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GhostDancer

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Everything posted by GhostDancer

  1. 1889 North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states, respectively. 1947 Howard Hughes flew the Spruce Goose on its first and only flight. 1948 Harry S. Truman defeated Thomas E. Dewey to the surprise of pollsters and newspapers, in the greatest presidential upset in history. 1959 Twenty-One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admitted that he had been given questions and answers in advance. 1976 Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford, becoming the first U.S. president from the deep South since the Civil War. 1984 Velma Margie Barfield, a convicted murderer became the first woman to be executed since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. 2003 V. Gene Robinson was consecrated as bishop by the U.S. Episcopal Church, becoming the first openly gay bishop in the church.
  2. Japan's monastic warriors have fared poorly in comparison to the samurai, both in terms of historical reputation and representations in popular culture. Often maligned and criticized for their involvement in politics and other secular matters, they have been seen as figures separate from the larger military class. However, as Mikael Adolphson reveals in his comprehensive and authoritative examination of the social origins of the monastic forces, political conditions, and warfare practices of the Heian (794-1185) and Kamakura (1185-1333) eras, these monk-warriors(sohei) were in reality inseparable from the warrior class. Their negative image, Adolphson argues, is a construct that grew out of artistic sources critical of the established temples from the fourteenth century on. In deconstructing the sohei image and looking for clues as to the characteristics, role, and meaning of the monastic forces, The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha highlights the importance of historical circumstances; it also points to the fallacies of allowing later, especially modern, notions of religion to exert undue influence on interpretations of the past. It further suggests that, rather than constituting a separate category of violence, religious violence needs to be understood in its political, social, military, and ideological contexts.
  3. Here's an informative, entertaining link related to the old photo above and the Japanese warrior monk, the sohei http://jp.learnoutlive.com/the-sohei/
  4. Good on ya. Welcome to the madness.
  5. Regarding the efficiency of Killing Attack Powers, Aaron Allston leveraged this for a wider range of damage at the same cost for Nerve Strikes. Simply purchase the Killing Attack martial maneuver with a +0 Modifier, Does No Body. He named this S-Damage. For a more rapid Counter Strike, use the Multiple Powers Attack rules to Block and Strike or such simultaneously. Your combined CV adds will not be as good this way, which is fine - game balance, eh? Oh, and consider my Martial Hero thread, which has the same themes, objectives, etc.
  6. DC has published a new version of Spy Smasher, same costume, different gender http://comicvine.gamespot.com/katarina-armstrong/4005-107902/
  7. 2007 Argentina Elects its First Female PresidentFormer First Lady of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, won the elections with over 45% of all votes cast. She was re-elected to office again in 2011, this time with over 50% of the votes cast. Kirchner was not the first woman to serve as Argentina’s president, but she was the first one to be elected. Isabel Martínez de Perón served as the country’s head of state after her husband, President Juan Perón, died in office. When she was sworn in to replace her husband on July 1, 1974, she then became the first woman to be a president of any country to date. 1995 Fire Breaks Out between Two Metro Stations in BakuThought to be one of the deadliest subway disasters in history, the fire started as a result of old and faulty wiring. Over 300 people traveling in a train between Ulduz and Narimanov stations in Azerbaijan’s capital city were killed as smoke filled the subway tunnels. 1938 Germany expels Polish jewsGermany expelled about 17000 Polish jews and sent them to Poland which refused to take them in. 1919 US Congress Passes the Volstead ActThe act enumerated ways to enforce Prohibition. Prohibition was put in place in the country by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment made it illegal to produce, sell, or transport alcohol in the US except for medical or religious purposes. The act was named after Andrew Volstead, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who was one of the sponsors of the bill. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment in December 1933. 1918 Czechoslovakia Gains IndependenceThe Central European country had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire since the late 1700s. At the end of the First World War, with the end of the Empire on the horizon, nationalists under the leadership of Thomas Masaryk pushed for independence. Masaryk became the country’s first president in November 1918. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully broke up into two countries – the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. * 1913 Krazy Kat debuted, as my friend Craig Yoe put it, the supreme comic of all time, forever and a day.
