title: Independent State of Croatia

paragraphs: The Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) was a fascist/nazi puppet-state during World War II. It was established in April 1941, after the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was split up by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Geographically it encompassed most of modern-day Croatia as well as all of Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of Slovenia and Serbia.

paragraphs: The NDH was ruled by Ante Pavelić and his Ustaše — a racist, terrorist and saboteur organization — which were followers of the Pure Party of Rights founded by Ante Starčević at the end of 19th century. The NDH had a program, formulated by Mile Budak, to purge Croatia of Serbs, by “killing one third, expelling the other third and assimilating the remaining third”. The first part of this programme was begun during WWII by a planned genocide in Jasenovac concentration camp and other places all over NDH.

paragraphs: Following the attack of the Axis powers on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941, and the quick defeat of the Yugoslav army ("Jugoslovenska vojska"), the whole country was occupied by Axis forces. Hitler and Mussolini installed the Croatian Ustaše, who had long sought Croatian independence, forming the Independent State of Croatia (NDH - Nezavisna Država Hrvatska).

paragraphs: The establishment of NDH was proclaimed on April 10, 1941 by Slavko Kvaternik, deputy leader of the Ustaše. Ante Pavelić came to power as leader ("Poglavnik") of the Croatian puppet state. Pavelić took power with Mussolini and Hitler's blessing. On paper, it was a kingdom under King Tomislav II of the House of Savoy (the Duke of Split). But Tomislav II was only a figurehead with no real power.

paragraphs: From a strategic perspective, the establishment of the new puppet state was an obvious attempt by Hitler to pacify the now conquered Yugoslav peoples for the purpose of reducing the necessary occupation force to a minimum (in light of his plans for the upcoming Operation Barbarossa). Vladko Maček the head of the Croatian Peasant Party, the strongest elected party in Croatia at the time, refused an offer from Germans to head the government but called on people to obey to and cooperate with the new government the same day Kvaternik made the proclamation. Ante Pavelić arrived on April 20th to become the "poglavnik" (Leader, correlated with "führer"- better to translate as a "Head-man"). The Roman Catholic Church's official stance was also openly positive in this period.

paragraphs: On 19 May 1941 Pavelić and Mussolini, in accordance with the contract signed in Rapallo at the end of WWI between Serbs Kingdom of Jugoslavia and Italy, signed Roma operating contract by which NDH had to cede to Italy (in accordance with Rapallos Contract) almost all of Dalmatia and parts of Hrvatsko primorje and Gorski kotar. NDH was also forbidden to have a navy. These "contracts" illustrate more than anything else the dependence of the country upon the Axis powers.

paragraphs: Much of the population of the Independent State of Croatia was not Croat, mostly because of the inclusion of Bosnia. It had significant populations of Serbs (about 19% of the population of Croatia at the time, over 30% of the population of NDH), Bosnian Muslims (the largest population group of Bosnia at the time, and over 10% of the population of NDH), Germans, Hungarians and others. The Catholics (mainly Croats, Germans and Magyars) constituted just over 50% of the 6.3 million population. Mile Budak, politician and minister of the NDH - also a Croatian writer- immediately took the opportunity to proclaim the Muslims as "Brothers" and wanted to force them to convert to Christianity. Many Croatians agree with the idea that the majority of Bosnian Muslims are actually Croatians who were converted to Islam during the invasion of the Turks in the 15th Century.

paragraphs: Many Bosnian Muslims were accepted the NDH (in many cases were forced to accept it under the penalty of converting to Christianity or being executed) and immediately became involved.

paragraphs: The most infamous of Islamic Ustase divisions was the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar. In respect to the soldiers of Muslim faith, a mosque was built in Zagreb - Croatia's capital city- known as "Poglavnikova dzamija" or Poglavnik's Mosque. Despite Pavelić's assurances of equality with the Croats, many Muslims quickly became dissatisfied with Croatian rule. A Muslim leader reported that not one Muslim occupied an influential post in the administration. Fierce fighting broke out between the Ustaše, Chetniks and Yugoslav Partisans in NDH territory. Some Ustaše militia units became convinced that the Muslims were communist sympathizers, and burned their villages and murdered many civilians.

paragraphs: The Ustase almost immediately enacted racial laws that reflected the acceptance of the ideology of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, with an emphasis placed on Croatian national issues.

