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What paleontological hoax takes its name from a place in East Sussex, England where in 1912, discovered bone fragments were thought to be the remains of an unknown form of early man? | Top 10 Famous Hoaxes - Listverse Top 10 Famous Hoaxes Jamie Frater August 30, 2007 Throughout the years many people have perpetrated hoaxes – often for publicity, and sometimes just for the hell of it. Of all the hoaxes through history, the ten in this list are the most famous. In at least two cases (the Book of Mormon, and the Priory of Sion) millions of people have been fooled – or continue to be fooled! In no particular order, here they are: 1. The Book of Mormon 1830 The Book of Mormon is considered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be a divinely inspired book of equal value to the Bible. Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon religion, claimed that he was directed by an Angel to a hill near his home in which he found golden tablets containing the full text of the book. With the books he found two objects called the Urim and Thummim which he described as a pair of crystals joined in the form of a large pair of spectacles. Unfortunately, after Smith finished his translation, he had to return the tablets to the Angel, so there is no physical evidence that they ever existed. The book refers to a group of Jews that moved to and settled in America where Jesus visited them. Some segments of the Book of Mormon contain sections copied directly from the King James version of the Bible – the Bible that was most popular at the time and used by Joseph Smith. One example is Mark 16:15-18 which is quoted nearly word-for-word in Mormon 9:22-24. In addition, the book mimics the literary and linguistic style of the King James Bible. Linguistic experts have stated that the entire book is written by one man, and is not written by a combination of authors (the prophets as claimed by Smith). Additionally, the book refers to animals and crops that did not exist in America until Columbus arrived: ass, bull, calf, cattle, cow, domestic goat, horse, ox, domestic sheep, sow, swine, elephants, wheat, and barley. The most compelling proof that Joseph Smith was perpetuating a fraud is the Book of Abraham. In 1835 Smith was able to use his Urim and Thummim to translate some Egyptian scrolls that he was given access to (at that time no one could read hieroglyphics). Upon inspection, Smith declared that they contained the Book of Abraham. He promptly translated the lot and it was accepted as scripture by the church. The scrolls vanished and everyone thought the story would end there. But it didn’t – in 1966 the original scrolls were found in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The scrolls turned out to be a standard Egyptian text that was often buried with the dead. To this day the Book of Abraham is a source of discomfort for the Mormon religion. Read it for yourself! Buy The Book of Mormon at Amazon.com! 2. The Cottingley Fairies 1917 The Cottingley Fairies are a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford, England, depicting the two in various activities with supposed fairies. Elsie was the daughter of Arthur Wright, one of the earliest qualified electrical engineers. She borrowed her father’s quarter plate camera and took photos in the beck behind the family house. When Mr. Wright, upon developing the plates, saw fairies in the pictures, he considered them fake. After the taking of the second picture, he banned Elsie from using the camera again. Her mother, Polly, however was convinced of their authenticity. In the summer of 1919, the matter became public and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of Sherlock Holmes) wrote an article for a leading magazine claiming that they were authentic. Not everyone was taken in by the fraud, as this statement from a leading Doctor at the time attests: “On the evidence I have no hesitation in saying that these photographs could have been `faked’. I criticise the attitude of those who declared there is something supernatural in the circumstances attending to the taking of these pictures because, as a medical man, I believe that the inculcation of such absurd ideas into the minds of children will result in later li |
What agency of the US government is the operator of the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world? | Gm588 Project Paper - Term Paper Gm588 Project Paper Open Document INTRODUCTION The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing mail service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal Service", or "U.S. Mail". Employing 656,000 workers and 260,000 vehicles, it is the second-largest civilian employer in the United States and the operator of the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world. The USPS is obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality. Conversely, it has exclusive access to U.S. mail boxes and non-urgent letters. It receives competition from email and package delivery services. For 36 years, the Postal Service’s business model, established by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (PRA), worked very well for customers, employees, and the nation. The Postal Service was able to charge affordable prices and use the revenues from those prices to provide mail service to all areas of the country, charging the same prices regardless of cost of delivery. It was able to cut costs, improve service, provide innovative work-share options, and continually improve productivity. The OCI revealed at the USPS could benefit from cultural change of holding back it employees who excel in their area. These plays on power cause others employ not step up and do more. This also discourages the good employee from continuing to do more. There is nothing worse than going above and beyond duty and not being appreciated. Rewarding those who deserve it in this case create future leaders. Safety and attendance rewards encourage people to show up to work and be conscious of their actions. The USPS can also benefit from creating some other competition category within the... |
Deviating from standard practice, the US patent office has a policy of refusing to grant a patent without a working model for what type of device? | General information concerning patents | USPTO General information concerning patents UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE October 2015 Functions of the United States Patent and Trademark Office T he United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The role of the USPTO is to grant patents for the protection of inventions and to register trademarks. It serves the interests of inventors and businesses with respect to their inventions and corporate products, and service identifications. It also advises and assists the President of the United States, the Secretary of Commerce, the bureaus and offices of the Department of Commerce, and other agencies of the government in matters involving all domestic and global aspects of “intellectual property.” Through the preservation, classification, and dissemination of patent information, the Office promotes the industrial and technological progress of the nation and strengthens the economy. In discharging its patent related duties, the USPTO examines applications and grants patents on inventions when applicants are entitled to them; it publishes and disseminates patent information, records assignments of patents, maintains search files of U.S. and foreign patents, and maintains a search room for public use in examining issued patents and records. The Office supplies copies of patents and official records to the public. It provides training to practitioners as to requirements of the patent statutes and regulations, and it publishes the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure to elucidate these. Similar functions are performed relating to trademarks. By protecting intellectual endeavors and encouraging technological progress, the USPTO seeks to preserve the United States’ technological edge, which is key to our current and future competitiveness. The USPTO also disseminates patent and trademark information that promotes an understanding of intellectual property protection and facilitates the development and sharing of new technologies worldwide. What Are Patents, Trademarks, Servicemarks, and Copyrights? Some people confuse patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Although there may be some similarities among these kinds of intellectual property protection, they are different and serve different purposes. What is a Patent? A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available. The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO. There are three types of patents: 1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof; 2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and 3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant. What Is a Trademark or Servicemark? A trademark is a word, name, symbol, or device that is used in trade with goods to indica |
Sharbat Gula, an Afghan woman of Pashtun ethnicity achieved world wide fame when her photograph was featured on the cover of which magazine in 1985? | International Women's Day. Sharbat Gula. International Women's Day. Sharbat Gula. Prochain SlideShare Afficher les SlideShares associés à la fin Code abrégé pour WordPress International Women's Day. Sharbat Gula. 3 180 vues From our BLOG. Published in March 2012. ... Are you sure you want to Yes No Your message goes here Soyez le premier à commenter Soyez le premier à aimer ceci Aucun téléchargement Aucune remarque pour cette diapositive International Women's Day. Sharbat Gula. 1. International Womens DayUnintended Beauty, her story…Sharbat Gula (Pashto: ,هلګ تبرشliterally "Flower Sharbat") (pronounced ʃ[ˈ aɾ bat]) (born ca. 1972) is an Afghan woman who was the subject of a famousphotograph by journalist Steve McCurry. Gula was living as a refugee in Pakistan, during the timeof the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed. The image brought herrecognition when it was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National GeographicMagazine, at a time when she was approximately 12 years old. Gula was known throughout theworld simply as "the Afghan Girl" until she was formally identified in early 2002.An Afghan (Pashtun) by ethnicity, Gula was orphaned during the Soviet Unions bombing ofAfghanistan and sent to the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984. Her village was attackedby Soviet helicopter gunships sometime in the early 1980s. The Soviet strike killed her parents—forcing her, her siblings and grandmother to hike over the mountains to the Nasir Bagh refugeecamp in neighboring Pakistan. She married Rahmat Gul in the late 1980s and returned toAfghanistan in 1992. Gula had three daughters: Robina, Zahida, and Alia. A fourth daughter diedin infancy. Gula has expressed the hope that her girls will receive the education she was never ableto complete. 1984 photograph, “Afghan Girl” 2. At the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in 1984, Gulas photograph was taken by National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Gula was one of the students in an informal school within the refugee camp; McCurry, rarely given the opportunity to photograph Afghan women, seized the opportunity and captured her image. Although her name was not known, her picture, titled "Afghan Girl", appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The image of her face, with a red scarf draped loosely over her head and with her piercing sea-green eyes staring directly into the camera, became a symbol both of the 1980s Afghan conflict and of the refugee situation worldwide. The image itself was named "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the magazine. Search for the Afghan Girl The identity of the Afghan Girl remained unknown for over 17 years; Afghanistan remained largely closed to Western media until after the removal of the Taliban government in 2001. Although McCurry made several attempts during the 1990s to locate her, he was unsuccessful. In January 2002, a National Geographic team traveled to Afghanistan to locate the subject of the now-famous photograph. McCurry, upon learning that the Nasir Bagh refugee camp was soon to close, inquired of its remaining residents, one of whom knew Gulas brother and was able to send word to her hometown. However, there were a number of women who came forward and identified themselves erroneously as the famous Afghan Girl. In addition, after being shown the 1985 photo, a handful of young men falsely claimed Gula as their wife. The team finally located Gula, then around the age of 30, in a remote region of Afghanistan; she had returned to her native country from the refugee camp in 1992. Her identity was confirmed using biometric technology, which matched her iris patterns to those of the photograph with almost full certainty. She vividly recalled being photographed—she had been photographed on only three occasions: in 1984 and during the search for her when a National Geographic producer took the identifying pictures that |
George Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon (1866-1923) was an English aristocrat best known as the financier for the excavation of what? | Lord Carnarvon, Excavation Tutankhamun - Timeline Index Timeline Index Lord Carnarvon, Excavation Tutankhamun George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon was an English aristocrat best known as the financier of the excavation of the Egyptian New Kingdom Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. The 5th Earl was an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, undertaking in 1907 to sponsor the excavation of nobles tombs in Deir el-Bahari (Thebes). Howard Carter joined him as his assistant in the excavations in 1909. It is now established that it is Maspero, then Director of the Antiquities Department, who proposed Carter to Lord Carnavon. Lord Carnarvon received in 1914 the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings, in replacement of Theodore Davies who had resigned. It was in 1922 that they together opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, exposing treasures unsurpassed in the history of archaeology. Several months later, on April 5, 1923, Carnarvon died in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in Cairo. This led to the story of the "Curse of Tutankhamun", the "Mummy's Curse." More on this Website |
Which US agency has primary jurisdiction over the protection of the President, Vice President and other high ranking government officials? | FAQs FAQs Proposed White House Fence Designs Presentation to the Commission of Fine Arts National Special Security Events Credentialing What is a National Special Security Event (NSSE) and who determines which events are deemed a NSSE? The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for designating events as NSSEs. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-5) grants the Secretary this authority. The Secretary is assisted in the NSSE designation process by the NSSE Working Group, comprised of interagency subject matter experts and co-chaired by the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The NSSE Working Group is responsible for conducting an assessment of each event being considered for NSSE designation. Who authorizes the credentialing at NSSEs? Following the NSSE designation by the Secretary, the USSS assumes its mandated role as the lead agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan. Title 18 USC 3056 (e) and Presidential Policy Directive 22 (2013) designate the USSS with the responsibility and authority as the lead agency for planning, coordinating, and implementing security operations at NSSEs. Credentialing is a critical element in the coordination and implementation of the security operations for a NSSE. Although the USSS issues credentials for NSSE venues, the process begins with vetting by an event’s host committee, which approves the participants from a particular group or organization, such as media or service industries. Once the host committee approves the participants from a particular group or organization to attend the event, the USSS begins its background checks. Why does the USSS issue credentials at each event? Operational security plans must be developed for each individual event regardless of whether they appear to be similar in nature or if participants were credentialed for previous NSSEs. The USSS operational security plan is developed in partnership with event stakeholders including federal, state and local law enforcement, public safety agencies, as well as municipal, venue, and host representatives. Each participating agency is tasked based on its jurisdiction and particular area of expertise. This is accomplished through the formation of subcommittees whose collective responsibility is to plan for every possible security matter. For example, every NSSE has an established Transportation and Traffic subcommittee with the responsibility of developing and executing vehicular access control to all necessary personnel. How does the USSS determine who has to apply for and receive a credential to attend a NSSE event? Only those participants, who have a role, responsibility, and/or function within the NSSE, will be afforded a USSS credential application. All other invited guests, who do not require access to USSS protectees or USSS innermost perimeters and zones, will be offered an invitation/ticket by the respective host committee for that particular NSSE event or venue. The USSS works in collaboration with the host committee responsible to develop the framework of the event. The event purpose and program type will impact the credentialing plan for each NSSE. The USSS, in conjunction with the host committee will develop the innermost secure perimeters that will be designated as credentialing zones. Often times, these zones are designated by colors such as red and blue and those designations determine levels of access. The credentialing for most NSSEs involves participants, who might require access into the innermost USSS secure zones. The determination for those requiring access into these zones is directly related to the participant’s role, responsibility, and function at the event. Typically, the host committee (organizers/staff), host city (organizers/staff), volunteers, vendors, media, service industries, and law enforcement/emergency responders are issued credentials for NSSE events. Who conducts the background checks for individuals seeking credentialing for a NSSE? Background ch |
A form of government called by the Greek term 'thalassocracy' refers to a state with power in what realm? | SparkNotes: The Republic: Important Terms Important Terms Overview Philosophical Themes, Arguments & Ideas Aporia - Aporia is the Greek term for the state of helplessness—the inability to proceed—that ends all of Plato’s early dialogues. Through his pointed questioning, Socrates succeeds in showing that his interlocutors have no appropriate definition for the topic under consideration (be that topic piety, love, courage, justice, or whatever else), but nor is he able to supply one himself. In Book I of The Republic Socrates brings his friends to a state of aporia on the topic of justice, but then in the next nine books he manages to move beyond the aporia and give an actual answer to the question at hand. Appetite - Appetite is the largest aspect of our tripartite soul. It is the seat of all our various desires for food, drink, sexual gratification, and other such pleasures. It contains both necessary desires, which should be indulged (such as the desire to eat enough to stay alive), unnecessary desires, which should be limited (such as the desire to eat a ten pound sirloin steak at every meal), and unlawful desires, which should be suppressed at all costs (such as the desire to eat one’s children). Though the appetite lusts after many things, Plato dubs it “money-loving,” since money is required for satisfying most of these desires. In a just man, the appetite is strictly controlled by reason and reason’s henchman, spirit. Auxiliary - Plato divides his just society into three classes: the producers, the auxiliaries, and the guardians. The auxiliaries are the warriors, responsible for defending the city from invaders, and for keeping the peace at home. They must enforce the convictions of the guardians, and ensure that the producers obey. Belief - Belief is the second lowest grade of cognitive activity. The object of belief is the visible realm rather than the intelligible realm. A man in a state of belief does not have any access to the Forms, but instead takes sensible particulars as the most real things. Elenchus - Elenchus is the Greek term for Socrates’s method of questioning his interlocutors. In an elenchus he attempts to show that their own beliefs are contradictory, and thus to prove that they do not have knowledge about some topic about which they thought they had knowledge. Empirical - When something is an empirical question, that means that the question can only be settled by going out into the world and investigating. The question, “What percentage of the population of the United States likes ice cream” is an example of an empirical question, which can only be answered through empirical investigation. The question “What is the square root of two,” on the other hand, is not an empirical question. In order to answer this question all you have to do is think about the mathematics involved; you do not have investigate evidence in the world. Epistemology - The branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, belief, and thought. Epistemological questions include: What is knowledge? How do we form beliefs based on evidence? Can we know anything? Form - According to Plato’s metaphysical theory, there is an aspect of reality beyond the one which we can see, an aspect of reality even more real than the one we see. This aspect of reality, the intelligible realm, is comprised of unchanging, eternal, absolute entities, which are called “Forms.” These absolute entities—such as Goodness, Beauty, Redness, Sourness, and so on—are the cause of all the objects we experience around us in the visible realm. An apple is red and sweet, for instance, because it participates in the Form of Redness and the Form of Sweetness. A woman is beautiful because she participates in the Form of Beauty. Only the Forms can be objects of knowledge (that is, Forms are the only things we can know about). Form of the Good - Among the Forms, one stands out as most important. This is the Form of the Good. Plato is unable to tell us exactly what the Form of The Good is, but he does tell us that it is the source of intelligibility and of our |
What paradox states that an entirely rational ass placed between two stacks of hay of equal quality will starve as it cannot make any rational decision to start eating one rather than the other? | Decision Making and Buridan’s Ass - Essay - Victor Decision Making and Buridan’s Ass By: Victor • Essay • 710 Words • February 27, 2010 • 333 Views Page 1 of 3 Join now to read essay Decision Making and Buridan’s Ass Decision Making and Buridan's Ass Buridan's ass is the common name for the paradox which states that an entirely rational ass, placed exactly in the middle between two stacks of hay of equal size and quality, will starve since it cannot make any rational decision to start eating one rather than the other. The paradox is named after the 14th century French philosopher Jean Buridan. (wikipedia.org. 2006.) I love the idea of a decision making model where everything sucks. I enjoy the thought of making decisions based on the simple idea of which options sucks less than the others. How many times in life have we as humans been PARALYZED with an inability to act because we weren't sure if we were getting the BEST deal possible? Why do people let themselves completely miss an opportunity and wind up empty handed instead of take it for all that it is worth and focus on the next success? All rhetorical questions, but all equally thought provoking. I was recently faced with a large decision in my professional life. I was working in the best job I ever had; NASA. I worked with my best friend in the middle of nowhere. I had my own house and lots of delinquent friends to share it with. I also had a wonderful girl who lived a very long ways away. I had interviewed for and received several job offers. Some paid quite well, while others offered great benefits. I was beset with great things left and right and was unsure of what step to take, so I based my decision on which options were least desirable. Now I work for the Apollo Group, Inc. Buridan's Ass decision model is one of many popular methods for coming to a decision about something. Other types of popular methods include the T-chart: pro vs. con, and PMI: plus, minus, and interesting. (Harris, 2003) The Buridan's Ass method is generally see as a follow-up to either of these decision models as it is generally used when trying to decide between two or more equally positive options. This implies that one has already identified the positives of any choices at hand, and been unable to make a decision based on the merits of any given choice. Correctly utilizing this decision making model is surprisingly easy. One simply needs a discerning eye for the negative. The first step is deciding what your options are. Second, what are the drawbacks of each option? Third, which one is the lesser of the evils? Human beings are surprisingly naturally talented in picking out the negative in any given situation. Continue for 2 more pages » • Join now to read essay Decision Making and Buridan’s Ass and other term papers or research documents Q2. Explain the rational decision making model is there any other alternative to rational decision model if so explain them. Ans: The ability to make 459 Words | 2 Pages Being the new hire with this organization, I was asked to sit in on a meeting to observe my co-worker and a salesman that 410 Words | 2 Pages Change is a part of every beings existence; however, change also represents the definition of stress, which obviously could lead to human resistance. No one 531 Words | 3 Pages 1. Main concepts addressed in the Report There are several types of decisions that we need to make daily and the importance and complexity of 3,945 Words | 16 Pages |
In 1991, two men in England named Doug Bower and Dave Chorley revealed that they had been making these 'Signs' using planks, rope, hats and wire and thus exposed what hitherto unexplained phenomenon as a hoax? | Mysterious Phenomena - Haunted Yorkshire Haunted Yorkshire Weeping Statue Auras As living, energy-emitting, spiritual creatures, there is essentially no doubt that we all have a personal aura that can be seen and possibly photographed. Religious photographs depicting a supernatural glow around the subject are classic examples of the existence and the importance of our own personal auras, and every life form has an aura - be it human, animal, or plant. Each person's aura is uniquely individual, much like a fingerprint, and interpretation of the fluctuations in intensity and color can give us meaningful insight into the thoughts, feelings, and even the health of ourselves or those around us. Though most of us can't see the auras of ourselves or others, some people apparently can, and their reports are what we must depend on to understand the significance of the colour of the aura, how far the aura emanates out from the body, and how we can use this data to reveal more about ourselves or others. Unlike the religious pictures mentioned above, which usually portray the subject with a white or golden aura, auras actually cover the spectrum of colour, and the colours and intensity of the aura change constantly along with our moods, thoughts, and levels of energy. Science has not embraced the concept of auras, though they do acknowledge that each living creature emits gasses, radiation, and energy. Scientific testing has been inconclusive, as would be expected when trying to test an ever-changing, highly variable phenomena such as auras, but photography techniques are being tried all the time in an effort to produce consistent results, and as technology advances, it is almost a certainty that someone will stumble upon a way to get consistent photographs depicting auras. Despite the scientific scepticism of auras, this concept has been around since the beginning of time, and there is a lot of data pertaining to them from all over the world that is in basic agreement on the meanings of the colours, the intensity of individual auras, and ways to become more sensitive to their existence. It is this data that we will compile and use in this section to try to give an accurate depiction of auras and how they can be used as a vehicle by which we can understand our thoughts, moods, and even our very existences more clearly. Astral Projection Astral projection (also astral travel or AP for short) refers to a supernatural interpretation of episodes of out-of-body experiences which posits the existence of an astral body that separates from the physical body and travels to one or more astral planes or the physical world. Astral projection is experienced as being "out of the body".Unlike dreaming or near death experiences, astral projection may also be practiced deliberately. Descriptions of such experiences are found in major religious and accounts of the afterlife, with the soul's travels being described in such terms as an 'out-of-body experience' where the spiritual traveler leaves the physical body and travels with his/her spirit body (or astral body) into ‘other’ realms. Modern psychology has identified a neural basis for some aspects of out-of-body experience, reducing the need for supernatural explanations of it. Although there have been a limited number of paranormal investigations directly examining the validity of the astral projection hypothesis and the perception during it, more typically reports of such experiences are problematically subjective and anecdotal, and the more quantitative of such studies not reproducible by independent investigation. Nevertheless, the belief that one has had an out-of-body experience, whether spoken of as "astral projection" or not, is common. Surveys have reported percentages ranging from 8% (as much as 50% in certain groups of respondents) who state they have had such an experience. Beliefs Astral projection or travel denotes the astral body or double leaving the physical body to travel in the astral plane. According to classical, medieval, renaissance Neo-Platonist, later Theosophist and |
The name of what versatile product was coined by US soldiers as they couldn't pronounce its original name, 'Offiziersmesser'? | For The First Time (or the last time): 2005: Swiss Army knife makers stop fighting For The First Time (or the last time) when things changed in society and technology Monday, May 21, 2007 2005: Swiss Army knife makers stop fighting A Swiss Army knife is a multi-function pocket tool with a knife blade and other tools, such as screwdriver, tweezers and can opener. It originated in Switzerland in 1897, but the term is not a government-protected designation of origin, and any knife can claim to be a Swiss army knife. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II, as they couldn't pronounce its original name, "Offiziersmesser". The most common tools featured are, in addition to the main blade, a smaller second blade, tweezers, toothpick, corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener, phillips-head screwdriver, nail file, scissors, saw, file, hook, magnifying glass, ballpoint pen, fish scaler, pliers and key chain. Recent technological features include USB flash drives, digital clock, digital altimeter, LED light, laser pointer, and MP3 player. The official army model also contains a brass spacer, which allows the knife, with the screwdriver and the reamer extended at the same time, to be used to assemble the Swiss Army assault rifles. In 1891, Karl Elsener, then owner of a company that made surgical equipment, discovered to his dismay that the pocket knives supplied to the Swiss Army were made in Germany. Upset, he founded the Association of Swiss Master Cutlers to produce Swiss knives for the Swiss Army. The original had a wooden handle and featured a blade, a screwdriver, a can opener, and a punch. This knife was sold to the Swiss army, but Elsener was not satisfied. In 1896, he managed to put blades on both sides of the handle using a special spring mechanism. This allowed Elsener to put twice as many features on the knife, and he added a second blade and a corkscrew. Elsener, through his company Victorinox, managed to corner the market until 1893, when the second industrial cutlery firm, Paul Boechat & Cie, started selling a similar product. This company was later acquired by its general manager, Theodore Wenger and renamed the Wenger Company. In 1908 the Swiss government, wanting to prevent an issue over regional favoritism, but perhaps wanting a bit of competition in hopes of lowering prices, split the contract with Victorinox and Wenger each getting half of the orders placed. By mutual agreement, Wenger advertises as the Genuine Swiss Army Knife and Victorinox uses the slogan the Original Swiss Army Knife. In 2005, Victorinox acquired Wenger, thus once again becoming the sole supplier of knives to the Swiss Army. Victorinox has stated that it intends to keep using both brands for consumer products. In 2006, Victorinox produced a knife with 85 devices and 110 functions, to commemorate Wenger's 100th anniversary in the Swiss Army knife business. The Giant is a novelty collector's item that is nearly 9 inches wide, and retails for about $1200 The Swiss Army Knife was an important part of the American TV show MacGyver (1985 - 1992), where MacGyver often improvised equipment needed to solve problems. He often used his knife to help build mechanisms out of common items, which led to sayings such as "making a rocket out of a matchbox and a paper clip." (info from Wikipedia) Posted by |
"""There was a footpath leading across fields to New Southgate, and I used to go there alone to watch the sunset and contemplate suicide. I did not, however, commit suicide, because I wished to know more of mathematics."" Which 20th century philosopher-mathematician wrote this in his autobiography?" | Book Review by Akio Hasegawa, MD, PhD, �ｿｽ�ｿｽ�ｿｽJ�ｿｽ�ｿｽﾍ雄 [Abstract] (Personal Memorandum, for translation of the original non-English text in Latin, French or German quoted in the book, I reasoned the context using Google Translate, feel free to refer to its result ) Preface: The modern trend toward eliminating the concept of force from the conceptual scheme of physical science is notified to me. (Up till the present, I have accepted the concept of force rather a priori without any suspicion) Chapter 1, entitled "The formation of scientific concepts": A conceptual apparatus of objective science consists of two parts, according to the author (1) a hypothetico-deductive system, consisting of concepts, definitions, axioms and theorems, e.g., mathematics by Euclidean geometry (2) using data of sensory experience and "rules of interpretation" or "epistemic correlation", an association between observation and predictive or explanatory power is set up. The concept of force has been constantly revised, that is originally in analogy to human will power, or muscular effort, transforming to a power dwelling in physical things, related to "mass" and "momentum". In ancient Indian philosophy, there is no concept of force. They explained the physical phenomenon without a dynamic agent as force. In the 19th century, the nomenclature of force became more ambiguous when force was used to denote our present-day notion of "energy" and "work". Among the Kantian school, "force" was considered the physical formulation of "cause" and causality. To liberate from the bondage of casuality, some thought faction seeks total elimination of the concept of force from physics. The purpose of this book to critically analyze the development of the concept of force. Chapter 2, entitled "The conceptions of force in ancient thought": The abstract concept of force as a notion of divinity can be traced back in ancient Egypt to the nineteenth dynasty. Judaism transformed the idea of force into the notion of an ethical power. The Biblical God too is frequently associated with "might", "power", "strength", "vigor", mostly by the expression "dynamis" and "omnipotens". The ancient Persian or Iranian concept of god is that of great force of nature. Thus the concept of force is closely related to religious ideas, an expression of the world soul. (Lately I occasionally heard people saying about Tohoku earthquake and ensuing tsunami "The force of nature is tremendous!", which is one example of personification of force of nature) Chapter 3, entitled "The development of the concept of force in Greek science": The early cosmologists such as Thales conceived nature as a living being. According to Heraclitus's doctrine, nature is opposing tensions, the battlefields of antagonistic forces. Empedocles assumed force as a regulative agent in nature as love and strife, which he explained as the cause of motion. He interpreted the world as a breathing organism, love as the binding power and strife as driving love to the center (contraction of love), so to speak the cosmic systole and diastole as derived from the physiology of the body. For Plato nature has an immortal living soul, and all motion is spontaneous motion, the principle of life and soul. The ultimate origin of all forces in nature lies in the hidden world-soul. The motion of force is linked again with the divine conception. Aristotles reached radical dichotomy of physical phenomena into celestial and terrestrial processes, that was long afterward discarded with Newton's theory of universal attraction. Aristotles recognized only two kinds of forces, that is force inherent in matter "nature" (natural inherent tendency, e.g., a stone moves downwards on the slope. We may call it energy today, and he does not say that it happens by force!) and force as an emanation from substance, the force of push and pull in constant and direct contact (compulsory motion, e.g., a stone moved upwards by force contrary to inherent tendency. He calls this movement by force!). For the latter, he describes "In all cases of local move |
What word that is synonymous with African tourism is from the Swahili for 'journey'? | Victoria Safaris Canada | Unforgettable Memories Victoria Safaris Canada Home Welcome to East Africa – Land of Unparalleled Beauty Victoria Safaris welcomes you to East Africa. East Africa is synonymous with the word “Safari”, which in Swahili means “to journey”. through this land of abundant wildlife, beautiful scenery, diverse cultures and friendly people. Join us on Safari in Africa and make your dream come true. The richness of the African wilderness is unsurpassed and this continues to draw the people of various nations to the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Wildlife Safaris in Kenya and Tanzania has never been more exciting; similarly Gorilla Tracking adventures in Uganda, hiking on Mount Kenya, climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and beach holidays on the Indian Ocean Islands of Mombasa, Lamu and Zanzibar are just as fascinating, all drawing the traveler to this holiday pardise. Vehicle safaris Apart from the regular safaris we have a new range of tours that involve home stays around Lake Victoria. These Lake Victoria safaris take the traveler to culturally rich regions of Lake Victoria and include cultural immersions, study tours, eco tourism safaris, folklore and Lake Victoria fishing trips. Other tours include trips to the Ancestral Home of the father of US President Barack Obama and Cultural tours among the Luo and Luhyia of Western Kenya. One of the core activities of Victoria Safaris is eco tourism in Kenya, with particular concentration in Central and Western Kenya. The purpose of these safaris is to ensure that our clientele interact with the local people in the areas they visit even as these indigenous peoples earn directly from these tours even as they embrace earth-friendly environmental practices. The aim of Victoria Safaris is to enable participation from the local community in the development and operations of tourism with their consent and support. Another important feature is that a reasonable share of the revenues are enjoyed by the local communities in places where we undertake these tours. This type of tourism also maintains and respects the local culture, heritage and traditions. |
"Alexander Pope wrote this epitaph for Sir Isaac Newton: ""Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night; God said 'Let Newton be' and all was light."" To the above, Sir John Collings Squire added: ""It did not last: the devil, shouting 'Ho. Let ___ be' restored the status quo."" Whom did the devil add?" | Quotes from the Mathematical Quotations Server Collected by Mark R. Woodard Furman University Adams, Douglas (1952 - 2001) Bistromathics itself is simply a revolutionary new way of understanding the behavior of numbers. Just as Einstein observed that space was not an absolute but depended on the observer's movement in space, and that time was not an absolute, but depended on the observer's movement in time, so it is now realized that numbers are not absolute, but depend on the observer's movement in restaurants. Life, the Universe and Everything. New York: Harmony Books, 1982. Adams, Douglas (1952 - 2001) The first nonabsolute number is the number of people for whom the table is reserved. This will vary during the course of the first three telephone calls to the restaurant, and then bear no apparent relation to the number of people who actually turn up, or to the number of people who subsequently join them after the show/match/party/gig, or to the number of people who leave when they see who else has turned up. The second nonabsolute number is the given time of arrival, which is now known to be one of the most bizarre of mathematical concepts, a recipriversexcluson, a number whose existence can only be defined as being anything other than itself. In other words, the given time of arrival is the one moment of time at which it is impossible that any member of the party will arrive. Recipriversexclusons now play a vital part in many branches of math, including statistics and accountancy and also form the basic equations used to engineer the Somebody Else's Problem field. The third and most mysterious piece of nonabsoluteness of all lies in the relationship between the number of items on the bill, the cost of each item, the number of people at the table and what they are each prepared to pay for. (The number of people who have actually brought any money is only a subphenomenon of this field.) Life, the Universe and Everything. New York: Harmony Books, 1982. Adams, Douglas (1952 - 2001) Numbers written on restaurant bills within the confines of restaurants do not follow the same mathematical laws as numbers written on any other pieces of paper in any other parts of the Universe. This single statement took the scientific world by storm. It completely revolutionized it. So many mathematical conferences got held in such good restaurants that many of the finest minds of a generation died of obesity and heart failure and the science of math was put back by years. Life, the Universe and Everything. New York: Harmony Books, 1982. Adams, John (1735 - 1826) I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. Letter to Abigail Adams, May 12, 1780. Aiken, Conrad ...the music's pure algebra of enchantment. Anglin, W.S. Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the explorers often get lost. Rigour should be a signal to the historian that the maps have been made, and the real explorers have gone elsewhere. "Mathematics and History", Mathematical Intelligencer, v. 4, no. 4. Anonymous If thou art able, O stranger, to find out all these things and gather them together in your mind, giving all the relations, thou shalt depart crowned with glory and knowing that thou hast been adjudged perfect in this species of wisdom. In Ivor Thomas "Greek Mathematics" in J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956. Anonymous Defendit numerus: There is safety in numbers. In J. R. Newman (ed.) The World of Mathematics, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1956, p. 1452. Anonymous Like the crest of a peacock so is mathematics at the head of all knowledge. [An old Indian saying. Also, "Like the Crest of a Peacock" is the title of a book by G.G. Joseph] Anonymous Refer |