  8. Ally Yoshitoshi, the Spider Princess, is a Tsuchigumo (土蜘蛛), literally translated "dirt/earth spider", a historical Japanese derogatory term for renegade local clans, and also the name for a race of spider-like yōkai in Japanese folklore. Like others of her kind, she has no allegiance to the Japanese Emperor, and she only looks human. Her monstrous true form is seen by who are Stunned, or when she is Stunned, Knocked out, or asleep. She has four Invisible Extra Limbs with exoskeleton Armor, the body of a tiger, and the head of a demon. Her blood is white. She has a suite of spider Powers: Clinging, and 25 Multipower Spider Webs, Susceptible to Flame (-1) 1) Entangle 4d6 DEF 4, 1/2 END (+1/4), 1 2) Stretching 4", No END (+1/2), 1 3) Swinging 15", 4x NCM, No END (+1/2) ,
  9. It was a wicked thing to do. Also, the Thought Police are short on psionics, pre-atom bombing.
  10. Black Peter leads the Psionic Department of the Thought Police (Shiso Keisatsu) formally known as the Special Higher Police (特別高等警察 Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu), often shortened to Tokkō (特高 Tokkō), a police force established in 1911 in Japan, specifically to investigate and control political groups and ideologies deemed to be a threat to public order. Its main function was as a civilian counterpart to the military's Kempeitai and Tokkeitai, and it can be considered roughly equivalent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States in terms of combining both criminal investigation and counter-espionage functions. It has been less charitably compared to the Nazi Gestapo secret police. The Tokkō was also known as the "Peace Police" (Chian Keisatsu). The High Treason Incident of 1910 was the stimulus for the establishment of the Tokkō under the aegis of the Home Ministry. With the Russian Revolution, unrest at home due to the Rice Riots of 1918, increase in strikes and labor unrest from the labor movement, and Samil Uprising in Korea, the Tokkō was greatly expanded under the administration of Hara Takashi, and subsequent prime ministers. The Tokkō was charged with suppressing "dangerous thoughts" that could endanger the state. It was primarily concerned with anarchism, communism, socialism, and the growing foreign population within Japan, but its scope gradually increased to include religious groups, pacifists, student activists, liberals, and ultrarightists.After the passage of the Peace Preservation Law of 1925, the power of the Tokkō was expanded tremendously, and it expanded to include branches in every Japanese prefecture, major city, and overseas locations with a large Japanese population (including Shanghai, London and Berlin). In the late 1920s and 1930s, the Tokkō launched a sustained campaign to destroy the Japanese Communist Party with several waves of mass arrests of known members, sympathizers and suspected sympathizers (March 15 incident). The other six departments of the Tokkō were Special Police Work, Foreign Surveillance, Koreans in Japan, Labor Relations, Censorship, Arbitration). In 1927, a sub-bureau was added, the Thought Section of the Criminal Affairs Bureau, to deal with the study and suppression of subversive ideologies. The Tokkō made use of both uniformed and non-uniformed officers, along with a large network of informants. These informants were often undercover officers infiltrating suspect organizations and acting as agents provocateur, or voluntary informants from Tonarigumi neighborhood associations. Counter-espionage activities also included monitoring external telephone and radio communications inside or outside Japan and nearest areas. By 1936, the Tokkō had arrested 59,013 people, of whom 5000 had been brought to trial; about half of those received prison sentences. Prisoners were forced to write accounts of how they had become involved with "dangerous ideologies", rewriting these essays until their interrogators were happy with the work. These works then were used to prove their criminal involvement. [wikipedia]
  11. 1858 Roland Macy opened Macy's Department Store in New York City. It was Macy's eighth business venture -- the other seven failed. 1904 The New York subway system officially opened. It was the first rapid-transit subway system in America. 1994 The Justice Department announced that the U.S. prison population had exceeded one million for the first time in American history. 1997 The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 554.26 points. The stock market was shut down for the first time since the 1981 assassination attempt on U.S. President Reagan. 1998 Two boats hit head-on in India. One of the boats suffered no damage. The other sank and 60 people were missing. 1998 A car bomb exploded in the car of Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Majzoub. Majzoub, his wife, his nine-month-old son and a passerby were injured in the blast. 1999 Armenia's Prime Minister and seven other government officials were killed during a parliamentary session. It was the believed that the gunmen were staging a coup. 2002 The Anaheim Angels won their first World Series. They beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the series. 2002 Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys) became the all-time leading rusher in the NFL when he extended his career yardage to 16,743. He achieved the record in his 193rd game. He also scored his 150th career touchdown. 2003 Bank of America Corp. announced it had agreed to buy FleetBoston Financial Corp. The deal created the second largest banking company in the U.S.
