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(CNN)"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd," wrote Miguel de Cervantes, the Shakespeare of Spain. And the quest to find his remains has sometimes seemed both, even (dare one say it) quixotic in a time of recession. But forensic scientists have persevered, and appear to have triumphed. Almost 400 years after Cervantes' death, a team led by Francisco Etxeberria announced Tuesday that they were confident they had found Cervantes' coffin in the crypt of the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in the Barrio de Las Letras (Literary Quarter) in Madrid. Historical records indicated Cervantes had been buried there, but the convent had been substantially rebuilt since. (Etxeberria, incidentally, performed the autopsy on former Chilean President Gen. Salvador Allende, confirming he had committed suicide.) At a news conference in Madrid on Tuesday, Etxeberria said that while there was no mathematical proof or DNA test available to completely verify the findings, there were "many coincidences and no discrepancies" in the examination of "Osario 32," a common grave in the crypt that contained the remains of 16 people. "We have Cervantes, represented in some form in this group of bones that are unfortunately very degraded and very fragmented," Etxeberria told national television. The search for Cervantes' coffin -- using radar -- began last year, funded by the Madrid City Council. It first mapped more than 30 burial cavities in the walls and nearly 5 meters beneath the floor of the church. Mass spectrometry dated fragments of wood and cloth found in these cavities to the 17th century, an encouraging but far from conclusive development.

cnn

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Four Italian journalists kidnapped by unknown assailants in Libya have been freed, Italy's Foreign Ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari told CNN on Thursday. They were "saved by two Libyans, two boys to whom we owe everything," one of the journalists said Thursday. "I'm alive, well and free. Until an hour ago, I thought I was dead," the reporter, Sono Domenico Quirico, said, according to his newspaper La Stampa. Another of the journalists, Elisabetta Rosaspina, told CNN they were kidnapped in Tripoli between Martyrs Square and Moammar Gadhafi's compound. Earlier reports said they had been abducted 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Tripoli. Claudio Monici, a correspondent for the newspaper Avvenire, said they were seized by the Libyan army and "other people with guns." "We understood that they were very angry. Their eyes had blood," he said, saying some of their captors said: "You are Italian. You are from NATO. You are bombing us." Monici saw their captors kill their Libyan driver, he said. "He understood that it was his last moment. We saw them kick him and kill him... When they shot at him I saw that he was praying... I saw that his lips were moving," he told Sky News. Massari said while it was unclear who captured the journalists, the ministry assumed it was pro-Gadhafi forces. All of the journalists, from prominent Italian daily newspapers, were well, Massari said Wednesday. He did not elaborate. Paolo Alfieri, foreign editor of the newspaper Avvenire, identified the four as Rosaspina and Giuseppe Sarcina from the newspaper Corriere della Sera, Quirico from La Stampa, and Monici from Avvenire.

cnn

Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Taking risks in life with her career, and less so at the buffet table, have served Mireille Guiliano and her readers well. The longtime Veuve Clicquot champagne house executive has a wisdom about women, French and otherwise, that's made her one others turn to for advice. The former CEO and best-selling author of "French Women Don't Get Fat" and "French Women for All Seasons" is now toasting her latest book, "Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility." Inspired by the young women who've approached her for guidance, Guiliano, who splits her time between New York and Paris, set out to impart what she's learned through her career. "We have to help each other and help especially the young generation progress and not make the same mistakes we did," she said. "These very difficult times, with the recession and all of that, are actually a positive for women because it gives us a chance to make a difference and show that we are becoming the majority, and we should be treated as such." CNN sat down recently with Guiliano to discuss the word that hurts the careers of women most, the lessons her mother taught her and any last-minute tips she has to prevent holiday-food overindulgence. Here are excerpts from that interview: CNN: What exactly is this art of savoir faire you speak of? Guiliano: Savoir faire is a complex set, a mix I should say, of competence, experience and knowing somehow instinctively how to make a decision in a given situation. [It's] creating your own luck and your own opportunities and then making the most of them.

gutenberg

Chapter VIII.--MISCELLANEA IN WINTER-QUARTERS, 1759-1760. Friedrich was very loath to quit the field this Winter. In spite of Maxen and ill-luck and the unfavorablest weather, it still was, for about two months, his fixed purpose to recapture Dresden first, and drive Daun home. "Had I but a 12,000 of Auxiliaries to guard my right flank, while trying it!" said he. Ferdinand magnanimously sent him the Hereditary Prince with 12,000, who stayed above two months; ["Till February 15th;" List of the Regiments (German all), in SEYFARTH, ii. 578 n.] and Friedrich did march about, attempting that way, [_OEuvres de Frederic,_ v. 32. Old Newspaper rumors: in _Gentleman's Magazine,_ xxix. 605, "29th December," &c.]--pushed forward to Maguire and Dippoldiswalde, looked passionately into Maguire on all sides; but found him, in those frozen chasms, and rock-labyrinths choked with snow, plainly unattackable; him and everybody, in such frost-element;--and renounced the passionate hope. It was not till the middle of January that Friedrich put his troops into partial cantonments, Head-quarter Freyberg; troops still mainly in the Villages from Wilsdruf and southward, close by their old Camp there. Camp still left standing, guarded by Six Battalions; six after six, alternating week about: one of the grimmest camps in Nature; the canvas roofs grown mere ice-plates, the tents mere sanctuaries of frost:--never did poor young Archenholtz see such industry in dragging wood-fuel, such boiling of biscuits in broken ice, such crowding round the embers to roast one side of you, while the other was freezing. [Archenholtz (UT SUPRA), ii. 11-15.] But Daun's people, on the opposite side of Plauen Dell, did the like; their tents also were left standing in the frozen state, guarded by alternating battalions, no better off than their Prussian neighbors. This of the Tents, and Six frost-bitten Battalions guarding them, lasted till April. An extraordinary obstinacy on the part both of Daun and of Friedrich; alike jealous of even seeming to yield one inch more of ground.

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN. FRIENDS AND FOES--PLOTS AND COUNTERPLOTS--THE RANCH IN DANGER. In a few minutes the sound of heavy feet and gruff voices was heard in the outside passage, and next moment ten men filed into the room and saluted their chief heartily. Charlie felt an almost irresistible tendency to open his eyes, but knew that the risk was too great, and contented himself with his ears. These told him pretty eloquently what was going on, for suddenly, the noise of voices and clattering of footsteps ceased, a dead silence ensued, and Charlie knew that the whole band were gazing at him with wide open eyes and, probably, open mouths. Their attention had been directed to the stranger by the chief. The silence was only momentary, however. "Now, don't begin to whisper, pards," said Buck Tom, in a slightly sarcastic tone. "When will ye learn that there is nothing so likely to waken a sleeper as whisperin'? Be natural--be natural, and tell me, as softly as ye can in your natural tones, what has brought you back so soon. Come, Jake, you have got the quietest voice. The poor man is pretty well knocked up and needs rest. I brought him here." "Has he got much?" the sentence was completed by Jake significantly slapping his pocket. "A goodish lot. But come, sit down and out wi' the news. Something must be wrong." "Wall, I guess that somethin' _is_ wrong. Everything's wrong, as far as I can see. The Redskins are up, an' the troops are out, an' so it seemed o' no use our goin' to bust up the ranch of Roarin' Bull, seein' that the red devils are likely to be there before us. So we came back here, an' I'm glad you've got suthin' in the pot, for we're about as empty as kettledrums."

gutenberg

CHAPTER VII. Something between a hindrance and a help. WORDSWORTH. Etheldred awoke long before time for getting up, and lay pondering over her visions. Margaret had sympathised, and therefore they did not seem entirely aerial. To earn money by writing was her favourite plan, and she called her various romances in turn before her memory, to judge which might be brought down to sober pen and ink. She considered till it became not too unreasonably early to get up. It was dark, but there was a little light close to the window: she had no writing-paper, but she would interline her old exercise-book. Down she ran, and crouching in the school-room window-seat, she wrote on in a trance of eager composition, till Norman called her, as he went to school, to help him to find a book. This done, she went up to visit Margaret, to tell her the story, and consult her. But this was not so easy. She found Margaret with little Daisy lying by her, and Tom sitting by the fire over his Latin. "Oh, Ethel, good-morning, dear! you are come just in time." "To take baby?" said Ethel, as the child was fretting a little. "Yes, thank you, she has been very good, but she was tired of lying here, and I can't move her about," said Margaret. "Oh, Margaret, I have such a plan," said Ethel, as she walked about with little Gertrude; but Tom interrupted. "Margaret, will you see if I can say my lesson?" and the thumbed Latin grammar came across her just as Dr. May's door opened, and he came in exclaiming, "Latin grammar! Margaret, this is really too much for you. Good-morning, my dears. Ha! Tommy, take your book away, my boy. You must not inflict that on sister now. There's your regular master, Richard, in my room, if it is fit for his ears yet. What, the little one here too?"

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIX "WOUNDED AND MISSING" "Battered but Not Broken" was the headline in Monday's paper, and Susan repeated it over and over to herself as she went about her work. The gap caused by the St. Quentin disaster had been patched up in time, but the Allied line was being pushed relentlessly back from the territory they had purchased in 1917 with half a million lives. On Wednesday the headline was "British and French Check Germans"; but still the retreat went on. Back--and back--and back! Where would it end? Would the line break again--this time disastrously? On Saturday the headline was "Even Berlin Admits Offensive Checked," and for the first time in that terrible week the Ingleside folk dared to draw a long breath. "Well, we have got one week over--now for the next," said Susan staunchly. "I feel like a prisoner on the rack when they stopped turning it," Miss Oliver said to Rilla, as they went to church on Easter morning. "But I am not off the rack. The torture may begin again at any time." "I doubted God last Sunday," said Rilla, "but I don't doubt him today. Evil cannot win. Spirit is on our side and it is bound to outlast flesh." Nevertheless her faith was often tried in the dark spring that followed. Armageddon was not, as they had hoped, a matter of a few days. It stretched out into weeks and months. Again and again Hindenburg struck his savage, sudden blows, with alarming, though futile success. Again and again the military critics declared the situation extremely perilous. Again and again Cousin Sophia agreed with the military critics.

mctest

Paul woke up at 8. He was very happy because today he got to go to his favorite thing, the fair. Paul's mother Beth was taking him to the fair. After finishing breakfast at 9, Paul got in the car with his mom. At 10 they got to Jim's house to pick him up. Jim was Paul's best friend. Then at 11, they picked up Beth's boyfriend Hank. After driving for one more hour they all finally got to the fair at 12. They had all been looking forward to this for a very long time. Beth was a bit annoyed by having to drive so much to get here, but she loved her son very much so the trouble was okay. Everyone had a great time, most of all, Paul. Gail's favorite ride was Ferris. Hank's favorite ride was the Ghoster. It was very scary. Paul's favorite ride was the same as Hank's.

wikipedia

Silesia (; ; ; ; Silesian German: "Schläsing"; Silesian: "Ślůnsk" ; ; ; ) is a region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about , and its population about 8,000,000. Silesia is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. The region is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław. The biggest metropolitan area is the Upper Silesian metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of the Czech city of Ostrava fall within the borders of Silesia. Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states. The first known states to hold power there were probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century and Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, and after its division in the 12th century became a Piast duchy. In the 14th century, it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526.

wikipedia

The term high definition once described a series of television systems originating from August 1936; however, these systems were only high definition when compared to earlier systems that were based on mechanical systems with as few as 30 lines of resolution. The ongoing competition between companies and nations to create true "HDTV" spanned the entire 20th century, as each new system became more HD than the last.In the beginning of the 21st century, this race has continued with 4k, 5k and current 8K systems. The British high-definition TV service started trials in August 1936 and a regular service on 2 November 1936 using both the (mechanical) Baird 240 line sequential scan (later to be inaccurately rechristened 'progressive') and the (electronic) Marconi-EMI 405 line interlaced systems. The Baird system was discontinued in February 1937. In 1938 France followed with their own 441-line system, variants of which were also used by a number of other countries. The US NTSC 525-line system joined in 1941. In 1949 France introduced an even higher-resolution standard at 819 lines, a system that should have been high definition even by today's standards, but was monochrome only and the technical limitations of the time prevented it from achieving the definition of which it should have been capable. All of these systems used interlacing and a 4:3 aspect ratio except the 240-line system which was progressive (actually described at the time by the technically correct term "sequential") and the 405-line system which started as 5:4 and later changed to 4:3. The 405-line system adopted the (at that time) revolutionary idea of interlaced scanning to overcome the flicker problem of the 240-line with its 25 Hz frame rate. The 240-line system could have doubled its frame rate but this would have meant that the transmitted signal would have doubled in bandwidth, an unacceptable option as the video baseband bandwidth was required to be not more than 3 MHz.

race

At 10 years old, Flynn Mc Garry became sick of the meals his mother cooked for him. So the Los Angeles native took matters into his own hands and started making his own dinners. One of his specialties? Trout with braised leeks . Now 13, the young chef is being praised as a "food prodigy ". He will spend his summer apprenticing with some of the best chefs at LA's famous restaurants, MSNBC Nightly New reports. Mc Garry began making a name for himself in the culinary world when John Sedlar, owner of the trendy Playa Restaurant, let Mc Garry take over the kitchen for a special nine-course meal. The meal sold out almost instantly. "Flynn is a very unusual young man, and he's very, very passionate," owner John Sedlar told MSNBC. By usual teenage boy standards, it's true. So strong is his passion for cooking that the young man has turned his bedroom into an experimental kitchen laboratory. Instead of video game consoles, baseball trophies and movie posters, Mc Garry's room is lined with mixers, pots and pans, cutting boards and a stainless steel worktable. It's where Mc Garry cooks his monthly pop-up dinners, which are served from his family's dining room, a monthly supper club he calls Eureka. Mc Garry is deft and confident in the kitchen, with skills he's been practicing since he was a child. What started out as a means of self-preservation from his mom's unsatisfactory cooking has turned into a passion that the teen hopes to develop into a career. "My goal? Michelin three stars, a restaurant in the top 50 list," he told MSNBC. "Hopefully the top five." Meanwhile, Mc Garry's 13-year-old resume is already richer and more impressive than most cooks many times his age. Mc Garry isn't the only talented young prodigy to surprise experts in his field in recent years. At just 17 years old, physicist Taylor Wilson is already teaching graduate-level courses in physics and has built a functioning nuclear reactor.