paragraphs: The first "Legal order for the defense of the people and the state" dated April 17, 1941 ordered the death penalty for "infringement of the honour and vital interests of the Croatian people and the survival of the Independent State of Croatia". It was soon followed by the "Legal order of races" and the "Legal order of the protection of Aryan blood and the honour of the Croatian people" dated April 30, 1941, as well as the "Order of the creation and definition of the racial-political committee" dated June 4, 1941. The enforcement of these legal acts was done not only through normal courts but also new out-of-order courts as well as mobile courts-martial with extended jurisdictions.

paragraphs: The normal jails could no longer sustain the rate of new inmates and the Ustaša government started preparing the grounds what would become the Jasenovac concentration camp by July 1941. The regime would eventually form concentration camps in eleven different locations.

paragraphs: The Ustaše started conducting a deliberate campaign of mass murder, deportation and forced religious conversion in an attempt to remove the Serbs. The Jews and Gypsies were exposed to total annihilation i.e., to the campaign of mass murder and to, lesser part, deportation.

paragraphs: The Jasenovac concentration camp would become the place of murder of up to a hundred thousand people (some estimate that this camp was the third largest camp of WWII). Overall Ustase death count is estimated at around 600,000 people, but all written records were destroyed to cover it up.

paragraphs: The state of permanent terror, mass killing, raping women and looting properties of their victims in the Independet State of Croatia forced, primarily, the Serbs to rebel. According to the Glaise von Horstenau reports, Hitler was angry with Pavelić whose policy inflamed the rebellion in Croatia - by which Hitler lost ability to engage the Independent State of Croatia forces on the Eastern Front. Moreover, Hitler was forced to engage his forces in quelling the rebellion. For that reason, Hitler summoned Pavelić to his war headquoters in Vinica (Ukraine) on September 23, 1942. Consequently, Pavelić replaced his minister of the Armed Forces, Slavko Kvaternik, with the less zealous Jure Francetić. Before meeting Hitler, to appease the public, Pavelić published the "Important Government's Announcement" (»Važna obavijest Vlade«) in which he threatened those who were spreading the news "about non-existent threats of disarmament of the Ustashe units by representatives of one foreign power, about the Croatian Army replacement by a foreign army, about the possibility that a foreign power would seize the power in Croatia ..." (Hrvatski narod, September 3rd, 1942.)

paragraphs: Hans Helm, the appointed head of Gestapo for the Independent State of Croatia, in his confidential report - (under the title "Basis of the partisan danger" - sent to General Kasche) of January 14, 1943, wrote: "Most of the partisan ranks are coming from the Serbs - due to the fact that they are the most villainous way persecuted ... the new regime in Croatia started the programs of annihilation and destruction of the Serbs, which (the programs) are publicly supported by the highest ranks of the Croatian government, and (the programs) adopted as the main government goal. The fact that a different talk was coming from the official Ustashe side - under the rebellion pressure and due to the course of events - even a reconciliation was mentioned - leaves no possibility to compensate the harm caused by, for example, Dr. Mile Budak, the actual (Croatian) minister in Berlin ..." Appointed general Horstenau wrote in his report: »Ustashe movement is, due to the mistakes and atrocities they have made, and the corruption, so compromised that the government executive branch (the homeguard and the police) shall be separated from the government - even for the price of breaking any possible connection with the government ..."

paragraphs: In August 1944, there was an attempt by Foreign Minister in NDH government Mladen Lorković and Minister of War Ante Vokić to execute a coup d'état against Ante Pavelić. The coup failed and its conspirators were executed.

paragraphs: The NDH army withdrew towards Zagreb with German and Cossak troops by early 1945, and continued fighting for a week after the German surrender on May 9th, 1945. They were soon overpowered and the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) effectively ceased to exist in May 1945, near the end of the war. The advance of Tito's partisan forces, joined by the Soviet Red Army, caused mass retreat of the Ustaše towards Austria.

paragraphs: In May 1945, a large column composed of Ustaša followers and NDH Army troops and civilians retreated from the partisan forces, heading northwest towards Italy and Austria. Ante Pavelić detached from the group and fled to Austria, Italy and finally Argentina. The rest of the group, consisting of over 150,000 soldiers (including Cossak troops) and civilians negotiated passage with the British forces on the Austrian side of the Austrian-Slovenian border. The British Army then turned over a number of them to the partisan forces.

paragraphs: The end of the war resulted in the establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, with the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially making Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina one of six constituent republics in the new state.


