Bill Gates, at Odds With Trump on Virus, Becomes a Right-Wing Target

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Wikipedia article of the day for April 17, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 17, 2020 is Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (806).
The Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor in 806 CE was an attack by the Abbasid Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire in southeastern and central Asia Minor. Soon after his accession in 802, the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I ceased paying tribute to the Caliphate and attacked it. In retaliation, Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliph, invaded Byzantium with a force far larger than any seen before. The Abbasid army met no opposition and raided at will, capturing several towns and fortresses, including Herakleia, whose fall was celebrated by the Caliph's propaganda. Nikephoros was forced to seek peace and resume paying tribute. Harun exacted a personal tax on the Emperor and his heir, Staurakios, as a token of their submission and withdrew. Almost immediately Nikephoros violated the peace terms, but Harun's preoccupation with a rebellion prevented reprisal. Harun's death, the Abbasid civil war, and Nikephoros' Bulgarian wars prevented the resumption of large-scale warfare for two decades.

Welcome to the ‘Rabbit Hole’

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FOMO Has Survived the Coronavirus

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Facebook-Backed Libra Cryptocurrency Project Is Scaled Back

By BY NATHANIEL POPPER AND MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2KcgnXY

Biden Is Losing the Internet. Does That Matter?

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Wikipedia article of the day for April 16, 2020

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 16, 2020 is Vision in White.
Vision in White is the first book of the Bride Quartet series of romance novels, written by Nora Roberts (pictured). After its April 2009 release, it spent two weeks atop one of the New York Times bestseller lists and reached number three on the USA Today bestseller list. In her career, Roberts has published more than 225 novels. Vision in White was one of ten Roberts novels published in 2009, including five new releases and five reprints. It marked her return to contemporary romance. Like several other Roberts novels, Vision in White explores how a protagonist balances a successful career with a dysfunctional family environment. The hero is a typical representation of the romance novel archetype of the professor, but in an unusual twist for a romance novel, he is the character who is ready for a commitment but must help the heroine overcome her fears. A downloadable casual-play computer game based on the book was introduced by I-Play in 2010.