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Zach Linsky, 11, watches TV for 3 and a half hours a day and plays video games every other day. Zach, a sixth grader in Washington, D. C., is an American. But unlike many kids, he doesn't have a TV, VCR, or computer in his bedroom. He only has a boom box . The survey of 3,155 kids, aged 2 to 18, shows that they spend 5 hours and 29 minutes on average a day using some types of media outside of school, including 2 hours and 46 minutes watching TV, 21 minutes on the computer, 20 minutes playing video games, and 8 minutes on the Internet. The good news: The total includes 44 minutes spent reading. The survey also shows that those aged 2 to 7 spend 3 hours and 9 minutes watching TV every day and shows that 32 percent in that age group have TV sets in their rooms. Among those aged 8 to 18, 21 percent have computers in their rooms, 65 percent have TV sets, and 61 percent say their parents don't stop them from watching TV. Nearly 1 in 4 say they watch more than 5 hours a day. "Kids are living much more lonely lives than ever before," says Kay S. Hytnowitz. "They just disappear into their rooms and spend all of their time with these media."

cnn

(CNN) -- All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is warning his side against complacency as they go into Sunday's Rugby World Cup final against France as odds-on favorites to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy. While hosts New Zealand have enjoyed a relatively smooth and unbeaten passage to the finale of the global showpiece at Eden Park, France have been beaten twice and failed to hit their top form. But McCaw, who was left in tears as the All Blacks stumbled to a 20-18 quarterfinal defeat to the French in the 2007 World Cup, said Saturday that negative media coverage had given Les Bleus extra motivation to spring another upset. "I've got no doubt the French are going to play their best game and you blokes have loaded the gun for them," he told gathered reporters at the official press conference. "They've got players who've been around for a long time and they understand what it takes to win Test matches." And as to France's indifferent form, including a 37-17 loss to his team and a dismal defeat against Tonga in the pool stages, McCaw believes it counts for nothing. "In a final it's not about who 'deserves' what," said McCaw. "It's about who goes and plays the best rugby on that stage, in this game, that's what we've got to do." The All Blacks, the traditional powerhouses of international rugby, are searching for only a second World Cup triumph, their only title coming in the inaugural tournament in 1987 when they beat France in the final in Auckland.

gutenberg

CHAPTER III: Lightfoot Tells How His Antlers Grew It is hard to believe what seems impossible. And yet what seems impossible to you may be a very commonplace matter to some one else. So it does not do to say that a thing cannot be possible just because you cannot understand how it can be. Peter Rabbit wanted to believe what Lightfoot the Deer had just told him, but somehow he couldn't. If he had seen those antlers growing, it would have been another matter. But he hadn't seen Lightfoot since the very last of winter, and then Lightfoot had worn just such handsome antlers as he now had. So Peter really couldn't be blamed for not being able to believe that those old ones had been lost and in their place new ones had grown in just the few months of spring and summer. But Peter didn't blame Lightfoot in the least, because he had told Peter that he didn't like to tell things to people who wouldn't believe what he told them when Peter had asked him about the rags hanging to his antlers. "I'm trying to believe it," he said, quite humbly. "It's all true," broke in another voice. Peter jumped and turned to find his big cousin, Jumper the Hare. Unseen and unheard, he had stolen up and had overheard what Peter and Lightfoot had said. "How do you know it is true?" snapped Peter a little crossly, for Jumper had startled him. "Because I saw Lightfoot's old antlers after they had fallen off, and I often saw Lightfoot while his new ones were growing," retorted Jumper.

cnn

Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) -- An 80-year-old Japanese man on Thursday became the oldest person to reach the top of Mt. Everest, officials said. Yuichiro Miura reached the top of Everest Thursday morning with his physician son Gota, mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha said from the base of Everest. Miura's achievement eclipses that of a Nepali man who climbed Everest at age 76 in 2008. The oldest woman to climb Everest is also a Japanese. She was 73 when she reached the top last year. Miura broke his hip in an accident two years ago, and he underwent heart surgery in January. "I am still healthy and strong. I think I have a good chance to reach the summit of Everest," he said via phone earlier this month. To prepare, Miura walked three times a week with loads of 25 to 30 kilograms (55 to 66 lbs) on his back. He reached the top of the 8,848-meter (29,035-foot) peak twice before: in 2003 at age 70, and in 2008 at age 75. "I have a dream to climb Everest at this age," he said. "If you have a dream, never give up. Dreams come true." This year marks the 60th anniversary of the first expedition to reach the summit of Everest: Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay made it to the top of the mountain on May 29, 1953. Earlier this month, a 27-year-old graphic designer has made history by becoming the first Saudi woman to conquer the mount.

cnn

(CNN) -- Veteran American Paul Goydos has become just the fourth player in PGA Tour history to break the 60-shot barrier after carding a remarkable 12-under-par 59 in the opening round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday. Goydos follows in the footsteps of Al Geiberger (1977), Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999) after his 12-birdie blitz at the TPC Deer Run, Silvis, Illinois. However, Goydos, who at 46 is the oldest player to achieve the feat, is the only one of the quartet to break the barrier on a par-71. The Californian closed out the back nine in just 28 shots, with eight birdies in nine holes, while he took just 22 putts all day. Michael Letzig and Australian Matt Jones head the chasing pack after carding seven-under-par 64s, with Letzig also keeping a bogey off his card. Japan's Ryo Ishikawa is the only player to shoot a round of 68, which he achieved in the final round of The Crowns on his home tour on May 2. Meanwhile, Irishman Darren Clarke leads the field after the opening round of the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond. The former Ryder Cup player carded a six-under-par 65 to hold a narrow advantage over Graeme Storm, Damien McGrane and Edoardo Molinari in the traditional British Open warm-up. The 40-year-old Clarke has still not secured a place in the St Andrews field next week and he told reporters: "This is the first round and there's an awful long way to go, but of course I would love to qualify."

wikipedia

Somalis (Somali: Soomaali, Arabic: صومال‎) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa (Somali Peninsula). The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim. Ethnic Somalis number around 16-20 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 12.3 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Kenya (2.4 million), and Djibouti (464,600), with many also residing in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe. Irir Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.

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Walt Disney began to make cartoon movies when he was young. But he didn't have much money and he didn't always have enough to eat. One day a mouse ran near his desk when he worked in his small office. "Would you like to be my pet? "Disney asked the mouse. He caught the mouse and kept it as a pet. A few years later, Disney decided to make a cartoon about it. "I am making a cartoon about a mouse named Mortimer," he told his wife. "Mortimer Mouse? I think Mickey Mouse would be a better name." She said. "You are right!" Disney agreed and made many Mickey Mouse cartoons. People all over the world saw Mickey and loved it. Mickey Mouse made Disney famous. Then come Donald Duck, and Goofy Dog and others. Disney began to make full length cartoons. Then he made cartoon movies for television. Millions of children watched the shows every week. In California, real boats, castles , trains, mountains, rivers, all in one beautiful park. Millions of people came to Disneyland. He died in 1966, but the world will not forget him quickly. Mickey Mouse and all his cartoons will help us to remember him.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIII "But why should Mrs. Grant ask Fanny?" said Lady Bertram. "How came she to think of asking Fanny? Fanny never dines there, you know, in this sort of way. I cannot spare her, and I am sure she does not want to go. Fanny, you do not want to go, do you?" "If you put such a question to her," cried Edmund, preventing his cousin's speaking, "Fanny will immediately say No; but I am sure, my dear mother, she would like to go; and I can see no reason why she should not." "I cannot imagine why Mrs. Grant should think of asking her? She never did before. She used to ask your sisters now and then, but she never asked Fanny." "If you cannot do without me, ma'am--" said Fanny, in a self-denying tone. "But my mother will have my father with her all the evening." "To be sure, so I shall." "Suppose you take my father's opinion, ma'am." "That's well thought of. So I will, Edmund. I will ask Sir Thomas, as soon as he comes in, whether I can do without her." "As you please, ma'am, on that head; but I meant my father's opinion as to the _propriety_ of the invitation's being accepted or not; and I think he will consider it a right thing by Mrs. Grant, as well as by Fanny, that being the _first_ invitation it should be accepted." "I do not know. We will ask him. But he will be very much surprised that Mrs. Grant should ask Fanny at all."

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CHAPTER XXIX "Guess I'll have to wash my hands of him," Collins told Johnny. "I know Del Mar must have been right when he said he was the limit, but I can't get a clue to it." This followed upon a fight between Michael and Collins. Michael, more morose than ever, had become even crusty-tempered, and, scarcely with provocation at all, had attacked the man he hated, failing, as ever, to put his teeth into him, and receiving, in turn, a couple of smashing kicks under his jaw. "He's like a gold-mine all right all right," Collins meditated, "but I'm hanged if I can crack it, and he's getting grouchier every day. Look at him. What'd he want to jump me for? I wasn't rough with him. He's piling up a sour-ball that'll make him fight a policeman some day." A few minutes later, one of his patrons, a tow-headed young man who was boarding and rehearsing three performing leopards at Cedarwild, was asking Collins for the loan of an Airedale. "I've only got one left now," he explained, "and I ain't safe without two." "What's happened to the other one?" the master-trainer queried. "Alphonso--that's the big buck leopard--got nasty this morning and settled his hash. I had to put him out of his misery. He was gutted like a horse in the bull-ring. But he saved me all right. If it hadn't been for him I'd have got a mauling. Alphonso gets these bad streaks just about every so often. That's the second dog he's killed for me."

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A few years ago, an Englishman called Roy Jones went on holiday to a small seaside town in the west of England. He was swimming in the sea one day when, as he opened his mouth, his false teeth fell out and floated away. The following year, Mr. Jones returned to the same town. As he was having dinner in a local cafe one evening, he mentioned the story of his lost teeth to the manager. The manager looked surprised. He explained that he had found a set of false teeth on the beach last month. Then he asked Roy Jones if he wanted to try them on. "OK", said Mr. Jones. "I suppose it won't do any harm." When the manager brought him the teeth, Mr. Jones put them into his mouth, and laughed and laughed. They were his. In 1987, an American couple called Jane and Robert Bentley went for a picnic on a beach in California. When they returned home, Mrs. Bentley realized that she had lost her wedding ring. It wasn't a lot of money but it was valuable to Jane Bentley. The Bentleys drove straight back to the beach, and searched for the ring for three hours, but could not find it. A few months later, Mr. Bentley went fishing off the same beach. As he pulled a large crab out of the sea, he noticed that there was something attached to one of its claws. It was his wife's wedding ring! At the end of the 19thcentury, a young woman called Rose Harcourt was on her honeymoon in Barmouth, North Wales, when she lost a gold bracelet her husband had given her as a wedding gift. Feeling very upset, she went straight to the police stations and asked if anyone had found her bracelet. Unfortunately, no one had. Twenty-five years later, the Harcourts returned to Barmouth _ They were sitting on the beach one day when Mrs. Harcourt noticed something gold in the sand by the edge of the sea. She walked down to see what it was, and discovered her gold bracelet that had been missing for 25 years.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IV To reach their table, the one concerning which Francis and his friend had been speculating, the new arrivals, piloted by Louis, had to pass within a few feet of the two men. The woman, serene, coldly beautiful, dressed like a Frenchwoman in unrelieved black, with extraordinary attention to details, passed them by with a careless glance and subsided into the chair which Louis was holding. Her companion, however, as he recognised Francis hesitated. His expression of somewhat austere gloom was lightened. A pleasant but tentative smile parted his lips. He ventured upon a salutation, half a nod, half a more formal bow, a salutation which Francis instinctively returned. Andrew Wilmore looked on with curiosity. "So that is Oliver Hilditch," he murmured. "That is the man," Francis observed, "of whom last evening half the people in this restaurant were probably asking themselves whether or not he was guilty of murder. To-night they will be wondering what he is going to order for dinner. It is a strange world." "Strange indeed," Wilmore assented. "This afternoon he was in the dock, with his fate in the balance--the condemned cell or a favoured table at Claridge's. And your meeting! One can imagine him gripping your hands, with tears in his eyes, his voice broken with emotion, sobbing out his thanks. And instead you exchange polite bows. I would not have missed this situation for anything." "Tradesman!" Francis scoffed. "One can guess already at the plot of your next novel." "He has courage," Wilmore declared. "He has also a very beautiful companion. Were you serious, Francis, when you told me that that was his wife?"

cnn

London (CNN) -- When Andy Murray won the Brisbane International, a warmup event for January's Australian Open, few were surprised. But what followed was largely out of character for a man who is perceived as one of the more dour characters in the world of sport. After winning the final, Murray turned towards the television cameras and showed a side of himself that had so rarely been seen. "I'd like to dedicate this victory to one of my best friends," the British tennis star told the crowd. "He's back home watching and you're going to get through." Thousands of miles away in London, Murray's former roommate Ross Hutchins sat facing the prospect of six months of grueling chemotherapy after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma -- a cancer of the lymph node immune system. Friends since their early years and former doubles partners, the two were inseparable on and off the court, with both taking time to tease one another about their receding hairlines. But not even Hutchins, who has seen a side of Murray that few others have caught a glimpse of, expected such a gesture. "I didn't expect the speech, that's for sure," the Englishman told CNN's Open Court. "I just expected him to, well I was hoping he would win the title ... we had been very close that week as we always are. "So I was watching the speech and was thinking how pleased I was he had won, and then he came and dedicated his trophy, which meant the world to me.

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"We're going to move," Jimmy said to Mr. James,her teacher, with tears in her eyes. "Dad lost his job and now we don't have enough money to live in our house." Pam was walking by and just heard Jimmy's talk with Mr.James. In the lunchroom Pam met Carol and said, "I've got something to tell you about Jimmy." As she started to tell Carol about Jimmy's dad, several other classmates stopped to listen. Pam felt bad telling what she had heard but she went on anyway. After school, Pam saw some of her classmates talking to Jimmy. "Where does your dad work?" one of the boys asked. Jimmy's face turned red. She left without answering. Pam felt terrible, because she didn't mean to hurt Jimmy. And she hadn't thought that some of the classmates would make jokes and laugh at Jimmy about her father's losing the job. Pam didn't know what she could do to help Jimmy.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIV GOOD-BYE TO OAK HALL "I'll wager Merwell is the maddest boy Oak Hall ever saw!" said Shadow, when the excitement had subsided. "Poole is a sneak, and no mistake," said Sam. "I wonder if he'll go and tell old Haskers or Doctor Clay?" "He won't dare--for he is afraid we will tell about the fire-crackers," answered Dave. "Yes, he is a sneak." "I don't see, now, how I could ever make a friend of him," declared Gus Plum. "Now, in one way, I like Merwell--he's a fighter and he doesn't care who knows it." "Yes, but he's got a wicked temper," observed Roger. "He reminds me of Nick Jasniff. They would make a team." "Where did he come from, anyway?" questioned Messmer. "From some ranch out West. His father is a big cattle-owner. He is used to life in the open air, and one of the fellows says he can ride like the wind." "We must watch him," declared Phil. "I can't do that--since I am going away," answered Dave. "I'll have to leave you chaps to fight it out." "Do you think they'll come back or send Haskers?" asked Buster Beggs. "It might be wise to leave this spot," answered Phil. "There are plenty of places we can go to." It was decided to move, and several baskets which had been stored away in the bushes were brought forth. "I've got an idea!" cried Henshaw. "Let us go to that old barn on the Baggot place. Nobody will disturb us there."

cnn

Boston (CNN) -- To see Mery Daniel today is to see how far she has come. Walking on her new prosthetic leg without crutches is a huge accomplishment, but to see Daniel ride 26 miles on a hand cycle underscores the tremendous progress she's made in the five months since the Boston Marathon bombings. "This is the biggest challenge I've faced since the bombing," the 31-year-old Haitian immigrant said, referring to her participation in a recent ride from Waltham, Massachusetts, to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. She beamed as her 5-year old daughter, Ciarra, and husband, Richardson, ran to offer hugs and congratulations. "It's great," Richardson says proudly. "It's very encouraging to see -- despite what she's been through." April 15 was the day that profoundly changed Mery's life and that of so many others. Three people were killed and more than 250 were injured when a pair of bombs exploded just seconds apart near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed four days later in a standoff with police. His younger brother, Dzhokhar, faces charges that could bring a life sentence or the death penalty if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty. More than 14 people lost limbs in the bombing. Mery lost her left leg; amputated above the knee. Her right leg was spared, but it was severely mangled and she lost a significant portion of her calf. The team at Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital oversees the therapy for many of the new amputees.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IX THE SMITING OF AMON That evening I sat ill at ease in my work-chamber in Seti's palace, making pretence to write, I who felt that great evils threatened my lord the Prince, and knew not what to do to turn them from him. The door opened, and old Pambasa the chamberlain appeared and addressed me by my new titles, saying that the Hebrew lady Merapi, who had been my nurse in sickness, wished to speak with me. Presently she came and stood before me. "Scribe Ana," she said, "I have but just seen my uncle Jabez, who has come, or been sent, with a message to me," and she hesitated. "Why was he sent, Lady? To bring you news of Laban?" "Not so. Laban has fled away and none know where he is, and Jabez has only escaped much trouble as the uncle of a traitress by undertaking this mission." "What is the mission?" "To pray me, if I would save myself from death and the vengeance of God, to work upon the heart of his Highness, which I know not how to do----" "Yet I think you might find means, Merapi." "----save through you, his friend and counsellor," she went on, turning away her face. "Jabez has learned that it is in the mind of Pharaoh utterly to destroy the people of Israel." "How does he know that, Merapi?" "I cannot say, but I think all the Hebrews know. I knew it myself though none had told me. He has learned also that this cannot be done under the law of Egypt unless the Prince who is heir to the throne and of full age consents. Now I am come to pray you to pray the Prince not to consent."