What institution in New Jersey best known as the academic home of Albert Einstein and John von Neumann was established to foster research without the complications of teaching or funding or sponsorship? | Einstein at Work and Relaxing A table a chair a bowl of - BIOLOGY - 190a Einstein at Work and Relaxing A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? —Albert Einstein This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Einstein’s Humorous Side You see, wire telegraph is a kind of very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat. —Einstein Einstein Becomes a Cultural Icon This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. Einstein Sculpture West Portal Riverside Church, New York This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. Einstein On the Cover of Time Magazine 1929 Einstein On the Cover of Time Magazine 1946 This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. Einstein On the Cover of Time Magazine 1979 Google Lecture Questions How did Time Magazine honor Einstein? Why did Time choose him for this honor? This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Einstein as Time Magazine’s Person of the Century 1925- Age 46 Einstein Spends the Last Thirty Years of His Life Working On His “Unified Field Theory” In an Attempt to Unite Gravity & Electromagnetism ************ He Fails in His Attempt This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Princeton Years 1933-1955 Age 54-76 Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, New Jersey Einstein’s Home 112 Mercer Street Princeton, New Jersey 1933- Age 44 Einstein and Elsa leave Germany for the United States. They settle in Princeton, New Jersey, where Einstein assumes a post at the Institute for Advanced Study. (Elsa dies in 1936.) This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)- Princeton The INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY (IAS) is a private institution in Princeton, New Jersey (and although closely associated with is not part of Princeton University). It was designed to foster pure cutting-edge research by scientists in a variety of fields without the complications of teaching or funding, or the agendas of sponsorship. It is perhaps best known as the academic home of Albert Einstein after his immigration to the United States. The Institute has been home to some of the most renowned thinkers in the world, including Albert Einstein, Kurt Gödel, J. Robert Oppenheimer, John Von Neumann, and Freeman Dyson. Edward Witten, arguably the successor to Einstein and the leading string theorist in the world is current a member. Fuld Hall (IAS) Institute for Advanced Study (IAS)- Princeton Wolfensonn Hall IAS Pond Edward Witten Simonyi Hall J Robert Oppenheimer This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. Einstein’s Office at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. (Sign Hanging in Einstein’s Office at the Institute for Advanced Study) Einstein with Kurt Godel Einstein at Princeton This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. |
In a journal entry of the 19th century, French naturalist Henri Mouhot who explored Southeast Asia compared what site to the pyramids? | quincunx photos on Flickr | Flickr Buy this photo on Getty: Getty Images The cloister Due to the nature of the Mont Saint Michel and the way that the abbey has needed to be constructed, the cloister is on top of the rest of the abbey buildings and not at the centre of the complex. Despite this, the cloister has maintained the form and functions of other cloisters found in all other monasteries with just a few subtle differences which set it apart, turning it into a symbolic representation of an ideal monastic life. Its function was purely spiritual: to bring the monks to meditate. Three arches of the cloister are opened to the sea or to the outside. Those openings were the entryway to the chapter house that was never built. The columns, arranged in quincunx, were originally made of limestone from England but were later restored using puddingstone from Lucerne. The cloister has in the middle a medieval garden recreated in 1966 by brother Bruno de Senneville, a Benedict monk. The center is made of box tree surrounded by 13 Damascus roses. The squares of medicinal plants, aromatic herbs and flowers symbolize the daily needs of Middle age monks. In the middle of the box trees were monsters to remind that in the middle of any marvel evil could still be there. Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temples. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km (2.2 miles) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls...... 75 Taken from the Herb Garden. We had a pleasant afternoon here yesterday at the Herts Flower show & sale, it was very windy so not many flowers shots The home of the Lytton family since 1490, when Thomas Bourchier sold the reversion of the manor to Sir Robert Lytton, Knebworth House was originally a red-brick Late Gothic manor house, built round a central court as an open square. In 1813-16 the house was reduced to its west wing,[2] which was remodelled in a Tudor Gothic style by John Biagio Rebecca for Mrs Bulwer-Lytton,[3] and then was transformed in 1843-45 by Henry Edward Kendall Jr. into the present Tudor Gothic structure.[4] In 1913-1914 it was leased for ₤3,000 per year by Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia and his morganatic wife Natalia Brasova.[5] Its most famous resident was Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the Victorian author, dramatist and statesman, who embellished the gardens in a formal Italianate fashion. Much of the interior was redesigned by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who simplified the main parterre. A herb garden, with an interlaced quincunx design, was drawn by Gertrude Jekyll in 1907, although not planted until 1982. Please visit my Cambodia set. Please also visit my Thailand set. From Wikepedia... Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat), a World Heritage Site, is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and a |
In the 2014 movie Godzilla, one of the two MUTOs, the creatures that feed on nuclear radiation, is shown to emerge from what Nevada location? | M.U.T.O. | Wikizilla | Fandom powered by Wikia [ show ] Development The M.U.T.O.s are known to have been developed from Rokmutul and Pterodactyl , two early monsters from the development of Godzilla. In the Comic-Con 2012 teaser trailer for the film, an unnamed, tardigrade-like, multi-legged monster was created to confirm that Godzilla would be fighting another monster in Legendary Pictures ' Godzilla . According to witnesses of the Godzilla trailer shown in Comic-Con 2013, the M.U.T.O. originally were spider-like creatures with long, thin limbs and scythes. This changed in the actual movie. One of the original screenplays of Godzilla had the male M.U.T.O. emerge from its chrysalis in Hokkaido , Japan , instead of the fictional city of Janjira . The female M.U.T.O. still appeared in Nevada, however. [3] The M.U.T.O.s went through several dozen concepts before Legendary settled on their final designs. Some concepts had the male M.U.T.O. with four wings, [4] and others had him with only six total appendages (including wings). [5] Name The M.U.T.O.'s name is an acronym for "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism." [6] According to Godzilla: Awakening , this is a designation Monarch gives to all giant monsters as a sort of placeholder name. In this comic, both Godzilla and Shinomura were known as M.U.T.O.s before being given their own individual names. In one of the original screenplays for Godzilla , the M.U.T.O.s were called "Hokmuto" and "Femuto," which were short for "Hokkaido M.U.T.O." and "Female M.U.T.O.," respectively. [3] Appearance The M.U.T.O.'s bodies are grayish-black and red (although depicted as grayish-black and white in the film when exposed to certain levels of light, like from fire) they have orange-red eyes in a slash like shape. The shape of their head is reminiscent of Gyaos , and they have triangular jaws, with the male M.U.T.O. having two 'mandibles' in his chin while the female only has one. The female M.U.T.O. has two pairs of forelimbs and a smaller pair on its chest, and is much bigger than the male M.U.T.O., being just smaller than Godzilla. The male M.U.T.O. is morphologically identical except that one of the two forelimb pairs is modified into his wings. Both M.U.T.O. have red eyes and two hind legs, and the species is capable of long-range echolocation. Personality As individuals, the M.U.T.O.s aren't given much character construction. Being prehistoric parasites, their sole goals revolve around consuming radiation and reproduction. The male, being the first member to be encountered, is described as young, growing, looking for food before meeting with the female, so he consumes radiation to gain strength. When he encounters Godzilla for the first time, he reacts with hostility and becomes defensive, attacking him whenever an opportunity becomes available and evading when possible. The M.U.T.O.s display courtship The female, once the male had matured enough, awakened from her dormancy and traversed through Las Vegas and other environments to meet with the male, who brought with him a nuclear warhead as a sign of courtship for their eggs to feed upon. She seemed to exhibit pain when laying her eggs in the M.U.T.O. nest in San Francisco, and became hostile and defensive when Godzilla appeared and fought with him alongside the male M.U.T.O. to defend their nest. As a team, they are powerful and able to best Godzilla with their combined strength. If nothing had distracted them from fighting Godzilla in San Francisco, they may have killed him. When they noticed their nest had been destroyed, the female exhibited a sense of loss over the demise of her eggs and then anger, but how much of this sense of loss is debatable, as she became angry and looked at Ford Brody, possibly marking him as the one responsible, but was unable to take action when Godzilla used his atomic breath on her, knocking her out. The male attacked Godzilla just before he could attack the female again, showing a protectiveness for her, even willing to risk his own life for her until she recovered. Origins The M.U.T.O. are anci |
In the early days of Atlantic City in NJ, what was constructed to keep tourists from tracking beach sand all over town? | Official Website for the City of You are here Dear Friends: Welcome and thank you for visiting the City of Atlantic City's website! We're proud to present the City's new total access website. We hope that you'll find our City's newly enhanced public information tool to be uniquely informative and extremely helpful. Our goal is to provide assistance, superior quality of life opportunities and total citywide access to our City for taxpayers and visitors 24/7. Please explore the site and discover our diverse community that features a state-of-the art Convention Center, historic Gardner's Basin, five star hotel casinos and a cornucopia of gourmet restaurants and retail shops. There is lots to......... In addition to providing unparalleled excitement and entertainment our City site contains valuable information and documentation regarding each City department for everyone's benefit. Once again thank you for choosing Atlantic City and please visit us again! History of Atlantic City Written By Barbara Kozek Atlantic City has a long and varied history. Though much has been written about the post 1977 casino years, and the heyday years of the 30's and 40's when the Atlantic City Boardwalk was the in place to be seen, there is a wealth of rich history which dates back over two hundred years before the first dice were thrown or the first jitney hit the pavement. Let's take a look back into history and discover all the people who helped make Atlantic City, not only what it is today, but what it will be in the future. The original inhabitants of Absecon Island, on which Atlantic City rests, were the Lenni-Lenape Indians. The Lenni-Lenapes would travel over the Old Indian Trail from the Mainland to the island to spend the summer months. The trail, which was located approximately where Florida Ave. is today, was five miles long over the marshland. The Indians would partake of the abundance the ocean and bay had to offer, along with the varieties of wildlife and flora of the island. The first recorded owner of Absecon Island was Thomas Budd, an Englishman, who arrived in Atlantic County in late 1670's. Budd was given the island and other acreage as settlement of a claim he had against the holders of the royal grant. His mainland property was then valued at $ 0.40 an acre, while the beach land a mere $ 0.04 an acre. That same piece of beach front property today would be worth millions of dollars per acre. For the next hundred years, the island would be visited by not only the Indians, but also hunters and some of the early mainland settlers. Among these brave soles, was Jeremiah Leeds. Leeds, born in Leeds Point in 1754, was the first white man to build a permanent structure on the island in 1785 at what is now Arctic and Arkansas Ave. His grandfather had built a cedar log cabin on Baltic Ave. at the site of the recently demolished bus terminal as early as 1783. Jeremiah and his family were the first official residents of Atlantic City. Their home and farm was called Leeds Plantation, and Leeds grew corn and rye and raised cattle. A year after Leeds death in 1838, his second wife Millicent got a license to operate a tavern called Aunt Millie's Boarding House, located at Baltic and Massachusetts Ave. Thus, the first business in Atlantic City was born. Several of Jeremiah and Millicent's children were important in their own right. Robert B. Leeds, born in Atlantic City on May 2, 1828, was the city's first postmaster. Another son Chalkey S. Leeds, born in Atlantic City in 1824, became the city's first mayor in 1854. By the year 1850, there were seven permanent dwellings on the island, all but one which were owned by descendants of Jeremiah Leeds. Dr. Jonathan Pitney, a prominent physician who lived in Absecon, felt that the island had much to offer, and even had ideas of making the island a health resort but access to the island had to be improved. Pitney, along with a civil engineer fro |
If a list is made of people who have the most area of earth named for them, Amerigo Vesupucci wins hands down as he has two continents in his name. Which person after whom two states in a country, two islands, a desert, a strait, and a lake have been named takes the next place? | Do I Know This ? Do I Know This ? Updated May 17, 2013, 12:23 AM Have you ever wondered who's got the most number of top singles in U.K ? Have you ever wondered which company is the world's top Global Brand ? Have you ever wondered which country has got the most or the highest number of Netizens ? Use template Amazing Facts 100 amazing & unknown facts! # Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our nose and ears never stop growing. # The Barbie doll’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. # The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. # Ants never sleep! # When the moon is directly overhead, you will weigh slightly less. # Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never called his wife or mother because they were both deaf. # An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. # “I Am” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language. # Babies are born without knee caps – actually, they’re made of cartilage and the bone hardens between the ages of 2 and 6 years. # Happy Birthday (the song) is copyrighted. # Butterflies taste with their feet. # A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. # It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. # Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors. # Minus 40 degrees Celsius is exactly the same as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. # No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple. # Shakespeare invented the words “assassination” and “bump.” # Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand. # Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. # The names of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with. # The sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English language. # The shortest war in history was between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes. # The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. # The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want. # Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from the blowing desert sand. # TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard. # You can’t kill yourself by holding your breath. # Money isn’t made out of paper. It’s made out of cotton. # Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks or it will digest itself. # The dot over the letter “i” is called a tittle. # A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why! # The “spot” on the 7-Up comes from its inventor who had red eyes – he was an albino. ’7′ was because the original containers were 7 ounces and ‘UP’ indicated the direction of the bubbles. # Chocolate can kill dogs, as it contains theobromine, which affects their heart and nervous system. # Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of plaster. # There are only two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: “abstemious” and “facetious.” # If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion, it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death. # Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow film down so you could see his moves. # The original name for butterfly was flutterby. # By raising your legs slowly and laying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand. # Dogs and cats, like humans, are either right or left handed. # Charlie Chaplin once won the third prize in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest. # Sherlock Holmes NEVER said “Elementary, my dear Watson”. # The Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries. # Bats always turn left when exiting a cave. # The shortest English word that contains the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F is “feedback.” # All Polar bears are left-handed. # In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak. # “Dreamt” is the only English word that ends in the letters “mt.” # Almonds are a member of the peach family, and apples belong to the rose family. # Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. # The only 15 letter word |
What country has the most time zones, with 12? Surprisingly, its not Russia or the US. Think of a country with far-flung territories and dependencies. | Russia travel guide - Wikitravel History[ edit ] An imperial power[ edit ] Russian identity can be traced to the Middle Ages, with first eastern Slavic state known as Kievan Rus and its religion rooted in Byzantine Christianity adopted from Constantinople . Majority of Russians are Orthodox Christians. Peter The Great established the Russian Empire in 1721, although the Romanov dynasty had been in power since 1613. One of Russia's most charismatic and forceful leaders, Peter built the foundations of empire on a centralized political culture and promoted "westernization" of the nation. As part of this effort he moved the capital from the history rich city of Moscow to Saint Petersburg, a city built at a great expense and by a great effort of the Russian people. Best architects from France and Italy were involved designing the city. Saint Petersburg became known as Russia's "Window on the West" and adopted the manners and style of the royal courts of western Europe, even to the point of adopting French as its preferred language. The Russian Empire reached its peak during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, producing many colourful and enlightened figures such as Catherine the Great, Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Tolstoy. By the late 19th century political crises followed in rapid succession, with rebellion and its repression. The occasional attempts by the Romanovs and the privileged classes to reform society and ameliorate the condition of the underclasses invariably ended in failure. Russia entered World War 1 in the union of the Triple Entente; like other European Empires with catastrophic results for itself. Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, proved to be feckless, weak, and distracted by personal tragedies and the burdens of the war. The government proved unable to hold back the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Deposed and held under house arrest, Nicholas, Alexandra, and their children -- and with them the Romanov dynasty -- were exterminated by gunfire in the basement of a Yekaterinburg manor house and buried in unmarked graves which were found later and reburied in the Saint Paul and Peter Cathedral in Saint Petersburg . Utopia of Communism[ edit ] World War I strained Imperial Russia's governmental and social institutions to the breaking point of Revolution in 1917. Following a brief interim government headed by social democrat Alexander Kerensky, the Bolshevik faction of the Communist Party under Marxist Vladimir Lenin seized power, with the money provided by the German establishement, withdrew Russia from the war, and launched a purge of clerics, political dissidents, aristocrats, the bourgeoise, and the wealthy independent farmers. A brutal civil war between the "Red Army" of the communist leadership and the "White Army" largely consisting of foreign interventionists back by Britain, Germany and France lasted until late 1920. In his years in power, Lenin used the Red Army, the internal security apparatus, and the Communist Party leadership to arrest and execute many opponents of the nascent regime, and redistribute land that have long been owned by the large land owners to peasants who work in it (Collectivisation of agriculture would not take place until 1928). After the Civil War, Lenin adopted a New Economic Policy, which allowed certain sectors to be denationalized, as well as cancelling the practice of grain requisitioning that was widely used in wartime, as well as a loosening of political and cultural controls. The revolutionary state was not directly ruled by the officials in titular control of the government, which was established in the name of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The government in the commonly understood sense was largely irrelevant both in fact and in Communist theory throughout the years of Communist control. In a manner akin to the Tsarist regime, the real power lay in the leadership of the Communist Party, the Red Army, and the internal security apparatus (secret police). Following Lenin's death in 1924, a power struggle among the Bolshev |
The BAM railway (...-Amur Mainline) in remote Russia is named for the Amur river and what other geographic feature? | The Baikal-Amur Mainline | Henry Joseph Shelonzek, Jr. - Academia.edu H. Shelonzek, Jr. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO THE BAIKAI..AMUR MAINLINE: AN III{PORTANT FAcToR IN A SOVIET STRATEGY FOR S]BERIAN DEVELOPMENT THE FACULTY OF THE DTVISTON OP THE SOCIAL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS A PAPER SUBMTTTED TO SCTENCES COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL,RELATIONS BY HENRY JOSEPH SHELONZEK JR. CHICAGO, TLLINOIS APRIL 7987 't \I j ii ACKNOLWLEDGEMENTS To complete'the work to prepare and finish this paper r want to thank two individ.uars, both- for their cooperatj_on and their patience. My wife Barbara, who worked two jobs foi two years in ord.er that r could attend evening classes at th.e university of Southern California School of, Internatiorial ReIa-. tions in lrlunich, Federal Republic of Gerrnany, and in so doing bring myself back up to the revel of competence reguired before receiving the lvlaster of Arts d.egree in rnternational Relations. My sincere gratitud.e also goes to professor Nortbn s. set aside much of his valuable time to share with me his incj-sive insight and extensive background and knowled.ge in Pacific geopolitical-related matters. G5-nsburg, who LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS TNTRODUCTION. Chapter .-..Physical-geographic influences upon the region The impact of permafrost on siberian developrnent Significance of geographic perspectj_ve in studying the region rr- Role of siberia east of the urals in Russian and Soviet economic development significance of Terri-toriar production comprex Significance of the Raitroad rrr. construction of the Baikal-Amur lvlainrine rairway and its significance for Soviet development of internal and external goals.... Original objectives behind the railway Development of the raitway project Adjacent industrj-at sites Attracting and retaining manpower on the BAIII rv. The Role of BAl,t in soviet strategy for siberia east of the Urats Military significance of BA,ry Northern pacific as the center of worrd power CONCTUSTON I. Geographic description of Siberia east of the Ural lvlountains... 24 37 52 60 BIBLIOGRAPHY 51 INTRODUCTION .in Eastern regional development within the ussR. Arthough its construction and purpose are tied to the existi-ng Trans-siberian Railroad, the Baikal-Amur Mainrine railway, or BAII{, is intimatery bound to the future. rts successfur operation will play a large role in the sustained economic and social development of Eastern Siberia, based upon industriat centers (called territoriar Production compte><es) tocated arong the BAiy's path. rt also will help provide the western industri-al and agricultural heart of the ussR with the mineral resources it requj-res, which are steadily being depleted within that region. This paper will discuss the goals which the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway is intended to achieve, restricting itserf to the imptications of the railway,s.compreti-on for the Soviet leadershj-p in planning and conducting domestic regionar economic policy. rt wilr also bring up aspects of soviet foreign pori-cy, with the BA[,I in mind, as directed toward contiguous The Baikal-Amur Mainline is a railway viewed by soviet economic planners as a major element East siberian and Far states. rn this sense, then, the constructi_on of the Baikar-Amur Mainline railway is but one tactic in a soviet grand strategy for the future of Siberia east of the ural Mountains, as well as for externar rerations. conducted with i_ts neighbors in the East. The goals behind construction of the BAtvI can be' broken into those "internar"- and "externar"-oriented. rnternal goals aim at the baranced deveropment of economic regions in order to reduce 2 costly interregional exchange and to have reasonably equj-table living standards throughout the USSR. Externat goals are those set for maximizing exports to earn the hard currency necessary for paying for imports of technology, and to some extent, of grain- The success of the Baikal-Amur I'tainline railway will deits ability to meet the denands of these internal |
What is the largest religious denomination for any religion in the world? | Major Religions Ranked by Size Scientology : 500 thousand Introduction The adherent counts presented in the list above are current estimates of the number of people who have at least a minimal level of self-identification as adherents of the religion. Levels of participation vary within all groups. These numbers tend toward the high end of reasonable worldwide estimates. Valid arguments can be made for different figures, but if the same criteria are used for all groups, the relative order should be the same. Further details and sources are available below and in the Adherents.com main database. A major source for these estimates is the detailed country-by-country analysis done by David B. Barrett's religious statistics organization, whose data are published in the Encyclopedia Britannica (including annual updates and yearbooks) and also in the World Christian Encyclopedia (the latest edition of which - published in 2001 - has been consulted). Hundreds of additional sources providing more thorough and detailed research about individual religious groups have also been consulted. This listing is not a comprehensive list of all religions, only the "major" ones (as defined below). There are distinct religions other than the ones listed above. But this list accounts for the religions of over 98% of the world's population. Below are listed some religions which are not in this listing (Mandeans, PL Kyodan, Ch'ondogyo, Vodoun, New Age, Seicho-No-Ie, Falun Dafa/Falun Gong, Taoism, Roma), along with explanations for why they do not qualify as "major world religions" on this list. This world religions listing is derived from the statistics data in the Adherents.com database. The list was created by the same people who collected and organized this database, in consultation with university professors of comparative religions and scholars from different religions. We invite additional input. The Adherents.com collection of religious adherent statistics now has over 43,000 adherent statistic citations, for over 4,300 different faith groups, covering all countries of the world. This is not an absolutely exhaustive compilation of all such data, but it is by far the largest compilation available on the Internet. Various academic researchers and religious representatives regularly share documented adherent statistics with Adherents.com so that their information can be available in a centralized database. Statistics and geography citations for religions not on this list, as well as subgroups within these religions (such as Catholics, Protestants, Karaites, Wiccans, Shiites, etc.) can be found in the main Adherents.com database. This document is divided into the following sections: Main list of major religions of the world Encyclopedia Britannica's Adherents of All Religions by Six Continents Tigerx.com's Top 10 Religions - A casual but insightful attempt divided along the lines of functional religious cultures rather than classical categorization Minnesota State University's "Religions of the World" website lists the "world's six major religions" as: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Animism, Christianity and Hinduism. Read the site's introduction (from: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/ religion/) here The Classical World Religions List There are twelve classical world religions. This is the list of religions described most often in surveys of the subject, and studied in World Religion classes (some of them more for historical rather than contemporary reasons): Baha'i Shinto Taoism In modern Western thought, the first writers to divide the world into "world religions" were Christians. Originally, three religions were recognized: Christians, Jews and pagans (i.e., everybody else). After many centuries, with the increased Western awareness of Eastern history and philosophy, and the development of Islam, other religions were added to the list. Many Far Eastern ways of thought, in fact, were given the status of "world religion" while equally advanced religious cultures in technologically less developed or pre-literate societies (such as in Australi |
What are Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht that are of significance to a certain European city? | Conozco Pablo: Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amalgamation of the Past and Present - Day 1 Click here for the second day of my adventure in Amsterdam. 1. Vondelpark This 45-hectare land piece is Amsterdam’s largest park and is within the vicinity of other tourist attractions, which somehow paved the surge of millions of tourists to this park built by architects inspired by Paris and Rome. 2. Concertgebrow After the lowest point of the Dutch history when France occupied Netherlands, the second Dutch Golden Age ushered during the 19th century, which is characterized by the establishment of several museums and art buildings, including the Concertgebrow. 3. Museumplein Christmas Village The Christmas Village somehow showcases the influence of traditions outside what the Dutch could claim entirely as their own. This is the same in the architecture of buildings that reflects French Empire, which occupied Holland for several decades after the Napoleonic Wars. 4. Van Gogh Museum Located within the Museum Square, this art museum dedicated for the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. 5. Rijksmuseum Patterned after Paris’ The Louvre, Rijksmuseum has been established first by the Batavian Republic in the Dutch administrative city of The Hague before moving it to Amsterdam due to orders from French conqueror Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who headed the puppet kingdom of Holland under the French Empire. 6. Lijnbaansgracht Notably, Amsterdam boasts for its canal networks, which somehow reflects the origin of the city’s name that literally means the dam or bridge created to protect from recurring floods the people along the Amstel River. There are many canals that still exist today and some were covered such as Lijnbaansgracht, which is on the northern side of the Rijksmuseum. 7. Spielgelgracht Designated as one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, Spielgelgracht is near the Prince Canal or Prinsengracht. 8. Kerkstraat It is a street in the center of Amsterdam. The street runs from the canal eastwards across the river Amstel. In the sixties, Kerkstraat or Church Street is where gay clubs and bars are most found. 9. Singel This is the innermost circle of Amsterdam, which dates back from the Middle Ages. This is also the site of the city’s flower market, where market stalls are actually boats floating in the canal. 10. De Krijtberg This Neo-Gothic Catholic Church is dedicated to the Jesuit saint Francis Xavier. Due to space limitations, the church architects have decided to construct a tall and monumental façade. 11. Spui Amsterdam’ courtyard for booklovers is the Spui, a square where many tram lines meet. 12. Magna Plaza A Neo-Renaissance style monumental shopping building was a former post office of Amsterdam. 13. De Nieuwe Kerk In the 13th century, Amsterdam has embraced the Protestant faith, also during the time Amsterdam gained the city rights. This new religious adherence became a symbol of rebellion against the Spanish empire, which revers the Catholic faith of the Holy Roman Empire. During these time, churches have been used for Calvinism including the Old Church in De Wallen. As the city population grew, there was a need to construct a new church on Dam Square today. 14. Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam & Dam The Royal Palace is one of the three palaces in Netherlands for the use of the monarch of the Kingdom of Netherlands. This was the old city hall before the puppet French kingdom of King Louis Napoleon used as an official palace. 15. Herengrancht One of the three main canals circling the city center is Herengracht, along with Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht. 16. Homomonument & Keizersgracht The widest of the inner canals of Amsterdam, Keizergracht is named after the Emperor Maximillian of Austria. During the winter, a sprintrace is conducted as one of the activities in this historic canal, which was initially planned to be a simple boulevard. 17. Westerkerk Along the banks of Prinsengracht is the Westerkerk, which differs from the Old Church in the Red Light District and the New Church in Dam Square b |
Which country has 12% of the world's Muslim population but has not been allowed to join the Organisation of Islamic Conference, mainly due to the efforts of another country? | Islam 101 Islam 101 Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts Islam 101 producer/director, Islam: What the West Needs to Know — An Examination of Islam, Violence, and the Fate of the Non-Muslim World Avaliable as a PDF document here http://www.jihadwatch.org/islam101.pdf Islam 101 is meant to help people become better educated about the fundamentals of Islam and to help the more knowledgeable better convey the facts to others. Similarly, my book and documentary are meant to serve as concise explanations of the major moving parts of Islam and their implications for Western society. Islam 101 is a condensation of the book and documentary with the aim of lending clarity to the public understanding of Islam and of exposing the inadequacy of prevailing views. All should feel free to distribute and/or reproduce it. Table of Contents a) The Five Pillars of Islam b) The Quran — the Book of Allah c) The Sunnah — the “Way” of the Prophet Muhammad Battle of Badr Muslim Scholar Hasan Al-Banna on jihad Dar al-Islam and dar al-harb: the House of Islam and the House of War i) Taqiyya — Religious Deception i) The First Major Wave of Jihad: the Arabs, 622-750 AD ii) The Second Major Wave of Jihad: the Turks, 1071-1683 AD The Dhimma Jihad in the Modern Era 3) Conclusion If Islam is violent, why are so many Muslims peaceful? What about the violent passages in the Bible? Could an Islamic “Reformation” pacify Islam? What about the history of Western colonialism in the Islamic world? How can a violent political ideology be the second-largest and fastest-growing religion on earth? Is it fair to paint all Islamic schools of thought as violent? What about the great achievements of Islamic civilization? 5) Glossary of Terms a. The Five Pillars of Islam The five pillars of Islam constitute the most basic tenets of the religion. They are: Faith (iman) in the oneness of Allah and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (indicated by the declaration [the Shahadah] that, “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”). Keeping of the five scheduled daily prayers (salah). Almsgiving (zakat). Fasting (sawm). Pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca for those who are able. The five pillars in and of themselves do not tell us a lot about the faith or what a Muslim is supposed to believe or how he should act. The second through fifth pillars — prayer, almsgiving, fasting, pilgrimage — are aspects shared by many religions. The finality of the prophethood of Muhammad, however, is unique to Islam. To understand Islam and what it means to be a Muslim, we must come to understand Muhammad as well as the revelations given through him by Allah, which make up the Quran. b. The Quran — the Book of Allah According to Islamic teaching, the Quran came down as a series of revelations from Allah through the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad, who then dictated it to his followers. Muhammad’s companions memorized fragments of the Quran and wrote them down on whatever was at hand, which were later compiled into book form under the rule of the third Caliph, Uthman, some years after Muhammad’s death. The Quran is about as long as the Christian New Testament. It comprises 114 suras (not to be confused with the Sira, which refers to the life of the Prophet) of varying lengths, which may be considered chapters. According to Islamic doctrine, it was around 610 AD in a cave near the city of Mecca (now in southwest Saudi Arabia) that Muhammad received the first revelation from Allah by way of the Archangel Gabriel. The revelation merely commanded Muhammad to “recite” or “read” (Sura 96); the words he was instructed to utter were not his own but Allah’s. Over the next twelve or so years in Mecca, other revelations came to Muhammad that constituted a message to the inhabitants of the city to forsake their pagan ways and turn in worship to the one Allah. While in Mecca, though he condemned paganism (for the most part), Muhammad showed great respect for the monotheism of the Christian and Jewish inhabitants. Indeed |
In April 2014, which tiny nation became the first East Asian country to adopt Islamic sharia law? | Brunei country profile - BBC News BBC News Read more about sharing. Close share panel The tiny state of Brunei has one of the world's highest standards of living thanks to its bountiful oil and gas reserves. Its ruling royals, led by the head of state Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, possess a huge private fortune and its largely ethnic-Malay population enjoy generous state handouts and pay no taxes. A British protectorate since 1888, Brunei was the only Malay state in 1963 which chose to remain so rather than join the federation that became Malaysia. Full independence came relatively late in 1984. Despite a significant non-Muslim minority presence in the country and strong condemnation from international rights group, in 2014 Brunei became the first East Asian country to adopt strict Islamic sharia law which allows punishment such as stoning for adultery and amputation for theft. Area 5,765 sq km (2,226 sq miles) Major languages Malay, English, Chinese Ethnicity 65% ethnic Malay, 10% Chinese Religious make-up 78% Muslim, 8% Christian, 7% Buddhist Life expectancy 76 years (men), 81 years (women) UN, World Bank, CIA World Factbook GETTY IMAGES LEADER Image copyright Getty Images The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is one of the world's longest-reigning and few remaining absolute monarchs. He was crowned in August 1968 following the abdication of his father, Sir Haji Omar Ali Saifuddin. Upon Brunei's independence in 1984, he appointed himself prime minister and in 1991, introduced an ideology called Malay Muslim Monarchy, which presented the monarch as the defender of the faith. He is one of the world's richest individuals and in a country where the standard of living is high, appears to enjoy genuine popularity amongst his subjects. More recently however, he has faced criticism over the introduction of Islamic Sharia law in the country. Image copyright Kfm Image caption KRISTALfm is a private music station Brunei's media are neither diverse nor free. The private press is either owned or controlled by the royal family. Media are subject to self-censorship on political and religious matters and a press law provides prison terms of up to three years for reporting "false news". Access to the internet is said to be unrestricted. TIMELINE Some key dates in Brunei's history: 15th century - Islamic sultanate of Brunei nominally in control of Borneo, including Sabah and Sarawak state of Malaysia, and some parts of the Sulu islands in the Philippines. 1888 - Brunei becomes a British protectorate. 1963 - Brunei chooses to remain a British dependency rather than join the Federation of Malaysia. 1967 - Hassanal Bolkiah becomes sultan following the abdication of his father, Sultan Omar. 1984 - Brunei becomes independent. 2014 - Brunei becomes the first East Asian country to adopt Islamic sharia law despite widespread international condemnation. |
