Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 2011
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October 1
The Free State of Galveston was a whimsical name given to the island city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the early-to-mid-20th century. Today, the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era. This free-wheeling period reached its peak during the Prohibition and Depression eras but continued well past the end of World War II. During the Roaring Twenties, Galveston Island emerged as a popular resort town, attracting celebrities from around the nation. Gambling, illegal liquor, and other vice-oriented businesses were a major part of tourism. The Free State moniker embodied a belief held by many locals that Galveston was beyond what they perceived were repressive mores and laws of Texas and the United States. Two major figures of the era were the organized crime bosses Sam and Rosario Maceo, who ran the chief casinos and clubs on the island and were heavily involved in the government and the tourism industry. The success of vice on the island, despite being illegal, was enabled by lax attitudes in the society and the government, both on the island and in the county. Much of this period represented a high point in Galveston's economy. However, crackdowns against gambling and prostitution in Texas during the mid-20th century made these businesses increasingly difficult to sustain. By the 1950s, this era of Galveston's history had ended. (more...)
Recently featured: Northrop YF-23 – Cirrus cloud – 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
October 2
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression. Film noir encompasses a range of plots. Though the noir mode was originally identified with American productions, films now customarily described as noir have been made around the world. Many pictures released from the 1960s onward share attributes with film noirs of the classic period, often treating noir conventions in a self-referential manner. Such latter-day works in a noir mode are often referred to as neo-noirs. The tropes of film noir have inspired parody since the mid-1940s. (more...)
Recently featured: Free State of Galveston – Northrop YF-23 – Cirrus cloud
October 3
The 1941 Florida hurricane was a strong tropical cyclone that affected the Bahamas, Florida, and the southeastern United States in October 1941. The fifth known storm of the 1941 Atlantic hurricane season, it was first observed to the north of the Virgin Islands on October 3. The storm tracked generally westward through the Bahamas, reaching peak winds of 120 miles per hour (190 km/h). After moving across southern Florida the hurricane emerged into the Gulf of Mexico and made another landfall along the Florida Panhandle. Turning northeast, it crossed Georgia and South Carolina, and entered the Atlantic Ocean on October 8. In the Bahamas, where winds reached 104 miles per hour (167 km/h), the storm killed three people. The city of Nassau was struck particularly hard. In Florida, damage was relatively severe, and included the deaths of several people. High winds brought down trees and powerlines, though the storm was characterized by highly unusual rainfall patterns. Storm surge in the Everglades region flooded local streets. As the storm progressed northward, the city of Tallahassee suffered widespread power outages and damage to numerous vehicles. Throughout the state, the hurricane inflicted $675,000 (1941 USD) in damages. The cyclone later killed one person in Georgia. (more...)
Recently featured: Film noir – Free State of Galveston – Northrop YF-23
October 4
The 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on October 5, 2010, at Qwest Field (now CenturyLink Field) in Seattle, Washington. The match determined the winner of the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 97th edition of the oldest competition in United States soccer. Seattle Sounders FC won the match, defeating the Columbus Crew 2–1. The final drew an attendance of 31,311, surpassing the 81-year-old record for the event. Sounders FC became the first team since 1983 to win two consecutive U.S. Open Cup championships and the first Major League Soccer club to ever do so. As a result of its U.S. Open Cup championship, Seattle earned a berth in the preliminary round of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League, as well as a $100,000 cash prize. The Crew received the runner-up prize of $50,000. (more...)
Recently featured: 1941 Florida hurricane – Film noir – Free State of Galveston
October 5
The Author's Farce is a play by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding, first performed on 30 March 1730 at the Little Theatre, Haymarket. Written in response to the Theatre Royal's rejection of his earlier plays, The Author's Farce was Fielding's first theatrical success. The first and second acts deal with the attempts of the central character, Harry Luckless, to woo his landlady's daughter, and his efforts to make money by writing plays. In the second act, he finishes a puppet theatre play titled The Pleasures of the Town, about the Goddess Nonsense's choice of a husband from allegorical representatives of theatre and other literary genres. After its rejection by one theatre, Luckless's play is staged at another. The third act becomes a play within a play, in which the characters in the puppet play are portrayed by humans. The Author's Farce ends with a merging of the play's and the puppet show's realities. The play established Fielding as a popular London playwright, and the press reported that seats were in great demand. Although largely ignored by critics until the 20th century, most agree that the play is primarily a commentary on events in Fielding's life, signalling his transition from older forms of comedy to the new satire of his contemporaries. (more...)