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIII. CROSSING THE CREEK. "Now, then," said Harry, "here's the boat and a good pole, and you've nothing to do, Harvey, but just to get in and push yourself over to your station as fast as you can." But the situation did not seem to strike Harvey very favorably. He looked rather dissatisfied with the arrangement made for him. "I can't swim," he said. "At least, not much, you know." "Well, who wants you to swim?" said Harry, laughing. "That's a pretty joke. Are you thinking of swimming across, and towing the boat after you? You can push her over easy enough; that pole will reach the bottom anywhere." "Dat's so," said old Lewston. "It'll touch de bottom ob de water, but I don't know 'bout de bottom ob de mud. Ye musn't push her down too deep. Dar's 'bout as much mud as water out dar in de creek." The more they talked about the matter, the greater became Harvey's disinclination to go over. He was not a coward, but he was not used to the water or the management of a boat, and the trip seemed much more difficult to him than it would have appeared to a boy accustomed to boating. "I tell you what we'll do," cried Harry, at last. "You take my station, Harvey, and I'll go over and work your end of the line." There was no opposition to this plan, and so Harry hurried off with Harvey to Lewston's cabin and helped him to make the connections and get the line in working order at that end, and then he ran down to the boat, jumped in, and Lewston pushed him off.

cnn

(CNN) -- Looks like Dave Chappelle is making up for lost time. The comedian, who famously and abruptly quit his acclaimed, wildly popular "Chappelle's Show" on Comedy Central in 2005 and dropped out of public life, seems to be a bit less reclusive these days. He recently appeared on the "Late Show With David Letterman," telling the host he never actually quit but was instead "seven years late for work." He also "crashed" morning show "Today" by banging on the glass window and holding a sign advertising his comedy shows at Radio City Music Hall. On Wednesday night, Chappelle played Radio City for a two-hour concert that the New York Daily News said showed he had "returned with his irreverent and often raunchy sense of humor fully intact." "I'm just here to make enlightened money so I can disappear again," the paper quoted Chappelle as saying during his stand-up. The New York Times noted that Chappelle's act reflected his almost a decade of absence from the set. "Once you chat with Matt Lauer while holding a handmade sign plugging your new shows, your days as a reclusive rebel are over," Jason Zinoman of The New York Times wrote. "That shift is reflected in his comedy." Chappelle has had a few pop-up and one-off performances over the years, including one in which he stormed off a Hartford, Connecticut, stage after being heckled. Sporting a more buff look but still chain-smoking cigarettes, Chappelle reportedly joked at Radio City about everything from the Donald Sterling controversy to life as a married father.

gutenberg

Chapter 12: In Mocenigo's Power. It was fully an hour before Polani was recalled to the council chamber. He saw at once, by the flushed and angry faces of some of the council, that the debate had been a hot one. At this he was not surprised, for he knew that the friends and connections of Ruggiero Mocenigo would vehemently oppose the suggestion he had made. The doge announced the decision. "The council thank you for your suggestion, Signor Polani, and have resolved, by a majority, to confer upon Messer Francisco Hammond the high honour of placing his name upon the list of the citizens of Venice, without requiring from him the oaths of allegiance to the state. As such an honour has never before been conferred, save upon personages of the highest rank, it will be a proof of the gratitude which Venice feels towards one who has done her such distinguished service. The decree to that effect will be published tomorrow." The merchant retired, highly gratified. The honour was a great and signal one, and the material advantages considerable. The fact that Francis was a foreigner had been the sole obstacle which had presented itself to him, in associating him with his business, for it would prevent Francis from trading personally with any of the countries in which Venetian citizens enjoyed special advantages. Francis was immensely gratified, when he heard from the merchant of the honour to be conferred upon him. It was of all others the reward he would have selected, had a free choice been given him, but it was so great and unusual an honour, that he could indeed scarcely credit it when the merchant told him the result of his interviews with the council. The difficulty which his being a foreigner would throw in the way of his career as a merchant in Eastern waters, had been frequently in his mind, and would, he foresaw, greatly lessen his usefulness, but that he should be able to obtain naturalization, without renouncing his allegiance to England, he had never even hoped.

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Authorities will continue to take a hard line on Internet-based rumors and punish those creating fake information, a senior official said on Thursday. Authorities have removed more than 210,000 online posts and shut down 42 websites since mid-March in their latest crackdown on online rumors, said Liu Zhengrong, a senior official with the State Internet Information Office. Fake information or rumors spread through the Internet, especially on micro blogs, have harmed social order and residents' daily lives, he said at a news briefing in Beijing. Before the crackdown, six people who allegedly fabricated rumors about "military vehicles entering Beijing" had been detained and 16 websites closed for fake online information, according to police authorities. "What we've done and will do is to make sure residents can know what they want to know, say what they think and supervise our management in a reliable and useful network environment," Liu said. Liu disagreed that the Internet can police itself against rumors, and told China Daily that some netizens can't distinguish truth from fiction, "requiring government departments and website companies to take measures". On Monday, the Internet Society of China posted a proposal calling on Internet companies and websites to strengthen self-discipline and prevent the spread of online rumors. In response, three main Internet companies in the country - Sina, Baidu and Tencent - said they will target fake information with advanced technology and invest in manpower to supervise online information. Zhao Zhiguo, deputy director of the Telecommunications Administration under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said stricter self-management of websites will help banish online rumors. "Internet companies should take legal responsibility when operating their websites. They should not become a hotbed for rumors and provide opportunities for fake information," Zhao said, adding they will launch similar crackdowns to close illegal website companies and punish those responsible. Currently, people who make or spread rumors related to terrorism and securities trading, or information affecting State security and companies' commercial reputations, will face criminal punishment. Liu Honghui, a Beijing lawyer specializing in online cases, said he welcomed the government's action to curb online rumors. "Residents used online banks to shop or book flights, which needs a safe platform without fake information," he said. Yu Guofu, another lawyer from Sheng Feng Law Firm, said the key to reducing rumors is netizens themselves. "If micro-bloggers think twice before forwarding information, rumors will decrease."

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About 18,000 refugees from Burma have come to the United States each year since 2007. Some have settled in Howard County, Maryland between Baltimore and Washington. A local school began teaching English to the children of the refugees. But while the children learned the language, their parents did not. That made communication with teachers _ . At present, almost fifty children from Burma attend Bollman Bridge Elementary School. Laurel Conran is a teacher there. She said, "The main idea is the global idea." She teaches English to speakers of other languages. One of her students is Tha Neih Ciang. Another student is Tha Neih's mother, Tin Iang. Ms. Conran practices English with Tin Iang at the mother's workplace. Many refugees from Burma work at Coastal Sunbelt Produce, a supplier of fruits and vegetables to restaurants and other businesses. Laurel Conran started classes at the company to help refugees from Burma learn English. Laurel Conran said, "The program is a six-week session. It's once a week, on every Wednesday, from twelve to one o'clock. So every Wednesday I go to Coastal Sunbelt." As the workers eat lunch, they also practice their new language skills. Lisa Chertok has a child at Bollman Bridge. She is also a manager at Coastal Sunbelt. She helped Ms. Conran develop the lessons, which she says have really helped. Lisa Chertok said, "Well, when the Burmese employees got here, they were very, very shy. Now I find that they are more outspoken than before. They're more communicative. As parents, they are also more involved in their children's school." Jonathan Davis is the headmaster of Bollman Bridge Elementary School. Mr. Davis hopes the lessons will help these parents feel better about communicating with the school. He said, "Even as simple as making a phone call to say that their son or daughter is sick, even if that's the amount of English that they have got from the program, that truly will help us."

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Mr. Smith works in a factory. There he drives a truck. He's tired all the time. When he comes back, he's always busy and doesn't want to do any housework. His wife is a doctor and likes to keep all the things clean. So she has to do all at home. She usually goes to work from Monday to Friday and has to do all on weekends. All her friends know about it and sometimes they come to help her. It's Saturday today. Mrs Smith tells her husband to help her do some housework, but he says he has something to do and goes out early in the morning. He leaves a lot of dirty clothes at home. Mrs Smith doesn't go to work but she doesn't feel well. So she doesn't want to do any housework. After breakfast, Jo, one of her friends, comes to see her when she's sitting on a chair. The girl finds the rooms are dirty and she asks, "Don't you clean your rooms today, Mrs Smith?" "No, I don't."says the doctor. "Why don't you wear your glasses?" "Then I will think the rooms are still clean."

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I Don't Have to Be Like Them All students have to face their own problems when they are growing up. You may not think that having a good family is a problem. But for me , it was. I had to face the problem of being the youngest of the Smith girls. We live in a small town in Pennsylvania, US. There are three girls in the Smith family, Amanda, Theresa and me . People often say things to me , like " Oh, the three of you , you're such nice girls. Your sisters are so pretty and so thin! You're really nothing like them . " That made me sad. At school , all of my teachers had taught my sisters . On the first day of school , they said , "Oh , the youngest of the three! I hope you're just like your sisters. They're such wonderful students." People always compared me with my sisters . So I couldn't help comparing myself with them , too. Theresa was smarter , Amanda was prettier . I began to work hard to be more like them . What my sisters did , I did , too. At last , I became drum major of our school 's marching band . Both Amanda and Theresa had been drum majors . I became editor of the school's newspaper . Theresa had been the editor two years before. But last year, Amanda went to college , and Theresa went to high school . Now I'm by myself at junior high . Everyone knows me , because I'm the drum major and the newspaper's editor . Now I don't feel like a Smith girl any more , I feel like myself . I'm proud of doing all of the same great things that my sisters did . But the best thing I did was to learn to stop comparing myself with them .

cnn

(CNN) -- As prodigal golfer Tiger Woods resumes the world's No. 1 ranking, his chief sponsor, Nike, unveiled a slogan Tuesday that provokes robust debate on what is redemption and has Woods attained it. "Winning takes care of everything" is what Nike declared on its social media outlets after Woods completed his long climb back to the top ranking, more than three years after his extramarital affairs ruined his marriage and embarrassed him. Woods and ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, have two children. Many fans and consumers are now raging against the new campaign by Nike, which stood by Woods in his fall from grace as most other sponsors dumped him. "Will not buy anything Nike again," wrote Melissa Santa-Cruz of Wisconsin on Nike's Facebook page. "THIS AD MAKES ME SICK!" wrote Julie Drake, a high school teacher who said she will use the ad for a classroom discussion. "Shame on you!" Others, however, endorsed the slogan. "Love your Ad Nike," wrote Brian Edwards. "Keep up the good work." Opinion: For Tiger, winning does take care of everything The passionate opinions roil during a week when redemption is on the minds of Jews celebrating Passover and Christians preparing for Easter. The controversy grows from whether winning indeed absolves transgressions -- and even prompts a return to grace. The narrative plays out in different ways for different public figures. "I think that winning, especially in Tiger Woods' case, really does change things because it reminds people why they fell in love with him years ago. It was for his game and his ability to consistently make those tough shots over and over again. That's why we're in awe of Tiger," said CEO Melinda Travis of PRO Sports Communications, a strategic communications and crisis management firm in Los Angeles.

wikipedia

JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a high-level, dynamic, weakly typed, object-based, multi-paradigm, and interpreted programming language. Alongside HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the three core technologies of World Wide Web content production. It is used to make webpages interactive and provide online programs, including video games. The majority of websites employ it, and all modern web browsers support it without the need for plug-ins by means of a built-in JavaScript engine. Each of the many JavaScript engines represent a different implementation of JavaScript, all based on the ECMAScript specification, with some engines not supporting the spectrum fully, and with many engines supporting additional features beyond ECMA. As a multi-paradigm language, JavaScript supports event-driven, functional, and imperative (including object-oriented and prototype-based) programming styles. It has an API for working with text, arrays, dates, regular expressions, and basic manipulation of the DOM, but does not include any I/O, such as networking, storage, or graphics facilities, relying for these upon the host environment in which it is embedded. Initially only implemented client-side in web browsers, JavaScript engines are now embedded in many other types of host software, including server-side in web servers and databases, and in non-web programs such as word processors and PDF software, and in runtime environments that make JavaScript available for writing mobile and desktop applications, including desktop widgets.

mctest

Oil is plentiful in West Texas. When people think of West Texas they think of these machines called "pump-jacks." A pump-jack is a machine that pulls Oil out of the Earth. Robert's job is to fix pump-jacks. So he travels to West Texas to see if he can help. Steve owns many pump-jacks and is having a very tough time keeping them working. During the summer in West Texas the temperature can be over 100, which causes these machines to break often. Robert runs into Steve at a restaurant on a very hot day. After they talked about the weather for a few seconds, Steve says "my machines keep breaking because of this heat!" Robert says "Steve, I think you and I are both in luck because I fix pump-jacks." Immediately, they both travel out to Steve's land and Robert gets to work!

