title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

paragraphs: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT; known as the Teenage Mutant "Hero" Turtles, TMHT when they were introduced in the UK) are a fictional group of four mutant turtles who were taught how to be ninjas by a mutant rat named Splinter. The TMNT were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and made their comic book debut in 1984. In October 2009, Nickelodeon purchased the intellectual property rights from The Bage Studios.

paragraphs: The "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" first appeared in an American comic book published by Mirage Studios in 1984 in Dover, New Hampshire. The concept arose from a humorous drawing sketched out by Kevin Eastman during a casual evening of brainstorming with friend Peter Laird. Using money from a tax refund, together with a loan from Eastman’s uncle, the young artists self-published a single-issue comic intended to parody four of the most popular comics of the early 1980s: Marvel Comics’ "Daredevil" and "New Mutants", Dave Sim’s "Cerebus", and Frank Miller’s "Ronin". The "TMNT" comic series has been published in various incarnations by various comic book companies since 1984.

paragraphs: The Turtles started their rise to mainstream success when a licensing agent, Mark Freedman, sought out Eastman and Laird to propose wider merchandising opportunities for the franchise. In 1986, Dark Horse Miniatures produced a set of 15 mm lead figurines. In January 1987, Eastman and Laird visited the offices of Playmates Toys Inc, a small California toy company that wanted to expand into the action figure market. Development was undertaken by a creative team of companies and individuals: Jerry Sachs, ad man of Sachs-Finley Agency, brought together the animators at Murakami-Wolf-Swenson headed by Fred Wolf. Wolf and his team combined concepts and ideas with the Playmates marketing crew, headed by Karl Aaronian, VP of sales Richard Sallis and President of Playmates Bill Carlson.

paragraphs: Aaronian brought on several designers, and concepteur and writer John C. Schulte and worked out the simple backstory that would live on toy packaging for the entire run of the product and show. Sachs called the high-concept pitch "Green Against Brick". The sense of humor was honed with the collaboration of the MWS animation firm's writers. Playmates and their team essentially served as associate producers and contributing writers to the miniseries that was first launched to sell-in the toy action figures. Phrases like "Heroes in a Half Shell" and many of the comical catch phrases and battle slogans ("Turtle Power!") came from the writing and conceptualization of this creative team. As the series developed, veteran writer Jack Mendelsohn came on board as both a story editor and scriptwriter. David Wise, Michael Charles Hill, and Michael Reaves wrote most of the scripts.

paragraphs: The miniseries was repeated three times before it found an audience. Once the product started selling, the show got syndicated and picked up and backed by Group W, which funded the next round of animation. The show then went network, on CBS. Accompanied by the popular "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" 1987 TV series, and the subsequent action figure line, the TMNT were soon catapulted into pop culture history. At the height of the frenzy, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Turtles' likenesses could be found on a wide range of children's merchandise, from Pez dispensers to skateboards, breakfast cereal, video games, school supplies, linens, towels, cameras, and even toy shaving kits.

paragraphs: While the animated TV series, which lasted for 10 seasons until 1996, was more light-hearted, the comic book series continued in a much darker and grittier tone. In 1990 a live-action feature film was released, with the turtles and Splinter being portrayed by actors in partially animatronic suits created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The film became one of the most successful independent films, and spawned two sequels, as well as inspiring a 3D animated film set in the same continuity, which was released in 2007 under the title "TMNT". After the end of the cartoon series, a live action series in the vein of the films was created in 1997 in conjunction with Saban Entertainment. The series was called "" and introduced a fifth, female turtle called Venus De Milo, but was largely unsuccessful and was canceled after one season.

paragraphs: The property lay dormant until in 2003 a new animated TV series also entitled "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" began to air on Fox Box (4Kids TV). The series storyline stuck much closer to the original Mirage comic book series, but was still less violent. It lasted for 7 seasons and 156 episodes, ending in February 2009.

paragraphs: On October 21, 2009, it was announced that cable channel Nickelodeon (a subsidiary of Viacom) had purchased all of Mirage's rights to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" property. Mirage retains the rights to publish 18 issues a year, though the future involvement of Mirage with the Turtles and the future of Mirage Studios itself is unknown. Nickelodeon has developed a new CGI-animated TMNT television series and will partner with fellow Viacom company Paramount Pictures to bring a new TMNT movie to theaters. The TV show premiered on Nickelodeon on September 29, 2012. However, in June 2012, Paramount shut down their planned production due to script issues, pushing their release date out until May 2014.

paragraphs: The turtles are named after famous artists from the Renaissance period. Their names are Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. They live underground in a sewer under Manhattan, and try to keep themselves hidden from people mankind in general, fearing humanity would never understand. While helping their friends, they often end up in trouble fighting crime and villan. Their enemies may vary from inner town street gangs to extraterrestrials. There are a few humans who know about them, a woman named April O'Neil and a man named Casey Jones, and some other people, depending on version. Some versions also use Casey Jones' grandmother's farmhouse in Northampton in Massachussetts as a hangout for the turtles.

paragraphs: Splinter's origin differs between versions. In some versions (Mirage, 2003, movies), he was originally a pet rat of Hamato Yoshi, ending up mutated. In other versions (1987 carton, Archie and the 2012 cartoon), he was originally a man, Hamato Yoshi, who ended up accidentally touching the ooze, and turned into a humanoid rat.

paragraphs: In the 1987 cartoon, their main antagonists are a Japanese ninjutsu master, Shredder (Oroku Saki), an extraterrestrial called Krang, and two mutant punks, Bebop and Rocksteady, while in the 1984 Mirage comics, Shredder ends up killed by the turtles in the first issue. Krang's appearance is inspired by the Utroms, an extraterrestrial race in the Mirage. The Utroms, however, aren't villains.

paragraphs: They first appeared in a comic book which was made in 1984. In 1987, an animated television show was made, it was extremely popular and ran until 1996.

paragraphs: There were many items based on the show including food, video games and toys. Starting in 1990, three live-action movies were made. In 1997, there was a live-action television series called "Ninja Turtles: The Mutation", which was not very successful. In 2003, a new animated series based more on the original comic book than the other series and an animated movie came out in 2007. Finally, the 2003 season came to an end, and a new series, the "Back to the Sewers" aired in late 2008-early 2009.

paragraphs: In September 2012 another cartoon series began. It takes inspirations from both the Mirage comics, and the 1987 cartoon series. Michael Bay will be producing a reboot of the film coming out in August 8, 2014. The film was directed by Jonathan Liebesman.


title: Atze Schröder

paragraphs: Atze Schröder is a German comedy figure played by Hubertus Albers.

paragraphs: The figure "Atze Schröder" was born on 27 September 1965 in the German town Essen.

paragraphs: In public, he always acts as his pseudonym "Atze Schröder". Some sources report Emsdetten as his place of birth. He was suing a German newspaper and the German Wikipedia after publishing his real name Hubertus Albers.


title: Autonomy

paragraphs: Autonomy means being able to rule without having to obey some other higher authority. Autonomy is something that philosophers often talk about. The idea occurs in moral, political, and bioethical philosophy. It means that someone is able to make a sensible decision without being forced to do so by someone else. They are able to make a "free" decision.

paragraphs: In moral and political philosophy, autonomy is often used when discussing whether someone has a moral responsibility for what he does. One of best known philosophical theories of autonomy was developed by Kant. In medicine, doctors have to respect the autonomy of the patient, i.e. the patient has been given good information about their illness, they should be able to decide whether they want treatment. The doctor cannot force it on them.

paragraphs: In politics, autonomy means self-determination that people can govern themselves instead of being ruled by someone else.


title: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

paragraphs: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, which is now southwest Germany. He started Hegelianism and is a part of German Idealism. He influenced many writers and philosophers, including those who agreed with him (Bradley, Sartre, Küng, Bauer, Stirner, Marx), and those who did not agree with him (Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Schelling). Hegel's books are difficult to read and deal with many different ideas at the same time. He has written about history, politics, religion, art, logic and metaphysics.


title: London Borough of Croydon

paragraphs: The London Borough of Croydon is a London Borough. It is in south London. The borough is the farthest south of Greater London, with the M25 circle motorway touching it at the bottom. In North Croydon the borough mainly borders the London Borough of Bromley to the east as well as the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth to the north. The boroughs of Sutton and Merton are west of Croydon.

paragraphs: Croydon's main town centre is Croydon itself. The town offers the most office space in Southeast England apart from Central London. There are two shopping centres in Croydon which are named Centrale and the Witgift Centre. Croydon was named the 20 best shopping town in the UK. Croydon is currently being modernised (meaning new buildings are being built). Croydon College and John Ruskin College are the only schools for people over 16 years old.

paragraphs: The London Borough of Croydon asked the government for city status in 2000 and again in 2002 but it failed. If the government said yes it would have been the third council in Greater London to hold that status, the others being the City of London and the City of Westminster.

paragraphs: The borough is the home of two football clubs, Crystal Palace F.C. who are in the Football League Championship and Croydon F.C. who are in the Ryman League. Croydon is also known for having a lot of parks and open spaces like Mitcham Common and South Norwood Lakes.

paragraphs: Croydon is a tourist attraction in London. One of the reasons is because it is close to Gatwick Airport and because it has lots of entertainment and historic facilities including the Fairfield Halls, Warehouse Theatre, Croydon Airport (disused), Shirley Windmill, Croydon Palace and the Croydon Clocktower.

paragraphs: The borough includes the following areas:

paragraphs: Croydon has many places that people enjoy visiting. There are a lot of places of interest such as Croydon Airport, which was the largest airport in London until its closure in September 1959. It was closed because of it was too small to handle the growing number of flights to Croydon so Heathrow and Gatwick took over. It has become a great place for air plane shows and sometimes is hosts along with Biggin Hill. Addington Palace is an 18th-century mansion that was the home of six archbishops.

paragraphs: Croydon Clocktower is an arts facility in Central Croydon that includes a cinema, library, museum and conference room. The building links into the official Town Hall of Croydon Council and some areas of the building, most notably the Braithwaite Hall, are part of the original complex. The Clocktower is the tower of the Town Hall. New buildings were built alongside the Town Hall and were opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. Croydon Palace is where Archbishops of Canterbury used to stay during the summer. It is more than 500 years old.