Recently featured: 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – 1941 Florida hurricane – Film noir
October 6
Telopea speciosissima, commonly known as the New South Wales waratah, is a large shrub in the Proteaceae family. Endemic to New South Wales, it is the floral emblem of that state. T. speciosissima grows as a shrub to 3 to 4 m (10–13 ft) high and 2 m (7 ft) wide, with dark green leaves and several stems rising from a pronounced woody base known as a lignotuber. It is most renowned for its striking large red inflorescences (flowerheads) in spring, each made up of hundreds of individual flowers. These are visited by the eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus), birds such as honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and insects. Telopea speciosissima has featured prominently in art, architecture and advertising, particularly since federation. Commercially grown in several countries as a cut flower, it is also cultivated in the home garden, although it requires good drainage, yet adequate moisture, and is vulnerable to fungal disease and pests. (more...)
Recently featured: The Author's Farce – 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – 1941 Florida hurricane
October 7
"Just Like Heaven" is a song by the British alternative rock band The Cure. The group wrote most of the song during recording sessions in southern France in 1987. The lyrics were written by the band's frontman Robert Smith (pictured), who drew inspiration from a past trip to the sea shore with his future wife. Before Smith had completed the lyrics, an instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the French television show Les Enfants du Rock. "Just Like Heaven" was the third single released from the band's 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, while Smith's memories of the trip formed the basis for the song's accompanying music video. The song became The Cure's first American hit and in 1988 reached number 40 on the Billboard charts. It has been highly praised by critics and covered by artists such as Dinosaur Jr. and Katie Melua. Smith has said he considers "Just Like Heaven" to be one of the band's strongest songs. (more...)
Recently featured: Telopea speciosissima – The Author's Farce – 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
October 8
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Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on October 10, 1846, by William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. At 2,700 km (1,700 mi) in diameter, it is the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System. Because of its retrograde orbit and composition similar to Pluto's, Triton is thought to have been captured from the Kuiper belt. Triton consists of a crust of frozen nitrogen over an icy mantle believed to cover a substantial core of rock and metal. The core makes up two-thirds of its total mass. Triton has a mean density of 2.061 g/cm3 (1.191 oz/cu in) and is composed of approximately 15–35% water ice. Triton is one of the few moons in the Solar System known to be geologically active. As a consequence, its surface is relatively young, with a complex geological history revealed in intricate and mysterious cryovolcanic and tectonic terrains. Part of its crust is dotted with geysers believed to erupt nitrogen. (more...)
Recently featured: "Just Like Heaven" – Telopea speciosissima – The Author's Farce
October 9
Waddesdon Road railway station was a small halt in open countryside in Buckinghamshire, England. It was opened in 1871 as part of a short horse-drawn tramway to assist with the transport of goods from and around the Duke of Buckingham's extensive estates in Buckinghamshire and to connect the Duke's estates to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway at Quainton Road. In 1872 the line was expanded and converted for passenger use, becoming known as the Brill Tramway. In 1899 the operation of the line was taken over by the London-based Metropolitan Railway. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken into public ownership to become the Metropolitan Line of the London Underground, and despite its rural setting Waddesdon Road station became a part of the London Transport system. The new management could not see a future for the line as a financially viable passenger route, and Waddesdon Road, along with the rest of the former Brill Tramway, was closed in late 1935. (more...)
Recently featured: Triton – "Just Like Heaven" – Telopea speciosissima
October 10
Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel laureate. After studies in zoology at the University of Christiania, his research on the central nervous system of lower marine creatures helped to establish modern theories of neurology. As an explorer, in 1888 Nansen led the first successful crossing of the Greenland interior, and later won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96. After 1896 his main scientific interest switched to oceanography and he contributed significantly to the development of modern oceanographic techniques and equipment. In 1905 Nansen was instrumental in persuading Prince Charles of Denmark to accept the throne of the newly independent Norway, and later served as the Norwegian representative in London. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work for the League of Nations on behalf of the displaced victims of the First World War and related conflicts. After his death the League established the Nansen International Office for Refugees to ensure that his work continued. His name is commemorated in numerous geographical features, particularly in the polar regions. (more...)
