AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
In March 2009, Tadjibayeva received the International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. State Department. Later she returned the award.
In 2011, Mutabar Tadjibayeva was on a list of ten most influential women in Central Asia.
The Fly (1958 movie)
The Fly is an American science fiction horror movie set in Montreal. It is directed by Kurt Neumann and written by James Clavell.
It was followed by two sequels: "Return of the Fly" and "Curse of the Fly". A remake was released in 1986.
Ambiga Sreenevasan
Ambiga Sreenevasan (born 1956) is a lawyer and human rights advocate from Malaysia. In 2009, she received the International Women of Courage Award.
Sreenevasan went to high school at Convent Bukit Nanasin Kuala Lumpur. in 1979, she got a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Exeter in England. She became a lawyer in 1980. She worked in two London law firms, then she became a member of the Malaysian Bar in 1982. In July 2011, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Law (LLD) from the University of Exeter in England.
Sreenevasan was the president of the Malaysian Bar Council from 2007 to 2009. She was also the head of Bersih, an NGO for free and fair elections.
Because Sreenevasan wanted to help with problems between ethnic groups, she received hate mail and death threats. Hundreds of people from religious groups and conservative members of government protested against Sreenevasan at the Bar Council building and called for her arrest.
In 2008, as President of the Malaysian Bar she helped start LAWASIA, the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute and Transparency International-Malaysia, to study abuses of power.
Sreenevasan was head of Bersih 2.0, the organisation behind the July 2011 demonstration in Kuala Lumpur. There were 20,000 people at the demonstration. Sreenevasan said the main problems for Malaysia were "unhappiness... in the Sarawak [election], unhappiness about corruption, [and] unhappiness about the lack of independence of our institutions."
Sreenevasan said the problems from the first demonstration in 2007 were not fixed, so there was another demonstration.
Red Fisher
Red Fisher (22 August 1926 – 19 January 2018) was a Canadian retired sports journalist. His columns focused on the National Hockey League and its Montreal Canadiens team. He was born in Montreal, Quebec. he began his hockey coverage in "The Montreal Star" newspaper in 1954 where he remained as writer and sports editor until that paper's demise in 1979. He retired in 2012.
Fisher died in Montreal on 19 January 2018 at the age of 91.
Wazhma Frogh
Wazhma Frogh is a women's rights activist from Afghanistan. In 2009, she received the International Women of Courage Award.
In the eighth grade, Frogh taught her landlord's children, so that the landlord would reduce her rent. She wanted money so she and her sisters could go to school. At age 17, she worked as an intern at a newspaper in Pakistan. Because of her job, she saw the difficult lives of the women in Afghan refugee camps.
From 1992 to 2001, Frogh lived in Peshawar, Pakistan, while she started programs for women in Aghanistian. In 2002 Frogh finished the first study of women’s conditions in Nuristan, Afghanistan. Frogh also helped start women's centers in the Kandahar, Ghazni, Herat, and Parwan provinces of Afghanistan.
Frogh helped start the Afghan organization "Research Institute for Women". She became the director. In 2013, she wanted to visit the United States after she wrote about a militia commander in a report to NATO. The militia commander was a repeat abuser of rights. The militia commander threaten Frogh and her sisters. The Institute of Inclusive Security invited Frogh to come to the U.S. as a visiting fellow, but her visa was refused. Frogh also wrote for "The Guardian" on the subject of Afghanistan.
Wazhma Frogh's blog
Chris Diamantopoulos
The Rest of the Robots (1964) is a collection of eight short stories and two full-length novels by Isaac Asimov. The stories are all part of the "Robot" series, and follow on from ʽI, Robotʼ. The novels were not included in some published versions.
The stories are as followsː
"Robot AL-76 Goes Astray" (1941).
Robot AL-76, known as Al, is manufactured to do mining work on the Moon, but ends up in a rural part of Earth. It can't find the tool it is meant to use, so builds a better one out of ̼junk it finds in a workshop.
"Victory Unintentional" (1942)
Intelligent life has been discovered on the planet Jupiter. Humans cannot land on the planet because of the powerful gravity and lack of air. They send a spaceship containing three very powerful ZZ series robots. They land on Jupiter, but the inhabitants, known as Jovians, try to attack and kill them. But when the Jovians eventually discover that the robots are too powerful to be destroyed, they decide instead to make peace with humans.
"First Law" (1956)
A robot engineer tells a story about Emma Two, a EM series robot, that abandoned him to die in a storm on the asteroid Titan.
"Let's Get Together" (1957)
An American secret service agent claims that the Soviet Union has developed humanoid robots (they cannot be distinguished from humans), and that they are being infiltrated into the USA. The head of robotics realises just in time that the agent is himself a robot and destroys him.
"Satisfaction Guaranteed" (1951)
Robot TN-3, Tony, is introduced into the house of Claire Belmont as an experiment, by her husband, a robot engineer with US Robots. Tony realises that Claire has very low self-esteem and tries to help, even offering to become her lover and making sure that the neighbours know it.