title: Astro Boy

paragraphs: Astro Boy (鉄腕アトム, "Tetsuwan Atomu", lit. "Iron Arm Atom") is a Japanese manga series first published in 1952 and television program first broadcast in Japan in 1963. The story follows the adventures of a robot named "Astro Boy" and a selection of other characters along the way.

paragraphs: "Astro Boy" is the first, most popular Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime. It originated as a manga in 1952 by Osamu Tezuka, revered in Japan as the "God of Manga".


title: RB Leipzig

paragraphs: RB Leipzig (RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V.) is a German footballclub from Leipzig.

paragraphs: The club was founded on 19 May 2009 by the Red Bull Company. It was formed out of the SSV Markranstädt. Due to the regulations of the DFB the name Red Bull Leipzig for marketing reasons was forbidden so they were called RB (short for RasenBallsport). Also the logo was forbidden.

paragraphs: The company was sure that there is a great chance to form a new club, because with the Zentralstadion (now Red Bull Arena) there was a good stadium and there is no club in professional football in the area. The club's long term aim is to reach the Bundesliga. Like in Salzburg many fans protested against this deal because they had the fear that the fanculture will vanish and football will be only a business. So they wanted a "normal" football club.

paragraphs: They started in the Oberliga Nordost-Süd(5th level) and became 1st in the 2009/10 season. But the next season they failed to gain promotion to the 3. Bundesliga. So the coach was changed, the new one is the Austrian Peter Pacult. The first match under the new coach was a 3:2 win in the German Cup (1st round) versus VfL Wolfsburg from the Bundesliga.


title: Arboreal

paragraphs: Arboreal: an adjective in biology for an animal which lives in the trees.

paragraphs: All forests have had animals living in them. Those animals have adaptations which enable them to live and move about in trees. The earliest one known is "Suminia", a synapsid of the late Permian, about 260 million years ago.


title: Lamrim

paragraphs: Lamrim (Tibetan: "stages of the path") is a Tibetan Buddhist text which presents the stages in the complete path to enlightenment as taught by Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhist history there have been many different versions of "lamrim", presented by different teachers of the Nyingma, Kagyu and Gelug schools. However, all versions of the "lamrim" are elaborations of Atiśa's 11th Century root text "A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment".

paragraphs: There is a project to expand the Lamrim Teachings with several translated texts.


title: Norbulingka Institute

paragraphs: The Norbulingka Institute was founded in 1988, by the present 14th Dalai Lama at Sidhpur, near Dharamsala, India. The institute helps to preserve the Tibetan language and culture.

paragraphs: The institute is named after Norbulingka, the traditional summer residence of the Dalai Lamas, in Lhasa, Tibet. The main building is a replica of the Norbulingka palace in Lhasa


title: Mobile genetic elements

paragraphs: Mobile genetic elements (MGE) are a type of DNA that can move around within the genome. They include:

paragraphs: The total of all mobile genetic elements in a genome may be referred to as the mobilome.

paragraphs: Barbara McClintock was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for her discovery of mobile genetic elements".


title: Lineage (evolution)

paragraphs: When talking in terms of evolution, a lineage describes how a species developed from the species before it. The species adapted to its environment. Lineages are parts of the tree of life. Very often, genetic information is used to determine the lineage of a species.


title: Dietrich Stobbe

paragraphs: Dietrich Stobbe (25 March 1938 – 19 February 2011) was a German politician from Weepers, East Prussia.

paragraphs: Stobbe served as Mayor of West Berlin from 2 May 1977 till 23 January 1981. From 1 November 1978 till 31 October 1979 he was also President of the Bundesrat.

paragraphs: Stobbe was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

paragraphs: He died on the 19 February 2011 at the age of 72 after long illness.


title: Herald Sun

paragraphs: The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a part of News Limited, which is a part of News Corporation. It can be bought in Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and Southern New South Wales. The Herald Sun shares many articles with other News Corporation daily newspapers, especially those from Australia.

paragraphs: The "Herald Sun" is the biggest selling daily newspaper in Australia. It sells about 515,000 copies each day and is read by 1,500,000 people.

paragraphs: The "Herald Sun" newspaper was formed in 1990 when the morning tabloid paper "The Sun News-Pictorial" joined with the afternoon broadsheet paper "The Herald". It was first published on 8 October 1990 as the "Herald-Sun". The hyphen in its title was dropped on May 1, 1993.

paragraphs: "The Herald" was started on 3 January 1840 by George Cavanaugh as "The Port Phillip Herald". In 1855, it became "The Melbourne Herald", but a week later became "The Herald". From 1869, it was an evening newspaper. Colonel William Thomas Reay was sometime literary editor and later associate editor, before becoming managing editor in 1904.