Recently featured: Waddesdon Road railway station – Triton – "Just Like Heaven"
October 11
The naval Battle of Valcour Island took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The battle is generally regarded as one of the first naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the first fought by the United States Navy. The Continental Army had retreated from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in June 1776 after British forces were massively reinforced. They spent the summer of 1776 fortifying those forts, and building additional ships to augment the small American fleet already on the lake. British General Guy Carleton had a 9,000-man army at Fort Saint-Jean, but needed to build a fleet to carry it on the lake. By early October, the British fleet, which significantly outgunned the American fleet, was ready for launch. On October 11, Benedict Arnold drew the British fleet to the strait between Valcour Island and the western shore, a position he had carefully chosen to limit British advantages. In the battle that followed, many of the American ships were damaged or destroyed. That night, Arnold snuck the American fleet past the British one, beginning a retreat toward Crown Point and Ticonderoga. Unfavorable weather hampered the American retreat, and more of the fleet was either captured or grounded and burned before it could reach Crown Point. Upon reaching Crown Point Arnold had the fort's buildings burned and retreated to Ticonderoga. (more...)
Recently featured: Fridtjof Nansen – Waddesdon Road railway station – Triton
October 12
Marojejy National Park is a national park in the Sava Region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers 55,500 ha (214 sq mi) and is centered around the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain which rises to an elevation of 2,132 m (6,995 ft). Access to the area around the massif was restricted to only research scientists when the site was set aside as a strict nature reserve in 1952. In 1998, it was opened to the public when it was converted into a national park. It became part of the World Heritage Site known as the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in 2007. The wide range of elevations and rugged topology of the massif create diverse habitats that transition quickly with changes in altitude. Warm, dense rainforest can be found at lower elevations, followed by shorter forests at higher elevations, followed still by cloud forest, and topped near the peaks with the only remaining undisturbed mountain scrub in Madagascar. Better growing conditions for plants can be found on the eastern side of the mountain, which receives more rain than the western side. This habitat diversity lends itself to high levels of biodiversity. At least 118 species of bird, 148 species of reptile and amphibian, and 11 species of lemur are known to occur within Marojejy National Park. (more...)
Recently featured: Battle of Valcour Island – Fridtjof Nansen – Waddesdon Road railway station
October 13
"Indian Camp" is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway (pictured). The story was first published in 1924 in Ford Madox Ford's literary magazine Transatlantic Review in Paris and republished by Boni & Liveright in 1925 in the American edition of Hemingway's first volume of short stories In Our Time. The first of Hemingway's stories to feature the semi-autobiographical character Nick Adams—a child in this story—"Indian Camp" is told from his point-of-view. In the story, Nick Adams' father, a country doctor, has been summoned to an Indian camp to deliver a baby. At the camp, the father is forced to perform an emergency caesarean section using a jack-knife, with Nick as his assistant. Afterward, the woman's husband is discovered dead, having fatally slit his throat during the operation. The story is important because it shows the emergence of Hemingway's understated style and use of counterpoint. An initiation story, "Indian Camp" includes themes such as childbirth and fear of death, which permeate much of Hemingway's subsequent work. When the story was published, the quality of writing was noted and praised; scholars consider "Indian Camp" an important story in the Hemingway canon. (more...)
Recently featured: Marojejy National Park – Battle of Valcour Island – Fridtjof Nansen
October 14
"Mother and Child Reunion" is the two-part pilot episode of the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, which premiered on 14 October 2001 on the CTV Television Network. As with the majority of Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes, "Mother and Child Reunion" takes its title from a pop song, in this case, Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion". Degrassi: The Next Generation is the fourth series in the fictional Degrassi universe created in 1979. The episode reunited some of the previous characters in a ten-year high school reunion (actor Stefan Brogren pictured), while also introducing a new generation of Degrassi students. The main plot centres around Emma Nelson, born during the preceding series Degrassi High, who is invited to a hotel by an internet stalker, posing as a teenage boy. The episode received mixed reviews from the mass media, and was nominated for two Gemini Awards and two Directors Guild of Canada Awards. (more...)