paragraphs: The Warehouse Theatre is a professional producing with up to a hundred seats in the centre of Croydon based in an oak-beamed former Victorian cement warehouse. The Fairfield Halls is an arts centre in Croydon which opened in 1962. It contains a concert hall, the Ashcroft Theatre (named for local actress ), the Arnhem Gallery civic hall (Croydon is twinned with Arnhem, a city in The Netherlands) and an art gallery. The large concert hall is used by the BBC for recordings.


title: Nicolas Sarkozy

paragraphs: Nicolas Sarkozy, born on 28 January 1955 in Paris, France,

paragraphs: He was the leader of the UMP, and was elected President of the French Republic on 6 May 2007. He defeated Ségolène Royal, of the Socialist Party.

paragraphs: Sarkozy was known for his conservative law and order politics and his admiration for a new economic model for France during his presidency. He wanted a more liberalised economy for France because he saw the United States and the United Kingdom as positive examples. Until 26 March 2007, he was the Minister of the Interior of France. His nickname Sarko was used by both supporters and opponents. On 6 May 2012, Sarkozy was defeated in the 2012 election by Socialist François Hollande by a margin of 3.2%, or 1,139,983 votes. After leaving the office, Sarkozy pretended to retire from political life. As a former president, Sarkozy is entitled to "de jure" membership in the Constitutional Council.


title: RVV Hillesluis

paragraphs: Rotterdamse Voetbalvereniging "Hillesluis" (translated:"Rotterdam's Football Society "Hillesluis"") was a football club in Rotterdam. It was located near the Feyenoord stadium. It was created in 1932 in a Rotterdam's town with the same name. It was disestablished in 2012.


title: Tyrant

paragraphs: A tyrant (pronounce: "tie"-rant) is a person who rules with absolute power. In its Greek origin the word has no negative meaning: we translate "Oedipus Tyrannus" as 'Oedipus the King'. A tyrant usually rules a country, and he often got his position as powerful ruler by force, although some of them inherited their power.

paragraphs: Later, the word came to mean someone who ruled with cruelty and injustice. The rule of a tyrant is called tyranny. The adjective is tyrannical.

paragraphs: A dictator or despot is someone who rules with absolute authority, usually cruelly. It now has the same meaning as 'tyrant', whereas before, 'tyrant' meant something like 'ruler' or 'king'.

paragraphs: In the 10th and 9th centuries BC, Ancient Greece was ruled by monarchs. By the 7th century BC, they were ruled by groups of aristocrats. These aristocrats started to become unpopular. This gave cruel people the chance to get power for themselves, telling the people that they would be good rulers, but turning bad once they got power.

paragraphs: Around 650 BC the tyrant Cypselus became powerful in Corinth. There were other tyrants in the Asiatic countries that were ruled by Greece. Cypselus’s son Periander was also a cruel tyrant who ruled for 40 years. The tyranny in Corinth came to an end after he died.


title: Johann Pachelbel

paragraphs: Johann Pachelbel (born Nuremberg (German:Nürnberg), baptized 1 September, 1653; died Nürnberg, buried 9 March, 1706) was a German composer and organist. He is very famous for his organ music. He also wrote other keyboard music and music for the Protestant church. His "Canon in D" has become a very popular piece of music and is very often played today at church weddings and other events.

paragraphs: He was brought up in Nürnberg and had his first music lessons there. In 1669 he went to study at the university of Altdorf, but after a year he had to leave because his father could not afford to keep him. About a year later he went to study at the Gymnasium Poeticum in Regensburg. The directors of that school must have realized that he was an extremely talented musician, because they made an extra scholarship for him and allowed him to have special music lessons outside the school.

paragraphs: In 1673 he went to Vienna where he was deputy organist at St Stephen’s Church. He heard a lot more music there, especially the music of the catholic composers of South Germany and Italy. After a short while at Eisenach he got the job of organist at the Predigerkirche in Erfurt.

paragraphs: In 1681 he married, but his wife and their baby boy died in the plague. In 1684 he married again and the couple had five sons and two daughters. Pachelbel taught Johann Christoph Bach who later taught Johann Sebastian Bach.

paragraphs: Pachelbel became a very famous organist. He stayed in Erfurt until 1690. After another five years he became organist at St Sebald, Nürnberg where he stayed for the rest of his life.

paragraphs: Pachelbel is best known for his organ music. He wrote many organ pieces based on chorales while he was in Erfurt. In Nürnberg he wrote many pieces called "Magnificat" fugues. These were preludes which were played before the singers sang the Magnificat. His organ music also includes toccatas, ricercares, fantasias and ciacconas. He wrote many suites for harpsichord and chamber music and vocal music.


title: Opioid

paragraphs: Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Opioid receptors are widespread in the brain, and are also in the spinal cord and digestive tract.

paragraphs: Opioids are chemical substances that relieve pain. There are a wide range of natural and artificial opioids. They are used in hospitals to treat acute pain, as can occur after an operation. They can also be used to relieve pain, where treatment no longer makes sense, for example in certain cancer patients. Drugs that can relieve pain are broadly known as analgesics.

paragraphs: Certain opioids are used as anesthetics, as well as in emergency medicine and intensive care. There are cases which are difficult to manage with non-opioid analgesics.

paragraphs: Certain opioids have been used as illegal drugs. They can cause impairment if taken in large amounts. Most opioids are controlled substances, only available by prescription.

paragraphs: The term Opiate is sometimes used as a synonym. Most often it is used to refer to opium alkaloids, and semi-synthetic opioids.

paragraphs: So called "endogenous opioids", also called endorphins, are peptides produced by the human body. They are used to respond to stress, to suppress pain and hunger. They also interact with sex hormones and they can cause a state of Euphoria. Mammals produce them in the brain.

paragraphs: There are different alkaloids that naturally occur in opium. Opium is produced from Opium poppy. The most important ones are morphine, codeine and thebamine. Papaverine and noscarpine also occur in opium, but the way they work is different. Most of the time, they are therefore not counted as "opiates".

paragraphs: These are produced based on natural opioids, which are changed. Examples include heroin and oxycodone

paragraphs: Drug tolerance to opioids and other narcotics can develop with long use. This means that higher doses will be needed to keep the same effect. It also means that the body will eventually learn to operate normally with that amount of medication. When the user tries to stop taking these pain killers, withdrawal symptoms appear. These symptoms include restlessness, pain in the bones and muscles, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting and involuntary leg movements.

paragraphs: If the addiction keeps on going, eventual permanent brain changes can appear.


title: Analgesic

paragraphs: Analgetics (one "analgetic") (or analgesics) is a word for some drugs that are used to stop pain. These are also known as painkillers. There are several kinds of painkillers. All act on the nervous system. Some painkillers (such as opioids) can make people addicted if they are taken for a long time. Some painkillers have side effects that can harm people when they take too much (e.g., too much paracetamol can be dangerous for the liver)


title: Blender (program)

paragraphs: Blender is a free, open source 3D computer graphics program. It is available for many operating systems, for example Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux. It is made by the Blender Foundation. It was used, for example, to make the short movies Elephants Dream, Big Buck Bunny and Sintel.

paragraphs: A Dutch animation studio called NeoGeo created Blender as an in-house application. The song Yello, which is from a song album called Baby, started an idea of the name "Blender". Ton Roosendaal discovered NaN in June of 1998. He wanted to make and show off the program to the public. The program was published as shareware until NaN went bankrupt in 2002. The creditors, people who have other people oweing money to them, agreed to sell out Blender under the laws of the GNU General Public License in exchange for a one-time payment of 100,000 Euros (102,000 in U.S. dollars.) On July 18, 2002, Roosendaal put money into a Blender funding campaign—in order to collect donations. On September 7, 2002, the collected funds was given notice to the public. This proved that the Blender source code would be published. Blender is now an open source program. Right now, the Blender Foundation watches and takes care of it. It is the Blender Foundation's responsibility to do such a thing. The Blender Foundation have the right to use dual licensing, so that, in addition to GNU GPL, Blender would also have the permission to use the following name: "Blender License". Blender License does "not" have a rule that says it needs a disclosing source code but it "does" have a rule on payments to the Blender Foundation. On the other hand, this choice was never used and became null in 2005. Right now, Blender belongs only to GNU GPL.

paragraphs: Blender has many features and tools, such as:


title: Mark Shuttleworth

paragraphs: Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African business person. He was the first African in space. He bought himself his space travel. He is also the leader of the Ubuntu project.


title: Paracetamol

paragraphs: Paracetamol (or acetaminophen) is a common analgesic, a drug that is used to relieve pain. It can also be used to reduce fever, and some kinds of headache. This makes it an antipyretic, something that reduces fevers. It is used in many drugs that treat the flu and colds.

paragraphs: The words "acetaminophen" and "paracetamol" both come from the names of the chemicals used in the compound: N-acetyl-para-aminophenol and para-acetyl-amino-phenol. Sometimes, it is shortened to APAP, for N-acetyl-para-aminophenol.

paragraphs: Harmon Northrop Morse was the first to make Paracetamol, in the year 1878. Drugs made with Paracetamol became common in the 1950s. Today, these drugs are some of the most used, together with those containing salicylic acid or Ibuprofen. In the year 1977, Paracetamol was put on the List of Essential Medicines of the WHO.

paragraphs: Paracetamol is considered safe for use. The drug is easily available without a prescription. People often take too much Paracetamol. Sometimes this is because people do not know how much they should take. The recommended dose may not work for some individuals. Other times it is because they are trying to commit suicide. Very often, a person's liver can be hurt if he or she takes too much Paracetamol. A dose of 150 milligrams for every kilogram of the person's weight (about 10 grams for most adults) will lead to permanent liver damage, and may cause the liver to fail. For people whose livers have already been damaged, such as alcoholics, and for those with a limited secretion of Paracetamol, this amount can be much smaller.

paragraphs: In England and Wales, about 30.000 people per year go to the hospital after taking too much paracetamol (called paracetamol poisoning), and about 150 die of the poisoning. Since a law was passed saying that Paracetamol packets cannot be too large, fewer people have been committing suicide with Paracetamol. In Great Britain and the United States Paracetamol is the main reason for acute liver failure. About half of the cases are because of an 'unintentional overdose'.