paragraphs: "The Sun News-Pictorial" began on 11 September 1922, and bought by The Herald and Weekly Times in 1925.

paragraphs: "The Herald" once sold almost 600,000 copies, but by the time of its 150th anniversary in 1990 it had fallen below 200,00. This was caused by the impact of evening television news and more people using cars to get home from work.'This was much less than that of the morning "Sun".

paragraphs: As a result, The Herald and Weekly Times decided to merge the two, and so after one hundred and fifty years, ten months and two days of publication, "The Herald" was published for the last time as a separate newspaper on 5 October 1990. The next day, "The Sun News-Pictorial" published its last edition. The Sunday editions of the two newspapers had already been merged. The resulting newspaper had both the size and style of "The Sun News-Pictorial".

paragraphs: With sales still falling, the afternoon edition was cancelled, the last edition being published on December 21, 2001. The News Limited now produces "mX" a free afternoon paper that can be picked up from stands throughout the Melbourne CBD. It is not available outside that area.

paragraphs: Recent editors include Peter Blunden, Simon Pristel, Phil Gardner and Bruce Guthrie.

paragraphs: Over the 600 years, the "Herald Sun" has had a range of magazines, pins and memorabilia (usually with an outside partner) that could be obtained by either getting it out of the newspaper, or using a token from the newspaper to collect or purchase the item. Items that have been a part of this scheme include:

paragraphs: The Sunday edition is called the "Sunday Herald Sun". In Sydney it is closely linked with "The Daily Telegraph" and "The Sunday Telegraph".

paragraphs: In Brisbane, it is linked with "The Courier-Mail" and "The Sunday Mail".

paragraphs: In Adelaide, "The Advertiser" and "Sunday Mail".

paragraphs: In Hobart, "The Mercury" and "The Sunday Tasmanian".

paragraphs: In Darwin, The "Northern Territory News" and "Sunday Territorian".


title: Klaus Schütz

paragraphs: Klaus Schütz (17 September 1926 in Heidelberg – 29 November 2012 in Berlin) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

paragraphs: He was Mayor of West Berlin from 1967 to 1977, and was President of the Bundesrat in 1967/68. After his resignation he worked as German Ambassador to Israel until 1981 and Director General of the Deutsche Welle broadcaster from 1981 to 1987. He was also president of the German Red Cross.


title: Rabiu Afolabi

paragraphs: Rabiu Afolabi (born 18 April 1980 in Osogbo, Nigeria) is a Nigerian soccer player. He plays for F. C. Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga as defender.

paragraphs: After playing good in the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup in 1997 he went to Europe and played for Standard Liège. He signed 2000 for SSC Napoli in the Seria A but had no breakthrough. So he went back to Belgium. 2003 till 2005 the played the first time in Austria for FK Austria Wien. After his time in France( FC Sochaux 2005-2009) he signed for F.C. Red Bull Salzburg. 2011 he his in AS Monaco now playing in the League 2 in France

paragraphs: He started with the team of Nigeria in the 1999 African Youth Championship. The he was captain of the Nigerian team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, where they reached the quarter finals. On 17 June 2000, he made his first match in the senior team in a 2002 World Cup qualifing match against Sierra Leone. Rabiu Afolabi was member of the Nigerian team for the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.


title: Scots-Irish

paragraphs: Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish may refer to;


title: Ulster Scots people

paragraphs: Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English from the border of those two countries, were "Border Reivers". These people first began to occupy Ireland in large numbers with the Plantation of Ulster, ordered by James I of England on land taken from the Irish nobility, mostly in the Province of Ulster. The term "Ulster-Scots" refers to both these colonists of the 17th century and, less commonly, to the Gallowglass who began to arrive from what is now northwest Scotland centuries earlier.

paragraphs: Ulster-Scots were largely descended from colonists from Galloway, Ayrshire, and the Scottish Borders Country, although some descend from people further north in the Scottish Lowlands and the Highlands. Ulster-Scots emigrated in significant numbers to the United States and all corners of the British Empire — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa — and to a lesser extent to Argentina and Chile in South America.

paragraphs: "Scotch-Irish" is a traditional term for Ulster Scots who later emigrated to what is now the United States; "Scots-Irish" is a more recent form of the American term, the term has usually been Scotch-Irish in America, as evident in Merriam-Webster dictionaries, where the term Scotch-Irish is recorded from 1744, while Scots-Irish is not recorded until 1972. and is not to be confused with Irish-Scots, i.e., recent Irish immigrants to Scotland.