"Risk" (1955)
Humans have set up an experimental base on an asteroid to build the first spaceship to travel through hyperspace (faster than light). The ship is piloted by a robot, but the experiment fails. An engineer goes on board and discovers that the fault lies with the robot, not the ship.
"Lenny" (1958)
An LNE robot, known as Lenny, is built, but with a fault. It's brain is childlike and it can't speak. Susan Calvin experiments with it and eventually teaches it to speak a few words.
"Galley Slave" (1957)
Robot EZ-27, known as Easy, is placed in a university to carry out a variety of jobs, including proof-reading. A professor of sociology, Simon Ninheimer, claims that the robot changed the text of a book by himself that it was checking. He takes US Robots to court. Susan Calvin is able to prove that Ninheimer set up the text changes deliberately, so that he could ruin the reputation of the Company and the robots they make.
The Caves of Steel (1953)
The Naked Sun (1956)
Algis Budrys praised the collection as "a fine book of entertainment," but faulted Asimov's extensive annotations, saying they "[suck] the juice out of some very vivacious writing indeed, and [embalm] one of science fiction's most ebullient personalities."
Selma Reis
Selma Reis (24 August 1960 – 19 December 2015) was a Brazilian actress and singer. She was born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro. She acted in many telenovelas and miniseries for Rede Globo, including "Caminho das Índias", "Páginas da Vida", "Presença de Anita" and "Chiquinha Gonzaga". After 1987, she released a debut album, the first of eleven releases.
She was married to photographer Locca Faria, with whom she had a son. The couple separated but remained friends for the last three years of her life.
In July 2014, Reis was diagnosed with brain cancer. Reis died at a hospital in Teresópolis, Brazil from the disease, aged 55. She was cremated in a Lutheran service in Nova Friburgo.
Maureen McGovern
Maureen McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress. She is well known known for her renditions of songs such as "The Morning After" from the 1972 movie "The Poseidon Adventure".
McGovern was born in Youngstown, Ohio.
"Because You Loved Me" is a 1996 pop-R&B ballad by Canadian singer Celine Dion. Its lyrics are about the protagonist thanking a loyal loved one for guiding, encouraging and protecting her and for making her who she is. It was originally written for the movie "Up Close and Personal". Diane Warren, who wrote the song (and others for artists like Cher, Aerosmith, Monica, and Lady Gaga), said the song was a tribute to her father. "Because You Loved Me" won Warren a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television, or Other Visual Media.
"Because You Loved Me" is the second track on Dion's album "Falling into You". The song topped the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 for six weeks and finished as the third-best performing song of 1996 there. It also reached number one in Canada and Australia and reached number five in the UK. It was certified Platinum in the US for sales and shipments of over one million copies.
Delirium (Ellie Goulding album)
IPhone 6S
Deaths in 2016
Deaths in January 2016
Patricia Elliott
Patricia Elliott (July 21, 1938 – December 20, 2015) was an American actress. She was born in Gunnison, Colorado. She was known for her roles as Renée Divine Buchanan in the soap opera "One Life to Live" and as Countess Charlotte Malcolm in the Stephen Sondheim musical "A Little Night Music". She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 1973.
Elliott died in New York City, from cancer, aged 77.
Carol Burns
Carol Burns (22 February 1947 – 21 December 2015) was an Australian actress. She was born in Brisbane, Queensland. She worked in Australia and in the United Kingdom. She began her career in 1967. Burns was known for her role as Franky Doyle in the soap opera "Prisoner".
Burns died of cancer at her home in Brisbane at the age of 68.
Joe Kittinger
Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a retired Colonel in the United States Air Force and a USAF Command Pilot. He was born in Tampa, Florida. He set a world record for the longest skydive from a height more than . He was also the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean, alone, in a hot air balloon.
He was a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and was a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison.
Duolingo is a free language-learning program. Its website and mobile apps are available to anyone with an internet connection plus a computer, tablet or smartphone. Duolingo can be used on iOS, Android, Windows 8 and 10 operating systems. Duolingo allows people to learn over 50 different language courses in 23 languages. There are over 100 million people learning a language on Duolingo.
Duolingo uses a unique way to make money. Duolingo lets people learn new languages while the company makes money from crowd-sourcing the translation of actual documents.
Wyre Forest
Wyre Forest is a large, semi-natural woodland and forest measuring . It sits across the borders of Worcestershire and Shropshire, England. It is lightly managed.
The forest has a variety of wildlife. It was much larger, but it still is one of the largest remaining ancient woodlands in Britain. The Forestry Commission looks after about half of today's forest. Two-thirds of the forest is a SSSI (1,753.7 hectares), and a further fifth (549 hectares) is a National Nature Reserve. The Dowles Brook flows through the heart of the forest, and the A456 road also runs through the southern edge of the woodland.
It is one of the largest areas of semi-natural (partially unmanaged) woodland in the UK. Wildlife species to be found in the forest include hawfinch, fallow deer, dipper, common crossbill, pied flycatcher, redstart, and long-eared owl among many other woodland birds and plants. The small but colourful moth "Oecophora bractella" has one of its few English populations here, and does not seem to occur much farther northwards.
The forest is an important habitat for adders, which have been the subject of a notable study.