The town of Shibam in the Middle-East is known for its tower brick homes all of which have a minimum height. What country is it located in? | 1000+ images about 5 Yemen (Middle East) on Pinterest | Islands, Deserts and Old city Forward "Shibam, a town in Hadramawt, Yemen, is considered to have the world’s oldest skyscrapers. All of the town’s houses are made out of mud bricks. While Shibam has existed for around 2,000 years, most of the city’s houses come mainly from the 16th century." Photograph by Pascal and Maria Marechaux. See More |
Rarotonga is the most-populated of the group of Pacific Islands named for which explorer? | Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Travel Information Recent history Polynesian settlement Cook Islanders are Polynesians: people of the poly (many) islands of the South Pacific. They are closely related to the Maoris of New Zealand and Tahiti (Cook Islanders can happily converse with their Maori cousins from overseas, despite differences in vocabulary and dialect). The Cook Islands were first settled around 1500 years ago by travellers from the Society and Marquesas Islands (now known as French Polynesia). Polynesians had been trekking across much of the South Pacific in huge ocean-going canoes for a couple of millennia before they arrived in the Cooks. The first settlers arrived in Melanesia from Southeast Asia around 2500 BC, before heading on to Fiji , Samoa and Tonga ; French Polynesia was then settled somewhere between 200 BC and AD 200. From there, canoes travelled thousands of kilometres in all directions, reaching Rapa Nui (Easter Island) , Hawaii , South America , and finally Rarotonga and the Cook Islands in around AD 500. ^ Back to top Early cook islands society Although written records only began with the arrival of the Europeans, oral history on Rarotonga traces its ancestry back about 1400 years. One of the oldest legends tells the tale of To'i, the great chief who built the Ara Metua (the ancient inland road) on Rarotonga somewhere around the 11th century, suggesting that there was already a sizable population living on the island (probably settlers from present-day French Polynesia). Traditional history, however, begins in the 13th century with the arrival of Tangi'ia and Karika, great chiefs from Tahiti and Samoa , who arrived aboard mighty ocean-going vaka (canoes), conquered the resident population, and founded Rarotonga 's six main tribes. Every island in the Cooks was ruled by several ariki (high chiefs). Beneath the ariki were mataiapo (chiefs) and rangatira (sub-chiefs). Land was divided into sections called tapere, each governed by one or more mataiapo, and home to a large extended family who used the land to build houses, farm crops and raise livestock. Each tribe had its own marae (sacred meeting places) and worshipped specific gods. The koutu was the most important meeting place of all - it was the official seat of a ruling ariki, and the place where the main sacrifices, offerings and annual feasts were made. A chief's authority depended on his mana - a complex term signifying not just physical or hereditary power, but also confidence, victory, prestige, knowledge, spirituality and all-round star quality. Mana ariki was the hereditary power of a chief; mana atua was the divine authority of the priest; and mana tutara was the ruling power of a mataiapo. Mana could be gained as well as lost; great deeds in battle and cowardly acts could all affect a person's mana, and the way he was regarded by the tribe. Ta'unga (literally 'experts') were also important figures. There were ta'unga in many fields, including woodcarving, agriculture, medicine, canoe-making and navigation. The tumu korero (speaker) was responsible for memorising tribal history and genealogy, but the most powerful ta'unga was the high priest, who was seen as the main bridge between the people and the spirits of the gods and ancestors. The high priest could declare certain acts or places tapu (forbidden), either by order of the gods or the ariki; the chief would decide when tapu had been violated and what the punishment would be (generally it was likely to be fairly unpleasant). Like their modern-day descendants, early Cook Islanders never passed up the opportunity for a party. There were elaborate ceremonies for all kinds of occasions - coming-of-age ceremonies, marriages, deaths, harvest festivals and victories in battle - so the islanders had plenty of opportunity to perfect their song and dance routines. ^ Back to top European explorers The Cook Islands had over a thousand years to develop its distinctive culture and customs before any Europeans finally pitched up. The first Europeans to sight the islands were both Spanish explorer |
Not surprisingly, the name for what feature of geography means 'almost an island' in Latin? | The Naming of America Am�rica, no invoco tu nombre en vano [America, I don't invoke your name in vain] Pablo Neruda, Canto General AMERICA, we learn as schoolchildren, was named in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, for his discovery of the mainland of the New World. We tend not to question this lesson about the naming of America. By the time we are adults it lingers vaguely in most of us, along with images of wave-tossed caravels and forests peopled with naked cannibals. Not surprisingly, the notion that America was named for Vespucci has long been universally accepted, so much so that a lineal descendant, America Vespucci, came to New Orleans in 1839 and asked for a land grant "in recognition of her name and parentage." Since the late 19th century, however, conflicting ideas about the truth of the derivation have been set forth with profound cultural and political implications. To question the origin of America's name is to question the nature of not only our history lessons but our very identity as Americans. Traditional history lessons about the discovery of America also raise questions about the meaning of discovery itself. It is now universally recognized that neither Vespucci nor Columbus "discovered" America. They were of course preceded by the pre-historic Asian forebears of Native Americans, who migrated across some ice-bridge in the Bering Straits or over the stepping stones of the Aleutian Islands. A black African discovery of America, it has been argued, took place around 3,000 years ago, and influenced the development of Mayan, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. The records of Scandinavian expeditions to America are found in sagas � their historic cores encrusted with additions made by every storyteller who had ever repeated them. The Icelandic Saga of Eric the Red, the settler of Greenland, which tells how Eric's son Leif came to Vinland, was first written down in the second half of the 13th century, 250 years after Leif found a western land full of "wheatfields and vines"; from this history emerged a fanciful theory in 1930 that the origin of "America" is Scandinavian: Amt meaning "district" plus Eric, to form Amteric, or the Land of (Leif) Eric. Other Norsemen went out to the land Leif had discovered; in fact, contemporary advocates of the Norse connection claim that from around the beginning of the 11th century, North Atlantic sailors called this place Ommerike (oh-MEH-ric-eh), an Old Norse word meaning "farthest outland." (This theory is currently being promoted by white supremacists of the so-called Christian Party , who are intent on preserving the nation's Nordic character, and who argue that the Norse Ommerike derives from the Gothic Amalric, which, according to them, means "Kingdom of Heaven.") But most non-Scandinavians were ignorant of these sailors' bold exploits until the 17th century, and what they actually found was not seriously discussed by European geographers until the 18th century. Further, other discoveries of America have been credited to the Irish who had sailed to a land they called Iargalon, the land beyond the sunset, and to the Phoenicians who purportedly came here before the Norse. The 1497 voyage by John Cabot to the Labrador coast of Newfoundland constitutes yet another discovery of the American mainland, which led to an early 20th-century account of the naming of America, recently revived, that claims the New World was named after an Englishman (Welshman, actually) called Richard Amerike. And yet, despite the issue of who discovered America, we are still confronted with the awesome fact that it was the voyages of Columbus, and not earlier ones, that changed the course of world history. Indeed, as Tzvetan Todorov, author of The Conquest of America (1984; tr. Richard Howard), has argued, "The conquest of America
heralds and establishes our present identity; even if every date that permits us to separate any two periods is arbitrary, none is more suitable, in order to mark the beginning of the modern era, than the year 1492, the year Columbus crosses the Atlantic Oc |
Name of 2 of the 3 countries that are overlapped by the Afar triangle that has several important sites for those interested in early human studies. | Ethiopia Ethiopia 9. Contacts 1. INTRODUCTION The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) is a landlocked country in the horn of Africa, bounded to the north by Eritrea, to the west by Sudan, to the south by Kenya and to the east by Somalia and Djibouti; it lies within the tropics between 3°24` and 14°53` North; and 32°42` and 48°12` East (see figure 1). It covers 1,120,000 square kilometres in nine regional states, one City Council and one City Administration. Smallholder peasants farm eight percent (about 10,000,000 ha) of the national land area and about 3,100,000 hectares are fallow. The total area of grazing and browse is estimated to be 61,000,000 –65,000,000 hectares, of which 12 percent is in mixed farming and the rest in pastoral areas (Alemayehu, 1998a; MoA, 2000). The population was estimated at about 63,000,000, making it the third most populous country in Africa, after Egypt and Nigeria, but according to the World Factbook the July 2006 estimate was 74,777,981 with a growth rate of 2.31%. The male-female ratio is almost one to one. 85.3 percent of the population lives in rural areas and the rest is urban (CSA, 1999). Figure 1. Location map of Ethiopia. Source MoA, 2000 Ethiopia is culturally and biologically diverse, among the four most diverse countries in Africa for endemic vertebrates; fifteen percent of the estimated 7,000 vascular plants are thought to be endemic. Ethiopia has a diverse mix of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds; in fact among the top 25 countries in the world in endemic linguistic diversity. It is has more than 80 ethnic groups, each with its own language, and about 200 dialects, culture and traditions. The four main language groups are: Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic, and Nilo-Saharan. One of the most significant areas of Ethiopian culture is its literature which is represented predominantly by translations from ancient Greek and Hebrew religious texts into the ancient language Ge'ez, modern Amharic and Tigrigna. Ge'ez, one of the most ancient languages in the world, is still used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which has its own unique customs and traditions and which have been influenced by Judaism. The agricultural sector plays a central role in the economic and social life of the nation and is a cornerstone of the economy. About 80-85 percent of the people are employed in agriculture, especially farming. The sector contributes about 40 percent of total GDP; livestock and their products account for about 20 percent of agricultural GDP. Smallholders, the backbone of the sector, cultivate 95 per cent of the cropped area and produce 90-95 percent of cereals, pulses and oilseeds. Subsistence agriculture is almost entirely rainfed and yields are generally low. Within agriculture, some 60 percent of the output is from crops, with livestock and forestry producing 30 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Crop production by area is predominantly cereals (84.55 percent) followed by pulses (11.13 percent) and others (4.32 percent). Five crops account for almost all cereal production: maize (15.75 percent), teff (Eragrostis tef) (25.78 percent), barley (12.29 percent), sorghum (12.39 percent) and wheat (10.76 percent) [CSA, 1995-1999]. However crops such as pulses e.g. Chick pea, Beans, Peas; oil crops e.g. sunflower, safflower, rape, neug (Guizotia abyssinica), groundnut; and root and plantation crops e.g. potato, sweet potato, yam, cassava, `enset` (Ensete ventricosum), and sugar-cane have great food and industrial value. Subsistence crop production is traditional and rainfed, with very limited areas of irrigation. Of around 166,000 hectares under irrigation some 64,000 hecta |
UNESCO's World Heritage List originated in the effort to preserve historic sites that were being affected by the construction of what structure in the 1950s? | 70th anniversary | UNESCO UNESCO: Building peace in the minds of men and women Just 50 years ago, in April 1965, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System came into being under the auspices of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). To mark this anniversary, and celebrate the system’s numerous accomplishments, an international symposium was held in Honolulu, Hawaii (USA) on 20 and 21 April. 7.11 pm, 22 May, 1960. An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale – the most powerful on record – occurred south of Chile, generating a tsunami that battered the South American coastline for over 4,000 kilometres. Waves up to 25 metres high crashed onto the shores of Chile, between Concepcion and the Chiloe Islands, closest to the epicenter. Fifteen hours later the tsunami, which by then had travelled 10,000 kilometres, struck Hawaii, then Japan and the Philippines. The final death toll was over 2000. Damages were estimated at around 24 million dollars (almost 200 million dollars at today’s values). © ITIC - One of the early posters prepared by the International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC). The scale of the disaster highlighted the need for an alert system for the Pacific, where 75% of the world’s deadliest tsunamis occur. In 1965, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System* came into being under leadership of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the system’s operational nerve centre, was also established. Based in Hawaii, it is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, U.S.A) and cooperates with the North-West Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Japan. It evaluates threats when earthquakes occur and warns countries that lay in the path of any resulting tsunami. Organised by NOAA, the IOC and the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) the international conference in Honolulu will trace the history of this exemplary scientific programme. Fifty years after its creation, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group counts 46 member states * and the system has evolved beyond issuing warnings to include work on loss prevention, preparing populations to respond to tsunami threats, and technology transfer. © DIPECHO-ACSUR - Tsunami Education and awareness activities, Nicaragua. The Pacific tsunami Warning System has direct access to more than 150 seismic stations around the world which provide information on all earthquakes of 5.5 magnitudes or more. It also receives data from tide gauges and tsunami-metres throughout the Pacific that verify whether a tsunami has been generated and estimate its size. These tsunami-metres allow for greater precision in calculating tsunami risks, and mean that warnings can be issued within five or ten minutes of an earthquake occurring. The Pacific model has been used as a model for three other systems, launched after the deadly tsunami of December 2004, to protect most exposed regions, including the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, the North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean. While undeniably successful, the system still has gaps. “Going the last mile” remains a challenge, because even if the system can alert national authorities quickly, the message must then be relayed to vulnerable coastal populations that risk could be hit minutes after an earthquake happens. Financing is also an issue. Maintaining the warning system has a cost – estimated between 50 and 80 million dollars a year. But to save lives and limit the damage wreaked by tsunamis, it’s a price that must be paid. ____________________ *Originally known as the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific. **Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, Chili, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Papua new Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Solom |
The fictional Radiator Springs in Pixar's hit Cars is said to be based on several places the crew visited along what iconic American road? | A guide to the real-life Cars movie characters and places Updated Nov. 9, 2011 If you just saw the “Cars” movie and want to find more information about Route 66, welcome. First, the Radiator Springs shown in “Cars” is a fictional town. Historic Route 66 exists. On the real Route 66, there is a Baxter Springs in Kansas and a Peach Springs in Arizona. But Radiator Springs does not exist, except in the imaginations of Pixar’s artists and writers. However, many of the characters and places shown are based on real characters and locations on Route 66, the Mother Road. Let’s introduce them, shall we? For instance, Sally the Porsche, portrayed in the film by Bonnie Hunt, is based primarily on Dawn Welch, owner of the historic Rock Cafe in Stroud, Okla. Welch’s restaurant is one of the road’s most acclaimed, as Michael and Jane Stern of Roadfood.com will attest . If you plan to visit the Rock Cafe for a meal, it is advised that you be there during off-peak hours. The restaurant tends to get very crowded during the lunch and dinner rush on weekends. The Sheriff is portrayed by the distinctive baritone voice of Michael Wallis , who also served as a Route 66 consultant for the film. Wallis has written 14 books, including the bestselling “Route 66: The Mother Road” , which catapulted him to national prominence in 1990. Wallis also guided the Pixar crew on two Route 66 tours for its research for “Cars,” and he and his wife, Suzanne, wrote “The Art of Cars,” a behind-the-scenes look at the film. They reside in Tulsa. Fillmore, the VW microbus voiced by George Carlin in the film, was unofficially inspired by Route 66 artist Bob Waldmire . I say “unofficially” because Waldmire refused to lend his name for the film. He’s a strict vegetarian, and he was bothered by “Cars” toys with his name on them would be in McDonald’s Happy Meals. Waldmire lives a hippie lifestyle, driving up and down Route 66 in his own VW microbus (complete with a solar panel for supplemental power), and selling his intricate artwork. Waldmire died of cancer on Dec. 16, 2009. His microbus is currently displayed at the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac. By the way, Fillmore’s geodesic dome home in the film looks a lot like the dome at Meteor City in Arizona. Waldmire has a connection to Meteor City; he painted the massive mural of Route 66 there. Tow Mater the tow truck, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy in the film, is a composite of NASCAR superfan and non-Route 66er Douglas “Mater” Keever of North Carolina, Dean Walker (lower left), a mover and shaker at the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association; and Harley Russell, co-owner of the Sandhills Curiousity Shop in Erick, Okla. Walker can turn his feet backwards and frequently can be found at the Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum in Baxter Springs, Kan. Russell, who for many years was a professional musician, and his wife, Annabelle, performed music and offbeat comedy as the Mediocre Music Makers at their shop in Erick, which he describes as the “Redneck Capital of the World.” Harley and Annabelle have taken time off because of her recent bout with cancer, but they plan to eventually resume their tourism music gig. Harley Russell’s speaking voice, by the way, sounds very much like Mater’s. Ramone’s body-art shop in the film is directly inspired by the U-Drop Inn , a recently restored Art Deco gasoline station and restaurant complex in Shamrock, Texas. The U-Drop Inn now serves as a tourism and chamber of commerce office. Sally’s Cozy Cone Motel in the film is a composite of the historic Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., and the teepee-shaped Wigwam Motels, with one in Holbrook, Ariz. , and the other in San Bernardino, Calif. All of these motels are restored, well-maintained, and worth seeking out for a night’s sleep. Also, the name of Cozy Cone Motel is probably a nod to the Cozy Dog Drive-In restaurant on Route 66 in Springfield, Ill. The mountain shaped like a radiator cap that overlooks Radiator Springs is inspired by Tucumcari Mountain in Tucumcari. The mountain is the dominant feature in |
The volcanic island of Surtsey that started forming in the 1960s attracting worldwide scientific attention is nearest to what country? | Volcanic Natural Resources and Volcanic Landscape Protection: An Overview | InTechOpen Earth and Planetary Sciences » "Updates in Volcanology - New Advances in Understanding Volcanic Systems" , book edited by Karoly Nemeth, ISBN 978-953-51-0915-0, Published: September 27, 2012 under CC BY 3.0 license . © The Author(s). Chapter 5 Volcanic Natural Resources and Volcanic Landscape Protection: An Overview By Jiaqi Liu, Jiali Liu, Xiaoyu Chen and Wenfeng Guo DOI: 10.5772/54586 Figure 1. Locations of the volcanic islands referred to in the article Figure 2. Location of volcanic islands in China Figure 3. Penghu Island Figure 4. A natural geothermal system [11] Figure 5. EGS Cutaway Diagram [14] Figure 6. Location of Pacific-Australian plate boundary and Taupo Volcanic Zone[22] Figure 7. Location of the Wairakei Geothermal Power Station in the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand Figure 8. Steam pipelines towards the Wairakei Geothermal Power Station [24] Figure 10. Sand steam hot spring in Ibusuki, Kagoshima [30] Figure 11. Landscape of Tengchong, China Figure 13. Kimberlite pipe [47] Figure 14. Diamonds can be formed by subduction [50] Figure 15. Location of the world nature heritage sites and geoparks which are related to volcanic activities Figure 16. Landscape of Wudalianchi, China Figure 17. Landscape of Changbai Mountain, China Volcanic Natural Resources and Volcanic Landscape Protection: An Overview Jiaqi Liu1, Xiaoyu Chen1 and Wenfeng Guo1 [1] Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 1. Introduction Many land resources are formed by volcanoes. In the vast oceans, there are numerous sporadic islands, big and small. Take Kosrae and Azores Archipelago for example. Kosrae (5°9′N, 163°00′E), Federated States of Micronesia, is a small (112 km2) volcanic island in the west-central Pacific Ocean [ 1 ]. Compared with Kosrae, Azores Archipelago (36°55′~39°43′N, 25°01′~31°07′W) is a much larger volcanic island. It consists of nine volcanic islands and covers 2,247 km2 [ 2 ]. These volcanic islands not only offer space for humans to live on, they have also become courier stations for shipping and communication. They were particularly more important in ancient times when seamanship was not well developed. Some typical lands which have been created by volcanic activities will be introduced below. Figure 1. Locations of the volcanic islands referred to in the article The Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean are a typical example of islands constructed by volcanoes. With continuous oceanic volcano eruptions and magma pouring into the ocean constructing islands, the young Hawaiian Islands keep growing. This situation also happens in Iceland and Reunion. Indonesia is the biggest archipelagic state in the world and also a “volcano country”, most of the islands there have been constructed by volcanoes, for example, Anak Krakatau is called Krakatoa’s son. It was formed both by volcanic activity and wave-cut erosion. Eventually the growth speed of the volcano exceeded the wave-cut erosion and emerged in 1930, piled up from an ocean floor of over 100 m depth, forming islands of cinder and lava covering more than 2 km2 in area [ 3 ]. This new island, with an elevation of 9 m in 1930, grew relatively quickly in the first decade of its existence, to 67 m in 1933, and 132 m by 1941 and subsequently to 170 m by 1966. Changes in height were accompanied by enlargement of the island’s area. By 1981 the diameter of Anak Krakatau was reported to be about 2,000 m, with the highest elevation at about 200 m above sea level [ 4 ]. Falcon Island (Australia) is a small, uninhabited, rocky island, bounded by a fringing reef, at the south of the Palm Islands, formed under the joint action of submarine volcanic eruptions and waves. It is approximately 35 km offshore, 40 km from the nearest city and river estuary, and 8 km from an aboriginal settlement on Great Palm Island [ 5 ]. It is in the Pacific Ocean about 1600 km from the eastern coast of Australia. In 1915, Falcon Island disappeared suddenly due to the dominant rol |
Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia is adjacent with what other park that is also named for a famed attraction? | Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park · National parks and Sanctuaries · The Best of Zambia Read more Enquire The park and its history Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park covers 66 square kilometres from the Songwe Gorge below the Victoria Falls in a north-west arc along about 20 kilometres of the Zambezi River bank. It forms the south-western boundary of the city of Livingstone and has two main sections, each with separate entrances – the forest and cliff tops surrounding Victoria Falls, and the wildlife park. The Zambezi River forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, so the Victoria Falls are shared by the two countries, and this Zambian National Park is ‘twin’ to the Victoria Falls National Park on the Zimbabwean side. ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ which means ‘the smoke that thunders’ comes from the Kololo or Lozi language and the name is now used throughout Zambia, and in parts of Zimbabwe. In November 2005 a new statue of explorer David Livingstone, the world famous explorer was erected in the park. The original and more famous Livingstone statue is on the Zimbabwean side. A plaque was also unveiled on the nearby Livingstone Island to mark the spot from where David Livingstone became the first European to see the Victoria Falls, who he named after Queen Victoria. Today, Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is considered for inclusion in the five nation Kavango-Zambezi Trans frontier Conservation Area. The Victoria Falls section of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park The Victoria Falls section of the national park includes the rainforest on the cliff opposite the Eastern Cataract which is sustained by spray from the falls. It contains plants that are rare for the area such as pod mahogany, ebony, ivory palm, wild date palm and various creepers and lianas. Despite the many visitors that come here small antelopes and warthogs inhabit this area and are sometimes seen on the winding footpaths through the dripping riverine forest leading to the falls. The aptly named Knife Edge Bridge was built in the 1960s to provide access on foot to the cliffs looking over the Rainbow Falls and the first gorge’s exit to what is known as the boiling pot in the second gorge. During the high season from February to May, prepare to get drenched from clouds of spray thrown up by the thundering falls. A steep footpath leads down to the boiling pot. Look up and there are views of the second gorge and the Victoria Falls Bridge. Just before the Zambezi River plunges over the Victoria Falls, there is a small undeveloped stretch of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park which is currently the only river front location that can be accessed without paying a fee. This is also known to be an important location for elephants to cross the Zambezi River. As you would expect the amount of water falling over the Victoria Falls varies with the seasons. Come to Victoria Falls during or just after the rainy season to see the world’s largest curtain of falling water. Be ready to hire rain coats or get soaked to the skin for this experience. Come to Victoria Falls in the drier seasons for a view of the sheer drops of rock, craggy nooks and crannies which offer an altogether different experience. It is when the water calms a little that you can take a guided trip across the rocky lip of the Zambezi River above the Victoria Falls to Livingstone Island for a heart-stopping peek into the thundering chasm below, or take a dip in the Devil’s Pool – your friends will never believe your photos! Below the Victoria Falls Downstream from the Victoria Falls the Zambezi River plunges into the Batoka Gorge a sheer cut through the landscape that hacks a deep zigzag groove through the plateau as it heads off eastward towards the distant Indian Ocean. Sandy tracks wind through the forest, passing through the occasional thatched village, various points where rafters climb up out of the gorge and on towards two remote lodges perched high above the chasm. The tops of these deep gorges below the Victoria Falls can be reached by road and walkable tracks through the game park. These are excellent places to see klipspringers, cl |
Going-to-the-Sun Road is a prominent pathway in an American national park named for what geographical feature? | What Are the Geological Features in Glacier National Park? | Trails.com What Are the Geological Features in Glacier National Park? Tweet Glacier National Park is home to many geologic formations. The park is named after the remnants of 10,000-year-old glaciers and anywhere you look, you see a different example of how nature carved these massifs. Whether you're traveling on the Going-to-the-Sun Road or hiking the 700 miles of trails in the park, different types of formations can be seen everywhere. Cirque Imagine a massive piece of ice grinding away at a layer of bedrock. This is what a glacier does to form a cirque. When it has finished working, a semi-circular bowl is left that resembles an amphitheatre. This is a cirque. Arete If you've ever seen a sharp-edged ridge, you've seen an arete. An arete forms when a glacier wears away its sides, sculpting a knife-edged ridge. The summit of Mount Oberlin is a perfect example of a prominent arete in Glacier National Park. Hanging Valley Below the arete on Mount Oberlin's summit is a hanging valley that overlooks the actual valley floor below. A hanging valley is created when a small glacier erodes a mountain. The one on Mount Oberlin resembles a large bowl, perched high above the park. Paternoster Lakes Lakes formed by glaciers form in U-shaped valleys and form in chains called paternoster lakes. Glacier National Park has great examples of these formations. A popular example is the chain formed by Grinnell, Josephine and Swiftcurrent Lakes. Moraine Boulders, rocks, silts and other residues left behind by a glacier are called a moraine. Moraines are sub-categorized as end, ground, lateral, and medial moraines. These categories refer to the location where the residue is deposited; for example, a lateral moraine has residue deposited on the sides of the glacier. Article Written By Rob Holzman Based in the Pacific Northwest, Rob Holzman has been writing outdoor articles since 1997. He recently published the first comprehensive rock climbing guidebook for Pennsylvania and has fiction work published in the "Pacific Northwest Inlander". Holzman has also appeared on FOX television and has been an outdoor consultant for the Discovery Channel. |
Tafilalt in Morocco, Chebika in Tunisia and Huacachina in Peru are some of what? You are sure to quench your thirst at these locales! | 14 most beautiful desert oases in the world You are using an older browser version. Please use a supported version for the best MSN experience. 14 most beautiful desert oases in the world < PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 15 NEXT SLIDE > Oases - areas of lush vegetation surrounded by desert - have an almost mystical hold on our imagination, conjuring up visions of the "Arabian Nights." But they're also a vital part of the desert economy, offering crucial stops for traders and supporting communities. Let’s take a look at some of the most beautiful examples from across the globe. © RAZVAN CIUCA/Getty Images |
Aokigahara forest in Japan is noted as a place where many people go for what purpose? | Aokigahara Suicide Forest – Koshu, Japan | Atlas Obscura Please separate multiple addresses with commas. We won't share addresses with third parties. Subscribe me to the Atlas Obscura Newsletter Called “the perfect place to die,” the Aokigahara forest in Japan has the unfortunate distinction of the world’s second most popular place to take one’s life. (The first is the Golden Gate Bridge.) Since the 1950s, Japanese businessmen have wandered in, and at least 500 of them haven’t wandered out, at an increasing rate of between 10 and 30 per year. Recently these numbers have increased even more, with a record 78 suicides in 2002. In 2003, that record was beat with a number of 105 bodies discovered. See more things to do in Japan » Japanese spiritualists believe that the suicides committed in the forest have permeated Aokigahara’s trees, generating paranormal activity and preventing many who enter from escaping the forest’s depths. Complicating matters further is the common experience of compasses being rendered useless by the rich deposits of magnetic iron in the area’s volcanic soil. Due to the vastness of the forest, desperate visitors are unlikely to encounter anyone once inside the so-called “Sea of Trees,” so the police have mounted signs reading “Your life is a precious gift from your parents,” and “Please consult the police before you decide to die!” on trees throughout. This does not deter determined people from committing suicide in this dense forest. Annually about 70 corpses are found by volunteers who clean the woods, but many are forever lost in the very thick woods. Japanese authorities discontinued publishing exact suicide numbers in order to avoid making the place even more popular. Contemporary news outlets noted the recent spike in suicides in the forest, blamed more on Japan’s economic downturn than on the romantic ending of Seicho Matsumoto’s novel Kuroi Jukai, which revitalized the so-called suicide forest’s popularity among those determined to take their final walk. (The novel culminates in Aokigahara as the characters are driven to joint-suicide.) Locals say they can easily spot the three types of visitors to the forest: trekkers interested in scenic vistas of Mount Fuji, the curious hoping for a glimpse of the macabre, and those souls who don’t plan on leaving. What those hoping to take their lives may not consider is the impact the suicides have on the locals and forest workers. In the words of one local man, “It bugs the hell out of me that the area’s famous for being a suicide spot.” And a local police officer said, “I’ve seen plenty of bodies that have been really badly decomposed, or been picked at by wild animals… There’s nothing beautiful about dying in there.” The forest workers have it even worse than the police. The workers must carry the bodies down from the forest to the local station, where the bodies are put in a special room used specifically to house suicide corpses. The forest workers then play jan-ken-pon—rock, paper, scissors—to see who has to sleep in the room with the corpse. It is believed that if the corpse is left alone, it is very bad luck for the yurei (ghost) of the suicide victims. Their spirits are said to scream through the night, and that their bodies will move on their own. |
A custom known as the kula exchange or kula ring where great risks are taken to exchange gifts is prevalent in what part of the world? | Cultural Anthropology/Production, Inequality and Development - Wikibooks, open books for an open world Cultural Anthropology/Production, Inequality and Development From Wikibooks, open books for an open world Adaptive Strategies[ edit ] People all over the world rely on modes of production, distribution, and consumption in order to provide food and other commodities necessary in life. These modes differ based on culture in the ways that humans relate to and make use of the natural environment, how humans relate to each other, how the institutions of society and federal states cause change, and how ideas impact the ways in which these relationships are conveyed. This section discusses specific aspects of the different modes of production that have been used over time and that continue to be used in different cultures worldwide. Production[ edit ] Production is the transformation of nature's raw materials into a form more suitable for human use. An example of a mode of production is processing wheat grown in a field into flour to make bread. What makes it so is the conversion of the wheat into a form that humans can use for sustenance (i.e., flour for bread). All of the factors involved in the conversion of the plant into a form useful to humans, including the entire agricultural process, are considered to be factors of production. Distribution[ edit ] Distribution is the transport of produced goods whether that be by land, air, or sea to the consumer. Examples include the shipping of a package around the globe or even simply taking food to the market to sell. Forms of distribution vary depending on level of development and technological means but it is a universal and is required to get a product to the potential consumer. One way in which goods are distributed is through Physical Distribution Management and Efficient Consumer Response systems. These methods of transporting products have been increasingly important since the Industrial Revolution and are increasingly so due to the rapid rate of globalization and technological advance. This is because as industry makes the production of certain specific goods more efficient, the transportation of those goods becomes more vital because the distance to the places that need them is greater. Without the important aspect of distribution, industrialization would not be effective or even possible to sustain. Consumption[ edit ] Consumption is the buying or use of a good or service that has been previously distributed and produced. Examples of consumption include buying goods from store or purchasing items from another person. Consumption is an important part of the trade process as well as the final step in the process. For each of these systems there are many different forms and many different processes by which they function. Production can span all areas of the globe, but in many different fashions. Although it is agreed that "production shapes the context in which exchange can occur, determining which parties have what amount of goods to distribute", the extent to which this applies varies drastically from one geographic location to another and can often uncover inequalities between the different levels. A good example of this is the Global Coffee Trade. Full Example: A complete example of the whole process is documented in the 2006 film entitled "Black Gold," which follows the coffee trade in a region of Ethiopia known as Oromia. This area is known as the birthplace of coffee. The film follows Tadesse Meskela, the Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, as he travels to the United Kingdom and the United States trying to promote the coffee grown by the local farmers of Oromia. His goal is to sell the coffee on the international market without few or no middle men so that the Ethiopian coffee farmers will earn higher profits from their products. There is an astounding disparity between what distributors pay the farmers for their coffee and the amount that the consumers ultimately pays. There are efforts to help combat exploitation of the farmers, one of the mos |
A mine in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland that attracts millions of visitors is known for having produced what for centuries? | Wieliczka Salt Mine, Krakow, Poland, 1815 insider tips, photos, reviews & tickets - Page 2 Things to Do in Krakow Wieliczka Salt Mine Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour from Krakow with an English-Speaking Guide "Tour the UNESCO's Cultural and Natural Heritage Site Wieliczka - continuously functioning mining site since the middle ages located approximately 16 km from Cracow.The “Wieliczka” Salt Mine is one of the most valuable monuments of material and spiritual culture in Poland. Each year it is visited by more than one million tourists from all over the world.Magnificent majestic timber constructions and unique statues sculpted in salt. Almost 3 kilometers of meandering corridors 800 steps to climb of which 350 have to be descended to reach the depth of 135 meters underground. Thus it is no surprise that till now the Tourist Route the main visiting route of the mine has been visited by 40000 Private Tour: Wieliczka Salt Mine Trip from Krakow "Meet your private guide at your central Krakow hotel at your preferred time and then leave the city by luxury minibus traveling to Wieliczka a small city roughly half an hour southeast of Krakow. Your destination here is the UNESCO-listed Wieliczka Salt Mine and on arrival you’ll head straight inside to explore the underground public areas with your guide.A staggering 1072 feet (327 meters) deep the working salt mine is a vast network of underground pits Salt Mine Guides Tour in Wieliczka - Krakow "Your trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine will begin in the city centre or at your hotel in Krakow. Wieliczka is only a short distance 10km away from Kraków.After a 30 minutes’ drive you will be there to begin your 2.5-hour wonder through the network of underground tunnels and labyrinths.You’ll have to take approximately 360 steps down to the mine. Down in the mine there is legends and many interesting facts about the mine.""""The salt mine in Wieliczka is famous for being Europe’s oldest salt mine which has been operating for at least 700 years. Wieliczka’s salt mine is a unique tourist attraction and is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List (listed among the twelve top sites). Get lost with wonder as you make your way through the labyrinth of tunnels |
