title: ASUS Eee PC

paragraphs: The ASUS Eee PC is a very small laptop made by ASUS and Intel. It is designed to have a light weight and low price. It runs Linux as its operating system.

paragraphs: The name "Eee" (pronounced as the letter "e", IPA /iː/) comes from "the three Es," ASUS used in their advertisements for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play".


title: Tutsan

paragraphs: Tutsan () is a bushy Eurasian shrub with golden yellow flowers. Its fruit are red berries, which turn black when they are fully ripe. The leaves and flowers of the plant grow and blossom in the spring and are shed in the fall. Its scientific name is "Hypericum androsaemum" L. The Tutsan has medical properties. A similar plant to it is the H. perforatum.


title: Telluride Bluegrass Festival

paragraphs: The Telluride Bluegrass Festival is an annual music festival held in Telluride, Colorado. The festival is put on by Planet Bluegrass. The festival mainly focuses on bluegrass music. It has had artists in the past such as Nickel Creek, Bela Fleck, and Chris Thile.


title: Singer-songwriter

paragraphs: Singer-songwriters are popular musicians who write and perform their own works. They often accompany themselves on acoustic guitar or piano. Singer-songwriters compose the music, write the lyrics, sing, play the musical instruments, and often manage themselves. For them, the song is more important than their performance of it.

paragraphs: The term became popular in the 1960s. It referred to a specific type of performers who wrote certain kinds of music and lyrics.


title: Complutense University of Madrid

paragraphs: The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM) is one of the oldest universities in the world and the top public university in Spain. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighbouring city of Pozuelo de Alarcón.

paragraphs: According to the annual university rankings conducted by "El Mundo", the Complutense University ranks as the top public university in Spain.


title: Opera

paragraphs: Opera is a drama set to music. An opera is like a play in which everything is sung instead of spoken. Operas are usually performed in opera houses. The singers who sing and act out the story are on the stage, and the orchestra is in front of the stage but lower down, in the orchestra pit, so that the audience can see the stage.

paragraphs: An opera is normally divided into two, three, four or even five acts. In older operas the music was mostly recitative and arias. During the recitative things would happen in the story. The aria was a song for a solo singer, a setting of a lyric. As well as recitative and aria there would be choruses. The chorus were a group of singers who sing in the crowd scenes. The opera would start with an overture for the orchestra. The overture would usually include tunes that are going to be heard later in the opera.

paragraphs: In operas from the 19th century onwards there is often little or no difference between recitative and aria. Composers like Wagner wanted to get away from operas which had lots of separate arias in which the singers showed off, with the audience clapping loudly after each one. He wanted continuous music so that the mood would not be broken.

paragraphs: Sometimes operas have a lot of dancing in them. French opera especially would often have one act which was full of dances.

paragraphs: Grand opera is opera which is all set to music.

paragraphs: Opéra bouffe (French) or Opera buffa (Italian) is comic opera. The story is very light-hearted and funny.

paragraphs: Opéra comique is a French term for opera which has some spoken words. Surprisingly it does not mean a “comic” opera. An opera like "Carmen", which is a tragedy, is still an opéra comique due to the fact that it uses spoken dialogues instead of recitatives.

paragraphs: Singspiel is a German term for a type of opera with lots of magic and fantasy in the story. There were spoken words between the songs. Mozart’s "Magic Flute" is an example.

paragraphs: Operetta is a short opera which is light-hearted and usually has some spoken words.

paragraphs: Opera singers have to have powerful voices as well as a good technique. Most opera houses are very big, and the singers need to be heard at the back. They also need to be good at acting. They need to be able to learn their music quickly and to sing from memory. It is a help to be good at languages because operas are often in Italian, German, French, English or Russian etc. Some opera companies, like the English National Opera, sing their operas in English. Others, like the Royal Opera House, sing operas in whatever language they were composed in. Translations are printed on a screen above the front of the stage ("surtitles") so that the audience can understand what is being sung.

paragraphs: Although singers train to get a wide range (good top and bottom notes) they cannot be expected to sing any role in their voice range. For example: some sopranos may have big, dramatic voices, suitable for parts like Tosca in Puccini’s opera "Tosca". Some may have a very light and high voice, called “coloratura”, suitable for parts like the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s "Magic Flute". Some may have a medium range, called mezzo-soprano, suitable for parts like Carmen in Bizet’s opera "Carmen".

paragraphs: Very often in opera the heroine is a soprano and the hero is a tenor. Basses may often have the part of a powerful king, or he may be the bad guy.

paragraphs: The 18th century lexicographer and critic Dr Johnson described opera as an “exotic and irrational entertainment”. By “exotic” he meant that it came from a foreign country (which in those days was true: all opera at the time came from Italy). By “irrational” he meant that the things which happened in the stories were strange and not like real life. A play can be like real life, but an opera is being sung, so things are not going to happen like they normally do in real life. A singer might be singing “I must go, I must go!” and he may stand on the stage and sing this for several minutes before at last he goes! A singer may be pretending to die, and will sing a beautiful song before he or she finally dies. These things are “conventions”, which means that they are a kind of habit we have to accept when watching and listening to opera. Another convention of earlier operas was to have the part of young men sung by women. This is sometimes called a breeches role or trouser role. They are often small parts such as page boys, or teenagers who flirt with older women, such as the part of Cherubino in Mozart’s " The Marriage of Figaro" or Oktavian in Richard Strauss’s "Der Rosenkavalier". It should be remembered that in the 18th century it was usual for the main female part to be sung by a man who was a castrato.

paragraphs: There are lots of famous operas, and the best ones have some of the greatest music ever written. The music could not have been written like that if it had not been written for opera. For example: Mozart is very clever at writing music where maybe six people are all singing different things at once because they all have different ideas about the situation in the story.

paragraphs: One of the first operas ever written was by Hildegard of Bingen. Ordo Virtutum (Latin for "Order of the Virtues") is an allegorical , or , composed c. 1151, during the construction and relocation of Bingen's Abbey at Rupertsberg. It is the earliest morality play by more than a century, and the only Medieval musical drama to survive with an attribution for both the text and the music.

paragraphs: A short version of "Ordo Virtutum" without music appears at the end of "", Hildegard's most famous account of her visions. It is also included in some manuscripts of the "Symphonia armoniae celestium revelationum" ("Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations"), a cycle of more than 70 liturgical songs. It may have been performed by the convent nuns at the dedication of the St. church in 1152 or possibly before the at the convent .

paragraphs: The first Baroque opera ever written was performed in 1597 in Florence in Italy. It was called "Dafne" and the composer was Jacopo Peri. This opera is now lost, but three years later, in 1600, he worked together with another composer called Giulio Caccini to write an opera called "Euridice". The music for this still exists. It was nearly all recitative. This kind of writing was new, but if opera was to tell a story it was important to have a solo voice singing words that could be heard. They were trying to produce something like an ancient Greek tragedy. It was performed at a kind of club, called “camerata”, for intellectual (clever) people to a small audience. It was not great music, but the amazing thing was that there was a composer of genius around. His name was Claudio Monteverdi, and only seven years later, in 1607, he wrote the first really good opera: "Orfeo", which was produced in Mantua. Monteverdi must have realized that opera had the possibilities of putting poetry, music, scenery and acting all together. He took the kind of songs that were popular at the time and joined them with speaking or recitative. Later in life he joined these so that the music flowed more dramatically.

paragraphs: In 1637 the first public opera house was opened in Venice. Soon lots of theatres in Italy started to produce operas. The stories were usually about ancient times, like the Roman Empire or Greek myths. They started to put in comic (funny) bits to make people laugh. Soon there was opera in Paris, Vienna, Hamburg and in the small courts of Germany which in those days was lots of little countries, each with their own prince who ruled and who kept musicians at court. The composers who are best remembered today include Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) who was an Italian who moved to France and wrote operas for the French king, and George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) who was a German who moved to England and wrote operas for the opera houses in London. In Italy there were composers like Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) who had been a choirboy in Monteverdi’s church choir in Venice, and Alessandro Scarlatti 1660-1725 who lived in Naples.

paragraphs: During this period, known as the Baroque period, the opera was an entertainment for the upper classes who went to the opera to be seen in public. Opera was a social occasion where you could meet people and talk, even during the music. Both the singers and the audience behaved in ways that we would think were bad manners.

paragraphs: Christoph Willibald Gluck was a composer who tried to make people take opera more seriously. In 1762 he wrote an opera called "" which was performed in Vienna. It had lots of choruses and ballet numbers, like French opera, but the words were in Italian and the music really concentrated on the story rather than being just a display for clever singers to show off. Some of its music is very famous today, e.g. the "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" which is played on a flute, and Orfeo’s aria "Che faró senza Euridice?" ("What shall I do without Euridice?").

paragraphs: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned from Gluck’s ideas about opera. This can be seen in his opera "Idomeneo" which is about a Greek story. Other Italian operas by Mozart include: "Don Giovanni", "Le Nozze di Figaro" and "Cosi fan tutte". He also wrote operas in German: "The Abduction from the Serail" and "The Magic Flute". These are Singspiel: operas which tell magic and fantasy stories.

paragraphs: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) only wrote one opera: "Fidelio". It is a story of a woman who rescues her lover from prison. Rescue operas were popular in France, but this one is in German. It is a serious opera about how a woman can save a man by being true and faithful.

paragraphs: In the 19th century Richard Wagner (1813-1883) continued Gluck’s ideas. Wagner had very personal ideas about how his operas should be performed, and he liked to train the singers himself. He wanted them to take the drama of his operas seriously instead of treating the music as a way of showing off their voices. He always wrote the libretti (words for the opera) himself, and they were always in German. They are mostly about serious subjects from German folklore and myths, although he did write one comic opera: "The Mastersingers of Nürnberg". Wagner used “leitmotifs” which means that there are tunes which are used for particular characters or ideas in the opera. This allows the music to develop with the story, and can be used in interesting ways. For example: when Sigmund (in the opera "Die Walküre") says that he does not know who his father is, we hear his father’s tune in the orchestra! The audience, of course, know (this is called: dramatic irony).

