) Haywood Racing Mygale SJ98 was excluded from the results after taking first position in the race. Slick 50 British Formula Ford Championship, Brands Hatch, England, 17 April 1998. © Sutton Formula Ford driver Jenson Button (GBR) with his helmet and trophies. Jenson Button Photo Shoot, Towcester, England, 6 May 1998. World © Sutton Formula Ford Festival winner Jenson Button (GBR) Haywood Racing celebrates victory with his team and family. Formula Ford Festival and World Cup, Brands Hatch, England, 25 October 1998. © Sutton Race winner Jenson Button (GBR) Promatecme celebrates with his trophy. British Formula Three Championship, Pembrey, Wales, 15 August 1999. World © Paul/Sutton Jenson Button (GBR) has his first F1 test for Prost. Formula One Testing, Barcelona, Spain, 15-17 December 1999. © Sutton Jenson Button(GBR) Williams F1 BMW FW22, 6th place, first championship point Brazilian GP, Interlagos, 26th March 2000(Round 2). World © Sutton © No reproduction without permission. Info Close When their son was born, on 19 January, 1980, in Frome, Somerset, southwest England, John and Simone Button named him after Erling Jensen, a Danish friend who competed in rallycross, a branch of motorsport in which John Button had raced with distinction. While the spelling of his name was deliberately changed to differentiate it from the Jensen sportscar, Jenson Button was from infancy fascinated by motorsport. A hyperactive, strong-willed child with a short attention span, he only sat still when watching racing on TV. A miniature scramble bike, a gift for his seventh birthday, briefly satisfied his appetite for action until it was replaced in his affections by a 60cc go-kart, a Christmas present the eight-year-old drove to victory in his very first race. The little blond, freckle-faced winner went to sleep hugging his tiny trophy, having informed his indulgent Dad that he wanted to be Formula 1 World Champion.  By this time his parents had separated and Jenson moved in with his father, who would support him throughout his career, while remaining close to his mother and his three older sisters, Natasha, Samantha and Tanya. Easy-going and always smiling, the affable youngster was popular with his friends and schoolmates, few of whom were aware of how the modest and unassuming Jenson Button was becoming a big name in the karting world.  John Button coached his son and helped pay for his racing with the proceeds from a kart engine preparation business. Among his customers was Anthony Hamilton, whose son Lewis would become the 2008 World Champion. Though money was always short for the Buttons (on one occasion John had to borrow funds to buy fuel to drive home from a race in Scotland) their kart adventures became increasingly serious. As an 11-year-old Jenson won all 34 races in the British Cadet category, following which a succession of British kart titles led to a contract with a professional Italian-based team. His weekend hobby had become a career (he left school in his mid-teens) and at 17 Jenson became the youngest driver to win the European Formula Super A championship. While talent watchers were now comparing him to the late world champion Ayrton Senna, Jenson failed his first attempt to get a licence to drive a road car because he frightened his examiner by speeding through a narrow gap in traffic. Yet this same swift, smooth and assured technique won him the 1998 British Formula Ford championship and a year later he was immediately quick and


What Tory MP was found to have claimed unsuccessfully on his parliamentary expenses for a floating duck island?