The Semperoper is the opera house of what European city? (hint: Slaughterhouse-Five) | Dresden: The city that rose again | Stuff.co.nz Dresden: The city that rose again MICHAEL RODDY Last updated 05:10 01/04/2014 Reuters Reuters Reuters Reuters Reuters Reuters People look at the swollen Elbe rive in front of the historic skyline of the east German city of Dresden. A general view shows a vintage steamboat sailing down the Elbe river, where the planned 'Waldschloesschenbruecke' bridge should cross the river, in front of the historic city centre of the eastern German city of Dresden. People walk past a statue of King Johann of Saxony (1801-73) in front of the Semperoper opera house. A general view shows the old city with the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and the Hofkirche church beside the river Elbe. Zwinger Castle in Dresden. People await the re-consecration ceremony of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) in the eastern German city of Dresden. 0 of 0 « Previous « Previous Next » Next » Relevant offers Things to do in Dresden, Germany: Three minute guide Avalon Waterways river cruising: 10 shore excursions to try on the River Rhine American novelist Kurt Vonnegut, a prisoner of war in Dresden during World War Two, has a scene in "Slaughterhouse Five" where time-travelling hero Billy Pilgrim sees the city's firebombing in reverse, with phosphorous bombs sucked back into warplanes. Visitors today to the German city that proudly, if a bit cheekily, calls itself "Florence on the Elbe", in a nod to its Italianate architecture, could almost think the scene was prescient of Dresden's resurrection since World War Two. Imprisoned at a slaughterhouse that inspired the novel's title, Vonnegut lived through the infamous bombing raid in February 1945 which destroyed the old part of the city three months before the war in Europe ended. It killed, according to widely varying estimates, 35,000 to 100,000 people, or more. Emerging from the relative safety of the slaughterhouse, Vonnegut wrote that the destroyed city looked like a moonscape. Today the moonscape can be seen only in photographs. Sited on land that slopes up gently from the scenic Elbe in the historic kingdom of Saxony, Dresden, formerly part of communist East Germany, is one of the beneficiaries of German unification. Its booming semiconductor, pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries, including a glass-fronted factory that produces Volkswagen's luxury Phaeton model, and is a tourist attraction in its own right, mean the city is flush with cash to support a thriving restaurant, boutique and cultural and arts scene. One of Germany's most prestigious opera houses, the Semperoper, which saw the premieres of nine of Richard Strauss's operas and three of Richard Wagner's, dominates a vast square. Nearby, the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) has a spectacular collection including works by Rubens, Durer, Rembrandt and Canaletto, plus touchstones of art like Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" and Vermeer's "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window". Dresden is also the site of a modern miracle in the reconstruction of its historic old town, especially the rebuilding of the 18th-century Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady). The heart and soul of the old city collapsed into rubble two days after the bombing raid due to the intense heat generated by the firestorm. While the communist authorities who ran East Germany until 1989 spent money to rebuild the destroyed Semperoper, they would not fork out money for the church. Townspeople cleared the site and stored the remaining original stones nearby, waiting for their time to come, which it did when communism collapsed and the Berlin Wall was torn down. With donations from throughout the world, including a substantial sum from a trust in Coventry, England, scene of another devastating church bombing in World War Two, the Frauenkirche was rebuilt from the rubble. Since it reopened in 2005 it has become one of the top five tourist attractions in Germany, partly for its meticulously restored, pale white baroque interior, partly because it has a reputation for being "the biggest puzzle in the world". Ad |
The Semien Mountains whose highest peak is Ras Dashen lie in what African country? | Trekking Tour of Ethiopia Trekking Tour of Ethiopia offered by supplier M17566 (read about supplier) Key Information: Tour Duration: 10 - 21 day(s) Group Size: 3 - 20 people Minimum Per Person Price: 2000 US Dollar (USD) Maximum Per Person Price: 4000 US Dollar (USD) Our trek consists of going to Ras Dashen (4543 m), the highest peak in Ethiopia and visits to Historic Routes of Ethiopia Mountains such as Ras Dashen, one of the tallest mountains in Africa. After visiting The Monasteries over Lake Tana, the Blue Nile Falls and the medieval castles at Gondar, we continue into the Simien Mountains for a quite a tough trek. The Simien Mountains of Ethiopia offer superb wilderness trekking with camera snapping scenery, dramatic cliffs and steep drops and escarpments. You can see and the chance to spot endemic wildlife such as a troop of Gelada Baboon, Walia Ibex and Simien fox and Ethiopia’s many endemic birds and plant life unique to the mountains. Finally we visit the obelisk city of Axum and the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. Axum is said to house the Ark of the Covenant. Tour Itinerary: Day 1: Arrive in Addis Ababa, city tour of Addis Ababa. On arrival in Addis Ababa our representatives will meet you at Bole International Airport and transfers to Classic hotel or guest house. An briefing of the program and itineraries will be given. The rest of the day visit historical sites in Addis Ababa including the National Archaeological Museum, where we will see the 3.6 million year old remains of “Lucy”, whose skeletal remains when discovered in 1974. You will also visit the Ethnological Museum at Addis Ababa University, Holy Trinity Cathedrals and Mount Entoto which rises up to an altitude of 3200 m and offers the panoramic view of the metropolis. Day 2: Drive from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar stopping off at Debre Libanos. Overnight at Debre Markos. Drive to Bahir Dar through the beautiful scenery at after 103 kms drive, visit the 13th C monastery of Debre Libanos and the 17th C Portuguese Bridge. Debre Libanos is an important monastic center for Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. See Portugese Bridge with breathtaking views of Blue Nile Gorge. See Waterfalls. Day 3: Bahir Dar. After breakfast, we take a boat trip on Lake Tana to visit ancient monasteries and churches. See the Blue Nile Falls. Overnight: Tana Hotel. Day 4: Drive Gondar Tour of Gondar. We experience typically in an Ethiopian African landscape as we drive from Bahir Dar to Gondar- 180 kms over wide grazing land, hilly mountains with numerous farmlands. The rest of the day visit attractions in Gondar. The attractions that we visit in Gondar includes: Castles of Gondar- are included in the World Heritage List, the royal Fasiledes Bath and the Church of Debre Berhan Selassie with its unique murals. Overnight: Goha Hotel. Day 5: Gondar - Geech Camp Site. Morning 3 hours drive through countryside to Debark town (100 km from Gondar), where the head quarter of Semien Mountains National Park is found. Then we continue driving to Sankaber (31 km) the first campsite of the National Park. It is this day that we start to walk in the national park. We begin the trek along all the trekking staff: including mules and Muleteers for packing and transport of camping gears and all foodstuffs. We walk from Sankaber to Geech, which will take between 5-6 hours. After about 1 and half hours walk we see the Jinnbar River and falls, we will cross the river later in the day. After crossing the river, we ascend for about two hour to Geech, which is full of Giant Lobelias. Overnight Camping at Geech Campsite (3600 m). Day 6: Geech - Imetegogo – Geech. This day we will be waking to the best viewpoints in the National park. First we walk to Imetegogo, the view here enables one to look 3600 to all directions this one of the best view in the national park. After a short stay here continue walk to Seha, the other terrific viewpoint in the National park. We will have our picnic lunch and we continue to the last viewpoint, Quedadit. After some stay we walk back to Geech camp site. The walk this da |
The Galata bridge spans what water body that is part of the Bosphorous strait and that has been a subject of numerous works of art? | Bosphorus – Turkish Forum English Wish You Were Here: A Ferry Boat on the Bosphorus New York has its Staten Island Ferry, Venice the Vaporetto and Bangkok the Chao Phraya River Bus, but no city ferry line seems quite as regal as that of Istanbul. Last night, we hopped a Vapur (the name for these old ferries) for the first time, traveling from the docks at Eminönü near the Spice Market to about 25 minutes up the Bosphorus to Ortaköy, a neighborhood just before the towering Bosphorus Bridge. Though a private water taxi charges 120 Lira ($67 USD) for a one-way ride between these points, sharing the ferry means a far budget friendlier cost of only 3 Lira ($1.67) each way. The ferries themselves are ridiculously impressive, with their white bows looking just as ready for a transatlantic crossing as a trip between two docks. The funnels spew black smoke under raw power, and the maneuvering skills of the captains are on full display during evening rush hour near the Galata Bridge. Vapur sizes vary, with maximum occupancy ranging from 600 to as high as 2100. Ferries like this have sailed the Bosphorus since 1837; they may have changed from steam power to fuel, but they remain an integral part of the population’s daily commute. And frankly we wouldn’t want it any other way. A ferry docked for the night nearby the Bosphorus Bridge between Europe and Asia [Photos: Cynthia Drescher/Jaunted] via Wish You Were Here: A Ferry Boat on the Bosphorus || Jaunted. Posted on Destination: East meets west in the Turkish city of Istanbul 27 Feb 2013 09:05 From Birmingham Airport it will take 3 hours 50mins and 2.657km to reach Ataturk Airport in Istanbul. Share on print Share on email The Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, in the heart of Istanbul’s old city It is the city where two continents collide, their cultures and heritage blending in a unique atmosphere. Europe and Asia meet in Istanbul, and throughout this vibrant city you’ll find centuries-old mosques, churches and markets happily rubbing shoulders with modern restaurants, galleries and nightclubs. The cost of an overnight stay varies from £10 to £1,000 depending on your taste because Istanbul is also a city of contrasts. Whatever you do, plan on visiting a hamman – the traditional Turkish bath that the UK’s stylish spas try, but fail, to replicate. For about £12 your skin will be scrubbed clean, a fraction of the cost you’d pay back home. Kariye Museum Must Sees 1. Kariye Museum (The Chora Church), Kariye Cami Sokak, Edirnekapi This 11th century church looks unassuming from the outside, but step through the door and prepare to be amazed by remarkable mosaics illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Over the years, it has doubled as a museum and it remains a Byzantine treasure to this day. Take the tram to Topkapi and walk along the old city wall to make this a complete holiday experience. Bosphorus Strait, Old City, Sirkeci 2. Bosphorus Strait, Old City, Sirkeci Crossing the Bosphorus Strait is one of those holiday musts seasoned travellers like to tick off. To start with, you’ll find yourself between two continents while in the same city. Taking the boat, you’ll marvel at Istanbul’s iconic landmarks, many of which can only be enjoyed from close this way. The infinite blue and the company of seagulls all the way will make you wish this journey will never end. Basilica Cistern, Imran Oktem Cad, Sultanahmet 3. Basilica Cistern, Imran Oktem Cad, Sultanahmet Yes, it’s even worth a look at the plumbing! The Basilica Cistern (or Sunken Palace from the original Turkish) is a mysterious underground complex lit by candlelight. It is, in fact, a Roman building dating back to 532 AD. This beautiful, cathedral-like cavern of columns and arches reflected in the still water is quite unlike anywhere else. Ancient and quiet, it’s thought-provoking, too, a world away from the bustle overhead. Posh Baran Residence Hotel Airport, Naci Kasim Cad. Bahcelievler Okay, so you’re happy to break the bank. Expect to pay in excess of £1,700 a night for a spacious, air-conditioned apartment i |
What is the only U.S. state flag to feature the Union Jack? | The History of the American Flag: A Timeline The History of the American Flag: A Timeline The History of the American Flag: A Timeline Every heart beats true for the red, white, and blue – but does every heart know the interesting history of the stars and stripes? While the modern American flag has become a symbol around the world for freedom, justice, and prosperity, it has actually changed sixty three times over the past two hundred and thirty five years. Some early designs of the flag would be unrecognizable to most modern Americans, and some even featured the British Union Jack. Brush up on the fascinating story of our beloved Star-Spangled Banner and how she became the shining beacon of hope that she is today with in the following timeline! 1775 – As revolutionary fever starts to swelter, several iterations of a flag representing the independence and discontent of the colonists begin to surface. The Continental Navy starts to fly a flag with a red striped background featuring a snake, along with the inscription “Don’t Tread on Me.” This sentiment and symbol will later be associated with the United States Marine Corps. In New England, the “Liberty Tree” symbol becomes increasingly popular and appears on several flags. The green pine tree shape was used on board New England ships with the phrase “An Appeal to Heaven,” while the flag for New England featured the Liberty tree in the upper left corner set bordered by red, white and blue stripes. 1776 – On the first of January, The Grand Union Flag is flown on Prospect Hill and adopted as a symbol of the rebelling colonists. The flag, originally designed in 1775, features the British Union Jack in the upper left corner surrounded by thirteen white and red stripes, symbolizing the thirteen colonies. Five months later, Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress, sews what is remembered as the first “American Flag,” featuring thirteen white stars laid in a circle on a blue background surrounded by thirteen red and white stripes. Modern historians have called the validity of the Ross story into question; however, the story has become American folklore and is unlikely to be overruled in the public mind. 1777 – After myriad variations of Ross’s design are sewn and utilized around the colonies during early Revolutionary battles, the Continental Congress officially adopts Ross’s original design as the first official flag of the fledgling country on June 14th. 1778-1794 – Alternative versions of the American flag continue to be produced and used by various prominent military outfits and sailing vessels in spite of the official adoption of the Ross design. All versions utilize the red, white, and blue theme. Different designs were likely used due to slow and inconsistent communication as well as the gradual transition of the thirteen colonies into states. The last of the thirteen colonies to officially join The United States was Rhode Island in 1790. 1795 – The official design is modified and updated to include two more states into the Union: Kentucky and Vermont. The stars pattern has now shifted away from the circle to five staggered rows. 1814 – Inspired by the majesty of the flag and its visual impact during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key pens a tune he titles “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The song’s patriotic message earns it national recognition. It is officially adopted in 1931 as the national anthem. 1818 – The official flag is modified and updated to showcase five additional stars on the blue field in honor of Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi and Indiana receiving state status. The stars are now arranged in four rows of five across. 1819 – The flag is updated at the end of the year when Illinois is added into the Union. The 21 stars are now arranged with one row of four with one row of five on top and two rows of five below. 1820 – Two more stars are added with the inclusion of Alabama and Maine. The 23 stars are now arranged with one row of five with one row of six on top and two rows of six below. 1822-1867 – Fourteen more stars are added to the fl |
Name 2 of the 3 countries that had the most victims due to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. | BBC ON THIS DAY | 26 | 2004: Thousands die in Asian tsunami About This Site | Text Only 2004: Thousands die in Asian tsunami Massive sea surges triggered by an earthquake under the Indian Ocean have killed over 10,000 people in southern Asia, with many more feared dead. An 8.9 magnitude earthquake under the sea near Aceh, north Indonesia, at 0759 local time (0059 GMT) generated the biggest tsunami the world has seen for at least 40 years. The wall of water fanned out across the Indian Ocean at high speed and slammed into coastal areas with little or no warning. Officials in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India have all reported death tolls in the thousands and the figures are expected to rise sharply over the next few days. This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan Egeland Indonesia is thought to be the worst-hit country in the region, with 4,185 confirmed dead. In Sri Lanka, over 3,500 people have died and one million more have been made homeless. President Chandrika Kumaratunga has declared a national emergency. Hundreds of fisherman are missing off the southern Indian coast and witnesses have reported scores of bodies being washed up on beaches. Other countries hit by the tsunami include Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, the Seychelles and the Indian-owned Andaman and Nicobar islands. Harrowing stories from the disaster zone are beginning to emerge. Jayanti Lakshmi, 70, lost her son and twin grandsons while out shopping with her daughter-in-law in Cuddalore, southern India. She said: "I wish I had died instead of the others, my daughter-in-law would have a life. I can't bear to watch her pain." And a father in Sri Lanka watched as his entire family was swept away by the sea. "It dragged my wife away, then my two-month-old twins," he said. "Then I watched my seven-year-old son drown." Large part of the affected area are popular holiday destinations and many resorts have been badly hit. In Thailand, hundreds of holiday bungalows have been destroyed on the popular Phi Phi Island. Tourists from all over the world are thought to be among the dead. Health experts now fear that many more could die as diseases like typhoid, cholera and malaria spread rapidly. United Nations Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan Egeland said many of the affected areas had dense populations living in sub-standard housing. "This may be the worst natural disaster in recent history," he added. |
The Muslim observance of Arba'een attracts millions of visitors annually to what Iraqi city? | PressTV-New Zarih for son of Shia Imam's shrine unveiled in Karbala New Zarih for son of Shia Imam's shrine unveiled in Karbala Wed Mar 16, 2016 5:4PM An aerial view taken on December 1, 2015 shows Iraqi Shia pilgrims gathering at the shrines of Immam Abbas ibn Ali (front) and Imam Hussein (background-R) during the Arbaeen religious ceremony. AFP Altaf Ahmad Press TV, Karbala Hundreds of thousands have swept through the streets of Iraq's Holy city of Karbala to take part in the unveiling ceremony of a new "Zarih" for Aba al-Fazl Al-Abbas shrine. Aba al-Fazl is the son of the first Shia Imam, Imam Ali. He was martyred alongside his brother Imam Hussein in the epic battle of Karbala in 680 AD. His shrine attracts millions of visitors annually. Altaf Ahmad reports from the holy shrine in Karbala. Loading ... |
Aguada, Varca, Vagator, Colva, Calangute, and Anjuna are some of the beaches in what state of India known for its Portuguese influence and for its spicy vindaloo? | Goa (state) hotels. Deals on hotels in Goa (state), India. Book on Hotels.com and save! Pool hotels (386 hotels) Make your trip to Goa (state) Goa HotelsMeet Goa’s wildest inhabitants in the safety of its dedicated nature reserves, find a private spot on the golden sands of its extensive beaches, or party ‘till dawn by the light of the moon at famous Baga Beach – Goa is small, compact, and wonderfully exciting. The narrow streets of its lively tourist towns are a melting pot of local culture and international influence. Modern cafés rub shoulders with traditional temples, street hawkers offload gaudy souvenirs just streets from glamorous Panjim malls, and fine-dining seafood restaurants showcase local produce as soon as it leaves the rickety fishing boats dragged up to shore.Things to seeAlong the fine sands of Baga Beach, which is patrolled by outlandish street vendors plying their trade of coconut milk drinks, and freshly cut fruits, is a long line of thatched roof bars and eateries that signal this tourist-favorite stretch of Goan coastline as one of the most happening spots for late-night entertainment. It’s not exactly a neon-lit destination, but don’t be fooled by its shack-like exterior, because when night falls the ‘strip’ comes alive with bustling bars, and an impressive yet gaudy market where a sea of cramped stalls are lit by thousands of lanterns. Mandrem Beach is infinitely quieter, the ideal spot for sunbathing in peace and quiet. Fringed by palm trees, this idyllic stretch of flat white sand is admittedly served by a handful of resorts, but there’s nothing like the chaos here of Baga. The Anjuna Flea Market is a sight to behold, and you haven’t haggled unless you’ve haggled here. Miles of makeshift stalls, many of them made from swathes of fabric, cluster together on flat, dusty ground. You can pick up hand sewn bags, real leather belts, and scoops of freshly-dried green tea leaves wrapped in squares of paper.Hotels in GoaGuest houses, bed and breakfasts, and luxury hotels in Goa are all on offer here, and at every beachside town and tourist resort, the number of places to stay grows. For a rich experience, choose one of the discount hotels that sit close to the lively pubs of Baga Beach. They enjoy an impressive location overlooking the tumbling surf of the Arabian Sea, and they’re close to the action as well. Watersports, hectic nightlife, and cheap cafes are a stone’s throw away. Some of the most opulent hotels are actually further inland, surrounded by tracts of rainforest canopy, and sitting on the banks of tributary rivers flowing gently to the sea. Spa bathrooms, satellite televisions, fine-dining restaurants, and massage therapies often form part of these upgraded packages.Where to stayThe windswept, palm tree-lined shore of Baga Beach sits at the core of Goan tourism. Its late-night beach parties are legendary across the country, and hotels in Baga Beach put you right at the heart of this pulsating, tourist-friendly district. A little further south, Palolem Beach is a haven for sun-worshippers, its curved bay dotted with upscale resorts, spa facilities, and decadent thatched bungalows. The streets that sit back from the coastline are filled with trendy cafés, and seafood restaurants, and there’s an emerging nightlife scene here.How to get to GoaDabolim Airport accepts international flights to Goa, and some resorts offer private transfers by shuttle bus, car, or boat, depending on the location. Car hire is available, although the crowded streets, and manic traffic can be off-putting for many. It’s best to pre-book a taxi to get you to your final destination. |
Geographic features called rilles that come in sinuous, arcuate and straight types are a prominent part of the landscape where? | Astronomy 101/111 Second Third Part II - Lectures 13 - 28 Lecture 13 - Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum: The Astronomer's Tools Electromagnetic Waves and Photons Until the development of the space program, virtually all of the astronomers' information came in the form of light from distant objects. It is natural that they would have played an important role in the investigations of the nature of light, just as they did in the development of Newton's mechanics. Many of the pioneers in the development of the modern theory of light were keenly interested in astronomical problems. The true nature of light wasn't really understood until the 20th century. Experiments done in the 19th century indicated that light was a form of wave motion. For many purposes, it is sufficient to describe light as a combined electrical and magnetic wave, or an electromagnetic wave. In the decade following 1964, the great English physicist James Clerk Maxwell was able to describe all electrical and magnetic phenomena with the help of four differential equations. They are now called Maxwell's equations, and every student of physics must learn to work with them. It's quite amazing that phenomena as varied as starlight, and children's magnets could be described by four relatively short equations, but this is the case. Perhaps the simplest way to think of these waves is to first picture ``lines of force'' about an electrical charge. Nearly everyone has seen the lines of force about the poles of a magnet demonstrated with the help of iron filings and a glass plate. The concept of lines of force arose as a way of eliminating the problem that arose with the attraction of two bodies separated by some distance. It's easy enough to understand how something will move if you grab it and push or pull. On the other hand, how can two bodies separated by "nothing" attract or repel one another? This difficulty is known as the problem of action at a distance. It can be solved, after a fashion, with the notion of lines of force. Think of electrical charges or magnetic poles as being surrounded by lines of force, like those demonstrated for a bar magnetic. Then the lines of force fill in the void between the bodies. They will grab the other body, and there is no more action at a distance. Maxwell's equations described these lines of electrical or magnetic force. They showed that if you accelerated a charge, for example, if you wiggled it up and down, a wave would run out the electrical line of force. The same equations showed that the electrical wave would have to be accompanied by a magnetic wave. That's a little hard to see, and we won't go into it here. Take our word for it. But the electrical wave can be pictured as something similar to the wave that would travel down a rope. Stretch a rope out horizontally, and wiggle one end of it, and a wave will run down the rope away from your hand. Pretend that you fasten the far end way away, so you don't have to worry about what happens when the wave gets to that end. The electromagnetic wave is a form of light. It turns out that light is most conveniently described as a wave when the wavelength is relatively long, say of the order of a centimeter or more. Radio waves can be tens or even hundreds of meters in wavelength. All wave motion travels with a velocity equal to it's frequency (units are per second, or sec-1) multiplied by its wavelength. Astronomers traditionally use the Greek letter for frequency, and for wavelength. The symbol `c' is used for the velocity of light, thus: = c When the wavelength of light is shorter, a millimeter or less, say, a rather different picture is better--the photon picture. According to the quantum theory, the energy in electromagnetic waves comes in little bundles that are called photons. The shorter the wavelength, the better it is to think of the photon as a kind of particle--rather than a wave. It isn't that the wave picture becomes invalid, it's just that for many purposes, it's better to think in terms of photons. The Electromagnetic Spectrum Light, X-rays |
Petaloudes Valley, whose name translates to Valley of the Butterflies in Greek is a tourist attraction of what 'wondrous' Dodecanese island? | Greece Holidays - Package Holidays in Greece and Greek Islands | Find Holiday Packages, Flights & Hotels | Olympic Holidays Picturesque countryside, dramatic cliff sides, glorious golden sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters make Zante an irresistible holiday. Make the most of your trip Things to see & do Samaria Gorge The longest gorge in Europe, and second longest is the world after the Grand Canyon, is to be found on the largest of the Greek islands, Crete . The gorge cuts a swathe through the White Mountains and is teeming with wildlife including an incredible display of wildflowers in spring. Melissani Cave Take a boat trip underground in Kefalonia to experience the magic atmosphere of this cave enclosing a subterranean lake surrounded by trees. Named after the nymph Melissanthi, sunlight streams through the cave top illuminating the shimmering, turquoise water on which boats appear to levitate. The other-worldliness is enhanced by relics featuring nymphs and dolphin-shaped stalactites. Visit between noon and 2pm to catch the light effects. Hippocrates Plane Tree Picnic at the foot of the oldest tree in Europe, located in Kos . Still standing thanks to extensive supports, this tree is said to be the Tree of Hippocrates where he once taught his students. ancient ruins give history lovers a treat. Waterskiing Watersports: In almost every resort you will find a range of watersport facilities ranging from paragliding to windsurfing with Vassiliki, Lefkada hosting one of Europe's largest windsurfing centres. Waterskiing is very popular in Greece and there are over 30 waterskiing schools in Greece. Another great way to spend the day is to hire a small boat and picnic on isolated beaches only accessible by sea. Olympia Rediscovered in 18th century in the West Peloponnese , Olympia is the birthplace of the Olympic Games started in 776 BC to honour the god, Zeus. The area is full of historical attractions including The Temple of Hera, Stadium, a holy place for sport activities dedicated to Zeus holding about 20,000 spectators, the temple of Zeus, Prytaneion (site of the eternal flame) and many more Medieval Rhodes Town The old town area of Rhodes is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Between the Palace of the Grand Master and the Archaeological Museum, the Street of the Knights, was the main street of administrative and military buildings and functions in the Knights' era. The city of Rhodes is dominated by the medieval castle which overlooks the harbour, built in the 14th century by the Knights of St John. Useful Information |
The historic Charles Bridge that crosses the Vlatava river connects which city's castle to its old town? | Charles Bridge – the Most Beautiful Gothic Structure in the Czech Republic | Places To See In Your Lifetime Charles Bridge – the Most Beautiful Gothic Structure in the Czech Republic Tweet The Charles Bridge, Prague, The Czech Republic. One of the most famous historic bridges in the world and Europe, the Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava river in the heart of the city. Commissioned by King Charles IV in the 14th century, the constructions finished in the 15th century. It is believed that king himself laid the first stone. The Charles Bridge, which is 621 m long, is claimed to be one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the world. Moreover, it is famous for the 30 Baroque statues, depicting saints, that are situated on the balustrade. The bridge connects Prague Castle with the Old Town and is considered to be one of the most romantic places in the city, visited by thousands of tourists every day. Why to go there? Historic architecture, the most famous bridge, the most popular site in Prague. When to go there? |
The Hiram Bingham luxury train has what magnificent location as its destination? | Hiram Bingham Deluxe Train Cuzco to Machu Picchu Itineraries, fares and reserve online - Train tickets to Machu Picchu At around noon, on July 23, 1911, an explorer named Hiram Bingham climbed up a steep hill and stumbled onto Machu Picchu Inca City , uncovering what had been up until that moment, the Incas' best kept secret. The World was stunned by his discovery. PeruRail's luxury train service between Cuzco and Machu Picchu , is named after the American explorer who discovered the stunning ruins of the ancient citadel. The train leaves from Cuzco in the morning taking a spectacular journey through a changing landscape while guests enjoy breakfast. After the steep climb out of Cuzco, the train descends into the Sacred Valley of the Incas , passing lush fields and colorful villages in the foothills of the Andes. From there, the journey is highlighted by wonderful vistas of the mountains and the beautiful Urubamba River which runs through the Sacred Valley. On arrival in the town of Aguas Calientes at the foot of Machu Picchu, guests are taken by bus to Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge for lunch, which overlooks the ancient citadel. A private guided tour of the citadel follows before the return transfer to the station in the early evening. A sumptuous dinner is served on the train during the 3½ hour journey back to Cuzco. For many visitors, the journey to Machu Picchu is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Taking the Hiram Bingham means passengers can focus their attention and energy on what matters most, content in the knowledge that the logistical details of the day's trip have been taken care of by PeruRail. "The best train of the World" (Condé Nast Traveller UK - Sep. 2011) Life on Board The distinctive blue and gold carriages of the Hiram Bingham are warm and inviting with elegant interior upholstery. The train, consisting of 2 dining cars, a bar car and a kitchen car, can carry up to 84 passengers. The general style of the carriages is in line with those on PeruRail's ' Andean Explorer ' train, which operates between Cuzco and Lake Titicaca in Southern Peru, and reflect the luxury of the 1920s Pullman era. The Hiram Bingham departs Cuzco at 9 am which gives a more leisurely start to the day than the traditional 6 am departures of other services. Brunch is served on board the train whilst travelers enjoy the spectacular scenery unfolding before them from the large windows. The arrival at Machu Picchu at 12:30 pm gives passengers the advantage of entering the Sanctuary at an hour when the majority of the visitors are already beginning to leave for their journey back to Cuzco. This not only gives the opportunity to experience the ancient citadel at Machu Picchu in relative solitude, but also with a longer period of time there, and passengers only return to the train as the sun goes down. Once back on board for a 17:50 hrs departure, pre-dinner cocktails are served in the bar accompanied by live entertainment before passengers enjoy a 4-course, à la carte dinner, in the dining cars. The train pulls into Poroy station in Cuzco at 21:16 hrs. JOURNEY The train leaves from Poroy in the morning, taking a spectacular journey through a changing landscape while guests enjoy breakfast. After departing Poroy and going through Cachimayo, the train descends to the plateau of Anta, a patchwork landscape of typical Andean crops and passes lush fields and colorful villages in the foothills of the Andes. Far to the left, just below the horizon, the massive agricultural terraces of Jaquijahuana can be seen, close to the village of Zurite. Sadly, these great terraces are all that remain today of what was once a major Inca city, lost forever during the first years after the Spanish conquest. Beyond the town of Huarocondo the great plain narrows dramatically as the track enters a deep gorge carved by the rushing Pomatales River down which the railway, too, is funneled until it meets the Urubamba River, which runs through the beautiful Sacred Valley. The train passes through extensive areas of terracing dotted with the r |
The 2000-yr old Banaue rice terraces built largely by hand in the Ifugao mountains that cover 4000 square miles are in which country? | Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines | Backpacking Asia Travel Guide videos below are provided by YouTube under copyright of their owners. Wikipedia - Banaue Rice Terraces A pre-Hispanic indigenous Ifugao village The Banaue Rice Terraces (Tagalog: Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banawe) are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe.The Banaue Terraces are part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, ancient sprawling man-made structures from 2,000 to 6,000 years old. They are found in the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. ... read more provided by Wikipedia are under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License Wikitravel - Banaue Rice terraces at Cambolo near Banaue Banaue is a town on the Cordillera mountain range in the north of the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. It is mainly visited for its stunning rice terraces, which are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Sometimes called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", the 2000 years old Banaue rice terraces are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and while many are still in use today, the outer rims are showing signs of deterioration. They were created by the Ifugao (local native people), in a massive engineering project to cover the sides of the valleys (probably 200 meters from floor to rim) for several miles, irrigated by means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channelled into canals that run downhill through the rice terraces. provided by Wikitravel under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License Research Center Not Enough information on travelling to Banaue Rice Terraces? Want to know more? Dive into endless sources the internet provides. |
Of the twenty two members of the Arab league, only three maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. They are Egypt, Palestine and what other country? | Israeli-Palestinian Crisis Guide: Transcript - Council on Foreign Relations Crisis Guide: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Return to the interactive media player for the Crisis Guide. Video Overview From its beginnings, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been more than a local fight between two groups who want the same piece of land. It has confounded the expectations of the great powers trying to resolve it and created unintended consequences that have had a substantial impact beyond the region. Arguably no conflict on earth combines so complex a mixture of religious fervor, national aspirations, historical and economic grievances, territorial rivalry, and geopolitical impact. For Palestinians, and for Arabs and Muslims around the world, the conflict with Israel is viewed through a prism of anger at past humiliations - the bloody crusades of medieval times, centuries of domination of Jerusalem and the Arab world by European colonialists, and a belief that predominantly Muslim Palestinians have been forced to pay with their homeland for the sins of Europeans during the Holocaust. For Israelis, and for the global Jewish diaspora, the conflict's narrative grows out of centuries of anti-semitism and abuse at the hands of Christians and Muslims alike. From 11th century pogroms against Jews in North Africa, the Spanish Inquisition of the middle ages, to the Holocaust during World War Two, Jews remained outsiders in the lands of their birth. In the nineteenth century, Jewish intellectuals founded the Zionist movement with the intention of establishing a national homeland for Jews, and the land around the holy city of Jerusalem was a natural point of focus. The seeds of the conflict were already sown when the British government was given a mandate to rule Palestine in the carve-up of the Ottoman Empire after World War One. As part of that mandate was a commitment, the Balfour Declaration, to Jewish national home in the territory. Arabs cite a competing pledge - made by British officers eager to foment the 1916 Arab revolt against Ottoman rule during World War One - to create an Arab state on the same land. The conflict between Zionist Jews and Arabs - only later would they be Israelis and Palestinians - was simmering and ready to come to a boil. Starting in 1920 and for the next quarter of a century the British would face riots and uprisings, first from the Arab side and then from the Jewish side. The rise of the Nazis to power prior to World War Two accelerated Jewish emigration to Palestine, though Britain tried to prevent this migration. The Holocaust in Europe, and the pro-Nazi Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who spoke for many of Palestine's Arabs during the Mandate years, also radicalized some groups. A determination 'never again' to be herded into death camps led to extreme measures in support of an independent Jewish homeland, most notoriously the 1946 bombing of British military headquarters at Jerusalem's King David Hotel. Unable and unwilling to continue governing a territory in which it was under fire from both sides, the British announced in early 1947 they would withdraw from Palestine. The issue of what to do next became an early test for the newly-created United Nations. In November 1947, the U.N. agreed to a partition plan for the territory that was accepted by the leadership of mainstream Zionist groups. But it was rejected by the main Arab leaders, some Jews and the British. In early 1948, Palestine descended into civil war. On May 14, 1948 the day before the British mandate ended, Israel declared its independence. Though Britain abstained, Israel was quickly recognized by the United States, France, and the Soviet Union. The Arab nations, however, attacked, invading from multiple directions. The Israelis defended themselves, and mounted a series of counter-offensives to regain territory lost in the initial Arab invasion. When a U.N. brokered cease-fire ended the fighting, Israel held about 50 percent more territory than the U.N. partition plan had originally envisioned, though Egypt held the Gaza Strip and Jordan |
