In 1227, Genghis Khan, the Mongol leader who forged an empire stretching from the east coast of China west to the Aral Sea, died in camp during a campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia.

In 1587, Virginia Dare, the first child of English parents to be born in the New World, was born at Roanoke Island, part of what would become North Carolina.

In 1877, the Martian moon Phobos was discovered.

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was ratified by Tennessee, giving it the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it the law of the land.

In 1940, the United States and Canada established a World War II plan of joint defense against possible enemy attacks.

In 1960, the first commercially produced oral contraceptives went on the market.

In 1963, James Meredith graduated from the University of Mississippi. He was the first African-American to attend the school and his enrollment touched off deadly riots, necessitating the use of armed guards.

In 1966, The ‘Cultural Revolution’ in China begins.

In 1976, U.S. President Gerald Ford was nominated in Kansas City, Mo., to head the Republican presidential ticket but lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter in November.

In 1977, comedian Julius “Groucho” Marx, leader of the wacky Marx Brothers, died at the age of 87.

In 1982, Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization approved a plan for withdrawal of PLO fighters from besieged West Beirut. Israel approved it the following day.

In 1990, U.S. warships fired warning shots over the bows of two Iraqi tankers, the first salvos of the U.S. embargo.

In 1992, a convoy of 17 buses carrying 1,000 women and children left war-torn Sarajevo in the second such evacuation from Bosnia in a week.

In 1993, Waring factions in Yugoslavia agree to place Sarajevo under UN control.

In 1998, in the wake of his admission of an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, U.S. President Bill Clinton was urged to resign by several members of Congress and more than 100 daily newspapers.

In 2002, Abu Nidal, one of the most feared of the Palestinian terrorists, was found shot to death, an apparent suicide.

In 2003, authorities estimated as many as 10,000 people had died in heat-related deaths in France during the ongoing European heat wave.

Also in 2003, Liberia’s government and leaders of rebel groups signed a peace agreement, ending that nation’s civil war.

In 2004, intelligence experts told a U.S. Senate panel the flaws in U.S. spy agencies cannot be fixed unless individuals who failed are made accountable.

In 2005, Dennis Rader, the Kansas man who called himself the BTK killer — for bind, torture, kill — and confessed to slaying 10 people, was sentenced to 10 consecutive life-in-prison terms.

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Swine Flu

Although your chances of catching swine flu are small, there could come a time that you might be infected. But if it does happen, don’t lose hope. The virus can be fought with natural immune system boosters and antiviral substances. During this pandemic, these natural remedies can help you recover from even a deadly disease.

Furthermore, natural remedies can help prevent you from catching this disease, or any disease, in the first place. By strengthening your immune system, you increase your body’s ability to fight disease, viruses, and bacteria.

One way to boost your immune system is to take lots of Vitamin C. This antiviral vitamin can block the enzyme known as neuraminidase, which is needed by a virus in order to reproduce. There are anecdotes of people surviving the Spanish Flu by drinking large doses of Vitamin C. The elderly should take Vitamin E along with Vitamin C, to enhance the effects of the vitamin.

Garlic is common in most kitchens and it can also be used in the fight against the swine flu epidemic. It is an efficient natural antiviral herb. It is most potent when freshly crushed. Garlic must be consumed within one hour of crushing. Recommended dosage is two to three cloves per day. Organic garlic is more potent and effective than non-organic garlic. But remember that it can burn the stomach when taken in large amounts, so its a good idea to eat it with bread or yogurt.

My favorite way of taking large amounts of garlic, to fight normal colds and flues, is by spreading butter on toast and then adding garlic slices, or crushed garlic.

Possibly the best alternative to the medical drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, is Green Tea. This is a very effective antiviral. It decreases the production of the cytokine TNF-a and inhibits the reproduction of neuraminidase as well. Best of all, it is natural, and therefore it doesn’t have any of the harsh side effects that synthetic drugs have. If you want to use Green Tea for this purpose, remember that what you get on the shelves of a grocery store might be relatively ineffective. Organic varieties, particularly those grown for health or medicinal purposes, are the best.

