23 December

Counter-Strike is a team-based FPS in which players join either the Terrorists (T's) or the Counter-Terrorists (CT's). Server settings may automatically balance when one team has more players than the other. Each round starts with the two teams spawning simultaneously, as one of eight different default character models (four to choose from for both Counter-Terrorist and Terrorist. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero added two extra models, bringing the total to ten). Each player generally starts with $800, two magazines of ammunitio ...

See also:

Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike - Gameplay, Counter-Strike - Bomb Defusal, Counter-Strike - Hostage Rescue, Counter-Strike - Assassination, Counter-Strike - Escape, Counter-Strike - History, Counter-Strike - Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Counter-Strike - Counter-Strike: Source CS:S, Counter-Strike - Map types, Counter-Strike - List of Official Counter-Strike 1.6 maps, Counter-Strike - Player models, Counter-Strike - Counter-Terrorist models, Counter-Strike - Terrorist models, Counter-Strike - Other models, Counter-Strike - Culture, Counter-Strike - Legacy of Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike - Mods and scripts

Read more here: » Counter-Strike: Encyclopedia II - Counter-Strike - Gameplay

Yao Wenyuan (Chinese: 姚文元; Hanyu Pinyin: Yáo Wényuán) (1931 – 23 December 2005) was a Chinese writer and propaganda official and a member of the Gang of Four in the People's Republic of China. He began his career in Shanghai as a literary critic. After meeting Zhang Chunqiao, he devoted himself to critical campaigns against writers. His article on "The destitution of Hai Rui" (Chinese: 海瑞罢官; pinyin: Hăi Ruì bà ...

Read more here: » Yao Wenyuan: Encyclopedia - Yao Wenyuan

Choudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, serving from 28 July 1979 until 14 January 1980. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of India before becoming Prime Minister. During his term as Prime Minister the Lok Sabha never met. The day before the Lok Sabha was due to meet for the first time the Indian National Congress withdrew their support from his Bharitiya Lok Dal Government. Choudhary Charan Singh resigned and fresh elections were held six months later. He was called a friend of farmers and his memorial was named Kisan Ghat ...

Read more here: » Choudhary Charan Singh: Encyclopedia - Choudhary Charan Singh

Jean-François Champollion (23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832) was a French classical scholar, philologist, orientalist, and Egyptologist. Chapollion is generally credited as the father of Egyptology. Based on crucial groundwork laid by Thomas Young and William Bankes, Champollion translated parts of the Rosetta stone in 1824, showing that the ancient Egyptian was similar to Coptic, and the writing system was a combination of phonetic and ideographic signs. He was born at Figeac, Lot, in France, used to live in Grenoble ...

Including:

• Jean-François Champollion - Sources

Read more here: » Jean-François Champollion: Encyclopedia - Jean-François Champollion

United Kingdom This article is part of the series: Politics of the United Kingdom Parliament The Crown: Queen Elizabeth II House of Lords Lord Chancellor: Lord Falconer House of Commons Speaker: Michael Martin Prime Minister: Tony Blair Cabinet Government departments Scottish Parliament Scottish ExecutiveIncluding:

• British monarchy - History
• British monarchy - English monarchy
• British monarchy - Scottish monarchy
• British monarchy - Since the Union of the Crowns
• British monarchy - Succession
• British monarchy - Regency
• British monarchy - Political role
• British monarchy - Royal Prerogative
• British monarchy - Commonwealth role
• British monarchy - Finances
• British monarchy - Residences
• British monarchy - Style
• British monarchy - Arms of Dominion

Read more here: » British monarchy: Encyclopedia - British monarchy

The English Bill of Rights of 1689 is an English Act of Parliament with the full title An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown and known colloquially in the UK as the "Bill of Rights." It is one of the basic documents of English constitutional law, alongside Magna Carta, the Act of Settlement and the Parliament Acts. A separate but ...

Including:

• Bill of Rights 1689 - Background
• Bill of Rights 1689 - Basic tenets
• Bill of Rights 1689 - Development

Read more here: » Bill of Rights 1689: Encyclopedia - Bill of Rights 1689

This article is about the British heavy metal band. For the 1946 British arrests of Jewish paramilitaries, see Operation Agatha. For the 1963 film see Black Sabbath (movie) Black Sabbath is a British heavy metal band, originally comprised of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer (Terry) Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums). They are cited by many as the very first heavy metal band. Black Sabbath formed in Birmingham, England in 1969 under the name Polka Tulk Blues Band (soon shortened to "Polk ...

Including:

• Black Sabbath - History
• Black Sabbath - 1970s
• Black Sabbath - 1980s
• Black Sabbath - 1990s 2000s
• Black Sabbath - Reunions
• Black Sabbath - Influence on later musicians
• Black Sabbath - Influences
• Black Sabbath - Trivia
• Black Sabbath - Members
• Black Sabbath - Band members
• Black Sabbath - Jeff Fenholt
• Black Sabbath - Official band discography
• Black Sabbath - Unofficial/other discography
• Black Sabbath - UK hit singles

Read more here: » Black Sabbath: Encyclopedia - Black Sabbath

Location in Cuyahoga County, Ohio The city of Cleveland is the county seat of Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, in the Western Reserve in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River, approximately 60 miles (100 km) west of the Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the river, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location at the head of numerous canals and railroad lines. After the decline of heavy manufacturing, Cleveland's businesses are now more often in the ...