paragraphs: In Italy Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) wrote lots of operas. There was no difference in style between his comic and his serious operas. Often the same overture was used for both. He wrote exactly all the notes that the singers were to sing, he did not want to leave it to them to improvise their own ornamental notes. Everything was carefully thought out. Musicians are not sure whether to call him a Classical or Romantic composer. Composers like Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) and Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) are definitely Romantic. They had the ability to write lovely lyrical tunes. The most famous Italian opera composer of the 19th century was Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). His music is not always continuous like Wagner’s. Sometimes it stopped for the audience to applaud. Verdi had a wonderful sense of drama, and could write beautiful melodies which captured people’s hearts. He loved Shakespeare, and based several of his operas on Shakespeare plays: "Othello", "Macbeth" and "Falstaff".

paragraphs: The 19th century was the time when Nationalism was important. Composers were writing music typical of their own countries. Wagner, as we have seen, took German myths for his opera stories. In Spain they had their own kind of opera called “zarzuela”. In Russia Mikhail Glinka (1804-1857) wrote "Ruslan and Lyudmila" which was based on a Russian fairy tale. Other Russian composers include Alexander Borodin who wrote "Prince Igor", and Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) who wrote "Boris Godunov". Both these operas are about stories from Russian history. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) wrote a fairy tale opera "Sadko", and Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) used some very Russian tunes in "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades".

paragraphs: Czech composers wrote national operas. The most famous Czech opera composers were Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) and Leoš Janáček (1854-1928). In France the most famous composer was Charles Gounod (1818-1893) who wrote an opera called "Faust".

paragraphs: In the 20th century composers had many different styles of composing. This was true of all kinds of music, including opera. Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was really a Romantic, although almost all his operas were written in the 20th century. His harmonies show that he had studied Wagner’s operas. "Der Rosenkavalier" (1909) has lots of romantic tunes, although it is a story about Vienna in the Classical period. In Italy composers like Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) wrote operas in the verismo style. This meant operas with stories that felt like real life. The characters in the stories were usually from the lower classes.

paragraphs: Alban Berg (1885-1935) also wrote operas about poor or simple people. He wrote an opera called "Wozzeck" which is the tragedy of a man who is too simple to understand that people are being unkind to him and using him. Berg’s music is often built on the twelve tone series which he had learned from Schoenberg. Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) "The Rake's Progress" is in yet another style called Neo-classical because the music is made to sound a bit like music of the Classical Period. In England Britten wrote many great operas like "Peter Grimes" and "Billy Budd". In Russia Dmitri Shostakovich wrote "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District". Most of them are about unfortunate people who want to be part of society but are not accepted.

paragraphs: More recent composers who wrote operas include the Hungarian György Ligeti (1923-2006), the Polish Krzysztof Penderecki (b.1933), the English Sir Harrison Birtwistle and the Americans Philip Glass (b.1937) and John Adams (b.1947).


title: West Sussex

paragraphs: On 1 April 1974, the old county of Sussex in South East England was split into East Sussex and West Sussex. About 810,000 people live there.

paragraphs: Unlike many of the changes made by the Local Government Act 1972, the new counties are popular with the local people.


title: Avon (county)

paragraphs: Avon was a county that existed from 1 April 1974 until 31 March 1996. It was in South West England. It was not popular, and was broken up between parts of Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire.


title: Hereford and Worcester

paragraphs: Hereford and Worcester was a county in England set up after 1974. It was not popular because Hereford and Worcester used to be two separate counties.

paragraphs: In 1997, the county was split up in Hereford and Worcester again


title: Humberside

paragraphs: Humberside was a non-metropolitan county of England. It existed from 1 April 1974 until 31 March 1996. It was not popular, because the north and south banks of the River Humber used to be in different counties, and there were no links between the two. Even the building of the Humber Bridge, the longest bridge in Europe at the time, did not encourage the two sides of the river to mix.


title: Dave Farrell

paragraphs: David Michael Farrell (born February 8, 1977), also known as Phoenix because he is believed to have a tattoo of a phoenix on his back, is Linkin Park’s bassist.

paragraphs: Farrell was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, but when he was five he moved to Mission Viejo, California where he attended Mission Viejo High School. He graduated in 1999 at the University of California, Los Angeles. He can play bass guitar, electric guitar, cello and violin.

paragraphs: Farrell was a member of a Christian punk/ska band called Tasty Snax. While he was at the college, he shared the room with his friend Brad Delson, and they practiced together.

paragraphs: He had to go on tour with the Tasty Snax so he could not play with Delson and his band. Then, Farrell left his band to play bass with Brad Delson in the band Xero in 1996 but then left in 1998. He then rejoined Xero now called Linkin Park in November 2000 and has been playing with them ever since.


title: Audi

paragraphs: Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer with headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, and has been an almost wholly-owned (99.7%) subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1964. Audi AG was founded by August Horch and the current CEO of Audi AG is Rupert Stadler.

paragraphs: The following tables list Audi production vehicles that are sold as of 2020:


title: Armani

paragraphs: Armani, is an Italian fashion house (fashion designer company). It started in Milan in 1975 by Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti, with $10,000. The company designs and makes several different types of things, including fashion accessories, clothing, cosmetics, fragrances, home decorations, jewelry, glasses, and watches.

paragraphs: These are sold with several different named labels such as:

paragraphs: "Armani Collezioni" is a label from fashion designer Giorgio Armani. The label is more expensive than the "Armani Exchange", "Armani Jeans" labels but less expensive than the "Giorgio Armani" label(sometimes named the "Armani black label") and "Armani Privé".

paragraphs: The label is usually for older buyers who do not want new designs, but has older high quality clothes.

paragraphs: It replaced the "Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni" line. As well as being sold as the only product in some small shops, it is also sold in expensive department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, David Jones, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

paragraphs: 'The label features high-end, ready-to-wear, and accessories. Emporio Armani line has a high quality in luxury fashion clothes and focus on trends and modern traits. Emporio Armani is sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques in high-end department store and its official website'

paragraphs: "Armani Exchange" (often "A|X") was made in 1991. It is for younger buyers, often in their older teenage years. It uses city fashion, quick and easy to wear clothes, especially T-shirts, jeans, polos, and sports coats. Armani Exchange is the cheapest of all the Armani labels and is mainly sold in the USA.

paragraphs: The label has 69 shops and 6 outlets in the United States and over 50 shops in other countries. The UK's first shops opened at Bluewater in Kent, "The Trafford Centre" in Manchester and in the Metquater in Liverpool.

paragraphs: At the end of 2005, sales were $1.69 billion.

paragraphs: Today, the company has 4,700 workers and 13 factories in the world. It has nearly 300 shops in the world, which are in 36 different countries. The company has started a very high-class collection named Armani Privé, which can be seen in the "Haute Couture fashion week" in Paris.

paragraphs: Armani agreed in 2004 with Emaar Properties to make some expensive hotels in some big cities, such as London, Paris, New York City, Tokyo, Shanghai, Dubai and Milan. The company already has many cafes in the world, as well as a bar, a restaurant and a nightclub.

paragraphs: Emaar Hotels agreed to build and operate at least seven expensive hotels and three holiday resorts under the "Armani" name. Armani would design the inside of the buildings and the style of the hotels. The first hotel in Dubai is thought to be ready in early 2008.

paragraphs: The bottom 37 floors of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will have the world's first Armani Hotel, and Giorgio Armani is also designing the inside of the skyscraper.


title: Giorgio Armani

paragraphs: Giorgio Armani (born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer. He was born in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. He is famous for designing men's clothes. He made his company, Armani, in 1974, and in 2001 was said to be the most successful designer to come from Italy, with a yearly turnover of $1.691 billion, and having $4.1 billion. Armani is openly bisexual.


title: Calenzano

paragraphs: Calenzano is a "comune" (municipality) in the province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany. It is about 11 km northwest of Florence. Calenano has an area of 76.9 km² and a population of 15,557 inhabitants.

paragraphs: Calenzano borders the following municipalities: Barberino di Mugello, Campi Bisenzio, Prato, San Piero a Sieve, Sesto Fiorentino, Vaglia, Vaiano.

paragraphs: Calenzano has a station on the regional railway connecting it to Prato, Florence, Pistoia and Lucca. It can be reached by road from the highway "A1". Buses connect Calenzano to Prato, Florence, Campi Bisenzio and Barberino di Mugello.


title: Silk tree

paragraphs: Silk tree Albizia julibrissin is a species of genus "Albizia" from southeast and east Asia, from east Iran to China and Korea.

paragraphs: This Genus honoring Italian noble Filippo del Albizzi, who introduce it in Europe at middle XVIII century, sometimes incorrectly named ""Albizzia"". The specific name "julibrissin" is a corruption of farsi "Gul-i Abrisham" (گل ابریشم) meaning silktree, by its flowers ("Gul" گل is "flower" and "Abrisham" ابریشم means "silk").


title: Corbin Bleu

paragraphs: Corbin Bleu (born 1989) is an American actor and singer. He appears as Chad in High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and . He was a guest star as one of Miley's friends, Johnny Collins, in Hannah Montana and as Spencer in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He also works in Disney Channel's original movie, "Jump in" working with Keke Palmer ("Akeelah and the Bee").


title: Lucas Grabeel

paragraphs: Lucas Grabeel (born November 23, 1984) is an American actor, singer and songwriter. He played Ryan Evans in the Disney Channel's original movies "High School Musical" and "High School Musical 2". He is also known for playing a role in "Halloweentown High" and "Return to Halloweentown".


title: WWE Championship

paragraphs: The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in WWE. It is the first world title of WWE. The title is said to be the biggest prize in professional wrestling and millions of people around the world watch matches for it.