Another antiviral you can get is Resveratrol. It comes from the Japanese Knotwood root, from red grapes, and from raisins. It causes your cells to stop manufacturing viruses. There are supplements available in liquid form, for better absorption, and it has no toxic effects.

Apple juice is an antiviral that’s available everywhere. But if you want to have the best results, try making your own, in a juicer. You should include the skin and pulp. This is more powerful than using commercially available apple juice.

Scuttellaria, better known as Skullcap, is an herb that can be taken as tea. It is an effective antiviral that is also used as a mild tranquilizer. Just like other natural antivirals, it inhibits the reproduction of neuraminidase.

Cat’s Claw, or Uncaria Tomentosa, boosts one’s immune system as well as decreasing the production of cytokine TNF-a. Your white blood cell count can be increased with this treatment. Although no toxicity is noted, however, it should not be used by children and pregnant women. This is due to its damaging effect on the DNA of growing cells.

There are still plenty of other natural treatments for the swine flu that you can find in your cupboard.

Disclaimer: This article does not constitute medical advice. If you are ill, you should consult your doctor.

With Courtesy: Living Clean

In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain for the New World with a convoy of three small ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, and fewer than 100 crewmen.

In 1777, La Scala Opera House in Milan opening.

In 1858, Source of the Nile river, Lake Victoria, discovered.

In 1907, Royal decree in Portugal makes Sunday a day of rest.

In 1914, Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. The following day, Britain declared war on Germany and World War I was under way.

And also in 1914, First ship passing through the new Panama Canal.

In 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine “Nautilus” crossed under the North Pole.

In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike. The strikers were fired within one week.

In 1990, the prime ministers of East and West Germany agreed to move up unification to early fall and rescheduled all-German elections from Dec. 2 to Oct. 14.

In 1991, Japanese Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto publicly apologized but refused to resign for involvement in loans worth $10 million to three friends.

In 1993, a U.S. federal court ruled that John Demjanjuk, whose conviction on charges he was World War II death camp guard “Ivan the Terrible” was overturned earlier by the Israeli Supreme Court, should be allowed to return to the United States.

In 1994, the state of Arkansas executed three convicted killers the same day.

In 1997, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would not honor agreements with the Palestine National Authority unless it cracked down on terrorism.

In 1998, talks broke down between Iraqi officials and Richard Butler, the head of the U.N. team overseeing the dismantling of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003, on a tape featuring what was believed to be the voice of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida’s second in command, the United States was warned not to mistreat prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

In 2004, Missouri voters approved an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriages.

Also in 2004, the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor was opened to the public for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2005, in the first emergency repair conducted in space, astronauts fixed a potentially dangerous problem by removing two strips of protruding cloth from the underside of the space shuttle Discovery that could have overheated during reentry.

Also in 2005, South Korea scientists reported the first successful cloning of a dog, considered one of the most difficult animals to copy.

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Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August every year. The tradition of dedicating a day in honor of friends began in US in 1935. Gradually the festival gained popularity and today Friendship Day is celebrated in large number of countries. But according to me, our friendship is not  a formal one to express our love in yearly once, each and every day is special for “FRIENDS” to celebrate..Hope you will understand, that this greeting card is special for ever…

In 1498, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela.

In 1774, Joseph Priestley isolates oxygen for the first time.

In 1790, the first U.S. census showed a population of 3,929,214 people in 17 states.

In 1793, The metric unit of mass, the kilogram, is introduced in France.

In 1798, The English navy, under Nelson, defeats the French at the Battle of the Nile.

In 1831, the London Bridge opened.

In 1907, an Aeronautical Division was added to the Army Signals Corps, and this forerunner of the U.S. Air Force bought its first airplane, a craft built by the Wright brothers.

In 1914, Germany declares war on the Soviet Union, Italy declares itself neutral.

In 1975, Helsinki Agreement, on human rights, signed by over 35 nations.

In 1976, Trinidad and Tobago independence.

