Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 2006

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December 1

Cyclone Florence in the north Atlantic

gradients in temperature and dew point otherwise known as "baroclinic zones". Extratropical cyclones are the everyday phenomena which, along with anticyclones, drive the weather over much of the Earth, producing weather ranging from cloudiness and mild showers, to heavy gales and thunderstorms. Extratropical cyclones form anywhere within the extratropical regions of the Earth (usually between 30° and 60° latitude from the equator) in one of two ways; either through cyclogenesis or extratropical transition. (more...
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Recently featured: History of erotic depictionsJawsGreat Fire of London


December 2

Napoléon at the Battle of Austerlitz, by François Pascal Simon

The

Emperor Napoleon I, managed to score a decisive victory over the Russo-Austrian army, commanded by Czar Alexander I. Despite difficult fighting in many sectors, the battle is often regarded as a tactical masterpiece. Austerlitz effectively brought the Third Coalition to an end. (more...
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Recently featured: Extratropical cycloneHistory of erotic depictionsJaws


December 3

Bust of the Greek orator Demosthenes

Macedon's expansion. He idealized his city and strove throughout his life to restore Athens' supremacy and motivate his compatriots against Philip II of Macedon. After Philip's death, Demosthenes played a leading part in his city's uprising against the new King of Macedon, Alexander the Great. However, his efforts failed and the revolt was met with a harsh Macedonian reaction. To prevent a similar revolt against his own rule, Alexander's successor, Antipater, sent his men to track Demosthenes down. Demosthenes took his own life, in order to avoid being arrested by Archias, Antipater's confidant. The Alexandrian Canon compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace recognized Demosthenes as one of the 10 greatest Attic orators and logographers. (more...
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Recently featured: Battle of AusterlitzExtratropical cycloneHistory of erotic depictions


December 4

"Weird Al" Yankovic

Grammy Awards amongst nine nominations, three gold and five platinum records in the United States. Yankovic's first Top 10 Billboard album and single were both released in 2006, nearly three decades into his career. In addition to recording his albums, Yankovic has written and starred in his own movie and television show, directed music videos for himself and other artists including Ben Folds and Hanson, and had guest appearances in television shows such as The Simpsons and Behind the Music. (more...
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Recently featured: DemosthenesBattle of AusterlitzExtratropical cyclone


December 5

A child with Down syndrome

Early childhood intervention, screening for common problems, medical treatment where indicated, a conducive family environment, and vocational training can improve the overall development of children with Down syndrome. While some of the genetic limitations of Down Syndrome cannot be overcome, education and proper care, initiated at any time, can improve quality of life. (more...
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Recently featured: "Weird Al" YankovicDemosthenesBattle of Austerlitz


December 6

Mount Rushmore

United States presidential memorial that represents the first 150 years of the history of the United States of America with the 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of former U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278 acres (5.17 km²), and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level. It is managed by the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior. The memorial attracts around 2 million people annually. The mountain, known to the Lakota Sioux as Six Grandfathers, was renamed in 1885 after Charles E. Rushmore, a prominent New York lawyer. The project of carving Mount Rushmore originally started with the purpose of increasing tourism in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. After long negotiations involving a Congressional delegation and President Calvin Coolidge, the project received Congressional approval. Under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the carving started in 1927 and ended in 1941. (more...
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Recently featured: Down syndrome"Weird Al" YankovicDemosthenes


December 7

Artist's impression of the planet HD 69830 d

An

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Recently featured: Mount RushmoreDown syndrome"Weird Al" Yankovic


December 8

Map showing different regions that can be referred to as Macedonia

The

Republic of Macedonia. Despite intervention from the United Nations, the dispute is still pending full resolution. (more...
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December 9

Ina Garten at a San Francisco book signing.

bœuf bourguignon. Her culinary fame began with her gourmet food store, Barefoot Contessa; Garten parlayed this success into a string of best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded convenience foods, and a popular Food Network television show. (more...
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December 10

Portrait of a Persian woman pouring wine

The

Pashtuns, and many other, smaller groups. (more...
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Extrasolar planet


December 11

A Green and Golden Bell Frog

The

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Recently featured: Iranian peoplesIna GartenDefinition of Macedonia


December 12

The Preamble of the Constitution of India

The

Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines for the framing of laws by the government. The Fundamental Duties are defined as the moral obligations of all citizens to help to promote a spirit of patriotism and to uphold the unity of India. Like the Directive Principles, they are not legally enforceable. (more...
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December 13

