July 10, 2007

4 Men Convicted of 2005 London Bomb Plot

On July 21, 2005, two weeks after suicide bombings in London killed 52 people, a group of bombers carried out another attack on the city's transit system. Now, just days after the two year anniversary of the first 2005 bombing, a London jury has declared four of the suspects in this second attack guilty of conspiracy to murder. The men attempted to detonate explosives-filled backpacks on three subway trains and a bus, but the bombs failed to explode properly and no one was seriously injured.

erratum

DEFINITION: (noun) An error in printing or writing, especially such an error noted in a list of corrections and bound into a book. SYNONYMS: misprint, typo, typographical error, literal, literal error. USAGE: Subsequent printings of the book contained an index of the errata that had been noted since the first printing.

The Edo Period

Edo, now named Tokyo, was the seat of power during the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). This period brought much needed stability to Japan. The shogun's national authority, combined with the daimyo's regional authority, permitted the administration of both centralized and decentralized authorities. Literacy spread, farming techniques improved, and interregional trade expanded during this period; nevertheless, the last Tokugawa shogun resigned in 1867 because of what pressures?