Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée Daudet, writers Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet. Daudet was born in France, his family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. His father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune and failure. Alphonse, amid much truancy, had a depressing boyhood. In 1856 he left Lyon, where his schooldays had been spent, began his career as a schoolteacher at Alès, Gard, in the south of France; the position proved to be intolerable and Daudet said that for months after leaving Alès he would wake with horror, thinking he was friend of Cervantes. On 1 November 1857, he abandoned teaching and took refuge with his brother Ernest Daudet, only some three years his senior, trying, "and thereto soberly," to make a living as a journalist in Paris. Alphonse took to writing, his poems were collected into a small volume, Les Amoureuses, which met with a fair reception, he obtained employment on Le Figaro under Cartier de Villemessant's energetic editorship, wrote two or three plays, began to be recognized in literary communities as possessing distinction and promise.

Morny, Napoleon III's all-powerful minister, appointed him to be one of his secretaries — a post which he held till Morny's death in 1865. In 1866, Daudet's Lettres de mon moulin, written in Clamart, near Paris, alluding to a windmill in Fontvieille, won the attention of many readers; the first of his longer books, Le Petit Chose, did not, produce popular sensation. It is, in the main, the story of his own earlier years told with much grace and pathos; the year 1872 brought the famous Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon, the three-act play L'Arlésienne. But Fromont jeune et Risler aîné at once took the world by storm, it struck a note, not new in English literature, but comparatively new in French. His creativeness resulted in characters that were real and typical. Jack, a novel about an illegitimate child, a martyr to his mother's selfishness, which followed in 1876, served only to deepen the same impression. Henceforward his career was that of a successful man of letters spent writing novels: Le Nabab, Les Rois en exil, Numa Roumestan, Sapho, L'Immortel, writing for the stage: reminiscing in Trente ans de Paris and Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres.

The late nineteenth century English novelist George Gissing, who read numerous Daudet novels in the original French, bought L'Immortel in July 1888 and wrote in his diary that he "in the thought of reading it". On finishing it six days however, he wrote that he had "private doubts" about it; these works, with the three Tartarins - Tartarin de Tarascon, Tartarin sur les Alpes, Port-Tarascon - and the short stories, written for the most part before he had acquired fame and fortune, constitute his life work. Gissing subsequently wrote about the work La Petite Paroisse, published in 1895, was "a sad falling away from the old Daudet. No character, a creation". L'Immortel is a bitter attack on the Académie française. Daudet wrote for children, including La Belle Nivernaise, the story of an old boat and her crew. In 1867 Daudet married Julia Allard, author of Impressions de nature et d'art published in 1879. Daudet was far from faithful, was one of a generation of French literary syphilitics. Having lost his virginity at the age of twelve, he slept with his friends' mistresses throughout his marriage.

Daudet would undergo several painful treatments and operations for his subsequently paralyzing disease. His journal entries relating to the pain he experienced from tabes dorsalis are collected in the volume In the Land of Pain, translated by Julian Barnes. Daudet died in Paris on 16 December 1897, was interred at that city's Père Lachaise Cemetery; the story of Daudet's earlier years is told in his brother. There is a good deal of autobiographical detail in Daudet's Trente ans de Paris and Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres, scattered in his other books; the references to him in the Journal des Goncourt are numerous. Daudet was a fervent opponent of the French Republic. Daudet was anti-Jewish, though less famously so than his son Léon; the main character of Le Nabab was inspired by a Jewish politician, elected as a deputy for Nîmes. Daudet lost. Daudet counted many literary figures amongst his friends, including Edouard Drumont, who founded the Antisemitic League of France and founded and edited the anti-Semitic newspaper La Libre Parole.

Daudet exchanged anti-Semitic correspondence with Richard Wagner. It has been argued that Daudet deliberately exaggerated his links to Provence to further his literary career and social success, including lying to his future wife about his "Provençal" roots. Numerous colleges and schools in contemporary France bear his name and his books are still read and several are still in print. Major works, works in English translation. For a complete bibliography see Works by Alphonse Daudet. Les Amoureuses. Le Petit Chose. Lettres de Mon Moulin (1869.

Ottawa offers municipal services in English and French but is not bilingual, despite a December 2017 bill intent on requiring the designation. One controversial aspect of the City of Ottawa Act was the manner in which it addressed official bilingualism within Ottawa's municipal government. Before the enactment of the Act, Glen Shortliffe, a special advisor appointed by the provincial government to make recommendations on municipal governance in Ottawa–Carleton, recommended in 1999 that the new amalgamated city of Ottawa be designated as bilingual, with municipal services available in both English and French; the provincial government of the time, led by the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, refused to enshrine official bilingualism in the City of Ottawa Act, but made clear that the new city was free to establish its own language policy. In 2001, Ottawa City Council passed a bilingualism policy modelled on the policy of the former Ottawa–Carleton Region, whereby English and French were both recognized as having the same rights and privileges within the municipal government, while allowing for differences in services based on local needs throughout the amalgamated city.