title: Morphine

paragraphs: Morphine (INN) (IPA: ) is a strong opiate pain killer drug. It is the principal active agent in opium and the prototypical opiate. Like other opioids, e.g. "diacetylmorphine" (heroin), morphine acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to relieve pain, and at synapses of the nucleus accumbens in particular. Morphine is highly addictive when compared to other substances, and tolerance and physical and mental dependences develop very rapidly.

paragraphs: Patients on morphine sometimes say they have insomnia, visual hallucinations and nightmares; if these occur then reduction in dosage or switch to an alternative opioid analgesic should be considered.

paragraphs: The word "morphine" is derived from Morpheus, the god of dreams in Greek mythology. He is the son of Hypnos, god of sleep.


title: Ségolène Royal

paragraphs: Marie-Ségolène Royal (born September 22, 1953 in Dakar, French West Africa, now Senegal) is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes region, a member of the National Assembly and a prominent member of the Socialist Party in France. She was the Socialist Party's candidate for the 2007 French presidential election but lost to Nicolas Sarkozy. She was the partner of former President of France François Hollande from 1978 until 2007.

paragraphs: She is known for her admiration for some "Third Way" policies, for her controversial insistence on law and order issues and for her support of devolution and participatory democracy.

paragraphs: Royal is the author unless otherwise noted.


title: Codeine

paragraphs: Codeine or methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic properties. It is also used to treat coughing and diarrhea. It is marketed as the salts codeine sulfate and codeine phosphate. Codeine hydrochloride is more commonly marketed in continental Europe and other regions.

paragraphs: Codeine is an alkaloid found in opium in concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 percent. Codeine can be extracted from opium. Today, most codeine is synthesized from morphine through the process of O-methylation.

paragraphs: Codeine is often marketed as drugs in combination with paracetamol (acetaminophen) as co-codamol (best known in North America as Tylenol 3). Research has shown the combination to be very much more effective than paracetamol, and much less addictive that pure codeine.

paragraphs: There are similar combinations with aspirin as co-codaprin or with ibuprofen. These combinations provide greater pain relief than either agent alone. Drug synergy is an important principle.


title: Opium

paragraphs: Opium is a narcotic resin produced from opium poppies "(Papaver somniferum)". It contains up to 16% morphine, an opiate alkaloid, which is most frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the black market. The resin also has non-narcotic alkaloids in it. Some of these are papaverine and noscapine. Opium is also known as "afeem", and was called ""God's Own Medicine"" during its time of greatest popularity. It can be yellow or dark brown, and has a bitter taste.

paragraphs: Opium has been used and produced for thousands of years. During this time, the source plant has been changed and adapted. The methods of processing the plant, and extracting substance and consuming it also have changed. The medicinal use of poppies for pain relief dates back to ancient times, but widespread use in patent medicines or as a recreational drug has occurred only in the last few centuries. Drug prohibition laws in most countries were introduced in the 20th century. Today the opium crop is worth in excess of $400 million legally and $7 billion illegally, after processing. Opium has caused many wars in China, such as the Opium Wars, because of heavy addiction to the drug. People who become addicted to opium become dull, lazy, and even sleepy. Opium itself is a very harmful and addictive ingredient and comes in many other forms of illegal drugs; including Heroin and/or Diamorphine.

paragraphs: Health risks include, overdose, respiratory depression, risk of HIV if injected, and risk of permanent brain dulling if used for prolonged periods of time.


title: Union for a Popular Movement

paragraphs: The Union for a Popular Movement (French: "Union pour un Mouvement Populaire", UMP), was the main French centre-right political party. It was formed in 2002. On 30 May 2015, it was replaced by The Republicans.

paragraphs: The party had an absolute majority in the National Assembly but lost its majority in the Senate in September 2011. The UMP is a member of the European People's Party (EPP), of the Christian Democrat International (CDI) and of the International Democrat Union (IDU).

paragraphs: Since the 1980s, the political groups of the parliamentary right joined forces around the values of economic liberalism and the building of Europe. Their rivalries had contributed to their 1981 and 1988 electoral defeats. Therefore, some politicians were in favour of the formation of a confederation, a party.

paragraphs: UMP was founded from the merger of the Gaullist-conservative Rally for the Republic ("Rassemblement pour la République", RPR), the conservative-liberal Liberal Democracy ("Démocratie Libérale", DL), and a part of the centrist Union for French Democracy ("Union pour la Démocratie Française", UDF). Many Christian Democrats (such as Philippe Douste-Blazy and Jacques Barrot), the social-liberal Radical Party and the centrist Popular Party for French Democracy (both associate parties to UDF until 2002) joined the party.

paragraphs: The party was thus born out of the meeting of four major French political traditions: Gaullism, Liberalism (Republicanism), Christian Democracy (Popularism) and Radicalism.

paragraphs: The UMP generally supported the policies of President Jacques Chirac. However, in 2004, the party showed increasing signs of independence. The unpopularity with the electorate of Jacques Chirac and Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government led most members of the UMP to support Nicolas Sarkozy, a rival of Chirac. The party also publicly disapproved of Turkey's proposed membership in the European Union, which Chirac was in favour of.

paragraphs: The first president of the UMP, Alain Juppé, a close associate of Jacques Chirac, resigned on 15 July 2004. On 29 November 2004, Nicolas Sarkozy announced that he would officially take over the presidency of the UMP.

paragraphs: In the 2004 French regional elections the UMP suffered a heavy blow, securing only 2 out of 22 regions in Metropolitan France and half of the departments. This led to the fall of the Jean-Pierre Raffarin government (2001-04), and to the formation of a new cabinet, presided by another UMP politician, Dominique de Villepin.

paragraphs: On 22 April 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy won most of the votes in the first round of the 2007 presidential election. In the second round, he faced Socialist Candidate Ségolène Royal. On 6 May 2007 he won the Presidential election, garnering 53.35% of the vote.


title: Oxycodone

paragraphs: Oxycodone is a medicine that is used to treat pain. This kind of pain medicine is called an "analgesic".

paragraphs: Oxycodone is a man-made opioid. This means that in the body, it acts like morphine, a powerful, natural painkiller. The chemical elements in oxycodone are very similar to codeine, another natural painkiller.

paragraphs: Oxycodone is a generic drug. It has many different brand names.

paragraphs: Some forms of oxycodone get released into the body right away. These are short-acting forms of oxycodone - they start working quickly, but do not last very long. The most common brand names for short-acting oxycodone are OxyIR and Roxicodone.

paragraphs: Other forms of oxycodone have a special coating that makes just a little bit of the medicine get released into the body at a time. A small amount of oxycodone is released, non-stop, into the body for up to 12 hours. The goal is to have the same amount of painkiller in the body all the time. These are called long-acting, extended-release, or controlled-release forms of oxycodone. They do not start working quickly, but they last a long time. The most common brand name for controlled-release oxycodone is OxyContin.

paragraphs: Oxycodone is often mixed together with other pain medicines. For example:

paragraphs: Since 2014, a new mixture has been created. It is a mixture of oxycodone and naloxone. Its goal is to stop people from abusing long-acting oxycodone. (See the "Addiction" section lower on this page). People sometimes abuse long-acting oxycodone (OxyContin) by chewing, crushing, snorting, or injecting the pills. When oxycodone is mixed with naloxone, if the medicine is swallowed by mouth, like it is supposed to be, the oxycodone works like normal. But if the medicine is chewed, crushed, or dissolved, the naloxone inside is released. The naloxone keeps the oxycodone from working in the brain. This makes it impossible for the person to get the good feelings they wanted to get from abusing the oxycodone.

paragraphs: Oxycodone can be given in many different ways. These are called "routes of administration" (which means "ways of giving a medicine").

paragraphs: Oxycodone starts working the quickest if it is given by one of these routes:

paragraphs: Oxycodone starts working a little more slowly if it is given by one of these routes:

paragraphs: Oxycodone starts working the slowest, but lasts the longest, if it is given:

paragraphs: Most people who take oxycodone exactly as their doctor prescribes it do not get addicted to oxycodone.

paragraphs: But people can get addicted to oxycodone if they misuse it - for example, by taking it without a doctor's prescription, or taking more than the doctor prescribed. Some people like the good feeling they get when they take oxycodone. They may keep taking more and more oxycodone to keep getting that good feeling. This can lead to addiction.

paragraphs: Oxycodone abuse, addition, and overdoses have become much more common recently.

paragraphs: People can die from overdosing on oxycodone (taking too much). Too much oxycodone shuts down the part of the brain that tells us to breathe. This can cause respiratory failure - where the body is not getting enough oxygen to survive. Every part of the body needs oxygen to live, and without enough oxygen, parts of the body - like the brain - will start to die. Eventually, a person's breathing can stop. If they do not get help right away, their heart will stop and they will die.

paragraphs: There is a medicine called naloxone (Narcan) that can reverse some oxycodone overdoses. Once it is given, the naloxone throws the oxycodone off of the spots on the brain they are attached to. Naloxone attaches there instead. This stops the effects of the oxycodone and helps the brain's breathing center start working more normally again.

paragraphs: On November 18, 2015, the FDA approved an "easy-to-use nasal spray" version of naloxone. The goal was to make it easier for everyday people to use naloxone without having to have medical training. Before this, naloxone could only be given through a needle into a vein or muscle.


title: Pethidine

paragraphs: Pethidine or meperidine (often called Demerol in the United States) is a synthetic opioid - a man-made drug similar to morphine. It is a painkiller. It is used against moderate to severe pain. It can mix badly with other medicines, including muscle relaxants, some antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and alcohol.

paragraphs: Pethidine can be bad for people with liver disease, kidney disease, an enlarged prostate, trouble peeing, hyperthyroidism, asthma or Addison's disease. It can also be bad for people who have had seizures or epilepsy.


title: National Assembly (France)

paragraphs: The French National Assembly ("French": Assemblée nationale) is one of the two houses of the Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The other is the Senate (""Sénat"").

paragraphs: The National Assembly consists of 577 members known as "députés" (deputies), each elected by a single-member constituency. Deputies are elected in each constituency through a two-rounds system. It is presided over by a president normally from the largest party represented, assisted by vice-presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The term of the National Assembly is five years; however, the President of France may dissolve the Assembly (by i.e.: calling a new election), unless he dissolved it in the preceding year.