In 1977, Francis Gary Powers, pilot of a U-2 pilot spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was killed when his weather helicopter crashed in Los Angeles.

In 1981, MTV premiered with the Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

In 1990, Muslim rebels surrendered in Trinidad and Tobago, five days after a coup in which Prime Minister Arthur Robinson and dozens of others were taken hostage.

In 1991, Israel agreed to attend a Middle East Peace conference, but only if the Palestinian Liberation Organization was excluded.

In 1993, the rain-bloated Mississippi River crested in St. Louis at 49.4 feet, 2.5 feet below the top of the floodwall protecting the central part of the city.

In 1994, Lisa Marie Presley confirmed rumors that she had married pop star Michael Jackson May 26 in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorced less than two years later.

Also in 1994, Haiti declared a state of siege following passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing an invasion of the Caribbean nation.

In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corp. announced it was buying CBS, one day after Disney announced its purchase of Capital Cities/ABC.

In 1996, Mohammed Farah Aidid, who had controlled much of Somalia during its civil war, died of wounds suffered during a skirmish with another faction.

In 2002, the United Nations said it found no evidence to back up claims by the Palestinians that the Israeli army had massacred Palestinian refugees at a camp in Jenin.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council approved a multinational force to make peace in civil war-torn Liberia. The resolution made no mention of U.S. troops.

Also in 2003, a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people at a military hospital in Chechnya, Russia.

In 2004, U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge said five buildings housing financial institutions in New York City; Newark, N.J.; and Washington, including the New York Stock Exchange, were reported to be terrorist targets.

Also in 2004, more than 400 people perished in a supermarket fire on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay.

In 2005, bypassing U.S. Senate opposition with a recess appointment, U.S. President George W. Bush named John Bolton to be the United States envoy to the United Nations.

Also in 2005, Saudi Arabian King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who had ruled since 1982, died in a Riyadh hospital after a long illness at the age of 83. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.

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In 781, the oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji took place.

In 1498, on his third voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad.

In 1954, K2 summit reached for the first time by an Italian team.

In 1556 Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic missionaries and educators, died in Rome.

In 1792, director David Rittenhouse laid the cornerstone in Philadelphia for the U.S. Mint, the first building of the federal government.

In 1964, Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, took the first close-up images of the moon.

In 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist. Ellsberg was the Pentagon consultant who leaked the “Pentagon Papers,” documents about the war in Vietnam.

In 1991, the U.S. Senate overturned a 43-year-old law and voted to allow women to fly military warplanes in combat.

In 1992, all aboard were killed when a Thai Airways jetliner carrying more than 100 people, including 11 Americans, crashed in bad weather in Nepal.

In 1995, the Walt Disney Co. announced it was buying Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion.

In 1997, the U.S. Congress gave final approval to legislation that would balance the federal budget by 2002.

In 2002, the Commerce Department estimated economic growth in the second quarter at a meager 1.1 percent, indicating the recession of 2001 was worse than originally estimated.

Also in 2002, Alimzan Tokhtakhounov, a reputed Russian crime figure, was arrested at his resort in Italy on charges he tried to fix two ice skating events at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

In 2003, North Korea reversed its long-standing opposition to multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons program.

In 2004, Pakistani investigators blamed al-Qaida for an assassination attempt on Prime Minister-designate Shaukat Aziz. Eight people died in the suicide bombing attack.

In 2005, wary health officials, planning for a possible flu pandemic, told reporters that the world is unprepared for such an outbreak, lacking public awareness and medicine.

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In 1588, off the coast of Gravelines, France, Spain’s so-called “Invincible Armada” was defeated by an English naval force under the command of Charles Howard and Francis Drake.

In 1836, the Arc de Triomphe in France was inaugurated.

In 1848, at the height of the Potato Famine in Ireland, an abortive nationalist revolt against English rule was crushed by government police in Tipperary.

In 1900, Italian King Umberto I was shot to death by Gaetano Bresci, an Italian-born anarchist who resided in America before returning to his homeland to murder the king.

