Santa Clarita is located in the Santa Clarita Valley, a valley in northern Los Angeles County, just north of the San Fernando Valley and southwest of the Antelope Valley. The Santa Clara River runs east-west through the valley. Freeways Interstate 5 and State Route 14 also run across the valley. Six Flags Magic Mountain is located just west of Interstate 5, in Stevenson Ranch. Smaller hills also cross the valley. Hiking trails are common in the hills, including Central Park, Quigley Canyon, East Canyon, Rice Canyon, and Towsley Canyon.
Santa Clarita has a Mediterranean climate with warm and dry days throughout the year. This, along with the Chaparral ecosystem in the area, makes wildfires common in the summer.
Mission Hills, Los Angeles
Mission Hills is an urban residential community of the San Fernando Valley, within the city of Los Angeles, California.
It is near the northern junction of the Golden State Freeway (I-5) and the San Diego Freeway (I-405). The Ronald Reagan Freeway (SR-118) runs through it. Mission Hills is at the northern end of the long Sepulveda Boulevard. Other main roads are San Fernando Mission Boulevard, Woodman Avenue, and Rinaldi, Brand, Chatsworth, Devonshire, and Lassen Streets. The boundaries are roughly Sepulveda Blvd and Interstate 405 to the west, Interstate 5 to the north and east, Van Nuys Boulevard to the southeast, and Lassen Street to the south. The Granada Hills community lies to the west, Sylmar to the north, the city of San Fernando to the northeast, Pacoima to the east, Arleta to the southeast, and Panorama City to the south.
The community is named for the nearby Spanish Mission San Fernando Rey de España of 1784. The Andrés Pico Adobe, the second oldest residence still standing in Los Angeles, is there. The San Fernando Mission Cemetery, located a short distance away, is one of the oldest active cemeteries within the San Fernando Valley.
Shadow Hills, Los Angeles
Shadow Hills is a semi-rural neighborhood in northern Los Angeles, California, USA.
Lev Durov
Lev Konstantinovich Durov (, 23 December 1931 – 20 August 2015) was a Soviet-born Russian theatre and movie actor. He was born in Moscow. He began acting since 1955. He was a People's Artist of USSR.
Durov died on 20 August 2015 at the age of 83.
Joseph G. Hakobyan
Joseph G. Hakobyan (born 28 August 1931) is a Russian scientist. He is an expert on missiles development. He was the Deputy General of the Moscow Research Institute.
Hakobyan was born in Saratov, Russia.
Lina Morgan
María de los Ángeles López Segovia (20 March 1937 – 20 August 2015), better known as Lina Morgan, was a Spanish actress and showgirl. She performed in movie, theatre, and television. She was known for her roles in "Hostal Royal Manzanares" (1996), "Una de dos" (1998) and "Academia de baile Gloria" (2001).
Suharno (footballer)
Suharno (1 October 1959 – 19 August 2015) was an Indonesian football coach. He has managed Arema Cronus since November 2013. He played 12 years as a footballer. He began his career in PS Banteng and is due to retire after three seasons playing for Niac Mitra. He began his coaching career in 1988 as player-assistant coach at Niac Mitra.
LGBT rights in Afghanistan
LGBT people living in Afghanistan face legal and social challenges. Being a homosexual, or cross-dressing (wearing clothes usually worn by the oppposite gender), are serious crimes in Afghan culture. Punishment can include the death penalty. In rural parts of the country, local villagers take the law into their own hands and punish people.
Even though both society and law try to stop homosexual activities, there is a form of bisexuality (sexual attraction to both sexes) within mainstream Afghan culture. This happens when boys are kidnapped to act as sexual slaves for adult men. This often happens in a military where there is no access to women. It also happens when an adult man gives money or gifts to young boys in return for sexual activity. These acts are accepted because they are not seen as being an act of LGBT identity, but rather an act of male power and dominance. The boys in these acts are forced to be the "female" partner in the relationship.
Military members generally do not have access to women, and often boys are kidnapped to be humiliated and raped by adult men. Other boys become prostitutes for adult men, regardless of their sexual orientation (one's tendencies of sexual attractions)
The boys involved are called "Bacha bazi" in Persian and there are a large number of them in the big cities of Afghanistan. A law has been passed to stop Afghan male soldiers from having the boys they sexually abuse to live with them.
In 2007, reports stated that the practice of "bacha bareesh" (beardless boys) is still prevalent in parts of northern Afghanistan. This practice involves teenage boys being dressed in women's clothing and made to participate in dance competitions and engage in sexual acts.
Because of this, homosexuality is often associated with both sexual abuse (forcing people to unwillingly commit any sexual act or any sexual assault) and prostitution (having sex with people for money), a popular misconception that affects the laws made in the country.
Wang Dongxing
Wang Dongxing (1 January 1916 – 21 August 2015) was a Chinese communist politician. He was Mao Zedong's principal bodyguard during the Cultural Revolution. He served as Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1977 to 1980. He was born in Yiyang County, Jiangxi.
Wang died on 21 August 2015 in Beijing, aged 99.
Harry Volkman
Harry Volkman (April 18, 1926 – August 20, 2015) was an American meteorologist. He was the first weatherman to issue a tornado warning. He retired in 2004. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts. He won three Emmy Awards.
Volkman died from respiratory failure in Des Plaines, Illinois, aged 89.
Tony Amendola
Tony Amendola (born August 24, 1944) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Jaffa master Bra'tac in "Stargate SG-1". Amendola is also known for his recurring role as revolutionary leader Edouard Kagame of Liber8 in the television show "Continuum".
Anger Management (movie)
Anger Management is a 2003 American slapstick comedy movie directed by Peter Segal. It was written by David S. Dorfman. It stars Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei, John Turturro, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Revolution Studios. It has cameo appearances of Rudy Giuliani, Bob Sheppard, and Derek Jeter. It was released to positive reviews on April 11, 2003.
Airbourne
Airbourne are an Australian hard rock band from Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. Original members are Joel O'Keeffe, Ryan O'Keeffe, David Roads and Adam Jacobson, but Adam leaves the band in 2004 and was replaced by Justin Street. In 2004, the band release their first EP, called "Ready to Rock". Their first studio album was released in 2007 and is called "Runnin' Wild". This album have three singles: "Runnin' Wild", "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast" and "Diamond in the Rough". In 2010, the band released their second studio album, called "No Guts. No Glory". The third studio album is called "Black Dog Barking" and was released in 2013.
Airbourne formed as a hard rock band in late 2003 in the Victorian country town of Warrnambool by Joel O'Keeffe (born c. 1985) and his younger brother Ryan (born c. 1986). Joel had played guitar since the age of 11 and Ryan got his first drum kit four years later also at the age of 11. Joel met David Roads (born c. 1983) when the two worked at the Hotel Warrnambool. The pair brought their guitars to work and, after their shifts, jammed on song ideas, Roads was asked to join the O’Keeffe brothers on rhythm guitar for rehearsals at their house. By late 2003, Adam Jacobson had joined on bass guitar, the group was named Airbourne and played regular gigs at the local Criterion Hotel.