paragraphs: The official seat of the National Assembly is the Palais Bourbon on the left bank of the river Seine.


title: Hyperthyroidism

paragraphs: Hyperthyroidism is a medical condition. It is caused by a thyroid gland that is too active. The thyroid gland makes hormones. These hormones manage the body’s metabolism. An example of one of these hormones is thyroxine. The thyroid-stimulating hormone starts the making of thyroxine. The thyroid-stimulating hormone is also called “TSH.” TSH is made in the pituitary gland. Hyperthyroidism is determined by a doctor by blood tests that show a decreased thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level.

paragraphs: The most common cause of this disorder is "Graves’ disease.” Graves’ disease is a condition in which the thyroid gland becomes overactive. Antibodies from the immune system in the bloodstream attack itself (this is called an autoimmune disease). This causes the thyroid gland to grow, as well as produce more thyroid hormones.

paragraphs: Some symptoms of this disorder are the swelling of the neck, as well as weight loss. In addition, patients could experience their hands trembling, as well as their blood pressure increasing. They could also experience nervousness and anxiety attacks. Medication can stop the effects of hyperthyroidism. However, hyperthyroidism cannot be fixed completely. Hyperthyroidism can occasionally cause death.


title: 99942 Apophis

paragraphs: (99942) Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid that worried people for a short time in December 2004. This was because observations seemed to show that it would hit the Earth in 2029. Other observations had more accurate, or better, ideas. During 2029, Apophis would go through a "gravitational keyhole", an area in space no more than about 400 meters across. This would make it hit the Earth on April 13, 2036. This danger made the asteroid Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006.

paragraphs: More watching showed scientists that the "keyhole" would be missed. On August 5, 2006, Apophis was lowered to a Level 0 on the Torino Scale. As of October 19 2006 the probability that Apophis will hit the Earth on April 13, 2036 is something around 1 in 45,000. It may also hit in 2038, but however the probability for that encounter, or meeting, is 1 in 12.3 million.

paragraphs: Cooke, Bill. (2006) Fatal attraction. "Astronomy", May 2006, pp. 46-51.

paragraphs: These sources are updated as new orbital data becomes available:


title: Dance music

paragraphs: Dance music is music that is made to be danced to. In a broader sense, an enormous amount of music sounds like dance music, even if it is not composed for dancing. The history of dance music is similar to the history of dance as well as to the history of music.

paragraphs: Dance music was probably the first kind of music there was. Thousands of years ago human beings must have discovered the joy of making noises by beating sticks in rhythm. They probably danced as they did this.

paragraphs: We know that the Ancient Greeks danced to music, although we do not know much about what that music was like.

paragraphs: In the Dark Ages (before the Middle Ages) dancing was very popular. The Christian Church thought that dancing was bad because it was always linked to the devil. This is why the church people thought that musical instruments were bad, because instruments were used for dancing.

paragraphs: The earliest Western dance music that we know are some of the medieval dances such as caroles and the Estampie. Composers started to write their music down on music staves. Dance music had to have a regular beat so that the dancers could dance in time. This is why barlines were invented. The music was divided into bars with a particular number of beats in each bar. This was different from church music which was based on plainchant which was very free in the way it was sung.

paragraphs: In the Baroque period many composers started to write pieces of music which were based on dance rhythms. Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach wrote suites which were collections of dance movements. The most popular dances in a suite were: allemande, courante, sarabande, minuet and gigue. Even when not writing dance movements, a lot of Baroque music is based on dance rhythms, for example: the grand opening chorus of Bach’s "St Matthew Passion" is based on the rhythm of a sicilienne.

paragraphs: In the Classical music period composers wrote a lot of symphonies and string quartets. They had four movements. The third was normally a minuet, although it was not for dancing to. Composers such as Mozart and Schubert also wrote a lot of music which was for dancing or easy listening. This was the popular music of its time.

paragraphs: In the Romantic era the waltz became popular. Many waltzes were written to be danced to, but other composers simply wrote music (especially piano music) called “waltz”. Chopin wrote piano pieces called after several kinds of dance: waltz, polonaise, mazurka etc. Ballet had become very popular. There was a lot of dance music in operas, especially in French operas.

paragraphs: In the 20th century “dance music” was often thought of as meaning: music played by dance bands. This kind of music developed into rock and roll in the 1960s. Nowadays there is a wide variety of popular dance music, including hip hop. Spanish or Latin American dances such as the samba, tango and cha cha cha are popular all over the world. Towards the end of the 20th century, a form of dance music known as electronic dance music (EDM) arose. This is electronic music which is made in a specific way as to be danced to, usually in the setting of a nightclub, discothèque or a party. Genres of EDM include post-disco, techno, house and trance, amongst several others.


title: Baruch Spinoza

paragraphs: Baruch Spinoza (24 November 1632 in Amsterdam – 21 February 1677 in The Hague) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. He is considered to be one of the great Rationalist philosophers of the 17th century. Other famous rationalists include Gottfried Leibniz and René Descartes.

paragraphs: Spinoza's ideas were not cherished by the Jewish community in Amsterdam of the time, and Spinoza was excommunicated in 1656.

paragraphs: An important idea in Spinoza's philosophy is God and Nature (everything that exists) are the same thing. Opposing Dualism, Spinoza said that the body and the mind (soul) are two of God's infinite attributes.

paragraphs: There is no good or evil in Nature, and that these words only have meanings for human beings. For a person, an event that leads to happiness is good, and an event that leads to suffering is bad.

paragraphs: Spinoza describes two types of thoughts, or emotions:

paragraphs: The goal of every person is to intellectually love God (that is, understand Nature as much as humanly possible).


title: Rationalism

paragraphs: Rationalism is a branch of philosophy where the validity of an idea is determined by logic, rather than religious means such as revelations, meditation, emotions or observations.

paragraphs: Rationalist philosophers believe that all knowledge can be understood through a process of reasoning, without any external sources. They do not believe that human beings can understand everything this way, but that it is theoretically possible. Rationalist philosophers attempt to understand ideas like God and the Soul in this manner.

paragraphs: The first people to talk about rationalism were Marin Mersenne and René Descartes, in the 17th and 18th centuries. Other philosophers who are seen as rationalist today include Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant. Famous people opposed to this idea were David Hume and John Locke.

paragraphs: Rationalism also influenced natural law. Natural law is a theory that says that there are laws given by nature, valid everywhere. Deism was also influenced by rationalism. According to deism, a supreme being created the universe. This being, and other religious truths can be determined by observing nature, and finding natural laws. This would make religions that are based on revelation unnecessary.

paragraphs: Rationalism is the view that accepts reason as the chief source of,or justification of knowledge.


title: Elephants Dream

paragraphs: Elephants Dream is a short movie made using mostly open source software. Blender was the main program used to make the movie. It began production in September 2005 and was released on March 24, 2006. It was first developed under the name "Orange", then later changed to "Machina" then finally to "Elephants Dream" since the people working on the movie could not decide how "Machina" would be pronounced. The movie is 11 minutes long.

paragraphs: The movie has a very random and abstract nature. Despite the film's title, "Elephants Dream" does not have any elephants or dreams. It instead has Proog and Emo in an extremely bizarre construction referred to only as "the machine." Proog tries to introduce Emo to its nature, but Emo is reluctant (If a person is reluctant to do something, he/she does not want to do it.) and argues about its purpose.

paragraphs: Bassam Kurdali, Director of Elephants Dream, explained the plot of the movie by saying:

paragraphs: "The story is very simple- I'm not sure you can call it a complete story even- It is about how people create ideas/stories/fictions/social realities and communicate them or impose them on others. Thus Proog has created (in his head) the concept of a special place/machine, that he tries to "show" to Emo. When Emo does not accept his story, Proog becomes desperate and hits him. It's a parable of human relationships really- You can substitute many ideas (money, religion, social institutions, property) instead of Proog's machine - the story does not say that creating ideas is bad, just hints that it is better to share ideas than force them on others. There are lots of little clues/hints about this in the movie- many little things have a meaning- but we are not very "tight" with it, because we are hoping people will have their own ideas about the story, and make a new version of the movie. In this way (and others) we tie the story of the movie with the "open movie" idea."

paragraphs: Ton Roosendaal announced the film in May 2005. He is the chairman of the Blender Foundation. The Blender Foundation and the Netherlands Media Art Institute funded the project. The Foundation raised a lot of their funds by selling pre-orders of the DVD. Everyone who preordered before September 1 has his or her name listed in the film's credits. The film was released for download on the Official Orange Project website on May 18, 2006.


title: Chapel Royal

paragraphs: The Chapel Royal is a department of the monarch's household in the United Kingdom.

paragraphs: Incorrectly, the term is also used for the choirs of these chapels. The correct name for these choirs is the "Gentlemen of the Chapel". They are a group of priests and singers who sing church services for the British monarch (king or queen). They are helped by young boy singers called choristers or "Children of the Chapel." It is an old tradition.

paragraphs: Today there are two consecrated buildings at St James’s Palace, near Buckingham Palace in London served by the Chapel Royal. These chapels do not belong to the diocese (group of churches in a district). That is why they are called “royal peculiars” (“peculiar” in this sense does not mean “strange” but “special”). Services are held every Sunday except during August and September. Members of the public are welcome to go to these services. This is the only time that the public can go into the royal chapels. The choir also sing at special services, including one held every year on 6 January to celebrate Epiphany when offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh are made on behalf of the queen.

paragraphs: The Chapel Royal dates back to the late 13th century. At that time the priests and choir travelled with the king wherever he went.

paragraphs: In the 17th century the chapel had its own building in Whitehall, which burned down in 1698. Since 1702 it has been based in St. James's Palace.

paragraphs: In the 16th and 17th centuries the choir was the best choir in England. William Byrd and Thomas Tallis were both organists there during the reign of Elizabeth I. Boy choristers from choirs outside London were sometimes made to join the Children of the Chapel if they had beautiful voices. These boys also took part in plays at the king or queen’s court. Charles II liked musical instruments, so the choir were often joined by violins, lutes and viols.