Recently featured: "Indian Camp" – Marojejy National Park – Battle of Valcour Island
October 15
The Brinks Hotel bombing in Saigon occurred on December 24, 1964, during the Vietnam War. Two Vietcong operatives detonated a car bomb underneath the hotel, which housed United States Army officers. The explosion killed two Americans, an officer and a non-commissioned officer, and injured approximately 60, including military personnel and Vietnamese civilians. The Vietcong commanders had planned the venture with two objectives in mind. Firstly, by attacking an American installation in the center of the heavily guarded capital, the Vietcong intended to demonstrate their ability to strike in South Vietnam should the United States decide to launch air raids against North Vietnam. Secondly, it demonstrated to the South Vietnamese that the Americans were vulnerable and could not be relied upon for protection. The bombing prompted debate within the administration of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson. Most of his advisers favored retaliatory bombing of North Vietnam and the introduction of American combat troops, while Johnson preferred the existing strategy of training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam to protect South Vietnam from the Vietcong. In the end, Johnson decided not to take retaliatory action. (more...)
Recently featured: "Mother and Child Reunion" – "Indian Camp" – Marojejy National Park
October 16
Hermann Detzner (1882–1970) was an officer in the German colonial security force in Kamerun and German New Guinea, as well as a surveyor, an engineer, an adventurer, and a writer. In early 1914, the German government sent Detzner to explore and chart the interior of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the imperial protectorate on the island of New Guinea. When World War I broke out in Europe, he was well into the interior, without radio contact. He refused to surrender to Australian troops when they occupied German New Guinea, concealing himself in the jungle with a band of approximately 20 soldiers. For four years, Detzner and his troops provocatively marched through the bush. He explored areas of the Guinean interior formerly unseen by Europeans and surrendered in full dress uniform, flying the Imperial flag, to Australian forces in January 1919. He wrote a book about his adventures that achieved notoriety in Great Britain and Germany, entered three printings, and was translated into French, English, Finnish and Swedish. He received a position in the Imperial Colonial Archives, and appeared frequently on the lecture circuit throughout the 1920s. In the late 1920s, scientific portions of his book were discredited. In 1932, he admitted that he had mixed fact and fiction and, after that time, eschewed public life. (more...)
Recently featured: 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing – "Mother and Child Reunion" – "Indian Camp"
October 17
Crown Fountain is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park. Designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers. The towers are 50 feet (15.2 m) tall, and they use light-emitting diodes to display digital videos on their inward faces. Weather permitting, the water operates from May to October, intermittently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face. The fountain highlights Plensa's themes of dualism, light, and water, extending the use of video technology from his prior works. Crown Fountain has been the most controversial of all the Millennium Park features. Before it was even built, some were concerned that the sculpture's height violated the aesthetic tradition of the park. The fountain has survived its somewhat contentious beginnings to find its way into Chicago pop culture. It is a popular subject for photographers and a common gathering place. The fountain is a public play area and offers people an escape from summer heat, allowing children to frolic in the fountain's water. (more...)
Recently featured: Hermann Detzner – 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing – "Mother and Child Reunion"
October 18
Alexandre Banza (1932–1969) was a Central African military officer and politician. As commander of the Camp Kassaï military base in 1965, Banza helped Jean-Bédel Bokassa overthrow the government of President David Dacko. Bokassa rewarded Banza by appointing him as minister of state and minister of finance in the new government. In 1967, Bokassa and his protégé had a major argument over the president's extravagances. In April 1968, Bokassa removed Banza as minister of finance. Recognizing Bokassa's attempts to undermine him, Banza made a number of remarks highly critical of the president's handling of the government. Bokassa responded by abolishing the minister of state position. Banza soon decided to stage a coup d'état. One of his confidants, Jean-Claude Mandaba, contacted the president and informed him of the date of the coup, 9 April 1969. Hours before he was going to execute his bid for power, Banza was ambushed by Mandaba and taken directly to Bokassa. Bokassa nearly beat Banza to death before Mandaba suggested that Banza be put on trial for appearance's sake. On 12 April, Banza presented his case to a military tribunal, which quickly sentenced him to death by firing squad. He was reportedly taken to an open field, where he was executed and buried in an unmarked grave. (more...)