title: Dharamshala

paragraphs: Dharamshala is a city in northern India. It is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district.

paragraphs: McLeod Ganj, a village within Dharamshala municipality, is the home of the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government. It is a popular place for Indian and foreign tourists, including students studying Tibet.


title: Venerable Order of Saint John

paragraphs: The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America. Its world-wide mission is "to prevent and relieve sickness and injury, and to act to enhance the health and well-being of people anywhere in the world." It is often simply called the "Order of St. John", or as the "Venerable Order of Saint John" (VOSJ) to distinguish it from other similarly named orders.

paragraphs: The order's approximately 25,000 confrères, supported by 4,000 employees and 250,000 volunteers, are mainly Anglicans, though those of other Christian denominations or other religions are accepted into the order, and honorary membership is presented to distinguished adherents of other religions. Membership in the order is by invitation only, except via appointment to certain government or ecclesiastical offices in some realms. People may not petition for admission. It is perhaps best known through its service organizations, St. John Ambulance and St John Eye Hospital Group, the memberships and work of which are not limited to any denomination or religion.

paragraphs: The original order was divided into langues (tongues). These were groups based on the tongue, or language, that the group spoke.

paragraphs: The Order of St. John's biggest leap forward came in 1888, when Queen Victoria granted the society a royal charter, yet again renaming the order, this time as the "Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem in England". This was altered in 1926 to the "Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem", and then in 1936 as the "Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem". In 1961 it played a role in the establishment of the Alliance of the Orders of St. John of Jerusalem, and thereafter finally received through a concordat in 1963 collateral recognition by the Order of Malta. The most recent royal charter was issued in 1955, with a supplemental charter released in 1974, recognizing the world-wide scope of the organization by setting its present name. In 1999, the order was granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

paragraphs: The reigning monarch of each of the Commonwealth realms is the Sovereign Head of the Order of St. John

paragraphs: Knights and Dames receive the award from the Grand Prior when they are touched on the shoulder with a sword and are given their robes and insignia. Post-nominal letters of the order are not used outside the organization itself, and a Knight and Dame may not use the prefix "sir" or "dame", though they may request from their local heraldic authority a personal coats of arms, should they not already possess any, and have it adorned with emblems of the Order of St. John. Further, membership in the order only grants precedence within the society, which is as follows:

paragraphs: Precedence within each grade is dictated by dates of appointment, save for those in Grade I who are either a head of state or a member of the royal family of a Commonwealth realm, another Commonwealth country, or foreign state, in which case they all precede the other members of the grade in the following order:

paragraphs: Following constitutional changes made in 1999, the Priory of England and The Islands was established (including the Commandery of Ards in Northern Ireland) alongside the existing Priories of Wales, Scotland, Canada, Australia (including the Commandery of Western Australia), New Zealand, South Africa, and, since 1996, the United States, each of which is governed by a Prior and a Priory Chapter. Commanderies, governed by a Knight or Dame Commander and a Commandery Chapter, may exist within or wholly or partly without the territory of a Priory, known as Dependent or Independent Commanderies, respectively. Any country without a Priory or Commandery of its own is assumed into the "home priory" of England and The Islands, many of these being smaller Commonwealth of Nations states in which the order has only a minor presence.

paragraphs: The Order of St. John is said to have arrived in Canada in 1648, as the second Governor of New France, Charles de Montmagny, was a member of the original order, but it was not until 1883 that the first branch of the modern organization was established in the country, at Quebec City, growing to 12 branches by 1892. The Order of St. John today forms part of the Canadian national honours system, and the Priory, established in 1946 out of the Commandery of Canada, is the largest outside of the United Kingdom, with some 6,000 members. The Canadian monarch's viceroy, the governor general, serves as the Prior and Chief Officer in Canada, while the provincial viceroys the lieutenant governors act as the Vice-Priors, overseeing the administration of the order in their respective province. These individuals thus automatically become Knights or Dames of Justice or Grace upon their swearing-into viceregal office.