paragraphs: Some very famous composers were organists at the Chapel Royal. These include: Thomas Tallis (c.1545-85), William Byrd (c.1572-c.1618), John Bull (1591-1613), Orlando Gibbons (1605-25), John Blow (1673/4-1708), Henry Purcell (1682-95), Jeremiah Clarke (1704-1707), William Croft (1708-27), and George Frideric Handel who was organist from (1723-59). At the time Handel was appointed he was still German, not English, so he was not allowed to be a member. Instead, he was given a special title: "Composer of Musick of His Majesty's Chappel Royal".

paragraphs: Today the Choir rehearses twice weekly at St James's Palace. The choir consists of six Gentlemen-in-Ordinary who are professional singers, and ten boys who have scholarships to go to the City of London School where they are called Queen's Scholars.

paragraphs: The composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who is Master of the Queen's Music, works closely with the Chapel Royal. He wants to compose a new carol for them every Christmas.

paragraphs: The head of the Chapel Royal in Scotland is a Dean. Another Chapel Royal once existed in Ireland.


title: Orlando Gibbons

paragraphs: Orlando Gibbons (born: Oxford, baptised 25 December 1583; died Canterbury, 5 June 1625) was an English composer and organist. He was one of the most important composers of his day. He is famous for his church music and organ music. He lived in the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods.

paragraphs: Gibbons was born in Oxford where his father was a city wait. The family moved to Cambridge and his brother Edward, who was 15 years older than Orlando, became Master of the Choristers at King’s College. Between 1596 and 1598 Orlando sang in the choir of King's College, Cambridge where his brother was master. He entered the university in 1598 and got the degree of Bachelor of Music in 1606. He married and had seven children.

paragraphs: James I made him a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal, where he was organist from at least 1615 until his death. In 1625 he became senior organist at the Chapel Royal, with Thomas Tomkins as junior organist. He was also keyboard player (mainly harpsichord) in the privy chamber of the court of Prince Charles (later King Charles I), and organist at Westminster Abbey. He died an early death in Canterbury of apoplexy, and a monument to him was built in Canterbury Cathedral.

paragraphs: Gibbons wrote a lot of keyboard works, around thirty fantasias for viols, some madrigals (the best-known being "The Silver Swan"), and many popular anthems. He was very good at writing counterpoint as well as lovely melodies. His famous verse anthem "This is the record of John" is often sung by choirs at Advent. It has a lovely solo for a countertenor who takes it in turns with the full chorus. Gibbons wrote two settings of the Evensong service: a long one with several verses, and the "Short" service. His full anthems include "O Lord in thy wrath", and the Palm Sunday setting of "O clap your hands together" for 8 voices.


title: Waits

paragraphs: Waits or waites were British town musicians. From medieval times up to the early 19th century, every important British town and city had a band of waites. Some other countries in Europe also had waits. They were called Stadtpfeifer in Germany and Pifferi in Italy.

paragraphs: The duties (things they had to do) varied in different towns and at different times in history. One of their most important jobs was to play at certain times of day so that people knew what the time was. They often played from the top of church towers. Sometimes they were also guards, watching from the towers so that they could spot any danger. They were like watchmen, making sure everything was all right (there was no police at that time). They woke people up in the mornings by playing music in the streets.

paragraphs: The instruments they played also varied. Mostly they were loud wind instruments such as the shawm. It was a paid job. The waits wore smart liveries and silver chains of office with the town's arms.

paragraphs: In Germany the Stadtpfeifer would also play at church services. They would play shawms or trombones on normal days, but trumpets and drums on feast-days.

paragraphs: In Britain there were no more waits after 1835. The name “waits” is still used in “Christmas Waits” (any group of people singing carols at Christmas).


title: Tennis Court Oath

paragraphs: The oath was a pledge signed by 576 members out of 577 of France's Third Estate and a few members of the First Estate on June 20, 1789 in a tennis court near the Palace of Versailles.

paragraphs: The meeting hall of the Estates General had been locked accidentally, but the Third Estate thought that this was an invasion of their rights, and were very angry with the king. They stood in a nearby indoor tennis court. They swore an oath that they would not move until "the voice of the nation was heard" and their demands were met. They were joined by the nobles and clergy.

paragraphs: The vote had always been taken by class, and usually, the clergy and the nobility voted to support whatever the king wanted, so the vote of the middle class did not matter. The middle class argued that voting should be "by poll" not by order, because they had more representatives than the first two estates combined. They also wanted the Estates General to meet as one body, so that voting would be by poll, rather than by class.

paragraphs: A week later, the king agreed and the Estates General met as the "National Assembly".


title: Chart

paragraphs: A chart or graph is an image which summarizes data and presents it in an easy to understand way. Charts are often used to make it easier to understand the relationships of different aspects of the data. It is easier to read a chart than the raw data.


title: Samuel Adams

paragraphs: Samuel Adams (September 27 (OS), 1722–October 2, 1803) was an American leader, politician, writer, and political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Adams helped gather support in the American colonies to rebel against Great Britain. This led to the American Revolution. Adams shaped the foundations of American politics.

paragraphs: Adams, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, was brought up in a religious family. He was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard College. He started his life as a businessman, but did not like his occupation. He then turned his interest to politics, and became an influential political writer. Adams urged the colonists to withdraw from Great Britain and form a new government. He told the colonies to defend their rights and liberties at town meetings in Boston. He wrote protests against Parliament's taxes against the colonies, such as the Stamp Act of 1765. Adams also organized the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and he was a member of the Continental Congress. He argued for the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress in 1776.

paragraphs: Adams helped write the Massachusetts Constitution with James Bowdoin and his cousin John Adams. Later, Adams helped draft the Articles of Confederation. After the Revolutionary War ended, he ran for the House of Representatives in the 1st United States Congressional election. He lost the election to Fisher Ames. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1789. After John Hancock's death in 1793, Adams served as the acting governor. He was then elected governor in January of 1794. He served in that position until June 1797. He then retired from politics and settled in his home in Boston. He died six years later on October 2, 1803.

paragraphs: Many of the foremost works on Adams' life are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of the information in more recent biographies is attributed to these earlier works.


title: Bar chart

paragraphs: A bar chart is a type of chart which shows the values of different categories of data as rectangular bars with different lengths. A histogram is a bar chart that shows how data is spread over its categories.

paragraphs: It is another one dimensional diagram also known as pillar diagram or column graph. These bars do not have any specific width but the height of the bar is proportionally to the value of an element. When the variations are small this method is very efficient.


title: Pie chart

paragraphs: A pie chart is a type of chart with the shape of a pie or circle. It presents the relationship of different parts of the data. One would easily see the biggest or smallest share of the total data, by simply looking at the pie chart.

paragraphs: The earliest known pie charts were in William Playfair's "Statistical Breviary" of 1801, in which two are used.

paragraphs: This invention was not widely used at first. The French engineer Charles Joseph Minard was one of the first to use it. In 1858 he used them in maps to add information in a third dimension.

paragraphs: Some have said that Florence Nightingale invented it, but they were ignorant of Playfair's creation.

paragraphs: Nightingale was one of the first to use graphics to get important statistics to the reading public.

paragraphs: The polar area diagram is similar to a usual pie chart, except sectors are equal angles and differ rather in how far each sector extends from the center of the circle.

paragraphs: The polar area diagram is used to plot cyclic phenomena (e.g., count of deaths by month).

paragraphs: For example, if the count of deaths in each month for a year are to be plotted then there will be 12 sectors (one per month) all with the same angle of 30 degrees each. The radius of each sector would be proportional to the square root of the death count for the month, so the area of a sector represents the number of deaths in a month.

paragraphs: If the death count in each month is subdivided by cause of death, it is possible to make multiple comparisons on one diagram, as is seen in the polar area diagram used by Nightingale.

paragraphs: Pie charts are not the most accurate way to show data: that has been known for some time. Pie charts should be used only when the sum of all categories is meaningful, for example if they represent proportions.

paragraphs: Pie charts are rare in scientific writing. They are more common in business and economics. One reason for this may be that it is more difficult to compare the size of items in a chart when area is used instead of length. Stevens' power law says that it is harder to see small differences using visual area than when using length. This means that length is a better scale to use, because differences can be seen more easily.

paragraphs: This can be shown with the image to the right. The pie chart and the bar chart have the same data. Most people have difficulty putting the slices in the pie chart in order by size from biggest to smallest. When using the bar chart, it is much easier to tell the difference between bars that are very similar in size.


paragraphs: The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress. It also includes all members of the Continental Congress. It also includes delegates from territories and the District of Columbia and Resident Commissioners from the Philippines and Puerto Rico.


title: Teapot

paragraphs: A teapot is a container used to mix tea leaves with boiling water to make tea. Usually the tea leaves are in a tea bag when the tea leaves are put into the water. The tea can be poured from the teapot into cups.


title: Le Monde

paragraphs: Le Monde (English:"The World") is a French daily evening newspaper. It is amongst the newspapers most read in France. Its political opinion is slightly left-wing. In many countries outside France, this is the only French newspaper available.

paragraphs: The newspaper should not be confused with the monthly publication "Le Monde diplomatique". "Le Monde" has 51% ownership of the monthly. Despite this, the monthly has a different editorial staff.

paragraphs: "Le Monde" was founded by Hubert Beuve-Méry. This was at the request of General Charles de Gaulle after the German army was driven from Paris during World War II. The newspaper took over the format of "Le Temps", because the reputation of the latter had suffered during the Occupation. Beuve-Méry reportedly asked for total editorial independence as the condition for his taking on the project. Its first edition appeared on December 19, 1944. "Le Monde" has been available on the Internet since December 19, 1995. It is the principal publication of Groupe Le Monde.

paragraphs: In 2004, it had a circulation of 371,803 copies.


title: Begging the question

paragraphs: Begging the question requires two or more ideas. Each of these ideas may or may not be true. The speaker of these ideas tries to show that one idea is true by saying a second idea proves it, but the second idea is only true if the first idea is true already.

paragraphs: Begging the question is commonly known as circular reasoning, though they are not exactly the same.

paragraphs: "This begs the question" has recently been used to mean "this raises the question." This usage is often criticized as inappropriate.


title: Ciwan Haco

paragraphs: Ciwan Haco (born 1957) is a Kurdish singer. He was born near Qamishlo in Syria. After finishing high school, he left for Germany in order to continue his studies. He studied music at the University of Bochum for three years. After university, he started his career as a singer. He combined Kurdish folk music with western style pop music, rock, blues, and jazz. He has released 14 albums. He become well-known on the kurdish music scene after he sang for more than 200.000 people in Batman, south Turkey, in 2003. Haco lives in Sweden with his wife. He has two children, Lorin, 7, and Rosa, 5.


title: Tata Young

paragraphs: Amita Marie "Tata" Young (born December 14, 1980 in Bangkok) is a Thai singer, model and actress, partly from American descent.

paragraphs: She became a singer when she was 15. Her first album was called "Amita Tata Young" and it was very successful. It sold more than a million copies in less than 5 months. In 2004, she made an English album called "I Believe". It sold many copies and made her famous in other countries as well.

paragraphs: In 2006 she made her second English album called "Temperature Rising", which made her even more popular, especially in Asia. In 2008 Tata Young released a Thai language album called "One Love".

paragraphs: Her most recent album "Ready for Love" was released in 2009.