Tory Expenses Details - MP by MP | UK | News | Daily Express Tory Expenses Details - MP by MP Here Express.co.uk gives you MP-by-MP details of the alleged expenses claimes by TORY ministers... 00:00, Tue, Jun 2, 2009 Kirkbride funded an extension for her brother David Cameron The Tory leader claimed a total of £82,450 on his second home allowance over five years. The majority of Mr Cameron’s claims were for mortgage interest and utility bills for his Oxfordshire constituency home. One exception was a £680 bill for repairs to the property, which included clearing wisteria and vines from a chimney, replacing outside lights and resealing his conservatory’s roof. The Daily Telegraph reported Mr Cameron’s expenses appeared relatively straightforward compared with other members of the Shadow Cabinet. Chris Grayling The shadow home secretary received thousands of pounds to renovate a London flat 17 miles from his constituency home. Mr Grayling, who already apparently owned three properties within the M25, bought the flat with loans subsidised by the taxpayer. In an unusual move, Mr Grayling negotiated an arrangement with the fees office that allowed him to claim £625 a month for mortgages on two separate properties - the main home in Ashtead, Surrey, and the new flat. An exception to the rules was made for the Epsom and Ewell MP because he was unable to obtain a 100% mortgage on the flat. He is also alleged to have delayed putting in claims for decorating and refurbishing costs so he could receive the maximum in Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) over consecutive years. Francis Maude The shadow Cabinet Office minister claimed almost £35,000 over two years for a mortgage on a London flat a few minutes walk from a house he already owned and then rented out. The taxpayer footed the £387.50 bill for moving his effects down the road. He also tried to claim mortgage interest on his family home in Sussex, but the arrangement was reportedly rejected by the Fees Office. George Osborne The parliamentary authorities considered the shadow chancellor’s personal website too “political” to be publicly funded, the newspaper said. After claiming £30 for a private company to host the site, Mr Osborne was told by an official: “I draw your attention to the ’Latest News’ section of your webpage. This includes some articles... which contain clearly political content and are therefore not acceptable on a publicly funded website.” He also put a £440.62 bill for a chauffeur company to drive him from Cheshire to London on November 11 2005 on expenses. While the invoice offered a 5% discount for “prompt settlement”, Mr Osborne received the full amount. The records showed he also claimed hundreds of pounds for cleaning and remortgaged his second home in Cheshire, increasing his monthly mortgage interest bill from £1,560 a month to nearly £1,900. John Gummer The former Tory Cabinet minister claimed £9,000 a year for gardening, charging the taxpayer hundreds of pounds for treating insect “infestations” and removing moles and jackdaw nests from his Suffolk property, and for an annual “rodent service”. Greg Barker Mr Barker - the first prominent Tory to be caught up in the expenses row - reportedly made a £320,000 profit on a flat he bought at the taxpayers’ expense. David Willetts The shadow innovation, universities and skills secretary claimed £115 plus VAT to replace 25 light bulbs at his second home in west London. On the same claim - part of a £2,191 invoice for odd jobs that included cleaning a shower head - Mr Willetts charged another £80 to “change light bulbs in bathroom”. But parliamentary authorities pared the bill back by more than £1,000, refusing to refund £175 for a dog enclosure and £750 for a shed base. According to the Telegraph, the fees office frequently cut his claims because of errors or overclaims. Cheryl Gillan The shadow Welsh secretary spent taxpayers’ money on dog food. She said the £4.47 claim was an error and promised to repay the money. The fees office also reduced two claims for gas bills because statements showed Ms Gillan’s acco


Which band performed a massive controversial concert at the Brandenberg Gate celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall?

Learn and talk about Berlin Wall, 1961 establishments in East Germany, 1961 establishments in Germany, 1961 in military history, 1961 in politics Satellite image of Berlin, with the Wall's location marked in yellow West and East Berlin borders overlaying a current road map ( interactive map ) The Berlin Wall ( German : Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. [1] Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany ), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. [2] Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992. [3] The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, [4] which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, " fakir beds " and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that had marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. The Berlin Wall was officially referred to as the " Anti-Fascist Protective Wall" ( German : Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) by GDR authorities, implying that the NATO countries and West Germany in particular were considered equal to " fascists " [5] by GDR propaganda. The West Berlin city government sometimes referred to it as the " Wall of Shame "—a term coined by mayor Willy Brandt —while condemning the Wall's restriction on freedom of movement . Along with the separate and much longer Inner German border (IGB), which demarcated the border between East and West Germany , it came to symbolize a physical marker of the " Iron Curtain " that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War . Before the Wall's erection, 3.5 million East Germans circumvented Eastern Bloc emigration restrictions and defected from the GDR, many by crossing over the border from East Berlin into West Berlin; from which they could then travel to West Germany and other Western European countries. Between 1961 and 1989, the Wall prevented almost all such emigration. [6] During this period, around 5,000 people attempted to escape over the Wall, with an estimated death toll ranging from 136 [7] to more than 200 [8] in and around Berlin. In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc , associated with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political power in the pro- Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary . [9] After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Contrary to popular belief the Wall's actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. [1] The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification , which was formally concluded on 3 October 1990. Contents Post-war Germany[ edit ] After the end of World War II in Europe , what remained of pre-war Germany west of the Oder-Neisse line was divided into four occupation zones (as per the Potsdam Agreement ), each one controlled by one of the four occupying Allied powers : the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union . The capital of Berlin, as the seat of the Allied Control Council , was similarly subdivided into four sectors despite the city's location, which was fully within the Soviet zone. [10] Within two years, political divisions increased


Ratu Epeli Nailatakau was sworn in as president of which country?

