Libel tourism is a term first coined by Geoffrey Robertson QC to describe a form of forum shopping in which plaintiffs choose to file libel suits in jurisdictions thought more likely to give a favourable result. It particularly refers to the practice of pursuing a case in England and Wales, in preference to other jurisdictions, such as the United States, which provide more extensive defences for those accused of making derogatory statements.[1] According to the English publishing house Sweet & Maxwell, the number of libel cases brought by people alleged to be involved with terrorism almost tripled in England between 2006 and 2007.[2] A critic of English defamation law, journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft, attributes the practice to the introduction of no win no fee agreements, the presumption that derogatory statements are false, the difficulty of establishing fair comment and "the caprice of juries and the malice of judges."[3] Wheatcroft contrasts this with United States law since the New York Times Co. v. Sullivan case. "Any American public figure bringing an action now has to prove that what was written was not only untrue but published maliciously and recklessly."[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libel_tourism

A blunder finished off the Berlin Wall New regulations were to make it much easier for East Germans to travel. The intention was to announce the changes overnight and phase in the new rules the next morning. Instead one of the Politburo members, Guenter Schabowski, blurted out the plans during a televised press conference—and compounded his error by adding the new rules would come into force "immediately". The order wasn't to be published until 0400 in the morning. But Mr Schabowski didn't notice. He went into an international press conference. East Berliners were rather quicker off the mark. Tens of thousands of them started turning up at the border demanding to be let across. But the guards hadn't been told anything—their standing orders were to stop anyone crossing. The guards asked their headquarters for orders but the government ministries in charge of security told them nothing. With radio and TV reports bringing more people on to the streets, Politburo member Hans Modrow says it was the border guards themselves who decided what to do. "With hindsight it's the border guards we must thank, not any of us in the Politburo. They ignored their standing orders. They said, 'Open the border.'" http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8347753.stm

Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank partnership is celebrating collecting, banking and conserving 10% of the world’s wild plant species by banking its 24,200th plant species. The 10% target was set in 2000 when Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank partnership was formed. While this accomplishment is being celebrated, a new challenge approaches—collecting and banking a quarter of the world’s plants by 2020. http://www.kew.org/news/kew-millennium-seed-bank-partnership-top-banana-celebrate-banking-10-percent.htm
The bank is based at Wakehurst Place in Sussex because of fears that Kew Gardens, in west London, would be vulnerable to flooding. It is a truly international project, which relies on botanists across the world to donate everything from the seeds of rare flowers in Lebanon to roots from Bostwana. Once the specimens arrive at the bank, they are cleaned and counted. Ideally the plant-hunters will have collected 20,000 seeds for each type of plant, but they also have to ensure they do not take so many seeds that they endanger a species. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/15/kew-millennium-seed-bank-hits-target

Compare counties with the same name. Go to http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County
Enter name of county (Champaign, for example), then click on search for matches. You will find two counties, one in Illinois and one in Ohio.

Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio. Urbana was named after a town in Virginia. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Urbana,_Ohio

Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois. The city was named after Urbana, Ohio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbana,_Illinois

Urbanna is a town in Middlesex County, Virginia. A common misspelling of Urbanna is Urbana. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbanna,_Virginia
The 1680 Acts of Assembly at Jamestown ordered local officials to establish 20, 50-acre port towns, at a cost of 10,000 pounds of tobacco each, through which all trade would take place: Varina, Charles City, Surry, Jamestown, Patesfield, Nansemond and Warwick along with plantations in Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Yorktown, New Kent, Gloucester, Tappahannock, Stafford, Accomac, Northampton, Lancaster, Northumberland—and the small part of Ralph Wormeley’s Rosegill that would, in 1705, be named Burgh of Urbanna, “City of Anne.” The town was named in honor of England’s Queen Anne. http://www.urbanna.com/pages/allHistory.html

Did Paul Klee knowingly or unknowingly "tweet" the first Twitter? Did Twitter find its birth place in Paul Klee’s "Twittering Machine" painted in 1922? In an alchemical combination of musical tones, nature symbolism, and a magical sigil of lines; Paul Klee may have concocted a spell for the Twitter meme.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-11705-NY-Holistic-Body--Spirit-Examiner~y2009m8d10-Did-Paul-Klee-create-Twitter-in-1922-with-magic

Meme is a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation). "Memes are the cultural counterpart of genes" A meme is an idea or practice that spreads from person to person. http://www.lexic.us/definition-of/meme

Sigil is a seal or a signature. http://www.lexic.us/definition-of/sigil

Rudolph, part 2 The Rudolph post-war demand for licensing the Rudolph character was tremendous, but since Robert L. May had created the story as an employee of Montgomery Ward, they held the copyright and he received no royalties. Deeply in debt from the medical bills resulting from his wife's terminal illness (she died about the time May created Rudolph), May persuaded Montgomery Ward's corporate president, Sewell Avery, to turn the copyright over to him in January 1947. With the rights to his creation in hand, May's financial security was assured. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was printed commercially in 1947 and shown in theaters as a nine-minute cartoon the following year. The Rudolph phenomenon really took off, however, when May's brother-in-law, songwriter Johnny Marks, developed the lyrics and melody for a Rudolph song. Marks' musical version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (turned down by many who didn't want to meddle with the established Santa legend) was recorded by Gene Autry in 1949, sold two million copies that year, and went on to become one of the best-selling songs of all time (second only to "White Christmas"). A TV special about Rudolph narrated by Burl Ives was produced in 1964 and remains a popular perennial holiday favorite in the USA. The story of Rudolph is primarily known to us through the lyrics of Johnny Marks' song; the story May wrote is substantially different in a number of ways. Rudolph was not one of Santa's reindeer (or the offspring of one of Santa's reindeer), and he did not live at the North Pole. Rudolph dwelled in an "ordinary" reindeer village elsewhere, and although he was taunted and laughed at for having a shiny red nose, he was not regarded by his parents as a shameful embarrassment. Rudolph was brought up in a loving household and was a responsible reindeer with a good self-image and sense of worth. Moreover, Rudolph did not rise to fame when Santa picked him out from the reindeer herd because of his shiny nose. Santa discovered the red-nosed reindeer quite by accident, when he noticed the glow emanating from Rudolph's room while delivering presents to Rudolph's house.
http://www.xomba.com/rudolph_the_red_nosed_reindeer_creation_and_montgomery_ward_stores

On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first Constitution of the United States.
On November 16, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act into law. In addition to creating an oil pipeline across the state, the Act also quashed all environmental-legal challenges in regard to its construction. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/thisday/