cnn

(CNN) -- In most of the country, employers can force pregnant workers out of the workplace when their pregnancy interferes with their normal job duties. Heather Wiseman, a retail sales associate, lost her job because consuming water while working, an activity necessary to maintain a healthy pregnancy, violated store policy. Victoria Serednyj, a nursing home activity director, lost her job because her pregnancy interfered with her ability to lift heavy tables. Her employer terminated her employment even though lifting tables "took up a small part, roughly five to 10 minutes" of her day and her co-workers volunteered to perform this task. Workers covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, by contrast, can continue working despite their physical limitations. The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 broadened the ADA to include many short-term and relatively minor physical conditions. Pregnant women who experience comparable physical limitations should also have the opportunity to receive accommodations that will enable them to continue working. According to EEOC regulations issued in 2011, the amended ADA requires employers to accommodate persons who experience "shortness of breath and fatigue when walking distances that most people could walk without experiencing such effects." It also requires employers to accommodate persons with back injuries resulting in a "20-pound lifting restriction that lasts or is expected to last for several months." In some circumstances, even a far more common 50-pound lifting restriction may qualify an individual for ADA coverage. To date, courts have balked at including pregnancy within the Americans with Disabilities Act. They've reasoned the physical limitations accompanying pregnancy are too short-term and minor to qualify as disabilities.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXI. SHEWING HOW COLONEL OSBORNE WENT TO NUNCOMBE PUTNEY. Colonel Osborne was expected at Nuncombe Putney on the Friday, and it was Thursday evening before either Mrs. Stanbury or Priscilla was told of his coming. Emily had argued the matter with Nora, declaring that she would make the communication herself, and that she would make it when she pleased and how she pleased. "If Mrs. Stanbury thinks," said she, "that I am going to be treated as a prisoner, or that I will not judge myself as to whom I may see, or whom I may not see, she is very much mistaken." Nora felt that were she to give information to those ladies in opposition to her sister's wishes, she would express suspicion on her own part by doing so; and she was silent. On that same Thursday Priscilla had written her last defiant letter to her aunt,--that letter in which she had cautioned her aunt to make no further accusations without being sure of her facts. To Priscilla's imagination that coming of Lucifer in person, of which Mrs. Trevelyan had spoken, would hardly have been worse than the coming of Colonel Osborne. When, therefore, Mrs. Trevelyan declared the fact on the Thursday evening, vainly endeavouring to speak of the threatened visit in an ordinary voice, and as of an ordinary circumstance, it was as though a thunderbolt had fallen upon them. "Colonel Osborne coming here!" said Priscilla, mindful of the Stanbury correspondence,--mindful of the evil tongues of the world.

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Dear Peter, My name is Frank. I am from America. Here is a picture of my friends. We are in the same grade. Look at the picture, in the middle, you can see my friend Jimmy. He likes all the sports. He likes to eat apples and French fries. You can see Helen in the picture, too. Helen likes math. Her favorite food is meat. But Sandra doesn't like math. Look, Sandra is here in the picture. She can speak French. She likes ping-pong. Behind her, there is a girl. She is Sally. She is a black girl. She likes to swim. And she likes to eat ice cream. Maria and Rick are behind Jimmy. Maria likes computer very much. She plays computer games very well. Rick is fun. He can play soccer ball. He likes strawberries best. I like math, too. I like to eat bananas. All of us think Beijing Opera is fun. So we go to see it. But we can't _ the words. So we don't want to see it again. But my father likes it very much. He often watches it. He can understand it. One interesting thing:two of my English friends can understand it, too. They are Maya and Kelsey. They are not in the picture. They often go to see Beijing Opera like my father. Can you send me a picture of your friends. Yours, Frank

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A UN report said that around 60 million people across the world are drinking polluted water. Some 4,500 children die every day because of polluted water. A report showed that environmental problems kill 3 million children under five years old each year, making them one of the key contributors in more than 10 million child deaths each year. Dangerous factors include indoor and outdoor air pollution, water pollution. Another study showed that parents and scientists from seven countries including the United States and India think pollution is the biggest threat to children's living environment. Mrs Green tries to teach her daughter Susan by setting a personal example. She picks out recyclable waste and uses the water from the washing machine to wash the toilet. Chinese children mostly learn about environmental protection in school. Some non-governmental organizations and child centres also teach kids to protect the environment. "More parents have known about it. Family is now playing a more important role," says a Chinese official. Vera Lehmann, a German scientist says many Chinese now think more of pollution. "I was surprised to find many schools in China are willing to educate the children on environment," Lehmann said. "There has been a big change between now and ten years ago when I first travelled here."

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXX THE DEFENSE OF THE CAVE--SAVED! "He has fainted, poor fellow!" said Dick, as he bent over the unconscious form of Bostwick. "We ought to git back to the house at once!" put in old Jerry. "We must warn the cap'n and the others of what Lesher and his crowd intend to do." "That is true, but we can't leave this poor chap here. He might die for the want of care," came from Tom. "We'll take him along," said Dick. "Come, lift him up." As carefully as they could they lifted the unconscious form up and bore it to where the rowboat was lying. Soon all were on board, and while Tom did his best to revive Bostwick, Dick and old Jerry bent their back to the oars, pulling as they had seldom pulled before. The beach in front of the house was almost gained when they heard a shot ring out, followed by several others. "Just as I feared!" groaned Dick. "Lesher and the others have begun the attack!" "Then we'll have to be careful how we land," said old Jerry. "If we aint, we may run right into 'em!" There was no moon, but the stars shone brightly, so the beach line was dimly visible in the distance. Standing up in the bow, Tom saw a flash of fire from the jungle below the house, and heard the crack of a firearm. Then he saw some dark forms running along the beach. "Our party is making for the cave!" he cried. "We had better turn in that direction."

cnn

(CNN) -- Two former presidents reflected on their greatest regrets in office Monday, each looking back to issues that continue to plague the nation years later. Former presidents and political rivals Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush now share philanthropic efforts. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton appeared together at a question-and-answer forum before the National Automobile Dealers Association in New Orleans, Louisiana. Asked his biggest regret after leaving office, Bush said he now wonders whether he should have tried to get Saddam Hussein to leave office at the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. He told the gathering, "I've thought a lot about it, but at the end of Desert Storm, the question was should we have kind of kept going on that road to death and all this slaughter until Saddam Hussein showed up and laid his sword on the table, surrendered. And the common wisdom was he wouldn't do that." But he said a conversation with an FBI agent who interrogated Saddam after he was captured has made him reconsider. Bush recalled their talk, "I said, 'What if we just say he has to come to surrender, would he have done it?' And this guy said, 'I'm absolutely convinced he would have.' My experts tell me he wouldn't have." Bush said, "We ended it the way we said we would" as a military success, but noted a cleaner ending "would have been perfect." He added, "If we had tried to get Saddam Hussein to come and literally surrender and put his sword on the table, I think it might have been avoided some of the problems that we did have in the future from him."

gutenberg

CHAPTER IX THE SMITING OF AMON That evening I sat ill at ease in my work-chamber in Seti's palace, making pretence to write, I who felt that great evils threatened my lord the Prince, and knew not what to do to turn them from him. The door opened, and old Pambasa the chamberlain appeared and addressed me by my new titles, saying that the Hebrew lady Merapi, who had been my nurse in sickness, wished to speak with me. Presently she came and stood before me. "Scribe Ana," she said, "I have but just seen my uncle Jabez, who has come, or been sent, with a message to me," and she hesitated. "Why was he sent, Lady? To bring you news of Laban?" "Not so. Laban has fled away and none know where he is, and Jabez has only escaped much trouble as the uncle of a traitress by undertaking this mission." "What is the mission?" "To pray me, if I would save myself from death and the vengeance of God, to work upon the heart of his Highness, which I know not how to do----" "Yet I think you might find means, Merapi." "----save through you, his friend and counsellor," she went on, turning away her face. "Jabez has learned that it is in the mind of Pharaoh utterly to destroy the people of Israel." "How does he know that, Merapi?" "I cannot say, but I think all the Hebrews know. I knew it myself though none had told me. He has learned also that this cannot be done under the law of Egypt unless the Prince who is heir to the throne and of full age consents. Now I am come to pray you to pray the Prince not to consent."

wikipedia

A tribe is viewed, developmentally or historically, as a social group existing before the development of nation states, or outside them. A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society. It is perhaps the term most readily understood and used by the general public to describe such communities. Stephen Corry defines tribal people as those who "...have followed ways of life for many generations that are largely self-sufficient, and are clearly different from the mainstream and dominant society". This definition, however, would not apply to countries in the Middle East such as Iraq and Yemen, South Asia such as Afghanistan and many African countries such as South Sudan, where the entire population is a member of one tribe or another, and tribalism itself is dominant and mainstream. There are an estimated one hundred and fifty million tribal individuals worldwide, constituting around forty percent of indigenous individuals. Although nearly all tribal people are indigenous, some are not indigenous to the areas where they now live. The distinction between tribal and indigenous is important because tribal peoples have a special status acknowledged in international law. They often face particular issues in addition to those faced by the wider category of indigenous peoples.

cnn

(CNN) -- If they were handing out awards for courage in the face of personal trauma, 70-year-old Bob Yelton would scoop the lot at this week's World Amateur Handicap Championships. Yelton is one of just 13 golfers who have played in all 28 previous editions of the biggest tournament of its type in the world, which brings nearly 3,100 players from 25 countries and 49 states of the U.S. to the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. His streak was nearly broken last year, and in the circumstances nobody would have held it against him if he had taken time out. Just before the tournament, Martha, his wife of 22 years, was taken ill and passed away just a week later. There had been no hint of a problem -- Martha taught at a community school in Shelby in North Carolina and played a bit of golf herself. "She mostly just walked the course with me," recalled Bob. Her death hit him hard and he was left with the prospect of raising his then 15-year-old son Porter alone. In the circumstances, his annual pilgrimage to Myrtle was low priority. "I had no interest in playing golf." But with encouragement from his brother Don, who has also played in every World Am, and crucially an intervention from his son, Bob did indeed pitch up. "Dad, Mum would have wanted you to play," said Porter and he did, thinking about Martha just about every step of the way. In retrospect, the stress of dealing with his wife's premature death and continuing to practice as a business lawyer may well have taken a bigger toll on Bob than he was to realize.

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Animals love to walk near the train tracks. One night a beautiful black cat was walking along the train tracks looking for a nice mouse to eat. He came across some friends, Bob the cat and Steve the dog. They chose to go looking for food together. They walked up and down the tracks looking for a wonderful meal to snack on, when they happened across a big huge melon. Bob asked the black cat if he like melons, the cat did not like melons. Bob asked the dog if he liked melons, Steve did not like melons either. Bob then ate the melon himself as they looked around for that tasty treat. They heard bells from the train coming by and then they finally saw the food they were looking for jump from the bushes over the tracks and run straight into the barn nearby. The black cat wanted to eat the mouse, so he chased him into the barn. Minutes later the black cat returned with his meal in his mouth to share with his friends.

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Psychiatrists who work with older parents say that maturity can be an advantage in child raising--older parents are more thoughtful, use less physical discipline and spend more time with their children. But raising kids takes money and energy. Many older parents find themselves balancing their limited financial resources, decreasing energy and failing health against the growing demands of an active child. Dying and leaving young children is probably the older parents' biggest, and often unspoken fear. "Having late-life children often means parents, particularly fathers, end up retiring much later. For many, retirement becomes an unobtainable dream." says Brandy Gabrielle, an economics professor. Henry Metcalf, a 54-year-old journalist, knows it takes money to raise kids. But he's also worried that his energy will give out first. Sure, he can still ride bikes with his athletic fifth grader, but he's learned that young at heart doesn't mean young. Lately he's been taking afternoon naps to keep up his energy. "My body is aging," says Metcalf. "You can't get away from that." Often, older parents hear the ticking of another kind of biological clock. Therapists who work with middle-aged and older parents say fears about aging are nothing to laugh at. "They worry they'll be mistaken for grandparents, or that they'll need help getting up out of those little chairs in nursery school," says Joann Gals, a New York psychologist. But at the core of those little fears there is often a much bigger one: "that they won't be alive long enough to support and protect their children," she says. Many late-life parents, though, say their children came at just the right time. After marrying late and undergoing years of pregnancy treatment, Marilyn Nolen and her husband, Randy, had twins. "We both wanted children," says Marilyn, who was 55 when she gave birth. The twins have given the couple what they desired for years -- a sense of family. Kids of older dads are often smarter, happier and more sociable because their fathers are more involved in their lives. "The dads are older, more mature," says Dr. Silber, "and more ready to focus on parenting."

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(CNN) -- The Atlanta Hawks organization's issues with race go beyond one inflammatory email or offensive comments on one conference call, the team's CEO said, before promising fans that those systemic problems will be corrected. "As an organization, we must own these shortcomings and failures," Steve Koonin wrote in an open letter Saturday to his team, fans and the city of Atlanta. "... We should build bridges through basketball, not divide our community or serve as a source of pain." Koonin's comments come a day after general manager Danny Ferry began an indefinite leave of absence tied to controversial comments he made in June about Luol Deng, then a prospective free agent player. And they occurred six days after the franchise's owner, Bruce Levenson, announced he would sell his controlling interest team in light of a 2012 email that many derided as racist. In the same announcement last Sunday setting the stage for Levenson's exit, the NBA said that Koonin will oversee team operations during the ownership transition. The Hawks CEO did not mention Levenson or Ferry specifically in his letter Saturday, nor did he delve into detail into their or possible other cases. But he did say that "we enough today, based on investigations conducted by the league, by external legal counsel on behalf of the team and information that has appeared in the media, that our shortcomings are beyond a single email, a single person or a single event. "To the contrary, over a period of years, we have found that there have been inflammatory words, phrases, inferences and innuendos about race," Koonin said.