Jan Góra
Jan Wojciech Góra OP (8 February 1948 – 21 December 2015) was a Polish Dominican Roman Catholic Priest, Doctor of Theology, academic and chaplain. Since 1997, he had been the organiser of the Polish Youth Meeting Lednica 2000 at the Lednica Fields. He was the animator for the academic chaplaincy centre "Respublica Dominicana" in Jamna. He was the author of numerous books and articles. He was born in Prudnik.
Góra died at the age of 67 in Poznań, Poland from a heart attack.
Rolf Bossi
Rolf Bossi (10 September 1923 – 22 December 2015) was a German criminal defense lawyer. He was born in Munich. He was known for defending known actors such as Ingrid van Bergen and Romy Schneider, as well as notable criminals such as Jürgen Bartsch, Dieter Zlof, and Dieter Degowski. He also defended four former East German border guards who were accused of having killed Chris Gueffroy, who was trying to escape over the Berlin wall. He was considered to be one of Germany's best-known defense lawyers.
Bossi died in Munich, Germany from natural causes at the age of 92.
Hocine Aït Ahmed
Hocine Aït Ahmed (; (August 20, 1926 – December 23, 2015) was an Algerian politician. He was founder and leader of the historical political opposition, Socialist Forces Front, in Algeria until 2009. He was born in Ain El Hammam, Algeria. Arrested and sentenced to death in 1964, he escaped from the El Harrach prison on May 1, 1966. Exiled in Switzerland, he became a doctor of law.
Aït Ahmed died at age 89 in Lausanne, Switzerland on December 23, 2015.
Laurence R. Harvey
Dieter Laser
Dieter Laser (born 17 February 1942) is a German actor. He is known to English speaking audiences for his roles as Mantrid in "Lexx", Prof. Otto Blaettchen in "The Ogre", Dr. Josef Heiter in "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)" and Bill Boss in "The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)".
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) is a 2011 British-Dutch black and white exploitation movie written, directed, and co-produced by Dutch filmmaker Tom Six. It is a sequel to Six's 2009 movie "The Human Centipede (First Sequence)". The movie stars Laurence R. Harvey and Ashlynn Yennie. It was followed by "The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)".
The movie is about a mentally challenged English man, Martin, who watches and becomes obsessed with the first "Human Centipede" movie, and decides to make his own "centipede" made up of twelve people.
It was originally banned in the United Kingdom by the BBFC because of its "revolting" content but was eventually granted an 18 certificate after over 30 cuts were made. The film was also banned in Australia for a short period of time. It is banned in New Zealand. The film received negative reviews for its plot, excessive gore and violence.
The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)
The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence) is a 2015 English-language Dutch body horror movie written and directed by Tom Six. It is the third and final installment in Six's "Human Centipede" trilogy. It was confirmed to be in production in May 2013.
Starring Dieter Laser and Laurence R. Harvey, the leading actors from the first two movies, in new roles. It also stars Eric Roberts as The Governor. "The Human Centipede 3" was released both theatrically and on video on demand on 22 May 2015.
Donald "Don" Howe (12 October 1935 – 23 December 2015) was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit. He was born in the Springfield area of Wolverhampton.
Howe spent most of his playing career at West Bromwich Albion.
Howe joined the West Bromwich Albion ground staff after leaving school, joining the club as a youth player in December 1950. He turned professional in November 1952, but did not make his debut until 1955, against Everton.
A full back, he played nearly 350 games for the Baggies in twelve years, as well as becoming a regular in the England team; he played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup, and won 23 caps in total.
Howe was signed by Billy Wright's Arsenal in 1964, and was made club captain. However, in March 1966 he broke his leg playing against Blackpool and never recovered well enough to play in the first team again.
Howe retired from coaching in the summer of 2003 after more than 30 years. He occasionally wrote as a pundit for the BBC Sport website. He also had a regular column in the official Arsenal magazine. Right up until his death he ran youth coaching schemes across the United Kingdom.
Howe died, aged 80, in December 2015.
Pazyryk rug
The Pazyryk rug is one of the oldest carpets in the world, dating around the 4th–3rd centuries BC. It is now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Pazyryk rug was found in 1949 in the grave of a Scythian nobleman in the Bolshoy Ulagan dry valley of the Altai Mountains in Kazakhstan. The Pazyrk rug had been frozen in the ice and it was very well preserved. The rug has a ribbon pattern in the middle, and a border which has deer, and warriors riding on horses. All parts of the rug are made of wool, including the pile and the base.
Being produced either in Ancient Armenia, Persia, or Central Asia, this carpet has 3600 symmetrical double knots per dm² (232 per inch²), in modern terminology also called "Ghiordes knot (or "Turkish knot"). The design and the systematic motifs of the Pazyrk rug would later be found in similar Turkmen carpets, carpets of the early Seljuq period, and subsequently modern Turkish carpets and kilims.