paragraphs: The WWE World Championship was created in 1963, and Buddy Rogers became the first world champion on April 29. It may have been created because of things that happened in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) which is a wrestling company (or promotion) that had many "territories" in North America and some around the world. In the 1950s, Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an NWA territory, and in 1963, people in CWC had a lot of control over the rest of the NWA. During this time, Buddy Rogers held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the world title of the NWA, until Lou Thesz defeated Rogers for the championship on January 24, 1963. After an argument over who should have won, CWC left the NWA and created a new promotion called the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The new company then made up a story for its new title, and said that the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was separated from the NWA World Championship, and there was a tournament in Rio de Janeiro to decide a new champion. They said that Buddy Rogers won this tournament, by beating Antonino Rocca in the finals. (The tournament actually did not happen.) The WWWF came back to the NWA once again, and the WWWF was renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979. After WWF left the NWA forever in 1983 the championship was named the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and later the WWF World Championship or WWF Championship in the 1990s.

paragraphs: In 1991, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), another NWA territory, created the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and it was just as important as the NWA world title. WCW then left the NWA and became a rival promotion to the WWF. Both promotions became popular, and fought the "Monday Night Wars". This was a fight to see who could get better ratings on TV. Near the end of the ratings war, WCW started to lose money, and the Monday Night Wars ended in March 2001 with WWF buying WCW. After that, WWF had all of WCW's videos, some of their wrestlers and championships, and other things. The group of wrestlers who were in WCW joining the WWF was called "The Invasion". After this, the WCW World Championship was made one with the WWF World Championship, at Vengeance 2001 in December. At the show, Chris Jericho beat The Rock to win the WCW World Championship, and Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF World Championship. Because of this, Chris Jericho was the last WCW World Champion and the Undisputed WWF World Champion as there was no dispute over what the most important prize in professional wrestling was anymore.

paragraphs: By 2002, the number of wrestlers in WWE was twice as big because they now had wrestlers from WWF before the end of WCW, and wrestlers who came from WCW and ECW. As a result of the increase, the WWF split its wrestlers in halves with each half performing on one of WWE's two weekly TV shows - "Raw" and "SmackDown!". Each show also had different championships and bosses. This was called the Brand Extension. In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the championship was called the WWE Undisputed World Championship. After these changes, the WWE Undisputed Championship was not on "Raw" or "SmackDown" and wrestlers from both brands could challenge the WWE Undisputed World Champion. When Eric Bischoff became the General Manager of "Raw" and Stephanie McMahon became the General Manager of "SmackDown", McMahon brought the WWE Undisputed World Champion at the time, Brock Lesnar to the "SmackDown" brand, and left the Raw brand without a world title. On September 2, after arguing about the brand that the Undisputed Championship should be on, Eric Bischoff announced the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship, separate from the Undisputed Championship. Then, the WWE Undisputed World Championship was called the WWE World Championship or just the WWE Championship. In 2011, There were two WWE Champions - John Cena and CM Punk. On the August 1 episode of Raw the Chief Operating Officer of WWE Triple H, announced a match to decide who will be the WWE Champion between Cena and Punk. At SummerSlam, Punk beat Cena to be the only WWE Champion, but that night Alberto Del Rio cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and became the new WWE Champion. The holder of the contract gets a WWE or World Heavyweight Championship match whenever they want. (They could also get an ECW Championship when that title was around)

paragraphs: On December 15, 2013, Randy Orton beat Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at . He was already WWE Champion when he won the championship and made the World Heavyweight Championship one with the WWE Championship to make the "WWE World Heavyweight Championship". Wrestlers stopped fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship the next day. The title was renamed the WWE World Championship because the WWE Universal Championship is on "Raw" and the original title is on "SmackDown" "Live". Soon after, it was changed back to the WWE Championship.

paragraphs: After the WWE Brand Extension, WWE started having drafts each year, where some wrestlers change brands. After three years on the "SmackDown" brand, the WWE Championship switched brands during the 2005 draft, when the WWE Champion John Cena was sent to "Raw" while the World Heavyweight Champion Batista was sent to "SmackDown". On June 11, 2006, Rob Van Dam used his Money in the Bank contract at ECW One Night Stand for a WWE Championship match against Cena. Van Dam beat Cena to win the WWE Championship, moving the title to the "ECW" brand, a brand WWE created after buying the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. On July 3, Edge beat Cena and Van Dam in a Triple Threat Match to win the WWE Championship and with Edge on the "Raw" brand at the time, Edge brought the title back to Raw. After the 2008 WWE Draft, the WWE Champion Triple H was drafted to "SmackDown", moving the WWE Championship to the "SmackDown" brand. The following year, the title returned to Raw after Triple H was drafted back to "Raw" during the 2009 WWE Draft, and the championship stayed there. When "SmackDown"'s Batista won the title from "Raw"'s John Cena at Elimination Chamber, it still stayed on "Raw" because Batista was sent there.

paragraphs: From August 2011 to July 2016, all WWE TV programming became "Supershows" that had wrestlers from both "Raw" and "SmackDown". This meant that the WWE Championship matches could happen at any WWE event. The brand extension came back in 2016 and the WWE Champion at the time Dean Ambrose was drafted to "SmackDown Live" and the championship has been there ever since.

paragraphs: Special belts have been made to match the characters of some champions:

paragraphs: A much bigger version of the belt was created for André the Giant before WrestleMania III, but he never wore it as champion. The belt Brahma Bull logo in the center that was made for the Rock was lost and was never on TV. Edge had created a special belt different from the "Rated R Spinner" one that he used for his second reign, but the plans were scrapped because of little time.

paragraphs: A special belt is being used by Daniel Bryan right now. His belt replaces the black leather strap of the normal belt with wood and fabric. This is to match his vegan character.


title: Micrometre

paragraphs: A micrometre (the American spelling is micrometer; symbol is µm) is a unit of length in the SI measurement system. It can also be called a micron. It is one millionth of a metre. A micrometre is often used as a measurement for small things like bacteria. Like the Angstrom it is used for radiation in or near the visible spectrum.


title: Trochenbrod

paragraphs: Trochenbrod (; ) was a Jewish shtetl (village) with an area 1,728 acres once in what is now western Ukraine, about 30 kilometers northeast of Lutsk. It used to be a part of Poland. It was also known as Sofievka or Zofiówka in Polish, named after Sofia, a Russian princess who donated land for the Jewish settlement.

paragraphs: Trochenbrod was founded in 1835, at first a farming colony which grew into a small town. The population grew from around 1,200 (235 families) in 1889 to 1,580 in 1897.

paragraphs: During the Polish-Soviet War, the town was captured by Poland. By 1938 the town's population, which was only Jewish, had grown to at least 3,000. Most of the people worked in farming, dairy farming, or tanning.

paragraphs: There were seven synagogues in Trochenbrod. In 1940, the town, along with the rest of Western Ukraine, became part of the Soviet Union (see Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). The rabbi at this time was Rabbi Gershon Weissmann. The Communists exiled him to Siberia after accusing him of being involved in underground salt trading.

paragraphs: When the Nazis later occupied Ukraine, they created a ghetto at Trochenbrod, bringing in Jews from nearby villages and towns. The Jews in the Trochenbrod ghetto were killed by the Nazis in August and September 1942. Most of the Jews of Trochenbrod as well as of the neighbouring village Lozisht were killed, as were the other Jews of Volhynia. The local Ukrainian police force helped to round up the Jews. Fewer than 200 Jews from the Trochenbrod ghetto and nearby areas lived through this killing. The village itself was burned. Now only fields and a forest can be found there.

paragraphs: A few of the people escaped the execution and destruction. At the end of the war, the number of people left was between 33 and 40; most were found in the area near Lutzk.

paragraphs: A fictional version of the shtetl, "Trachimbrod", was featured in the 2002 novel "Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer as well as in the 2005 film based on the novel.

paragraphs: Safran Foer's story describes fictional events in the village between 1791, the year in which the shtetl was first named, and 1941, when it was destroyed in the war. The main character of the book (who goes by the author's name and also by the name "The Hero") comes to Ukraine to look for a woman named Augustine, who saved his grandfather in the war.


title: Judith

paragraphs: Judith is a female given name. It comes from the Hebrew word "Yəhûḏîṯ", meaning either "praised one" or "a woman from Judea".


title: Book of Judith

paragraphs: The Book of Judith is a book of the Bible that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox Canon, put forward by the Council of Carthage in 397. It was roughly written in the year 100 BC, originally in the language of Ancient Greek. The book talks about a Jewish lady called Judith, who uses her beauty to seduce and finally kill an enemy ruler named Holofernes that is treating her people poorly. Having cut off the man's head, she takes it back home to her people. Very many paintings have been produced depicting Judith cutting off his head.


title: Quinto, Ticino

paragraphs: Quinto is a municipality of the district Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: Rancate

paragraphs: Rancate was a municipality of the district Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 5 April 2009 the former municipalities of Arzo, Capolago, Genestrerio, Mendrisio, Rancate and Tremona merged into the municipality of Mendrisio.


title: Riva San Vitale

paragraphs: Riva San Vitale is a municipality of the district Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: Rivera, Switzerland

paragraphs: Rivera is a former municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 21 November 2010 the former municipalities of Bironico, Camignolo, Medeglia, Rivera and Sigirino merged into the new municipality of Monteceneri.


title: Ronco sopra Ascona

paragraphs: Ronco sopra Ascona is a municipality of the district Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: Rovio

paragraphs: Rovio is a municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: San Nazzaro, Switzerland

paragraphs: San Nazzaro is a former municipality of the district Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 April 2010 the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged to form the new municipality of Gambarogno.


title: Sant'Abbondio

paragraphs: Sant'Abbondio is a former municipality of the district Locarno, in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 25 April 2010 the former municipalities of Caviano, Contone, Gerra Gambarogno, Indemini, Magadino, Piazzogna, San Nazzaro, Sant'Abbondio and Vira Gambarogno merged to form the new municipality of Gambarogno.


title: Sant'Antonino

paragraphs: Sant'Antonino is a municipality of the district Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

paragraphs: Sant'Antonino is not to be confused with the municipality of Sant'Antonio in the same district.


title: Sant'Antonio

paragraphs: Sant'Antonio is a former municipality, in the municipality of Bellinzona and the district Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

paragraphs: This municipality is not to be confused with the municipality of Sant'Antonino of the same district.


