Free Kareem
ALERT!! A serious injustice was committed. Please take action now! Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who was imprisoned for exercising his right to freedom of speech, is still in prison and needs YOUR help!
Find out more information by visiting FreeKareem.org or by networking with us.
Latest News from freekareem.org- Hundreds of letters for Kareem
- Urgent request: Flood the Jail with Mail
- Security officers broke into Kareem’s prison cell, confiscated his letters and destroyed his writings
- Amnesty UK runs awareness campaign for Kareem
- Kareem in the news
Kareem has been in prison for: 1362 days.
Download this plugin!
Hokie Movie Trailer – Virginia Tech Football Fans, Up Close And Personal
New ‘Hokie Nation‘ Hokie Movie Documentary Chronicles the Optimism and Creativity of ‘the Best Fans in College Football‘
“Hokie Nation: A Team, A Town and the Best Darned Fans in College Football,” a documentary film that depicts the energy and enthusiasm of Virginia Tech football fans year ’round, will premiere at the historic Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg at 7 p.m. Friday, August 31 — the night before the opening game of the season.
An official university licensed project, the film was made by local independent filmmakers and Virginia Tech alumni Chris Valluzzo and
Sean Kotz, who began planning the production in 2005 as a way of honoring the school’s vibrant and energetic fans. The long anticipated premiere will be held on the evening before the Hokies open their 2007-2008 season against East Carolina in a nationally televised game on ESPN, which will broadcast its “College GameDay” show from Blacksburg
.
Trailer
“What we found is a fan base with an exceptional and unique culture,” says Kotz, the co-director/producer. “The Hokie Nation has created itself by blending traditional Appalachian values of family, hospitality, community and devotion with a blue collar work ethic, an eye toward the future and what we call the ‘Hokie Spirit.’ This film was born out of a genuine love of the team, the town and, especially, the Hokie fans.”That same approach to life helped Virginia Tech students rise above the tragedy that struck the campus in April of this year. “Hokie Spirit is an inherent belief that anything can be accomplished, any obstacle can be overcome with unity, faith and willpower,” says Kotz.”Hokie Nation” features interviews with fans and some of the sports legends who have called Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium home, including NFL greats
Bruce Smith,
Antonio Freeman and
Frank Beamer, a longtime fan favorite, helps illuminate the Hokie phenomenon, as do students, faculty, media personalities, law enforcement officials and two Virginia governors. The entire game day experience is documented through world-renowned tailgates in the stadium’s parking lots, deep coverage from the stands and birds-eye views from the luxury boxes. “So many moments have been special in this project,” says co-director/producer Valluzzo . “Interviewing Frank Beamer, Bud Foster,
and Bryan Stinespring, who all gladly spoke with us for this documentary. Meeting and interviewing Bruce Smith, arguably the greatest player to ever call himself a Hokie. Talking with
Carroll Dale, a Tech great who played in the first Super Bowl for the Green Bay Packers under
Vince Lombardi. And talking with former Governor
Mark Warner and current Governor Tim Kaine made me think that everyone is a Hokie fan. “But probably the greatest moment for me,” he continues, “was walking through the parking lot and the stadium and hearing people shout out ‘Hey, Hokie movie guy’ and giving me the thumbs up. They were happy their story was being told and I am extremely proud to represent these wonderful people.”After its August 31 premiere, “Hokie Nation” will have encore showings at the Lyric at 9:30 that night and at Sunday and Monday matinees. The following week it will be shown at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse on September 6-7, Norfolk’s Naro Theater on September 6, and Richmond’s Byrd Theater on September 7. Check those theaters for showtimes. A DVD of the two-hour documentary will be available for general release around mid-September.SOURCE: Horse Archer Productions
By PR Newswire
14 year old Kissing Girls Kicked Off Bus
A transit agency chief apologized Wednesday to two teenage girls who were kicked off a city bus for kissing each other.
The girls, both 14, said the driver called them “sickos” after a female passenger complained about their kiss. The driver then stopped the bus along the street and forced them off.
“Removing the girls from the bus was not consistent with our policy,” said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen. “I want to reiterate that we welcome all riders on our system.”
The 64-year-old driver also violated company policy that requires operators to call for assistance before removing any minors, TriMet said in a statement.
