WIKIPEDIA:MAIN PAGE HISTORY 2011 AUGUST 9

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Today's featured article
Section 116 of the Constitution of Australia precludes the Commonwealth of Australia (i.e., the federal parliament) from making laws for establishing any religion, imposing any religious observance, or prohibiting the free exercise of any religion. Section 116 also provides that no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth. The product of a compromise in the pre- Federation constitutional conventions, Section 116 is based on similar provisions in the United States Constitution. The provision has been interpreted narrowly by the High Court of Australia: while the definition of "religion" adopted by the court is broad and flexible, the scope of the protection of religions is circumscribed. No court has ever ruled a law to be in contravention of Section 116. Federal Governments have twice proposed amendments to the provision, principally to apply it to laws made by the states of Australia. On each occasion—in 1944 and 1988—the proposal failed in a referendum. ( more...) Recently featured: Oort cloud – Kylfings – HMS Lion Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the seeds of the European sedge Carex pilulifera (pictured) may be dispersed by the ant Myrmica ruginodis? ... that there is to be a US version of Jeremy Kyle's successful British talk series? ... that the 1605 Keichō Nankaidō earthquake has been identified as a tsunami earthquake, because the recorded tsunami was much larger than would be expected from the estimated earthquake magnitude? ... that US Air Force Major General Nels Running, a recipient of seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, had never boarded an airplane until he left his home town to attend the Air Force Academy? ... that the Chinese philosophy of Agriculturalism advocated that leaders not be paid by the government, instead earning their wages from working in the fields with peasants? ... that former Audio Adrenaline front-man Mark Stuart talked more than he sang on the self-titled debut album of his new project, the Know Hope Collective? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Launch of the Juno spacecraft Public disorder in London continues into its third day. The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, the longest guided busway in the world, opens in England. Standard & Poor's downgrades the credit rating of the United States government to AA+ for the first time. Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched (pictured) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. NASA announces that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured imagery of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons. Government forces crack down on protesters in Hama, a center of the Syrian uprising, killing more than 200 people. Horn of Africa famine Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous People; Tisha B'Av ends at nightfall ( Judaism, 2011) 1483 – The first mass in the Sistine Chapel (interior pictured) in the Vatican City was celebrated. 1854 – Henry David Thoreau published Walden, his account of having spent two years living mostly in isolation on the shores of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. 1942 – World War II: In the first major naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign, Japan forced the United States to withdraw from the Solomon Islands. 1965 – Malaysia expelled the state of Singapore from its federation due to heated ideological conflict between their respective ruling parties. 1974 – Watergate scandal: Richard Nixon became the only President of the United States to resign from office. More anniversaries: August 8 – August 9 – August 10 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 9, 2011 ( UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Roald Amundsen at the wheel of Maud in 1920, during his unsuccessful attempt to cross the Northeast Passage and reach the North Pole. Although Amundsen did indeed successfully journey eastward along the coast of Siberia to Nome, Alaska, his plan of freezing the ship in the polar ice pack and letting it drift northward did not work as the currents were uncooperative. Amundsen finally did fly over the North Pole in 1926 in the airship Norge, making him the first person to attain both North and South Poles.

Photo: Lomen Brothers; Restoration: Lise Broer

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