title: Savosa

paragraphs: Savosa is a municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: Sementina

paragraphs: Sementina is a former municipality of the district Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

paragraphs: On 2 April 2017 the former municipalities of Camorino, Claro, Giubiasco, Gnosca, Gorduno, Gudo, Moleno, Monte Carasso, Pianezzo, Preonzo, Sant'Antonio and Sementina merged into the municipality of Bellinzona.


title: Semione

paragraphs: Semione is a former municipality of the district Blenio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 1 April 2012 the former municipalities of Ludiano, Malvaglia and Semione merged to form the new municipality of Serravalle.


title: Sessa

paragraphs: Sessa is a municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.


title: Sigirino

paragraphs: Sigirino is a former municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 21 November 2010 the former municipalities of Bironico, Camignolo, Medeglia, Rivera and Sigirino merged into the new municipality of Monteceneri.


title: Sobrio

paragraphs: Sobrio is a former municipality of the district Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 10 April 2016, it was merged into the municipality of Faido.


title: Sonogno

paragraphs: Sonogno is a municipality of the district Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It can be found in Valle Verzasca.


title: Sonvico

paragraphs: Sonvico is a former municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the municipality of Sonvico merged into the city of Lugano becoming a new neighborhood.


title: Sorengo

paragraphs: Sorengo is a municipality of the district Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Lago di Muzzano can be found in this municipality.


title: Lago di Muzzano

paragraphs: Lago di Muzzano is a lake in Ticino, Switzerland. It is in the municipalities of Sorengo, Muzzano and Collina d'Oro. Its surface area is . It flows into Lake Lugano.


title: Nidfurn

paragraphs: Nidfurn is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.

paragraphs: It used to be its own municipality, until it was put together with 2 other municipalities to form Haslen.


title: Leuggelbach

paragraphs: Leuggelbach is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.

paragraphs: It used to be its own municipality, until it was put together with 2 other municipalities to form the new municipality, Haslen.


title: Agra, Switzerland

paragraphs: Agra is a village in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

paragraphs: This former municipality was put together with two other villages to form the new municipality of Collina d'Oro.


title: Gentilino

paragraphs: Gentilino is a village in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

paragraphs: The former municipality was merged with two other villages to form the new municipality of Collina d'Oro.


title: Miranda (Shakespeare)

paragraphs: In Shakespeare's play "The Tempest", Miranda is the beautiful daughter of the old Duke Prospero.

paragraphs: Miranda is a naive 15-year-old girl. She and her father were cast away by her uncle Antonio who wanted the throne and has been on a deserted island since she was three. Her father Prospero sends Ariel, his spirit servant, to fetch Ferdinand and arranges things so that the two will come to love one another.


title: Homograph

paragraphs: A homograph is one of a group of words that have the same spelling but have different meanings. They can also have different pronunciations.


title: Orlande de Lassus

paragraphs: Orlande de Lassus (whose name is also spelt Orlandus Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, Roland de Lassus, or Roland Delattre) (born Mons, Hainaut, probably in 1532 ; died Munich, 14 June, 1594) was a Franco-Flemish composer who lived in the last part of the Renaissance. Lassus and Palestrina are the two most famous composers of that time who were writing church music in a polyphonic style.

paragraphs: He was born in Mons in the province of Hainaut in the Low Countries which is mostly what is today the south part of the Netherlands and Belgium. We know very little about his childhood. There is a story that, when he was a choirboy, he was abducted three times by another church who wanted him to sing in their choir because he had a beautiful voice. There is no proof that this story is true. At the age of twelve he left his country and went to Mantua, Sicily, and later to Milan in Italy and then to Naples where he worked until the early 1550s. Next he moved to Rome, where he worked for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had a large household there. In 1553, he became "maestro di cappella" of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. This was an excellent job for a man who was only 21 years old. However, he only stayed there a year. Later, in 1555, Palestrina took that job. Lassus left Rome to go home to the Low Countries to see his parents who were ill, but by the time he got home they were both dead.

paragraphs: We are not sure what he did between then and 1554. He may have gone to France and England. In 1555 he returned to the Low Countries and had some of his first works published in Antwerp. In 1556 he joined the court of Duke Albert V of Bavaria who was very keen on music and was trying to make music in his country as good as the music in Italy. Lassus was one of several Netherlanders to work there, and by far the most famous. He seems to have been happy in Munich and he stayed there. In 1558 he married the daughter of a maid of honour of the Duchess; they had two sons who both became composers. By 1563 Lassus had been made "maestro di cappella". He stayed there for the rest of his life, although several other kings and aristocrats offered him jobs in other places. He had many honours, including being knighted by the Pope.

paragraphs: In 1590 his health started to be bad. In 1594 his employer decided it was costing him too much to employ Lassus, so he wrote a letter to him to say that he was dismissed (that he no longer had a job). Lassus never saw the letter, because that very same day he died.

paragraphs: Lassus composed a lot of church music. He had to compose masses for the morning and evening services. Many of these are parody masses, which means they were based on tunes from other compositions. Others were influenced by composers from Venice.

paragraphs: He wrote many motets which were probably sung at services as well. In some of these motets he shows a sense of humour. For example, one of his motets makes fun about bad singers: the music stops and starts and stutters. It was a kind of musical joke. Sometimes he had to write music for special occasions. He had visited Italy several times and learned the Italian way of writing polyphonic music.

paragraphs: Lassus also wrote many songs in French (chansons) as well as German (Lieder). He also wrote madrigals. He even wrote drinking songs.

paragraphs: He never wrote anything that was strictly instrumental music.


title: Mons

paragraphs: Mons is a town in Belgium and the capital of the Province of Hainaut. It is the fourth largest city of the Walloon part of Belgium where French is spoken. The town's name takes its roots from the Latin word "mons" which means "mountain". In 2015, the city becomes the European Capital of Culture for the calendar year.


title: Hainaut (province)

paragraphs: Hainaut (; ; German: "Hennegau") is a province of the Walloon Region, one of the three regions of Belgium. Its capital is the city of Mons.

paragraphs: It is the westernmost province of the Walloon Region.

paragraphs: To the south of the province of Hainaut lies the French Nord department, while within Belgium it borders (clockwise from the North) on the Flemish provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and the Wallonian provinces of Walloon Brabant and Namur.

paragraphs: The province has an area of with a population of and a density of inhabitants per km²; it is the province of the Walloon Region with the highest population.

paragraphs: The province of Hainaut is divided into seven arrondissements ("arrondissementen" in Dutch) with 69 municipalities.

paragraphs: The altitude of the province is between , in Celles, and , in L'Escaillère.

paragraphs: The province of Hainaut is divided into seven "arrondissements" (Ath, Charleroi, Mons, Mouscron, Soignies, Thuin and Tournai) and a total of 69 municipalities.


title: Kannur

paragraphs: Kannur is a city in the Kerala state of India.


title: New Kingdom

paragraphs: The New Kingdom, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between (1570–1070 BC). During the New Kingdom Egypt was richer and more powerful than in all other periods of its history. It includes the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties.

paragraphs: Egypt expanded far south into Nubia and held wide territories in the Near East. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria and Egyptian territory reached its maximum extent.

paragraphs: The Eighteenth Dynasty was ruled by some of Egypt's most famous Pharaohs including Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Queen Hatshepsut concentrated on expanding Egypt's external trade and sent a commercial expedition to the land of Punt. Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and created the largest empire Egypt had ever seen.

paragraphs: Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of the Aten. He started a religion based on one god, Aten. This is seen as history's first instance of monotheism. Sigmund Freud in his book "Moses and Monotheism" said it was the ultimate origin of Jewish monotheism.

paragraphs: Ramesses II ("the Great") of the 19th Dynasty tried to get back territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. In the Battle of Kadesh he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II. He was caught in the first recorded military ambush, but won the battle.


title: Moral Code of the Builder of Communism

paragraphs: The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism was a set of twelve rules. It was made in the Soviet Union by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Every member of the Party was supposed to follow these rules. So was every member of the "Komsomol" (a Communist group for young people ages 14-28).

paragraphs: The Moral Code was written at the 22nd Congress of the CPSU in 1961. It was part of the third CPSU Program, which was a plan for how to make the entire Soviet Union communist as part of the new Party Programme.

paragraphs: Some popular Soviet cliches are written in the Code. In fact, the Code was written to include special phrases, either invented by Soviet thinkers, or borrowed. (For example, the famous quote "'One for all, and all for one" ("каждый за всех, все за одного") was taken from "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas, père.)

paragraphs: The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism (as reported on Wikisource), with simple English explanations below, is:

paragraphs: 1. Devotion to the cause of Communism, love of the socialist Motherland and of the socialist countries.

paragraphs: 2. Conscientious labor for the good of society: he who does not work, neither shall he eat.

paragraphs: 3. Concern on the part of everyone for the preservation and growth of public property.

paragraphs: 4. High sense of public duty; intolerance of actions harmful to the public interest.

paragraphs: 5. Collectivism and comradely mutual assistance: one for all and all for one.

paragraphs: 6. Humane relations and mutual respect between individuals: man is to man a friend, a comrade, and a brother.

paragraphs: 7. Honesty and truthfulness, moral purity, unpretentiousness and modesty in social and private life.

paragraphs: 8. Mutual respect in the family, concern for the upbringing of children.

paragraphs: 9. Irreconcilability towards injustice, parasitism, dishonesty, careerism, and profiteering.

paragraphs: 10. Friendship and brotherhood among all peoples of the USSR, intolerance of national and racial hatred.

paragraphs: 11. Intolerance towards the enemies of communism, peace, and freedom of nations.

paragraphs: 12. Fraternal solidarity with the working people of all countries, and with all peoples.

paragraphs: These rules may be compared to the Ten Commandments or the Bible. For example, the Bible says: "he who does not work, neither shall he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). This line was used in the Soviet Constitution of 1936 as well as the Moral Code. Another example is the Commandment "you shall not commit adultery." This is similar to the Code's rule about "mutual respect in a family, concern about the upbringing of children."