In 1914, the first transcontinental telephone linkup was completed between San Francisco and New York City.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI upheld the prohibition of all artificial means of birth control for Roman Catholics.

In 1975, Military staged coup in Nigeria.

In 1981, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, married Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

In 1986, a jury ruled in favor of the U.S. Football League, agreeing that the National Football League illegally monopolized pro football. But the panel only awarded the USFL $1 in damages, effectively spelling the demise of the rival league.

In 1991, the Federal Reserve sought a $200 million penalty against BCCI for violating U.S. banking laws. It was the largest fine in the Federal Reserve’s history.

In 1992, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford and his law partner, Robert Altman, were indicted on charges of lying about their roles in the BCCI bank scandal.

In 1993, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also in 1993, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the conviction and death sentence of retired U.S. autoworker John Demjanjuk, accused of being a World War II Nazi death camp guard known as “Ivan the Terrible.”

In 1994, a doctor and his escort were shot to death outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Fla.

Also on 1994, the Senate approved the nomination of U.S. federal Judge Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1996, China conducted an underground atomic test, then declared a moratorium on such explosions.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed to give videotaped testimony at the White House to be viewed by a federal grand jury investigating his alleged affair with former intern Monica Lewinsky.

Also in 1998, a costly 54-day strike by the United Auto Workers against General Motors ended. The walkout at two Flint, Mich., plants caused 27 other GM assembly plants to close.

In 1999, a federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., fined U.S. President Bill Clinton $89,000 for lying about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

Also in 1999, a securities trader who suffered heavy losses killed nine people and wounded 11 others in Atlanta before taking his own life. Police later found the bodies of his wife and two children at his home.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to discuss the Middle East peace process but no significant progress was reported.

In 2004, Islamic extremists claiming to be linked to al-Qaida issued an Internet threat of a “bloody war” in Europe.

Also in 2004, Pakistan announced the capture of a Tanzanian al-Qaida member sought by the United States in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In 2005, the U.S. Congress gave final legislative approval to a new energy bill that included incentives, including tax breaks, for development of alternate fuels and nuclear energy.

Also in 2005, authorities said heavy rains and flooding in Bombay and surrounding areas had killed close to 1,000 people.

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In 1794, Robespierre was sent to the guillotine as punishment for doing the same to thousands of others before him.

In 1851, First ever photograph of a total eclipse of the Sun made.

In 1858, Fingerprints first used as a means of identification, in France.

In 1868, the ratified 14th Amendment was adopted into the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing citizenship and all its privileges to African-Americans.

In 1932, during the Great Depression, U.S. President Herbert Hoover ordered the Army under Gen. Douglas MacArthur to evict by force the Bonus Marchers from the nation’s capital.

In 1914, Austria declared war on Serbia, leading to World War I.

In 1945, the U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations.

Also in 1945, an Army B-25 bomber lost in the fog crashed into the side of the Empire State Building in New York City, killing 13 people.

In 1976, an earthquake struck China’s Tangshan Province, killing an estimated 1 million people.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A Soviet-led bloc of 15 nations, as well as Iran, Libya, Albania and Bolivia, boycotted the games.

In 1990, the collision of a freighter and two barges spilled 500,000 gallons of oil in the Houston Ship Channel near Galveston, Texas.

In 1992, Warner Bros. removed the controversial song “Cop Killer” from Ice-T’s “Body Count” album by request of the rapper.

In 1995, the U.S. Senate, caught up in the reform fervor in Washington, voted unanimously to bar senators and their staff members from accepting vacation trips and other expensive gifts from anyone other than close friends and family.

In 1998, in return for immunity, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky agreed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a possible relationship between her and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Also in 1998, Bell Atlantic and GTE announced plans to merge.

In 2000, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for a third term amid violent protests by his opponents, who said the election was fraudulent.

In 2003, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, the two largest U.S. banks, agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and penalties to settle charges they had aided Enron in deceiving investors.

In 2004, Democrats nominated Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to oppose Republic incumbent George W. Bush in the November presidential election.