Including:

• Cleveland Ohio - History
• Cleveland Ohio - Geography and climate
• Cleveland Ohio - Geography
• Cleveland Ohio - Cityscape
• Cleveland Ohio - Neighborhoods
• Cleveland Ohio - Climate
• Cleveland Ohio - Demographics
• Cleveland Ohio - Government and politics
• Cleveland Ohio - Economy
• Cleveland Ohio - Education
• Cleveland Ohio - Culture
• Cleveland Ohio - Media
• Cleveland Ohio - Sports
• Cleveland Ohio - Transportation

Read more here: » Cleveland Ohio: Encyclopedia - Cleveland Ohio

Counter-Strike (CS) is the generic name given to a series of team-based tactical shooter games which originate with Counter-Strike, a total conversion mod of Valve Software's first-person shooter Half-Life. The series also includes Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source. Counter-Strike pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in rounds of competition won by completing an objective or eliminating the opposing team. The ...

Including:

• Counter-Strike - Gameplay
• Counter-Strike - Bomb Defusal
• Counter-Strike - Hostage Rescue
• Counter-Strike - Assassination
• Counter-Strike - Escape
• Counter-Strike - History
• Counter-Strike - Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
• Counter-Strike - Counter-Strike: Source CS:S
• Counter-Strike - Map types
• Counter-Strike - List of Official Counter-Strike 1.6 maps
• Counter-Strike - Player models
• Counter-Strike - Counter-Terrorist models
• Counter-Strike - Terrorist models
• Counter-Strike - Other models
• Counter-Strike - Culture
• Counter-Strike - Legacy of Counter-Strike
• Counter-Strike - Mods and scripts

Read more here: » Counter-Strike: Encyclopedia - Counter-Strike

The second USS Bainbridge (Destroyer No. 1), later designated DD-1, was the first destroyer in the United States Navy and the lead ship of her class. The ship was launched on 27 August 1901 by Neafie and Levy, Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sponsored by Mrs. Bertram Greene (great-granddaughter of ship's namesake Commodore William Bainbridge), placed in reserve commission at Philadelphia on 24 November 1902 Lieutenant G. W. Williams in command, towed to Norfolk, ...

Read more here: » USS Bainbridge DD-1: Encyclopedia - USS Bainbridge DD-1

David Sedaris (born December 26, 1956) is an American essayist and radio contributor. Sedaris was born in Johnson City, New York, and was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. He first achieved prominence in 1992 with the radio essay The SantaLand Diaries on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. It was also broadcast in the UK on Radio 4 in 1996. Several compilations of his essays have been published in books such as Naked, Barrel Fever, and Me Talk Pretty One Day. He can occasionally be hea ...

Including:

• David Sedaris - Selected Works
• David Sedaris - Radio

Read more here: » David Sedaris: Encyclopedia - David Sedaris

USS Skate (SSN-578), the second submarine of the United States Navy named for the skate, a type of ray, was the lead ship of the Skate class of nuclear attack submarines. She was the third nuclear submarine commissioned, the first to make a completely submerged trans-Atlantic crossing, and the second submarine to reach the North Pole and the first to surface there. The contract to build her was awarded to the Electric Boat division of General Dynamics on 18 July 1955, and her keel was laid in Groton, Connecticut o ...

Read more here: » USS Skate SSN-578: Encyclopedia - USS Skate SSN-578

The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. They have recorded dozens of top-forty hits (including four US #1 singles), many best-selling albums, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. The original group comprised singer-musician-composer Brian Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Alan Jardine. Many changes in both musical style and personnel have occurred in their sometimes-st ...

Including:

• The Beach Boys - Early years
• The Beach Boys - Brian's innovations and personal difficulties
• The Beach Boys - The story behind Smile
• The Beach Boys - Mid-career brings a change in leadership
• The Beach Boys - Deaths of Dennis and Carl Wilson
• The Beach Boys - Personnel changes through the years
• The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys in the courts
• The Beach Boys - Awards and designations
• The Beach Boys - Members
• The Beach Boys - Discography
• The Beach Boys - Studio albums
• The Beach Boys - Live albums
• The Beach Boys - Compilations
• The Beach Boys - Anthologies
• The Beach Boys - Boxed sets
• The Beach Boys - Singles
• The Beach Boys - EPs
• The Beach Boys - Album availability

Read more here: » The Beach Boys: Encyclopedia - The Beach Boys

Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. Although it uses a Wiki model to create the guide and deliver it on the World Wide Web, the project is also aimed towards production of print-quality guides. Wikitravel is built in collaboration by Wikitravellers from around the globe. Wikitravel was started in July of 2003, inspired in part by Wikipedia. The project uses MediaWiki, which is also used by the Wikipedia. It should be noted that Wikitravel is not a ...

