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How did non-living material become alive? This is a difficult question. The first step must have been the creation of organic compounds. In 1953, the Miller–Urey experiment made inorganic compounds into organic compounds, such as amino acids, using heat and energy. |
Life needs a source of energy for chemical reactions. On the early Earth, the atmosphere did not have oxygen. Oxidation using the Krebs cycle, which is common today, was not possible. The Krebs cycle may have acted backwards, doing reduction instead of oxidation, and the cycle may have made larger molecules. To make life, molecules needed to make copies of themselves. DNA and RNA make copies of themselves, but only if there is a catalyst — a compound which speeds up the chemical reaction. One guess is that RNA itself served as a catalyst. At some time, the molecules were surrounded by membranes, which made cells. |
Law |
Law is a set of rules decided by a particular place or authority meant for the purpose of keeping the peace and security of society. |
Courts or police may enforce this system of rules and punish people who break the laws, such as by paying a fine, or other penalty including jail. In ancient societies, laws were written by leaders, to set out rules on how people can live, work and do business with each other. But many times in history when laws have been on a false basis to benefit few at the expense of society, they have resulted in conflict. To prevent this, in most countries today, laws are written and voted on by groups of politicians in a legislature, such as a parliament or congress, elected (chosen) by the governed peoples. Countries today have a constitution for the overall framework of society and make further laws as needed for matters of detail. Members of society generally have enough freedom within all the "legal" things they can choose to do. An activity is "illegal" if it breaks a law or does not follow the laws. |
A legal code is a written code of laws that are enforced. This may deal with things like police, courts, or punishments. A lawyer, jurist or attorney is a professional who studies and argues the rules of law. In the United States, there are two kinds of attorneys - "transactional" attorneys who write contracts and "litigators" who go to court. In the United Kingdom, these professionals are called solicitors and barristers respectively. |
The "Rule of Law" is the law which says that government can only legally use its power in a way the government and the people agree on. It limits the powers a government has, as agreed in a country's constitution. The "Rule of Law" prevents dictatorship and protects the rights of the people. When leaders enforce the legal code honestly, even on themselves and their friends, this is an example of the rule of law being followed. "The rule of law", wrote the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle in 350 BC, "is better than the rule of any individual." |
Culture is usually a major source of the principles behind many laws, and people also tend to trust the ideas based on family and social habits. In many countries throughout history, religion and religious books like the Vedas, Bible or the Koran have been a major source of law. |
Civil law is the legal system used in most countries around the world today. Civil law is based on legislation that is found in constitutions or statutes passed by government. The secondary part of civil law is the legal approaches that are part of custom. In civil law governments, judges do not generally have much power, and most of the laws and legal precedent are created by Members of Parliament. |
Common law is based on the decisions made by judges in past court cases. It comes from England and it became part of almost every country that once belonged to the British Empire, except Malta, Scotland, the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the Canadian province of Quebec. It is also the predominant form of law in the United States, where many laws called statutes are written by Congress, but many more legal rules exist from the decisions of the courts. Common law had its beginnings in the Middle Ages, when King John was forced by his barons to sign a document called the Magna Carta. |
Religious law is law based on religious beliefs or books. Examples include the Jewish Halakha, Islamic Sharia, and Christian Canon law. |
Until the 1700s, Sharia law was the main legal system throughout the Muslim world. In some Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, the whole legal systems still base their law on Sharia law. Islamic law is often criticised because it often has harsh penalties for crimes. A serious criticism is the judgement of the European Court that "sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy". |
The Turkish Refah Party's sharia-based "plurality of legal systems, grounded on religion" was ruled to contravene the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Court decided Refah's plan would "do away with the State's role as the guarantor of individual rights and freedoms" and "infringe the principle of non-discrimination between individuals as regards their enjoyment of public freedoms, which is one of the fundamental principles of democracy". |