  12. Also see Astro Boy, known in Japan by its original name Mighty Atom (Japanese: 鉄腕アトム Tetsuwan Atomu), a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka, dating back to 1952. And Britain's Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, dating back to 1950.
  13. Science fiction comics were less popular. Noteworthy were EC Comics Weird Science and Weird Fantasy.
  14. Spy Smasher dates back to the Golden Age http://comicvine.gamespot.com/spy-smasher/4005-19155/
  15. 1774 The First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia. 1825 The Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie to the Hudson River, opened. 1881 Wyatt Earp, his two brothers, and Doc Holliday were involved in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. 1975 Anwar Sadat became the first Egyptian president to pay an official visit to the United States. 1979 South Korean president Park Chung Hee was killed by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. 1994 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Prime Minister Abdel Salam Majali of Jordan signed a peace treaty in a ceremony attended by President Clinton. 2002 Russian government forces stormed the Moscow theater held by Chechen rebels. More than 100 hostages were killed. 2005 The Chicago White Sox sweep the Houston Astros to win their first World Series in 88 years.
  16. 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer died in London. 1415 The Battle of Agincourt between England and France during the Hundred Years War took place. 1760 King George III of Britain was crowned. 1854 The Charge of the Light Brigade took place at Balaklava during the Crimean War. 1962 John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 1971 The U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan. 1983 The United States invaded the Caribbean nation of Grenada.
  17. 1648 The treaties for the Peace of Westphalia were signed, ending the Thirty Years War, ultimately destroying the Holy Roman Empire, and ushering in the modern European state system. 1901Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. 1931The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, opened to traffic. 1939Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del. 1940The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. 1945The United Nations officially came into being as its charter took effect. 1992The Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series. 2003The last Concordes landed in London, ending supersonic air travel. 2005Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, 92, died.
  18. 191525,000 women marched in New York City, demanding the right to vote. 1946The United Nations General Assembly convened in New York for the first time. 1973President Richard Nixon agreed to turn White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor over to Judge John J. Sirica. 1983A suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International airport in Lebanon killed 241 U.S. Marines and sailors. 2002Chechen rebels seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage. Russian forces stormed the building the next day. 2003Madame Chiang Kai-shek died at age 105.
  19. 1797 Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute jump from a balloon. 1836Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first president of the Republic of Texas. 1954West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 1962President Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island. 1973Spanish cellist, conductor, and composer Pablo Casals died in Puerto Rico, at age 96. 1979Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi, the deposed Shah of Iran, was allowed in the United States for medical treatment. This action led to the Iran hostage crisis.
  20. Virtuoso music performance Ambush from Ten Sides https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=eP589a780w0
  21. 1803 The Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase. 1944Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines, 30 months after he said "I shall return." 1947The U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee opened meetings about alleged Communist infiltration in the Hollywood film industry. 1964The 31st president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, died in New York at age 90. 1968Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis. 1973The Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II. 2011Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi is killed by rebel troops in Surt, Libya, his hometown.
  22. 1781 British General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown, Va., bringing an end to the last major battle of the American Revolution. 1812French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte began their retreat from Moscow. 1960The United States imposes a partial embargo on goods exported to Cuba. 1983The Senate passed a bill (78–22) making Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, birthday a public holiday. 1987The stock market crashed on what came to be known as "Black Monday." Stocks dropped a record 508 points, or 22.6%, topping the drops on October 28 and 29 in 1929 that ushered in the Great Depression.
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