The driver, an 11-veteran who was not identified, will be disciplined, TriMet officials said, though no details were released.
“TriMet sincerely apologizes to the girls and their families for this incident,” Hansen said in the statement.
The mother of one of the girls, Ronnda Zezula, welcomed the apology.
“The only thing I had a problem with is they didn’t really address why the driver broke those policies,” Zezula said. “He knew it was wrong. He’s been a driver for 11 years.”
She also said she wished the agency had made the extent of the disciplinary action public to show it will not “be just a slap on the wrist.”
Zezula said the family has been encouraged to consider a lawsuit, but they will “have to mull it over.”
Chemical Warfare
Chemical Warfare
-
Chemical warfare definition
-
warfare using the toxic properties of chemical substances to kill, injure or incapacitate an enemy.
-
Use of lethal or incapacitating chemical weapons in war, and the methods of combating such agents
-
-
Chemical warfare technology
-
Chemical weapon agents
-
Persistency
-
-
All chemical weapon agents are classified according to their persistency, a measure of the length of time that a chemical agent remains effective after dissemination. Chemical agents are classified as persistent or nonpersistent.
Agents classified as nonpersistent lose effectiveness after only a few minutes or hours. Purely gaseous agents such as chlorine are nonpersistent, as are highly volatile agents such as sarin and most other nerve agents. Tactically, nonpersistent agents are very useful against targets that are to be taken over and controlled very quickly. Generally speaking, nonpersistent agents present only an inhalation hazard.
By contrast, persistent agents tend to remain in the environment for as long as a week, complicating decontamination. Defense against persistent agents requires shielding for extended periods of time. Non-volatile liquid agents, such as blister agents and the oily VX nerve agent, do not easily evaporate into a gas, and therefore present primarily a contact hazard.
-
-
-
Classes of chemical weapon agents
-
-
Chemical weapon agents are organized into several categories according to the manner in which they affect the human body. The names and number of categories varies slightly from source to source,
-
-
-
Chemical weapon designations
-
-
Most chemical weapons are assigned a one- to three-letter “NATO weapon designation” in addition to, or in place of, a common name. Binary munitions, in which precursors for chemical weapon agents are automatically mixed in shell to produce the agent just prior to its use, are indicated by a “-2″ following the agent’s designation (for example, GB-2 and VX-2).
-
-
Chemical agent delivery
-
The most important factor in the effectiveness of chemical weapons is the efficiency of its delivery, or dissemination, to a target. The most common techniques include munitions (such as bombs, projectiles, warheads) that allow dissemination at a distance and spray tanks which disseminate from low-flying aircraft. Developments in the techniques of filling and storage of munitions have also been important.
Although there have been many advances in chemical weapon delivery since World War I, it is still difficult to achieve effective dispersion. The dissemination is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions because many chemical agents act in gaseous form. Thus, weather observations and forecasting are essential to optimize weapon delivery and reduce the risk of injuring friendly forces.
-
-
-
Dispersion
-
-
Dispersion is the simplest technique of delivering an agent to its target. It consists of placing the chemical agent upon or adjacent to a target immediately before dissemination, so that the material is most efficiently used.
World War I saw the earliest implementation of this technique, when German forces simply opened canisters of chlorine and allowed the wind to carry the gas across enemy lines. While simple and easy, this technique had numerous disadvantages. Delivery depended greatly on wind speed and direction.
non-explosive artillery
1950s and early 1960s, chemical artillery rockets
-
-
-
Thermal dissemination
-
-
Thermal dissemination is the use of explosives or pyrotechnics to deliver chemical agents.
-
-
-
Aerodynamic dissemination
-
-
Aerodynamic dissemination is the non-explosive delivery of a chemical agent from an aircraft, allowing aerodynamic stress to disseminate the agent.
-
History
-
Chemical warfare in ancient and classical times
-
Chemical weapons have been used for millennia in the form of poisoned arrows
during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. Spartan forces besieging an Athenian city placed a lighted mixture of wood, pitch, and sulfur under the walls hoping that the noxious smoke would incapacitate the Athenians, so that they would not be able to resist the assault that followed
-
-
The rediscovery of chemical warfare
-
During the Renaissance, people again considered using chemical warfare. One of the earliest such references is from Leonardo da Vinci, who proposed a powder of sulfide of arsenic
-
-
Chemical warfare in World War I
-
The French were the first to use chemical weapons during the First World War, using tear gas
Germans attacked French, Canadian and Algerian troops with chlorine gas.
