The Wikipedia article of the day for August 21, 2016 is United States v. Kagama.
United States v. Kagama was a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act of 1885, which gave jurisdiction to the federal courts in certain cases involving Native Americans. Kagama, a Yurok, was accused of murdering another Yurok on an Indian reservation. His case was selected by the Department of Justice as a test case for the Act. The court opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Freeman Miller (pictured), confirmed the authority of Congress over Indian affairs. Plenary power over Indian tribes, supposedly granted to the U.S. Congress by the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, was not deemed necessary to reach the decision; instead, the Court found the power in the tribe’s status as a dependent domestic nation. In the year following the decision, Congress passed the Dawes Act, intended to force assimilation and weaken tribal sovereignty. The case has been criticized by legal scholars as drawing on powers that are not granted to Congress by the Constitution.
Archives for August 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for August 21, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for August 20, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 20, 2016 is Old Pine Church.
Old Pine Church is a mid-19th-century church near Purgitsville, West Virginia. It is among the earliest remaining log churches in Hampshire County, along with Capon Chapel and Mount Bethel Church. Constructed in 1838 to serve as a nondenominational church, it may also have been built as a meeting place for Schwarzenau Brethren adherents, known as “Dunkers” or “Dunkards”. The church probably hosted German Methodist settlers as well. By 1870, most services were for the Brethren denomination, and in 1878, the church’s congregation split into White Pine Church of the Brethren and Old Pine Church congregations. Both continued to use the church until 1907. Old Pine Church reportedly housed a school in the early 20th century while still serving as a center for worship. In 1968, residents of the Purgitsville community raised funds to restore the church. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 for its “significant settlement-era rural religious architecture in the Potomac Highlands.”
Wikipedia article of the day for August 19, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 19, 2016 is Borscht.
Borscht is a tart soup popular in several East European cuisines, including Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Romanian and Ashkenazi Jewish. It derives from an ancient soup cooked from pickled common hogweed. The variety most commonly associated with the name in English is a beetroot soup of Ukrainian origin; other varieties include sorrel, rye, and cabbage borscht. Borscht is typically made by combining meat or bone stock with sautéed vegetables, including cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. It may include meat, fish or neither, may be served hot or cold, and may range from a hearty one-pot meal to a dainty clear broth or a smooth refreshing drink. Common garnishes and side-dishes include sour cream, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, uszka dumplings and pampushky buns. Several ethnic groups claim borscht, in its variegated local guises, as their own national dish and consume it as part of ritual meals within Eastern Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Jewish religious traditions.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 18, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 18, 2016 is Tjioeng Wanara.
Tjioeng Wanara is a 1941 film from the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) directed and produced by Jo Eng Sek as the second production by Star Film. Starring R Sukran, Elly Joenara, and AB Djoenaedi, the film depicts the political manipulations in the Sundanese kingdom of Galuh, where a young prince named Tjioeng Wanara must reclaim his throne. The film, which was adapted by Rd Ariffien from the Sundanese legend of the same name, was the first colossal production in the Indies, featuring more than 500 people in supporting roles and as extras. Tjioeng Wanara was released on 18 August 1941. Advertisements emphasised that the scholar Poerbatjaraka had served as the historical adviser and that the film was based on the version of the legend published by Balai Pustaka, the official publisher of the Dutch colonial government. The film premiered to commercial success, but received mixed reviews. Following the film’s release, Star released four further films. This black-and-white production, which was screened until at least 1948, may now be lost.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 17, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 17, 2016 is HMS Formidable (67).
HMS Formidable was an Illustrious-class aircraft carrier ordered for the Royal Navy before World War II. Transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet as a replacement for the crippled sister ship Illustrious, Formidable’s aircraft played a key role in the Battle of Cape Matapan in early 1941, then provided cover for Allied ships and attacked Axis forces until the carrier was badly damaged by German dive bombers in May. Assigned to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean in early 1942, the carrier covered the invasion of Diego Suarez in Vichy Madagascar in mid-1942 against the possibility of a sortie by the Japanese into the Indian Ocean. The ship participated in Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa, in November, and covered the invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy in 1943. Formidable made several attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway with the Home Fleet in mid-1944, and in 1945 attacked targets in the Japanese Home Islands. After repatriating liberated Allied prisoners of war and soldiers and ferrying British personnel across the globe, the ship was placed in reserve, and finally sold for scrap in 1953.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 16, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 16, 2016 is Banksia scabrella.