The origin of the rug is unknown. There are different theories regarding the origin of the carpet. While a number of scholars presume a Oghuz-Turkic origin, Volkmar Gantzhorn assumes a Urartian and Phrygian-Armenian origin of the rug. A Persian theory also exists, but has not been further elaborated; The rug may have originated between the Iranian-Altaian corridor through ancient contacts. Some authors assume that the wool, the artistic conception, as well as the workmanship, may have been provided by Armenians of the Near East; The rug itself is considered as a Sakic funeral accessory. Although a previous study in 1983/1985 did not support an involvement of Armenian cochineal, a Soviet-based conference held in Riga (1987) still maintained the claim that the red threads of the rug resemble those of the Armenian cochineal type. Later it was found by an American research center (Bard Graduate Center, 1991) that the bluish-red color used for the rug and other felts was actually made from Polish cochineal ("Porphyrophora polonica"), a scale insect native to Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Western Siberia, or from one of the Porphyrophora species recently discovered in Kazakhstan: "P. Altaiensis", "P. Turaigiriensis" (Jashenko, 1988), "P. Akirtobiensis" (Jashenko, 1988), "P. eremospartonae" (Jashenko, 1989), and "P. matesovae" (Jashenko, 1989). Armenian authors, however, still insist in the Soviet-based perception of 1987. Further confirmation on the nature of "Ararat Kermes" of the Armenian cochineal gained by the analysis of "Porphyrophora hameli" insects in 1990 by Harald Böhmer, has shown that the Pazyryk rug cannot have been dyed with this insect.
The numerical values of the carpet show striking genealogical parallels to the Oghuz-Turkic legend, perhaps based on an older version of the Massageteans. This genealogy is shown in the way the pattern is divided into 24 tribes. On the left and right their are groups of 12 tribes in each. According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, the founder of the Oghuz tribes had six sons, with each having four sons. As mentioned in the “Shiji” (“Historical Records”) of Sima Qian this scheme was a result of the military administrative reform of the Xiongnu leader Modu Chanyu in 209/206-174 BC which in turn originated from the Turkic primordial ancestor Oghuz Khagan. Many Turkic cultures today use his legend to describe their ethnic origins. Historian Sergei Tolstov writes that this scheme “...was preserved by the Aral foreland Huns, the Kidarites-Hephthalites, and was inherited by their descendants, the tribes of the Oghuz alliance in the 10th – 11th centuries AD and, finally, by the Turkmens of the 19th century AD – beginning of the 20th century AD.”
Gantzhorn supports the view that the Pazyryk rug is of Phrygian-Armenian origin. He put forward the hypothesis that the rug is actually not depicting Scythians, but Armenians. He found similarities at the ruins of Persepolis in Iran where various nations are depicted as bearing tribute, the horse design from the Pazyryk carpet is the same as the relief depicting part of the Armenian delegation.
George Clayton Johnson
George Clayton Johnson (July 10, 1929 – December 25, 2015) was an American science fiction writer. He was most famous for co-writing the novel "Logan's Run" with William F. Nolan, the basis for the 1976 movie.
He was also known for his television screenplays for "The Twilight Zone" (such as "Nothing in the Dark", "Kick the Can", "A Game of Pool", and "A Penny for Your Thoughts"), and the first episode of "", "The Man Trap". He also wrote the story on which the 1960 and 2001 movie "Ocean's Eleven" were based.
Johnson died of bladder and prostate cancer on December 25, 2015 at a hospital in North Hills, Los Angeles, California at the age of 86. His death was falsely reported on December 22.
Jason Myers
Jason Myers (born May 12, 1991) is an American football placekicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Chula Vista, California. He played college football at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. In 2014 Myers played for the Arizona Rattlers and the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League. On March 3, 2015, Myers signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. On August 31, 2015, the Jaguars announced that Myers had earned the placekicker role on the team. Veteran Josh Scobee was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Trams in Malmö
The Malmö tramway is a former tramway network in the city Malmö of Sweden. It remains a network about 2 km as a historic line.
The Malmö tramay existed between 1887 and 1973. It started service as a horse car. The horse cars had been replaced by electric trams since 1906. The last electric tram has been replaced by bus in 1973.
Originally the service had been provided by two-axle motor cars. From 1949, they had been replace by newer ones.
At a length of 2 km, there still remains a line for historical purpose, it starts at Malmöhus and ends at the museum.
Freda Meissner-Blau
Freda Meissner-Blau (March 11, 1927 – December 22, 2015) was an Austrian politician and activist. She was an important figure in the Austrian environmental movement. She was a founder and the federal spokesperson of the Austrian Green Party. She was born in Dresden, Germany.
Meissner-Blau died in Vienna, Austria from complications following a stroke at the age of 88.
Jean-Marie Pelt
Jean-Marie Pelt (24 October 1933 – 23 December 2015) was a French biologist, botanist and pharmacist with degrees in both Biology and Pharmacy. He was professor at the University of Lorraine. As municipal councilor of Metz between 1971 and 1983, Jean-Marie Pelt pioneered a policy of urban ecology. Pelt was born in Rodemack, France.
Pelt died in Metz, France from a heart attack, aged 82.
Nils Lennart Johansson (5 November 1929 – 4 June 2019) was a Swedish sports official. He was the fifth and, to date, the longest serving president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, from his election at UEFA's Malta Congress in 1990 until his retirement in 2007. He was made honorary president shortly afterwards.