The history of law is closely connected to the development of human civilizations. Ancient Egyptian law developed in 3000 BC. In 1760 BC King Hammurabi, took ancient Babylonian law and organized it, and had it chiseled in stone for the public to see in the marketplace. These laws became known as the Code of Hammurabi. |
The Torah from the Old Testament is an old body of law. It was written around 1280 BC. It has moral rules such as the Ten Commandments, which tell people what things are not permitted. Sometimes people try to change the law. For example, if prostitution is illegal, they try to make it legal. |
In democracies, the people in a country usually choose people called politicians to represent them in a legislature. Examples of legislatures include the Houses of Parliament in London, the Congress in Washington, D.C., the Bundestag in Berlin, the Duma in Moscow and the Assemblée nationale in Paris. Most legislatures have two chambers or houses, a 'lower house' and an 'upper house'. To pass legislation, a majority of Members of Parliament must vote for a bill in each house. The legislature is the branch of government that writes laws, and votes on whether they will be approved. |
The judiciary is a group of judges who resolve people's disputes and determine whether people who are charged with crimes are guilty. In some jurisdictions the judge does not find guilt or innocence but instead directs a jury, how to interpret facts from a legal perspective, but the jury determines the facts based on evidence presented to them and finds the guilt or innocences of the charged person. Most countries of common law and civil law systems have a system of appeals courts, up to a supreme authority such as the Supreme Court or the High Court. The highest courts usually have the power to remove laws that are unconstitutional (which go against the constitution). |
The executive is the governing center of political authority. In most democratic countries, the executive is elected from people who are in the legislature. This group of elected people is called the cabinet. In France, the US and Russia, the executive branch has a President which exists separately from the legislature. |
The executive suggests new laws and deals with other countries. As well, the executive usually controls the military, the police, and the bureaucracy. The executive selects ministers, or secretaries of state to control departments such as the health department or the department of justice. |
In many jurisdictions the Head of State does not take part in the day-to-day governance of the jurisdiction and takes a largely ceremonial role. This is the case in many Commonwealth nations where the Head of State, usually a Governor almost exclusively acts "on the advice" of the head of the Executive (e.g. the Prime Minister, First Minister or Premier). The primary legal role of the Head of State in these jurisdictions is to act as a check or balance against the Executive, as the Head of State has the rarely exercised power to dissolve the legislature, call elections and dismiss ministers. |
The police enforce the criminal laws by arresting people suspected of breaking the law. Bureaucrats are the government workers and government organizations that do work for the government. Bureaucrats work within a system of rules, and they make their decisions in writing. |
Lawyers are people who have learned about laws. Lawyers give people advice about their legal rights and duties and represent people in court. To become a lawyer, a person has to complete a two- or three-year university program at a law school and pass an entrance examination. Lawyers work in law firms, for the government, for companies, or by themselves. |
Civil society is the people and groups that are not part of government that try to protect people against human rights abuses and try to protect freedom of speech and other individual rights. Organizations that are part of civil society include political parties, debating clubs, trade unions, human rights organizations, newspapers and charities. |
"Corporations are among the organizations that use the legal system to further their goals. Like the others, they use means such as campaign donations and advertising to persuade people that they are right. Corporations also engage in commerce and make new things such as automobiles, vaporisers/e-cigarettes, and Unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e. "drones") that the old laws are not well equipped to deal with. Corporations also makes use of a set of rules and regulations to ensure their employees remain loyal to them (usually presented in a legal contract), and that any disobedience towards these rules are considered uncivilized and therefore given grounds for immediate dismissal. |
L. L. Zamenhof |
Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof (; , ; – ), credited as L. L. Zamenhof and sometimes as the pseudonymous Dr. Esperanto, was an eye doctor, linguist (who creates a language), and scholar who created the international language Esperanto. |