Also in 2004, a massive suicide car bomb tore through a crowd of Iraqis trying to enlist in the Baqouba police force, killing a reported 70 people and injuring more than 50 others.

In 2005, the Irish Republic Army said it was ending violence as a political tactic against Great Britain in Northern Ireland after a 36-year campaign. The IRA promised to disarm and cease terrorist activity.

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In 1832, one man was killed and three others injured in the first recorded railroad accident in U.S. history. The four were thrown from an otherwise vacant car on the Granite Railway near Quincy, Mass.

In 1894, the first Sino-Japanese War began.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launched their invasion of Puerto Rico, the 108-mile-long, 40-mile-wide island that was one of Spain’s two principal possessions in the Caribbean.

In 1909, French pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly a “heavier-than-air machine” across the English Channel. It took him 36 minutes.

In 1917, Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy, was sentenced to death in France as a German spy.

In 1943, Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, forced to resign.

In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

In 1956, the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria sank off Long Island, N.Y., after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm.

In 1957, Tunisia gains independence.

In 1965, folk legend Bob Dylan performed for the first time with electric instruments, so upsetting his fans they booed him off the stage.

In 1972, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, disclosed he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the 1960s. Presidential nominee George McGovern replaced him on the ticket with Sargent Shriver.

In 1978, the world’s first “test-tube” baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, England.

In 1986, former Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth was convicted of selling U.S. military secrets to the Soviets through the John Walker spy ring. The government called it the most damaging espionage case since World War II.

In 1990, Eastern Airlines and 10 present and former managers were indicted on federal charges of faking maintenance records.

In 1991, the South African government admitted donating $35 billion in 1989 to support political parties opposing the South-West Africa People’s Organization.

In 1992, the Summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain.

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein signed a declaration that ended the 46-year state of war between their two countries.

In 1997, captured Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial by his former comrades in Cambodia.

In 1999, cyclist Lance Armstrong, having overcome cancer, became the first American on an American team to win the Tour de France.

In 2000, an Air France Concorde supersonic jet crashed on takeoff from Paris, killing all 113 people aboard. It was the first crash of a Concorde.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to the Liberian coast, outside of the capital city of Monrovia, where civil war raged.

In 2004, Lance Armstrong won the grueling Tour de France bicycle race for a record sixth consecutive year.

Also in 2004, the harshest cold spell in 30 years struck the Andes Mountains in Peru causing the deaths of at least 46 children.

In 2005, two major unions, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International, announced they were pulling out of the AFL-CIO.

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In 1679, New Hampshire became a royal colony of the British crown.

In 1824, World’s first opinion poll held in the United States.

In 1847, After 17 months and many miles of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Utah’s Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

In 1925, Insulin successfully used for the first time to treat a patient.

In 1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed together for the last time.

In 1969, Apollo 11 returned to Earth after the historic moon-landing mission.

In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that U.S. President Richard Nixon should surrender White House tapes for the criminal trials of his former associates.

In 1985, France leads international campaign for sanctions against South Africa.

In 1987, the U.S.-escorted and re-flagged Kuwaiti oil tanker Bridgeton was damaged by an Iranian mine in the first such incident in the Persian Gulf.

In 1989, the Exxon Corp. estimated that its cleanup of the Alaskan oil spill would cost $1.28 billion.

In 1997, the Scottish scientists who produced Dolly the cloned sheep announced they had cloned a sheep with human genes.

In 1998, a gunman opened fire at the Capitol in Washington, killing two police officers and wounding a tourist. Police shot the gunman, who survived and was later charged with murder.

In 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled Rep. James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat, by a vote of 420-1. Traficant, who had been convicted of racketeering, bribery and corruption, was the second House member expelled since the Civil War.

In 2003, House and Senate intelligence committees said the FBI and CIA had disregarded warnings before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that al-Qaida planned to strike directly at the United States.

In 2005, a powerful car bomb blast targeting a Baghdad police station killed at least 40 people and injured another 30.

And, in 2005 sports, cyclist Lance Armstrong won his seventh consecutive Tour de France and retired.

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