paragraphs: An American Society of the Order of St. John was established in 1957 as a foundation to assist the order with charitable work, after 1961 focusing its efforts specifically on the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem and some other organizations aiding the sick. This branch was successful enough that Queen Elizabeth II in 1996 officially created the Priory of the United States of America, the seventh priory at the time, with John R. Drexel as the first Prior. By late 2000, the US priory had approximately 1,100 members. As citizens of a country that did not have the sovereignty of the Order of St. John vested in its head of state, American inductees who first joined the new Priory were specifically asked to only "pay due obedience" to the governing authorities of the order "in all things consistent with your duty to your own country," thus eliminating any question of loyalty to a foreign head of state superseding American postulants' duties as US citizens.

paragraphs: Upon admission into the Order of St. John, confrères are gifted various insignia of the organization, each level and office being represented by different emblems and robes for wear at important occasions for the order. Common for all members except Esquires is the badge, consisting of an eight-pointed Maltese cross embellished in the four principal angles alternately with two lions passant guardant and two unicorns passant. That for the Sovereign Head is gold with arms of white enamel and the embellishments rendered in gold, all surmounted by a jeweled St. Edward's Crown, while those for the officers of the order are the same save for the Grand Prior's having the crown made only of gold; the Lord Prior's having in place of the St. Edward's Crown the coronet in gold of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales; and the Prelate's having instead a representation of a Mitre in gold. Thereafter, the badges are prescribed as follows:

paragraphs: All Bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross may wear their badges either at the left hip on a (for men) or (for women) wide, black watered silk ribbon over the right shoulder or from a wide black band at the collar. Male Knights Justice or Grace must carry their badges on a 16.5mm wide ribbon at the neck, and Commanders, Officers, and Members have theirs on a straight ribbon suspended from a medal bar on the left breast, while females in all grades may wear their insignia either on a ribbon bow pinned at the left shoulder or hung from a medal bar in the men's fashion, depending on the circumstance and clothing worn. Bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames of Justice or Grace, and Chaplains may all also wear a breast star, which appears the same as their badges, only at a diameter of and without embellishments for those in Grade I and for those in Grade II. Further, those in these groups are also given a button for wear on the lapel of non-formal civilian clothing, for events such as business meetings of the order. In general, the insignia of the Order of St. John may be worn at all occasions where other decorations are worn, not only those connected with the ceremonies of the order.

paragraphs: All members of the Order of St. John are also required to wear specific robes for formal occasions of the society, including a mantle, sopra vest, and hat. The mantles of the Sovereign Head and Grand Prior are all of black silk velvet and lined with white silk, the former's differentiated by an additional train. Bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross and, prior to 1926, Knights of Justice formerly wore black silk robes with a lining of the same material and colour; these members now wear the same mantle as Commanders, Officers, and Esquires, which are made of black merino wool faced with black silk. The only other unique mantles are those of the Medical Officer of the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital, which bears a special pattern, and of Chaplains, which is a black silk robe with full sleeves. Each cloak also bears on its left side a rendition of the order's star in white silk: the Sovereign Head, Grand Prior, and those in the first two grades of the order all have a diameter emblem; the Sovereign's and Grand Prior's are of white silk with gold adornments, the former's also surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown, while those for Bailiffs and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames of Justice, and Knights and Dames of Grace are rendered in white linen, the first two groups having embellishments in gold silk, the latter in white silk. Similarly, the star for Commanders and Officers is of white linen with white silk ornamentation, though they are only and in diameter, respectively. The Secretaries of the order, the priories, and the commanderies also wear the badge superimposed upon two goose quill pens embroidered saltire-wise in white silk.

paragraphs: The sopra (or supra) vest is a long drape of thin, black cloth that buttons close down the neck and to one side, falling to the ankles and cut so as to entirely cover the body. It is similar to a cassock, though it is actually derived from the "supra vesta" a black surcoat worn in the mid 13th century by the Knights of St. John. Confrères in Grade I have a plain, white, 300mm diameter Maltese cross on their sopra vests, while members of Grades II and III, plus Chaplains, have a plain garment, though the wearer's Order of St. John medallion hangs outside the vest, 152mm below the collar. Clerical inductees of the order may, when officiating, wear over their cassock and surplice a tippet of black with red lining, edging, and buttons, a 76mm wide star worn on the left breast and the accordant badge suspended at the neck. When full mantles and sopra vests are worn a black velvet Tudor style hat is included.