A rock called Heel Stone that measures 16 feet above the ground and whose previous names include Friar's Heel and Sun-stone lies outside the main entrance to what monument? | Stonehenge – Iconic Britain | Belfast Child Stonehenge – Iconic Britain Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire , England , 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury . Stonehenge’s ring of standing stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds . Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC. ———————– ———————– Stonehenge has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The site and its surroundings were added to UNESCO ‘s list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage ; the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust . Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another five hundred years. Etymology The Oxford English Dictionary cites Ælfric ‘s tenth-century glossary, in which henge-cliff is given the meaning “precipice”, or stone, thus the stanenges or Stanheng “not far from Salisbury” recorded by eleventh-century writers are “supported stones”. William Stukeley in 1740 notes, “Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire…I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones.” Christopher Chippindale ‘s Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of the name Stonehenge as coming from the Old English words stān meaning “stone”, and either hencg meaning “ hinge ” (because the stone lintels hinge on the upright stones) or hen(c)en meaning “ hang ” or “ gallows ” or “instrument of torture” (though elsewhere in his book, Chippindale cites the “suspended stones” etymology). Like Stonehenge’s trilithons , medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today. The “henge” portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges . Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, and Stonehenge is not truly a henge site as its bank is inside its ditch. Despite being contemporary with true Neolithic henges and stone circles , Stonehenge is in many ways atypical—for example, at more than 7.3 metres (24 ft) tall, its extant trilithons supporting lintels held in place with mortise and tenon joints, make it unique. —————— Early history Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured Mike Parker Pearson , leader of the Stonehenge Riverside Project based at Durrington Walls , noted that Stonehenge appears to have been associated with burial from the earliest period of its existence: Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge’s sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument’s use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead. — Mike Parker Pearson Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of large-scale construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape’s time frame to 6500 years. Dating and understanding the various phases of activity is complicated |
Tourists to the town of Oświęcim in Poland are most likely headed to see what? | Auschwitz travel guide - Wikitravel 8 Respect Auschwitz [1] is the generic name given to the cluster of concentration, labour and extermination camps built by the Germans during the Second World War and located outside the town of Oswiecim (Polish Oświęcim) in southern Poland, some 60 km from Krakow . The camps have become a place of pilgrimage for survivors, their families and all who wish to travel to remember the Holocaust. Understand[ edit ] Main gate of Auschwitz I concentration camp Although not the only (or, indeed, the first) German concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz has become a widespread symbol of terror, genocide and the Holocaust in the global consciousness. A concentration camp was established by the Nazis in the suburbs of the Polish city of Oswiecim which - like the rest of Poland - was occupied by the Germans from the beginning of the Second World War (1939-1945). The name of the city of Oswiecim was changed ('Germanized') to Auschwitz, which became the name of the camp as well. The camp was continually expanded over the next 5 years and ultimately consisted of 3 main parts: Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau, and Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Auschwitz also had over 40 sub-camps in the neighboring cities and in the surrounding area. Initially, only Poles and Jews were imprisoned and died in the camp. Subsequently, Soviet prisoners of war ('POWs'), gypsies, and prisoners of other nationalities and minorities were also incarcerated there. From 1942 onwards, the camp became the site of one of the greatest mass murders in the history of humanity, committed against the European Jews as part of Hitler's plan for the complete destruction of that people ('the Final Solution'). The vast majority of the Jewish men, women and children deported from their homes all over occupied Europe to Auschwitz were sent immediately to their deaths in the Birkenau gas chambers upon arrival, usually trained in in overcrowded cattle wagons. Their bodies were afterwards cremated in industrial furnaces in the crematoria. At the end of the war, in an effort to remove the traces of the crimes they had committed, the SS began dismantling and razing the gas chambers, crematoria, and other buildings, as well as burning documents. Prisoners capable of marching were evacuated into the depths of the German Reich. Those who remained behind in the camp were liberated by Red Army soldiers on 27 January 1945. A 2 July 1947 Act of the post-war Polish Parliament established the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the grounds of the two extant parts of the camp, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Get in[ edit ] There are quite frequent and inexpensive buses (13zl each way online or 14zl in person - Lajkonik ) or minibuses (8zl each way - depart from the basement level of the main bus station) to and from the main bus station in Krakow , or guided tours are available from most hotels or tourist information centres. The bus takes about one and a half hours - it is usually busy and stops locally along the way. The mini buses run every 20 minutes during the morning hours. They return from Auschwitz at 13:16, 15.36, &16.01 as of October 2012. A larger bus also leaves from Auschwitz at 14:20, 15:15, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:30, 18:30 and 19:30 (again as of March 26th, 2015). The larger bus leaves from the museum area, while the mini bus leaves from across the street from where you are let off. The minibus can be very crowded and won't manage to fit everyone at the busstop. There is a bus connection with Katowice city too, the buses leave Katowice from Plac Korfantego and arrive at the Oswiecim bus stop, from which one can catch a bus to Auschwitz. the ride takes and hour. Also, trains regularly run from Krakow to Oswiecim, you can purchase a one way ticket for 9,5 zl. There is a shuttle bus between Auschwitz and Birkenau. It is free and goes every half hour (from Auschwitz to Birkenau it leaves on the hour at half hourly intervals and going the opposite way it is 15 minutes of the hour at half hourly intervals - please check the timetable at |
When the pioneering English settler John Smith explored the coastline of the region north of Virginia in 1614, what did he call the area? | Ri History - Rhode Island - Nellie M. Gorbea Nellie M. Gorbea Ri History Rhode Island History The first mention of the name Rhode Island or any of its variations in connection with Narragansett Bay is in the letter of Giovanni da Verrazzano, the explorer, dated July 8, 1524, in which he refers to an island near the mouth of Narragansett Bay, and likens the island to the Island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. The name was first officially applied to the island on March 13, 1644 in these words: “Aquethneck shall be henceforth called the Ile of Rods or Rhod-Island.” The name “Isle of Rodes” is found used in a legal document as late as 1646. In 1663 the name “Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations” was adopted in the Royal Charter granted by King Charles II of England. A few interesting facts concerning Rhode Island government Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to declare its independence from England (May 4, 1776) and the last of the thirteen to ratify the U.S. Constitution (May 29, 1790). Rhode Island was governed under a Royal Charter, granted by King Charles II in 1663, for 180 years. Rhode has been governed under its Constitution since 1843. Rhode Island is the only state that still celebrates Victory Day (the end of WWII) as an official state holiday. The metal from which the Independent Man atop the Rhode Island State House was cast came from the breaking up of a statue of Simon Bolivar, which once stood in New York's Central Park. Rhode Island Governor Benedict Arnold, the first Governor elected under the Royal Charter in November, 1663, was the great grandfather of the infamous Revolutionary War figure, Benedict Arnold. + Early History Indigenous people, mistakenly named "Indians" by Columbus, were the first inhabitants of present-day Rhode Island. European contacts with Rhode Island and its coastline have been claimed for several explorers, including medieval Irish adventurers, Norsemen, Portuguese navigator Miguel Corte-Real, and Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano. Sailing to Rhode Island in 1524, Verrazano "discovered an island in the form of a triangle, distant from the mainland ten leagues, about the bigness of the (Greek) Island of Rhodes," which he named Luisa after the Queen Mother of France. This was Block Island. Roger Williams and other early settlers thought that Verrazano was referring to Aquidneck Island and changed that island's native name to Rhode Island. In this way, Verrazano inadvertently gave the state part of its official name. No other significant recorded visits were made to Rhode Island until 1614, when English explorer John Smith charted the New England coast and Dutch mariner Adriaen Block visited Block Island, naming it for himself. Beginning in 1620, settlers from Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay ventured into the region to trade with native tribes. In 1635, Rhode Island's first European settler, an eccentric Anglican clergyman named William Blackstone, arrived and built a home near Lonsdale on the banks of the Blackstone River. At the time, Rhode Island was inhabited by several native tribes. The largest of these were the Narragansetts, occupying an area along Narragansett Bay from Warwick to South Kingstown. Their population - including ; the Niantics, a related tribe - has been estimated at about seven thousand when the first Europeans arrived. The northwest comer of the state was home to the Nipmucks, while the Wampanoags held territory within Providence and Warwick and may have held islands in Narragansett Bay. Two sub-tribes also lived in the Warwick area, the Cowesetts and the Shawomets. Niantics populated much of the towns of Charlestown and Westerly. The Pequots, a Connecticut tribe, arrived in 1632 to battle the Narragansetts for control of an area east of the Pawcatuck River in Westerly and Hopkinton. These people subsisted on farming, fishing, and hunting and lived in compact villages composed of families who shared a kin relationship. These villages were led by sub-sachems or petty sachems. Ultimate governmental authority for the Narragansetts |
If all the languages of the world are listed by the highest number of speakers, what is the first name that is not an official language of the UN? | Linguistics 001 -- Languages of the World TOTAL 6,703 The 2005 edition lists 6,912 living languages -- this is not because 209 languages have been created in the past 9 years, but because of a combination of a more complete inventory and some decisions about how many speech communities to distinguish as "languages". In terms of number of speakers, we see a range from Mandarin Chinese , with 885 million native speakers in 12 countries, down to languages like Coos (in Southern Oregon) with 1 or 2 speakers. A graphical representation of this distribution of sizes can be seen in the figure below, which plots the number of languages with N or more speakers, for N from one to one billion. As of the 1999 revision, Ethnologue assigns three-letter "language codes" to 6783 "languages", for 6059 of which an estimate of number of speakers is given. (In some cases, the languages without a speaker-count estimate are extinct; in other cases, there are no "mother-tongue speakers"; and in some cases, the number of speakers is unknown). Here's a table with some of the data from this plot. I've included all the powers of 10, along with a few familiar languages to illustrate various parts of the range: Number of speakers S 100,000,000 8 Many of the 6,000-odd "living" languages cited in Ethnologue are endangered or nearly extinct. Those represented in the left half of the graph above, with 10,000 or fewer speakers, are especially vulnerable. Roughly half of the world's languages are moribund, in the sense that new generations of children are not being raised to speak them. Within a century, it is likely that the number of living languages will be cut at least in half, and may well be fewer than 1,000. Thus the current rate of extinction for languages is much greater than the rate of extinction for biological species. Most people believe that this loss of linguistic and cultural diversity is a bad thing. Language preservation is difficult, but there are some success stories. For languages that can't be saved, it is still possible to document them for scientific purposes and for the sake of future generations who might want to study or even revive them. For further discussion, see the web sites of the Endangered Language Fund , the Foundation for Endangered Languages and the International Clearing House for Endangered Languages , or this recent article from Scientific American. Looking at the other end of the distribution, the "top 20" languages in terms of number of native speakers (again from the 1996 edition of Ethnologue) are: Rank Urdu 57 All of these counts are subject to question. One may question the census figures and also (especially in multilingual cases) the question of who counts as a speaker of which language. For instance, the 1996 edition of Ethnologue cites 266 million native speakers of Spanish, with 352 million including second language speakers. The 1999 revisions increase the number of native speakers of Spanish to 332 million, moving Spanish past English into second place. This does not represent a 25% population increase in 3 years, nor even a 25% increase in available census data, but rather (apparently) a revision in who is counted as a Spanish speaker. Another set of questions have to do with what counts as a language. For instance, you may be surprised to see Arabic -- certainly one of the world's major languages -- missing entirely from this list of the "top twenty." In fact, Arabic (in all its varieties) has 202 million speakers world-wide, and with this count would be #4 on the list above. However, Ethnologue considers the local colloquial varieties of Arabic to be separate languages, and the largest single colloquial is Egyptian, wi |
In the list of 25 countries ordered by the highest number of Spanish speakers, what is the only name that is not from the western hemisphere? | List of Spanish-speaking Countries by Population. Map. Spanish in the World. Figures. * In the 2006 census, 44.3 million people of the U.S. population were of Hispanic heritage; 34 million people, 12.2 per cent, of the population older than 5 years speak Spanish at home. In the U.S., Spanish has a long history in the United States (many southern states were part of Mexico and Spain) and it recently has been revitalized by much immigration from Latin America. Spanish is the most widely taught foreign language in the country. Although the U.S. has no formally designated "official languages", Spanish is formally recognized at the state level, beside English; in the U.S. state of New Mexico 30 per cent of the population speak it. Spanish is the dominant spoken language in Puerto Rico. In total, the U.S. has the world's fifth-largest Spanish-speaking population. ** Significant numbers of the populations of these countries speak Spanish Spanish was the original official language of the The Phlippines for more than three centuries, and became the lingua franca of the Philippines in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Spanish was the language of the Philippine Revolution, and the 1899 Malolos Constitution proclaimed it as the official language. However, Spanish was spoken by a total of 60% of the population in the early 1900's as a first, second or third language. Following the American occupation of the Philippines, its use declined after 1940. Currently, only a few Mestizos of Spanish or Hispanic origin speak it as their first language, although a few others use it together with Filipino and English. |
What is the longest country in the world as measured in the north-south direction? | Latitude Geography Overview By Amanda Briney Updated July 25, 2016. Latitude is the angular distance of any point on Earth measured north or south of the equator in degrees, minutes and seconds. The equator is a line going around Earth and is halfway between the North and South Poles , it is given a latitude of 0°. Values increase north of the equator and are considered positive and values south of the equator decrease and are sometimes considered negative or have south attached to them. For example, if a latitude of 30°N was given, this would mean that it was north of the equator. The latitude -30° or 30°S is a location south of the equator. On a map, these are the lines running horizontally from east-west. Latitude lines are also sometimes called parallels because they are parallel and equidistant from each other. Each degree of latitude is about 69 miles (111 km) apart. The degree measure of latitude is the name of the angle from the equator while the parallel names the actual line along which degree points are measured. continue reading below our video Latitude and Longitude For example, 45°N latitude is the angle of latitude between the equator and the 45th parallel (it is also halfway between the equator and the North Pole). The 45th parallel is the line along which all latitudinal values are 45°. The line is also parallel to the 46th and 44th parallels. Like the equator, parallels are also considered circles of latitude or lines that circle the entire Earth. Since the equator divides the Earth into two equal halves and its center coincides with that of the Earth, it is the only line of latitude that is a great circle while all other parallels are small circles. Development of Latitudinal Measurements Since ancient times, people have tried to come up with reliable systems with which to measure their location on Earth. For centuries, both Greek and Chinese scientists attempted several different methods but a reliable one did not develop until the ancient Greek geographer, astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy , created a grid system for the Earth. To do this, he divided a circle into 360°. Each degree comprised 60 minutes (60') and each minute comprised 60 seconds (60''). He then applied this method to Earth's surface and located places with degrees, minutes and seconds and published the coordinates in his book Geography. Although this was the best attempt at defining the location of places on Earth at the time, the precise length of a degree of latitude was unresolved for around 17 centuries. In the middle ages, the system was finally fully developed and implemented with a degree being 69 miles (111 km) and with coordinates being written in degrees with the symbol °. Minutes and seconds are written with ', and '', respectively. Measuring Latitude Today, latitude is still measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. A degree of latitude is still around 69 miles (111 km) while a minute is approximately 1.15 miles (1.85 km). A second of latitude is just over 100 feet (30 m). Paris, France for example, has a coordinate of 48°51'24''N. The 48° indicates that it lies near the 48th parallel while the minutes and seconds indicate just how close it is to that line. The N shows that it is north of the equator. In addition to degrees, minutes and seconds, latitude can also be measured using decimal degrees . Paris' location in this format looks like, 48.856°. Both formats are correct, although degrees, minutes and seconds is the most common format for latitude. Both however, can be converted between each other and allow people to locate places on Earth to within inches. One nautical mile , a mile type used by sailors and navigators in the shipping and aviation industries, represents one minute of latitude. Parallels of latitude are approximately 60 nautical (nm) apart. Finally, areas described as having low latitude are those with lower coordinates or are closer to the equator while those with high latitudes have high coordinates and are far. For example, the Arctic Circle, which has a high latitude is at 66°32'N. Bogota, Columb |
What region in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is the site of China's nuclear weapons tests? | Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China - Main Menu - Introduction Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 1980 AD, construction of the two top-secret US lectronic signal (SIGINT) monitoring sites in Xinjiang, one at Qitai and the other Korla These listening posts were manned by Chinese Nationals trained by the US Government to monitoring Soviet missile tests and other communications, electronic signals that the americans were unable to aquire after the Iranian revolutionaries closed down Tracksman 1 and 2 in Iran. The Top-Secret listening Stations in Qitai and Korla apparently continued their electronic spying operations until the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1989 AD. Construction and opening of the Karakoram Road or Highway, leading directly from Kasghar in Xinjiang to the Capital of Pakistan at Islamabad, traversing some of the highest mountain passes in the world. Capital of Xinjiang AR - Urumqi Surface Area / Size - 1,660,001 square kilometers (640,930 sq mi) Population - 26 Million (2006 AD) - Stabile Airports Taklamakan Desert Yu Men Pass Overview Map of the very large expanse of the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of China (P.R.C.) and surrounding area's. Click Map Image for Full Sized Version. neighboring nations by high mountain ranges famous from Chinese and World history. Neighboring nations and territories of Xinjiang are many. The neighboring nations of Xinjiang are in clockwise around order; the Jammu & Kashmir Regions of India (disputed) in the South-West, the countries of Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the West, Kyrgyzstan to the North-West, Kazakhstan to the North-North-West, a narrow border with the Russian Federation in the North, and finally the Republic of Mongolia to the North and North-East. Neighboring Chinese Territories are Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region to the North-East, the narrow strip of Gansu Province in the East, Qinghai Province to the South-West and finally Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the South. Known as the Western Territory (Xin Jiang) since the earliest periods of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) , when Han China first started its opening and exploration of the Silk Road paths in Central Altai Mountains Overview Map 2 - Schematic Map of Xinjiang Autonomous Region and surrounding area's. Click for Full Sized Version. Gobi Desert Ngoring Hu Wei River In the 1950's, Xinjiang Uygur became the scene of large scale and secretive military works. Apart from the task of guarding the border and strenghtening infra-structure for the Peoples Liberation Army, the main purpose of the military activities in these far western region was the building and developing of a (almost) home-grown Chinese Nuclear program. During the later stages of this development, the remote strecthes of the Taklamakan Desert on the border between Gansu , Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Autonomous Region were chosen as the best location for nuclear testing and related secretive military activity. The first Chinese nuclear-weapons test site was located at Lop Nor , where in the 1960's China's first crude nuclear device was exploded. Lop Nor is situated near the entrance to the historic Hexi corridor running down from the High North near Lop Nur and Dunhuang , wedging between two mountain ridges and bending around the Heights of the Qinghai Plateaux to descend down and end at Lanzhou . This section is dry and arid and often windy, and consist of barren graveled lands and salt lakes. Rivers, formed by melting waters from nearby mountains cut across the plain, but waters rapidly flow downstream to end up in the Yellow River (Huang He) near Lanzhou . China Report - Map o/t Taklamakan Desert & Tarim River Basin A Satellite Image Map of the entire Taklamakan Desert and the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang-Autonomous Region of Western China. Map gives explanation and backgrounds to Local Geography, the Flow of the Tarim River from the Pamir Mountains in the West to Lop Nur (Dry) in the East, ancient Oasis Cities of the Tarim Basin and Taklamakan Desert, the North and South Routes of the Sil |
Marangu, Rongai, Lemosho, Shira, Umbwe and Machame are the six official trekking routes for what 'uplifting' activity? | About Mount Kilimanjaro - Kilimanjaro Trekking Club About Mount Kilimanjaro we will get back to you asap Your Nameyour full name Call + 4746353182 OR Book Online About Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the World’s highest free-standing structure at an altitude of 5896 meters (19,336 feet) above the sea level. Hiking on the rooftop of Africa is the adventure of a lifetime, and anyone who is physically fit can scale this snow-capped mountain.It is only 200 miles from the equator. Kilimanjaro is located inside the Kilimanjaro National Park outside of Moshi town in a beautiful accessible village of Marangu where the headquarter of the park is located.To accomplishyour dreaam of reaching the roof of Africa,there are different routes to follow.These routes includes Marangu route, Machame route, Rongai route, Lemosho route, Umbwe route, Shira route and Mweka route which is used for descent only. Mount Kilimanjaro is not only the highest free standing peak in the world but also highest accessible point. The chagga who inhabit the area of the mountain hasn’t yet managed to give the meaning of the word Kilimanjaro with the exception of kipoo (now known as Kibo) which is one the 3 peaks of the mountain. The vegetation of Mount Kilimanjaro varies accordingly ranging from from tropics to the Arctic. At the level of 2700 m the cultivated foot slopes give way to lush montane forest, inhabited by leopard, buffalo, elephant, antelope and other primates. As you ascend the moorland zone show up where a cover of giant heather is studded with other worldly giant lobelias. Above 3900m, the zone changes to alpine desert which support little life to the fauna and flora.The final vegetation is of winter wonderland of ice and snow and the magnificent beauty of the roof of the Africa. Unlike other snow caped Mountains in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro isn’t a technical climbing and need less personal climbing gear on trekking. Walking stick, proper clothing, sun glass, enough drinking water and determination are the key to a successfully Kilimanjaro climber.To successfully conquer the mountain you have to who prepares yourself properly before attempting the climb,even though prior mountain climbing experience is required.Our local guides are always on hand to offer advise and assistance to all our climbers. Mount Kilimanjaro is can be climbed in five days using Marangu route, but for those who wants to make a record they can climb in less days provided that they have payed for a minimum of five days. Climbing Kilimanjaro is a breathtaking activity and an extra day for acclimatization is recommended. An Acclimatization day gives a climber more chance to reach on the roof of Africa as this allows you to experience the climatic changes gradually, which improves your chances of summiting.An extra day on Marangu route is recommended while for Machame route 7 days should be considered to maximize chances of reaching uhuru peak which is the highest point of mount Kilimanjaro. The team which will take you to the mountain will comprise a cook(s), mountain guide and porters. The allocation of the crew is determined by the size of the group.For every 2 climbers one guide and his assistant will be allocated,together with a cook and porters.For every climber 2-3 porters are allocated if the route is Marangu,while for the camping routes such as Machame 4-5 porters are allocated.Porters will carry the luggage of the climber which should not exceed 20kgs.There will also be porters carrying other equipment such as, cooking facilities,dining tent,chairs,bathroom,toilet and sleeping tents depending on the route selected.On camping routes you carry more equipment compared to Marangu route which has some facilities such huts,toilets and kitchen provided by the park. Accommodation on all the official routes on mount Kilimanjaro is on camping tents with exception of Marangu route on which you sleep on huts accommodation, you share this accommodation with 4-6 climbers however on the camping routes you have private tents for sing |
The Propylaea, which has now come to mean any gateway, was originally an entrance to what magnificent ancient construction? | Preservation Arts High School Curriculum Jump to: -- Modules -- Readings -- Web Links -- Back to Benchmarks Back to the Main Page This site has been chosen as a benchmark because it embodies the ideals of Ancient Greek society and represents the apotheosis of Classical Greek artistic and architectural perfection. The Parthenon is located atop the Acropolis, the highest summit and sacred rock in Athens, Greece. (Acropolis means 'high city,' and the limestone outcropping was originally the site of a fortress.) Buildings on the Acropolis include the Parthenon; the Temple of Athena Nike; the Erechtheum (an Ionic temple); and the Propylaea (the entrance gateway). Construction of the Parthenon began in 447-446 BC and was completed in 438 BC. The architects were Ictinus and Calli crates; Pheidias was the sculptor of the elaborate and extensive sculptural groupings. Constructed as a temple to the goddess Athena, the Parthenon is built primarily in the Doric order with some Ionic elements, and is considered the best physical embodiment of the mathematical and structural principles of the Doric order. The political leader Pericles led the campaign to build the Parthenon as a monument to the city's triumph over the Persians; as a symbol of Athens' supremacy, wealth, and beauty; and as an offering to the goddess Athena. It was under his rule that construction of the temple began. The Parthenon is constructed of marble quarried from Mount Pentelicon and with the exception of the wooden roof structure, the building including the roof tiles, was entirely made of marble. Note that the Parthenon is actually the second Parthenon. Construction on an earlier building had begun before 480 BC when the city was attacked and sacked by the Persians. The extant Parthenon is built on the foundations of the older Parthenon. The Parthenon is a Greek temple and displays architectural elements that are typical of Greek Doric-order architecture, as well as elements that are atypical. Typical of a Greek Temple is the screen of massive Doric columns that surrounds the building. A Doric column is heavy and robust. It has no base and sits flush on the temple floor/top step, known as the stylobate. A Doric capital (topmost part of the column) is rather simple, and is said to resemble a pillow or cushion. The column's shaft (middle part) is carved into deep flutes that come to a point. At the Parthenon, the columns are 34' 3" high. At their base, the diameter of each column is 6' 3". Like all Doric columns, those at the Parthenon taper slightly towards the top. The three main types of columns used in Greek temples and other public buildings are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The truest and most basic difference among the orders has to do with proportions (Doric columns, for example, being thicker and shorter, Ionic columns taller and slimmer). As a shortcut, the orders may be distinguished most easily by their capitals (the tops of the columns). As you can see from the following examples, the Doric capital has the simplest design; the Ionic has the curlicues called volutes, and the Corinthian has the acanthus leaves: A Greek temple usually sits atop a platform that is composed of three steps or levels. The Parthenon's stylobate is 101' 4" wide and 228' 1" long. The screen of columns, or peristyle, surrounded the building completely. When a single row of columns surrounds a Greek Temple, the temple is called peripteral. When the temple is surrounded by a double row of columns, it is dipteral. On mainland Greece, peripteral temples were far more common. The Parthenon is peripteral. In most cases, the temple would have six columns at the front and rear of the building, although the Parthenon has eight. Originally, an entablature with a pediment (part of the roofing system) topped the peristyle. The roof itself consisted of wooden structural members and marble tiles to cover and enclose the space. The roof was sloped, resulting in a triangular shape at the front and rear ends. When a roof forms a triangular shape, it is called a gable, and |
What city that is home to Africa's tallest building (the Carlton Centre) is the largest city in the world not on a lake, navigable river or by the coast? | Fareshoppe :: Johannesburg Timing: Open Seven Days from 9:00 AM to 11:00 PM Johannesburg Johannesburg is the capital of Gauteng Provence. This is the wealthiest province in South Africa. Its the largest city in the country; and is endearingly known to locals as Joburg, Jozi or Egoli (place of Gold). It was founded in 1886 and it is the financial capital of South Africa. Flying into the city you will land in the Johannesburg International Airport, which is South Africa's largest and busiest airport. Over 13 million people make this city their home. With 10 million trees across the city landscape it is the largest urban forest in the world. Johannesburg lies on the southern slopes of the Witwatersrand, in the Transvaal, which is the northeastern region of South Africa. It is thirty miles south-southwest of Pretoria. A mining town founded in 1886 when gold was discovered on a white-settlers farm - Johannesburg became the hub of South African gold mining through World War II, and an important industrial, as well as financial centre thereafter. Johannesburg represents the spirit of South Africa, and in some ways a visit to the country is not complete without an introduction to the city. Johannesburg is the largest city in the world not situated on a lake, navigable river or by the coast (the only reason that it was born was because of gold). It is home to Africa's tallest building, the Carlton Centre. Johannesburg is an African city of note. Johannesburg is characterised by contradiction and an apparent seamless combination of irreconcilable differences. Johannesburg is a booming, happening city and the emphasis is on making money - whether in business or on the streets - and has been since its beginnings when the world's richest gold fields were discovered in Johannesburg during the 1880s. Johannesburg is South Africa's largest and most vibrant city. It offers the tourist a lot to choose from including recreational facilities, historical sites, nature escapes, botanical gardens, mountain trails, and vibrant wildlife. Johannesburg enjoys a very favourable climate, dry and sunny all year round. Between October and April the city experiences heavy afternoon thunderstorms with downpours of rain that disappear as quickly as they arrive. Winter days are only slightly cooler than the pleasant summer average temperatures, but it can become frosty on winter nights. Places to Visit in Johannesburg: » Gold Reef City » Montecasino |
The name of what able-bodied ethnic group from the mountain regions of Nepal means 'people of the east' in Tibetan? | Ethnic Group Of Nepal: Thakali, Gurung : Ethnically diverse society. [ Temprate ] [ Alpine ] [ Sub Tropical ] Temprate: THAKALI - The origin of Thakali is Thok Khola, the Thakalis originate from the Kali Gandaki Gorge and, like many Nepali groups, have been subject to both Hindu and Buddhist influences, a high valley in central Nepal along the Muktinath region. They have Mongolian features, a fair complexion and narrow eyes. Thakalis are divided into three major groups: Marphali, Thakali and Tamang. Hirachan, Lalchan, Juwarchan, Pannachan comes under Marphali. Gauchan, Tulachan, Sherchan and Bhattacan comes under Tamang. Their religion is a mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jhankrism. They are known for their hospitality, good salesmanship, and cleanliness. Adept entrepreneurs, they have cashed in on the trekking boom and have established little hotels all along the Annapurna Circuit and have also extended their influence to other parts of the country. Before Nepal was opened up to tourism, their economy was dominated by subsistence farming and, in the Kali Gandaki area, by salt trading. NEWARS - Newars are mainly settled in Kathmandu Valley and in major trading centers throughout the kingdom. They have Mongolian features and their own language and script, Newari, believed to have its origin from Tibeto-Burmans. Hinduism and Buddhism are their main religions. They have complex social systems and practices and are comprised of many castes. Trade and farming are their main occupations. GURUNGS - The Gurungs also originate from the central and western parts of Nepal, though they have tended to inhabit higher areas adopting a lifestyle of sedentary agriculture and nomadic pastorals. Like the Magars, Gurungs have been well represented in Gurkha units. They are predominantly Buddhist, though small Hindu and Shamanist communities exist. In recent years, may Magars become involved in the hotel business, especially in the Pokhara region. MAGARS - The Magars originate in the western and central areas of Nepal, though are found in scattered communities throughout the country. In Tibetan language Tamang means horse traders. It is believed that they originally came from Tibet.The majority of Tamangs live in the hills surrounding Kathmandu Valley. Their social practices and customs are based on Buddhism and they have their own language, Tamang. They work mainly as farmers, labours and as porters. They may be of either Hindu or Buddhist faith. Traditionally hill farmers inhabiting the lower slopes, they are also known for their fighting abilities and many have been recruited into Gurkha regiments of the British and Indian armies. It is thought to be a strong cultural bond between Magars and Gurungs. KIRANTIS - The Kirantis are comprised of Rais and Limbus and are the oldest known peoples of Nepal. They live in the eastern hills of Nepal, the Rais being concentrated in the Solu Khumbu, Dudh Kosi and Arun Valley, while the Limbus are at the east of Arun Valley, in the Katchanjunga region and also extend into Northern parts of West Bengal in India. They are decendents of the Kirati's who first formed the kingdom in the Kathmandu Valley. They now mainly live in far eastern Nepal. Kirati people are well known for their courage and bravery and are often recruited into armies abroad like the more famous Gurkhas. The religious text of Limbu is the Mundhum. Both groups have supplied recruits to Gurkha regiments an reference is made to their fighting spirit in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Of Mongoloid features, both have Tibeti-Burmese languages. The religion of the Limbus incorporates elements of Buddhism and Shamanism, while that of the Rais is more influenced by Hinduism. BRAHMIN AND CHHETRIS: Two large groups distributed in scattered patterns all over the country, which are considered the two highest castes in Nepal. They have sharp Indo-Aryan features and an olive complexion. Brahmins are believed to have migrated from India while Chhetris are from the present day Khasa people from Khasi. These people follow Hinduism as their main rel |
What region of China that has a border checkpoint called Posto Fronteiriço das Portas do Cerco ('Frontier Post of the Border Gate' in Portuguese) is both the first and last European colony in that country? | The Newsletter 64 Summer 2013 by International Institute for Asian Studies - issuu issuu The Newsletter | No.64 | Summer 2013 Leonardus Joseph (Leo) Eland, painter of ‘Mooi Indie’ Louis Zweers Cambodian bronze Dick van der Meij A pavilion for Asian art in the new Rijksmuseum Amsterdam The Study page 8-9 Encouraging knowledge and enhancing the study of Asia 64 The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel Foyer. Image reproduced under a creative commons license courtesy of flickr.com The ongoing story of Macao Heaven’s authority THE FOCUS Ordained by poet W. H. Auden in the 1930s as a city where “nothing serious could ever happen”, and whose citizens were described only thirty years ago as “among the most unrepresented, forgotten people in Asia”, Macao is now experiencing a remarkable resurgence. In this edition of the Focus, guest editor Tim Simpson outlines the Macao of yesterday, today and the future. 2 | The Newsletter | No.64 | Summer 2013 Contents 3 From the Director 3 Books and Accolades Paul van der Velde, ICAS Secretary THE STUDY 4-5 Norodom Sihanouk and the political agenda of Cambodian music, 1955–1970 LinDa Saphan 6-7 The painter Willem Imandt revisited Paul van der Velde 8-9 Leonardus Joseph (Leo) Eland, painter of ‘Mooi Indie’ Louis Zweers 10-11 Epigraphic restorations of Timurid architectural heritage Elena Paskaleva 12-13 Reviving traditions and creating futures William Noseworthy 12-13 Reexamining human rights discourse after the Jewish and the Chinese Holocausts Sinkwan Cheng 14-15 Exploring inclusive Chineseness: neighbourhoods Special feature page: The Opinion Wim Haagdorens 16 Indian federalism: the need to look beyond coalition politics Special feature page: The Opinion Tridivesh Singh Maini 28 ICAS Book Prize 2013 Shortlists Special ICAS feature page THE REVIEW 17 New for review 18 Festive festschrift Niels Mulder 18-19 Monograph of a Nepalese town Sjoerd Zanen 20 Walking on the edge: explorers in China’s borderlands Jared Phillips 37 Sikhism Karuna Sharma 38 Between two worlds: women from pesantren appropriating private and public spaces Hanny Savitri Hartono 39 Cambodian bronze Dick van der Meij 40 Consuming empire in wartime Japan Torsten Weber 41 China experiments Junpeng Li THE NETWORK 42-44 News from Asia 46 IIAS new publications 47-49 Announcements 50 IIAS reports 51 IIAS outreach 52 Reframing my memory of visiting IIAS Special feature page: The Alumnus Dennis Cheng 53 IIAS research projects 54-55 IIAS fellows Pages 21-23 Guest editor Tim Simpson introduces the ongoing story of Macao, the first (and ultimately, the last) European territory in Asia. The tiny city has effectively bookended the global era of the last half millennia, starting with the Portuguese claiming it in 1557, and now continuing to play a rather remarkable role in the circulations of subjects, cultures, and capital. Pages 24-25 Werner Breitung’s geographical contribution highlights the territorial ambiguity of Macao. There is a lack of clear historical records regarding the exact administrative agreement forged between the Chinese and Portuguese in relation to Macao, and the territory never clearly belonged exclusively to one or the other power. Pages 26-27 Cathryn Clayton comments on the unique form of shared sovereignty through which both Portugal and China extended limited authority over different dimensions of Macao and its population. Clayton refers to it as Macao’s ‘sort-of sovereignty’. Pages 30-31 Macao has long been known for tolerating vices forbidden in surrounding territories. Its liminal identity proved useful to various actors; Britain was one such actor with an interest in the enclave – discussed here by historian Rogerio Puga. THE FOCUS 21-36 The ongoing story of Macao Tim Simpson Guest Editor The Focus The ongoing story of Macao THE PORTRAIT 56 A pavilion for Asian art in the new Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Menno Fitski, Anna Slaczka & William Southworth Pages 32-3 |