paragraphs: The Ten Commandments focus more on personal virtue - what a person should do, and how to treat other people. The Code talks about how people should act as members of the society they live in.

paragraphs: A Russian legislator and Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, said the moral code could be compared to the Sermon on the Mount.


title: Wario

paragraphs: Wario is a character from Nintendo's popular video game series "Mario". He has appeared in most of the "Mario Party" and sports-related games, and has been the subject of a few video games of his own.

paragraphs: Wario ranked 10th on GameDaily's Top 10 Smash Bros. characters list. He also ranked seventh on GameDaily's top 10 ugliest game characters list; the authors referenced his snarling smile, moustache, and outfits. They also included him in a top 25 list of video game anti-heroes, stating that in spite of his greed, he's actually a "cool dude". Screwattack rated Wario as the 10th Biggest Douchebag in Gaming. IGN editor Travis Fahs commented that while he was not the most likable character, he has incredible confidence that overshadows his flaws and makes him an entertaining character. In an article written by Kombo editors Agustin Olvera and Stephen Smith, they exclaim their surprise that he had not appeared in "Super Smash Bros. Melee" as a playable character, stating that he would be a great addition to the game.


title: Iconoclasm

paragraphs: Iconoclasm means symbols of a culture (like icons or monuments) being destroyed by people of that same culture. This is usually done for religious or political motives. Often, it occurs together with major political or religious changes. It is generally distinct from destruction by foreigners, for example by Spanish conquistadors in America. The term does not generally include the specific destruction of images of a ruler after his death or overthrow ("damnatio memoriae"), for example Akhenaten in Ancient Egypt.

paragraphs: People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called iconoclasts. This word is also used for people who are against established dogmata or conventions. Similarly, people who revere or venerate religious images are called idolators. In an Eastern Orthodox context they are known as iconodules, or iconophiles.

paragraphs: Iconoclasm may be carried out by people of a different religion, but is often the result of sectarian disputes between factions of the same religion. The two Byzantine outbreaks during the 8th and 9th centuries were unusual because the use of images was the main issue in the dispute, rather than a by-product of wider concerns. In Christianity, iconoclasm has generally been motivated by a literal interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which forbid the making and worshipping of "graven images" of God.


title: United Church of God

paragraphs: The United Church of God (UCG) is a denomination of Christianity. It is one of many denominations to come out of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) in 1995. The Worldwide Church of God was started by Herbert W. Armstrong.

paragraphs: UCG calls itself "The United Church of God, "an International Association"", with the last three words italicized. This is so people do not confuse it with other churches. UCG is its own denomination.

paragraphs: After Herbert Armstrong's death in 1986, leaders in the WCG began to change the teachings of the church. This started in 1994. They changed the teachings to be more like other Christian churches. Many of the members wished to keep the original teachings, which they believed were the same beliefs as the early church of the First Century. Because of this, they left to start their own churches. UCG was established in May 1995 and is the largest church to come out of the WCG.

paragraphs: UCG began when former WCG ministers met in Indianapolis, Indiana in the spring of 1995. The were concerned about the changing teachings of the church. UCG's first president was David Hulme. He was later removed from office because he refused to move the church's home office to Ohio in 1998, among other reasons. After this, he started a new church called "Church of God, an International Community." After Hulme, church elders elected other new presidents. They elected Les McCullough in 1998, Roy Holladay in 2002, Clyde Kilough in 2005 and Dennis Luker in 2010. Victor Kubik was elected to serve for three years in May 2013.

paragraphs: UCG is led by twelve men called the "Council of Elders". They are elected by a group of church ministers called the "General Conference of Elders." This is not like the WCG, which was led by one man only. The General Conference of Elders meets once a year in May to decide how money should be spent and how the church should be run. They also decide the teachings of the church and go to seminars. The council meets four times a year.

paragraphs: UCG's "Home Office" and is in Milford, Ohio, (a suburb of Cincinnati). This office is led by UCG's President, who is also the church's main spokesperson. He also leads the church's ministers and controls the printing of the church magazine, newsletter, and booklets. He is elected by the Council of Elders (COE) and can be removed by them.

paragraphs: The UCG believes and worships like many other Christian churches, except:

paragraphs: Ambassador Bible College (ABC) is an in-depth nine-month program where students can learn about the Bible, Christian living and the teachings of the United Church of God. The program also prepares young people to lead and serve, and it prepares them to teach future generations. Students study church teaching and all the books of the Bible thoroughly.

paragraphs: UCG states: "The mission of the Church of God is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, make disciples in all nations and care for those disciples." Their goal is to preach about "The Kingdom of God" to everyone, through the UCG website, through Twitter and YouTube, and through radio, magazines, booklets, and television.

paragraphs: UCG also has 33 booklets on different Bible teachings, and a 12-lesson Bible study course. It also has a monthly Bible reading program where the Bible is explained, and a number of articles. "Kingdom of God Bible seminars" began in September 2011 and are held at different locations around the world.


title: Jewish–Roman wars

paragraphs: The Jewish–Roman Wars is the name given to a number of revolts of Jews in the province of Judea in the Roman Empire. These were directed against the Roman rule.

paragraphs: Further revolts by the Jews in Iudaea Province:


title: Triple-Zero

paragraphs: Triple-Zero (000) is the national emergency number within Australia. If someone has an emergency situation that is life threatening or time critical, this number will connect them to a Telstra operator who will then connect them to the police, fire or ambulance service as required. 112 is a secondary emergency number that will direct calls to the Triple Zero answering point. It is against the law to use this number if there is no emergency.

paragraphs: Before 1961, Australia did not have a national number for emergency services; each of the different emergency branches (police, fire department or ambulance) had their own number. In 1961, the Postmaster General (PMG) introduced the Triple Zero (000) number in most of the major Australian cities and by the end of the 1980s it had become nation-wide. The number Triple Zero (000) was chosen for several reasons, one of which was that it was easy to dial in darkness because the number zero was next to the finger stop on most Australian telephones.

paragraphs: A person would dial Triple-Zero (000) if they require a response from police, fire or ambulance for life threatening or time critical events.

paragraphs: When Triple-Zero (000) is dialled, a Telstra operator will answer and ask the caller the following: “Emergency, police, fire or ambulance?”. The Telstra operator will then connect the caller to the required emergency service. The emergency service call taker will then ask the caller further, and send assistance as required.


title: Districts of Germany

paragraphs: German districts () are administrative units used in Germany for local government.

paragraphs: The districts are in between the (German states) and the local / municipal levels (). They are not to be confused with the larger .

paragraphs: Their equivalent in other nations is the county or arrondissement.

paragraphs: Most of the districts are rural districts (). There are 295 "Landkreise".

paragraphs: Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) are not usually part of a district, but do the work of a district themselves. These are known as urban districts ( or "Stadtkreise") The equivalent in the United Kingdom is a unitary authority, they do the work of a town and a county. There are 107 of these Kreisfreie Städte.

paragraphs: In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Iserlohn, Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Witten and Neuss. These cities belong to a district, but still do so the districts jobs themselves, as though they were independent.

paragraphs: The districts are responsible for the following:

paragraphs: All these tasks are carried out by local (municipal) authorities operating together. Urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities.

paragraphs: The district council, the , is the legislative body of the district and is responsible for local self-administration. The parliament is elected every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years.

paragraphs: The person in charge of the district's government is the or . In parts of northern Germany, this is also the name of the district administration, in southern Germany it is known as .


title: Rural districts of Germany

paragraphs: Germany is divided into 401 administrative districts. There are 294 rural districts (), listed here. There are also 107 urban districts (' / ') listed in List of German urban districts.

paragraphs: Urban districts are large towns or cities which handle their own local government. Rural districts provide services for the smaller towns and villages in an area. In some states the towns and villages in a district are joined into ämter (although "amt" is not always the name used). This is because the towns and villages in the area are too small to provide the local services (for example fire brigade or cemeteries). If the "Amt" system is used towns or settlements might be "amtfrei" that is, not part of an amt because the town can handle its own local affairs.

paragraphs: In some states there is another level of government, the Regierungsbezirk or governmental district. Several urban and rural districts are joined together to make a regierungsbezirk, which does some of their jobs, especially things like land-use planning which can affect several districts.


title: Mary, Queen of Scots

paragraphs: Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until 24 July 1567, when she was forced to give up her kingdom ("abdicate)." She was executed because it was said she had been plotting to kill her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.

paragraphs: Mary was the daughter of King James V of Scotland, who died just after she was born. She was crowned queen when she was only 6 days old. She went to live in France when she was very young. Scotland would be ruled by "regents" until she was 18 years old. The first regent was the Earl of Arran. After 1554, the regent was Mary's mother, Mary of Guise.

paragraphs: King Henry VIII of England tried to get Lord Arran to agree that Mary would marry his son. This led to a series of battles called the "Rough Wooing". In the end, Lord Arran turned to the French for help. Lord Arran and King Henry II of France agreed that France would protect Scotland if Mary could marry the King's son Francis. When she was 15 years old, Mary married Francis, who was now King Francis II of France. But their marriage was short. Francis became very ill and later died from an ear infection that had spread to his brain, leaving Mary a widow shortly before her 18th birthday.

paragraphs: When Mary was born, Scotland was a Catholic country. While she was living in France, Protestant ideas were spreading to Scotland. Her mother tried to stop this but could not. In 1560, the Parliament of Scotland said it wanted Scotland to be a Protestant country.

paragraphs: In 1561, Mary returned to Scotland. She found that she was not popular in her kingdom. She had been brought up as a Catholic, but many people in Scotland had become Protestant. It was difficult for Mary to avoid siding with either the Catholics or the Protestants. As Mary was now free to marry again, there were lots of noblemen who wanted to become her husband. For her second husband, she chose an English lord named Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who was of royal blood. Darnley was good-looking and charming, but he was often very childish, and he was jealous of Mary's secretary, an Italian named David Rizzio.