Zamenhof was born in 1859 in the town of Białystok, Poland. At the time, Poland was a part of the Russian Empire. Bialystok contained three major groups: Poles, Belorussians, and Yiddish-speaking Jews. Zamenhof thought that one common language would join these groups and stop fights between them. |
His first language was said to be Polish. His parents spoke Russian and Yiddish at home. His father was a German teacher, so Zamenhof learned that language from an early age and spoke the language fluently. Later he learned French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and English. He also had an interest in Italian, Spanish and Lithuanian. |
Zamenhof decided that the international language must have a simple grammar and be easier to learn than Volapük, an earlier international language. He attempted to create the international language with a grammar that was rich, and complex. The basics of Esperanto were published in 1887. He translated the Hebrew Bible into Esperanto. |
His grandson, Louis-Christophe Zaleski-Zamenhof, was an engineer. |
He was 14 times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize between 1907 and 1917. |
List of countries |
This is a list of sovereign states. |
Notes |
Provinces and territories of Canada |
Canada, a country and sovereign state in the northern part of North America, is made up of thirteen administrative divisions: ten provinces and three territories. The different levels of government in Canada are based on the principles of a federation: those of each of the provinces and territories share power with the federal government. The territories' governments have a more limited set of powers versus the federal government than that of the provinces'. |
The provinces are in the south of Canada, near the border with the United States. They go from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The territories are to the north, where fewer people live, close to the Arctic Circle and Arctic Ocean. |
Here is a list of the provinces and territories, and their standard abbreviations, with their capitals (the cities where their governments are based) and largest cities. Canada's national capital, where the federal government meets, is Ottawa. |
Las Vegas |
Las Vegas is a city in the American state of Nevada. There were 640,932 people living in the city in 2015, and more than 2,000,000 people living in the metropolitan area. It is the largest city in Nevada. Las Vegas is also the county seat of Clark County. Carolyn Goodman became the mayor in 2011. Las Vegas and Las Vegans are often stereotypically characterized as fun-loving. |
Las Vegas leans to the left. Three of the four congressional districts in Nevada include parts of Las Vegas, and all three congresspeople representing those districts are Democrats from Las Vegas. |
Native Americans were the first to reside in the area, specifically the Paiute tribe. It was first called "Las Vegas" (which means "The Meadows" in the Spanish language) by the Spanish. The city is known for its dry weather, as is the rest of southern Nevada. It is surrounded by desert. |
The US Army built Fort Baker there in 1864. Las Vegas has natural springs, where people used to stop for water when they were going to Los Angeles or other places in California. |
In 1905, 110 acres owned by William A. Clark, on which he built a railroad to Southern California were auctioned and Las Vegas was founded as a railroad town. Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. |
Lanai |
Lanai (or Lānaʻi) is sixth largest of the Hawaiian Islands, in the United States. It is also known as the "Pineapple Island". The island is almost a circle in shape and is 18 miles wide in the longest direction. The land area is 140 sq. miles (367 km). It is separated from the island of Moloka'i by the Kalohi Channel to the north. |
Lana'i was first seen by Europeans on 25 February 1779 by Captain Clerke, with "HMS Resolution" on the James Cook Pacific Ocean trip. Clerke took command of the ship after Capt. Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific. |
In 1922, Jim Dole, the president of Dole Pineapple Company, bought the island of Lana'i. He made a large part of it into the world's largest pineapple plantation. |
Tourism on Lana'i started not long ago. That was when the growing of pineapple was slowly coming to an end in the Islands. On Lana'i, you can be with nature and feel the mood of the Hawaiian countryside. Not like nearby O'ahu, the only town (Lana'i City) is small. It has no traffic or shopping centers. Tourists come mainly to relax. |
There are three hotels on Lana'i and several golf courses. |
Leap year |
A leap year is a year in which an extra day is added to the Gregorian calendar, which is used by most of the world. A common year (an ordinary year) has 365 days, but a leap year has 366 days. The extra day, February 29, is added to the month of February. In an ordinary year, February has 28 days, but in a leap year it has 29 days. The extra day, called a leap day, is the same day of the week as the first day of the month, February 1. Also, in a leap year, the months of January, April, and July all start on the same day of the week. |
