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Watanabe Moritsuna (1542-1620) was a Japanese retainer under the reputed clan of Tokugawa throughout the late Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan. Sympathetic to the cause of Tokugawa Ieyasu (who was forced to be a comrade of the Imagawa by means of a hostage deal), Moritsuna supported Ieyasu in 1557 with dinstinct valiance. Feeling a sense of great loyalty and duty towards his service under the Tokugawa at the moment at which he initially became retainer, Moritsuna fought with great diversity during three major battles. The Anegawa of 1570, the Mikatagahara of 1573, and the Nagashino of 1575. As a consequence to Moritsuna’s notable renown throughout these three conflicts, he became known as ‘Spear Hanzō’ (yari Hanzō) among his fellow comrades, due to his advanced discipline in the art of the yari. Conjectively assisting his lord within the Battle of Sekigahara and seeing the Tokugawa Shogunate come to its ruling light over such a period of constant warring, Moritsuna advanced into the Edo Period with considerate rank, serving Ieyasu up until the time at which he would retire from military service. He died in 1620 due to symptoms supposedly linked to old age.

Daniel Leon “Danny” Gabbidon (born August 8, 1979 in Cwmbran, Wales) is a Welsh professional footballer currently playing for West Ham United and for Wales. He plays at centre half.

Gabbidon began his career at West Bromwich Albion, joining as an apprentice in November 1996 before turning professional in July 1998. He made his Albion début in a 1–0 home defeat against Ipswich Town on 20 March 1999 and, utilised as a right-back, he went on to make 27 appearances for West Brom in all competitions. Following the appointment of Gary Megson as manager towards the end of the 1999–2000 season, Gabbidon failed to keep his place in the team. Megson switched to a 5-3-2 formation, signing Des Lyttle to fill the right-wingback position. Gabbidon joined Cardiff City on a one-month loan at the start of the 2000–01 season.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Megumi Yokota, born October 15, 1964-March 13, 1994?, is one of at least thirteen Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was abducted on November 15, 1977 at the age of thirteen and apparently forced to help train North Korean spies to pass as Japanese citizens. In 2002, North Korea admitted that she and others had been abducted, but claimed that she had committed suicide on March 13, 1994 (originally announced as 1993 and later corrected to 1994) and returned what it said were her ashes. Japan stated that a DNA test had proved that they could not have been her remains, and her family does not believe that she would have committed suicide. She is believed to have been abducted by Sin Gwang-su.

In the North in 1986, Yokota married a South Korean national, Kim Young-nam, likely also abducted, and the couple had a daughter in 1987, Kim Hye-gyong. In June 2006, Kim Young-Nam, who has since remarried, was allowed to have his family from the South visit him, and during the reunion he confirmed Yokota had committed suicide in 1994 after suffering from mental illness, and had had several attempts at suicide before. He also claimed the remains handed in 2004 are genuine. His comments were however widely dismissed as repeating the official Pyongyang line, and many, especially on the Japanese side, still believe Yokota is alive somewhere; in August 2006, however, some accused the Tokyo government of hiding proof of her death.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Nancy Kwan was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese father, architect Kwan Wing Hong, and Scottish mother, model Marquita Scott. Her parents divorced when she was two years old.

During the Japanese invasion in December 1941, Kwan’s father, who worked for British intelligence, fled the city on foot along with Nancy and her brother, Ka Keung, and hid out in western China. The family returned to Hong Kong at the end of World War II. Kwan later studied at the Royal Ballet School in England, performing in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden. She completed her studies with a certificate to teach ballet.

While she was in England, producer Ray Stark discovered her. At the time, Asian film characters, particularly those in major film roles, were often played by white actors and actresses, using makeup to simulate Asian facial features. However, at the age of 18, Kwan received the starring role of a beautiful and free-spirited Hong Kong prostitute who captivates artist Robert Lomax (William Holden) in the film adaptation of The World of Suzie Wong (1960). She followed it up the next year with the hit musical film Flower Drum Song (1961) and became one of Hollywood’s most visible Eurasian actresses. She became a style icon for the signature Vidal Sassoon bob cut she wore in the 1963 film, “The Wild Affair.” The asymmetrical hairstyle became a ’60s staple and variations of the cut are still being modeled today. She spent the 1960s starring in several films, such as The Wrecking Crew and appearing on such television series as Hawaii Five-O. During this time, she commuted between the United States and Europe.

Kwan married Austrian ski instructor Peter Pock and gave birth to a son, Bernhard Pock (Bernie), who died at age 33 in 1996 of AIDS. Kwan returned to her native Hong Kong in 1972 to be with her critically ill father. After his death, she married director-producer Norbert Meisel and returned to the United States.