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The cute red ball rolled over to the blue ball and said hello. The blue ball was scared and went to cry to the green ball. The green ball laughed at the blue ball. Then the green ball told the orange ball that blue ball was stupid. Most felt this was not good to do and so they punished the green ball by taking away all his air. From that day on everyone saw the air-less green ball and knew that they could not do or say any bad things. This is how the trouble started. The purple ball used the fear of everyone to become the leader that they all feared. The purple ball was mean to everyone. Until one day the red ball spoke up and got all the other colored balls together and they took the air from the purple ball and put it in the green ball. Sadly, the green ball had been without air for too long and was dead.

cnn

The rare moments Christos Sourovelis can take a break from running his own painting business, he can be found toiling away on his family's dream house in the suburbs of Philadelphia. "I'm a working guy. I work every day, six days a week, even seven if I have to," Sourovelis says. One day this past March, without warning, the government took his house away, even though he and his wife, Markella, have never been charged with a crime or accused of any wrongdoing. "I was so upset thinking somebody's going to take my house for nothing. That makes me crazy," Sourovelis says, shaking his head. The nightmare began when police showed up at the house and arrested their 22-year-old son, Yianni, on drug charges -- $40 worth of heroin. Authorities say he was selling drugs out of the home. The Sourvelises say they had no knowledge of any involvement their son might have had with drugs. A month-and-a-half later police came back -- this time to seize their house, forcing the Sourvelises and their children out on the street that day. Authorities came with the electric company in tow to turn off the power and even began locking the doors with screws, the Sourvelises say. Authorities won't comment on the exact circumstances because of pending litigation regarding the case. Police and prosecutors came armed with a lawsuit against the house itself. It was being forfeited and transferred to the custody of the Philadelphia District Attorney. Authorities said the house was tied to illegal drugs and therefore subject to civil forfeiture.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XI. THE EVENING'S ENTERTAINMENT. Surely if noise was any proof that the audience was satisfied with the performance given by Mopsey's company, then all must have been highly delighted, for such confusion was probably never heard in that house before as when the curtain fell on the first act of this new edition of Shakespeare's plays. The actors were in a perfect whirl of delight, and all save Dickey showed it by dancing and shaking hands, until there was almost as much confusion behind the curtain as in front. Mopsey was so delighted at the success that his gigantic brain conceived a startling idea for the entrance of the ghost, which was neither more nor less than for Ben to crouch under the stage, in the very hole where Johnny had come to grief, and at the proper time to rise up in a ghostly fashion, which must surely be very effective. Ben was disposed to object to this hiding under the flooring, more especially since he would be enveloped in the sheet, and would doubtless be uncomfortably warm; but all his objections were overruled by the author and company, and he gave a very unwilling assent to the proposition. In order that the audience might not be kept waiting until their patience was exhausted, or their good-humor began to evaporate, the curtain was raised as soon as the ghost could be tucked away in his hiding-place, and Paul made his first appearance on any stage. Mopsey had explained to him the part which he was to assume, and in a well-thumbed copy of Shakespeare's works belonging to Mrs. Green he had found the lines which Hamlet is supposed to speak after he sees the ghost. These he had committed to memory, although he had little idea of the meaning of them; and when he came upon the stage he addressed the audience as if in them he saw the ghost of his murdered father.

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A new Long March Twenty-one people from Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland began a new Long March on October 15. They will walk about 8,000 kilometers from Ruijin, Jiangxi to Wuqi, Shanxi. They hope to get 20.2 million Yuan to build 101 schools and help poor children go back to school. They hope to finish the march by August 16, 2012. The football team The Chinese under-17 football team is No. 1 in Asia. They won the Asian U-17 Championship(U-17)in Japan on Saturday. They beat the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by 1:0. After 85 minutes, Wang Weilong got the only goal. They took the cup for the first time in 12 years. Liu leaves China Chinese actor Liu Ye left for the US on Monday to make a film called Meteor(<<>> ). He is going to act with the Hollywood film star Meryl Streep. His former classmate Zhang Ziyi sent Liu a message to encourage him. Liu was worried about his English, and worked hard on it before he left. People know him from films like last year's "Mei Ren Cao".

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Zoe Chambers was a successful PR(Public Relations) consultant and life was going well -- she had a great job, beautiful flat and a busy social life in London. Then one evening in June last year, she received a text message telling her she was out of work. "The first two weeks were the most difficult to live through." she said. "After everything I'd done for the company, they dismissed me by text! I was so angry and I just didn't feel like looking for another job. I hate everything about the city and my life." Then, Zoe received an invitation from an old school friend, Kathy, to come and stay. Kathy and her husband, Huw, had just bought a farm in north-west Wales. Zoe jumped at the chance to spend a weekend away from London, and now, ten months later she is still on the farm. "The moment I arrived at Kathy's farm, I loved it and I knew I wanted to stay." said Zoe. "Everything about my past life suddenly seemed meaningless." Zoe has been working on the farm since October of last year and says she has no regrets. "It's a hard life, physically very tiring." she says. "In London 1 was stressed and often mentally exhausted. But this is a good, healthy tiredness. Here, all I need to put me in a good mood is a hot bath and one of Kathy's wonderful dinners." Zoe says she has never felt bored on the farm. Every day brings a new experience. Kathy has been teaching her how to ride a horse and she has learnt to drive a tractor. Since Christmas, she has been helping with the lambing -- watching a lamb being born is unbelievable, she says, "It's one of the most moving experiences I've ever had. I could never go back to city life now."

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII BUB SUCCUMBS TO FORCE One day Peter Conant abruptly left his office, came home and packed his grip and then hurried down town and caught the five o'clock train for New York. He was glum and uncommunicative, as usual, merely telling Aunt Hannah that business called him away and he did not know when he would be back. A week later Peter appeared at the family breakfast table, having arrived on the early morning express, and he seemed in a more gracious mood than usual. Indeed, he was really talkative. "I met Will Morrison in New York, Hannah," he said to his wife. "He was just sailing for London with his family and will remain abroad all summer. He wanted us to occupy his mountain place, Hillcrest Lodge, during July and August, and although I told him we couldn't use the place he insisted on my taking an order on his man to turn the shack over to us." "The shack!" cried Aunt Hannah indignantly. "Why, Peter, Hillcrest Lodge is a little palace. It is the cosiest, most delightful place I have ever visited. Why shouldn't we accept Will Morrison's proposition to occupy it?" "I can't leave my business." "You could run up every Friday afternoon, taking the train to Millbank and the stage to Hillcrest, and stay with us till Monday morning." He stared at her reflectively. "Would you be safe in that out-of-the-way place?" he asked. "Of course. Didn't you say Will had a man for caretaker? And only a few scattered cottages are located near by, so we shall be quite by ourselves and wholly unmolested. I mean to go, and take the girls. The change will do us all good, so you may as well begin to make arrangements for the trip."

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Dennis Sinar, 51, a doctor from New York, is quick to explain why he took a year-long break from his job. "I was pretty burned out after practicing medicine for 26 years. I needed a recharge." So he took a "gap year", from July 2011 to June 2012, to explore things like ancient buildings, and traditional Eastern medicine, in locations including Alaska, Nepal and Romania. "Taking a break from work is an excellent way for adults to go into a new career or refresh an old one," said Holly Bull, president of Princeton, N, J. "In recent years, mid-career breaks have been gaining more interest," she said. A report on adult gap years published this year by a market research company also described the potential American market for gap years as a "sleeping giant." "A gap year is a challenge for the older individual to step out of a comfort zone and take a risk. I enjoyed that side most." said Dr. Sinar, who kept a daily blog about his experience. His time studying Eastern medicine "assured the reasons I went into health care," said Dr. Sinar, who returned to practice medicine at his old job, although he works fewer days. "I use those experiences to provide my patients with more care," he added. "And I listen better than I did before." George Garritan, chairman of the Department of Leadership and Human Capital Management at New York University, certainly agrees with Dr. Sinar. He said a gap-year experience could be worthwhile for employees and companies. For employees, investing in themselves and improving skill sets is a move that will benefit throughout their career. He added that returning employees feel refreshed and have given more thought to their career. For companies, offering unpaid leaves makes good sense for attracting and keeping talented employees.

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Eminem got sober, Arcade Fire got spooked, Katy Perry flashed her hits and Kanye sang one for jerk-offs everywhere. (RollingStone.com) -- 5. Arcade Fire, "We Used to Wait" "Now our lives are changing fast," sings Win Butler, spooked and sleepless. But his empathetic croon -- and his band's orchestral- rock wallop -- make high anxiety sound almost sublime. 4. Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream" Co-written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke, this buoyant electro-pop singalong is 2010's catchiest tune. As for that "teenage dream," Perry doesn't mince words: "Let's go all the way tonight." 3. Sade, "Soldier of Love" Nobody knows where Sade disappears to for years at a time between hits, but "Soldier of Love" proves she knows how to make a hell of a re-entrance. She sings about emotional devastation over a beat that mixes quiet-storm synths with acid-damaged riffs straight out of TV on the Radio's playbook. It's as close as she's ever come to blowing her cool. Rolling Stone's top five albums of 2010 2. Cee Lo Green, "F*** You" The title alone would have guaranteed hundreds of thousands of Web clicks. But Cee Lo didn't just say "F*** you" -- he said it with humor and serious panache. Despite the bummed-out lyrics, the Motown-style beat is DayGlo-bright, and Cee Lo's lovelorn lament doubles as an anthem for lean times: "If I was richer/I'd still be with ya/Ha, now ain't that some shit?" 1. Kanye West feat. Pusha T, "Runaway" It takes a special kind of dark, twisted genius to raise the white flag of surrender while raising a middle finger. Kanye West is that genius. "Runaway" is Kanye's musical response to the Taylor Swift affair, but it's much more than that: a nine-minute meditation on romantic failure and public infamy.

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The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of , comprises East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The islands' capital is Stanley on East Falkland. Controversy exists over the Falklands' discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans. At various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, although Argentina maintains its claim to the islands. In April 1982, Argentine forces temporarily occupied the islands. British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War. Most Falklanders favour the archipelago remaining a UK overseas territory, but its sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The population (2,932 inhabitants in 2012) primarily consists of native-born Falkland Islanders, the majority of British descent. Other ethnicities include French, Gibraltarian and Scandinavian. Immigration from the United Kingdom, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, and Chile has reversed a population decline. The predominant (and official) language is English. Under the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, Falkland Islanders are British citizens.

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Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) -- Nepal's parliament on Sunday elected a leader of the former Maoist rebels as the new prime minister with a simple majority. Baburam Bhattarai, 57, vice-chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) will become the fourth prime minister since Nepal became a republic in 2008. After his election Bhattarai said he would attempt to complete the peace process and the long-delayed new constitution. Bhattarai received 340 votes in parliament, beating his rival Ram Chandra Poudel, 66, of the Nepali Congress, who received 235 votes. Bhattarai, who has a degree in architecture and a doctorate in regional planning, was able to get the crucial support of the regional Madhesi parties from southern Nepal. The 65 votes of the five parties of the Madhesi front were crucial for Bhattrai, whose party is the biggest in the 601-member parliament but lacks a majority. Media reports say the Madhesi parties have been promised 12 ministerial posts in exchange for their support. Bhattari is the second leader of the former rebels to become prime minister. The Maoists became the biggest party in the 2008 elections and their chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal was prime minister for nine months. He resigned in a dispute with the president, who reinstated an army chief Dahal had fired. Earlier this month Jhalanath Khanal resigned as prime minister after he was unable to persuade the former Maoist rebels to demobilize and reintegrate their fighters in a deal that was agreeable to the other political parties. The Maoists fought a ten-year insurgency from 1996 to 2006 in which about 16,000 people were killed.

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Peter waved goodbye and closed the door slowly as Jane left home to visit her grandmother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favorite TV talk show on his first day off in months. "This will be like a walk in the park," he'd told his wife, "I'll look after the kids, and you can go to visit your grandma." Things started well, but just after eight o'clock, his three little "good kids"--Adam, Bob, and Christopher--came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted "breakfast, daddy." When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Adam began using his spoon on Christopher's head as if it were a drum. Christopher started to shout loudly in time to the beat . Bob chanted "Where's my toast, where's my toast" in the background. Peter realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds. Life became worse after breakfast. Adam wore Bob's underwear on his head. Bob locked himself in the bathroom, while Christopher shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named "Not Me" had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Peter knew the talk show had already started. By ten o'clock, things were out of control. Christopher was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Adam was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his color pencils. Bob, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Peter realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible. At exactly 11:17, Peter called the daycare centre ."I suddenly have to go into work and my wife's away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes?" The answer was obviously "yes" because Peter was smiling.

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(CNN) -- Felipe Massa has been forced to backtrack on comments he made claiming that new Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso was aware of Renault's plans to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Felipe Massa is still showing the scars of his horror crash at the Hungarian GP in July. Alonso won that race after the safety car was brought out when Renault's No. 2 driver Nelson Piquet Jr spun out on lap 14, and Massa subsequently claimed it cost him that year's world title as he finished one point behind champion Lewis Hamilton. Motorsport's ruling body the FIA cleared Alonso of any wrongdoing as it banned Renault boss Flavio Briatore, who quit his role before the ruling, while Piquet was immune from prosecution in return for giving evidence. Massa told reporters in his native Brazil on Wednesday that he believed two-time world champion Alonso -- who is replacing Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next year -- must have known about Renault's race plan. "It was the team and Nelson -- but Alonso was part of the problem. He knew. We cannot know it, but of course he knew. It's an absolute certainty," he said ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix. However, the 28-year-old later released a statement on the official Ferrari Web site in a bid to avoid conflict with his future teammate. "What I've said is the outcome of a hunch I've had and is not based on any concrete evidence," Felipe said. "The FIA World Council announced that there was no indication that Fernando may have been informed of what had happened and I respect this outcome.

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Hong Kong (CNN) -- Tired of the same old engagement and wedding photos? The cliched poses in gardens or on beaches? Then take some inspiration from the creative couples in Hong Kong, who are memorializing their love with unconventional photo shoots featuring such surreal backdrops as giant cats or pastries. Many couples in the city opt to take engagement photos months before the big day, a tradition that started in Taiwan and has now spread to China and South Korea. The more adventurous are opting for photo shoots that diverge from the standard scenes, and instead reflect something about their personalities, passions or the story of their love. Read more: Shanghai's bikini brides and Speedo grooms Kim Lee wanted a theme that reflected her love of food, so her photos with her fiancé Daniel Chan feature the couple sitting on giant egg tarts and macaroons. Yvonne Ho, the wedding planner behind Lee and Chan's shoot, said planning this sort of photography is closer to an advertising or fashion shoot. Ho works to create an individualized concept for each couple, so they come away feeling she has presented the story of their life together. "I want to share their love," she said, adding that her responsibility is to "tell the story by the photos." In the case of sporting enthusiasts Kenny Tang and Olivia Kok, Ho enlisted a professional underwater photographer to capture the couple's active lifestyle. Tang and Kok jumped into a swimming pool fully clothed and relied on scuba tanks to breathe underwater.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIII. THE BLACK BEAR. "Somebody is coming!" ejaculated Sam. "I hope it is Dick, with Mr. Barrow!" "So do I," returned Tom. Without saying a word more, Jasper Grinder ran from the inner cave and joined Baxter and the guide. His face was pale, and he was evidently much disturbed. Soon Baxter and his party were outside, and the Rover boys heard them moving up and down the gully. Several minutes passed, and then came a gunshot, followed by another. "I hope they are not firing on Dick or Mr. Barrow," said Sam, with something of a shudder. "I guess not," returned his brother. "If they were, we'd probably hear shots in return." An hour went by, and then Dan Baxter and the others came back, the guide carrying several rabbits and a large fox. The rabbits were skinned and kept for eating, and the fox was skinned and the carcass thrown away. Tom and Sam had expected Jasper Grinder to return to them, but if the former teacher desired to do this, he was prevented by Dan Baxter, who kept his companions close by him, around the fire. Slowly the time went by until darkness was upon them. The fire was kept up, but Baxter screened it as much as possible, so that the glare might not penetrate to the forest beyond the gully and prove a beacon to guide Dick and John Barrow to the spot. The boys were tired out, and soon Sam sank to sleep, with his hands still tied to the tree roots. Tom tried to keep awake, but half an hour later he, too, was in dreamland.

