news/notes 2009.03.21

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Hans Hofmann
German painter Hans Hofmann, born this day in 1880, was an influential art teacher and a pioneer in the use of improvisatory techniques whose work paved the way for American painters to develop Abstract Expressionism.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1963: Closing of Alcatraz prison
The U.S. federal prison on San Francisco Bay's Alcatraz Island, which had held some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners—including Al Capone and Robert Stroud, the “Birdman of Alcatraz”—was closed this day in 1963.



[Health] from [Reuters]
China clears Johnson & Johnson baby products after probe
Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:57am EDT

BEIJING, March 21 (Reuters) - Chinese health authorities said on Saturday that they had found no evidence of cancer-causing chemicals in baby products made by U.S. company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The State Food and Drug Administration had investigated 33 products, including baby shampoo, made by Johnson & Johnson after a U.S. consumer group charged that they contained carcinogens.

The SFDA, in a statement on its website, said it would continue to monitor the situation and carry out timely tests.

Johnson & Johnson has disputed the allegations by the U.S.-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, saying that trace levels of the compounds in question result from processes that make the products gentle for babies and safe from bacteria growth.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies consider these trace level safe, the company said in a statement this week.

According to media reports, a Shanghai-based regional supermarket chain, Nonggongshang Supermarket Group, ordered its 3,500 outlets to remove baby bath products made by Johnson & Johnson from their shelves.

Other big outlets in China, including the U.S. supermarket Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and its French rival Carrefour (CARR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), still carry the products. (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Jan Dahinten)

[Words] from [英辞郎]
carcinogen
a substance that can cause cancer
【名】発癌（性）物質
・The number of known carcinogens is constantly on the rise.
発癌性物質の発見数は、常に増加している。
【変化】《複》carcinogens、【分節】car・cin・o・gen

news/notes 2009.03.20

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton, whose Principia (1687) was one of the most important single works in the history of modern science and who was the culminating figure of the scientific revolution of the 17th century, died this day in 1727.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1995: AUM subway attack
Top leaders of AUM Shinrikyo (Japanese: “AUM Supreme Truth”), a Japanese Buddhist sect founded in 1987 by Asahara Shoko, released nerve gas into a Tokyo subway this day in 1995, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.

news/notes 2009.03.19

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Willem de Kooning
Dutch American artist Willem de Kooning, a major exponent of Abstract Expressionism and Action painting whose series Woman I–VI caused a stir with its violent images and impulsive technique, died this day in 1997.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1982: Conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom
On this day in 1982, Argentine forces mobilized after a dispute between Argentine workers and British scientists on British-controlled South Georgia island, leading to Argentina's invasion of the Falklands two weeks later.

news/notes 2009.03.18

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
John Updike
American writer John Updike, whose novels, short stories, and poems are known for their realistic but subtle depiction of “American, Protestant, small-town, middle-class” life, was born this day in 1932.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
2000: Election of Chen Shui-bian
On this day in 2000, Chen Shui-bian, a leader of the proindependence movement that sought statehood for the Republic of China (Taiwan), was elected president of Taiwan, breaking the Nationalist Party's 55-year rule.

news/notes 2009.03.17

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Mia Hamm
Two-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Mia Hamm, born this day in 1972, was the first global star in women's football (soccer), retiring with 158 goals in international play—the most by any player, male or female.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1992: Vote to end apartheid
On this day in 1992, nearly 69 percent of white South African voters backed F.W. de Klerk's reforms—which included the repeal of racially discriminatory laws—and effectively endorsed the dismantling of apartheid.

news/notes 2009.03.16

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
James Madison
Born this day in 1751, James Madison, the fourth U.S. president and an architect of the U.S. Constitution and its ratification, collaborated in the publication of the Federalist papers and sponsored the Bill of Rights.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1968: My Lai Massacre
On this day in 1968, during the Vietnam War, U.S. soldiers dispatched on a search-and-destroy mission killed as many as 500 unarmed villagers in the hamlet of My Lai, considered a stronghold of the Viet Cong.

news/notes 2009.03.15

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Albert Einstein
German American physicist Albert Einstein, born this day in 1879, had one of the most creative intellects in human history, developed groundbreaking theories of relativity, and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
2004: Reelection of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin, the intelligence officer and politician who became president of Russia in 1999 upon the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term as president this day in 2004.

news/notes 2009.03.14

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Albert Einstein
German American physicist Albert Einstein, born this day in 1879, had one of the most creative intellects in human history, developed groundbreaking theories of relativity, and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
2004: Reelection of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin, the intelligence officer and politician who became president of Russia in 1999 upon the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, was overwhelmingly reelected to a second term as president this day in 2004.

news/notes 2009.03.12

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre, one of the greatest French landscape architects, whose masterpiece is the gardens of Versailles and whose genius was in demand throughout the capitals of Europe, was born in Paris this day in 1613.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1947: Truman Doctrine pronounced
On this day in 1947, U.S. President Harry S. Truman articulated what became known as the Truman Doctrine when he asked Congress to appropriate aid for Greece and Turkey, both of which were facing communist threats.

news/notes 2009.03.11

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson, born this day in 1916 and a cabinet minister by age 31, led the Labour Party to victory in four of five general elections and was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and from 1974 t

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
2004: Terrorist bombings in Madrid
On this day in 2004, Madrid suffered a series of terrorist attacks when 10 bombs, detonated by Islamist militants, exploded on four trains at three different rail stations, killing 191 people and injuring some 1,800 others.

news/notes 2009.03.10

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Kim Campbell
Progressive Conservative Kim Campbell, who became Canada's first woman prime minister and its first leader from the West Coast when she succeeded Brian Mulroney in 1993, was born this day in 1947 in British Columbia.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1933: Opening of the Nazis' first concentration camp
On this day in 1933, soon after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, the first concentration camp in Germany opened at Dachau, where at least 32,000 people would die from disease, malnutrition, physical oppression, and execution.