The visa that makes travel easy within twenty-six countries of Europe takes its name from an agreement signed in 1985 in what city of Luxembourg? | Europe travel guide - Wikitravel Top cities[ edit ] How do you choose a few cities to represent a continent full of deep history and profound culture? This will change over time; but here's our "top ten": Amsterdam — canals, Rembrandt, hashish and red lanterns, the epicentre of liberal attitudes Athens - the Acropolis, ancient temples, medieval churches, early modern neoclassical mansions; the birthplace of Western civilization with a history of 3,400 years Barcelona — Gaudi's cosmopolitan home on Mediterranean coast Berlin — the capital of reunited Germany since 1990, it was divided by force for 45 years during the Cold War and has emerged as a international cultural centre and an area of rapid development since the fall of the Berlin Wall Istanbul — the only major city to span two continents and a fascinating melting pot of East and West London — Britain's vibrant capital, a true 'global city' Moscow — Europe's largest city is famous for its nightlife and the iconic Kremlin Paris — the capital of romance (and France) on the banks of the Seine Prague — magical city with its renowned bridges spanning the Vltava River Rome — the eternal city of seven hills and two thousand seven hundred years of history Other notable destinations[ edit ] Alhambra — part fortress, part palace, part garden, and part government city, a stunning mediaeval complex overlooking the city of Granada in Spain Alps — very popular mountain range for skiing/snowboarding and mountaineering, with Mont Blanc as its highest peak Cinque Terre — a gorgeous national park, which connects five picturesque villages in Italy Białowieża National Park in Poland — the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once spread across the European Plain Blue Lagoon — amazing geothermal spa with the water temperature around 40°C all year round, even in Iceland 's freezing conditions Meteora — six Greek Orthodox monasteries built on natural sandstone rock pillars Neuschwanstein Castle — the well-known fairy-tale castle in the Bavarian Alps in Bavaria Plitvice National Park — beautiful turquoise-coloured lakes surrounded by a large forest complex in Croatia Stonehenge — the well-known Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monument located on Salisbury Plain, England History[ edit ] Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance with an astonishing cultural heritage The earliest concrete signs of written European culture can be found in Hellenic Greece . Homer (c. 800 BC), Hesiod (753 BC) and Kallinos (728 BC) are three of the oldest poets in Europe. The Romans believed that their city was founded in 753 BC, while modern archaeologists and historians believe that the area of modern day Rome has been inhabited since at least 1000 to 800 BC. From 300 AD Christianity in Europe started to spread. Around 500 the Roman Empire collapsed, with France at that time coming under the rule of the Merovingians, Spain coming under occupation from North African Berber Muslims and other countries essentially invaded by various barbarian groups. In 714, the Carolingian empire was founded and lasted until 911 occupying large parts of Western Europe. The period after this date is often called the high-middle ages and lasted until around 1300 which saw a shift to urbanisation across Europe, initiating in Western Europe, and gave rise to universities. This was followed by the late middle ages which ended around 1500, giving birth to a period of European history normally referred to as the Renaissance or the re-birth. The people of this period actively rediscovered classical Greco-Roman culture and it was followed by a reformation of Christianity, with the rise of new sects in Europe, most notably Protestantism. Between 1492 and 1972 many European nations (like Great Britain , Spain , Portugal , Russia , France and the Netherlands ) ruled or had ruled over most of the known world, with the exception of parts of Asia , Japan , Thailand and Tibet ) and Antarctica . The European Union Europe, prior to the conclusion of World War II, was a region ravaged by large-scale "total war". Nat |
Mashair Railway that opened in 2010 connecting the sites of Mina, Muzdalifah and Mount Arafat serves the visitors of what city? | Gulf Construction Online - Growth driven by the faithful<!--lead2--><!--top2--> Makkah and Madinah Growth driven by the faithful Makkah and Madinah face a daunting task in accommodating the soaring number of pilgrims to these holy cities. However, a large number of new and expansion projects are being implemented to meet this challenge, says a Jones Lang LaSalle report. December 2010 MAKKAH and Madinah are on a path of complete transformation as construction takes place on an awe-inspiring scale to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims to these most sacred sites of Islam. Located approximately 425 km apart, these cities are relatively small by global standards, but their importance far outweighs their size on account of their position as the two holiest cities of Islam. The opportunity to visit Makkah and Madinah for either Hajj or Umrah is a highlight for the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. Umrah attracts the most visitors (around 5.3 million in 2008). The global growth in the Muslim population and the declining cost of international travel have been the main drivers for the increased number of religious tourists (pilgrims) performing Hajj and Umrah in recent years. The growth in Hajj and Umrah visitors is currently constrained by a number of infrastructure issues, including lodging capacity in Makkah and Madinah, transportation bottlenecks and government regulations regarding visas. However, a number of major initiatives are under way to alleviate the current infrastructure constraints and allow the holy cities to efficiently accommodate a larger number of pilgrims. Among such efforts that have borne fruit is the launch of the railway between Makkah and Madinah. The Mashair Railway, as it is also called, rolled out last month (on November 14), a day before Hajj, to serve pilgrims (see separate article). These holy cities are unique real estate markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in that they are constrained more by supply and capacity and not demand, which is effectively unlimited, according to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, a renowned global real estate investment and advisory firm and the largest in the Middle East. The report – the first of its kind on the real estate sector of Makkah and Madinah – sheds light on the potential these two cities have in the religious tourism industry, especially in the hospitality sector. Chiheb Ben-Mahmoud, senior vice-president at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, comments: “We have seen regionally that, attention is being directed towards the holy cities and it has become essential to report on the major development plans being undertaken there. The Saudi government in particular has taken great strides to capitalise on the real estate in the both cities to be better able to accommodate a larger volume of pilgrims.” The report states that given the significant movement associated with the Hajj, the prime constraint is imposed by the ground transport system rather than broader airport/seaport capacities or the ability to provide sufficient lodging capacity. The total visitors (Hajj plus Umrah) have increased from 5.3 million to 7.7 million over the past five years. These numbers are expected to further swell to 13.75 million by 2019, according to the analysis. “The increased number of pilgrims will provide significant opportunities for additional hotel rooms (a total of 82,000) in both Makkah and Madinah,” says Ben-Mahmoud. According to him, infrastructure is the key to increasing religious tourism in these cities. Although land ownership in the holy cities is limited to Saudi entities, there has been significant GCC and other foreign investment attracted to these markets in the form of joint venture agreements with Saudi entities. A large number of initiatives are under way to alleviate the current infrastructure constraints to efficiently accommodate a larger number of pilgrims. These include: King Abdulaziz International Airport: Improvements are also being made to the existing Hajj terminal at the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, to impro |
The Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya is contiguous with what famed national park of Tanzania? | Maasai Mara Game Reserve | Masai Mara National Reserve | Kenya Masai Mara Game Reserve — Kenya Masai Mara National Reserve View Rates, Discounted Prices - Book & Save Now! Masai Mara National Reserve is one of the best known and most popular reserves in the whole of Africa. It is Kenya's finest wildlife reserve. Everything about this reserve is outstanding. Seasoned safari travelers, travel writers, documentary makers and researchers often admit that the Masai Mara is one of their favorite places. So why is that? Perhaps it is because of the 'big skies', the open savannahs, the romance of films like 'Out of Africa' and certainly because of the annual wildebeest migration, the density of game, the variety of bird life and the chance of a hot air balloon ride. South Western Kenya is the heartland of the Maasai. The Maasai are strongly independent people who still value tradition and ritual as an integral part of their everyday lives. They regard themselves not just as residents of this area but that they are as much a part of the life of the land as the land is part of their lives. Traditionally, the Maasai rarely hunt and living alongside wildlife in harmony is an important part of their beliefs. This unique co-existence of man and wildlife makes this Maasai land one of the world’s most unique wilderness regions. At the heart of these lands is the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, widely considered to be Africa’s greatest wildlife reserve. The Mara comprises200 sq miles of open plains, woodlands and riverine forest. Contiguous with the plains of the Serengeti, the Mara is home to a breathtaking array of life. The vast grassland plains are scattered with herds of Zebra, Giraffe, Gazelle, and Topi. The Acacia forests abound with Bird life and Monkeys. Elephants and Buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp. The Mara and Talek rivers are brimming with Hippos and Crocodiles. Each year the Mara plays host to the world’s greatest natural spectacle, the Great Wildebeest Migration from the Serengeti. From July to October, the promise of rain and fresh life giving grass in the north brings more than 1.3 million Wildebeest together into a single massive herd. They pour across the border into the Mara, making a spectacular entrance in a surging column of life that stretches from horizon to horizon. At the Mara River they mass together on the banks before finally plunging forward through the raging waters, creating frenzy as they fight against swift currents and waiting crocodiles. The wildebeest bring new life to the Mara, not just through their cycle of regeneration of the grasslands, but for t |
What second-most populous nation in Africa is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world? | UN: India to be world's most populous country by 2028 - BBC News BBC News UN: India to be world's most populous country by 2028 14 June 2013 Close share panel Image caption India's population is forecast to continue to grow until 2050, according to the United Nations India looks set to overtake China as the world's most populous country from 2028, according to the United Nations. At that point, both nations will number 1.45 billion people. Subsequently India's population will continue to grow until the middle of the century, while China's slowly declines. The UN also estimates that the current global population of 7.2 billion will reach 9.6 billion by 2050. That is a faster rate of growth than previously estimated. The population growth will be mainly in developing countries, particularly in Africa, the UN says. The world's 49 least developed countries are projected to double in size from around 900 million people in 2013 to 1.8 billion in 2050, whereas the population of developed regions will remain largely unchanged. The UN said the reason for the increase in its projection is largely new information on fertility levels in certain high birth rate countries. Nigerian growth Large developing countries, such as China, India and Brazil, have seen a rapid fall in the average number of children per woman, but in other nations, such as Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia and Uganda, fertility levels remain high. Nigeria's population is expected to exceed that of the US by the middle of the century, and could start to rival China's by 2100. China's population is expected to start decreasing after 2030. "Although population growth has slowed for the world as a whole, this report reminds us that some developing countries, especially in Africa, are still growing rapidly," commented Wu Hongbo, the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. The United Nations publishes an assessment of past, current and future population trends every two years, in a recurrent series known as the World Population Prospects . Researchers have used data for 233 countries and areas to produce Friday's report. |
The Wagah border often called the 'Berlin wall of Asia' is the only road border crossing between what two countries? | Wagah - Attari Border Closing ceremony by India & Pakistan - YouTube Wagah - Attari Border Closing ceremony by India & Pakistan Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Feb 28, 2010 Wagah (Punjabi: ਵਾਘਾ, Hindi: वाघा, Urdu: واہگہ) is the only road border crossing between India and Pakistan, and lies on the Grand Trunk Road between the cities of Amritsar, India and Lahore, Pakistan. Wagah itself is a village through which the controversial Radcliffe Line was drawn. The village was divided by independence in 1947. Today, the eastern half of the village remains in India whilst the western half is in Pakistan. The Wagah border, often called the "Berlin wall of Asia", is a ceremonial border on the IndiaPakistan Border where each evening there is a retreat ceremony called 'lowering of the flags'. At that time there is a very energetic and thrilling parade by the Border Security Force (B.S.F) of India and the Pakistan Rangers soldiers. It may appear slightly aggressive and even hostile to foreigners. Troops of each country put on quite an entertaining show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans. Border officials from the two countries sometimes walk over to the offices on the other side for day to day affairs. The happenings at this border post have been a barometer of the India-Pakistan relations over the years. Samjhauta Express, the train service between Lahore and Delhi, plies twice a week from Attari railway station, 5 km from Wagah. The National Highway 1 of India starts from Wagah Border, and is the transit point for the DelhiLahore Bus service operating within the Punjab between Amritsar and Lahore, which was started in 2004 as relations between the two countries improved. During British rule the village was part of the Lahore Division of British Punjab. In 1947 the division, like the village, was split between India and Pakistan. Porters carrying goods across Wagah border For the past 60 years since independence in 1947, porters have been carrying goods across the Wagah border, which had been the only road link between the two nations, before the opening of Aman Setu in Kashmir for the start of the SrinagarMuzaffarabad Bus in 1999. On August 1415, 2001, the respective Independence days of Pakistan and India, the candle-lighting ceremony at the Wagah border, in which 40,000 Pakistani citizens and 15,000 Indian citizens took part, was seen as a reflection of the changing public mood over India-Pakistan reconciliation; such candlelight vigils and the yearly 'Midnight Peace Festivals' were also reported in subsequent years. There have been many calls for the opening up of Wagah border to promote Indo-Pak trade through increased transport between India and Pakistan. In March 2005, a delegation of the Indian Border Security Force met the Pakistan Rangers at the Wagah border to discuss the border issue after three years since the 20012002 IndiaPakistan standoff. In May 2005, Pakistan allowed the import of five specified food items, free of tax via Wagah border to tide over shortages in the domestic market; eventually, in an unprecedented move, on 1 October 2006, trucks carrying goods crossed the Wagah border for the first time since the independence of Pakistan and India over 60 years ago. The 1,400 Pakistani and 1,300 Indian porters employed till then were employed in unloading lorries and trucks, with this the bi-lateral arrangement which accounted for $1.3 billion (£650 million) a year in trade in 2007 and was expected to exceed $10 billion by 2010. The trade has further improved since then through the Wagah post, despite the ups and downs of Indo-Pak relations. With over 8000 people visiting the border on an average day just on the Indian side, governments have started developing Wagah as a tourist destination, improving tourist and c |
The design of what magnificent 12th century complex, the largest of its kind in the world, represents the home of the Gods in Hindu mythology? | 1000+ images about Angkor Wat on Pinterest | Hindus, Khmer empire and Angkor wat cambodia Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Angkor Wat 35 Pins115 Followers In 1860, missionaries came across ruins in the Cambodian jungle, discovering a lost city twice as large as Manhattan. Angkor Wat is a Hindu, then subsequently Buddhist, temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. Angkor Wat is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology. The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer. |
The script of Thuluth, a variety of Islamic calligraphy, is seen on the flag of what country? | Thuluth font in Arabic Calligraphy – Madrasah Ummul Hasanaat tweet Thuluth (Arabic: ثلث “one-third”, Turkish: Sülüs) is a script variety of Islamic calligraphy, which made its first appearance in the 11th century CE (fourth century of the Hijrah). The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. In Thuluth, one-third of each letter slopes, from which the name (meaning “a third” in Arabic) comes. It is a large and elegant, cursive script, used in medieval times on mosque decorations. Various calligraphic styles evolved from Thuluth through slight changes of form The greatest contributions to the evolution of the Thuluth script, occurred during Ottoman Empire in three successive steps that Ottoman Art Historians call “Calligraphical Revolutions”: ▪ The first “revolution” occurred in the 15th Century and was initiated by the Master Calligrapher Sheikh Hamdullah. ▪ The second revolution occurred as a result of the Ottoman Calligrapher Hâfız Osman in the 17th Century. ▪ Finally, Mehmed Şevkî Efendi in the late 19th Century, gave the script the distinctive shape it has today. ▪ The best known artist to write the Thuluth script at its zenith is said to be Mustafa Rakım Efendi, a painter who set a standard in Ottoman calligraphy which many believe has not been surpassed to this day. ▪ Thuluth was used to write the headings of surahs, Qur’anic chapters. Some of the oldest copies of the Qur’an were written in Thuluth. Later copies were written in a combination of Thuluth and either Naskhi or Muhaqqaq, while after the 15th century Naskhi came to be used exclusively. ▪ This font is much seen in Flag of Saudi Arabia where its text, Shahadatut Tawheed, is written in Thuluth. ▪ An important aspect of Thuluth script is the use of Harakat (“Hareke” in Turkish) for representing vowel sounds, and other marks that were created to beautify the script. The grammatical Harakat follows the normal rules for any Arabic script, but the ‘Art’ markings follow their own rules in relation to placement and grouping. One common grouping technique is to separate the marks written below letters from those written above. The stylistic rules allow for great creativity as to shape and orientation. Scripts developed from Thuluth ▪ Since its creation thuluth has given rise to a variety of script used in calligraphy, and allowed numerous modifications during its course of evolution. Jeli Thuluth was developed to be used in large panels, such as tombstone etc. Muhaqqaq calligraphy script was developed by widening the horizontal sections of the letters in Thuluth. Naskh script was also developed from thuluth, by introducing a number of modifications resulting in smaller size and greater delicacy. Tawqi is a modified and smaller version of Thuluth . ▪ Riq’a was probably derived from the Thuluth and Naskh styles, the later itself being originated from thuluth. 2010-04-10 |
What NATO country with a unique geographic position is the only one with no standing army? No navy either! | Countries without a Military | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Countries without a Military Share Countries without regular military forces. This is a list of countries without armed forces . The term "country" is used in the sense of independent state; thus, it applies only to sovereign states and not dependencies ( i.e. , Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Bermuda), whose defense is the responsibility of another country or an army alternative. The term " armed forces " refers to any government-sponsored defense used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government. Some of the countries listed, such as Iceland and Monaco, have no armies, but still have a non-police military force . Many of the 21 countries listed here typically have had a long-standing agreement with a former occupying country ; one example is the agreement between Monaco and France, which has existed for at least 300 years . [1] The Marshall Islands , Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and Palau have no say in their respective country's defense matters, and have little say in international relations. [2] [3] [4] For example, when the FSM negotiated a defensive agreement with the United States, it did so from a weak position because it had grown heavily dependent on American assistance. [5] Andorra has a small army, and can request defensive aid if necessary, while Iceland had a unique agreement with the United States that lasted until 2006, which required them to provide defense to Iceland when needed. [6] [7] The remaining countries are responsible for their own defense, and operate either without any armed forces, or with limited armed forces. Some of the countries, such as Costa Rica, Dominica, and Grenada, underwent a process of demilitarization . [8] [9] Other countries were formed without armed forces, such as Andorra over 700 years ago ; [7] the primary reason being that they were, or still are, under protection from another nation at their point of independence. All of the countries on this list are considered to be in a situation of "non-militarization." [10] Japan is not included in this list because, while the country may officially have no military according to its constitution, it does have the Japan Self-Defense Forces , a military force only used outside Japan for peacekeeping missions. Contents |
Because of changes in the political geography of Africa in 2011, what is now the largest country in that continent? | The Colonization of Africa The Colonization of Africa Ehiedu E. G. Iweriebor – Hunter College Between the 1870s and 1900, Africa faced European imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, military invasions, and eventual conquest and colonization. At the same time, African societies put up various forms of resistance against the attempt to colonize their countries and impose foreign domination. By the early twentieth century, however, much of Africa, except Ethiopia and Liberia, had been colonized by European powers. The European imperialist push into Africa was motivated by three main factors, economic, political, and social. It developed in the nineteenth century following the collapse of the profitability of the slave trade, its abolition and suppression, as well as the expansion of the European capitalist Industrial Revolution. The imperatives of capitalist industrialization—including the demand for assured sources of raw materials, the search for guaranteed markets and profitable investment outlets—spurred the European scramble and the partition and eventual conquest of Africa. Thus the primary motivation for European intrusion was economic. The Scramble for Africa But other factors played an important role in the process. The political impetus derived from the impact of inter-European power struggles and competition for preeminence. Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power within European power politics. One way to demonstrate national preeminence was through the acquisition of territories around the world, including Africa. The social factor was the third major element. As a result of industrialization, major social problems grew in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, and so on. These social problems developed partly because not all people could be absorbed by the new capitalist industries. One way to resolve this problem was to acquire colonies and export this "surplus population." This led to the establishment of settler-colonies in Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, and central African areas like Zimbabwe and Zambia. Eventually the overriding economic factors led to the colonization of other parts of Africa. Thus it was the interplay of these economic, political, and social factors and forces that led to the scramble for Africa and the frenzied attempts by European commercial, military, and political agents to declare and establish a stake in different parts of the continent through inter-imperialist commercial competition, the declaration of exclusive claims to particular territories for trade, the imposition of tariffs against other European traders, and claims to exclusive control of waterways and commercial routes in different parts of Africa. This scramble was so intense that there were fears that it could lead to inter-imperialist conflicts and even wars. To prevent this, the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck convened a diplomatic summit of European powers in the late nineteenth century. This was the famous Berlin West African conference (more generally known as the Berlin Conference), held from November 1884 to February 1885. The conference produced a treaty known as the Berlin Act, with provisions to guide the conduct of the European inter-imperialist competition in Africa. Some of its major articles were as follows: The Principle of Notification (Notifying) other powers of a territorial annexation The Principle of Effective Occupation to validate the annexations Freedom of Trade in the Congo Basin Freedom of Navigation on the Niger and Congo Rivers Freedom of Trade to all nations Suppression of the Slave Trade by land and sea This treaty, drawn up without African participation, provided the basis for the subsequent partition, invasion, and colonization of Africa by various European powers. The African Resistance The European imperialist designs and pressures of the late nineteenth century provoked African political and diplomatic responses and eventually military resistance. Du |
The Kagera river that became known for carrying bodies from the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 is the largest single inflow into what body of water? | No Secret: The Rwandan Genocide - Paul Hartal No Secret: The Rwandan Genocide A remote source of the Nile, the Kagera River originates in Burundi. On its way to Lake Victoria it flows into a steep gorge along the natural border between Rwanda and Tanzania. the river cascades in a small waterfall that swells in the rainy season. As the Kagera sweeps down from the highlands it carries within its currents vast clusters of uprooted trees embedded in gigantic dollops of elephant grass. In the spring and summer of 1994 it was still much the same. However, this time also thousands of human corpses floated on the river. Rwanda and Burundi are two tiny African countries, each with a territory somewhat smaller than Belgium. Most of the population belong to Hutu tribes, who are traditionally crop growers. But beginning in the 1300s warrior herdsmen from the highlands of Ethiopia migrated to the region. They originally spoke Somali or Oromo, but in adopting the local Bantu language and settling among the Hutus, they became known as Tutsis. The German colonists favoured the Ethiopian look of the Tutsi minority. They employed them as overseers in the administration of Ruanda-Urundi, as the colony was called then. Then during the First World War Belgium took over governing the territory but continued to support the Tutsis as the ruling class. In 1919 Brussels received a mandate from the League of Nations to administer the colony. The Belgian colonists divided Tutsis and Hutus on the basis of cattle ownership, church documents, physical measurements as a god-like ruler and treated the Hutus with disdain as peasants. But the aristocratic Tutsi monarchy came to an end in 1959 when Belgium allowed holding King Kigeli V of Ruanda-Urundi was forced to go to exile and the majority Hutus assumed control of the government. These were turbulent times that deteriorated into wide spread communal violence. In 1962 two independent countries emerged from the former colony, Rwanda and Burundi. But the transition from colony to independence was not At the time that Rwanda became independent, Hutus comprised more than 80 percent of the country’s seven million people. Nevertheless, the Tutsi minority was reluctant to give up its privileged ruling status. were at each other’s throat in the power struggle In Rwanda hundreds of Tutsis were killed while thousands of others fled to neighbouring Burundi and Uganda. In the aftermath of the atrocities, President Grégoire Kayibanda made the Hutus the governing majority of the nation. Yet the leaders of the new regime did not choose a policy of national reconciliation. Instead, they opted for oppression and discrimination. They blamed the problems of Rwanda on the Tutsis. In the 1970s the Hutu-led military continued to murder Tutsis in Rwanda. They excluded the Tutsis the armed forces, even from schools and universities. Yet meanwhile Tutsis had their share in violent ethnic cleansing as well. In 1972, in response to a Hutu rebellion, the Tutsi controlled army in the Republic of Burundi killed over 100,000 Hutus. Similarly to Rwanda, over 80 percent of the population in Burundi consists of Hutu tribes. Harking back on the shame and humiliation of the past, the Hutu leadership in Rwanda intensified their hateful propaganda, against the tall, aristocratic Tutsi. They claimed that the Tutsis intended to restore a feudal system to enslave the Hutu population. They recruited writers and teachers to travel the country to raise Hutu pride and to create a pan-Hutu consciousness. They sowed the seeds of spite, unfurled the propaganda of hate and prepared the hurricane of genocide. However, in the neighbouring countries the Tutsi refugee Diaspora organized militia forces to overthrow the Hutu regime in Rwanda. In 1990 civil war broke out as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) of the Tutsi minority invaded the country from Uganda. Then on April 6,1994, an airplane carrying the Hutu presidents Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi, and babies by the thousands in the streets, in churches, schools and in |
Cape Churchill in Wapusk National Park, Canada is renowned as the best location in the world to view what? | Polar Bears at Legendary Cape Churchill Polar Bears at Legendary Cape Churchill Overview Experience Itinerary Testimonials Dates Trip Overview Frontiers North is the only company in the world who can offer this unique expedition to Cape Churchill, world-renown as the best location on earth to view and photograph wild polar bears. Photographers from around the world travel with Frontiers North to Cape Churchill to capture breath-taking imagery of polar bears in the pristine environment found on the frozen tidal flats of Hudson Bay. By day we venture out on daily Tundra Buggy expeditions to see the bears as they spar and move toward the coast. By night we return to the comforts of our Tundra Buggy Lodge to enjoy warming home-cooked meals and presentations from some of the world’s top polar bear experts. Tour is led by a Frontiers North Interpretive Guide and features a Photo Specialist. This specialist-level adventure is intended for those interested in the ultimate polar bear viewing and photography expedition. Space is limited for this one-of-a-kind excursion; reserve early*. *Tour capacity for Legendary Cape Churchill is 40 guests at the Tundra Buggy Lodge; however, during the day guests are split into groups of a maximum of 10 guests per buggy to maximize space for photography opportunities. Photo: ©Derek Kyostia Book Now Request More Info The Experience This exclusive 12-day expedition is intended for those interested in the ultimate polar bear viewing and photography expedition. Day 1 Day 01 Winnipeg arrival We’ve arrived into Winnipeg for our Cape Churchill expedition and we can’t wait to start our adventure. After checking into the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, which is practically across the street from the Winnipeg airport, we head downstairs and pick up our parka, snow pants and boots, supplied to us for use during our time in Churchill by Frontiers North. In the evening we meet our Frontiers North interpretive guide and the rest of our tour group during a welcome dinner, which gives us a chance to ask questions and go over our itinerary with the guide. Day 02 Heading to Churchill It’s finally here - today we are headed to Churchill. After a very early breakfast our group boards a warm bus for the short ride to the private hangar from where our plane will depart for the 2-hour flight to Churchill. Upon arrival, we head straight out on a Churchill Town & Area Tour which comprises of an exploratory drive in the area surrounding the town of Churchill, including historical Cape Merry; the site of a crashed airplane affectionately known by locals as Miss Piggy; and Manitoba Conservation’s Polar Bear Holding Facility. We take a break for lunch and enjoy a warm, home-cooked meal at one of Churchill’s family run restaurants – who knew Churchill had such incredible food? After lunch our group has time to explore the town on our own. I choose to visit the Churchill Eskimo Museum, which is home to an enormous collection of Inuit artifacts and has an incredible little gift shop where visitors can buy local Inuit art and carvings, books and other gifts. Photo: ©Doug Ross Day 03 The Tundra Buggy Lodge We spend our first day on the tundra travelling through the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, searching out polar bears, arctic fox and hare and other northern wildlife and learning from our guide and driver about the geology and natural history of the area. In the late afternoon we cross the Hudson Bay tidal flats and cross over into Wapusk National Park. As the light begins to fade, we see the Tundra Buggy Lodge in the distance – it’s almost as if we’re approaching an isolated space station in the middle of nowhere. We board the Tundra Buggy Lodge and the feeling of isolation disappears. The welcoming lodge staff greets us warmly and we are treated to an incredible home cooked meal before settling in to our new home on the tundra. Day 04 Wapusk National Park Our day starts before first light in order to capture the beautiful tundra sunrise from the Tundra Buggy. At this time of year, the sun rises late (around 8:30am) and |
The economic grouping acronym BRIC that referred to Brazil, Russia, India and China was changed to BRICS in 2011 to include what country? | Brazil, Russia, India And China - BRIC Definition | Investopedia Brazil, Russia, India And China - BRIC Loading the player... What does 'Brazil, Russia, India And China - BRIC' mean Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) refer to the idea that China and India will, by 2050, become the world's dominant suppliers of manufactured goods and services, respectively, while Brazil and Russia will become similarly dominant as suppliers of raw materials . Due to lower labor and production costs, many companies also cite BRIC as a source of foreign expansion opportunity, and promising economies in which to invest. BREAKING DOWN 'Brazil, Russia, India And China - BRIC' BRIC is an acronym for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China combined, originally projected to be the fastest growing market economies by Jim O'Neill of Goldman Sachs first in 2001, but most prominently in a follow up paper published in 2003. It has been speculated that by 2050 these four economies would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers. The Goldman Sachs thesis doesn’t argue that these countries are a political alliance (like the European Union ) or a formal trading association - but states instead they have the potential to form a powerful economic bloc. The countries haven’t announced any formal trade agreement between them, but leaders of the four countries have attended summits together, and acted in concert with each others interests. BRIC or ‘Big Four’ is now also used as a more generic marketing term to refer to these four emerging economies. Columbia University has established the BRICLab , where foreign, domestic, and financial policies of BRIC members are examined. Introduction and Early Writing on BRIC 2001: In 2001 Jim O’Niell wrote a report , published by Goldman Sachs noting that Brazil, Russia, India and China’s GDP was set to rise 1.7% in the next year, and then be in a position to continue to grow. In the paper Building Better Economic BRICs O’Niell runs through four scenarios on measuring and projecting GDP adjusted for PPP . In all those scenarios, the nominal GDP assumption for the BRICs rises from the 2001 measurement of 8% in USD, to 14.2%. While weighted heavily by China, the other countries grow relative to G7 countries . 2003: Dominic Wilson and Roopa Purushothaman wrote a report " Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050 ," once again published by Goldman Sachs making the claim that by 2050 BRIC could grow to a size larger than the G6, and that it’s quite possible that the largest economies in the world by GDP may not be the richest. This set of projections are based on the assumption that policies and institutions are established to help support economic growth, which as the report states, is by no means a guarantee. Given the amount of projected growth – by Wilson and Purushothaman’s measurements up to 300% – even falling somewhat short of the potential growth of any or all members of the BRIC group would still entail a large amount of potential growth. The report shows a projected per capita income for BRIC countries in 2050 that would be lower than G6 countries with the exception of Russia. 2004: The Goldman Sachs global economics exam publish, Growth and Development: The Path to 2050 , a 158 page report going highlighting challenges and opportunities for BRIC countries. Roughly outlined, the report highlights India’s inefficient energy grid and consumption, projects possible growth the number of people living in BRIC countries earning more than $3,000 a year up to 800 million people within a decade. Additionally the report looks at the lack of a substantial presence in global capital markets , and notes the large populations of while per capita income levels will remain lower than industrialized economies , the aggregate wealth of the BRIC countries will exceed that of the G6 partly due to the large populations of the countries. 2007: " BRICs and Beyond " is published by Goldman Sachs, a nearly 300 page report looking again at BRIC growth potential, environmental impact of the growing economies, a |
With an average ground level of 1.5 meters above sea level, what Asian island nation is the lowest country in the world? (hint: it is also the smallest Asian country in both population and land area) | MALDIVIAN CONCEPT OF SELF DEFENCE- CLIMATE REFUGE MALDIVIAN CONCEPT OF SELF DEFENCE- CLIMATE REFUGE Saturday, April 23, 2011 Maldivian concept of self defence – invest in land & ensure protection against “climate refugee.” The Maldives are the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. With an average ground level of 1.5 meters (4 ft. 11 inch) above Sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 meters (7 ft. 7 inch). The lowest position of the country has made it the most vulnerable to climate change. The slightest rise in water level of the sea, the deadliest possibility of this island paradise being inundated, the tragic prospect of slightly more than 3,00,000 population, becoming “climate refugee.” Such is the gravity of the problem, that the country, under the able guidance of the youngest president Mohammed Nasheed nicknamed as ‘Anni’, has given a serious thought to Land purchase’ for an alternative homeland”, in spite of humiliating fear of losing own identity, in the absence of original homeland. Quoting Mohammed Nasheed as under will not only highlight the gravity of the identity crisis but will also reflect the multidimensional emotions of a helpless head of the nation, who desperately yet sincerely seeking a solution to save his motherland & its citizens from an unprecedented climate change, possibly caused by global worming. · Frustrated Md. Nasheed : “We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugee living in tents for decades.” · Helpless Md. Nasheed : “We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It’s an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome.” · Provident Md. Nasheed : We intend to create a sovereign wealth fund” from the dollars generated by importing tourists, in the way that Arab States have done by “exporting oil”. Kuwait might invest in companies, we will invest in land. · Md. Nasheed in his untiring effort to save his helpless people from becoming homeless, has given an alternative solution to seek land help from Srilanka & India, citing the similarity in culture, cuisine & climate. He is even desperate to cross the continent barrier, by even moving to Austrialia & Zanzibar. Here comes the point of raising issues against these options as : · A state cannot play host to another state due to jurisdiction of sovereignty. · Is it possible that the Maldives would seek to be compensated by polluting countries for the loss of their islands ? So the big question is “whether the Maldivians be allowed to shift their homeland & in the process be shackled by the legal hazards of sovereignty & pollution ? The answer is ‘NO’ from the point of view of millions of people of SARRC Nations; incidentally Maldives is one of the members of SAARC Nations. Asia is the biggest continent & will not intend to allow one of its smallest Island country Maldives, to purchase land some other parts of the World, crossing the border of the continent, because that will hurt the magnanimity & generosity of the continent. The concept of DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) has become popular to maintain transborder peace & security among North & South Korea. There can be a debate whether VMDMZ (Voluntary modified DMZ) can be established in the transboundary spaces of Asian countries, specially, within the SAARC Nations, to provide shelter to the Maldivians, who are facing an imminent danger of being uprooted from their deserted soil, caused by unstoppable onslaught of sea waves, in near future given the wake up call has already been given by Mr. President Md. Nasheed, holding cabinet meeting under the sea. The concept of VMDMZ may be a handy tool for combating Global warming, arrived at by the mutual consent between two neighboring countries. India has always emerged as the country of peace, brotherhood, solidarity & co-operation – the foundations of SAARC Nations. As the biggest member of the SAARC Nations, Indian can show the generosity of accommodating the uproote |