-
-
Chemical warfare in the interwar years
-
After World War I, the United States and many of the European powers attempted to take advantage of the opportunities that the war created by attempting to establish and hold colonies. During this interwar period, chemical agents were occasionally used to subdue populations and suppress rebellion.
In 1935 Fascist Italy used mustard gas during the invasion of Ethiopia in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War. Ignoring the Geneva Protocol, which it signed seven years earlier, the Italian military dropped mustard gas in bombs, sprayed it from airplanes, and spread it in powdered form on the ground. 15,000 chemical casualties were reported, mostly from mustard gas.
The Soviet Union also employed poison gas on its own people during the interwar period. Soviet commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky used chemical weapons in the 1921 suppression of a massive peasant uprising around Tambov.
-
-
Chemical warfare in World War II
-
During World War II, chemical warfare was revolutionized by Nazi Germany’s accidental discovery of the nerve agents tabun, sarin and soman.
The Japanese used mustard gas
German–manufactured “fine white powder,” and instructions from the Mufti to dump chemicals into the Tel Aviv water system.
The Nazis used the insecticide Zyklon B, which contains hydrogen cyanide, to kill large numbers of victims in concentration camps
-
-
Chemical warfare during the Cold War
-
Developments by the Western governments
-
-
After World War II, the Allies recovered German artillery shells containing the three German nerve agents of the day (tabun, sarin, and soman), prompting further research into nerve agents by all of the former Allies. Although the threat of global thermonuclear annihilation was foremost in the minds of most during the Cold War, both the Soviet and Western governments put enormous resources into developing chemical and biological weapons.
-
-
-
United States Senate Report
-
-
A 1994 United States Senate Report, entitled “Is military research hazardous to veterans health? Lessons spanning a half century,”[4] detailed the United States’ Department of Defense practice of experimenting on animal and human subjects, often without a latter’s knowledge or consent. [5] This included:
-
-
-
Developments by the Soviet government
-
-
Due to the secrecy of the Soviet Union’s government, very little information was available about the direction and progress of the Soviet chemical weapons until relatively recently. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian chemist Vil Mirzayanov published articles revealing illegal chemical weapons experimentation in Russia.
-
-
-
Chemical warfare in the Iran-Iraq War
-
-
The Iran-Iraq War began in 1980 when Iraq attacked Iran. Early in the conflict, Iraq began to employ mustard gas and tabun delivered by bombs dropped from airplanes; approximately 5% of all Iranian casualties are directly attributable to the use of these agents. Iraq and the U.S. government alleged that Iran was also using chemical weapons, but independent sources were unable to confirm these allegations.
About 100,000 Iranian soldiers were victims of Iraq’s chemical attacks. Many were hit by mustard gas.
-
-
Chemical weapons and terrorism
-
In 2001, after carrying out the attacks in New York City on September 11, the organization Al Qaeda announced that they were attempting to acquire radiological, biological and chemical weapons. This threat was lent a great deal of credibility when a large archive of videotapes was obtained by the cable television network CNN in August of 2002 showing, among other things, the killing of three dogs by an apparent nerve agent.
-
Example: VX Gas
methylphosphonothioic acid, S-[2-[bis(1-methylethyl)amino]ethyl]- O-ethyl ester
-
-
In the film “The Rock”, it was that “green” that the terrorists threatened San Francisco Bay area
-
In a combat situation, VX Gas would be deployed by detonating a container (e.g. a missile) of gas over the target area.
-
VX Gas has an LD50 (dose toxic to 50% of victims) is the lowest of any known compound at only 10mg (a raindrop weighs about 50mg).
-
VX Gas is easily absorbed into the body, and inhalation at concentrations as low as 30mg per cubic meter kills within fifteen minutes.
-
VX Gas disrupts the passage of messages between nerves, and from nerves to muscles.
-
It operates by cutting off the nervous system
-
VX Gas causes many symptoms, and usually kills.