Trip


title: Practice

paragraphs: Practice or practise (a verb form in British English) is the act of repeating a behavior over and over, or doing an activity again and again.

paragraphs: It is a way to learn things faster, by repeating them. For example, sport teams practice to prepare for real games, or a musician practices for some hours every day, so he can play perfectly in his concert.

paragraphs: A practice can also mean the way something is done, like in "medical practice".


title: Stevens' power law

paragraphs: Stevens' power law is a proposed relationship between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and the intensity or strength that people feel.

paragraphs: Most people think that it describes a wider range of sensations than Weber-Fechner law. But critics argue that the validity of the law is not sure.

paragraphs: The theory is named after psychophysicist Stanley Smith Stevens (1906–1973). Although the idea of a power law had been suggested by 19th century researchers, Stevens is credited with reviving the law and publishing a body of psychophysical data to support it in 1956.

paragraphs: where formula_2 is the magnitude of the physical stimulus, formula_3 is the psychophysical function capturing sensation (the subjective size of the stimulus), formula_4 is an exponent that depends on the type of stimulation and formula_5 is a proportionality constant that depends on the type of stimulation and the units used.

paragraphs: The table to the right lists the exponents reported by Stevens.


title: Stimulus

paragraphs: A Stimulus (plural stimuli) is something which causes a response. It is used in various bodies:


title: Logic gate

paragraphs: A logic gate is an electronic component that can be used to conduct electricity based on a rule. The output of the gate is the result of applying this rule to one or more "inputs". These inputs may be two wires or the output of other logic gates.

paragraphs: Logic gates are digital components. They normally work at only two levels of voltage, a positive level and zero level. Commonly they work based on two states: "On" and "Off". In the On state, voltage is positive. In the Off state, the voltage is at zero. The On state usually uses a voltage in the range of 3.5 to 5 volts. This range can be lower for some uses.

paragraphs: Logic gates compare the state at their inputs to decide what the state at their output should be. A logic gate is "on" or active when its rules are correctly met. At this time, electricity is flowing through the gate and the voltage at its output is at the level of its On state.

paragraphs: Logic gates are electronic versions of Boolean logic. Truth tables will tell you what the output will be, depending on the inputs.

paragraphs: AND gates have two inputs. The output of an AND gate is on only if both inputs are on. If at least one of the inputs are off, the output will be off.

paragraphs: Using the image at the right, if "A" and "B" are both in an On state, the output (out) will be an On state. If either "A" or "B" is in an Off state, the output will also be in an Off state. "A" and "B" must be On for the output to be On.

paragraphs: OR gates have two inputs. The output of an OR gate will be on if at least one of the inputs are on. If both inputs are off, the output will be off.

paragraphs: Using the image at the right, if either "A" or "B" is On, the output ("out") will also be On. If both "A" and "B" are Off, the output will be Off.

paragraphs: The NOT logic gate has only one input. If the input is On then the output will be Off. In other words, the NOT logic gate changes the signal from On to Off or from Off to On. It is sometimes called an inverter.

paragraphs: XOR gates have two inputs. The output of a XOR gate will be true only if the two inputs are different from each other. If both inputs are the same, the output will be off.


title: Plaza Mayor of Madrid

paragraphs: The Plaza Mayor of Madrid was built in the 1400's on the same location as the old Plaza del Arrabal (square outside the walls). It was used as a market in the Middle Ages. It is also called the Plaza de la Constitución.

paragraphs: In the 1560s, King Philip II and his architect, Juan de Herrera planned to change it into a proper square for the Courts. The first part to be finished was the Casa de la Panaderia (bakery) in 1590. Gómez de Mora gave it the rectangular form. The ground is still cobbled. It finally opened in 1620 under the rule of King Philip III.

paragraphs: The statue in the middle is King Philip III on horseback made by Juan de Bologna. The statue was moved from the Casa de Campo to the Plaza Mayor in 1848.

paragraphs: In the 1700's, it was used for the crowning of kings, bullfights, carnivals and even executions. People watched from the balconies around the square.

paragraphs: The Plaza has been damaged by three fires. Juan de Villanova had the plaza built again in 1853 and that is what is seen today. People can enter the plaza through nine different arches.


title: Gran Vía

paragraphs: The Gran Vía (The Great Way) is one of the most important shopping areas in Madrid, Spain. It also has hotels and large movie theaters.

paragraphs: Many of the buildings on the Gran Vía are decorated with fancy sculptures. One of the more impressive buildings on the Gran Vía is the Edificio Metropolis. It was built in 1907 by Jules and Raymond Février. It has a statue of the winged Roman goddess, Victoria, on the top. Madrid's first skyscraper, Telefonica's Head Office, is also on the Gran Vía.

paragraphs: The Gran Vía was planned in the 1850s. They did not start building the road until 1904 and finished it in 1929. People laughed at the plan because it took so long to get started. As a joke, they called it the 'gran vía' or 'great road'.


title: Fountain of Cibeles

paragraphs: Cibeles is the name given to the marble fountain found in the Plaza de Cibeles (Cybele's Square) in Madrid, Spain. It is on a very busy road crossing. The statue was made by Ventura Rodriguez. King Carlos III asked to have it made in 1716. It has changed several times. It was moved to the central position in 1895.

paragraphs: The lady is the Goddess of Fertility. She sits on a chariot pulled by lions. The lions' names are Hippomenes and Atalanta. They were people that the goddess turned into lions because they ruined her temple. The lions were made by Robert Michel.


title: Puerta del Sol

paragraphs: The Puerta del Sol ("Sun Gate") is known as 'Spain's belly button'. In the 1400s, it was the gate or entrance of the east side of the city. Since the sun rises in the east, it got the name Puerta del Sol. It is now the center of 'kilometer 0' of Madrid. All roads are measured from this point.

paragraphs: It was rebuilt in 1854. The statue of King Carlos III is in the middle of the square. The red brick building there is the former post office. The famous Oso y el Madroño (bear eating madroños) statue can also be found here. The Puerta del Sol is also famous for its New Year's celebration which has been broadcast on television since December 31, 1962.


title: Royal Palace of Madrid

paragraphs: The Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid) is the official home of the King of Spain. It is located in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest palaces in western Europe.

paragraphs: King Felipe V had the palace built to replace the Alcazar that was burned down. It is made of limestone and granite. It was supposed to look a little like the Palace of Versailles in France. Juan Bautista Sachetti was in charge of building the palace. They started to build it in 1738. Carlos III moved into the palace in 1764. It took a hundred years to decorate all the rooms.

paragraphs: Spanish kings lived there until 1931 when King Alfonso XIII was forced to leave Spain. The Royal Palace is still used for special ceremonies. Letizia was supposed to walk on a red carpet from the Royal Palace to the cathedral for the wedding with Prince Felipe but it rained so she was taken in car.

paragraphs: Fifty of the rooms in the palace are open for public visits. Visitors enter the palace from the Plaza de la Armería. Some of the rooms that can be seen are: the 'porcelain' room, 'throne' room and 'clock' room. There is a royal army museum in the palace.

paragraphs: The Almudena Cathedral is nearby the palace.

paragraphs: The Royal Alcazar of Madrid was originally on the site.


title: Puerta de Alcalá

paragraphs: The Puerta de Alcalá (Alcalá Gate) is a monument in the Plaza de la Independencia ("Independence Square") in Madrid, Spain. Francisco Sabatini created the monument in 1778 for Carlos III when he arrived in Madrid. It is the gateway to the Court. It is built of granite and limestone. It has three big arches that have lion's heads on top made by Robert Michel. There are two smaller arches on the sides. At the very top of the monument, there are angels, trophies and the coat of arms which were all made by Francisco Gutiérrez.


title: Plaza

paragraphs: Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open public space in a city, such as a city square. In Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each city had three things: the cathedral, the "cabildo" or administrative center, and the "audiencia" or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was a space where many people could be together at once. Similar to Italian piazzas, plazas are still a center of community life, like the market-place.

paragraphs: Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square "plaza de armas", where troops could gather.

paragraphs: The first shopping center in the United States, opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 1922, was called "Country Club Plaza" and had Spanish-style architectural details. More recently, "plaza" has been used to describe a shopping center, similar to a shopping mall. Calling a shopping center a "plaza" is to give the idea of a center of cultural life.


title: Transduction (physiology)

paragraphs: In physiology, transduction is the change of a stimulus from one form to another.

paragraphs: Transduction in the nervous system typically means synaptic events where an electrical signal is converted into a chemical one by the release of neurotransmitters.

paragraphs: In sensory transduction a chemical or physical stimulus is transduced by sensory receptors into an electrical signal.

paragraphs: For example, in the visual system, sensory cells called rod and cone cells in the retina change the physical energy of light signals into electrical impulses that travel to the brain. The light causes a change in a protein called rhodopsin. In mammalian examples, more light hitting the receptor results in the transduction of a signal into fewer electrical impulses. In invertebrates, however, more rhodopsin activation results in increased frequency of neuron firing.


title: Resource

paragraphs: A Resource is something that can be used for a purpose. For example, tools and materials are resources. There are many kinds of resource:


title: S.C. Corinthians Paulista

paragraphs: S.C. Corinthians Paulista is a football club which plays in Brazil.