Among hundreds of animal paintings, the only figure of a human being appears in an engraving called Shaft of the Dead Man at what World Heritage location? | Lascaux - New World Encyclopedia Lascaux Next (Laser) Lascaux cave painting of aurochs Discovered in 1940, Lascaux is a series of caves in southwestern France (near Montignac) that is famous for the numerous Paleolithic cave paintings contained on its walls. In 1979, the caves at Lascaux were designated a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site, along with 147 prehistoric sites and 24 painted caves located in the Vézère Valley. Contents 7 Credits Due to concerns over deterioration of the paintings, the caves were closed to the public, and only qualified researchers were given permission to enter. A replica was constructed to allow visitors to experience and appreciate these magnificent Stone Age artworks, which link us to our ancestors of long ago, without endangering the original paintings. History Map of Lascaux cave The Lascaux caves were discovered by chance on September 12, 1940 by seventeen year-old Marcel Ravidat, accompanied by three of his friends: Jacques Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas. Word traveled quickly, and it was not long before leading archaeologists were contacted. Abbé Henri Breuil , a prominent archaeologist, was one of the first to study the site, where he found bone fragments, oil lamps, and other artifacts, as well as the hundreds of paintings and engraved images. There was a great deal of public interest in the paintings at Lascaux, and the caves drew a great number of visitors. Included among those fascinated by the art of "primitive" human beings was Pablo Picasso . To his amazement, however, the paintings produced thousands of years ago were not primitive in comparison to contemporary art. On leaving the cave he is said to have exclaimed "We have learned nothing in twelve thousand years." [1] After World War II , the site entrance was enlarged and the floors lowered to accommodate the nearly 1,200 tourists per day who came to see the art of Paleolithic man. By 1955, the paintings had begun to show signs of deterioration due to the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled by visitors as well as moisture and other environmental changes that occurred when the caves were opened, and so the site was closed to the public in 1963. The paintings were restored, and are now monitored with state of the art technology. Unfortunately, though, fungi , molds , and bacteria have entered the caves and threaten to destroy the paintings and engravings. [2] Soon after the caves were closed to the public, construction was begun on a painstakingly exact replica of a portion of the caves, located only 200 meters from the original caves. Called "Lascaux II," the replica opened in 1983. Copied down to the texture of the rock, this nearly identical replica allows a large number of people to experience the cave paintings without posing a threat to their longevity. Exact replicas of individual paintings are also displayed in the nearby Center of Prehistoric Art at Thot. Inside the Caves of Lascaux The Lascaux caves contain nearly 2,000 painted and engraved figures. There are animals, human figures, and abstract signs. Notably, though, there are no images of landscapes or vegetation. The Great Hall of the Bulls Great Hall of the Bulls Upon entering the caves, there is an initial steep slope, after which one comes into the Hall of the Bulls. The walls of this larger rotunda are covered with paintings of stags , bulls , and horses . Except for a small group of ochre stags, three red bovines, and four red horses, the figures are all painted in black. Did you know? There is a prehistoric cave painting of a " unicorn " in the Hall of Bulls The first image in the Hall of the Bulls is that of "the Unicorn," named because of the way the two horns in profile view appear almost to be one large horn, like the mythical unicorn . In front of the "unicorn" is a herd of horses and an incompletely drawn bull. Three large aurochs, an extinct type of wild ox , can be found on the opposite side of the chamber. Most drawings in the Hall of the Bulls consist of pictorial representations |
What wild American feature begins at Springer Mountain in Georgia and ends at Katahdin in Maine for a total distance of 2,175 miles? | Appalachian Trail in Georgia - GeorgiaTrails.com Appalachian Trail in Georgia Georgia Trails Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail begins in Georgia at Springer Mountain and leaves the Peach State 79 miles later at Bly Gap. The rugged, often rocky terrain reaches a height of more than 4400 feet and never dips below 2500 feet. The high point of the trail is at Blood Mountain (4,461 ft.) while the low point is Dicks Creek Gap (2,675 ft.) Access to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail is by foot from Amicalola Falls State Park . History of the Appalachian Trail Springer Mountain sign The conservation movement in America was launched from Teddy Roosevelt's "Bully Pulpit" shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In the northeast numerous proposals had been made prior to 1921 to create a "super" trail. "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning" by Benton MacKaye was published in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects in October of 1921. The original proposal was for a footpath to run from the highest point in the northern Appalachians(Mt. Washington, New Hampshire) to the highest point in the southern Appalachians(Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina). Within a year work began on "America's Footpath." First completed was the section that ran from Pennsylvania to Connecticut across the new Bear Mountain Bridge. By 1925 the dream began to move towards reality with the creation of the Appalachian Trail Conference. The proposed route was extended to run from Maine to Georgia, originally to "Cohutta" Mountain. Since little was known by the developers about the North Georgia mountains they planned the trail from maps. Roy Ozmer, woodsman and friend of Georgia Ranger Arthur Woody was put in charge of exploring the area from Virginia to Georgia. These men felt that Mount Oglethorpe, east of Jasper, was a better choice for the end of the Appalachian Trail. Once the route in Georgia from Bly Gap to Mount Oglethorpe was established, Woody assisted personally and assigned Forest Service employees to assist in the construction which was completed in 1931. In 1937 the trail was completed with the clearing of the last 2 miles between Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mountains in Maine. At the time the trail stretched from Mount Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park to Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia. The trail, as envisioned, was a "sky-line" trail, going from high-point to high-point, along the highest route available. National Scenic Trails Georgia ATC During the next few years the trail fell into disrepair because of hurricanes, war and neglect. In 1938 a hurricane that swept up the coast did heavy damage to America's "First Trail." The connection of the Skyline Drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the 1940's displaced a section of the trail 120 miles long. Slowly, portions of the trail were being reclaimed by nature. In the early 1950's interest renewed in the trail. The designation of the Appalachian Trail as a National Scenic Trail was a long political battle lasting 15 years, ending with President Lyndon Johnson signing the National Trails System Act in 1968 . This act, originally intended to protect the land near the Appalachian Trail was rewritten to include any footpath designated as a National Scenic Trail. Today "America's Trail" and others in the National Scenic Trail System, with few exceptions, are on land that is federally protected. Overview of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia Sunset on the Appalachian Trail From its start 8 miles north of popular Amicalola Falls on Springer Mountain, the Appalachian Trail winds north past mountains with names like Blood, Trey and Big Cedar and through gaps named Addis, Neels and Woody. Snow is not uncommon on the Trail beginning in October and cold weather is a concern through April. Late fall is hunting season, so special care must be taken during that time. The trail is a microcosm of the natural history of the North Georgia mountains. It follows the high eastern ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. Much of the trail is covered with snow in the winter. Spri |
Francophonie is an international organization of 56 member states where there is a notable affiliation with the French language. What is the largest country in this group? | Organisation internationale de la Francophonie - Ghana Articles Ghana Articles Home | Articles | Ghana Articles | Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Organisation internationale de la Francophonie By Curtis M 19/11/2011 16:10:00 Font size: Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers), or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture. Formally known as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) or the International Organization of the Francophonie, the organization comprises 56 member states and governments, 3 associate members, and 16 observers. The term francophonie (with a lower case 'f') also refers to the global community of French-speaking peoples, comprising a network of private and public organizations promoting special ties among all Francophones. In a majority of member states, French is not the predominant native language. The prerequisite for admission to the Francophonie is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's colonial ambitions with other nations in its history. French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of Élisée Reclus, coined the word Francophonie in 1880 to refer to the community of people and countries using the French language. Francophonie was then coined a second time by Léopold Sédar Senghor, founder of the Négritude movement, in the review Esprit in 1962, who assimilated it into Humanism. The modern organization was created in 1970. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"), alluding to France's motto. Started as a small club of northern French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace. History The Convention which created the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique) was signed on March 20th, 1970 by the representatives of the 21 states and governments under the influence of African Heads of State, Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal, Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, Hamani Diori of Niger and Prince Norodom Sihanouk. The missions of this new intergovernmental organization, based on the sharing of the French language, are the promotion of the cultures of its members and the intensification of the cultural and technical cooperation between them, as well as the solidarity and the connection between them through dialogue. The Francophonie project ceaselessly evolved since the creation of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation, it became the intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie (Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie) in 1998 to remind its intergovernmental status. Finally in 2005, the adoption of a new Charter of the Francophonie (la Charte de la Francophonie) gives the name to the Agency of international Organization of the Francophonie (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie). Structure Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) : 16 November 1997 - 31 December 2002 Abdou Diouf (Senegal) : 1 January 2003 - present Abdou Diouf, the former president of the Republic of Senegal, is the Secretary General of the Francophonie since January 1st, 2003. He was reelected on September 29th, 2006, for a second mandate during the Summit of the Francophonie of Bucharest, and elected again in 2010 at the Summit of the Francophonie of Montreux for another mandate running until December 31st, 2013. The Secretary General of the Francophonie is elected during the Summit. He is the keystone of the institutional device and of the Francophonie and leads the organization. He is the spokesperson and the official representative internationally of the political actions of the Francophonie. The S |
The artificial Gatun Lake that was created between 1907 and 1913 forms a major component of what water body? | Lake Gatun, Panama - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Gatun Dam Gatun Lake (Sp. Lago Gat�n) is a large artificial lake situated in the Republic of Panama; it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships for 33 km (20 miles) of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. The lake was created between 1907 and 1913 by the building of the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River. At the time it was created, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world, and the dam was the largest earth dam. power house The lake is situated in the valley of the Chagres River and is a popular tourist destination. It was formed, and the river widened and deepened, by the construction of the Gatun Dam about 10 km (6 miles) from the river's mouth in the Caribbean Sea in 1907�1913.The geography of the area was ideal for the creation of a large lake here; the hills bordering the valley of the Chagres open up widely around the area of the lake, but come together to form a gap just over 2 km (1.4 miles) wide at the location of the dam. The damming of the river flooded the originally wooded valley; almost a century later, the stumps of old mahogany trees can still be seen rising from the water, and submerged snags form a hazard for any small vessels that wander off the marked channels. water leaving the lake Gatun Lake has an area of 425 km� (164 square miles) at its normal level of 26 m (85 ft) above sea level; it stores 5.2 cubic kilometers (183,000,000,000 ft�) of water, which is about as much as the Chagres River brings down in an average year. With the creation of the lake many hilltops became islands. The biggest and best known of them is Barro Colorado Island , home of the world famous Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). The lake has given its name to the Gatun structure, which may be an eroded impact crater. note the ship passing in the lake behind the dam Southbound sailboats entering the Banana Cut on Lake Gat�n have their sails set to get a boost from the trade winds. Gatun Lake forms a major component of the Panama Canal; the lake, including the flooded arm extending up the Chagres River, makes up 32.7 km (20.3 miles) of the raised part of the waterway, the other part being the 12.6 km (7.8 miles) Gaillard Cut. the spillway The canal follows a clearly marked route around the lake's islands, following the deeper water south from Gatun Locks, and then east. A small "shortcut" channel, the "Banana Cut", runs between the islands, providing a slightly shorter route through the lake; this is used by canal launches and yachts to cut a little time off the crossing, and to avoid the heavy ship traffic. the warning The lake is also important as a reservoir of water for the operation of the canal locks. Each time a ship transits the canal, 202,000 m� (53 million U.S. gallons) of water is passed from the lake into the sea; with over 14,000 vessel transits per year, this represents a very large demand for water. Since rainfall is seasonal in Panama, the lake acts as a water store, allowing the canal to continue operation through the dry season. the bridge over the spillway A major factor in water regulation is the ability of the rainforest in the lake's watershed to absorb rainfall, releasing it gradually into the lake. However, significant deforestation of the watershed has cleared away much of the vegetation, and reduced the area's water capacity. This has resulted in falling water levels in the lake during the dry season. Coupled with the massive increase in canal traffic since its opening, and the resultant increase in water usage, this is an ongoing problem for the canal. Text from Wikipedia On the Islands of Lake Gatun |
A funnel cloud is nothing but condensed water droplets associated with a rotating column of wind which extends from the base of a cloud without touching the ground. If it touches the ground, what is it called? | Weather Final at University of Texas - Austin - StudyBlue What does a weather satellite show us? clouds, estimates of rain amounts What year was USA worst tornado outbreak? 1974.0 1980s, showing where and how fast rain is going What do wind profilers show us fills gap of upper level data by turning satellite to look upwards and show us speed and direction constantly Elements of weather (8) Air temperature, humidity, clouds, precipitation, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, visibility How many clouds actually precipitate? 40949.0 How are wind speeds measured? 2 minute gusts What is the circle of illumination? How often does it cross austin? boundary separating light and dark part of planet, day and night around world. Crosses austin twice/day When does day/night become more of an issue? when you get to higher latitudes over souther hemisphere, closer to the poles. When it's dark in the northpole, what does this mean? winter time, north less oriented to sun Heat budget/transfer percentages 20% scattered/reflected by clouds, 6% scattered from atm, 51% Absorbed by earth, 19% absorbed by atm and clouds, 4% reflected by surface % solar radiation scattered/reflected by clouds 0.2 % solar radiation scattered from atm 0.06 % solar radiation absorbed by earth 0.51 % solar radiation absorbed by atm and clouds 0.19 % solar radiation reflected by surface 0.04 shortwave is the suns heat to earth, longwave is earth back to space Conduction transfering heat energy through a substance, moving from hot to cold (metal vs wood spoon) Convection virtical transfer of heat through the atmosphere (saucepan steam) advection horizontal movement of heat energy (cold air from north moves to south) Radiative 3 types of scattering of radiation Rayleigh, Mei, Non-selective shortwave gasses cause blue/violet sky Mei scattering lower levels of atm of pollen, dust, smoke non selective scattering Greatest albedo variability at 3-5% water directly overhead, sun angles make difference Why is August hotter than June for summer season? heating of earth's surface is a cumulative process, builds up more in august When do lowestest temperatures on a cleary day occur? 30 minutes after sunrise What are variable gasses called? greenhouse gasses relatively easy transmission of shortwave radiation by atm with selective absorption of long wave Is it colder under clouds or clear skies after a cold front? Why? clear sky, clouds trap gases closer to earth's surface When does an object turn colder/warmer? if it radiates more energy than it absorbs, it gets colder. Radiates less than it absorbs, hotter. What is job of earth's atmosphere? finding a solar equilibrium What is a black body object? Examples. a perfect absorber or emitter of radiation, earth and sun Is earth's atm a black body? no What is earth's radiative equilibrium temperature? 0 degrees F/ -18 degrees C What is observed surface temperature of earth? 59 degrees F/15 C why is there a difference between RET and OST? atm absorbs some of the radiation, absorbs/emits radiation Energy property of a system that enables it to do work (kinetic, electrical, chemical, ect) Heat form of energy transferred between objects by virtue of temperature differences Heat capacity ratio of heat absorbed or released by a system compared ot the corresponding temperature rise/fall Does land or gulf get hotter quicker? land, water mixies heat energy to a greater depth, so its heat capacity is greater Latent heat definition heat energy required for change of state what does "latent" mean? IS evaporation/condensation heating/warming process? evaporation is cooling, condensation is warming Will you feel cooler in AZ or TX when you get out of a pool and water evaporates off your body? AZ, bc theres less humidity/moisture so it will evaporation faster. Why does evaporation cool? because water molecules are heat molecules, so it's removing heat from your body How are evaporation and condensation linked? evaporation releases water into atmosphere, contributing to release of energy in atm (condensation) What latent heat process causes turb |
Juba is the capital of what autonomous African region that became an independent country on 9th July, 2011? | After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation - The New York Times The New York Times Africa |After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation Search Continue reading the main story Photo President Salva Kiir gathered with leaders from around the world to celebrate South Sudan’s independence. Credit Tyler Hicks/The New York Times JUBA, South Sudan — The celebrations erupted at midnight. Thousands of revelers poured into Juba’s steamy streets in the predawn hours on Saturday, hoisting enormous flags, singing, dancing and leaping on the back of cars. “Freedom!” they screamed. A new nation was being born in what used to be a forlorn, war-racked patch of Africa, and to many it seemed nothing short of miraculous. After more than five decades of an underdog, guerrilla struggle and two million lives lost, the Republic of South Sudan , Africa’s 54th state, was about to declare its independence in front of a who’s who of Africa, including the president of the country letting it go: Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan , a war-crimes suspect. Many of those who turned out to celebrate, overcome with emotion, spoke of their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters killed in the long struggle to break free from the Arab-dominated north. “My whole body feels happy,” said George Garang, an English teacher who lost his father, grandfather and 11 brothers in the war. Continue reading the main story By sunrise, the crowds were surging through the streets of Juba, the capital, to the government quarter, where the declaration of independence would be read aloud. Thousands of soldiers lined the freshly painted curbs, tiger patches on their arms, assault rifles in their hands. This new nation is being built on a guerrilla army — the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, whose field commanders are now South Sudan’s political leaders — and the amount of firepower here is unnerving. Advertisement Continue reading the main story By 9 a.m., the sun was dangerous. The faces, necks and arms of the people packed thousands deep around a parade stand built for the occasion were glazed with sweat. A woman abruptly slumped to the dirt and was whisked away. “She fainted because she’s happy,” said a man in the crowd. “There will be many others today.” In a column of black polished steel, one brand-new Mercedes after another, came the African leaders: Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president; Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s; Meles Zenawi, prime minister of Ethiopia; Teodoro Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s president and chairman of the African Union; Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s president; and Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, among others. Video The Republic of South Sudan After more than five decades of guerrilla struggle and two million lives lost, the Republic of South Sudan, Africa's 54th state, declared its independence. By Nichole Sobecki|Vijai Singh on Publish Date July 9, 2011. . Watch in Times Video » embed But, almost inexplicably, Mr. Bashir, who for years prosecuted a vicious war to keep the south from splitting off and to prevent this very day from happening, drew the loudest burst of applause when his motorcade rolled in. “It is not happiness,” explained Daniel Atem, dressed in a suit and tie for the occasion, a miniflag flying from his lapel. “If you are talking to your enemy, you cannot say, You are bad.” But, he added, “you know what is in your heart.” From the mid-1950s, even before Sudan shook off its colonial yoke in 1956, the southern Sudanese were chafing for more rights. Sudan had an unusually clear fault line, reinforced by British colonizers, with the southern third mostly animist and Christian and the northern part majority Muslim and long dominated by Arabs. The southern struggle blew up into a full-fledged rebellion in the 1960s and then again in the 1980s, and the Sudanese government responded brutally, bombing villages and unleashing Arab militias that massacred civilians and enslaved southern Sudanese children. Many of the same scorched-earth tactics associated with the crisis in Darfur, in Sudan’s west, in the mid-2000s, were tried and te |
The plateau 'Cappadocia' with its spectacular landscapes, caves, and fairy chimneys is a popular tourist attraction of which country? | Cappadocia travel guide - Wikitravel By plane[ edit ] The fastest and most comfortable way of reaching Cappadocia is using the airway. There are two main airports that you can use to reach Cappadocia. One of them is Kayseri Erkilet Airport (ASR) located in Kayseri and nearly one hour driving to the center of Cappadocia region. Turkish Airlines operates several direct (nonstop) flights from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) to Kayseri Erkilet Airport. There are also daily flights from Izmir into Kayseri via Istanbul. It's easy to arrange a transfer or shuttle bus from Kayseri Airport to Cappadocia. The second one is Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV), which is located in Gülşehir town of Nevşehir Province. Turkish Airlines operates direct (nonstop) flight from Istanbul Ataturk to Nevsehir Kapadokya twice a day. By train[ edit ] Kayseri is on a busy railway route. It is possible to find suitable trains to Kayseri from almost all the train stations of Turkey. From Kayseri, you can take bus to go to Göreme . Get around[ edit ] Due to the very low population density which leads to limited public transportation, and spread out nature of the sites (Cappadocia is a region, not an area), one may want to consider either renting a car or hiring a tour package. You can also have a look to Mappadocia - The Map of Cappadocia , which informs about main attractions and hiking paths. See[ edit ][ add listing ] Underground Underground cities. Up to 8 stories of underground tunnels and caves in Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu (cost 15 TL each), Gaziemir , Özkonak (free, but closed as of Oct 15, 2011 until further notice) or Mazıköy . edit Old greek houses in Sinasos Do[ edit ][ add listing ] Hiking - Following the paths along the valleys is an amazing (and free) option. Check with your hotel owner or the tourist office for a map of the area with suggested walks and trails. There are several nice loops on packed dirt, sand and rock, that maintain a constant elevation and pass through the scenic valleys. However, please be aware of your surroundings, as some less-traveled trails are frequented by packs of stray dogs who may exhibit aggression toward perceived threats. Güvercinlik (Pigeon) Valley - You can hike the Pigeon Valley between Göreme and Uçhisar . The 4km trail starts from the road near the Ataman Hotel on the south side of Göreme or on the paved road on the north side of the hill where Uçhisar Castle sits in Uçhisar . Both trailheads are signed. Stick to the more traveled trails and you will have no trouble finding your way on this moderately hilly hike. The path through the valley offers spectacular views of the natural cliffs and the man-made caves and passes through a few tunnels carved into the rock. You can hike Gulludere, the Rose Valleys. Follow the road out of Goreme towards the Open Air Museum and Ortahisar. Shortly after the Open Air Valley you will come to a look out point on the left. Here you can apparently find a marked rock, and from there you should apparently take the right hand trail. However if you cannot find the marked rock, just look over the edge and you should see paths marked with the word "Rose" and red arrows. Take the arrows to the right away from the paths heading to Goreme (because they point to the left and right) so that you can get good views of the valley and descend into Rose Valley II. In Rose Valley II, there are plenty caves you can explore. Notably is a 4 level one deep in the valley, on the right hand of the path if you walking away from Cavusin. As of November 2015, you may be able to ask the gentleman at the cafe at the entrance of Rose Valley II for help finding this cave, his English is all right. There are many different trails and caves to explore in this area. Afterwards, continue heading towards Cavusin. Eventually you will pass the entrance to Rose Valley I on your right. Eventually you will end up at Cavusin- the trail essentially takes you from the lookout at Ortahisar to Cavusin. If you are staying in Goreme, you can take a dolmush/mini bus back to Goreme by walking through Cavusin until yo |
In Jan 2011, Sri Lanka decided to discard all references to what British colonial name of the country from its state institutions? | Sri Lanka government | Article about Sri Lanka government by The Free Dictionary Sri Lanka government | Article about Sri Lanka government by The Free Dictionary http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Sri+Lanka+government Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia . Sri Lanka (srē läng`kə) [Sinhalese,=resplendent land], formerly Ceylon, ancient Taprobane, officially Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, island republic (2005 est. pop. 20,065,000), 25,332 sq mi (65,610 sq km), in the Indian Ocean, just SE of India. The capital is Sri Jayewardenapura Kotte Sri Jayewardenapura Kotte, city (1995 est. pop. 114,000), capital of Sri Lanka. A suburb of Colombo (the former capital) previously known as Kotte, the city was designated as the future capital of the country and renamed in 1977. ..... Click the link for more information. . Colombo Colombo , largest city (1995 est. pop. 750,000) and former capital of Sri Lanka, a port on the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Kelani River. The original Sinhalese name, Kalantotta ("Kelani ferry"), was corrupted to Kolambu by Arab traders and was changed to ..... Click the link for more information. , the former capital (and still the site of many government offices), is the commercial capital and largest city. Land and People The pear-shaped island is 140 mi (225 km) across at its widest point and 270 mi (435 km) long. The narrow northern end is almost linked to SE India by Adam's Bridge, a chain of limestone shoals that, although partly submerged, present an obstacle to navigation. About four fifths of the island is flat or gently rolling; mountains in the south central area include Adam's Peak (7,360 ft/2,243 m) and rise to Pidurutalagal (8,291 ft/2,527 m), the highest point on the island. Sri Lanka has a generally warm, subtropical climate; the average lowland temperature is 80°F; (27°C;), but humidity is high. Rainfall, largely carried by monsoons, is adequate for agriculture, except in the subhumid north. In addition to Sri Jayewardenapura Kotte and Colombo, other important cities are Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia, Kandy Kandy , city (1995 est. pop. 108,000), capital of Central prov., Sri Lanka, on the Kandy Plateau. Once the capital of the Sinhalese Kandyan kingdom, it is now a mountain resort and market center for an area producing tea, rubber, rice, and cacao. ..... Click the link for more information. , Galle Galle , city (1995 est. pop. 87,000), capital of Southern prov., extreme S Sri Lanka, on the Indian Ocean. An agricultural market center, it exports tea, rubber, coconut oil, cloves, and other products of the surrounding region. The city has a cement factory as well. ..... Click the link for more information. , and Jaffna. The population of Sri Lanka is composed mainly (more than 70%) of Sinhalese, who are Theravada Buddhists. Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils, and Sri Lankan Tamils are the largest minorities; there are also Burghers (descendants of Dutch and Portuguese colonists), and Eurasians (descended from British colonists). In addition to the Buddhist majority, there are Muslims, Hindus, and Christians (mainly Roman Catholics). The official language is Sinhalese (Sinhala); Tamil is a second national language, and English is commonly used in government. Economy The country's economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, which now contributes less than 20% to the gross domestic product and employs about a third of the work force. The emphasis is on export crops such as tea, rubber, and coconuts (all plantation-grown). Cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, nutmeg, citronella, tobacco, cocoa, and coffee are also exported. Rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, fruit, and vegetables are grown for local use and consumption. Petroleum refining is important, and amorphous graphite, precious and semiprecious gems, mineral sands, clay, and limestone are mined. Port construction, telecommunications, and offshore insurance and banking are also important industries. Remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad, mainly in the Middle East, contribute significant |
The novel as well as the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring based on painter Vermeer's work was set in which Dutch city also known for its pottery? | Amazon.ca:Customer Reviews: Girl With a Pearl Earring: A Novel (movie tie-in) Format: Paperback "Girl" doesn't exactly qualify as compelling fiction. It moves along at its own quiet pace, threatening stagnation at times. Chevalier's prosaic, spare style actually suits the subject matter quite well, however. It reflects Dutch society of the period, which was not about "flash," to put it mildly. The author does a superior job of depicting the straight-laced, mercantile society of late-Rennaissance Delft. She is also shrewd in her decision to focus on the barter system, the spring which provided movement to the social mechanism throughout Holland. Griet metes out small sexual favors to the butcher, Pieter, for instance, in exchange for information about her family, who have been quarantined due to an outbreak of the plague. Vermeer's mother-in-law, Maria Thins, acts as the artist's agent as well as the head of the household. She is interested primarily in the money a particular painting will bring in, rather the aesthetic result. There are some problem areas with the narrative. The chief being a matter of "willing suspension of disbelief." Griet, the narrator, at one point informs us that she can barely sign her name and that she is illiterate. At no point in the novel does she relate how she came by the ability to write her story down, and given the nature of her position later in life, it would beg credulity to see how she could have taught herself to read and write. This could easily be dismissed as artistic license, but Griet's own standards are so precise and exacting, that the flaw seems more glaring in context. One other minor negative is stylistic. Chevalier is at her best when she sticks to the straightforward prose that predominates here. Sometimes, however, she allows Griet a rhetorical flight into poetry land and the result borders on the risible, as when she mentions the smell?/sound? of a particular brick mortar. The editor just missed that one, apparently. On the whole, however, this novel is extremely well-written and Chevalier is particularly adept at delineating period and character. Format: Paperback I read another book, Girl in the Hyacinth Blue, recently and enjoyed it very much. It also concerned Vermeer, but from a much different standpoint. That book was more about his painting, this book was more about the man and his time period. I really enjoyed the story of Griet, the daughter of a blind man, who must feed her family because of he father's trade accident. (The kiln exploded at his work, and blinded him leaving him without a way to support the family of 5) Griet is thrown into a maid position for a Catholic family (her family is Protestant) in the city of Delft, Holland. The household is full of children and she must serve two mistresses, but she finds herself much more intrigued and drawn to the master of the house, Johannes Vermeer. The story tells of Griet's growing up, and her feelings for her master--she evantually sits for a painting that goes down in history as his most noted painting--a girl looking over her left shoulder, wearing a pearl earring. It is a beautiful historical fiction, I could not put it down. Chevalier is a wonderful writer, and I really look forward to her other books! Format: Paperback In The Girl With the Pearl Earring, the author uses a unique style to engage the reader. Tracy Chevalier's descriptive passages bring to life the small town of Delft in the 1600s. Griet, a new maid at the Vermeer's household paints a picture of the daily activities with an inside view into the life and times of the painter Vermeer. The relationships that Griet has to those around her show the character of a poor family trying to make ends meet, and the importance of ones station in life. Griet must choose between listening to her heart or to her duty as a daughter and a maid. Griet grew up in a small family where her father was a tile painter, until an accident in the factory took away his sight. Because of his inability to support his family, Griet must go and make money so her famil |
Which scale that is used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake (not Richter!) quantifies its effects on humans, objects of nature, and man-made structures on a scale of I through XII with XII denoting total destruction? | What is used to determine placement on the mercalli scale? - Qfak.com Qfak.com What is used to determine placement on the mercalli scale? What is used to determine placement on the mercalli scale? Answers Earthquakes are measured by their intensity and magnitude. An earthquake's intensity readings are based on observed effects, for example, ground shaking and damage. An earthquake's intensity differs in separate locations, depending on the distance of the location from the earthquake's epicenter. The ranking system used to measure seismic intensity is called the Mercalli Scale. Michele Stefano de Rossi and Fran?ois to Alphonse Forel formulated the Mercalli Scale in 1878. Harry O. Wood and Frank Neumann modified it in 1931. An earthquake's magnitude reading is based on the amount of seismic energy released at the hypocenter of the earthquake. It is based on the magnitude of the earthquake waves. The ranking system used to measure earthquake magnitudes is called the Richter scale. - - - - - - - - The Mercalli intensity scale is a scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. The scale quantifies the effects of an earthquake on the Earth's surface, humans, objects of nature, and man-made structures on a scale of I through XII, with I denoting not felt, and XII total destruction. The values will differ based on the distance to the earthquake, with the highest intensities being around the epicentral area. Data is gathered from individuals who have experienced the quake, and an intensity value will be given to their location. ========================= I hope this is helpful. #1 |
Located just 508 miles from the North Pole, Alert is said to be the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world. In which Canadian province/territory is it located? | 1000+ images about Nunavut, Canada on Pinterest | Snow goose, Beluga whale and Hunt's Forward Madeleine Qumuatuq says she’s trying to get by on a little over $300 a month of income support from the Nunavut government. “It’s really not enough to live on in a good way,” she says. “It’s a very stressful life.” Qumuatuq, of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, is one of 14,000 people in Nunavut who rely on income support for their daily needs. See More |