In 2003, the Ontario Liberal Party returned to power at the provincial level, the new Premier, Dalton McGuinty, publicly stated that the city should be designated bilingual in the Act. Rather than reignite the controversy through a designation, the province announced amendments to the Act in 2004 to require the city of Ottawa to have a policy respecting its use of French and English. City council revised its bilingualism policy in 2004, offering all its municipal services in both French and English. Official bilingualism in Canada City of Ottawa Bilingualism Policy Provincial News Release - December 14, 2004

The Lester Apartments was a building in the west side of Beacon Hill, Washington, United States. It was constructed in 1910–1911 intended to be the world's largest brothel. After scandal forced Seattle mayor Hiram Gill from office, the building was converted to be an ordinary apartment house, it met a disastrous end when a B-50 Superfortress crashed into it in 1951, causing a fire that engulfed the building. Hiram Gill was elected Seattle mayor in 1910 on an "open city" platform, but the city soon got more than it bargained for, he re-appointed Charles "Wappy" Wappenstein dismissed for corruption, as chief of police. Their administration was corrupt, to the point of being a national news story. Among other things, police chief Wappenstein cut a graft deal with vice bosses Clarence Gerald and Gideon Tupper: his payoffs amounted to a US$10 per month tax on prostitutes, paid into Wappenstein's pocket. Tupper and Gerald decided to capitalize on their situation and formed the Hillside Improvement Company to build a resort on the west side of Beacon Hill including a 500-room brothel, a wood-frame building so big that it required a street vacation, which would have been the world's largest brothel.

Gill was recalled from office February 9, 1911 and the 500 "cribs" were combined into ordinary multi-room apartments. The building came to be known as the Lester Apartments. Many Boeing workers at nearby Boeing Field took up residence there during World War II; the proximity to Boeing Field proved to be the building's downfall. On August 13, 1951 at about 2:15 P. M. a Boeing B-50D-110-BO Superfortress bomber, 49-0268, took off from Boeing Field on a flight to check out military equipment. Three Air Force men and three Boeing employees were aboard; the plane developed engine trouble after taking off. The starboard wing nicked the top of the brewery and the plane cartwheeled into the apartment house, killing the plane's crew of six; the plane had 4,000 US gallons of fuel, all engines were on. The collision and resulting conflagration killed five of the building's residents and injured eleven others; the building was damaged beyond repair. Crowd gathered after plane crash at Lester Apartments, August 13, 1951, University of Washington Library Alan J. Stein, B-50 Bomber crashes into the Lester Apartments near Boeing Field, killing 11, on August 13, 1951, HistoryLink, October 2, 2002

Mount Liesler is the highest point in the Kintore Range in the south-west of the Northern Territory of Australia. Its elevation is 897 metres AHD . Mount Leisler was named by William Tietkens on 27 May 1889. Tietkens was in command of the "Central Australian Exploring Expedition" 1889 under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch, he named Kintore Range in honour of Lord Kintore, governor of South Australia, Mount Leisler in honour of Mr Louis Leisler of Glasgow who had provided funds for Tietkens to open up land between Fowlers Bay, South Australia and the Musgrave Ranges. Tietkens measured the height of the mountain at 446 metres above the surrounding plain. Tietkens blazed a tree at the base of the mountain with the letter T, below which were the numbers 5.89. This tree was re-discovered by Len Beadell in 1960 while building the Sandy Blight Junction Road, some branches were still bearing foliage; the tree has since fallen over. List of mountains of the Northern Territory Sandy Blight Junction Road Tietkens expedition of 1889

Correos de México is the national postal service of Mexico. On February 17, 1907, President Porfirio Díaz founded the "Palacio Postal" known as the "Quinta Casa de Correos", but Mexico has had a postal service since 1580. The office's main job was to communicate the vice royalty of New Spain with Spain. In 1921, Sepomex was in need of an international regulatory and unified postal service, the Mexican government participated in the formation of the "Unión Panamericana de Correos" in Buenos Aires. In 1931, Spain joined the union, which changed the name to "Unión Postal de las Américas y España" In 1990, Portugal was added to the union, which again changed the name to "Unión Postal de las Américas, España y Portugal". In 1933, by presidential order, the Postal service took control of the telegraph service in Mexico, creating the office "Dirección General de Correos y Telegrafos". In 1942, the President ordered the separation of the postal telegraph into two entities. In 1986, the government gave autonomy to the Postal Service.

