The Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar was an American fifty-cent piece struck in 1925. Its main purpose was to raise money for the Stone Mountain Memorial – a large sculpture in memory of Confederate general Robert E. Lee on a huge rock outcropping near Atlanta, Georgia. The obverse of the coin (pictured) features Lee and Stonewall Jackson; the reverse has the caption "Memorial to the Valor of the Soldier of the South". Stone Mountain and the coin were designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who, like other proponents, was a Ku Klux Klan member. To appease Northerners, the proposed coin was also to honor the recently deceased president, Warren G. Harding, but all reference to him was removed, by order of his successor, Calvin Coolidge. Extensive sales efforts for the coin took place throughout the South, though these were hurt by the firing of Borglum in 1925, which alienated many of his supporters. A 1928 audit of the fundraising showed excessive expenses and misuse of money, and construction halted the same year—a scaled-down sculpture was completed in 1970. Due to the large quantities issued, the Stone Mountain Memorial half dollar remains inexpensive compared with other U.S. commemoratives. (Full article...)

Baghdad: The sectarian divide in Iraq has worsened further after its top religious and political leaders urged volunteers to fight on the frontline.
In Baghdad, thousands of fighters loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr paraded weapons in a show of strength looking to take on ISIS. Similar parades were held in Basra, Najaf and Kut - all in the Shia heartland.
At the same time, another Sunni insurgent group JRTN killed 17 ISIS militants in clashes in northern Kirkuk. All this happenings take place ahead of the arrival of 300 US military advisors to help the government deal with the situation.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Indians continue to be stuck in the war-torn country. CNN-IBN speaks to three Indians who narrate their tale of ordeal.
Sujeet Singh, a construction worker in Basra says around 700 workers along with him are stranded in the region. He said their passports have been seized by the company they work for. He also said that they have been hearing regular gunshots in the area.
Kurdistan is one of the safest places in Iraq as of now. Neeraj Rawat, an Indian residing there said that conditions were indeed better there as he spoke to CNN-IBN via Skype.
"I have contacted the Indian embassy a few days ago to ask whether this place is safe or not. They told me that till here the place is safe. But they say they cant predict about the future. The place where I am living is so secure, better than the rest of the Iraq. So most of the Indians are living in Kurdistan. So as of now they are secure but we can't predict what will happen in the future. Right now we have everything, we have no issues regarding food, internet etc. I have heard that some other parts like Baghdad, Kirkuk they have shut down markets. So till now we are safe but I don't know for how long," said Neeraj.
However, situation does not seem to be much favourable in Erbil, an Iraqi city. CNN's Girish Menon informed about the hardships Indians were going through in the area. The Anbagh area near Baghdad has been captured.And really it is a panic situation in whole Iraq except Kurdistan. Mosul is also tensed, with no water,electricity and mobile connectivity. It is very tough for outsiders to enter Mosul as it is controlled by ISIS and nobody can into their province.
Sources close to the Indian government said that it was not planning mass evacuation of Indians as of now and its focus remains largely on the Indians stuck in sensitive area.
The MHA had on Friday rescued 16 Indians from Iraq.

Disneyland, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland  is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is the first theme park located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks. It is, together with Ocean Park Hong Kong, one of the two large theme parks in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Disneyland opened to visitors on Monday, 12 September 2005 at 13:00. Disney attempted to avoid problems of cultural backlash by attempting to incorporate Chinese culture, customs, and traditions when designing and building the resort, including adherence to the rules of feng shui. For instance, a bend was put in a walkway near the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort entrance so good qi energy wouldn't flow into the South China Sea.

The park consists of seven themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land. The theme park's cast members speak in Cantonese, English, and Mandarin. Guide maps are printed in traditional and simplified Chinese as well as English and Japanese.

The park has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors  — the least of all Disneyland parks. The park attracted 5.2 million visitors in its first year, below its target of 5.6 million. Visitor numbers fell 20% in the second year to 4 million, inciting criticisms from local legislators. However, the park attendance slightly increased by 8% in the third year, attracting a total of 4.5 million visitors in 2007. In 2009, the park attendance again increased by 2% to 4.8 million visitors. The attendance continued to surge and received 5.23 million guests in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. Since the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, the theme park has hosted over 25 million guests. According to AECOM and TEA, Hong Kong Disneyland is the 13th most visited theme park in the world in 2013, with 7.4 million visitors. The park also turned a net profit of HK$109 million (US$13.97 million)for the year ended 29 September 2012, the first annual profit.

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