He started as a leader in the sport of bandy in Sweden for his hometown team AIK. Johansson then came through the ranks in the Swedish Football Association, and served as the association's president between 1984 and 1991.
Johansson died on 4 June 2019 in Stockholm, aged 89.
Peter Lundblad
Gustaf Peter Lundblad (26 August 1950 - 22 December 2015) was a Swedish singer and songwriter. He was known for his 1986 song "Ta mig till havet". Lundblad started his career in the band 'The most Remarkable Nailband'.
Lundblad died of prostate cancer on 22 December 2015 in Stockholm at the age of 65.
Ray Mathews
Raymond Dyral Mathews (February 26, 1929 – December 20, 2015) was an American football running back and wide receiver in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1951-59) and the Dallas Cowboys (1960). He played college football for Clemson University. He was born in Dayton, Pennsylvania.
Mathews died at his house in Marion, Pennsylvania from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the age of 86.
Bronchodilator
A bronchodilator is a substance that (opens up) the bronchi and bronchioles which increases airflow to the lungs. Bronchodilators may be endogenous (originating naturally within the body), or they may be medications taken to treat breathing difficulties. They are most useful in obstructive lung diseases. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the most common such conditions. They are also used to treat respritory blockages that usaully occur when you have the common cold. They are well prescribed by doctors and are really common in house holds. Although this remains somewhat controversial, they might be useful in bronchiolitis and Bronchiectasis.They are often prescribed but of unproven significance in restrictive lung diseases.
Bronchodilators are either short-acting or long-acting. Short-acting medications provide quick or "rescue" relief from acute bronchoconstriction. Long-acting bronchodilators help to control and prevent symptoms. They are used along with inhaled steroids for control of asthma symptoms on a long-term basis. The three types of prescription bronchodilating drugs are β2-agonists (short- and long-acting), anticholinergics (short-acting), and theophylline (long-acting).
The bronchodilators are divided in short- and long-acting groups:
Osmany Juantorena
Osmany Juantorena Portuondo (born 12 August 1985) is a Cuban volleyball player with Italian citizenship, a member of Cuba national volleyball team in 2003–2006 and current member of Italy national volleyball team and Italian club Cucine Lube, bronze medalist of the World League 2005. He is a multiple winner of the CEV Champions League and Club World Championship with the Italian club Trentino.
Henri Ducard
Henri Ducard is a fictional character in the "Batman" comic book universe. He was created by Sam Hamm. Ducard's first appearance was in "Detective Comics" #599 (April 1989), part of the "Blind Justice" story arc that Hamm, the screenwriter of the 1989 "Batman" movie, was asked to guest-write for "Detective Comics" by "Batman" editor Denny O'Neil.
The character was the undercover name of Ra's al Ghul which appeared in the movie "Batman Begins" played by Liam Neeson.
Ron Jacobs (December 27, 1942 – December 24, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He was born in Marion, North Carolina. He coached for college basketball teams such as Loyola Marymount University and for Northern Cement. He also coached the Philippine national team.
Jacobs moved to Pasig City, Philippines during the 1980s. He suffered a major stroke in 2001 which left him in a wheelchair. Jacobs died in Makati, Philippines from complications following the stroke at the age of 72.
Carpetbagger
Carpetbagger is a term from the United States political history. A carpetbagger was a northerner who moved to the South after the American Civil War. This period is called the "reconstruction era".
White southerners feared they would loot the defeated South. Sixty carpetbaggers were elected to Congress. Among them were most Republican governors in the South during reconstruction. A historian said:
"Carpetbagger" referred to the cheap carpet bags (a form of luggage) which many of the newcomers carried. The term came to be associated with opportunism and exploitation by outsiders. It is used today for a "parachute candidate": a political candidate for public office in an area far from home.
The Sims (video game series)
The Sims is a series of sandbox games in which you have a life and job. The game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. The games also have expansion packs which you can download. If you download them you get extra content.
There is also a series of SimCity games listed here
Battle of Cannae
The Battle of Cannae ( or ) was a major battle of the Second Punic War. It took place on 2 August 216 BC in Cannae, Apulia, in southeast Italy. The army of Carthage, under Hannibal, defeated a larger Roman army. The Romans were led by the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. Hannibal's victory was one the greatest tactical feats in military history. It was also one of the worst defeats in Roman history.
After recovering from their losses at Trebia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimene (217 BC), the Romans decided to fight Hannibal at Cannae. The Roman army had about 70,000 soldiers. The Romans massed their heavy infantry in a deeper formation than usual. Hannibal attacked using a double-envelopment tactic. This was so successful that the Roman army was destroyed as a fighting force by an army half its size. About 45,500 Roman and allied soldiers were killed. Also killed were 2,700 Roman cavalry. About 17,000 were taken prisoner. Hannibal lost a total of about 4,000 men. Following the defeat, many of Rome's allies changed sides and allied themselves with Carthage.
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini, (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977), was an Italian movie director, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Rome. He was best known for his movies "Rome, Open City" (1945), "Paisà" (1946) and "Germany, Year Zero" (1948).