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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- He's been labeled by many as the "reformist," a man who can take Iran beyond the truculent anti-Western rhetoric of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Moussavi was not seen as a reformer during his stint as prime minister during the 1980s. So, when Iran's government announced over the weekend that Mir Hossein Moussavi had lost in his bid to become the country's next president, young Iranians took to the streets by the thousands alleging ballot fraud. Thousands of others around the globe championed the cause on social-networking Web sites and agreed to wear green on Monday in solidarity with Moussavi's supporters. But what is often lost in the outrage is whether Iran would look different under a Moussavi presidency. Watch more about the vote » Though the 67-year old is credited for successfully navigating the Iranian economy as prime minister during a bloody eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, he also was a hard-liner whom the Economist described as a "firm radical." He, like most Iranians in power, does not believe in the existence of Israel. He defended the taking of hostages at the U.S. Embassy in Iran in 1979, which led to the break in ties between the countries. He was part of a regime that regularly executed dissidents and backed the fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie. And as late as April, he opposed suspending the country's nuclear-enrichment program but said it would not be diverted to weapons use. "I wouldn't go as far as (call it) a 'Velvet Revolution,'" Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said of the phrase many are using to describe the rallies in Iran.

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(CNN) -- A North Carolina resident was found guilty Thursday on terrorism charges including conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure people overseas. Anes Subasic, a 35-year old naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Bosnia, also was convicted of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. He will face up to life in prison at sentencing in August. Subasic is the seventh member of a North Carolina group of men convicted of terror activities. They were led by Daniel Boyd, who pleaded guilty in February 2011 to conspiring to kill people abroad and to provide material support to terrorists. Boyd's sentencing was delayed so that he could testify against three other co-conspirators who were found guilty last fall. Two of Boyd's sons also pleaded guilty and are in prison. According to the government, from November 2006 until at least July 2009, Subasic and the others worked to provide money, weapons training, transportation and personnel to "advance violent jihad." "Subasic was part of a group of terrorists; some viewed their own country as the enemy," said M. Chris Briese, who heads the FBI's Charlotte field office. "Subasic was part of a conspiracy to commit violent acts against U.S. service members and others abroad," said John Khin, an official with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. In a separate trial last fall, Subasic was convicted on two counts of illegally obtaining citizenship. An eighth man, Jude Kenan Mohammad, also was charged in the terror conspiracy. He has never been arrested and officials believe he is in Pakistan or may have died.

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Shelly wanted a puppy. She asked her mommy and daddy every day for one. She told them that she would help take care of the puppy, if she could have one. Her mommy and daddy talked it over and said that they would get Shelly a new puppy. Her mommy took her to the dog pound so that she could choose one that she wanted. All the puppies at the dog pound need a loving home. Shelly went to every cage and looked each puppy in the eyes and talked to each one. After each one, she told her mommy, "No, this isn't the one for me." Finally, she saw a black and white spotted one that she fell in love with. She screamed, "Mommy, this is the one!" Her mommy asked the worker to take the puppy out so that Shelly could make sure. Shelly and the puppy fell in love with each other right away. Shelly and her mommy took the black and white spotted puppy home with them. Shelly was so excited that she talked all the way home. After thinking hard, Shelly had a name for her new puppy, Spot. Now, Shelly has a new best friend and they play together every day when Shelly gets home from school.

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(CNN) -- Hilary Duff says her new album is "very positive" but admits that it started out "a lot heavier and a lot darker" because of the separation from her husband, Mike Comrie. "I'm separated from my husband right now, which has been a very difficult thing to go through," she told Billboard's "Pop Shop" podcast. "In the beginning, the album was a lot heavier and a lot darker, because I had to get that out. Once I did get that out, a lot of fun came." Duff married Comrie, a former pro hockey player, in 2010 after dating for three years. Their son, Luca, was born in 2012. Duff and Comrie announced their separation in January. Duff, 26, admits that she's "nervous" after being away from music for seven years. Her just-released single, "Chasing the Sun," is from her still-untitled album, which will be her first studio release since 2007's "Dignity." She says she first started thinking of new material when she was pregnant with her son. After having the child and taking another year, she was even more anxious. "I felt like I was missing a big part of myself," she said. Duff established a successful singing career on the heels of her popular Disney show, "Lizzie McGuire," which aired from 2001 to 2004. She spent most of her teenage years touring and says that turning 20 was a big factor in leaving the road. "It was time for me to be a person, and the break just ended up being a long time," she said.

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"I wish our bank would be robbed," said George Pickens, the bank clerk, to himself. "If one day a robber holds up me. And if I have to give him a certain amount of money. What is to prevent me keeping all the money left and claiming that the robber had taken it?" Just then a tall and strong man walked in, wearing a mask. "This is a holdup!" the man said. Roughly, taking a gun from his pocket and stepping over to George's cage. "All right, hand it over!" "Yes, sir," said George. "Would you like it in ten-or twenty-dollar bills?" "Just hand it over!" said the robber. George took all the bills from the top section close to six thousand dollars. He passed them through the window. The robber snatched them, stuffed them into his pocket, and turned to leave. Then, while everyone was watching the robber, George calmly lifted off the top section of the cashbox and slipped bills from the bottom section into his pockets. The door swung and the robber was gone. George fell down and fainted. When he came to he smiled up at the worried faces looking down at him. "I'm all right," he stated bravely. "You might just as well go home, George." Mr. Bell, the chief accountant, said. As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George took the money from his pockets and counted it. Seven thousand dollars! The next morning when George arrived at the bank, it was not open for business, but everyone was there, helping to check the bank's accounts. George was called into Mr. Burrows' office. The bank president seemed strangely cheerful. "George," he said, "I want you to meet Mr. Charles, who used to be president of our bank." "Good morning, George," said the former president. "I was extremely sorry to hear you fainted yesterday. Are you all right now?" "Yes, sir, just fine, thanks." "I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days, I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everybody on his toes." "I don't understand," said George. "What game?" The old man laughed and quickly took out a mask. He placed it over his face and said, "All right. Hand it over!" Mr. Burrows laughed but George didn't. "And the money?" George asked in a faint voice. "Don't worry," Mr. Charles said. "I put it all back in your cashbox--- all six thousand. We're just finishing up the check-up now." Behind them, the door opened and Mr. Bell put his head into the room. "Mr. Burrows," he said gravely, "may I see you a moment?"

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One evening Charlie was on his way home from the railway station. When he turned round a corner, he heard footsteps behind him and he thought someone was coming near. He began to walk fast. The footsteps came fast, too. He slowed down. The footsteps also slowed down. Now he was sure that someone must be going after him. He tried to hide. Still the steps followed him. He didn't know how to save himself, so he jumped over some tall grass and hid himself in a cemetery . He threw himself down on one of tombs . The man behind came near. Charlie could hear the man jump over the grass. Thoughts of thieves and robbers filled his mind. Charlie stood up and faced the man. "What do you want? Why are you coming after me?" He asked. "I say," the stranger asked, "do you always go home like this, or are you taking some special exercise tonight? I want to go to Mr. Green's and don't know the way. The station master told me to follow you as you live next door. Excuse me for asking, but is there much farther to go before we get there?"

gutenberg

CHAPTER XVIII A MEETING OF SOCIALISTS The _brasserie_ into which the two men pushed their way was smaller and less ornate than the one which they had last visited. Many of the tables, too, were laid for supper. The tone of the place was still entirely Teutonic. Kendricks and his companion seated themselves at a table. "You will eat sausage?" Kendricks asked. "I will eat anything," Julien replied. "It is better," Kendricks remarked. "Here from the first we may be watched. We are certainly observed. Be sure that you do not let fall a single word of English. It might be awkward afterwards." "It's a beastly language," Julien declared, "but the beer and sausages help. How many of the people here will be at the meeting?" "Not a hundredth part of them," Kendricks answered. "It was a terrible job to get these tickets and I wouldn't like to guarantee now that we have them that we get there. Remember, if any questions are asked, you're an American, the editor or envoy of _The Coming Age._" "The dickens I am!" Julien exclaimed. "Where am I published?" "In New York; you're a new issue." Julien ate sausages and bread and butter steadily for several minutes. "To me," he announced, "there is something more satisfying about a meal of this description than that two-franc dinner where you stole my chicken." "You have Teutonic instincts, without a doubt," Kendricks declared, "but after all, why not a light dinner and an appetite for supper? Better for the digestion, better for the pocket, better for passing the time. What are you staring at?"

cnn

Washington (CNN) -- A former CIA base chief wanted by Italy and detained in Panama has been released, a State Department spokeswoman said Friday. Robert Seldon Lady, who had been convicted by an Italian court for his role in a 2003 rendition case, was flying back to the United States. "It's my understanding that he is in fact either en route or back in the United States. Beyond that I have no further details," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters. In a 2009 trial, an Italian court convicted Lady and 22 others of abducting Osama Mustafa Hassan Nasr, or Abu Omar, from the streets of Milan in 2003. Italian prosecutors said Abu Omar was nabbed by a CIA team working with Italian officials. The trial was the first to deal with a practice that human rights groups call "extraordinary rendition." They say the United States has often transferred terrorism suspects to countries that practice torture. Abu Omar, who was suspected of recruiting men to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan and was under heavy surveillance by Italy's intelligence agency, was transferred to Egypt and tortured, Italian prosecutors said. A former senior CIA official said Lady is no longer with the CIA. In the 2009 trial, the Italian court sentenced Lady to eight years in prison, prosecutor Armando Spataro said. The other Americans were sentenced to five years. Each of the 23 Americans was ordered to pay 1 million euros (about $1.3 million) to Abu Omar, plus 500,000 euros to his wife.

wikipedia

Eton is one of ten English HMC schools, commonly referred to as "public schools", regulated by the Public Schools Act of 1868. Following the public school tradition, Eton is a full boarding school, which means all pupils live at the school, and it is one of four such remaining single-sex boys' public schools in the United Kingdom (the others being Harrow, Radley, and Winchester) to continue this practice. Eton has educated 19 British prime ministers and generations of the aristocracy and has been referred to as the chief nurse of England's statesmen. Charging up to £11,478 per term (there are three terms per academic year) in 2014/15, Eton is the sixth most expensive HMC boarding school in the UK. Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. David Cameron is the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school, and has recommended that Eton set up a school in the state sector to help drive up standards. Eton now co-sponsors a state sixth-form college in Newham, a deprived area of East London, called the London Academy of Excellence, opened in 2012, which is free of charge and aims to get all its students into higher education. In September 2014, Eton opened, and became the sole educational sponsor for, a new purpose-built co-educational state boarding and day school for around 500 pupils, Holyport College, in Maidenhead in Berkshire, with construction costing around £15 million, in which a fifth of places for day pupils will be set aside for children from poor homes, 21 boarding places will go to youngsters on the verge of being taken into care, and a further 28 boarders will be funded or part-funded through bursaries.

wikipedia

Malawi (, or ; or [maláwi]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. Malawi is over with an estimated population of 16,777,547 (July 2013 est.). Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre, the third is Mzuzu and the fourth largest is its old capital Zomba. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa". Malawi is among the smallest countries in Africa. Lake Malawi takes up about a third of Malawi's area. The area of Africa now known as Malawi was settled by migrating Bantu groups around the 10th century. Centuries later in 1891 the area was colonised by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, a protectorate of the United Kingdom, became a protectorate within the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved in 1963. In 1964 the protectorate over Nyasaland was ended and Nyasaland became an independent country under Queen Elizabeth II with the new name Malawi. Two years later it became a republic. Upon gaining independence it became a one-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he lost an election. Arthur Peter Mutharika is the current president. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. The country has a Malawian Defence Force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the African Union (AU).

wikipedia

The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for supremacy in spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the missile-based nuclear arms race between the two nations that occurred following World War II, enabled by captured German rocket technology and personnel. The technological superiority required for such supremacy was seen as necessary for national security, and symbolic of ideological superiority. The Space Race spawned pioneering efforts to launch artificial satellites, unmanned space probes of the Moon, Venus, and Mars, and human spaceflight in low Earth orbit and to the Moon. The competition began on August 2, 1955, when the Soviet Union responded to the US announcement four days earlier of intent to launch artificial satellites for the International Geophysical Year, by declaring they would also launch a satellite "in the near future". The Soviet Union beat the US to this, with the October 4, 1957 orbiting of Sputnik 1, and later beat the US to the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The Space Race peaked with the July 20, 1969 US landing of the first humans on the Moon with Apollo 11. The USSR tried but failed manned lunar missions, and eventually cancelled them and concentrated on Earth orbital space stations. A period of détente followed with the April 1972 agreement on a co-operative Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, resulting in the July 1975 rendezvous in Earth orbit of a US astronaut crew with a Soviet cosmonaut crew.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IX Both men were awake early, silent with the premonition of trouble ahead, thoughtful of the fact that the time for the long-planned action was at hand. It was remarkable that a man as loquacious as Euchre could hold his tongue so long; and this was significant of the deadly nature of the intended deed. During breakfast he said a few words customary in the service of food. At the conclusion of the meal he seemed to come to an end of deliberation. "Buck, the sooner the better now," he declared, with a glint in his eye. "The more time we use up now the less surprised Bland'll be." "I'm ready when you are," replied Duane, quietly, and he rose from the table. "Wal, saddle up, then," went on Euchre, gruffly. "Tie on them two packs I made, one fer each saddle. You can't tell--mebbe either hoss will be carryin' double. It's good they're both big, strong hosses. Guess thet wasn't a wise move of your Uncle Euchre's--bringin' in your hosses an' havin' them ready?" "Euchre, I hope you're not going to get in bad here. I'm afraid you are. Let me do the rest now," said Duane. The old outlaw eyed him sarcastically. "Thet 'd be turrible now, wouldn't it? If you want to know, why, I'm in bad already. I didn't tell you thet Alloway called me last night. He's gettin' wise pretty quick." "Euchre, you're going with me?" queried Duane, suddenly divining the truth. "Wal, I reckon. Either to hell or safe over the mountain! I wisht I was a gun-fighter. I hate to leave here without takin' a peg at Jackrabbit Benson. Now, Buck, you do some hard figgerin' while I go nosin' round. It's pretty early, which 's all the better."

cnn

(CNN) -- Before he was Pope Benedict XVI, before he earned the nickname "Cardinal No" as the enforcer of church doctrine, he was Joseph Ratzinger -- the son of Maria and police officer Joseph Ratzinger, learning about life and God in Germany between two world wars. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, Benedict is not only the church's leader but God's representative on earth and infallible. He is also a man -- one who savors his meat and potatoes, an accomplished pianist who loves Mozart, and a teacher who for years commanded university classes. His humanity became apparent Monday, when the Vatican announced he'd resign at month's end "because of advanced age," becoming the first pope in nearly 600 years to do so. After his birth on April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in southeastern Germany near the Austrian border, Ratzinger's early years were defined by his country and the turbulent times, as well as his faith. Adolf Hitler rose to power during Ratzinger's adolescent years in Traunstein, in the heavily Catholic region of Bavaria. When he was 14, school officials followed Nazi officials' orders and enrolled him and the rest of his class in the Hitler Youth movement -- against his will, Ratzinger wrote in his memoir. He left the organization shortly thereafter, because he was studying for the priesthood. But in 1943, Ratzinger was brought back into the Nazi fold upon being drafted into the German army. For the next two years, Ratzinger served his country as part of an anti-aircraft unit. But in the waning days of World War II, he deserted -- and was taken prisoner by the U.S. Army.