-
VX Gas has effective antidotes if treated promptly.
-
The International Chemical Weapons Convention bans the use of nerve agents (including VX Gas), and requires all stockpiles to be destroyed by 2007.
-
UN weapons inspectors have found EMPTA, a VX precursor, in Iraqi factories, and at the site of the 1998 US bombardment of factories in The Sudan
-
|
Agent Identification and Common Name(s) |
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Name |
Chemical Structure |
Is Ubuntu an Operating System?
Is Ubuntu an Operating System?
Is Ubuntu an operating system? Last week at EuroOSCON, Mark Shuttleworth gave the closing keynote outlining what he believes are the major struggles faced by the open-source/free-software community. During his talk, it became clear that Ubuntu is trying to achieve a radical shift in the software world. Ubuntu isn’t trying to be a platform for mass-market application software: it is trying to be the primary provider of both the operating system and all the application software that a typical user would want to run on his machine. Most Linux distributions are like this, and I think it is a dangerous trend that will stifle innovation and usability, or even worse make the desktop irrelevant.
Mr. Shuttleworth’s initial point was one that few people disagree with: that software installers are bad for users and usability. Indeed, the typical method of installing Windows software (downloading a setup.exe file from a website or running it from a CD) manages the software very poorly. Each vendor must construct its own scheme for where to install, how to update, and most of all how to manage dependencies between pieces of software. Of course, Windows has guidelines about installing to C:\Program Files\Vendor\Application Name, but even Microsoft does not consistantly follow the rules. Everyone recognizes that installers are not good for users, even Microsoft, who in an effort to fix the mess invented the (complicated and poorly-tooled) MSI installer format. Apple uses disk images, application bundles, and relocatable software to avoid the problem. It is good to see a major Linux distribution thinking through the problems that installers present.
Mr. Shuttleworth’s statements, however, go much deeper than the technical deficiencies of Windows installers. He talked about how Ubuntu was leading a paradigm shift away from “users installing software†towards a system where all the software a user needs is provided by the operating system. Ubuntu should provide all the software a users needs or wants in the packages. Does that mean that users should not be installing software directly? According to Mr. Shuttleworth, the way to provide a good user experience is for users’ software should be provided by the central Ubuntu repository and managed through the Ubuntu update system.
Granted, Ubuntu has done a good job of making the Linux desktop usable1. A properly managed centralized software repository can make it a lot easier for users to confidently choose software that is tested and compatible with their system. By releasing an entire set of software that has been tested together, Ubuntu can provide the necessary support to guarantee the suite will work together more seamlessly and provide a better user experience.
Users must be able to make their own software installation decisions.
People use Windows because the software they want uses Windows2. People have an amazing variety of wants. There are those who cannot install Linux because a particular piece of software they need is not available, be it InDesign or a specialized accounting program, or any number of new products that have yet to be conceived.
Free-software fundamentalists and practicalists often loudly disagree whether encouraging proprietary software on Linux is irresponsible or essential. It is either misguided or arrogant, however, to think that all users’ needs can be met by a central software repository, even if all software were open-source and free. Some of the best software available today started out small, was distributed on the internet, and made popular by word of mouth. The impetus of “Download Now†is strong, and promotes healthy competition and diversity. Whether a video player by a startup company or a newly-released version of Firefox that hasn’t yet made it to the central repository, stumbling blocks in the software distribution process caused by this centralization will reduce the ability for small projects to promote new software through viral marketing.
This is not an absolute restriction. Authors could provide the download as a .tar.bz2 archive or even .deb package, but those types of packages require the user to perform complicated actions such as opening a terminal and knowing the magic incantation. Ubuntu cannot prevent users from installing software, but it does intentionally make installation difficult. If Ubuntu achieves mainstream status, an alternative packaging format that allows users an easy way to install software will inevitably emerge (e.g. AutoPackage). Instead of fighting this tendency, Ubuntu should embrace the world of “external†software, and provide a simple and standard way for users to install these packages.
If application developers can’t attract users to the desktop, the only alternative is for new applications to be deployed entirely on the web. Although some people believe that the trend of applications moving onto the web is irreversable, I’m more optimistic. There is value, power, and security in the desktop. But without cooperation, I certainly wouldn’t plan to deploy my next application on Linux.