Recently featured: Crown Fountain – Hermann Detzner – 1964 Brinks Hotel bombing
October 19
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The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are blind or partially sighted. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the college offers training in independent living and personal development. Founded in 1871 in London as The Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind, the college had a number of homes before moving to its campus in Hereford, and was renamed Royal National College for the Blind in the late 1970s. It has been a pioneer in the education of visually impaired people in Britain since the Victorian era, and, as of 2010, is the only college for visually impaired students in the United Kingdom to have been awarded Beacon Status in recognition of its outstanding teaching and learning. The college is actively involved in the development of assistive technology to help visually impaired people in their day-to-day lives. The campus, located on College Road, Hereford, is home to RNC's teaching, residential and leisure facilities. Students live in halls of residence or on-campus houses which enable them to gain a level of independence within the college environment. (more...)
Recently featured: Alexandre Banza – Crown Fountain – Hermann Detzner
October 20
Mohammed Abdul Karim (1863–1909) was a Muslim Indian attendant of Queen Victoria who gained her affection during the final fifteen years of her reign. Karim was born near Jhansi in British India, the son of a hospital assistant. In 1887, Victoria's Golden Jubilee year, Karim was one of two Indians selected to become servants to the Queen. Victoria came to like him a great deal and gave him the title of "Munshi", a Hindustani word often translated as "clerk" or "teacher". Victoria appointed him her Indian Secretary, showered him with honours, and obtained a land grant for him in India. The close relationship between Karim and the Queen led to friction within the Royal Household, the other members of which felt themselves to be superior to him. The Queen insisted on taking Karim with her on her travels, which caused angry arguments between her and her attendants. Following Victoria's death in 1901 her successor, Edward VII, returned Karim to India and ordered the confiscation and destruction of the Munshi's correspondence with Victoria. Karim subsequently lived quietly near Agra, on the estate that Victoria had arranged for him, until his death at the age of 46. (more...)
Recently featured: Royal National College for the Blind – Alexandre Banza – Crown Fountain
October 21
Henry Wood (1869–1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. Wood started his career as an organist. During his studies at the Royal Academy of Music, he came under the influence of the voice teacher Manuel Garcia and became his accompanist. After similar work for Richard D'Oyly Carte's opera companies on the works of Arthur Sullivan and others, Wood became the conductor of a small operatic touring company. From the mid-1890s until his death, Wood focused on concert conducting. He was engaged by the impresario Robert Newman to conduct a series of promenade concerts at the Queen's Hall, offering a mixture of classical and popular music at low prices. By the 1920s, Wood had steered the repertoire entirely to classical music. In addition to the Proms, he conducted concerts and festivals throughout the country and also trained the student orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music. He had an enormous influence on the musical life of Britain over his long career: he and Newman greatly improved access to classical music, and Wood raised the standard of orchestral playing and nurtured the taste of the public, presenting a vast repertoire of music spanning four centuries. (more...)
Recently featured: Abdul Karim – Royal National College for the Blind – Alexandre Banza
October 22
The Liberal Movement was a minor South Australian political party in the 1970s. Stemming from discontent within the ranks of the Liberal and Country League, it was organised in 1972 by former premier Steele Hall as an internal group in response to a perceived resistance to sought reform within its parent. A year later, when tensions heightened between the LCL's conservative wing and the LM, it was established in its own right as a progressive liberal party. When still part of the league, it had eleven parliamentarians; on its own, it was reduced to three. In the federal election of 1974, it succeeded in having Hall elected to the Australian Senate with a primary vote of 10 per cent in South Australia. It built upon this in the 1975 state election, gaining almost a fifth of the total vote and an additional member. However, the non-Labor parties narrowly failed to dislodge the incumbent Dunstan Labor government. That result, together with internal weaknesses, led in 1976 to the LM's being re-absorbed into the LCL, which by then had become the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia. The LM and its successor parties gave voice to what is termed "small-l liberalism" in Australia. (more...)