paragraphs: The Sovereign makes all appointments to the order as she, in her absolute discretion, shall think fit, though the constitution does impose certain limitations: the maximum number of members is set at 35,000,

paragraphs: To be inducted, new members must recite the organization's declaration:

paragraphs: Notwithstanding the order's devotion to Christian ideals of charity, and its official position that the order has a "Christian character," its Grand Council has since 1999 affirmed that "profession of the Christian Faith should not be a condition of membership of the Order." The issue of the order's Christian character and the issue of "inclusive membership" was dealt with in the Grand Council's "Pro Fide Report" in 2005, wherein it was said that the order's life is shaped by Christian faith and values, but that "[r]ather than the emphasis being primarily upon 'spiritual beliefs or doctrine' it is on works of mercy rendered through St. John"; therefore, while the Great Officers are required to profess the Christian faith, the same is "not an essential condition of membership" and "[t]he onus is on the man or woman who is invited to the privilege of membership to decide whether he or she can with a good conscience promise to be faithful to the stated aims and purposes of this Christian lay order of chivalry." On the subject of inclusive membership, the report stated "Christian hospitality is a criterion which can be applied to the Order's relationships to persons of other religious faiths," and "the Order needs to be characterized by a hospitable disposition towards other faith traditions while holding fast to its own origins and foundational identity in Christian faith."

paragraphs: As the Order of St. John is open to the citizens of sixteen different countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. Unlike with other multi-level orders, all the Order of St. John's grades rank between the society's predecessor and successor; some examples follow:


title: Jasenovac concentration camp

paragraphs: Jasenovac concentration camp was the largest death camp and concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia (ISC) during World War II. The camp was created by the Ustaše regime in August 1941 and destroyed in April 1945. Most of the people killed at Jasenovac were ethnic Serbs, who the ISC saw as their main racial enemy. The camp also held Jews, Roma, and a number of Croat and Bosniak Yugoslav Partisans.

paragraphs: Jasenovac was a complex of five sub-camps covering over on both banks of the Sava River. The largest camp was at Jasenovac, about southeast of Zagreb. The complex included large grounds at Donja Gradina directly across the Sava River; a children's concentration camp in Sisak; and a Stara Gradiška concentration camp.

paragraphs: The camp's history website says, "We cannot be sure of the exact number of victims of the Ustasha camp in Jasenovac. According to research completed so far, the number can be estimated at between 500,000 and 800,000".

paragraphs: The Independent State of Croatia (ISC) made three orders in 1941:

paragraphs: These orders were enforced through the regular court system, and through new special courts and mobile courts-martial with special powers. By July 1941, there were too many new prisoners to fit in the jails that existed. The Ustaše government began building the Jasenovac concentration camp.

paragraphs: The Independent State of Croatia was created and supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Because of this, the ISC took on their ideas about race and politics. Jasenovac had a role in the Nazis' "Final Solution." However, the ISC also used the camp for the ethnic cleansing of Romani and Serbian people in Croatia.

paragraphs: The Nazi organizations that directed the Ustaše's death camps were:

paragraphs: The Nazis encouraged the Ustaše's anti-Jewish and anti-Roma actions and showed support for the anti-Serb policy. Soon, it became clear that the Nazis wanted to commit genocide. In a meeting on July 21, 1941, Hitler said to the Croatian military commander, Slavko Kvaternik:

paragraphs: The Jews are the bane of the human kind. If the Jews will be allowed to do as they will, like they are permitted in their Soviet heaven, than they will fulfill their most insane plans. And thus Russia became the center to the world's illness... if for any reason, one nation would endure the existence of a single Jewish family, that family would eventually become the center of a new plot. If there are no more Jews in Europe, nothing will hold the unification of the European nations... this sort of people cannot be integrated in the social order or into an organized nation. They are parasites on the body of a healthy society, that live off of expulsion of decent people. One cannot expect them to fit into a state that requires order and discipline. There is only one thing to be done with them: To exterminate them. The state holds this right since, while precious men die on the battlefront, it would be nothing less than criminal to spare these bastards. They must be expelled, or -- if they pose no threat to the public -- to be imprisoned inside concentration camps and never be released."

paragraphs: The Jasenovac complex was built between August 1941 and February 1942. The first two camps, Krapje and Bročica, were closed in November 1941.

paragraphs: The three newer camps continued to function until the end of the war:

paragraphs: The camp was built, managed and supervised by Department III of the "Ustaška Narodna Služba" or "UNS" (lit. "Ustaše People's Service"), a special police force of the ISC. Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić was head of the UNS. At different times, Miroslav Majstorović and Dinko Šakić managed the camp.