This was in response to the need to improve the service, considered one of the worst in the world and was now facing competition from private companies. In order to compete with the private postal services like DHL, UPS, FedEx, Multipack and others the postal service created a new entity, "Mexpost," but more expensive than normal postal service but more efficient working as a private company but still being part of the Mexican Postal Service. In 2008, President Felipe Calderón ordered the overhaul of Servicio Postal Mexicano and rebranded it as Correos de México. Along with a new name and new image, the agency was restructured helping to streamline operations, improve performance, expand postal outlets to non-traditional locations like private businesses. Postal codes in Mexico Official Site Mexico's postal service looks to monopoly as a solution to its financial woes. By Day, Paul Publication: Business MexicoDate: Wednesday, May 1, 2002 Mexico may Bypass Mail for Overseas Vote Las Vegas Sun Going postal: little used and mistrusted, Mexico's state postal system works overtime to prove itself by Amy Guthrie.

July, 2005

The Aeta, or Agta, are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of the island of Luzon, the Philippines. These people are considered to be Negritos, whose skin ranges from dark to dark brown, possessing features such as a small stature and frame, they are thought to be among the earliest inhabitants of the Philippines, preceding the Austronesian migrations. The Aeta were included in the group of people named "Negrito" during the Spanish Era. Various Aeta groups in northern Luzon are named Pugut or Pugot, an Ilocano term that means "goblin" or "forest spirit", is the colloquial term for people with darker complexions; as nomadic people, Aeta communities consist of 1 to 5 families of mobile group. So the word Aeta or Agta is used as an umbrella term for numerous Aeta groups in the Philippines, considering their varied locations in Luzon, including some living in parts of Visayas and Mindanao. Groups under the “Aeta” umbrella are referred to after their demographic locations.

Scholars focusing on the Aeta communities tend to follow this particular naming to account for cultural variations for each individual group. Aeta of Magbukun, Casiguran Dumagat Agta, Aeta of Zambales, Aeta of San Mariano Isabela, Agta of Lamika, are some of the Aeta communities in the Philippine archipelago; the Aeta people in the Philippines are grouped with other Negritos and the Australo-Melanesians, which includes other groups such as Aborigines in Australia. The history of the Aetas continues to confound archaeologists. One theory suggests that the Aeta are the descendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines, contrary to their seafaring Austronesian neighbors, arrived through land bridges that linked the islands with the Asian mainland. Unlike many of their Austronesian counterparts, the Aetas have shown resistance to change. Aetas had little interaction with the Spaniards as they remained in the mountains during the Spanish rule; the attempts of the Spaniards failed to settle them in reducciones or reservations all throughout Spanish rule.

According to Spanish observers like Miguel López de Legazpi, Negritos possessed iron tools and weapons. Their speed and accuracy with a bow and arrow were proverbial and they were fearsome warriors. Unwary travelers or field workers were easy targets. Despite their martial prowess, the Aeta's small numbers, primitive economy and lack of organization made them easy prey for better-organized groups. Zambals seeking people to enslave would take advantage of their internal feuding, they were enslaved and sold to Borneo and China, unlike the serf feudal system imposed on other Filipinos, there was little chance of manumission. It is estimated; the Aeta are nomadic and build only temporary shelters made of sticks driven to the ground and covered with the palm of banana leaves. The well-situated and more modernized Aetas have moved to areas of cleared mountains, they live in houses made of cogon grass. Aetas are found in Zambales, Pampanga, Panay and Nueva Ecija, but were forced to move to resettlement areas in Pampanga and Tarlac following the devastating Mount Pinatubo eruption in June 1991.

Mining, illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming have caused the indigenous population in the country to decrease to the point where they number only in the thousands today. The Philippine government affords them little or no protection, the Aeta have become nomadic due to social and economic strain on their culture and way of life that had remained unchanged for thousands of years; as hunter-gatherers, adaptation plays an important role in Aeta communities to survive. This includes gaining knowledge about the tropical forest that they live in, the typhoon cycles that travel through their area, other seasonal weather changes that affect the behavior of the flora and fauna in their location. Dry season for many Aeta communities means intense work, they not only hunt and fish more, the start of the dry season means swiddening the land for future harvest. While the clearing of land is done by both men and women, Aeta women tend to do most of the harvesting. During this period, they do business transactions with non-Aeta communities living around the vicinity they temporarily settled in either to sell the food they gathered, or to work as temporary farmers or field laborers.

Aeta women play more active roles in business transactions with non-Aeta communities as traders and agricultural workers for lowland farmers. While dry season means bountiful food for Aetas, rainy season provides the opposite experience, considering the difficulties of traversing flooded and wet forests for hunting and gathering. Aeta communities use different tools in their gathering activities. Traditional tools include traps and bow and arrow, with different types of arrow points for specialized purposes. Most Aetas are trained for hunting and gathering including Aeta women. While men and some women use the standard bow and arrow, most Aeta women prefer knives and