Allowing users to install their own software does have some consequences. Unfortunately, the discussion of how the software should be packaged and distributed quickly devolves into flamewars over the relative merits of RPMs, dpkg, or <insert technology here>. This is counterproductive, ignoring the fundamental issue: Linux software is typically not a self-contained package that could be placed in a single directory. A collection of files that are variously placed in /usr/bin, /usr/share/man, and perhaps many other locations, making it very difficult to relocate binary software because library dependencies are resolved to a fixed set of paths, and never relative to the binary location.
I do not pretend to have a solution in hand for installing software on Linux. I think that Mac-style application bundles could be made to work, but supporting them would require additional features in the dynamic linker, along with something like mac Launch Services to provide good cross-application integration. In addition, since regular software updates are an essential part of modern system security, it is important to have a good and simple way to update software. If distributing software in relocatable packages is completely impractical for technical or social reasons, the same problem could perhaps be solved by allowing users to easily install packages from non-default software repositories.
The final (and perhaps most pernicious) problem when thinking about redistributable software is the ongoing binary incompatibility between various Linux distributions and between versions of the same Linux distribution. While it is important not to hold back development of new features, it is a problem that every major operating system has had to face, and has faced (more or less) successfully. This is a problem that needs to be faced at all levels of the software stack, from the compiler to final packaging. Perhaps, if Linux in general and Ubuntu in particular continue to disclaim responsibility for ABI changes, software will use managed runtimes or scripting languages out of necessity to isolate itself from the shenanigans of the underlying OS. As it is, creating software that is compatible with multiple Linux distributions in multiple flavors is a nightmare.
This attitude is not unique to Ubuntu. Although this essay is inspired by an Ubuntu keynote, it applies to all the Linux distributions. Ubuntu should not be marked for special criticism, except that I hoped their focus on users and usability would lead to better appreciation of and support for user-installed software. Since Linux vendors are typically in the support business, they can define a set of software that they package and support; they have little financial incentive to do serious work on binary compatibility or software installation.
Free-software zealots may be also to blame: “users have the software source code, they are free to compile and install it themselves!â€, mixing a philosophy and a technical decision which are not inherently related. Human nature wants software that works, and this includes software which can be installed and tried without the technical prowess needed to unpack software and run “configure && make && make install†and interpret the resulting console spew to figure out whether it succeeded or not and then figure out that you really needed make 3.80, and your gnome headers are too old, or too new, etc.. The issues of licensing software freely should be divorced from the ability of users to install and use the software.
In the process of creating a usable and supportable Linux, Ubuntu has created a software cathedral with “more than 16,000 pieces of softwareâ€3. I do not wish to disparage this effort; this cathedral has produced a usable Linux desktop. But the Linux desktop must also provide a method for users to install software from the bazaar. Unless Linux provides a software installation mechanism, the central Ubuntu software repository will stifle the development of the software it is designed to distribute and protect.
Notes:
- # Why did Ubuntu choose the obnoxiously self-gratifying motto “linux for human beings� Of course it’s for human beings; the question is whether those humans can use it.
- # For the purposes of this essay, it’s not important why developers write software for Windows, or whether the application/OS cycle is vicious or virtuous.
- # http://www.ubuntu.com/, 2-Oct-2006
source: BSBLOG
Ideal Society
Ideal Society
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.†In 1776, on July 4, Americans affirmed that they were free of the long-held, yet patronizing view that ordinary people are inept at self-government. These pioneers boldly declared that government is not a supreme entity to which the governed are subordinate, but rather it is an instrument of the people, by which, and more importantly through which, the peoples’ desires are achieved by their own accord. Read more
Are Presidential Expectations too High?
Watching the Nevada Democratic Discussion, it becomes apparent that we expect our Presidents to be experts on every subject. They need to be economists, commanders, educators, visionaries, leaders, cheerleaders, serious-minded,and likable. They must command all issues and have well-reasoned positions for everything. On top of that, we shun change, abhor weakness, and decry dishonesty. We demand good looks, skinny ankles, and good teeth.
Perhaps it’s one of the reasons why so many Media Age presidents have been governors.