Since returning to the USA in 1979, she has made guest appearances and had co-starring roles on numerous television productions, such as Kung Fu, The A-Team and ER. She has also appeared on television commercials even into the 1990s. Today she is politically active as the spokeswoman for the Asian American Voters Coalition.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The speed of light in the vacuum of free space is an important physical constant usually denoted by the letter c. It is the speed of all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, in free space. It is the speed of anything having zero rest mass. The SI metre is defined such that the speed of light in a vacuum is exactly 299,792,458 metres per second (1,079,252,849 km/h). The speed of light can be assigned a definite numerical value because the fundamental SI unit of length, the metre, has been defined since October 21, 1983, as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second; in other words, any increase in the measurement precision of the speed of light would refine the definition of the metre, but not alter the numerical value of c. The approximate value of 3×108 m/s is commonly used in rough estimates (the error is 0.07%). In imperial units, the speed of light is about 670,616,629.4 miles per hour or 983,571,056.4 feet per second (roughly one foot per nanosecond), which is about 186,282.397 miles per second.

The speed of light when it passes through a transparent or translucent material medium, like glass or air, is less than its speed in a vacuum. The ratio of the speed of light in the vacuum to the observed phase velocity is called the refractive index of the medium. See dispersion (optics). In general relativity c remains an important constant of spacetime, however the concepts of ‘distance’, ‘time’, and therefore ’speed’ are not always unambiguously defined due to the curvature of spacetime caused by gravitation. When measured locally, light in a vacuum always passes an observer at c.

Freedom of religion is the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It is generally recognized to also include the freedom to change religion or to not follow any religion. Freedom of religion is considered by many in many nations and people to be a fundamental human right.

In a country with a state religion freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths.

Today there are concerns about the persecution of religious minorities in the Muslim world and in some Communist states such as China and North Korea, as well as other forms of intolerance in other countries, for example banning the wearing of prominent religious articles such as the Muslim veil in some contexts in European countries. Freedom of religion as a legal concept is related to, but not identical with, religious toleration, separation of church and state, or laïcité (a secular state).

Where individuals and not governments are concerned, religious toleration is generally taken to refer to an attitude of acceptance towards other people’s religions. Such toleration does not require that one view other religions as equally true; rather, the assumption is that each citizen will grant that others have the right to hold and practice their own beliefs. Against this backdrop proselytism can be a contentious issue, as it could be regarded as an offense against the validity of others’ religious beliefs, including the belief in no religion at all.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the fifty eight Member States of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France defines freedom of religion and belief as follows: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance.”

Wendy Wilson (born 16 October 1969, Los Angeles, California) is a singer and member of the pop singing trio, Wilson Phillips. She is the daughter of The Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson, and his first wife Marilyn; a member of girl group The Honeys; and she is the younger sister of Carnie Wilson.

Wilson co-founded Wilson Phillips with Carnie and childhood friend Chynna Phillips, when they were in their teens. They went on to release two albums, in 1990 and 1992, before they split up. Wendy and Carnie then went on to release a Christmas album together in 1993, and an album called The Wilsons in 1997, with their estranged father, Brian. In 2004, Wendy reunited with Carnie and Phillips for a third Wilson Phillips album entitled California.

Overnight Delivery is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Jason Bloom and written by Marc Sedaka, Steven Bloom, and Kevin Smith (uncredited). Exterior scenes were filmed in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota and at the University of Minnesota.

Wyatt Trips (Paul Rudd) suspects his girlfriend Kimberly (Christine Taylor), who attends college across the country, is cheating on him. To exact revenge, Trips sends her an angry letter, a forged “used” condom, and a picture of him with his stripper friend Ivy (Reese Witherspoon) topless. After he discovers he was wrong about Kimberly’s infidelity, he and Ivy go on a cross country trip to stop the letter from arriving at Kimberly’s dorm. Along the way, the two encounter a hostage situation, a psychotic delivery man, and a romance blossoming between them.

Former leveraged buyout titan returns to The Forbes 400 after a 2-year hiatus. Son of radio station entrepreneur spent early years spinning records. Then U. of Southern California business school. First buyout 1977: Atlas Architectural Metals for $4 million, sold 6 years later for $16 million. Made fortune in soda: bought Dr Pepper, Seven-Up for $45 million, flipped 2 years later for $700 million. Acquired radio stations; sold to Clear Channel for $17.1 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt. Badly burned during dot-com bust. Bought pro baseball’s Texas Rangers from group including George W. Bush 1998. Famously signed Alex Rodriguez to 10-year, $252 million contract, traded to New York Yankees 2 years later; team still paying some of third baseman’s salary. Also owns pro hockey’s Dallas Stars. With partner, bought Liverpool soccer squad for $900 million in February; investing $1 billion to develop various Dallas real estate projects.

Computer salesman-turned-entrepreneur sold house for $150,000, borrowed another $10 million to buy sewer-and-drain company Conco. Today holding company Heico operates 40 companies with combined sales of $2.5 billion; funnels cash straight into next buyout, usually near-bankrupt Rust Belt manufacturers. “My goal is to keep profits down and cash flow up.” Tried to sell pro basketball’s Memphis Grizzlies to group led by former players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner; deal soured after group failed to produce cash needed to buy the team.