Rossellini died from a heart attack in Rome, Italy, aged 71.
Placekicker
The placekicker, also called a kicker, is the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or, more rarely, punter, as well. A kicker is often called the most valuable player on the team. This is because in many cases, he scores the most points in a game. Each time his team gets to the 35 yard line or closer, they have a chance to score 3 points. Each time their team makes a touchdown, the kicker comes in to make the extra (1) point. A kicker is a member of the special teams.
To be a kicker in the NFL requires strong legs. The kicker also needs excellent concentration and coordination. A kicker is the only member of a team who can move the ball with their feet. But the kicker is often the smallest member of the team. Probably the most important requirement is "nerves of steel". You have to kick the ball perfectly while being rushed by the other team.
The kicker is the only player on a team who has the opportunity to score points each time he goes out on the field. Kickers today often use a soccer-style kick instead of a straight ahead kick. If he makes a great kick he is a hero. If he misses he is a chump|. An entire game can be won or lost by the kicker. A kicker cannot afford to miss too many field goals or they can find themselves traded off the team.
Ali Eid
Ali Eid (14 July 1940 – 25 December 2015) was a Lebanese politician. He was the leader of the Alawite Community. He founded the Arab Democratic Party in 1972 and until his death served as General Secretary of the Arab Democratic Party. He was born in Tripoli.
On 25 December 2015, it was announced that Eid died in Damascus, Syria at the age of 75.
Coptic calendar
Jacques Santer
Jacques Santer (born 18 May 1937 in Wasserbillig) is a Luxembourgian politician.
He was finance minister of Luxembourg from 1979 until 1989. He was the 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg serving from 1984 to 1995. He was a member of the Christian Social People's Party, which has been the leading party in the Luxembourg government since 1979.
As Prime Minister of Luxembourg he also led the negotiations on the Single European Act, which effectively set aside the 20-year-old Luxembourg Compromise. He was the President of the European Commission from 1995 to 1999.
Egyptian calendar
Ukrainian National Union
The Ukrainian National Union () is nationalist paramilitary political party in Ukraine. Started as a political organization in 2009 and became a political party in 2013.
The organisation was founded in 2009 by Oleg Goltvyansky and a group of sympathisers. Since July 15, 2012 the head of organisation became Vitaly Krivosheev. In April 27, 2013, the Ukrainian National Union leaders proclaimed their intention to create a political party. Рarty is one of the organisers of the "Euromaidan". Activists of the Ukrainian National Union takes part in the war in Eastern Ukraine
West Berlin discotheque bombing
On April 5, 1986 three people were killed and around 230 injured when "La Belle" discothèque was bombed in West Berlin. The entertainment venue was commonly used by United States soldiers, and two of the dead and 79 of the injured were American servicemen.
A bomb placed under a table near the disk jockey's booth exploded at 1:45 am CET instantly killing Nermin Hannay, a Turkish woman, and US Army sergeant Kenneth T. Ford. A second American Army sergeant, James E. Goins, died from his injuries two months later. Some of the victims were left permanently disabled due to the injuries caused by the explosion.
Libya was accused by the US government of sponsoring the bombing, and US President Ronald Reagan ordered strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi in Libya ten days later. The strikes reportedly killed 15-30 people, including Colonel Gaddafi's adopted daughter. Reagan's actions were condemned by the United Nations General Assembly.
A 2001 trial in the US found that the bombing had been "planned by the Libyan secret service and the Libyan Embassy."
Malta Summit
The Malta Summit comprised a meeting between U.S. President George H. W. Bush and U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It took place between December 2-3, 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was their second meeting following a meeting that included then President Ronald Reagan, in New York in December 1988.
During the summit, Bush and Gorbachev would declare an end to the Cold War, although whether it was truly such is a matter of debate.
Germany national volleyball team
The Germany men's national volleyball team is the national team of Germany. It is governed by the DVV (Deutscher Volleyball-Verband). It takes part in international volleyball competitions. Germany won the gold medal in World Championship 1970 under East Germany. It won the bronze medal in the 2014 World Championships.
After German reunification, West Germany (1949–1990) was renamed Germany and they absorbed East Germany (1949–1990) with the records.
Italy national volleyball team
The Italy men's national volleyball team is the volleyball national team of Italy. It dominated international volleyball competitions in the 1990s and early 2000s, by winning three World Championships in a row (1990, 1994 and 1998), six European Championships, one World Cup (1995) and eight World League (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2000).
Brazil national volleyball team
The Brazil men's national volleyball team is the national team of Brazil. It is governed by the Confederação Brasileira de Voleibol "(Brazilian Volleyball Confederation)" and takes part in international volleyball competitions. Brazil has two gold medal at the Olympic Games, won three times the World Champioship and nine times the World League. Brazil is the #1 team on the FIVB World Rankings. The team is often referred to as volleyball's "Dream Team" due to its success under coach Bernardo Rezende.
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)
Eugenia Charles
Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, DBE (15 May 1919 – 6 September 2005) was a Dominican politician and lawyer. She was the Prime Minister of Dominica serving from 21 July 1980 until 14 June 1995. She was Dominica's first, and to date only, female prime minister, as well as the nation's longest-serving prime minister.