paragraphs: Mary became pregnant. While she was expecting the baby, Darnley and his friends got drunk one night and decided to kill David Rizzio. They came into Mary's private rooms at Holyrood Palace while she was talking with Rizzio and they stabbed him to death. Darnley got away with the murder because he was the queen's husband, but Mary never forgave him for murdering her friend Rizzio and avoided being with him again. When her baby was born, it was a boy, who would later become King James VI of Scotland.

paragraphs: In 1567, Darnley was murdered. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell was put on trial for the murder but found not guilty. He was a powerful Scottish nobleman who was loyal to Mary and hated Darnley. Mary then married him. This caused her problems, because Bothwell had many enemies and many still believed he had murdered Darnley. Mary's enemies forced her off the throne and made her young son king in her place. Mary was put in prison in Loch Leven Castle. She escaped and crossed the border into England, which was ruled by her cousin, Elizabeth, Queen of England.

paragraphs: Mary hoped that Elizabeth would help her to get her throne back, but Elizabeth did not since it was always believed that Mary would try to take the throne from her. She kept Mary a prisoner for many years. Mary was eventually accused of making plans to murder Elizabeth. A jury of thirty noblemen convicted her of treason and she was executed.

paragraphs: Even though Elizabeth signed the death warrant, she put it off for a long time as she was not comfortable with executing someone who was both a family member and another queen.


title: Jack Peñate

paragraphs: Jack Fabian Peñate (born 2 September 1984) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, of English and Spanish heritage. He is signed to XL Recordings, the record label. Well known for his soulful ska-fuelled songs and eccentric dancing whilst on stage, his live performance has received some very high praise. He attended Alleyn's School and spent one year at University College London studying Classics before leaving to start his musical career. He performs with friends and band members Joel Porter (bass) and Alex Robins (drums).


title: Guillaume Dufay

paragraphs: Guillaume Dufay (pronounce ""GHEE-oam Doo-FYE"", sometimes spelt Du Fay) (born Beersel? 5 August 1397?; died Cambrai, 27 November 1474) was a Franco-Flemish composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. He was the most important composer of his time. He belonged to the group of composers known as the Burgundian School. He had more influence on music in Europe than any other composer of the 15th century.

paragraphs: From what it says in his will it seems likely that he was born in Beersel which is near Brussels in what, today, is Belgium. He was the illegitimate child of an unknown priest and a woman called Marie Du Fayt. When he was small, Dufay moved with his mother to Cambrai where they stayed with a relative who was a canon of the cathedral there. Dufay soon showed musical talent, and he was given a musical education at the cathedral. He sang in the choir there. When he was only 16 he was given a benefice as chaplain near Cambrai. He travelled to Konstanz for a meeting.

paragraphs: From November 1418 to 1420 he was a subdeacon at Cambrai Cathedral. In 1420 he left Cambrai again, and worked in Rimini in Italy at the house of a rich family. In 1424 he returned to Cambrai because the relative in whose house his mother was staying was ill. After the relative died he went back to Italy. He worked in Bologna for a cardinal. He became a deacon and then a priest.

paragraphs: When the Cardinal was made to leave Bologna in 1428 Dufay went to Rome to work for the pope. He became a member of the Papal Choir. In 1434 he was made "maistre de chappelle" in Savoy. He seems to have left Rome when the papal choir had money problems. Yet in 1435 he was again in the service of the papal chapel, but this time it was in Florence. In 1436 Dufay composed the festive motet "Nuper rosarum flores", one of his most famous compositions, which was sung at the dedication of Brunelleschi's dome of the cathedral in Florence.

paragraphs: During this period Dufay also began his long association with the d'Este family in Ferrara, some of the most important musical patrons of the Renaissance. He may have got to know them during his first stay in Italy. Rimini was not far from Ferrara, and he spent time in both towns where he got financial support.

paragraphs: At this time the arguments between the Pope and the Council of Basel continued. Dufay thought he might find himself without a job, so he went back to Cambrai. In order to be a canon at Cambrai, he needed a law degree, which he got in 1437; he may have studied at Turin University in 1436. One of the first documents mentioning him in Cambrai is dated December 27, 1440, when he was given 36 lots of wine for the feast of St. John the Evangelist. We do not know how long he took to drink it.

paragraphs: Dufay stayed in Cambrai during the 1440s. At the same time he was also in the service of the Duke of Burgundy. While in Cambrai he worked with Nicolas Grenon on completely renewing the cathedral collection of music. This meant that he had to write a big collection of polyphonic music for services. He also worked in the administration of the cathedral. In 1444 his mother died, and was buried in the cathedral; and in 1445 Dufay moved into the house of the person who had been canon just before. He kept this home for the rest of his life, although he did spend six more years in Italy where he wrote many of his compositions. When he returned again to Cambrai he was made canon of the cathedral. He was the most famous composer in Europe by that time. He often composed music for the court of Burgundy, and he met many younger composers who were becoming famous, such as Busnois, Ockeghem, Tinctoris, and Loyset Compère. During this period Dufay probably wrote his mass based on the song "L'homme armé", as well as the chanson based on the same song. Maybe he wrote this when Philip the Good called for a new crusade against the Turks, who had recently captured Constantinople. He also wrote a Requiem mass around 1460, which is lost.

paragraphs: After an illness of several weeks, Dufay died on November 27, 1474. He had asked for his motet "Ave regina celorum" to be sung for him as he died, with pleas for mercy to be read between some of the movements, but there was not enough time for this to be arranged, so it was sung at his funeral instead. Dufay was buried in the chapel of St. Etienne in the cathedral of Cambrai; his portrait was carved onto his tombstone. In later years the cathedral was destroyed, and the tombstone was lost, but it was found in 1859 (it was being used to cover a well), and is now in the Palais des Beaux Arts museum in Lille.

paragraphs: Dufay’s music was performed all over Europe. People who wanted to perform his music had to write it out by hand. There was no music printing in those days.

paragraphs: Dufay wrote church music including masses, motets, Magnificats, hymns, simple chant settings and antiphons. His secular (non-religious) music includes rondeaux, ballades, virelais and a few other kinds of chanson. His style of composition laid the foundation for the next generations of Renaissance composers. Some of his techniques were old-fashioned. He used isorhythms in his motets, which had been popular in medieval music. He used a way of harmonizing chants which became known as fauxbourdon. He was popular because he was skilled at writing melodies which were beautiful to sing.


title: Upper Egypt

paragraphs: Upper Egypt is a narrow strip of land on both sides of the Nile that extends from modern-day Aswan to the area south of modern-day Cairo. The northern part of Upper Egypt, between El-Aiyat and Asyut is sometimes called Middle Egypt.

paragraphs: Upper Egypt was known as "Ta Shemau" which means "the land of reeds." It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes. The first nome was roughly where modern Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih (Aphroditopolis), just to the south of Cairo.

paragraphs: For most of pharaonic Egypt's history Thebes was the administrative centre of Upper Egypt.

paragraphs: Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown "Hedjet", and its symbol was the flowering lotus.

paragraphs: It is in this region that the Arab Bedouin were installed before settling between Tunisia and eastern Algeria (Constantinois)


title: Brandenburg an der Havel

paragraphs: Brandenburg an der Havel is a town in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is on the banks of the Havel river. Population: 74,129 (December 31, 2005).

paragraphs: The town of Brandenburg is less known than the state of Brandenburg: But the state is named after the town, and so is the medieval Bishopric of Brandenburg, the Margravate of Brandenburg. Today it is a small town compared to nearby Berlin, but once it was the start of the countries of Brandenburg and Prussia.

paragraphs: Brandenburg was only on western bank of the Havel until 1196. But even after that year the parts on either side of the river were regarded as two different towns (Old and New Brandenburg) for centuries.

paragraphs: In 1314 the two towns joined the Hanseatic League. In the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) the towns were robbed and destroyed. Potsdam became the new capital, and the Royal Court left the town of Brandenburg. In 1715 the two halves of the town were merged to form a single town.

paragraphs: The concentration camp Brandenburg-Görden was in Görden, a suburb of Brandenburg, during the years of Nazi Germany.

paragraphs: After the fall of the Berlin Wall the population dropped from over 100,000 in 1989 down to roughly 75,000 in 2005 through emigration. The migration mainly affects the young people and thus the future of the city is uncertain.


title: Earl Hooker

paragraphs: Earl Hooker (born January 15, 1929 in Clarksdale, Mississippi; died April 21, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American blues guitarist.

paragraphs: Earl Hooker was born Earl Zebedee Hooker in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He taught himself to play guitar around the age of 10 and began going to the Lyon & Healy Music School in 1941 soon after.

paragraphs: While a teen, Hooker played on Chicago street corners, sometimes with Bo Diddley. He also became friends with slide guitarist Robert Nighthawk, which led to Hooker playing slide guitar and some performances with Nighthawk's group outside of Chicago.

paragraphs: In 1949, Hooker moved to Memphis, joined Ike Turner's band, and played in the South.

paragraphs: Hooker made his first recordings mainly 78 rpm and 45 rpm records in 1952 and 1953 for small labels Rockin', King, and Sun. Hooker spent most of the '60s playing in Chicago clubs with his band.

paragraphs: In 1969 he recorded an album, "Hooker 'n Steve", with organist Steve “Mr. Blues” Miller for Arhoolie Records. Hooker also played slide guitar on the 1962 Muddy Waters recording "You Shook Me". The 1970 album "Sweet Black Angel", co-producer Ike Turner contain songs "I Feel Good", "Drivin' Wheel", "Country and Western", "Boogie", Don't Blot! "Shuffle", "Catfish Blues", "Crosscut Saw", "Sweet Home Chicago", "Mood", and "Funky Blues".

paragraphs: Earl Hooker died at the age of 41 from tuberculosis. He is buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. His story was told in a 2001 book by author Sebastian Danchin titled "Earl Hooker, Blues Master".


title: Romani people

paragraphs: The Roma are an ethnic group found mainly in Europe. They are also known as Roma. In English they are often called Gypsies. Some Roma consider "gypsy" a slur, some not. The Roma are people that originally came from the Indian subcontinent.