news/notes 2009.03.09

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Francisco Bayeu
Francisco Bayeu, considered by his contemporaries to be the finest Spanish painter of their period and who was greatly influenced by Anton Raphael Mengs and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, was born this day in 1734.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1831: Creation of French Foreign Legion
The Foreign Legion, whose unofficial motto is “Legio patria nostra” (“The legion is our fatherland”), was founded this day in 1831 by King Louis-Philippe as an aid in controlling French colonial possessions in Africa.

news/notes 2009.03.08

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., born this day in 1841, was a U.S. Supreme Court justice and legal historian who advocated judicial restraint, arguing that speech could be limited only if it was a “clear and present danger.”

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1702: British throne ascended by Anne
On this day in 1702, Anne became the last Stuart monarch of Great Britain, having earlier acquiesced to the Act of Settlement of 1701, which designated as her successors the Hanoverian descendants of King James I.

news/notes 2009.03.07

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Viv Richards
West Indian cricketer Viv Richards, born this day in 1952 and nicknamed “Master Blaster,” was arguably the finest batsman of his generation, scoring 8,540 runs and averaging more than 50 runs per innings in Test competition.

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1965: Attack on civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama
On this day in 1965, state troopers used nightsticks and tear gas to attack American civil rights activists as they crossed a bridge in Selma, Alabama, during their march to the state capitol in Montgomery.

news/notes 2009.03.06

[Born This Day] from [Britannica]
Michelangelo
Born this day in 1475 was Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, who exerted an unparalleled influence on Western sculpture, painting, and architecture and whose works rank among the most famous in existenc

[On This Day] from [Britannica]
1924: King Tut's tomb opened
On this day in 1924, the Egyptian government opened the mummy case of King Tutankhamen, ruler of Egypt in the 14th century BC, whose burial chamber had been discovered in 1922 by renowned British archaeologist Howard Carter.

[Today's Studying Artiles] from [The Washington Post]

[Kirsten Kedzierski and Scot Hinshaw]

This happily quirky couple beat out four other pairs of finalists -- voted on by readers of Express and DC Scout -- to snag more than $35,000 in weddingproducts and services. Weddings must be their destiny, since their first date was at one.

Kirsten, 26, and Scot, 34, met while attending different destination weddings in Costa Rica. While hanging out at their resort's pool, Scot invited Kirsten to be his date for the wedding he was attending that night. She says, "I politely declined, but something struck me about him. When I mentioned this to my mother, my mother marched down to where he was and said, 'Hi, I'm Mary. I'm sorry my daughter is a dumb-ass. She will attend the wedding with you tonight.'"

Kirsten and Scot had to bridge the DC/NYC gap until Kirsten moved to DC. They bought a condo and now co-exist with Scot's Maryland Terrapins bobbleheads. "I [had] calmly asked him to wait until a proper man-cave was built [to display them in], and he refused," Kirsten jokes. But then the couplegot serious -- literally.

On Thanksgiving Day last year, "[Scot] sat me on the bed and told me he was very thankful for everything we have," says Kirsten, "and wanted to know if I would make him thankful for one more thing, and then he pulled out the mostbeautiful ring I have ever seen."

Kisten and Scot have set the date for Dec. 5, 2009.

Scot Hinshaw and Kirsten KedzierskiKirsten
Kedzierski, 26 Scot Hinshaw, 34

Kirsten and Scot will marry December 5, 2009 in Toledo, Ohio.

» KIRSTEN AND SCOT are our wedding contest winners. Read our follow-up story on them here.

1. How did you meet?

The couple met at a hotel in Costa Rica while attending different destination weddings. Kirsten caught Scot's eye by the resort's pool, and he approached her. When she explained she'd attended a wedding the evening before, he invited her to be his date at his friend's wedding that evening. "I politely declined, but something struck me about him," she says. "When I mentioned this to my mother, my mother marched down to where he was and said, 'Hi, I'm Mary. I'm sorry my daughter is a dumb-ass. She will attend the wedding with you tonight.'" Kirsten did. The next weekend, Scot traveled from D.C. to New York to attend a Yankees game with her, and the rest is history.

2. How did he propose?

With a houseful of relatives and dinner on the stove, Scot proposed on Thanksgiving Day in 2008. "He sat me on the bed and told me he was very thankful for everything we have and wanted to know if I would make him thankful for one more thing, and then he pulled out the most beautiful ring I have ever seen."

3. Describe a time when things were tough but you stayed together and forged through.

"When we moved into our condo and I discovered Scot's Maryland Terrapins bobbleheads had made the move with us. I calmly asked him to wait until a proper man-cave was built [to display them in], and he refused. In all seriousness, D.C. has been a tough adjustment for me. I miss my Yankees and my girlfriends — in that order."

4. If you had to make a TV show, movie or book into the theme of your wedding, which would you choose and why?
"'Flashdance'? Not really, but my copy just got scratched, and perhaps if we win this, the producers will send us a new copy because of the shout-out," Kirsten says.

5. You get to the ceremony site on your wedding day, and the roof has fallen in. What do you do?

"Actually, we are getting married at a historic theater in Toledo. A little roof issue won't stop us. As long as the chicken isn't dry, I'm happy," Kirsten says.

6. Would you rather get married in a lime-green prom ensemble from the 1970s, or include all your exes in the wedding party?

Exes, please! "My exes are performers and can provide cheaper music options for us. I love a good deal. As for his side, Scot agrees. His exes are event planners and are probably super-good at getting the best deal out of vendors."