Charles died in Fort-de-France, Martinique from a pulmonary embolism caused by hip surgery that she had a few days before. She was 86 years old.
A cranial nerve is any nerve which is attached directly to the brain or brainstem. This is different from spinal nerves which are attached to segments of the spinal cord. Cranial nerves relay information more directly between the brain and body (mostly parts of the head and neck).
Each cranial nerve exists as a pair and is present on both sides of the central nervous system. All cranial nerves appear above the first vertebra in the neck (cervical vertebra).
In humans there are twelve cranial nerves pairs. They are numbered using Roman numerals I–XII based on their order from the front of the brain to the back, where the brainstem is.
Cranial nerves provide motor and sensory stimulation mainly to places within the head and neck. This sensory stimulation includes sensations such as temperature, touch, taste, vision, smell, balance and hearing.
The olfactory nerve (CN 1) sends information about smells from the nose up to the brain. In the brain, this information is processed and becomes olfaction, or our sense of smell. The olfactory nerve is an is an afferent sensory nerve, meaning it takes in information from the outside world and sends it to the central nervous system.
The olfactory nerve is the shortest cranial nerve. It is one of two cranial nerves that does not connect to the brain stem, the other being the optic nerve (CN 2).
The olfactory nerve is not just one nerve, but a group of neurons working together to perform the same task. The olfactory neurons start branched out in the nasal cavity. From here, they reach up through the roof of the nasal cavity and connect to the olfactory bulb.
The olfactory nerve is unique because it is the only cranial nerve that can regenerate parts of itself if it is damaged.
Smell molecules called aromatics come up the nose and into the nasal cavity. Here, they are detected by olfactory neurons. These neurons are branched out along the lining of the nasal cavity. Olfactory neurons take in the signal from the smell molecules and make electric signals called action potentials. The action potentials move up the olfactory neurons through the roof of the nasal cavity, also known as the cribiform plate. After passing through the cribiform plate, the olfactory neurons send the action potentials to the olfactory bulb. From here, signals are sent through the olfactory tract and out to different parts of the brain. For example, some signals are sent to the frontal lobe, where smells are identified and labeled.
Damage to this path can cause anosmia, or loss of the ability to smell.
The optic nerve (CN II) transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.
The oculomotor nerve (CN III) controls most of the muscles related to the movement of the eye, including the eyelids and control of the pupil. The trochlear nerve (CN IV) and abducens nerve (CN VI) are each responsible for their own single eye muscles.
The trigeminal nerve (CN V) is called "trigeminal" because it is made of 3 parts. Together, all these parts are responsible for sensation in the face and larger facial movements such as biting and chewing.
The facial nerve (CN VII) controls the muscles of facial expression, and helps carry taste sensations from the back of the tongue and mouth.
The vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII) transmits sound and equilibrium (balance) information from the inner ear to the brain.
The glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) is a mixed nerve that carries a wide range of sensory and motor information.
The vagus nerve (CN X) allows for parasympathetic control of the heart and digestive tract. It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the human body.
The accessory nerve (CN XI) is a cranial nerve that controls the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles.
The hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) is involved in controlling tongue movements required for speech and swallowing.
After leaving the brain, the cranial nerves travel inside the skull. Some must leave this bony compartment to reach their destinations. Often the nerves pass through holes in the skull, called foramina. Other nerves pass through bony canals, longer pathways enclosed by bone. These foramina and canals may have more than one cranial nerve, and may also contain blood vessels.
Volleyball at the Summer Olympics
John Boyega
John Adedayo B. Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), better known as John Boyega, is a British actor. He is best known for playing Finn in "" (2015), "" (2017) and "" (2019). He has also appeared in "Attack the Block" (2011), "Detroit" (2017) and "" (2018). He won the 2016 BAFTA Rising Star Award.
Boyega was born in Peckham, London. His parents are Nigerian.
Daisy Jazz Isobel Ridley (born 10 April 1992) is a British actress. She is best known for playing Rey in "" (2015), "" (2017) and "" (2019). She also appeared in "Casulty" and "Silent Witness".
Ridley was born in Westminster, London. Her great-uncle was "Dad's Army" actor Arnold Ridley.
Adriana Olguín
Adriana Olguín de Baltra (born Luz Adriana Margarita Olguín Buche) (18 November 1911 – 24 December 2015) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. She was born in Valparaíso, Chile. Olguín served as Chile's Minister of Justice serving from 29 July 1952 through 3 November 1952 under the Gabriel González Videla administration. She was the first woman to hold a position in any presidential cabinet in Latin American history.
Olguín died in her home in Viña del Mar, Chile from natural causes at the age of 104.
Daddy's Home (movie)
James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist.
Trumbo was one of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.
Trumbo won two Academy Awards while blacklisted; one (for "Roman Holiday") was originally given to a front writer, and one (for "The Brave One") was awarded to "Robert Rich", Trumbo's pseudonym.
On December 19, 2011, the Writers Guild of America announced that Trumbo was being given full credit for his work on the screenplay of the 1953 romantic comedy "Roman Holiday", almost sixty years after the fact.