paragraphs: A DNA study by Indian and Estonian researchers shows that the Roma/Romani/Gypsy and Sinti people originate from different community of their ancestral homeland. They migrated as Traders into Europe via Roman Empire Egypt, to the Middle East, than Iran trough the Caucasus Mountains, Asia Minor and finally to Europe. Today there are populations of Roma found all over Europe, although the largest populations are in Eastern Europe, and their religions are: Eastern Christianity, Catholicism and Islam. Baptism by the Christian Roma and Male Circumcision by the Muslim Roma are practised.

paragraphs: There are various groups of Roma: the Roma of East European birth; the Sinti in Germany and Manouches in France and Catalonia; the Kaló in Spain, Ciganos in Portugal and Gitans of southern France; the Romanichals of Britain, and the Romanlar of Turkey.

paragraphs: The Romani language is now an official language in many countries of Europe under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

paragraphs: The 18th-century idea about the Indian birth of the Roma is based on the likeness between Romani and languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent and is now supported by genetic evidence. The origins of the Roms were not known until 1763, when a theology student named Stefan Vali met Indian medical students. He noticed that they were physically similar to the Roms he saw in Hungary. He also noticed that they were using similar words.

paragraphs: It is believed to have been around the 1st - 2st century AD, that Roms left India as Traders with Indo-Roman trade, via shipping lane through Roman Empire Egypt. Around the 15th century, the Roma reached the Balkans. From there, they dispersed through Europe. The first arrivals were well accepted. European people thought they were Christian pilgrims. The local people of Europe were fascinated by their nomadic way of life and their new sciences. The Roms were often recruited as mercenaries, horse trainers and circus artists. Roms were crossing Europe aboard large caravans which contained their luggage.

paragraphs: Roms also left a great musical heritage. Guitars and violins are part of their traditions. They influenced a lot of musical styles in Europe, such as flamenco, rumba, jazz, etc. During World War II, Roma people suffered from the Nazis' discriminative policies. Statistics show that about 500,000 Roms died in Nazi concentration camps.

paragraphs: On 8 April 1971, the Roms' nationality was legally recognised in Europe. Since this day, 8 April is the Roms national day.

paragraphs: Even though they have been recognised, they still suffer from discrimination. Some countries still apply discriminative attitudes towards Roms, especially in workplaces and schools, where they are not accepted. The main reason why they are not accepted is that they kept their nomadic lifestyle, which is against the law in some countries like France. Their squatting communities irritate locals. The Romani created an association in 1978 to defend their rights.


title: Scrubland

paragraphs: Scrubland is plant community with scrub vegetation. "Scrub" means low shrubs, mixed with grasses, herbs, and geophytes.

paragraphs: Scrublands are sometimes known as heathlands. Scrublands may develop naturally or as result of human activity. They may be the mature vegetation type in a particular region and remain stable over time, or a transitional community that occurs temporarily as the result of a disturbance, such as a major fire.


title: Lower Egypt

paragraphs: Lower Egypt is the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea.

paragraphs: Lower Egypt was known as "Ta-Mehu" which means "land of papyrus." It was divided into twenty districts called nomes. Lower Egypt was mostly undeveloped scrubland, undeveloped for human life and filled with all types of plant life such as grasses and herbs.

paragraphs: The climate in Lower Egypt is milder than that of Upper Egypt. Temperatures are less extreme and there is more rainfall.

paragraphs: The capital of Lower Egypt was Buto. Its patron goddess was the cobra goddess Wadjet. Lower Egypt was represented by the Low Red Crown "Deshret", and its symbol was the papyrus.


title: Evelyn Barbirolli

paragraphs: Evelyn Barbirolli (born Wallingford-on-Thames, Berkshire, 24 January 1911; died 25 January 2008) was a famous oboist. She was an honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Only 116 people have ever been made honorary members. She was the wife of the conductor Sir John Barbirolli. She was born Evelyn Rothwell, and was always known by that name until after the death of her husband, John Barbirolli, when she changed her professional name to “Evelyn Barbirolli”. She became famous at a time when there were very few women in orchestras.

paragraphs: Evelyn Rothwell’s father was a tea dealer in the City of London. Her mother was related to Charles Reade, a 19th century novelist. She started to learn the oboe at her school, Downe House, near Newbury. Her father did not want her to study music, but in the end she was allowed to go to the Royal College of Music. She studied the oboe there, and the piano as a second instrument. She also played the cello and timpani. She was a student there at the same time as Benjamin Britten, who sometimes asked her to play some of the oboe music he had just written.

paragraphs: Evelyn started her professional career as an oboist in the Drury Lane orchestra. She soon got a job with the Royal Opera House touring company whose conductor was John Barbirolli. Barbirolli was married, but his marriage did not last long.

paragraphs: Barbirolli was then made conductor of the Scottish Orchestra (now called the Royal Scottish National Orchestra). He gave Evelyn the job of first oboe in this orchestra. He made an arrangement of a concerto by Handel for her to play. She played several other concertos with him conducting, and they made several recordings. Vaughan Williams was very pleased with their recording of his oboe concerto. Several composers wrote music especially for her. Henry Wood made her first oboist in the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra.

paragraphs: Evelyn married Barbirolli in 1939, after he had divorced his first wife. By this time Barbirolli was conductor of the New York Philharmonic. He had taken this job after Toscanini had left. Barbirolli and his new wife lived in New York until 1943 when they returned to England so that Barbirolli could be the conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester. Sometimes she played in the orchestra, but not very often because she thought people might say that it was because her husband was the conductor. When the Hallé Orchestra went to Austria in 1948 she played Mozart’s oboe concerto with them. People at that time only knew this work in an arrangement for the flute.

paragraphs: In Manchester Evelyn helped her husband by being his secretary. She drove him everywhere, and was always by his side at rehearsals to help him. As Barbirolli gradually became ill she spent nearly all her time with him instead of playing the oboe. She travelled with him to America when he became conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Barbirolli kept working hard although he was not well. During his last years they had financial problems when Barbirolli’s manager caused them to lose a lot of money.

paragraphs: After Barbirolli’s death in 1970 she started to play her oboe again. She taught at the Royal Academy of Music, and was always known as “Lady Barbirolli” (or “Lady B”). She often adjudicated at music competitions. Her pupils respected her for her honesty and kindness. She wrote a book about "Oboe Technique" and the "Oboist’s Companion", a book in 3 volumes. She also wrote an autobiography called "Living with Glorious John". She was made an OBE in 1984. She died the day after her 97th birthday.


title: Regierungsbezirk

paragraphs: A Regierungsbezirk is a government region of Germany in some federal states ("Bundesländer").

paragraphs: "Regierungsbezirke" are divided into districts ("Kreise"), either "Landkreise" or urban districts: cities which constitute a district in their own right ("kreisfreie Städte"). The "Regierungsbezirk" is governed by a "Bezirksregierung" and led by a "Regierungspräsident".

paragraphs: Not all "Bundesländer" have this sub-division; some are directly divided into districts. Currently, five states are divided into 22 "Regierungsbezirke", ranging in population from 5,255,000 (Düsseldorf) to 1,065,000 (Gießen):

paragraphs: The first "Regierungsbezirke" were created by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1808/16, which divided its provinces into 25 "Regierungsbezirke". The "Regierungsbezirke" of North Rhine-Westphalia are in direct continuation of those created in 1815. Other states of the German Empire created similar entities, named "Kreishauptmannschaft" (in Saxony) or "Kreis" (in Bavaria and Württemberg) (not to be confused with the "Kreis" or "Landkreis" today). During the Third Reich, the Nazi government unified the naming; since then all these entities are called "Regierungsbezirk".

paragraphs: On January 1 2000 Rhineland-Palatinate disbanded its three "Regierungsbezirke" Koblenz, Rheinhessen-Pfalz and Trier - the employees and assets of the three "Bezirksregierungen" were converted into three public authorities responsible for the whole state, each covering a part of the former responsibilities of the "Bezirksregierung".

paragraphs: On January 1, 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three "Regierungsbezirke": Dessau, Halle and Magdeburg. The responsibilities are now covered by a "Landesverwaltungsamt" with three offices at the former seats of the "Bezirksregierungen".

paragraphs: On January 1, 2005, Lower Saxony disbanded its four "Regierungsbezirke": Braunschweig, Hanover, Lüneburg, and Weser-Ems.

paragraphs: In 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia planned to abolish its five "Regierungsbezirke" and create three self-government entities. The old, "Prussian-style", Regierungsbezirk had no self-government organs.


title: Joschka Fischer

paragraphs: Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) was German foreign minister and Vice Chancellor in the government of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. He was a leading figure in the German Green Party and according to opinion polls , he was the most popular politician in Germany for most of the government's duration. He left office on 22 November 2005.

paragraphs: Fischer was born in Gerabronn in Baden-Württemberg. His parents were Germans from Hungary. His nickname Joschka is from "Jóska", which is the Hungarian nickname for Joseph (). Fischer dropped out of high school in 1965, and started working for a photographer which he quit in 1966.

paragraphs: In 1967 he became active in the German student movement and Left-wing politics. Working in a left-wing bookstore in Frankfurt was when he started going to leftist university events as a guest student. He studied the works of Marx, Mao and Hegel and became a member of the militant group "Revolutionary Combat" ().

paragraphs: Fischer took part in some street battles when the anarchist "Putzgruppe" attacked the police and hurt some officers a lot. (In German the word "Putz" can mean a cleaner, but in "Putz-group" it is an acronym. That means the letters stand for other words. "Proletarische Union für Terror und Zerstörung", i.e. "The Workers Union for Terror and Destruction"). Photos of one battle in March 1973 show Fischer clubbing policeman Rainer Marx . getting a workout (photo)

paragraphs: In the German Autumn () of 1977, there were a lot of terrorist attacks by the Red Army Faction (RAF). Fischer says that these attacks, especially the kidnapping and murder of Hanns-Martin Schleyer, made him give up violence as a way to get political change.