A leap year comes once every four years. Because of this, a leap year can always be evenly divided by four. For example, 2020 was a leap year. But a year is a common year if it can be evenly divided by 100 but not by 400. This is why 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, but not 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, or 2300. |
We have leap years because instead of 365 days, the Earth really takes a few minutes less than 365-1/4 days (365.24219) to go completely around the Sun. Without leap years, the seasons would start one day earlier on the calendar every four years. After 360 years, spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere would begin on December 21 (which is when winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere presently begins). |
A number of countries use a lunar calendar (based on the Moon, instead of the Sun, like our solar calendar is). They have leap years when they add an extra lunar month. Different calendars add the extra month in different ways. So a year which has 366 days instead of 365 days where the month of February has 29 days is called a leap year. |
Leather |
Leather is the skin of an animal made into a durable material by tanning. The skins of cows, pigs, and goats are often used to make leather. Skins of snakes, alligators or crocodiles, and ostriches are sometimes used to make fancier leather. Shoes, bags, clothes, and balls are often made of leather. Sometimes people make leather out of whales, ducks, giraffes, and African elephants, but all of these ways of making leather are very simple but can also be very hard and rare sometimes. |
The way leather is made is divided into three processes. They are preparing the leather, tanning it, and crusting. |
In preparing the leather, many things are done to make it ready for tanning. They include soaking it, removing the hair, liming, deliming, bating, bleaching, and pickling. |
Tanning is a process that makes the proteins, especially collagen, in the raw hide stable. It increases the thermal and chemical stability of the animal skins. The difference between fresh and tanned animal skin is that fresh animal skin dries to make it hard and stiff. When water is added to it, it becomes bad. But, animal skin that is tanned dries to make it flexible. It does not become bad when water is added to it. |
Crusting is a process that makes the leather thin and lubricates it. Chemicals added when crusting must be set in place. Crusting ends with drying and making the leather soft. It may include splitting, shaving, dyeing, whitening or other methods. |
Today, most leather is made from the skin of cattle, which makes up about 65% of all the leather made. Other animals that are used include sheep (about 13%), goats (about 11%), and pigs (about 10%). |
Horse skin is used to make strong leather. Lamb and deerskin are used for soft leather. It is used in work gloves and indoor shoes. |
Kangaroo leather is used to make things that must be strong and flexible. It is used in bullwhips. |
In Thailand, stingray leather is used in wallets and belts. Stingray leather is tough and durable. |
License |
A license (or licence) allows someone to do something that they otherwise are not allowed to do. A person usually has to pay some money, and maybe pass a test to get a license. A license is usually written but it does not have to be. Most kinds of licenses can only be used by the person they were given to. Licenses may be temporary or permanent. Some licenses can not be taken away once they are given. A person with a license is called a licensee. |
In many countries, if a person tries to do something without the correct license to do it, they might have to pay a fine or go to prison. |
There are many different types of licenses. |
The laws of most countries say that people are only allowed to drive cars if they have a driver's license. If a person does not have a license, they may have to pay a fine if they are caught by the police. In many countries, a person must take a test and pay money to get a license. The test would check that they know the road rules, and have the skill to drive a car. |
Other licenses give permission to shoot animals (often called a hunting license). The hunting license usually says when a person may hunt. A hunter may have to pass a test to show that they understand the rules about hunting. |
In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, if someone has a television set, they must buy a "television licence" every year. |
Copyright is a law that gives the owner of a creative work the right to decide what other people can do with it. A person or a company can give a license to a copyright that they own. So in order for another person to use an owner's copyright they need permission from the owner. For example, when someone buys computer software, they also need a license from the creator of the software (a copyright owner) allowing the buyer to use the software. |
"License" is a verb and "licence" is a noun. "Licensing sessions" were the meetings of magistrates which decided about giving licences to sell alcohol. |
In American English there is no difference in spelling between the verb "to license" meaning to give permission, and the noun "a license" meaning the permission to do something. |