If the coastline paradox is ignored, which country in the world has the longest coastline? | Coastline Paradox - The Magiscian The Magiscian DIY maps, geoapps, discoveries … and magic in geography Search for: According to the CIA World FactBook , the ten countries with the longest coastline are the following (when we take into account Greenland and Antarctica of course): Canada 202 080 km United States 19 924 km Antarctica 17 968 km New Zealand 15 134 km China 14 500 km But, if we base our analysis on the data coming from the World Resources Institute, we get the following list: Canada 265 523 km United States 133 312 km Russia 110 310 km Brazil 33 379km Finland 31 119km This list IS VERY different from the other list. If I had taken a third source, I would have gotten a third different result… How come ? The two lists are different because the CIA World Factbook takes the countries in their different subparts: Greenland is detached from Denmark, all the overseas territories of France are measured apart from the mainland, etc. The World Resources Institute measures the coastlines of the countries INCLUDING overseas islands. This is one difference. But this is only a part of the story … The other part is the methodology used to measure coastlines. Methodology for measuring? That’s correct! Let’s take the beautiful country of Norway and let’s measure its coastline using ArcGIS Online : Norway Coastline Roughly drawn, the line indicates 3 049.1 km. The CIA World FactBook indicates 25 148 km. What ?! Ok, I was not so precise as I draw the line. Let’s make the exercise again but draw the line more precisely: Norway Coastline 2 Now we get 4 167.6 km … still far way from the 25 148 km. The methodology we use is visibly not the best one. The key here is the scale! We are drawing our line a scale which is far too small. What happens if we zoom in? Norway Coastline 3 There are a lot more details as you see! So my coastline should be drawn again by taking into account the new details that come up. Zooming in much more: Norway Coastline 4 Result? Much more details and an enormous more work for us if we want to measure the coastline! Zoom in one more time! Norway Coastline 5 So, for measuring the most precisely a coastline, do I have to take into account all the little islands, the cracks, the fjords, etc. ? THAT’S CORRECT! For my two tries to determine the length of the coastline, the first, less precise, indicated 3 049.1 km while “the little more precise” was 4 167.6 km. I would have had an even bigger number as long as I zoom on (but I have not my entire day ahead of me for digitizing the coastlines at each zoom level). What if I had measured the coastline by zooming even more in until I come to the level of atoms ? The coastline of Norway would then be infinite! This is called the coastline paradox and here we get it! Coastline Paradox By changing the zoom level, I make appear more details on the map. That’s one points. The second point, I change my degree of precision. At my first try of digitizing the coastline, I used straight lines which were about ~100km long. At my second try (more precise), straight lines were about ~50km at smallest. The more I zoom in, the more precise I can be. Precision here is the length of the straight lines I used to measure the coastline. The coastline paradox is in fact a fractal problem in which the total length becomes more and more larger as much details becomes clear as we zoom in. Here a quick example of a fractal (the Koch Snowflake): Koch Snowflake Benoit B. Mandelbrot worked on this paradox and released in 1967 a paper called “ How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension “. Coastline of Britain As you can see on the picture, if the unit of measure becomes smaller, so larger become the total coastline! Just a little precision: The “B” in the name “Benoit B. Mandelbrot”, stands for “Benoit B. Mandelbrot”, which “B” stands for “Benoit B. Mandelbrot”, which “B” stands for “Benoit B. Mandelbrot”, … funny isn’t it 🙂 Conclusion The answer to the question “How long are coastlines?” is: undefined! (if you write this answer down in your geograph |
Which magnificent Tibetan landmark escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution of China in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai? | Potala Palace | OpenBuildings Potala Palace Our community will embrace you. References Wikipedia , licensed under the GFDL Suggestions Built / United Kingdom, London Tate Modern Extension Built / United States of America, Water Mill Parrish Art Museum View original size Report The Potala Palace (Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ; Wylie: Po ta la; simplified Chinese: 布达拉宫; traditional Chinese: 布達拉宮) is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress, called the White or Red Palace, on the site built by Songtsen Gampo in 637. Today, the Potala Palace is a museum. The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. Thirteen stories of buildings – containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues – soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor. Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet." Chokpori, just to the south of the Potala, is the soul-mountain (bla-ri) of Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjushri, and Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands, represents Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara. History The site on which the Potala Palace rises is built over a palace erected by Songtsän Gampo on the Red Hill. The Potala contains two chapels on its the northwest corner that conserve parts of the original building. One is the Phakpa Lhakhang, the other the Chogyel Drupuk, a recessed cavern identified as Songtsän Gampo's meditation cave.Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the modern Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The external structure was built in 3 years, while the interior, together with its furnishings took 45 years to complete. The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649. Construction lasted until 1694, some twelve years after his death. The Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694. The new palace got its name from a hill on Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India—a rocky point sacred to the bodhisattva of compassion, who is known as Avalokitesvara, or Chenrezi. The Tibetans themselves rarely speak of the sacred place as the "Potala," but rather as "Peak Potala" (Tse Potala), or usually as "the Peak. The palace was slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, when Chinese shells were launched into the palace's windows. It also escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai, who was then the Premier of the People's Republic of China. Still, almost all of the over 100,000 volumes of scriptures, historical documents and other works of art were either removed, damaged or destroyed. The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. In 2000 and 2001, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka were added to the list as extensions to the sites. Rapid modernisation has been a concern for UNESCO, however, which expressed concern over the building of modern structures imme |
The Merlion, an imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is used as the mascot of which tiny Asian island nation? | 1000+ images about merlion on Pinterest | Parks, Sculpting and Singapore Forward Singapore Merlion Just do it B! : 新加坡鱼尾狮 Oringinal printable Native file size capture by 5D Mark2 : 5616 x 3744 Location : Singapore Fullerton Park, .. Camera use : Canon EOS 5D Marj2 Lens use : Canon EF 24-105 F4 L lens Exposure 4 Aperture f/11 Wanting to enjoy Singapore as well, but money is a problem? Click the pin and Learn how to overcome that with EASE! See More |
According to UNESCO, which Ethiopian city is considered 'the fourth holy city' of Islam with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines? | Ethiopia: Harar, main street and food, Market in 2012 - YouTube Ethiopia: Harar, main street and food, Market in 2012 Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May 14, 2012 Playlist Ethiopia http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=... Harar, formerly written Harrar[1][2] and known to its inhabitants as Gey, is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia, formerly the capital of Harergey and now the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division (or kilil) of Ethiopia. The city is located on a hilltop in the eastern extension of the Ethiopian Highlands, about five hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa at an elevation of 1,885 meters. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Harar has an estimated total population of 122,000, of whom 60,000 were males and 62,000 were females.[3] According to the census of 1994, on which this estimate is based, the city has a population of 76,378. For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial centre, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world. Harar Jugol, the old walled city, was included in the World Heritage List in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage.[4] It is sometimes known in Arabic as "the City of Saints" ("Madinat al-Awilya"). According to UNESCO, it is "considered 'the fourth holy city' of Islam" with 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century and 102 shrines.[5][6] The Fath Madinat Harar records that the cleric Abadir Umar Ar-Rida and several other religious leaders settled in Harar circa 612H (1216 AD).[7] Harar was later made the new capital of the Adal Sultanate in 1520 by the Sultan Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad.[8] The city saw a political decline during the ensuing Sultanate of Harar, only regaining some significance in the Khedivate of Egypt period. During Abyssinian rule, the city decayed while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the Harari ethno-political division. (Wikipedia) Category |
Which land-locked country has the most official languages in the world at 34 including Spanish, Aymara and Quechua? | The Spanish Language | language, castilian, Spain | INMSOL The Spanish Language 6 April, 2011 Spanish or Castilian (español or castellano in Spanish) is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia during the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the later Medieval period. Modern Spanish developed with the readjustment of consonants (reajuste de las sibilantes) that began in 15th century. The language continues to adopt foreign words from a variety of other languages, as well as developing new words. Spanish was taken most notably to the Americas as well as to Africa and Asia Pacific with the expansion of the Spanish Empire between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, where it became the most important language for government and trade. In 1999, there were according to Ethnologue 358 million people speaking Spanish as a native language and a total of 417 million speakers worldwide. Currently these figures are up to 400 and 500 million people respectively. Spanish is the second most natively spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese. Mexico contains the largest population of Spanish speakers. Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and used as an official language of the European Union, and Mercosur. Spanish is the second most studied language in the world, after English. Castilian evolved from Vulgar Latin (common Latin) that had been introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Romans during the Second Punic War around 210 BC, with influences from native languages such as Celtiberian, Basque and other paleohispanic languages, and later external influences, most notably Arabic of the Andalusian period. Local versions of Vulgar Latin are thought to have evolved into Castilian in the central-north of the Iberia during the 9th and 10th centuries, in an area defined by the remote crossroad strips of Alava, Cantabria, Burgos, Soria and La Rioja, within the Kingdom of Castile (see Glosas Emilianenses). In this formative stage, Castilian developed a strongly differing variant from its near cousin, Leonese, with a strong degree of Basque influence, (see Iberian Romance languages). This distinctive dialect progressively spread south with the advance of the Reconquista. Antonio de Nebrija author of the Gramática , the first Grammar of modern European languages. In the fifteenth century, Castilian underwent a dramatic change with the Readjustment of the Consonants (Reajuste de las sibilantes). Typical features of Spanish diachronic phonology include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida), palatalisation (Latin annum, Spanish año, and Latin anellum, Spanish anillo) and diphthongisation (stem-changing) of stressed short e and o from Vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo). Similar phenomena can be found in other Romance languages as well. The first Spanish grammar(Gramática de la lengua castellana) — and, incidentally, the first grammar of any modern European language — was written in Salamanca, Spain, in 1492, by Elio Antonio de Nebrija. When he presented it to Queen Isabella, according to anecdote, she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to the grammar, dated August 18, 1492, Nebrija wrote that “… language was always the companion of empire.” From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Americas and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s influence on the Spanish language from the 17th century has been so great that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes (“the language of Cervantes”). In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara, and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City. For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, s |
The US think tank Fund For Peace comes out with a Failed States Index every year. Which country topped the list for a fourth consecutive year in 2011? | Peace and Conflict Studies by NOVA SHSS - issuu issuu Spring 2010 SSN 1082-7307 Volume 17, Number 1 Peace and Conflict Studies Special Issue: Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, and Transformation: Voices from the Canada–EU Conflict Resolution Student Exchange Consortium Edited by Jessica Senehi, Stephen Ryan, and Sean Byrne Introduction: Peacebuilding, Reconciliation, and Transformation Jessica Senehi, Stephen Ryan, and Sean Byrne “The Problem from Hell”: Examining the Role of Peace and Conflict Studies for Genocide Intervention and Prevention Paul Cormier, Peter Karari, Alka Kumar, Robin Neustaeter, Jodi Read, and Jessica Senehi Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland: The Past, Present and Future Stephen Ryan Localizing Peace: An Agenda for Sustainable Peacebuilding Nathan C. Funk and Abdul Aziz Said Rethinking Reconciliation: The Lessons from the Balkans and South Africa Mitja Žagar The Role of the European Union as a Peace Builder: Northern Ireland as a Case Study Paul Arthur The Perception of Economic Assistance in the Northern Ireland Peace Process: The Impact of IFI and EU Peace I on Equity and Awareness Sean Byrne, Cynthia Irvin, Eyob Fissuh, and Peter Karari A Hermeneutics of Blessing as a Meta-Requisite for Reconciliation: John E. Toews’ Romans Paradigm as a Case Study Vern Neufeld Redekop EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief: Honggang Yang Editorial Team: Elena Bastidas, Dustin Berna, Jason Campbell, Mark Davidheiser, Alexia Georgakopoulos, Neil Katz, John Linstroth, Michele Rice, Hamdesa Tuso Senior Consulting Editor: Howon Jeong Advisory Editor: Sean Byrne Associate Editors: Alice Ackermann, Christopher Burnett, Joseph Folger, Loraleigh Keashly, Jim Hibel, Katy Hayward Technology Editor: May Peralta Assistant Editors: Julia Bilia, Natasha Rider, Richard Toumey Copy Editor: Stuart Ross EDITORIAL BOARD Sami Adwan, Bethlehem University, Palestine Chadwick Alger, Ohio State University, USA Scott Appleby, University of Notre Dame,USA Paul Arthur, University of Ulster-Coleraine, UK Jacob Bercovitch, University of Canterbury, New Zealand Celia Cook-Huffman, Juniata College, USA John Darby, University of Notre Dame, USA Morton Deutsch, Columbia University, USA Franklin Dukes, University of Virginia, USA Matthias Finger, Graduate Institute of Public Admin., Switzerland Ronald Fisher, American University, USA Linda Forcey, State University of New York, Binghamton, USA Johan Galtung, TRANSCEND, Norway Vasu Gounden, University of Durban, South Africa Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University of Belfast, UK Tamar Hermann, Tel Aviv University, Israel Herbert Kelman, Harvard University, USA Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, University of Sheffield, UK Louis Kriesberg, Syracuse University, USA John Paul Lederach, University of Notre Dame, USA Richard Little, University of Bristol, UK Neil MacFarlane, Oxford University, UK George McCall, University of Missouri-St. Louis, USA John McGarry, Queen’s University, Canada Dominic Murray, University of Limerick, Ireland Michael Nagler, University of California, Berkeley, USA Joseph Nevo, University of Haifa, Israel Hanna Newcombe, Peace Research Institute, Dundas, Canada Brendan O’Leary, University of Pennsylvania, USA Frederic Pearson, Wayne State University, USA Brian Polkinghorn, Salisbury State University, USA Dean Pruitt, State University of New York, Buffalo, USA Luc Reychler, University of Leuven, Belgium Janet Rifkin, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA Paul Rogers, University of Bradford, UK Florence Ross, NGO on Aging, United Nations, USA Marc Howard Ross, Bryn Mawr College, USA Robert Rubinstein, Syracuse University, USA Dennis Sandole, George Mason University, USA Jessica Senehi, University of Manitoba, Canada Martin Shaw, University of Sussex, UK Timothy Shaw, Dalhousie University, Canada Janice Stein, University of Toronto, Canada Lawrence Susskind, MIT, USA Ramesh Thakur, United Nations University, Japan Vibeke Vindeløv, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Raimo Vayrynen, University of Notre Dame, USA Kathleen Maas Weigert, Georgetown University, USA Tom Woodhouse, University of Bradford, UK Mitja |
Which tiny European nation claims itself to be the oldest recorded sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world? | Which country can claim to be the World's oldest democracy? | Notes and Queries | guardian.co.uk Which country can claim to be the World's oldest democracy? Russell Campbell, Dunedin, New Zealand Lots of them can. And do. Greece has a pretty good claim having invented the concept in the first place. However, long spells as an Ottoman colony or under military junta might put it out of the running if you're looking for longest continuously democratic country. Britain has a decent claim but it depends what you mean by democracy. As Rowan Atkinson put it in Blackadder: "take Manchester for instance. Population: 60,000. Electoral roll: 3". America frequently claims to be but this is because they define democracy so narrowly and in their own image such that on their criteria they're the worlds only democracy and on any other criteria they still aren't and never have been. Seth, Edinburgh, Scotland Perhaps Iceland can - their parliament, the Althing, is the oldest one still in use. It was formed in 930 by Vikings. Johan van Slooten, Urk, Netherlands The Native American people of the Six Nations, also known by the French term Iroquois and who know themselves as the Hau De-no Sau-nee (People of the Long Houses) claim to be the oldest living participatory democracy. Their homeland, country, nation or however you'd like to classify it as, was in the region now known as New York State, between the Adirondack Mountains and Niagara Falls. The other tribes included in the Six Nations also included the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, joined in the 18th Century by the Tuscaroras, who did not have a vote. Archeological evidence indicates the Iroquois had lived on their lands for a very long time, with the earliest longhouses dated to at least 1100 A.D. Although there is no precise date for the establishment of the league, The Six Nations claim to have enjoyed a system of consensus government for over 800 years, well established long before the arrival of the Europeans. Founded to maintain peace and resolve disputes between its members, the Six Nations primary law was the Kainerekowa, the 'Great Law of Peace' which stated, simply, that Iroquois should not kill each other. They had a written constitution, laws dealing with ownership and trade routes and a funeral rite that allowed shared mourning at the passing of leaders from other tribes. From 1660, the nations combined to form a united front in negotiations with the European settlers. With the focus on maintaining peace with their neighbours, the Iroquois tribes were free to develop their predominantly agragian society. Their leaders were chosen, by their women, for their knowledge of the earth and their skills at providing for their villages. John Maguire, Dublin, Ireland A great many can claim it. It rather depends what you mean by democracy. The Isle of Man has the oldest Parliament, but it has not always been elected by universal suffrage. Did the UK have to await the extension of the franchise to 18 year olds? Or was it 1929, when women got the vote on the same terms as men - at least for Parliament, only householders voted in local authority elections at the time? Switzerland has an ancient confederation, but governments never get voted out of power, due to the permanent coaltion. The same four parties have been in power since 1959, two of them for over a century. Switzerland, like California, makes great use of direct democracy, at both confederal and cantonal level. But in some cantons women didn't get the vote until the 1970s. Australia and New Zealand were both early to give women the vote, but neither elects their Head of State. Quentin Langley, Woking UK If we mean by that, 'Which country has ensured that all adult citizens regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity, may choose reprentatives to exercise the powers of government longest?', then the answer is New Zealand. Universal adult suffrage was first established there in 1893. Fragano Ledgister, Atlanta, USA Seth, I'm surprised at you. Britain does not have a claim to being the world's oldest democracy, as i |
If water bodies were left out and only land area were considered, what is the second largest country in the world after Russia? | The Water Cycle summary, USGS Water Science School Water storage in oceans: Saline water existing in oceans and inland seas The ocean as a storehouse of water The water cycle sounds like it is describing how water moves above, on, and through the Earth ... and it does. But, in fact, much more water is "in storage" for long periods of time than is actually moving through the cycle. The storehouses for the vast majority of all water on Earth are the oceans. It is estimated that of the 332,600,000 cubic miles (mi3) (1,386,000,000 cubic kilometers (km3)) of the world's water supply, about 321,000,000 mi3 (1,338,000,000 km3) is stored in oceans. That is about 96.5 percent. It is also estimated that the oceans supply about 90 percent of the evaporated water that goes into the water cycle. During colder climatic periods more ice caps and glaciers form, and enough of the global water supply accumulates as ice to lessen the amounts in other parts of the water cycle. The reverse is true during warm periods. During the last ice age glaciers covered almost one-third of Earth's land mass, with the result being that the oceans were about 400 feet (122 meters) lower than today. During the last global "warm spell," about 125,000 years ago, the seas were about 18 feet (5.5. meters) higher than they are now. About three million years ago the oceans could have been up to 165 feet (50 meters) higher. Oceans in movement If you have ever been seasick (we hope not), then you know how the ocean is never still. You might think that the water in the oceans moves around because of waves, which are driven by winds. But, actually, there are currents and "rivers" in the oceans that move massive amounts of water around the world. These movements have a great deal of influence on the water cycle. The Kuroshio Current, off the shores of Japan, is the largest current. It can travel between 25 and 75 miles (40 and 121 kilometers) a day, 1-3 miles (1.4-4.8 kilometers) per hour, and extends some 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) deep. The Gulf Stream is a well known stream of warm water in the Atlantic Ocean, moving water from the Gulf of Mexico across the Atlantic Ocean towards Great Britain. At a speed of 60 miles (97 kilometers) per day, the Gulf stream moves 100 times as much water as all the rivers on Earth. Coming from warm climates, the Gulf Stream moves warmer water to the North Atlantic. More about water storage in the oceans. Evaporation: The process by which water is changed from liquid to a gas or vapor Evaporation and why it occurs Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor. Studies have shown that the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in our atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10 percent being contributed by plant transpiration . Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation to occur. Energy is used to break the bonds that hold water molecules together, which is why water easily evaporates at the boiling point (212° F, 100° C) but evaporates much more slowly at the freezing point. Net evaporation occurs when the rate of evaporation exceeds the rate of condensation. A state of saturation exists when these two process rates are equal, at which point, the relative humidity of the air is 100 percent. Condensation, the opposite of evaporation, occurs when saturated air is cooled below the dew point (the temperature to which air must be cooled at a constant pressure for it to become fully saturated with water), such as on the outside of a glass of ice water. In fact, the process of evaporation removes heat from the environment, which is why water evaporating from your skin cools you. Evaporation drives the water cycle Evaporation from the oceans is the primary mechanism supporting the surface-to-atmosphere portion of the water cycle. After all, the large surface area of the oceans (over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by the oceans |
'Pha That Lung', a large gold-covered Buddhist stupa is regarded as the most important monument and national symbol in which landlocked Asian country? | Laos - Unionpedia, the concept map Yes, please No, thanks Laos Laos ((or) ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) (République démocratique populaire lao), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. [1] Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN), also known as the South Vietnamese Army (SVA), were the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the armed forces of South Vietnam, which existed from 1955 until the Fall of Saigon in 1975. Communism In political and social sciences, communism (from Latin communis – common, universal) is a social, political, and economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of the communist society, which is a socioeconomic order structured upon the common ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money, and the state. Comprehensive Plan of Action The Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) is a program, adopted in June, 1989 at a conference in Geneva held by The Steering Committee of the International Conference on Indo-Chinese Refugees, which was designed to deter and to stop the continuing influx of Indochinese boat people and to cope with an increasing reluctance by third countries to maintain resettlement opportunities for every Vietnamese or Laotian exile, with the threat of countries of first asylum in Southeast Asia to push-backs the asylum seekers. Conservatism in the United States Historically, the central themes in American conservatism have included respect for American traditions, support of republicanism and the rule of law, Judeo-Christian values, anti-Communism, advocacy of American exceptionalism and a defense of Western civilization from perceived threats posed by moral relativism, multiculturalism, and postmodern ridicule of traditional culture. Don Det – Don Khon narrow gauge railway The Don Det – Don Khon (sometimes spelt Don Deth – Don Khone) railway was a seven kilometre (4.34 mile) long, narrow gauge portage railway located on Don Det – Don Khon islands, part of the Siphandon (sometimes spelt Si Phan Don) or Four Thousand Islands archipelago in Champasak Province, southern Laos. Free France Free France and its Free French Forces (French: France Libre and Forces françaises libres) were the government-in-exile led by Charles de Gaulle during the Second World War and its military forces that continued to fight against the Axis powers as an Ally after the fall of France. Freedom of religion Freedom of religion or freedom of belief is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion. French Indochina French Indo-China (now commonly known as French Indochina) (Indochine française; សហភាពឥណ្ឌូចិន.; Đông Dương thuộc Pháp,, frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp; Lao: ຝຣັ່ງແຫຼັມອິນດູຈີນ), officially known as the Indo-Chinese Union (Union indochinoise) after 1887 and the Indo-Chinese Federation (Fédération indochinoise) after 1947, was a grouping of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia. Geneva Conference (1954) The Geneva Conference (April 26 – July 20, 1954) was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to settle outstanding issues on the Korean peninsula and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina. Glutinous rice Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose content, and is especially sticky when cooked. Hmong language Hmong (RPA: Hmoob) or Mong (RPA: Moob), known as First Vernacular Chuanqiand |
Located in Micronesia and covering just 21 square kilometres, what is the world's smallest island nation? | Nauru: The World’s Smallest Island-Nation | A Traveler's Tale photography and travel interests, places, and things Nauru: The World’s Smallest Island-Nation In the middle of the Pacific Nauru seat of government at Yaren District A phosphate rock island: The beaches are strewn with ‘pinnacles’. Menen Hotel, where I stayed, can be seen at the background. Arriving for the first time in Nauru in 2007 (from Brisbane with a brief stopover at Honiara , the Solomon Islands ); I briefly feared that the plane would actually end up floating in the Pacific waters. The airstrip is precariously tucked along the island’s south-eastern edge, its tip almost dangling over the water. Having landed safely, the plane follows the tarmac along the cluster of government buildings at Yaren district then crosses a major street creating a funny traffic scene – commuters stopping to let a 737 jet cross the street – before we were allowed to disembark at the terminal. Formerly known as Pleasant Island , Nauru is the world’s smallest island nation , with an estimated 9,300 population in 2010 and covering just 21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi). Originally settled by Micronesian and Polynesian people , the island was declared an independent state in 1968 after a long history of occupations/administrations by the Germans, British, Japanese and Australians. Anibare Harbor: An enclosure for small boats, also good for swimming and some morning exercises. Buada Lagoon: The biggest body of fresh water in the middle of the island Imagine a phosphate rock protruding on the Pacific’s surface — that’s what Nauru is — a phosphate rock island. The deposits are close to the surface thus allowing simple strip mining operations to extract phosphate — the country’s main product. Because of the huge deposits and its small population; Nauru briefly boasted the highest per-capita income enjoyed by any sovereign state in the world in early 1970s. Phosphate Mines: Located in the middle of the island, the phosphate mines are basically the only source of state revenues Too Deep: The waters around Nauru are too deep that ships’ anchors cannot reach the bottom. Bouys such as this serve as the ships’ mooring. Cantilevers: The monolithic steel structure loads phosphate to cargo ships A Monolith: The cantilever dominates the Naurun seascape I had to stay in the island for a month during my first visit and, knowing that I was living in the context of a whole country, I was always amazed that almost every destination is just close by. I stayed at a place called Menen Hotel where, being just a few meters away from the Pacific ocean, huge waves pounding the shores at night can be unnerving. A well-paved road stretches along the whole coastline and a public bus traverses the route several times a day. We used to drive around but the more adventurous can also rent a mountain bike from the hotel and cycle to any desired destination in the island. I once joined a 7-kilometer fun run joined by school kids and, although I shamelessly walked half of the distance just taking pictures, I felt proud having walked almost halfway around a country. Waiting: A cargo ship stands by for the cantilever to pour phosphate into its bowels An early jog to Anibare harbour, just west of the Menen Hotel was what kept me busy before breakfast. The harbour has a small enclosure that protects smaller boats, mostly used for fishing tours, from the often inclement conditions of the pacific waters. The surfaces of the seawalls provide a good platform for stretching and other exercises but it is also used by local fishermen to do line fishing. On a good day, the friendly fishermen would generously offer part of their catch for a good chat. One of my favourite restaurants happened to be in the area and its enterprising Chinese operators were always happy to cook the fresh fish for me. In the Neighborhood: A short drive across the country will bring you to Capelle, the biggest grocery store in the island with products mostly coming from Australia and other countries. Just a short drive towards the center of the |
Distributed across the three islands of Tutuila, Ofu-Olosega, and Ta‘ū, what is the only American national park located south of the equator? | Travel To Samoa - South Pacific Island Travel South Pacific Island Travel FIND HOTELS IN AMERICAN SAMOA & THE REPUBLIC OF SAMOA Republic of Samoa The Samoan Islands are a group of volcanic islands located in Polynesia, almost midway between Hawaii and New Zealand. The group consists of eight small islets and the two main islands of Savai'i and Upolu both of which make up the Republic of Samoa and the Manu'a Islands, Rose Atoll, Swains Island and the main island of Tutuila which make up the United States territory of American Samoa. The Samoan Island's nearest neighbour is the New Zealand island territory of Tokelau 500 kilometers to their north. The islands rely heavily on tourism and there are several hotels and resorts for visitors, along with several clubs, bars, shops, markets and restaurants. Tourists can take advantage of several activities including scuba diving, snorkeling, walking and cycling tours, surfing, game fishing, golf and various boat trips. Travel between the Republic of Samoa and American Samoa is expensive but reliable and hassle free, with no political or cultural problems existing between the two island groups. The islands of Samoa are characterised by their high mountains, active volcanoes and vast areas of tropical rain forests. Samoan beaches are made up of coral shells so are not the best areas for sun bathing but the seas around them are famed for their scuba diving, snorkeling and surfing. The predominant religion of the Samoan Islands is Christian. The currency of American Samoa is the U.S Dollar. The currency of the Republic of Samoa is the Samoan Tala. Despite being neighbouring islands the two groups are situated on either side of the international dateline with the Republic of Samoa located on time zone UTC +13 and American Samoa located on time zone UTC - 11. Therefore the islands have exactly the same time but the Republic of Samoa is one day, or twenty four hours, ahead of American Samoa. AMERICAN SAMOA REPUBLIC OF SAMOA LOCAL TRAVEL The Samoan Islands are served by two domestic airports, two international airports, four sea ports and a good local bus service. Fagali'i Airport, located on Upolu Island, is served by flights from neighbouring Pago Pago on American Samoa. Maota Airport, located on Savai'i Island, is served by flights from Apia on Upolu island, Pago Pago in American Samoa and Asau Airport in the north of the island. Faleolo International Airport, located on Upolu Island, is served by international flights from Auckland in New Zealand, Brisbane and Sydney in Australia, Nadi in Fiji, Honalulu in Hawaii, Pago Pago in American Samoa and Maoto Airport on Savai'i Island. Tafuna International Airport, located near Pago Pago on Tutuila Island in American Samoa is served by flights from Honalulu in Hawaii, Apia in Samoa, Faleolo in Samoa and the island of Tau in American Samoa. The four main cargo / ferry ports in Samoa are located at; Apia Harbour on Upolu Island where there are regular ferry services to Pago Pago in American Samoa and Tokelau, Salelologa Port on Savai'i Island with regular ferry services to Apia on Upolu Island, Mulifanua Port on Upolu Island with regular services to Savai'i Island and a deep water port at Fatatogo Docks at Pago Pago in American Samoa. Ferry journeys between Upolu Island and Savai'i Island take around one hour and ferry times between Upolu Island and Tutuila Island in American Samoa take around seven hours. The Republic of Samoa's colourful local bus services are regular and cheap and highly recommended. There are no train services in the republic. Car hire is plentiful within the Samoan Islands, although there is little in the way of scooter, motorbike or bicycle hire, although there are organised bicycle tours. Many rural roads travel across open streams, so caution must be taken when doing this, particularly during the rainy season. Traffic violations are not enforced as well as they should be in the Republic of Samoa with traffic congestion becoming a big problem particularly in urban are |
Which French city is home to the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries? | Avignon | Turtledove | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit The Great Black Deaths claimed most of the population of Europe while the Pope was based in Avignon. During this time period, a local peasant named Henri declared himself the Second Son of God and was executed for it. It was also here that the King of France and the Pope, the orchestrators of his death, were killed in an accidental building collapse on the day after Henri was put to death, which many saw as a significant omen. |
Bordered on three sides by Senegal and with a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west, what is the smallest country on mainland Africa? | Gambia Festival | Gambia roots Festival | Gambia Tour | Gambia travel | Banjul City Tour Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa. Flanked on three sides by Senegal, its coast is bordered in the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Although neighbored by French speaking countries, Gambia has been influenced by the British and is a member of the Commonwealth. Gambia has become a popular destination with travelers, especially European vacationers. Banjul is the vibrant capital city which features an exciting night life and bustling marketplaces. Serekunda is the center of commerce and the largest city, making it one the major sites to stop when touring Gambia. Villages found on the coastal region, including Bakau, Fajara, Kotu and Kololi are major sites for tourists who are delighted to have a holiday on a beautiful golden beach. Juffureh is a small village on the banks of the River Gambia with a rich history. It is believed to be the ancestral home of Alex Haley, the African American author of "Roots." In this famous book which later became a television mini-series, Haley described the capture of his ancestor, Kunta Kinte, who was taken from his home in Juffureh to be enslaved in America. Along with history and beautiful beaches, visitors can enjoy an eco friendly tour in Gambia. |
The largest impact over land in Earth's recent history, how is the explosion that occurred in 1908 near the namesake river in Siberia commonly known? | Comets and their Origins - Secrets of the Comet: Are Comets the Building-stones of Life? - Paranormal Zone X Comets and their Origins - Secrets of the Comet: Are Comets the Building-stones of Life? Comets and their Origins - Secrets of the Comet: Are Comets the Building-stones of Life? Comets and their Origins Secrets of the Comet: Are Comets the Building-stones of Life? Comets and their Origins Secrets of the Comet: Are Comets the Building-stones of Life? A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, temporary atmosphere) and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei are themselves loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, ranging from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across. Comets have been observed since ancient times and have historically been considered bad omens.Comets have a wide range of orbital periods, ranging from a few years to hundreds of thousands of years. Short-period comets originate in the Kuiper Belt, or its associated scattered disc, which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune. Longer-period comets are thought to originate in the Oort Cloud, a spherical cloud of icy bodies in the outer Solar System. Long-period comets plunge towards the Sun from the Oort Cloud because of gravitational perturbations caused by either the massive outer planets of the Solar System (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), or passing stars. Rare hyperbolic comets pass once through the inner Solar System before being thrown out into interstellar space along hyperbolic trajectories. Comets are distinguished from asteroids by the presence of a coma or a tail. However, extinct comets that have passed close to the Sun many times have lost nearly all of their volatile ices and dust and may come to resemble small asteroids. Asteroids are thought to have a different origin from comets, having formed inside the orbit of Jupiter rather than in the outer Solar System. These have somewhat blurred the distinction between asteroids and comets (see centaurs and asteroid terminology). As of May 2010 there are a reported 3,976 known comets of which about 1,500 are Kreutz Sungrazers and about 484 are short-period. This number is steadily increasing. However, this represents only a tiny fraction of the total potential comet population: the reservoir of comet-like bodies in the outer solar system may number one trillion. The number visible to the naked eye averages roughly one per year, though many of these are faint and unspectacular. Particularly bright or notable examples are called "Great Comets". Comet nuclei are known to range from about 100 meters to more than 40 kilometres across. They are composed of rock, dust, water ice, and frozen gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia. Because of their low mass, comet nuclei do not become spherical under their own gravity, and thus have irregular shapes. Officially, according to NASA guidelines, a comet has to be at least 85% ice in order to be considered an actual comet. They are often popularly described as "dirty snowballs", though recent observations have revealed dry dusty or rocky surfaces, suggesting that the ices are hidden beneath the crust. Comets also contain a variety of organic compounds; in addition to the gases already mentioned, these may include methanol, hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde, ethanol and ethane, and perhaps more complex molecules such as long-chain hydrocarbons and amino acids. In 2009, it was confirmed that the amino acid glycine had been found in the comet dust recovered by NASA's Stardust mission. Surprisingly, cometary nuclei are among the least reflective objects found in our solar system. The Giotto space probe found that the nucleus of Halley's Comet reflects about four percent of the light that falls on it, and Deep Space 1 discovered that Comet Borrelly's surface reflects just 2.4% to 3.0% of |
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