paragraphs: Instead, he became involved in the new social movements and later in the newly-founded German Green Party, mainly in the state of Hesse.

paragraphs: In May 1981 the Minister of Economics of the state of Hesse, Heinz-Herbert Karry, was murdered. The gun that killed the minister was stolen from an American army base in 1973, and Fischer's car was used in the robbery.

paragraphs: As Foreign Minister, Fischer apologised for the violence of his "Putzgruppe" days,

paragraphs: From 1983 to 1985, Fischer was a member of the Bundestag for the Green party. In 1985, he became Minister for the Environment in Hesse in the first Social Democrat-Green coalition (1985-1987). Fischer caused a stir when he arrived to take his oath of office ceremony wearing trainers. These trainers are now on display in a museum in Bonn.

paragraphs: Fischer was again Environment Minister in Hessen from 1991 to 1994, and, later on, became co-chairman of the Greens parliamentary party in the Bundestag. During his years in opposition, Fischer was respected for his speeches. For a large part of the 1990s, with the SPD was not very popular, and Fischers friends often called him "real" Leader of the Opposition.

paragraphs: In September 1998 the Social Democrats, led by Gerhard Schröder, beat the Christian Democrat government of Helmut Kohl. With the SPD's 42% and the Greens' 7%, a coalition government could be formed. After several weeks of talks between Social Democrats and Greens, the new government took power on 27 October 1998. Fischer became Minister of Foreign Affairs.

paragraphs: In 1999 Fischer supported German participation in the Kosovo War. This was very extremely controversial within the largely pacifist Green Party, because it meant that, for the first time since World War II, German soldiers would actively go into combat. He justified this war with allegations that Serbia was planning to commit genocide against the Kosovo Albanians.

paragraphs: Fischer was also in favour of stationing German troops in Afghanistan, but he advised Schröder not to join the war in Iraq. He is known as a good friend of Kofi Annan. By 2005 he was the second longest-serving foreign minister in German postwar history (after Hans-Dietrich Genscher).

paragraphs: In 2005 Fischer was accused by critics of carelessly relaxing controls on visa regulations for Ukraine, thus allowing many illegal immigrants to enter Germany with fake identities. A parliamentary committee was established to examine the case, and unlike in other such committee hearings, Fischer's statement (and that of other top officials) was shown live on public TV. Fischer's appearance before the committee took twelve hours. (See German Visa Affair 2005).

paragraphs: After the defeat of the coalition government in the 2005 election, Fischer announced that he would retire to the backbench. "After 20 years of power, now I want my freedom back", he was quoted as saying. On 13 October 2005, it was announced that Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) would succeed Fischer as Foreign Minister.

paragraphs: Since the beginning of September 2006 Joschka Fischer has been a senior fellow at the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University, a visiting professor at Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He has also spoken at other American universities, notably Brandeis University, on various topic in foreign affairs and international relations.

paragraphs: Fischer has often been the most popular German politician, even among supporters of other parties.

paragraphs: Until 1996, Fischer had been an outspoken lover of good wines and food. He often bet cases of expensive wine with other politicians on the outcome of elections. Fischer had also been overweight. Within a short time he lose a lot of weight. Fischer said that this was due to his giving up alcohol completely and changing his diet. He had also been doing fitness training and even running marathons. He cashed in on his weight loss by writing the book "My long race towards myself" about his experience, which became an immediate bestseller. Recently he has been putting on weight again.

paragraphs: Fischer has been married five times: his first four marriages, to Edeltraud Fischer (1967-1984), Inge Vogel (1984-1987), Claudia Bohm (1987-1999), and Nicola Leske (1999-2003), all ended in divorce. In October 2005 he married (in Rome) Minu Barati, who was his common-law wife for 2 years. With Inge, his second wife, he has two children: David and Lara. In April 2005 Fischer became a grandfather for the first time.

paragraphs: The following sources reflect the views of U.S. adversaries of Fischer and his policies, especially Germany's decision not to participate in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

paragraphs: Fischer writes a monthly commentary series, "The Rebel Realist", for Project Syndicate, a non-profit association of newspapers around the world.


title: Flora family

paragraphs: The Flora family of asteroids is a big group of S-type asteroids in the closer part of the main belt, whose origin and properties are not well understood right now. About 4-5% of all main belt asteroids belong to this family.

paragraphs: Because of its poorly defined edges, and the location of Flora itself near the edge, this asteroid group has also sometimes been called the Ariadne family, when Flora did not make it into the group during an analysis (e.g. the WAM analysis by Zappala 1995).

paragraphs: The biggest member is 8 Flora, which mesures 140 km in diameter, and takes up about 80% of the total family mass. Nevertheless, the parent body was almost for sure destroyed by the impact/s that made the family, and Flora is probably a gravitational aggregate of most of the pieces. 43 Ariadne makes up much of the remaining mass (about a further 9%, with the remaining family members being fairly small, below 30 km in diameter.

paragraphs: Because of the high background density of asteroids in this part of space, one might expect that a great number of asteroids unrelated to the collision that made the family would be present. However, few have been found. This is because unrelated asteroids are hard to distinguish from family members because the family is of the same spectral type (S) that dominates the closer main belt overall. The few unrelated asteroids that have been found are all small (Florczak "et al." 1998, and also by inspection of the PDS asteroid taxonomy data set for non S-type members.) They include 298 Baptistina, 422 Berolina, 2093 Genichesk, 2259 Sofievka (the biggest, with a 21 km diameter), 2952 Liliputia, 3533 Toyota, 3850 Peltier, 3875 Staehle, 4278 Harvey, 4396 Gressmann, and 4750 Mukai.


title: Tseax River Cone

paragraphs: The Tseax River Cone (also known as Aiyansh Volcano) is a cinder cone in British Columbia, Canada. The volcano and the area around it are protected as a provincial park called the Nisga'a Memorial Lava Beds Provincial Park.

paragraphs: In the 18th century it caused the death of about 2000 people.


title: Mike Dirnt

paragraphs: Mike Dirnt (born Ryan Pritchard on May 4, 1972, in Berkeley, California) is the bass guitar player from the punk rock band Green Day, he also sings back up vocals.

paragraphs: Mike was adopted. His adoptive parents divorced when he was 7, and both are now remarried. Mike owns a restaurant in California called "Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe". Mike married his long time girlfriend Anastasia in 1996 and their daughter, Estella-Desiree, "Stella", was born in April 1997. Mike loves his daughter very much, and his nickname for her is "Hero". Today, Mike and Anastasia are separated, but still remain very good friends. He recently was remarried in 2004, however his wife left him because he spent too much time in the studio recording American Idiot. Mike is currently married to girlfriend Brittney, and resides in Oakland, California.


title: Tré Cool

paragraphs: Tré Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III December 9 1972, in Frankfurt, Germany) is a German-born American drummer for the punk band Green Day.

paragraphs: He has two children, Ramona, born January 1995 to ex-wife, Lisea Lyons; Frankito ("Little Frank"), born 2001 to Claudia. Tré grew up with his father and 2 siblings. He dated The Donnas drummer Torry Castellano in 2003, they then separated in mid 2005. Tre' Cool is currently single.


title: Plain White T's

paragraphs: Plain White T's are an alternative rock band from Chicago. Their newest release, "Every Second Counts" (2006), was the first Plain White T's album to reach the mainstream. When the album came out, one song, "Hey There Delilah", an acoustic love song, was played on many radio stations daily. Another famous song of theirs is "Our Time Now".

paragraphs: The singer of the band, Tom Higgenson, first wanted to be a drummer. He was in many bands during his High School. However, when Plain White T's were made, he decided to become a singer and a songwriter. Bassist, Ken Fletcher, and drummer, Dave Tirio, joined the band began performing in Downers Grove, Illinois.

paragraphs: They started out by playing other people's songs, but in the summer of 1999 the band was beginning to become known by record labels like Atlantic Recordings. In 2000 they released their first album, "Come On Over". They toured around Chicago to try and make the album sell more and to get more fans.

paragraphs: At the end of 2001, Plain White T's left Atlantic Recordings and signed to Fearless Records. They began recording for their next album, called "Stop". They chose in Downers Grove, Illinois and Santa Barbara, California. The album took four months to record, being finished in April 2002. The album was shown around Plain White T's home town before being released finally on August 20th 2002, a whole twenty months after it was started.

paragraphs: In October, the band went on their first big tour. The tour in the band ending up stopping being friends, this was solved with new members, with Dave switching from drums to guitar, Steve being replaced by Tim Lopez, Ken being replaced by Mike Retondo and De'Mar Hamilton taking up drums.

paragraphs: The band went into the studio to record their next album, called "All That We Needed",in May 2004. After recording the album, they toured the US. During this tour, they released their first single, "All That We Needed". They then promoted the album internationally, gathering a growing fanbase, before heading back for the 2005 Take Action Tour.

paragraphs: During the "Take Action Tour '05", Plain White T's recorded their first music video with a single which they hoped would be more famous than "All That We Needed" .

paragraphs: In 2006 they signed to another new label, Hollywood Records, and then began recording a new album. Shortly before the release of the album, the single "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)" was released, it was the first single by them to achieve noticeable success.

paragraphs: Plain White T's started touring in Winter and Autumn of 2006. By this time they were starting to get noticed in the music industry at last. Although they were beginning to get noticed in the minor US rock industry, internationally Plain White Ts were not doing so well, by this point, they had not even sold 100,000 copies of any album anywhere outside of the US. Hollywood Records thought that re-releasing "Hey There Delilah" would make the band famous.

paragraphs: "Hey There Delilah" is an acoustic song, first released as a single in May 2006 as chasing cars, and was the last track in the band's first album, All That We Needed. One year later, in 2007, the song became the band's first mainstream hit. On 11 July 2007, the song reached number one for sales in the Billboard Hot 100. One month later, the song became a hit single all over the world. "Hey There Delilah" reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and Ireland Singles Chart, number four in the Australian chart and number six in the United World Chart. Its popularity made it to #1 in other countries like Germany and Canada.