Recently featured: Henry Wood – Abdul Karim – Royal National College for the Blind
October 23
Calabozos is a Holocene caldera in the Maule Region in central Chile. Part of the Chilean Andes' volcanic segment, it is considered a member of the Southern Volcanic Zone. This most active section of the Andes runs through central and western Chile, and includes more than 70 of Chile's stratovolcanoes and volcanic fields. Calabozos and the majority of the Andean volcanoes formed from the subduction of the oceanic Nazca Plate under the continental South American continental lithosphere. The caldera is in a transitional region between thick and thin lithosphere, and is probably supplied by a pool of andesitic and rhyolitic magma. It sits on a historic bed of volcanic and plutonic sedimentary rock that in turn sits on top of a layer of merged sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Calabozos is responsible for the huge Loma Seca Tuff, a body of material 200 to 500 cubic kilometres (48 to 120 cu mi) in volume. It accumulated over at least three eruptive periods, beginning 800,000 years ago and lasting until 150,000 years ago. The caldera's dimensions are 26 by 14 kilometres (16 by 9 mi), and it has an elevation of 3,508 metres (11,509 ft). (more...)
Recently featured: Liberal Movement – Henry Wood – Abdul Karim
October 24
The Political Cesspool is a weekly talk radio show founded by James Edwards, and syndicated by Liberty News Radio Network and Accent Radio Network. First broadcast in October 2004 twice a week from radio station WMQM, it is broadcast on Saturday nights on WLRM, a Christian radio station in Millington, Tennessee. Its sponsors include the white separatist Council of Conservative Citizens and the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust denial group. According to its statement of principles, the show stands for the "Dispossessed Majority" and represents "a philosophy that is pro-White." It has attracted criticism from multiple organizations for its promotion of anti-semitic, white nationalist and white supremacist views. The show features Edwards and his co-hosts Bill Rolen, Winston Smith, Keith Alexander, and Eddie Miller, as well as producer Art Frith. Its guests have included author Jerome Corsi, Minuteman Project leader Jim Gilchrist, former Constitution Party presidential candidate Michael Peroutka, actor Sonny Landham, British National Party leader Nick Griffin, Vermont secessionist Thomas Naylor, and paleoconservative activist Pat Buchanan. (more...)
Recently featured: Calabozos – Liberal Movement – Henry Wood
October 25
HMAS Australia was one of three Indefatigable-class battlecruisers built for the defence of the British Empire. She was launched in 1911, and commissioned as flagship of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1913. At the start of World War I, Australia was tasked with finding and destroying the German East Asia Squadron, which was prompted to withdraw from the Pacific by the battlecruiser's presence. Repeated diversions to support the capture of German colonies in New Guinea and Samoa, as well as an overcautious Admiralty, prevented the battlecruiser from engaging the German squadron before the latter's destruction. Australia was then assigned to North Sea operations, which consisted primarily of patrols and exercises, until the end of the war. During this time, Australia was involved in early attempts at naval aviation, and 11 of her personnel participated in the Zeebrugge Raid. Post-war budget cuts saw Australia's role downgraded to a training ship before she was placed in reserve in 1921. The disarmament provisions of the Washington Naval Treaty required the destruction of Australia as part of Britain's commitment, and she was scuttled off Sydney Heads in 1924. (more...)
Recently featured: The Political Cesspool – Calabozos – Liberal Movement
October 26
The Northern Bald Ibis is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often near running water. This 70–80 cm (28–31 in) glossy black ibis has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, curved red bill. Unlike other members of the ibis family, it does not wade. Breeding takes place in colonies on coastal or mountain cliff ledges, where it typically lays 2–3 eggs in a stick nest, and feeds on lizards, insects, and other small animals. The Northern Bald Ibis was once widespread across the Middle East, northern Africa, and southern Europe, with a fossil record dating back at least 1.8 million years. It disappeared from Europe over 300 years ago, and is now considered critically endangered. There are believed to be about 500 wild birds remaining in southern Morocco, and fewer than 10 in Syria, where it was rediscovered in 2002. To combat this ebb in numbers, recent reintroduction programs have been instituted internationally, with a semi-wild breeding colony in Turkey, as well as sites in Austria, Spain, and northern Morocco. (more...)