cnn

(CNN) -- We first thought about starting this piece with the story of Saleha Begum, a survivor of Bangladesh's 1971 war in which, some reports say, as many as 400,000 women were raped. Begum had been tied to a banana tree and repeatedly gang raped and burned with cigarettes for months until she was shot and left for dead in a pile of women. She didn't die, though, and was able to return home, ravaged and five months pregnant. When she got home she was branded a "slut." We also thought of starting with the story of Ester Abeja, a woman in Uganda who was forcibly held as a "bush wife" by the Lord's Resistance Army. Repeated rape with objects destroyed her insides. Her captors also made her kill her 1-year-old daughter by smashing the baby's head into a tree. We ran through a dozen other stories of women like Begum and Abeja, and finally realized that it would be too difficult to find the right one -- the tale that would express exactly how and in what ways sexualized violence is being used as a weapon of war to devastate women and tear apart communities around the world, conflict by conflict, from Libya to the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is because of this complexity that we must understand how sexualized violence is being used. We must understand in order to stop it -- just as, when seeking to defuse a bomb, it is crucial to know its components. Both the World Health Organization and the U.N. Security Council have recognized that there is a lack of research on the nature and extent of sexualized violence in conflict, even as there is increasing demand from U.N. bodies, donors, and others for better analysis to work toward prevention and healing.

wikipedia

Index Medicus (IM) is a curated subset of MEDLINE, which is a bibliographic database of life science and biomedical science information, principally scientific journal articles. From 1879 to 2004, "Index Medicus" was a comprehensive bibliographic index of such articles in the form of a print index or (in later years) its onscreen equivalent. It was begun by John Shaw Billings, head of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, United States Army. This library later evolved into the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM). In the 1960s, the NLM began the indexing work by creating MEDLARS, a bibliographic database, which became MEDLINE. "Index Medicus" thus became the print presentation of the MEDLINE database's content, which users accessed usually by visiting a library which subscribed to "Index Medicus" (for example, a university scientist at the university library). It continued in this role through the 1980s and 1990s, while various electronic presentations of MEDLINE's content also evolved, first with proprietary online services (accessed mostly at libraries) and later with CD-ROMs, then with Entrez and PubMed. As users gradually migrated from print to online use, "Index Medicus" print subscriptions dwindled. During the 1990s, the dissemination of home internet connections, the launch of the Web and web browsers, and the launch of PubMed greatly accelerated the shift of online access to MEDLINE from something one did at the library to something one did anywhere. This dissemination, along with the superior usability of search compared with use of a print index in serving the user's purpose (which is to distill relevant subsets of information from a vast superset), caused the use of MEDLINE's print output, "Index Medicus", to drop precipitously. In 2004, print publication ceased. Today, "Index Medicus" and "Abridged Index Medicus" still exist conceptually as content curation services that curate MEDLINE content into search subsets or database views (in other words, subsets of MEDLINE records from some journals but not others). This filters search results with a view toward excluding poor-quality articles (such as by excluding junk journals), which is often helpful depending on the needs of the user.

wikipedia

In context of spaceflight, a satellite is an artificial object which has been intentionally placed into orbit. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon. In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Since then, about 6,600 satellites from more than 40 countries have been launched. According to a 2013 estimate, 3,600 remained in orbit. Of those, about 1,000 were operational; while the rest have lived out their useful lives and became space debris. Approximately 500 operational satellites are in low-Earth orbit, 50 are in medium-Earth orbit (at 20,000 km), and the rest are in geostationary orbit (at 36,000 km). A few large satellites have been launched in parts and assembled in orbit. Over a dozen space probes have been placed into orbit around other bodies and become artificial satellites to the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, a few asteroids, and the Sun. Satellites are used for many purposes. Common types include military and civilian Earth observation satellites, communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and space telescopes. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XI BORROWDEAN SHOWS HIS "HAND" "To be plain with you," Borrowdean remarked, "Mannering's defection would be irremediable. He alone unites Redford, myself, and--well, to put it crudely, let us say the Imperialistic Liberal Party with Manningham and the old-fashioned Whigs who prefer the ruts. There is no other leader possible. Redford and I talked till daylight this morning. Now, can nothing be done with Mannering?" "To be plain with you, too, then, Sir Leslie," Berenice answered, "I do not think that anything can be done with him. In his present frame of mind I should say that he is better left alone. He has worked himself up into a thoroughly sentimental and nervous state. For the moment he has lost his sense of balance." Borrowdean nodded. "Desperate necessity," he said, "sometimes justifies desperate measures. We need Mannering, the country and our cause need him. If argument will not prevail there is one last alternative left to us. It may not be such an alternative as we should choose, but beggars must not be choosers. I think that you will know what I mean." "I have no idea," Berenice answered. "You are aware," he continued, "that there is in Mannering's past history an episode, the publication of which would entail somewhat serious consequences to him." "Well?" It was a most eloquent monosyllable, but Borrowdean had gone too far to retreat. "I propose that we make use of it," he said. "Mannering's attitude is rankly foolish, or I would not suggest such a thing. But I hold that we are entitled, under the circumstances, to make use of any means whatever to bring him to his senses."

cnn

(CNN) -- If the global economy remains sluggish, a small corner of the British horse racing hub of Newmarket is very much bucking the trend. It is nearly quarter of a millennium since Richard Tattersall founded his eponymous bloodstock auctioneers and, in 2013, Tattersalls' business is booming. Back in October behind the gates of Tattersalls Park Paddocks, a record was set for the most ever spent on a horse in Europe -- $8.4 million (£5.25 million) -- for the Galileo filly by Alluring Park. In a nod to its old roots, all sales are still priced in guineas (effectively a pound and a shilling) so Qatari Sheikh Joann al Thani parted with five million guineas for the honor of buying this prestigious filly. Excitement, though, is building at Tattersalls once more with the first offering from Frankel having retired and gone to stud with the pregnant Dancing Rain undoubtedly the most mouth-watering prospect going under the hammer at the two-week December sale, which starts on November 25. Dancing Rain won both the Oaks and its German equivalent and it is more than 50 years since an Oaks winner carrying her first foal has been sold in public auction. The fact the foal she is carrying is the offspring of Frankel, with 14 wins from as many races and undoubtedly the most acclaimed horse of its generation, makes the prospect all the more exciting. Jimmy George, the marketing director at Tattersalls, is loathe to say he expects the record to be broken but big money will undoubtedly change hands.

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Online with Linda Sheila Posted 18-12-18.25 I'm very worried about my friend,Joleen.She's thin but she thinks she is fat.She is always on a diet.She thinks it's necessary for her to lose more weight.She wants to be model.She has photographs of thin models on her bedroom walls.I think she's getting too thin,but if I talk to her about this,she get worried .How can I help her? Simon Posted 18-12-19.00 Sometimes ,I'm concerned about the pressure I get from my frinds.For example,yesterday I was with a group of frinds.We saw a woman lying on the street.She looked very sick.My friends made some jokes about her and laughed,but I wanted to help her.However,my friends told me not to,and I listened to them.Now I feel ashamed.It was cruel of my friends to laugh at her but I wasn't strong enough to say anything. Dear Sheila, You are right to be worried about friend,Joleen.This is a serious problem.She should not continue to be on a diet if she is very thin,she may have an illness called "anorexia".Anorexia people are afraid of eating food.You must advise her to see a doctor soon. If she won't do that,you should talk to her parents or to a teacher. Dear Simon, You feel ashamed because you should have helped the woman.You are right.Your friends were cruel to that woman.We all want our friend to like us.But we don't have to follow our friends all the time.You're a good boy.You should be strong enough to make up your own mind next time.

gutenberg

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. A SLEEPLESS BUT A PLEASANT NIGHT. The evening which followed the day that has just been described was bright, calm, and beautiful, with the starry host unclouded and distinctly visible to the profoundest depths of space. As it was intended to send the _Smeaton_ to Arbroath next morning for a cargo of stones from the building-yard, the wrecked party were prevailed on to remain all night on board the _Pharos_, instead of going ashore in one of the ship's boats, which could not well be spared at the time. This arrangement, we need hardly say, gave inexpressible pleasure to Ruby, and was not altogether distasteful to Minnie, although she felt anxious about Mrs Brand, who would naturally be much alarmed at the prolonged absence of herself and the captain. However, "there was no help for it"; and it was wonderful the resignation which she displayed in the circumstances. It was not Ruby's duty to watch on deck that night, yet, strange to say, Ruby kept watch the whole night long! There was no occasion whatever for Minnie to go on deck after it was dark, yet, strange to say, Minnie kept coming on deck at intervals _nearly_ the whole night long! Sometimes to "look at the stars", sometimes to "get a mouthful of fresh air", frequently to find out what "that strange noise could be that had alarmed her", and at last-- especially towards the early hours of morning--for no reason whatever, except that "she could not sleep below."

cnn

(CNN) -- Camille Olivia Hanks was studying at the University of Maryland when she met Bill Cosby in the early '60s. He was doing stand-up comedy in Washington when the two were set up on a blind date. They fell in love and she left school to support his burgeoning career in entertainment. By 1964, the two were married and they would go on to have five children together. In 1997, their son Ennis (who inspired the character Theo Huxtable) was murdered, and a few years later Dr. Camille Cosby did a one-on-one with Oprah explaining how she'd eventually been able to find joy after mourning the loss of a child. Throughout that interview it was so clear that you were looking at the real-life Clair Huxtable that even Oprah seemed a bit star-struck by her poise and grace. During her 2000 appearance on Oprah, Camille revealed: "I became keenly aware of myself in my mid-thirties. I went through a transition. I decided to go back to school, because I had dropped out of college to marry Bill when I was 19. I had five children, and I decided to go back. I didn't feel fulfilled educationally. I dropped out of school at the end of my sophomore year. So I went back, and when I did, my self-esteem grew. I got my master's, then decided to get my doctoral degree. Education helped me to come out of myself." When asked why she wasn't content to just settle for being the wife of a famous entertainer she continued:

wikipedia

Kansas is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name (natively "") is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. Kansas was first settled by European Americans in 1812, in what is now Bonner Springs, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When it was officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854 with the Kansas–Nebraska Act, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists prevailed, and on January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas grew rapidly when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into farmland.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIV. JULIUS TAKES A HAND IN his suite at Claridge's, Kramenin reclined on a couch and dictated to his secretary in sibilant Russian. Presently the telephone at the secretary's elbow purred, and he took up the receiver, spoke for a minute or two, then turned to his employer. "Some one below is asking for you." "Who is it?" "He gives the name of Mr. Julius P. Hersheimmer." "Hersheimmer," repeated Kramenin thoughtfully. "I have heard that name before." "His father was one of the steel kings of America," explained the secretary, whose business it was to know everything. "This young man must be a millionaire several times over." The other's eyes narrowed appreciatively. "You had better go down and see him, Ivan. Find out what he wants." The secretary obeyed, closing the door noiselessly behind him. In a few minutes he returned. "He declines to state his business--says it is entirely private and personal, and that he must see you." "A millionaire several times over," murmured Kramenin. "Bring him up, my dear Ivan." The secretary left the room once more, and returned escorting Julius. "Monsieur Kramenin?" said the latter abruptly. The Russian, studying him attentively with his pale venomous eyes, bowed. "Pleased to meet you," said the American. "I've got some very important business I'd like to talk over with you, if I can see you alone." He looked pointedly at the other. "My secretary, Monsieur Grieber, from whom I have no secrets." "That may be so--but I have," said Julius dryly. "So I'd be obliged if you'd tell him to scoot."

mctest

Katie went to the store. She needed to buy some flowers. She also needed to buy a snack and a bow. The store is down the street. Katie's mother drove her to the store. Her mother is named June. Katie looked around for the flowers. She found some pink ones. Katie then looked for the snacks. She wanted cookies not chips. She found some chocolate cookies. Katie then looked for a bow. She wanted to get one for her cat. Her cat is named James. James likes wearing bows. Katie also has a dog, but he does not like bows. His name is Sammy. Katie gave the bow to James the cat. He liked it. Katie ate her snack. She likes chocolate cookies. Katie gave the flowers to her mother. Her mother was very happy. She likes flowers. Katie did not get anything for Sammy. She gave Sammy a hug instead. Sammy likes hugs. James does not like hugs. Katie had a great day.

wikipedia

Operation Barbarossa (German: "Unternehmen Barbarossa") was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, starting Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. The operation stemmed from Nazi Germany's ideological aims to conquer the western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans, to use Slavs as a slave-labour force for the Axis war-effort, and to seize the oil reserves of the Caucasus and the agricultural resources of Soviet territories. In the two years leading up to the invasion, Germany and the Soviet Union signed political and economic pacts for strategic purposes. Nevertheless, the German High Command began planning an invasion of the Soviet Union in July 1940 (under the codename Operation Otto), which Adolf Hitler authorized on 18 December 1940. Over the course of the operation, about four million Axis personnel, the largest invasion force in the history of warfare, invaded the western Soviet Union along a front. In addition to troops, the Wehrmacht employed some 600,000 motor vehicles, and between 600,000 and 700,000 horses for non-combat operations. The offensive marked an escalation of the war, both geographically and in the formation of the Allied coalition. Operationally, German forces achieved major victories and occupied some of the most important economic areas of the Soviet Union, mainly in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and inflicted, as well as sustained, heavy casualties. Despite these Axis successes, the German offensive stalled in the Battle of Moscow and subsequently the Soviet winter counteroffensive pushed German troops back. The Red Army absorbed the Wehrmacht's strongest blows and forced the unprepared Germans into a war of attrition. The Wehrmacht would never again mount a simultaneous offensive along the entire strategic Soviet–Axis front. The failure of the operation drove Hitler to demand further operations of increasingly limited scope inside the Soviet Union, such as Case Blue in 1942 and Operation Citadel in 1943 — all of which eventually failed.

cnn

(CNN) -- The driver of a Toyota Prius says he was taken on a wild ride Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck, reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph on a winding, hilly portion of a southern California interstate. It took the California Highway Patrol to bring the car safely to a stop. The driver, Jim Sikes, said he was traveling east on Interstate 8 outside of the San Diego area when he attempted to pass a slower vehicle. "I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car, and it just did something kind of funny ... and it just stuck there," he said at a news conference outside a Highway Patrol office. "As I was going, I was trying the brakes ... and it just kept speeding up." Sikes said he called 911 for help, and dispatchers talked him through instructions on how he might be able to stop the car. But nothing worked. At one point, Sikes said he reached down to try to pull the accelerator up, but it "stayed right where it was." Alerted by emergency dispatchers, a California Highway Patrol officer was able to catch up to Sikes' Prius and used the patrol car's public address system to instruct Sikes to apply the brakes and the emergency brake at the same time. The tactic worked, and the car slowed to about 50 mph. Sikes said he was able to shut off the car, and it rolled to a stop. The responding officer, Todd Neibert, positioned his patrol car in front of the Prius as a precaution to prevent it from moving again.