A degree in medicine is a qualification showing a person has successfully studied medicine. It is awarded for life. A licence to practice medicine is a legal permission to do so within the territory covered by the licensing authority. The licence may be taken away under certain situations. |
Link |
A link, also hyperlink in computing, is a part of a chain. A chain is made of many pieces of metal; each piece is a link. |
Today, people also use the word link in a new way. The World Wide Web on the Internet is made of many different Web pages. The computer software that people use to make these pages (HTML) lets us go to other pages in a very fast and easy way. |
The person who makes the web page can tell the computer to show a word or a picture on the Web page as a link. This means that when we click on the link with our computer mouse, the computer will show us the new page we want to see. Most links are blue, but they can be any color. |
The color of the link will change to dark blue when clicked as the web browser recognises it in the browser's cache. Unless the cache is cleared, the link will always stay dark blue. |
There are many ways in making a link on a web page. The process is different for different internet software. |
In .htm and .html files, a link can be created using this code: |
<nowiki>Text of link</nowiki> |
WikiSyntax like MediaWiki uses a simpler way of making links. To create a link to another page of the same website: |
<nowiki>Link text</nowiki> or just <nowiki>Page name</nowiki>. |
To link to an external website: |
<nowiki>Link text</nowiki>, <nowiki></nowiki>, or just <nowiki>http://www.example.com</nowiki>. |
BB code is used in forum software. To create a link: |
<nowiki>[url]http://www.example.com[/url]</nowiki>, or <nowiki>[url=http://www.example.com]Link text[/url]</nowiki> |
Library |
A library is a place where many books are kept. Most libraries are public and let people take the books to use in their home. Most libraries let people borrow books for several weeks. Some belong to institutions, for example, companies, churches, schools, and universities. Also a person's bookshelves at home can have many books and be a library. The people who work in libraries are librarians. Librarians are people who take care of the library. |
Other libraries keep famous or rare books. There are a few "Copyright libraries" which have a copy of every book which has been written in that country. Some libraries also have other things that people might like, such as magazines, music on CDs, or computers where people can use the Internet. In school they offer software to learn the alphabet and other details.With the spread of literacy, libraries have become essential tools for learning. Libraries are very important for the progress and development of a society.Libraries are collections of books and other informational materials. People come to libraries for reading, study or reference. Libraries contain a variety of materials. They contain printed materials, films, sound and video recordings, maps, photographs, computer software, online databases, and other media. |
A library is not a bookstore (a store that sells books). |
The prime purpose of a library is to provide access to knowledge and information. To fulfil this mission, libraries preserve a valuable record of culture. Then they pass down this to the coming generations. Therefore, they are an essential link between the past, present and future. |
People use libraries to work. They also use library resources to learn about personal interests. Sometimes, they get recreational media such as films and music. Students use libraries to study. |
Libraries help the students to develop good reading and study habits. Public officials use libraries for research and public issues. The libraries provide information and services that are essential for learning and progress. |
Many places have a public library, where anybody can join if they live in the area. With a library card, people can borrow books and take them home for several weeks. It does not cost money to get a library card at most public libraries. |
Books are kept on shelves in a special order so they are easy to find. Public libraries have lot of books on various topics including story books and many others. Many public libraries have books and CDs about learning English. Stories are kept in alphabetical order by the last name of the person who wrote them, the author. Books about other things are often given a special number, that refers to what they are about. They are then put on the shelf in number order. One number system used by many libraries is the Dewey decimal system. |
Many colleges and universities have large academic libraries. These libraries are for the use of college students, professors, and researchers. Academic libraries are used mainly for doing research like studying the solar system or how earthquakes happen. These libraries do not have the same types of books you would find in a public library. They usually do not have fiction books or books for children (unless they are being studied). Academic libraries can have many books, sometimes more than a million. |
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