paragraphs: Football (soccer) had already established itself as the popular new sport in Brazil and when the dry season came and the fields dried out they were soon filled with lovers of the new game. São Paulo's sporting elite had formed several clubs,Germânia, Paulistano and Campos Elíseos among them, but access to the game was still largely restricted to the city's well off.

paragraphs: So a group of working class fans - painter and decorators Joaquim Ambrósio, Antônio Pereira and César Nunes; cobbler Rafael Perrone; driver Anselmo Correia; foundry worker; Alexandre Magnani: cook Salvador Lopomo; labourer João da Silva and tailor Antônio Nunes - decided to start their own team. Bataglia decided to get involved he was named the club's first president.

paragraphs: The new club needed a name. Joaquim Ambrósio suggested they call themselves after the Corinthians Casuals Football Club, the famous English team that was then on tour in Brazil. The press and fans in Brazil who were following the tour shortened the English club's name to Corinthian's Team and so the founders did away with the aopstrophe and the club won its elegant name Corinthians.

paragraphs: Corinthians is also known as "Big Team", "Coringão", "The Musketeer" and "Champion of the Champions".

paragraphs: Finally, the club picked colours. The club's first strip was beige with black trim and had the distinctive letters "C" and "P" for Corinthians Paulista. However, when the strips were washed, the black bled into the beige. The directors could not afford to keep buying new strips every time the colours ran so they decided to change their colours. They swapped the beige for white. In present-day, the colours of Corinthians are Black and White.

paragraphs: The name of Corinthians´s stadium is Arena Corinthians, also known as "Itaquerão" and with a capacity crowd of 68,000.

paragraphs: The team from Varzea Paulista. Playing away from home in their first match, Corinthians were expected to lose heavily but they showed they were not there just to make up the numbers and they battled hard before narrowly going down by a goal to nil.

paragraphs: The defeat turned out to be a one-off. Four days later, Corinthians proved they would be a name to be reckoned with and beat Estrela Polar 2-0. The honour of scoring the club's first goal went to striker Luís Fabi, who wrote himself into the history books by grabbing the opener. They followed the match with an unbeaten streak that lasted two years.

paragraphs: They then won 1-0 away at Minas Gerais and then beat São Paulo do Bexiga 4-0 at home. They had secured their place in the big league.

paragraphs: Things got even better the following year and in 1914 a dynasty took hold. In just their second Paulista Championship, Corinthians destroyed the competition and won all 10 games, scoring 39 times in the process. Neco ended the tournament's top goalscorer with 12 goals.

paragraphs: Corinthians picked up yet another Paulista Championship in 1922 but this victory had something special about it. The winner took the title not only of Paulista Champions but also of Centenary Champions, a title they would hold for at least the next 100 years.

paragraphs: By this time, winning the Paulista was becoming routine. The team won the league three years in a row in 1922, 1923 and 1924 under the command of Neco, the club's first great idol, and would do so again in 1928, 1929 and 1930.

paragraphs: The great and only rival of Corinthians is Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. This is the most derbie and traditional rivalry in Brazilian football. The fans of Corinthians called Palmeiras as a "pig" and the fans of palmeiras called Corinthians as a "skunk".

paragraphs: However, and between 1931 and 1934 a series of bad results left the team trailing. Corinthians lost to all their big rivals of the time and failed to make an impression in the league, never finishing higher than fourth.

paragraphs: The turnaround came in 1937, and for the rest of the decade there was only one team in the state. Corinthians won the Paulista Championship in 1937, 1938 and 1939 to become the first team ever to win three back-to-back titles three times. Even today, no other team has managed to equal such a feat. The man who led the way was centre-forward Teleco. One of the club's greatest ever goalscorers, he topped the scoring charts in 1937 and 1939. The former year he scored almost half the club's goals, while in the latter he got an amazing 60 percent.

paragraphs: The 100-goal attack made history not only for the club but also for the league. In 1951, a front line made up of Carbone, Cláudio, Luizinho, Baltazar and Mário scored 103 goals in 30 games in the Paulista Championship, an average of 3.43 per game. The title was theirs, as was the trophy for top goalscorer, which went to Carbone, who got 30 of the team's goals.

paragraphs: In the years that followed, more titles were added to the growing trophy room at Parque São Jorge. In 1952, the "Timão" won the Paulista Championship for the second successive year, with Baltazar finishing top scorer. In 1953, they took the Rio-São Paulo title and the Little World Cup - the club's first international title - and in 1954 they walked off with another Rio-São Paulo as well as the Paulista do IV centenário de São Paulo. In 1956 and 1957, they won the "Invencible Trophy", the cup given to the team that went the longest number of games undefeated.

paragraphs: In 1976, Corinthians almost won their first Brazilian League title and the club's fans played a starring role in one of the most memorable moments in footballing history. Corinthians were drawn against Fluminense in the semi-finals of the league play offs at the Maracanã. More than 70,000 Corinthians fans made the six-hour trip up the motorway to Rio de Janeiro in a massive convoy that was christened the "Corinthians Invasion."

paragraphs: Corinthians won the first game but lost the second and so needed to win a third and deciding match to take the title. It was quite a struggle, with the match goalless until the 81st minute. Then, a Zé Maria free kick was directed onto the bar by Vaguinho. Wladimir headed the rebound back towards goal where Oscar was on hand to knock it off the line. The ball fell to Basílio in the area and he hammered it into the net and gave Corinthians the goal they so desperately wanted. The 1977 Paulista Championship was theirs.

paragraphs: The "Timão" was always one of the most important clubs in Brazil. But the Corinthians Democracy movement was unique in world football. Through organisation, team spirit and democracy, they did something no other team has managed before or since. When players as politically and socially conscientious as Sócrates, Wladimir, Casagrande and Zenon get together then there are bound to be changes in the dressing room. Those four stars were the driving force behind the greatest ideological movement in the history of Brazilian football: Corinthians Democracy. And this in the middle of the country's military dictatorship. Corinthians Democracy did something that seemed impossible. Through football, the most popular sport in the country, they got people talking about all sorts of important and relevant questions concerning society, democracy and the end of military rule. In addition to that not inconsiderable feat, they showed that it was possible to create a society in which everyone's opinions are heard and respected and where democracy, through the imposition of the wishes of the majority, could prevail. They won the Paulista Championship in 1982 and 1983, beating city rivals São Paulo both times. In 1982, they battled back after losing the first game 3-2 to take the next two matches 1-0 and 3-1 and lift the trophy. The next year they won again, thanks to a series of brilliant performances from Sócrates. The good doctor scored all the team's goals in the semi-finals against Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (1-1 and 1-0) as well as in the final against São Paulo Futebol Clube (1-0 and 1-1). His four goals brought the team their 19th Paulista Championship.

paragraphs: The 1990s was to prove a glorious decade for Corinthians, who captured three Brazilian Championships (in 1990 beating São Paulo Futebol Clube, in 1998 beating Cruzeiro and in 1999 led the championship since the beginning at the finished and beating Atlético Mineiro at the final game), three State Championships (in 1995 beating Palmeiras, in 1997 beating São Paulo and 1999 beating Palmeiras again) and a Brazilian Cup (in 1995 beating Grêmio) in quick succession.

paragraphs: In 2000, Corinthians, who captured FIFA Club World Championship victory against Vasco da Gama(win 4-3 on penalties) at the "Maracanã" Stadium. This match had attendance of 73,000 peoples. This is the most important title of Corinthians. Corinthians played the final game with Dida, Índio, Fábio Luciano, Adílson & Kléber; Vampeta (Gilmar), Rincón, Marcelinho Carioca & Ricardinho (Edu); Edílson (Fernando Baiano) & Luizão.

paragraphs: The final months of 2004 marked a new era for the "Timão" and for Brazilian football. The partnership between MSI and Corinthians revolutionised the game and brought internationalists like Carlos Tévez, Javier Mascherano, Roger, Carlos Alberto and Gustavo Nery to the club. The future was bright for the club and fans could not help but feel optimistic they would enjoy many more triumphs in the coming years.

paragraphs: And so it proved, with success coming quicker than they could have hoped for. Led by Argentine star Carlos Tévez, the "Timão" had a sensational league campaign in 2005 and won their fourth Brazilian League Title in 2005.

paragraphs: More new signings were made in 2006 with Ricardinho, Rafael Moura and goalkeeper Silvio Luiz coming to the club in a bid to strengthen a squad that would be competing for another Brazilian League title and the Copa Libertadores.


title: Lyrics

paragraphs: Lyrics are the words to a song. A person who writes lyrics is called a lyricist.

paragraphs: The lyrics of a song will usually have a meaning. Some times the meaning is easy to find but other times it can be very difficult to know what the lyrics mean. Some lyrics are so strange that it is nearly impossible to understand them. In such cases, people tend to look more at the form, articulation, meter, and symmetries of the lyrics instead of looking at their meaning.

paragraphs: There are many websites that have the lyrics to songs. This may be a bad thing since many web sites include copyrighted lyrics without permission from the copyright holder. The United States Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents sheet music companies, created a campaign against such sites in December 2005. MPA president Lauren Keiser said that the sites are "completely illegal" and that he wanted to see some site operators put in prison.

paragraphs: "Lyric" is from the Greek; a lyric was originally a song sung with a lyre.

paragraphs: A lyric poem is one that expresses a subjective, personal point of view.

paragraphs: The word "lyric" was used for the "words of a popular song" about 1876 for the first time. The plural "lyrics" was used only in referring to the words of several songs. That it is used for the words of a single song as its "lyrics" became increasingly common (probably because of the association between "lyrics" and the plural form "words"), and is common in modern usage of today's society. Use of the singular form "lyric" is still grammatically acceptable.


title: Judicial review

paragraphs: Judicial review is the power of a court to decide whether a law or decision by the government is constitutional. This power was established in the United States in the Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison.

paragraphs: Countries that have judicial review are: India, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, England, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.