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CHAPTER LVIII. "Fairoaks to let" Our poor widow (with the assistance of her faithful Martha of Fairoaks, who laughed and wondered at the German ways, and superintend the affairs of the simple household) had made a little feast in honour of Major Pendennis's arrival, of which, however, only the Major and his two younger friends partook, for Helen sent to say that she was too unwell to dine at their table, and Laura bore her company. The Major talked for the party, and did not perceive, or choose to perceive, what a gloom and silence pervaded the other two sharers of the modest dinner. It was evening before Helen and Laura came into the sitting-room to join the company there. She came in leaning on Laura, with her back to the waning light, so that Arthur could not see how pallid and woe-stricken her face was, and as she went up to Pen, whom she had not seen during the day, and placed her fond arms on his shoulders and kissed him tenderly, Laura left her, and moved away to another part of the room. Pen remarked that his mother's voice and her whole frame trembled, her hand was clammy cold as she put it up to his forehead, piteously embracing him. The spectacle of her misery only added, somehow, to the wrath and testiness of the young man. He scarcely returned the kiss which the suffering lady gave him: and the countenance with which he met the appeal of her look was hard and cruel. "She persecutes me," he thought within himself, "and she comes to me with the air of a martyr!" "You look very ill, my child," she said. "I don't like to see you look in that way." And she tottered to a sofa, still holding one of his passive hands in her thin cold clinging fingers.

cnn

The exact number of exonerated American prisoners is unknown. But data gathered by university law schools indicates it's more than 2,000. Fascinating details surrounding some of these exonerations set them apart from the rest. Here are five recent exonerations that made headlines. 1. Michael Morton The subject of a CNN film, Michael Morton wasn't home when his wife, Christine, was beaten to death in front of their 3-year-old son at their Austin, Texas-area home in 1986. But a prosecutor said the evidence suggested otherwise. The problem was, the jury was prevented from hearing all the evidence in the case. Wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, a team of loyal supporters and DNA evidence helped Morton win his freedom in 2011. Last month, Morton's former prosecutor pleaded no contest to a court order to show cause regarding evidence that was not used in the trial. Read more about Michael Morton's story 2. Brian Banks and the incredible twist At age 17, fearing a potentially long sentence, college football hopeful Brian Banks followed the advice of his attorney and pleaded no contest to assaulting a Long Beach, California, high school classmate in 2002. Banks maintained his innocence throughout nearly six years of imprisonment, subsequent probation and registration as a sex offender. But in 2011, the case took an incredible twist when the alleged victim sent Banks a Facebook friend request. According to the California Innocence Project, the woman later admitted that Banks had not kidnapped or raped her during a consensual encounter at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, where Banks was a middle linebacker with a scholarship offer from the University of Southern California.

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CHAPTER VII. WHAT PASSED UNDER THE PINE AND WHAT REMAINED THERE. Ramirez was not as happy in his revenge as he had anticipated. He had, in an instant of impulsive rage, fired his mine prematurely, and, as he feared, impotently. Gabriel had not visibly sickened, faded, nor fallen blighted under the exposure of his wife's deceit. It was even doubtful, as far as Ramirez could judge from his quiet reception of the revelation, whether he would even call that wife to account for it. Again, Ramirez was unpleasantly conscious that this exposure had lost some of its dignity and importance by being wrested from his as a _confession_ made under pressure or duress. Worse than all, he had lost the opportunity of previously threatening Mrs. Conroy with the disclosure, and the delicious spectacle of her discomfiture. In point of fact his revenge had been limited to the cautious cowardice of the anonymous letter-writer, who, stabbing in the dark, enjoys neither the contemplation of the agonies of his victim, nor the assertion of his own individual power. To this torturing reflection a terrible suspicion of the Spanish translator, Perkins, was superadded. For Gabriel, Ramirez had only that contempt which every lawless lover has for the lawful husband of his mistress, while for Perkins he had that agonising doubt which every lawless lover has for every other man but the husband. In making this exposure had he not precipitated a catastrophe as fatal to himself as to the husband? Might they not both drive this woman into the arms of another man? Ramirez paced the little bedroom of the Grand Conroy Hotel, a prey to that bastard remorse of all natures like his own,--the overwhelming consciousness of opportunities for villany misspent.

cnn

(CNN) -- Garrick Utley, who worked as a globetrotting foreign correspondent during the flush decades of network news, has died at age 74 of prostate cancer, his wife of 40 years said Friday. "He has been fighting -- as you always call it -- prostate cancer for two years," Gertje Utley said. "He had a very, very rare, very aggressive kind." He died Thursday night at his home in New York overlooking Central Park, she said. "He was really the old kind of journalist," she said of her husband, who reported from more than 75 countries. "He was the old kind of trenchcoat-clad journalist who wrote his own copy -- always wrote his own copy." During his early years at NBC, the network did not scrimp on devoting resources to newsgathering, she said. "That's what he always talked about: The early days were the lucky days." Born in Chicago in 1939 to a radio and television news couple, Clifton and Frayn Utley, Garrick graduated from Carleton College and studied at the Army Language School in Monterey, California, before winning a Fulbright Scholarship and moving to Berlin to study East-West relations, she said. In 1963, NBC's John Chancellor -- who had worked for Utley's father -- hired him as an office assistant in the network's bureau in Brussels, Belgium, she said. After NBC News's "Huntley-Brinkley Report" expanded that year from 15 minutes to half an hour, the network was looking for more material, and Utley caught the eye of the brass. "He covered a couple of stories for the Common Market, as it was called then," she said of what is now the European Economic Community, and did some work in London.

wikipedia

McGill University is a public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1821 by royal charter, granted by King George IV of the United Kingdom. The University bears the name of James McGill, a Montreal merchant from Scotland whose bequest in 1813 formed the university's precursor, McGill College. McGill's main campus is located at Mount Royal in downtown Montreal, with the second campus situated in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, also on the Montreal Island, 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of the main campus. Its academic units are organized into 11 main Faculties and Schools. The University is one of two members of the Association of American Universities located outside the United States, and it is the only Canadian member of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), within the World Economic Forum, which is made up of 26 of the world's top universities. McGill offers degrees and diplomas in over 300 fields of study, with the highest average admission requirements of any Canadian university. Most students are enrolled in the five largest faculties, namely Arts, Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Management. McGill counts among its alumni 12 Nobel laureates and 142 Rhodes Scholars, both the most in Canada, as well as five astronauts, three Canadian prime ministers, 13 justices of the Canadian Supreme Court, four foreign leaders, 28 foreign ambassadors, nine Academy Award (Oscars) winners, 11 Grammy Award winners, three Pulitzer Prize winners, and 28 Olympic medalists, all of varying nationalities. Throughout its long history, McGill alumni were instrumental in inventing or initially organizing football, basketball, and ice hockey. McGill University or its alumni also founded several major universities and colleges, including the Universities of British Columbia, Victoria, and Alberta, the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Dawson College.

wikipedia

Arizona (; ; O'odham: "Alĭ ṣonak" [ˡaɺi ˡʂonak]) is a state in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the Western and the Mountain states. It is the sixth largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is one of the Four Corners states. It has borders with New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, and Mexico, and one point in common with the southwestern corner of Colorado. Arizona's border with Mexico is 389 miles (626 km) long, on the northern border of the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. Arizona is the 48th state and last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieving statehood on February 14, 1912. Historically part of the territory of "Alta California" in New Spain, it became part of independent Mexico in 1821. After being defeated in the Mexican–American War, Mexico ceded much of this territory to the United States in 1848. The southernmost portion of the state was acquired in 1853 through the Gadsden Purchase. Southern Arizona is known for its desert climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. Northern Arizona features forests of pine, Douglas fir, and spruce trees; the Colorado Plateau; some mountain ranges (such as the San Francisco Mountains); as well as large, deep canyons, with much more moderate summer temperatures and significant winter snowfalls. There are ski resorts in the areas of Flagstaff, Alpine, and Tucson. In addition to the Grand Canyon National Park, there are several national forests, national parks, and national monuments.

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The game pad controllers were more-or-less copied directly from the Game & Watch machines, although the Famicom design team originally wanted to use arcade-style joysticks, even taking apart ones from American game consoles to see how they worked. However, it was eventually decided that children might step on joysticks left on the floor and their durability was also questioned. Katsuyah Nakawaka attached a Game & Watch D-pad to the Famicom prototype and found that it was easy to use and had no discomfort. Ultimately though, they did install a 15-pin expansion port on the front of the console so that an arcade-style joystick could be used optionally. The controllers were hard-wired to the console with no connectors for cost reasons. At June 1985's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Nintendo unveiled the American version of its Famicom. This is the system which would eventually be officially deployed as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the colloquial "NES". Nintendo seeded these first systems to limited American test markets starting in New York City on October 18, 1985, following up with a full-fledged North American release of the console in February of the following year. Nintendo released 17 launch titles: 10-Yard Fight, Baseball, Clu Clu Land, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Golf, Gyromite, Hogan’s Alley, Ice Climber, Kung Fu, Pinball, Soccer, Stack-Up, Tennis, Wild Gunman, Wrecking Crew, and Super Mario Bros.h[›] Some varieties of these launch games contained Famicom chips with an adapter inside the cartridge so they would play on North American consoles, which is why the title screen of Gyromite has the Famicom title "Robot Gyro" and the title screen of Stack-Up has the Famicom title "Robot Block".

wikipedia

By the 1890s the profound effect of adrenal extracts on many different tissue types had been discovered, setting off a search both for the mechanism of chemical signalling and efforts to exploit these observations for the development of new drugs. The blood pressure raising and vasoconstrictive effects of adrenal extracts were of particular interest to surgeons as hemostatic agents and as treatment for shock, and a number of companies developed products based on adrenal extracts containing varying purities of the active substance. In 1897 John Abel of Johns Hopkins University identified the active principle as epinephrine, which he isolated in an impure state as the sulfate salt. Industrial chemist Jokichi Takamine later developed a method for obtaining epinephrine in a pure state, and licensed the technology to Parke Davis. Parke Davis marketed epinephrine under the trade name Adrenalin. Injected epinephrine proved to be especially efficacious for the acute treatment of asthma attacks, and an inhaled version was sold in the United States until 2011 (Primatene Mist). By 1929 epinephrine had been formulated into an inhaler for use in the treatment of nasal congestion.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXVII A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE If Jimmy had entertained any doubts concerning the effectiveness of this disclosure, they would have vanished at the sight of the other's face. Just as the rich hues of a sunset pale slowly into an almost imperceptible green, so did the purple of Sir Thomas's cheeks become, in stages, first a dull red, then pink, and finally take on a uniform pallor. His mouth hung open. His attitude of righteous defiance had crumpled. Unsuspected creases appeared in his clothes. He had the appearance of one who has been caught in the machinery. Jimmy was a little puzzled. He had expected to check the enemy, to bring him to reason, but not to demolish him in this way. There was something in this which he did not understand. When Spike had handed him the stones, and his trained eye, after a moment's searching examination, had made him suspicious, and when, finally, a simple test had proved his suspicions correct, he was comfortably aware that, though found with the necklace on his person, he had knowledge, which, communicated to Sir Thomas, would serve him well. He knew that Lady Julia was not the sort of lady who would bear calmly the announcement that her treasured rope of diamonds was a fraud. He knew enough of her to know that she would demand another necklace, and see that she got it; and that Sir Thomas was not one of those generous and expansive natures which think nothing of an expenditure of twenty thousand pounds.

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LONDON, England(CNN)-- The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-day ocean journey. Mike Perham, 17, sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a.m., his race team said. "It feels ly brilliant," Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing the finish line. "I'm really, really excited to be going across the line at last. It doesn't feel like long since I crossed it first." Mike set off on his round-the-world trip on November 18, 2008. He has been sailing his yacht, TotallyMoney.com, single-handedly, though a support team has been sailing next to him along the way. ks5u The teen has now achieved the title of Youngest Sailor to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo, according to the Guinness World Records. Mike learned how to sail when he was seven years old from his father, Peter and at age 14, he sailed across the Atlantic alone. The teenager's school -- which Mike describes as "highly supportive" of his trip -- has redesigned his coursework to fit in with his trip. It also gave him some coursework to do during "quiet moments," according to Mike's Website. There haven't been many of those quiet moments. Repeated autopilot failures forced him to stop for repairs in Portugal, the Canary Islands, South Africa, and twice in Australia, according to his Web site. Bad weather in the Southern Ocean -- between Australia and Antarctica -- forced Mike to battle 50ft waves and 57 mph winds. He said at one point, a "freak wave" picked up the boat and turned it on its side. "My feet were on the ceiling at the time," he told CNN. "That was a really hairy moment, and I was certainly thinking, 'Why am I here?' But we took the sails off and the day after I thought, 'This is brilliant!'" Mike describes his father as his biggest hero, always supportive of what he wanted to achieve. Peter Perham said he wasn't too worried about his son facing dangerous situations at sea, as long as he knew what to do and stayed safe.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IV THE WAY INTO PRINT Sam Cotting's General Store at Millville divided importance with Bob West's hardware store but was a more popular loafing place for the sparse population of the tiny town. The post office was located in one corner and the telephone booth in another, and this latter institution was regarded with much awe by the simple natives. Once in awhile some one would telephone over to the Junction on some trivial business, but the long-distance call was never employed except by the "nabobs"--the local name for John Merrick and his nieces--or by the manager of the new mill at Royal, who had extended the line to his own office in the heart of the pine forest. So, when Uncle John and the girls entered Cotting's store and the little gentleman shut himself up in the telephone booth, a ripple of excitement spread throughout the neighborhood. Skim Clark, the youthful hope of the Widow Clark, who "run the Emporium," happened to be in the store and he rushed out to spread the news that "the nabob's talkin' to New Yoruk!" This information demanded immediate attention. Marshall McMahon McNutt, familiarly known as "Peggy" McNutt--because he had once lost a foot in a mowing machine--and who was alleged to be a real estate agent, horse doctor, fancy poultry breeder and palmist, and who also dabbled in the sale of subscription books, life insurance, liniment and watermelons, quickly slid off his front porch across the way and sauntered into Cotting's to participate in the excitement. Seth Davis, the blacksmith, dropped his tools and hurried to the store, and the druggist three doors away--a dapper gentleman known as Nib Corkins--hurriedly locked his door and attended the meeting. Presently the curious group was enlarged by the addition of Nick Thome the liveryman, Lon Taft, a carpenter and general man-of-all-work, and Silas Caldwell the miller, the latter a serious individual who had "jest happened to come acrost from the mill in the nick o' time."