Drawing for a game board from patent application by Lizzie J. Magie

The

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Green and Golden Bell Frog – Iranian peoples


December 14

Pioneers crossing Platte River

The

West." (more...
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Green and Golden Bell Frog


December 15

HIV protease in a complex with the protease inhibitor ritonavir

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December 16

Shia Muslims in Iraq and is believed responsible for dispatching numerous Al-Qaeda suicide bombers throughout Iraq, especially to areas with large concentrations of Shia civilians. As the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq he is suspected of responsibility for thousands of deaths. Zarqawi was killed in a US airstrike in June 2006. (more...
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History of the board game Monopoly


December 17

1902 poster advertising Gaumont's sound films

A

The Jazz Singer, released in October 1927. By the early 1930s, the talkies were a global phenomenon. In the United States, they helped secure Hollywood's position as one of the world's most powerful cultural/commercial systems. (more...
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December 18

Manila MRT Train approaching Ayala Station

The

Build-Operate-Transfer agreement. (more...
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Enzyme inhibitors


December 19

Muhammad Iqbal

All India Muslim League, Iqbal would encourage the creation of a "state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address. (more...
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Recently featured: Manila Metro Rail Transit SystemSound filmAbu Musab al-Zarqawi


December 20

The

nonfiction work by former-prisoner and Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. (more...
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Recently featured: Muhammad IqbalManila Metro Rail Transit SystemSound film


December 21

Warner Brothers made a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997. As of June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a museum and a bronze life-sized statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi, Texas). (more...
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Recently featured: Kengir uprisingMuhammad IqbalManila Metro Rail Transit System


December 22

Dancers at the Notting Hill Carnival

The

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Recently featured: SelenaKengir uprisingMuhammad Iqbal


December 23

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British African-Caribbean community – SelenaKengir uprising


December 24

The shrubby form of Banksia brownii

habitat, with all known populations currently threatened by Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, a disease to which the species is highly susceptible. Other threats include loss of habitat, commercial exploitation and changes to the fire regime. B. brownii is highly valued by Australia's horticultural and cut flower industries. (more...
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December 25

Edmund of Abingdon and Queen Margaret to sainthood. After his death, he received veneration as a saint himself, although he was never formally canonised. (more...
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British African-Caribbean community


December 26

archaeologists discovered a civilization obliterated by the 1815 eruption, known as the Pompeii of the East. (more...
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Torchic


December 27

Photo of Sylvanus G. Morley, circa 1912

Maya hieroglyphic writing, and wrote popular accounts on the Maya for a general audience. To his contemporaries he was one of the leading Mesoamerican archaeologists of his day; although more recent developments in the field have resulted in a re-evaluation of his theories and works, his publications (particularly on calendric inscriptions) are still cited. Overall, his commitment and enthusiasm for Maya studies would generate the interest and win the necessary sponsorship and backing to finance projects which would ultimately reveal much about the Maya of former times. His involvement in clandestine espionage activities at the behest of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence was another, surprising, aspect of his career, which came to light only well after his death. (more...
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Recently featured: Mount TamboraClement of DunblaneBanksia brownii


December 28

A modern salsa band lineup

son orchestras of the early twentieth century, as well as Latin jazz. Salsa is essentially Cuban in stylistic origin, though it is also a hybrid of Puerto Rican and other Latin styles mixed with pop, jazz, rock, and R&B. Salsa is the primary music played at Latin dance clubs and is the "essential pulse of Latin music", according to author Ed Morales. Modern salsa remains a dance-oriented genre and is closely associated with a style of salsa dancing. (more...
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Recently featured: Sylvanus MorleyMount TamboraClement of Dunblane


December 29

The redshift of spectral lines in the optical spectrum of distant galaxies

the universe is expanding, seen in, for example, the Big Bang model. Yet a third type of redshift, the gravitational redshift also known as the Einstein effect, results from the time dilation that occurs in general relativity near massive objects. (more...
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Recently featured: Salsa musicSylvanus MorleyMount Tambora


December 30

sex education–style dramas to "documentaries" on foreign cultures intended to titillate audiences rather than to educate them, maximizing profits via marketing gimmicks. (more...
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Recently featured: RedshiftSalsa musicSylvanus Morley


December 31

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Recently featured: Kroger BabbRedshiftSalsa music