Recently featured: HMAS Australia – The Political Cesspool – Calabozos
October 27
Rudolph Cartier (1904–1994) was an Austrian television director who worked predominantly in British television, exclusively for the BBC. He is best known for his 1950s collaborations with screenwriter Nigel Kneale, most notably the Quatermass serials and their 1954 adaptation of George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. After studying architecture and then drama, Cartier's initial career was as a screenwriter and then film director in Berlin, working for UFA Studios. After a brief spell in the United States he moved to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, and began working for BBC Television in 1952. He went on to produce and direct over 120 productions in the next 24 years, ending his television career with the play Loyalties in 1976. Active in both dramatic programming and opera, Cartier won the equivalent of a BAFTA in 1957 for his work in the former, and one of his operatic productions was given an award at the 1962 Salzburg Festival. (more...)
Recently featured: Northern Bald Ibis – HMAS Australia – The Political Cesspool
October 28
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue, a gift to the United States from the people of France, is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of American independence. It has become an iconic symbol of freedom and of the United States. Fundraising for the statue proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the statue's pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the World initiated a drive for donations to complete the project, and the campaign inspired over 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and reassembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. Its completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland. (more...)
Recently featured: Rudolph Cartier – Northern Bald Ibis – HMAS Australia
October 29
Lester Brain (1903–1980) was a pioneer Australian aviator and airline executive. Born in New South Wales, he trained with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) before joining Qantas as a pilot in 1924. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1929, after locating the lost aircraft Kookaburra in northern Australia. As a member of the RAAF reserve, Brain coordinated his airline's support for the Australian military during World War II. He earned a King's Commendation for his rescue efforts during an air raid on Broome, Western Australia in 1942, and was promoted to wing commander in 1944. Brain left Qantas to join the fledgling government-owned domestic carrier Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) in June 1946. Appointed its first General Manager, he swiftly built up the organisation to the stage where it could commence scheduled operations later in the year. By the time he resigned in March 1955, TAA was firmly established as one half of the Commonwealth government's two-airline system. After his departure from TAA, Brain became managing director of de Havilland Aircraft in Sydney, before joining the board of East-West Airlines as a consultant in January 1961. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in January 1979, Lester Brain died in June the following year, at the age of seventy-seven. (more...)
Recently featured: Statue of Liberty – Rudolph Cartier – Northern Bald Ibis
October 30
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club earned its first FA Cup victory on 30 October 1886. The club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford (pictured) in 1910. In 1968, under the management of Matt Busby, Manchester United was the first English football club to win the European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster that claimed the lives of eight players. The current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has won 37 major honours since he took over in November 1986. Manchester United has won more titles than any other club in English football: 53 domestic trophies, a record 19 league titles, a record 11 FA Cups, four League Cups and 19 FA Charity/Community Shields. The club has also been successful globally, winning seven international titles: three European Cups, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. In 1998–99, the club won a "Treble" of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the European Cup. (more...)
Recently featured: Lester Brain – Statue of Liberty – Rudolph Cartier
October 31
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) is a 2010 Dutch body horror film written and directed by Tom Six. The film tells the story of a German doctor who kidnaps three tourists and joins them surgically, forming a "human centipede". It stars Dieter Laser as the villain, Dr. Heiter, with Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, and Akihiro Kitamura as his victims. According to Six, the concept of the film arose from a joke he made with friends and was inspired by Nazi medical experiments carried out during World War II, such as the actions of Josef Mengele at Auschwitz concentration camp. When approaching investors prior to filming, Six did not mention any details of the surgical procedure central to the plot, fearing it would put off potential backers. The financiers of The Human Centipede did not discover the full nature of the film until it was complete. The film received mixed reviews from mainstream film critics, but it won several accolades at international film festivals. The film was released in the United States on a limited release theatrically on 30 April 2010. A sequel, The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence), also written and directed by Six, was released in 2011. (more...)
Recently featured: Manchester United F.C. – Lester Brain – Statue of Liberty