Torrance


title: Asian Dust

paragraphs: Asian Dust (also yellow dust, yellow sand, yellow wind, or China dust storms) is a weather occurrence that happens each year. It affects much of East Asia during the spring. The dust comes from deserts in Mongolia, northern China, and Kazakhstan. The dust comes from surface winds and dust storms in the desert. The wind carries the clouds eastward to China, Japan, Eastern Siberia, and the Koreas. Smaller particles in the clouds can travel much farther to places like the United States. In the last ten years, these dust storms have become a serious problem because they have picked up industrial pollutants.


title: Aden Abdullah Osman Daar

paragraphs: Aden Abdulle Osman Daar ("Aaden Cabdulle Cusmaan Daar") (9 December 1908 – 8 June 2007), was a Somali politician.

paragraphs: In February 1944, he joined the Somali Youth Club (later called the Somali Youth League). The group was a nationalist party that wanted independence for Somalia. Daar became a member of the party's steering board. In 1946, he was appointed as the secretary of one section of the party. He was chairman of the Somali Youth League from 1954 to 1956, and again from 1958 to 1959. In 1956, he was elected chairman of the Legislative Assembly.

paragraphs: When Somalia gained its independence on July 1, 1960, Daar was elected as the first president of Somalia. He was beaten in the 1967 presidential election against Abdirashid Ali Shermarke. He finished his term as president on June 10, 1967.


title: Service of worship

paragraphs: A service of worship is a religious meeting where people of a church come together, usually in a cathedral or church building, in order to worship God. It may also be called a church service or prayer service or just service. It is the usual term used in the Christian religion for such a meeting. The term is also used sometimes in Judaism, although "prayer service" or just "service" are more common.

paragraphs: In the Protestant church services are usually led by a pastor, although sometimes they may be led by laymen (people who are not priests).

paragraphs: In the Christian churches services are normally held on Sundays, although there may be services on other days as well, especially in large churches or cathedrals.

paragraphs: Services often include Holy Communion or Eucharist. Matins is a morning service which does not include communion. An evening service is called Evensong.

paragraphs: Church services are also held for weddings, funerals, or other special occasions.

paragraphs: Services may include prayers, singing, sermons (preaching) and readings from the Bible.

paragraphs: In Judaism, most prayer services are built around two main prayers:

paragraphs: Jewish prayer services are held whenever the "Amidah" prayer is said. In the morning and evening, they also include "Shema."


title: Bandidos

paragraphs: Bandidos is a motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. Its slogan is ""We are the people our parents warned us about"". Bandidos is estimated to have 2 400 members in 195 chapters, located in 14 countries.


title: Hells Angels

paragraphs: Hells Angels is a motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1948 in Fontana, California. One of the best known members is Ralph 'Sonny' Barger, the ""Godfather of the Hells Angels"".


title: Outlaws Motorcycle Club

paragraphs: The Outlaws Motorcycle Club is an American motorcycle club. It was formed in Mc Cook, Illinois in 1935. The club has chapters in USA, Canada, Australia, Asia and Europe.


title: Blood and Honour

paragraphs: Blood and Honour is a Neo-Nazi music promotion network. The group organises concerts and distributes records by Rock Against Communism bands. Ian Stuart Donaldson, singer of the band Skrewdriver, was the founder of Blood and Honour. The name Blood and Honour is taken from the motto of the Hitler Youth, "Blut und Ehre".


title: Perry Rhodan

paragraphs: Perry Rhodan is a German science fiction series, published since 1961.

paragraphs: "Perry Rhodan" picks up nearly every theme that has ever appeared in science fiction. People from outside have criticised the series, but its commercial success during several decades has become a literary phenomenon in itself. If nothing else, "Perry Rhodan" provides a mirror of the 1960s Cold War, 1970s New Age, and 1980s peace movement in its story line. The series has an important influence on German writers in the field. The writing of the series still goes on.

paragraphs: Written by an ever-changing team of authors, "Perry Rhodan" is issued in weekly in the traditional German "Heftchen" (pulp booklet) format. The series was created in 1961 by K. H. Scheer and Clark Darlton. Initially, it should have thirty volumes, but it became an long lasting success and passed 2350 installments in 2006.

paragraphs: Perry Rhodan is one of four fictional astronauts of the USA. In 1971, they fly to the moon, where they meet an extraterrestrial space-ship. From its owners they get technology, which they use to end the cold war and to unite the people of the Earth. Then "Terra", the Earth, becomes a power in intergalactical politics.


title: Wieluń

paragraphs: Wieluń is a city in the central part of Poland in Łódź Voivodeship. Around 27,000 people live here. The city was started in 1283.


title: Nasjonal Samling

paragraphs: Nasjonal Samling (Norwegian for "National Gathering" or "National Unity") was a fascist party in Norway, active in the period 1933–1945. The party was founded by Vidkun Quisling and a group of sympathisers. The party's paramilitary wing was called "Hirden" (the Hird).


title: One Piece

paragraphs: is a manga and anime series created by Eiichiro Oda. It is the story of the Strawhat Pirates, led by captain Monkey D. Luffy, on their adventures in Grand Line. The main theme is Monkey D. Luffy's dream to find the One Piece, a grand treasure that the King of the Pirates, Gold Roger left behind. One Piece seems to take place in a world with one continent, many different islands, and a vast and large sea filled with monsters, pirates and treasure. One Piece is serialized in weekly JUMP(週刊少年ジャンプ）. The most successful movies are "Strong World" and "One Piece Film Z".

paragraphs: Monkey D. Luffy is the main character and is captain of the Strawhat Pirates. His other name is 'Straw Hat Luffy'. He ate a Devil Fruit called the "Gum-Gum No Mi" fruit when he was 7 years old, giving him the power to stretch like rubber. His Strawhat was given by Shanks. His older brother is Ace.

paragraphs: Zoro was a former pirate hunter but turned into a pirate when he joined Luffy. His another name is 'Pirate Hunter Zoro'. When he was little he was the greatest warrior in his dojo, next to Kuina, the teacher's daughter, who was frustrated that girls were not able to become great swordsmen. Zoro points out that it does not matter if you are a boy or girl. They then make a promise to one another that one of them will be the greatest swordsman, or swordwoman, of all time. The very next day Kuina dies after falling down some stairs. Zoro then takes her sword so he can fulfill their dream.

paragraphs: Coby is Luffy's frienemy. In the anime One Piece starts out as Luffy meeting Coby on a pirate ship after he got captured 2 years earlier. They become friends after Coby was freed from the pirates he beat up. Later Luffy finds out that Coby is now his enemy since he joined the Navy, but Luffy still says they have a friendship bond and sails to see, later seeing him again after he got his shipwright, Franky.

paragraphs: Sanji is an amazing cook, with very good culinary skills. He is also a martial artist (who uses his feet only) that falls in love with almost every girl he sees. His other name is 'Black Leg Sanji'. His dream is to find 'The All Blue', and as a cook he values his hands greatly. Because of a period of starvation in his early life (while in the company of owner of the Baratie, Zeff), Sanji will always feed someone who is hungry. He is 21 years old. He is a smoker.

paragraphs: Nami was a thief who stole from pirates. She is a navigation officer of the Strawhat Pirates now. Her other name is 'Cat Burglar Nami'. She is 20 years old. Her sister is Nojiko. She is from Kokoyashi. She likes oranges, and respected her late foster mother, Bellamere.

paragraphs: Usopp is a great sniper but a coward who likes to lie. His other name is 'King Of Snipers: Sogeking (Sniper King)'. His weapon is a slingshot, and he has excellent aim. Luffy officially made him the crew's sniper after he had perfect aim on his first try at shooting a cannon, destroying an island in one blow (which also happened to be the island where Yosaku and Johnny were resting). His father is Yasopp, a sniper on Shank's crew.

paragraphs: Chopper is a blue-nosed reindeer that ate a devils fruit which gave him the ability to become partly human. His other name is 'Cotton Candy Lover Chopper'. He is the doctor of the straw hat crew, and has a habit of "hiding behind objects" in a way where he is completely visible.

paragraphs: Robin, formerly member of the crime organisation Baroque Works, joins the crew after being saved by Luffy. Her other name is "Child of the Devil Nico Robin". She ate a devils fruit that lets her create Replications of her body parts on any surface she wants.

paragraphs: Franky is a cyborg and a ship craftsman. His another name is 'Cyborg Franky'. His body runs on Cola, although using other liquids can give amusing results. Franky's usual attire consists of swimming pants and some kind of T-shirt, even in freezing conditions. His usual phrase is "SUPA!"

paragraphs: Brook is a living skeleton, who in his former life ate the devils fruit that gave him the ability to come back to life after his death. His other name is 'Humming Brook' or 'Soul King'. He is a swordsman and a musician. He can play many instruments, varying from the piano to the violin. His crew were the same pirates that left the whale at the beginning of the grand line.

paragraphs: Once time, "The king of Pirates", Gold Roger got all things in the world. He said he left a big treasure, 'One Piece'. Many pirates wish for 'One Piece' and fight each other. 'Golden Age of Piracy' came!

paragraphs: A boy living in Fusha town, Monkey D Luffy, made friends with Red hair Shanks. Shanks is a pirate staying in the town. Luffy was attacked by pirates. One day, Luffy ate a Devil Fruit called the "Gum-Gum" fruit, giving him the power to stretch like rubber, but he can't swim. After a while, Luffy made bandits angry, so they threw him into the sea. Luffy was nearly eaten by big fish, but Shanks helped him at the cost of his arm. When Shanks leave the town, Luffy was given his straw hat. The straw hat is Shanks's trend mark. Luffy promised him to become a great pirate and see him again.

paragraphs: After 10 years, Luffy is 17 years old and he trained a lot. He leaves his town, Fusha town to be the king of pirates. But soon, he met with a disaster, then he met Cobby. Cobby's dream is to be a marine, but unfortunately he stays in Alwida's ship. Alwida is a female pirate and a big angry woman. Coby can't escape the ship and works on the ship. Luffy beats Alwida and helps Cobby, then he goes to Shellstown with him.

paragraphs: "ONE PIECE THE MOVIE episode of Chopper + Huyu ni saku, Kiseki no Sakura" was released in 2008.

paragraphs: "ONE PIECE FILM STRONG WORLD" was released in 2010.

paragraphs: One Piece is currently the most popular manga series. There are from vol.0 to vol.58(as of November 18, 2018).