Nailatikau sworn in as Fiji vice-president | Radio New Zealand News Nailatikau sworn in as Fiji vice-president 5:04 pm on 17 April 2009 Share this Share on Linked In A minister in the Fiji interim government, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, has been sworn in as vice-president. His appointment was made under the eighth decree by President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, a week after he abrogated the Constitution. Ratu Epeli has been the indigenous affairs minister and is a former military commander and former parliamentary speaker. The vice-presidency had been vacant since the 2006 military coup when the military removed Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi. Under the constitution, the body to appoint the president and vice-president was the great Council of Chiefs. The council had been suspended before the Easter turmoil as it had refused to approve the military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama's 2006 post-coup claim that he was the president. Today's ceremony to swear in Ratu Epeli was attended by diplomats from China, India, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati. Share this


Which US actor and film director was made a Commander of the Legion d'Honneur in 2009?

Lï¿½gion d'honneur worth anything today? [Archive] - a French Foreign Legion Forum : cervens.net The Lï¿½gion d'honneur , How much is it worth really? Or the question is has it really be worth anything at all? Lï¿½gion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Lï¿½gion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honor) is a French order established by Napolï¿½on Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on May 19, 1802.[1] This world-renowned Order is the highest decoration in France and is divided into five various degrees: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand-Croix (Grand Cross). Have a look at who recived it and you be the judge . I find it typical at one time it was worth something now it apears to be worth well nothing. In the United States, Generals of the Army Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur are among the 10,000 Americans who have received the decoration. In 1949, the Academies of West Point and Annapolis were also decorated. Although it is rare for an ambassador in Paris to be awarded the Lï¿½gion d'honneur, a posthumous exception was made for the United States ambassador Pamela Harriman in 1997. The last surviving American World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, also received this honour. Additionally, in the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and the late Lord Mountbatten have been decorated with the Grand Cross. English actor Sir Laurence Olivier became an Officer of the Lï¿½gion d'Honneur. Australian General Sir John Monash was decorated with the Grand Officer during the First World War. A fictitious recipient of the Legion of Honour was Sherlock Holmes (The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez). King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden has been decorated with the Grand Cross. Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter Akira Kurosawa received the award in 1984. Rand Araskog, an American executive, received the award in 1987.[8] Indian film director Satyajit Ray also received the award in 1987. President Franï¿½ois Mitterrand went to Calcutta to give the award to Ray. His compatriot Sivaji Ganesan, one of the best actors in India, received the title of Chevalier on April 22, 1995. Richard Jenrette, an American investment banker, received the award in 1996.[9] Ross Steele, an Australian author and academic, received the title of Chevalier in 1996[10][11] Quincy Jones, the American record producer and musician, received the award in March 2001.[12] Toomas Hendrik Ilves, president of Estonia, became a Commander of the Lï¿½gion d'Honneur also in 2001. Joseph Walsh, former Irish Minister for Agriculture, received the Grand Cross in September 2002. Indian film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan received the award in 2003. Guadalupe Loaeza, a Mexican writer, also received the award in 2003.[13] Robert Parker, the American pre-eminent wine critic, received the title of Officier in 2005. Valentino, the Italian fashion designer, received the award in July 2006. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia at the time, received the award in September 2006.[14] Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of the Australian Defence Force, received the degree of Commander in 2007. Amitabh Bachchan, the Bollywood star of India, received the award in January 2007.[15] Clint Eastwood, the American film actor and director, received the award in February 2007.[16] David Lynch, the American film director, received the award in October 2007.[17] Professors Lap-Chee Tsui and Malik Peiris from Hong Kong and Sri Lanka respectively were decorated as Knights also in October 2007. Leo Apotheker, co-CEO of German software company SAP received the award in December 2007. South Korean film director Im Kwon-taek also received the award in December 2007.[18] HRH Galyani Vadhana, Her Royal Highness of Thailand, was decorated with the Grand Officer on 25 December 2007 while she was ill and stayed at Sirirat Hospital (one week later she passed away).[19][20] Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, received the award in March 2008.[21] Festus Mogae, the President of Botswana, also rec