Word: soiling
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...spots were chosen for a very good reason. Despite the caps of ice in Mars' polar regions and the deposits of ice thought to lie beneath the soil, the planet is a desiccated place. But that doesn't mean Mars wasn't once wet, and its topography - scarred with what appear to be ancient river channels and dry seabed - suggests that the planet once fairly sloshed with water. If you want to find signs of ancient life, the key is to follow that water - or at least the places it used...
Spirit and Opportunity did just that, aiming for vast basins that have the look of land that was once submerged. Spirit soon uncovered evidence of salts in the soil, a substance that would have been abundant in Martian seas, just as it is in Earth's. Opportunity discovered deposits of BB-sized pellets - which NASA nicknamed blueberries - that are rich in hematite, a mineral that forms only in watery environments. And by pure serendipity, in 2007 a balky wheel on Spirit dug a shallow trench in the ground, revealing the presence of white silica, another indicator of water...
...insurgents and religious extremists to derail it. Indeed, in the aftermath of the recent Mumbai terror attacks, the city did not erupt in sectarian riots as some had feared it would. Back in 1949, B.R. Ambedkar, the low-caste architect of India's constitution, called democracy "topdressing on Indian soil." Yet today, Mayawati Kumari, a member of a Dalit, or untouchable, caste is one of the nation's biggest political stars - albeit one with a penchant for accepting lavish gifts. "The fact that a leader like Mayawati can rise, that a Dalit woman can have a shot at becoming...
...incursion took place at all. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari dismissed the incident at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday, calling it a "technical incursion - two planes flying 50,000 miles up in the air; when they turned, they slightly entered Pakistan soil." Brown was in Islamabad after visiting India and Afghanistan to discuss security in the wake of the Mumbai attacks...
...once mighty kings and queens. Old World royals lost most of their monarchical mojo, with their powers now limited to the purely ceremonial, as in Sweden, or to such roles as the Spanish King's command of his country's armed forces. The last absolute monarch left on European soil is Pope Benedict...