Banksia scabrella, commonly known as the Burma Road banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia. It is classified in the series Abietinae, a group of several species of shrubs with small round or oval flower spikes. It occurs in several isolated populations south of Geraldton, Western Australia; the largest is south and east of Mount Adams. Found on sandy soils in heathland or shrubland, it grows to 2 m (7 ft) high and 3 m (10 ft) across with fine needle-like leaves. Appearing in spring and summer, the flower spikes are tan to cream with purple styles. B. scabrella is killed by fire and regenerates by seed. Originally collected in 1966, it was one of several species previously considered to be forms of Banksia sphaerocarpa, before it was finally described by banksia expert Alex George in his 1981 revision of the genus. Like many members of the Abietinae, it is rarely seen in cultivation, but has been described as having horticultural potential.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 15, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 15, 2016 is 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger.
The 24th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Karstjäger was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formed in July 1944 from the SS Volunteer Karstwehr Battalion, it was a division in name only, and was soon reduced to a brigade. Built around a company in existence since 1942, the unit consisted mainly of Yugoslav Volksdeutsche and recruits from South Tyrol. It was primarily involved in fighting partisans in the Karst Plateau on the frontiers of Yugoslavia, Italy, and Austria; the mountainous terrain required specialized mountain troops and equipment. It also saw action in the wake of the Italian surrender when it moved to disarm Italian troops and protect ethnic German communities in Italy. At the end of the war it successfully fought to keep passes into Austria open, allowing German units to escape the Balkans and surrender to British forces. The remnants of the unit became some of the last Germans to lay down their arms when they surrendered on 9 May 1945.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 14, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 14, 2016 is The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman.
The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman is the 22nd album by the American rock group Sparks, released on August 14, 2009. The duo’s first work in the radio musical or pop opera genre, the album is built around an imaginary visit to Hollywood by Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1950s. Its storyline focuses on the divides between European and American culture, between art and commerce. Unlike other Sparks albums, the work is conceived as a single piece, to be listened to as a whole, rather than a collection of stand-alone songs. The work was commissioned by Sveriges Radio Radioteatern, the radio drama department of Sweden’s national radio broadcaster. First released in the Swedish broadcast version in August 2009, with an English-language version following in November 2009, it features a cast of Swedish and American actors and a variety of musical styles ranging from opera to vaudeville and pop. The album’s recording was a collaborative effort, with music and English vocals recorded by Sparks in the United States, and Swedish vocals recorded by Sveriges Radio in Stockholm.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 13, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 13, 2016 is Meteorological history of Hurricane Dean.
Hurricane Dean evolved into one of two storms in the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane. Dean was the seventh most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, tied with Camille and Mitch, and the third most intense Atlantic hurricane ever at landfall. Its winds, rains and storm surge were responsible for at least 45 deaths across ten countries and caused around US$1.66 billion in damage. The storm was designated Tropical Depression Four on August 13, born more than 1,500 mi (2,400 km) east of the Lesser Antilles in a vigorous tropical wave heading west from Africa. A deep layered ridge steered the system towards the Caribbean and warmer waters. It was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dean the next day, and to a hurricane two days later. In the Caribbean Sea, the storm rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane, then brushed the southern coast of Jamaica on August 19. It crossed the Yucatán Peninsula and emerged, weakened, into the Bay of Campeche, then briefly restrengthened in the warm waters of the bay before making a second landfall in Veracruz.
Wikipedia article of the day for August 12, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for August 12, 2016 is Turquoise parrot.
The turquoise parrot (Neophema pulchella) is native to Eastern Australia, from southeastern Queensland through New South Wales and into northeastern Victoria. Described by George Shaw in 1792, it is a small lightly-built parrot at around 20 cm (8 in) long and 40 g (1 1⁄2 oz) in weight. The sexes are dimorphic: females are generally duller and paler than males, with a pale green breast and yellow belly. Males (apart from some colour-variant subspecies) are predominantly green, with yellowish underparts, a bright turquoise blue face, predominantly blue wings, and red shoulders. Found in grasslands and open woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus and Callitris species, the bird feeds mainly on grasses and seeds and occasionally flowers, fruit and scale insects. It nests in hollows of gum trees. Much of its habitat has been altered, destroying potential nesting sites. Predominantly sedentary, the species can be locally nomadic. Populations appear to be recovering from a crash in the early 20th century. The turquoise parrot has been kept in captivity since the 19th century.