Read more
Literary Review: Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson)
Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independenceâ€
Thomas Jefferson is esteemed as one of the most significant figures in American history, despite being misrepresented by scholars. The former American president, credited with a plethora of writings, is most famous for his Declaration of Independence. This political paper is the founding document for the United States of America. Through Jefferson, the Founding Fathers declared their independence from England and the rationale in support of their action (Raphael 117-152). Not generally thought of as a literary work, a few prominent historians have conducted critical analyses of its content, style, and sources. Some scholars focus on the text’s creative technique, while others ponder its sources and their relevance. Americans are wide-ranging in their evaluation of its assignment in the development of the county’s heritage and in their interpretations of its implications. Scholars dedicate a great deal of effort to study the Declaration. However, instead of expounding on the understanding, it greatly increases the amounts and variances of viewpoints.
Religion as a Cyber Society
The exponential growth of the Cyber society and Cyber culture within the Internet has not gone unnoticed by the “religious community.†As I write, church web sites are being published and electronic prayer groups zip by in modems and wire networks across the globe. Even isolated monasteries like the Monastery of the Christ in the Desert (see sidebar) are able to send their Benedictine messages from their cloister in New Mexico. New age religions also use the [virtual] soil of the Internet as the center of their “virtual church†(see end of the Cyber society Observation for links on religious web pages). With these in mind, it is safe to write that Religion has seamlessly incorporated itself within the realm of Cyber society. The presence of Religion in Net Culture is not an unforeseen trend. Although Religion and Modernity does not have the best relationship, Religion has learned that they need to conform with the current trends of technology to survive. Read more
Interesting Book Facts
Agatha Christie’s fictional character Hercule Poirot is the only fictional character ever to be honored with an obituary on the front page of The New York Times.
Author Dr. Seuss wrote the book “Green Eggs and Ham” because the editor made him a bet that he could not write a book, which contained less than fifty words.
During his entire lifetime, Herman Melville’s timeless classic of the sea, “Moby Dick,” sold only 3,715 copies.
Edinburgh has more booksellers per head of population than any other city in Britain.
Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a fifty thousand-word novel, “Gadsby,” without any word containing the letter “e.”
General Lew Wallace’s best seller Ben Hur was the first work of fiction to be blessed by a pope.
George Orwell’s book “Animal Farm” was turned down many times by different publishers. One of them actually said, “it was impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A.”
In 1998, Ten Speed Press publishing company published a book, “The Eat A Bug Cookbook” by David George Gordon that contains over 33 bug recipes.
Keeping Warm With an Axe, is the title of a real how-to book.
The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has the world’s largest collection of comic books with over 5,000 titles and 100,000 issues.
The all time best selling electronic book is Stephen King’s “Riding The Bullet.”
The book “Little Red Riding Hood” was banned in 1990 by two school districts in California. They did this because in the book there was a picture of a basket that had a bottle of wine in it.
The smallest book in the world is “Chekhov’s Chameleon,” which measures 0.9 by 0.9 millimeters. The book has 30 pages and three colour illustrations and is not much larger than a grain of salt.
The world’s largest public library is the Chicago Public Library, which has a collection of over 2 million books.
There was a book written fourteen years before the sinking of the Titanic happened titled “Futility” by Morgan Robertson. This book was remarkably similar to the tragedy that happened to the Titanic in 1912.
Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
| Grade 1 Race | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Derby | ||
 “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” |
||
| Location | Churchill Downs Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
|
| Inaugurated: | 1875 | |
| Race type | Thoroughbred | |
| Website: | 2007 Kentucky Derby | |
| Race information | ||
| Distance | 1¼ miles | |
| Track | Dirt, Left-handed | |
| Qualification | 3-year-old | |
| Weight | Colt/Gelding: 126 lbs (57.2 kg) Filly: 121 lbs. (54.9 kg) |
|
| Purse | US$2 million | |
| Bonuses: | US$ 200 | |
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is over one and a quarter miles (2 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57.2 kg) and fillies 121 pounds (54.9 kg).[1] The race is known in the United States as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports” for its approximate duration, and is also called “The Run for the Roses” for the blanket of roses draped over the winner. It is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in the US and typically draws around 155,000 fans. It is the single oldest annually held sporting event in the entire South. Read more