Actor Bryan Cranston plays Trumbo in the 2015 biopic "Trumbo" directed by Jay Roach.
Trumbo died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on September 10, 1976 at the age of 70.
Run-Around
"Run-Around" is a song by American jam band, Blues Traveler. It was released on the 1994 album "Four". It won the band's first Grammy Award in 1995, for "Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
The song was the band's first successful single, peaking at #8 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.
Trumbo (movie)
Trumbo is a 2015 American biographical-drama movie directed by Jay Roach. It was written by Michael London. The movie is about when screenwriter Dalton Trumbo is blacklisted as a communist for his support of the Communist Party of the USA during the 1950s.
It stars Bryan Cranston as Trumbo with Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, Michael Stuhlbarg, and John Goodman. It was released to positive reviews on November 6, 2015.
Jim O'Toole
James Jerome "Jim" O'Toole (January 10, 1937 – December 26, 2015) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds (1958–1966) and Chicago White Sox (1967). He was left-handed.
O'Toole was born in Chicago, Illinois. He married Betty Wall on July 2, 1960. They had 11 children.
O'Toole died from cancer on December 26, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was 78.
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (born 22 February 1982) is a Nepalese-born Australian actress and movie producer. She is best known for her roles in the television series "Neighbours", "Dollhouse", "", "Hawaii Five-0", "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "".
Lachman was born in Kathmandu. Her mother is Tibetan and her father is an Australian of German ancestry. She grew up in Adelaide, South Australia. She moved to the United States in 2007 and lives in Los Angeles, California. She is married to Max Osinski and has one child.
Dami Im (, born 17 October 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer. She is best known for winning the fifth season of "The X Factor" in 2013. Her first album was an ARIA number one. She has three studio albums, two extended plays, nine singles, two album appearances, and four music videos. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, coming second with "Sound of Silence".
Im was born in Incheon. She grew up in Brisbane, Queensland. She is married and lives in Daisy Hill, a suburb of Logan City, Queensland. She is a Christian.
Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler, A.S.C. (February 6, 1922 – December 27, 2015) was an American cinematographer, movie producer, screenwriter and director. He was born in Chicago, Illinois. He won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 1966.
Wexler was known for his works "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Medium Cool", "In the Heat of the Night", "Days of Heaven" and for "Matewan". He was said to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the International Cinematographers Guild.
Wexler died in his sleep at the age of 93 on December 27, 2015 at his home in Santa Monica, California.
David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed Hendu, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, and Kansas City Royals during his 14-year career. He was born in Merced, California.
Henderson died of a massive heart attack in Seattle, Washington, one month after receiving a kidney transplant, at the age of 57.
Jose Offerman
Jim Klobuchar
James John "Jim" Klobuchar (April 9, 1928 – May 12, 2021) was an American journalist, author, and tour guide. He wrote for the "Star Tribune" in Minneapolis for thirty years. He wrote an occasional column for the "Christian Science Monitor". He was the father of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. He was born in Ely, Minnesota.
Klobuchar died in Burnsville, Minnesota on May 12, 2021 from problems caused by Alzheimer's disease, aged 93.
Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He worked with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and the minimalist school. His works showed unique techniques showing simplicity of form, similar to the work of John McLaughlin and Kenneth Noland.
Kelly died in Spencertown, New York on December 27, 2015 of respiratory failure at the age of 92.
The Babadook is a 2014 Australian-Canadian psychological horror drama movie, written and directed by Jennifer Kent as her directorial debut. It is about a woman and her son being tortured by an evil spirit based on a child's book. The movie stars Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman, while Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear appear in supporting roles.
"The Babadook" was produced by Causeway Films (Kristina Ceyton) and is based on the short movie "Monster" (2005), also written and directed by Kent. The movie was shown at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes' aggregation, it was ranked as the third most-liked movie of the year.
Alfredo Alberto Pacheco (1 December 1982 – 27 December 2015) was a Salvadoran footballer. He played for FAS and the New York Red Bulls. He also had the record for most appearances for his national team, playing 86 times.
Pacheco was born in Santa Ana. He was married with five children and lived in the United States.
Pacheco was shot and killed on 27 December 2015 in Santa Ana, aged 33.
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a group of mental and physical problems that can happen when a mother drinks alcohol while she is pregnant. A "syndrome" is a group of symptoms. "Fetal" means anything that has to do with a fetus. Fetal alcohol syndrome includes ways a fetus is hurt by alcohol while it is still in its mother's womb.
Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by a mother drinking alcohol while she is pregnant. When a mother drinks while she is pregnant, the alcohol goes through the umbilical cord to the fetus. This is why doctors say "when a [pregnant] woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby."
Alcohol is poisonous to a fetus and can cause brain damage. This can cause many other problems once the baby is born.
Alcohol can cause problems with the way the fetus develops at any time during a pregnancy. This includes the earliest part of pregnancy, when the mother might not even know she is pregnant.
A fetus is most likely to develop fetal alcohol syndrome if its mother:
It does not matter whether the mother drinks beer, wine, hard liquor, or any other kind of alcohol. One kind is not safer than any other. They are all equally likely to cause FAS.