Including:

• Wikitravel - External link

Read more here: » Wikitravel: Encyclopedia - Wikitravel

The War on Christmas is an alleged campaign to abolish the celebration of Christmas in the United States of America. This campaign allegedly consists of a conspiracy of secularists and powerful liberals as part of a larger effort to secularize Christmas, or to entirely remove Christian influence from American culture. The term "War on Christmas" was first coined by Michael Medved in the 19 December 2001 issue of the newspaper USA Today. While there is significant disagreement over whether a "War on Christmas" exists, the term itself is used by pundits an ...

Including:

• War on Christmas - Background
• War on Christmas - Specific incidents
• War on Christmas - Organizations
• War on Christmas - Notes

Read more here: » War on Christmas: Encyclopedia - War on Christmas

William III of England (14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scots from 11 April 1689, in each case until his death. Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish Crowns following the Glorious Revolution, during which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was depos ...

Including:

• William III of England - Early life
• William III of England - Early reign
• William III of England - Glorious Revolution
• William III of England - Revolution Settlement
• William III of England - Rule with Mary II
• William III of England - Later years
• William III of England - Death
• William III of England - Legacy
• William III of England - Style and arms
• William III of England - Ancestry

Read more here: » William III of England: Encyclopedia - William III of England

The Ardennes Offensive, which was actually known to the Germans as Operation Wacht Am Rhein, was also known as Second Battle of the Ardennes and popularly known as the Battle of the Bulge, started in late December 1944 and was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II. The German army had intended to split the Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp and then proceeding to sweep north to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, thus as Hitler believed, forcing the Weste ...

Including:

• Battle of the Bulge - Background
• Battle of the Bulge - Lead-up
• Battle of the Bulge - Drafting the offensive
• Battle of the Bulge - Planning
• Battle of the Bulge - Initial German assault
• Battle of the Bulge - Operation Stösser
• Battle of the Bulge - Operation Greif
• Battle of the Bulge - Malmédy massacre
• Battle of the Bulge - The assault of Kampfgruppe Peiper
• Battle of the Bulge - St. Vith
• Battle of the Bulge - Bastogne
• Battle of the Bulge - Allied counteroffensive
• Battle of the Bulge - Germans strike back
• Battle of the Bulge - Allies prevail
• Battle of the Bulge - Aftermath
• Battle of the Bulge - The battle in popular culture
• Battle of the Bulge - Footnotes

Read more here: » Battle of the Bulge: Encyclopedia - Battle of the Bulge

The Sacred College of Cardinals is the body of all Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The body plays two roles for the church: participating in papal elections when the Holy See is vacant, and advising the Pope about Church matters when he summons them to a consistory. Historically, they were also the clergy of the city of Rome serving the Pope as the Bishop of Rome and were assigned duties in parishes of the city. The College has no ruling power except during the sede vacante period, where its powers are still extr ...

Including:

• College of Cardinals - Choosing the pope
• College of Cardinals - Members of the College of Cardinals
• College of Cardinals - Cardinals of the Order of Bishops
• College of Cardinals - Cardinals of the Order of Priests
• College of Cardinals - Cardinals of the Order of Deacons

Read more here: » College of Cardinals: Encyclopedia - College of Cardinals

Saturnalia was the feast at which the the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which took place on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, up to 23 December. In the vagaring Roman calendar the Winter Solstice fell in this period; in imperial times that event was celebrated in honour of Sol Invictus and put on 25 December by emperor Aurelian in 274, so after the Saturnalia. Saturnalia - Origins. The Saturnalia originally were celebrated with a public banquet. ...

Including:

• Saturnalia - Origins
• Saturnalia - Saturnalia's relation to Christmas
• Saturnalia - Saturnalia in Literature

Read more here: » Saturnalia: Encyclopedia - Saturnalia

The word holiday has related but different meanings in English-speaking countries. Based on the words holy and day -, holidays originally represented special religious days. The word has evolved in general usage to mean any special day. In most of the English-speaking world a holiday is also a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation (e.g. "I'm going on holiday to Mallorca next week"), the North American equivalent being "vacation". However, some Canadians (especially those of English or Irish decent) will use both the terms vacation and holiday interchangeably when referr ...

Including:

• Holiday - Public holidays
• Holiday - Consecutive holidays
• Holiday - Religious holidays
• Holiday - Buddhist holidays
• Holiday - Celtic Norse and Neopagan holidays
• Holiday - Christian holidays
• Holiday - Hindu holidays
• Holiday - Islamic holidays
• Holiday - Jewish holidays
• Holiday - Bahá'í holidays
• Holiday - The Northern Hemisphere winter holiday season
• Holiday - Holidays traditionally in the winter holiday season
• Holiday - Winter holiday greetings
• Holiday - National holidays
• Holiday - International holidays secular
• Holiday - Other secular holidays
• Holiday - Unofficial holidays
• Holiday - No holidays?

Read more here: » Holiday: Encyclopedia - Holiday