paragraphs: The Ustaše interned, tortured and executed men, women and children in Jasenovac. The largest number of victims were Serbs, but other victims included Jews, Bosnian Muslims, Gypsies, and Croatian resistance members opposed to the ISC regime. When they got to the camp, the prisoners were marked with colors: blue for Serbs, and red for "communists" (non-Serbian resistance members). Gypsies had no marks (this was later changed).

paragraphs: Most people who were sent to Jasenovac were killed at execution sites near the camp: Granik, Gradina, and other places. Prisoners who were kept alive were mostly people who had special skills (for example, doctors, pharmacists, electricians, shoemakers, and goldsmiths). They were forced to work at Jasenovac.

paragraphs: The living conditions in the camp were terrible, as was usual for Nazi death camps. Prisoners were fed very little, not given enough clothing or shelter to stay warm, had no health care, and were abused by the Ustaše guards. Also, as in many camps, conditions would be improved temporarily when special groups visited. For example, when members of the press visited in February 1942, and later when a Red Cross delegation visited in June 1944, the prisoners were treated better until the visitors left. Then the living conditions would go back to usual.

paragraphs: Like at all Nazi death camps, the food given to prisoners at Jasenovac was not enough to keep them alive. The kind of food they were given changed over time. In camp Brocice, inmates were given a "soup" made of hot water with starch for breakfast, and beans for lunch and dinner. (These "meals" were served at 6:00, 12:00 and 21:00.) Food in Camp No. III was better at first, with potatoes instead of beans. However, in January, prisoners started getting only one daily serving of thin "turnip soup". By the end of the year, the diet had been changed again, to three daily portions of thin gruel made of water and starch. More changes were made, but prisoners never got enough food to keep them from starving.

paragraphs: The water at Jasenovac was even worse than at most death camps. There was no clean water at the camp. Prisoners were forced to drink water from the Sava River, which was contaminated with "hren" (horseradish).

paragraphs: In the first camps, Brocice and Krapje, inmates slept in regular concentration-camp barracks. These were made of wood and had three tiers (levels) of bunks.

paragraphs: In Camp No. III, which housed about 3,000 prisoners, there was not enough shelter for everyone. At first, inmates slept in the attics of the camp's workshops, in an open depot used as a railway "tunnel", or simply outside in the open. A short time later, eight barracks were built. Inmates slept in six of these barracks. The other two were used as a "clinic" and a "hospital." These were not places where inmates could get medical treatment and get better. They were places where sick inmates were put together to die or be killed.

paragraphs: As in all concentration camps, prisoners at Jasenovac had to work about 11 hours a day. They did hard, forced labor, and were always watched by the Ustaše guards. These guards would execute inmates even for small reasons, and say the inmates were "sabotaging labor."

paragraphs: Ustasas Hinko Dominik Picilli and Tihomir Kordić controlled the labor section. Picilli would personally whip inmates to make them work harder. He divided the "Jasenovac labor force" into 16 groups, including groups of construction workers, brick-workers, metal-works, and agricultural workers. Many inmates died from the hard work. Brick-working was especially hard and dangerous. Inmates working as blacksmiths were forced to make knives and other weapons for the Ustaše. Building dikes was the most feared job of all.

paragraphs: Inside the camp, there was no sanitation. Prisoners had no way to keep things clean, and had to live in terrible conditions. Blood, vomit and dead bodies filled the barracks. The barracks were also full of pests like lice and rats, which spread disease. The barracks smelled terrible because inmates had to use a bucket for a toilet during the evenings. The bucket often spilled.

paragraphs: During breaks from work (from 5:00-6:00; 12:00-13:00, and 17:00-20:00), inmates were allowed to empty their bowels in public latrines. These were big pits that lay bare in the open field, covered with planks of wood. Inmates often fell inside and died. The Ustaše encouraged this by having prisoners separate the planks. Sometimes, the Ustaše would even drown inmates inside the pits. When it rained, these pits would overflow and drain into the lake. This meant that urine and feces would mix into the water which the prisoners had to drink.

paragraphs: Inmates were given rags and blankets, but they were very thin. The barracks were also not enough to keep inmates warm from the cold. Prisoners' clothes and blankets were rarely cleaned. Inmates were allowed to wash them quickly in the lake once a month, except during the winter, when the lake froze. Then, inmates were sometimes allowed to boil a few clothes, but not well enough to get them clean.

paragraphs: Because of these terrible living conditions, inmates suffered from illnesses that led to epidemics of typhus, typhoid, malaria, lung infections, influenza, dysentery, and diphtheria.

paragraphs: The Ustaše took away all of the inmates' clothes and other things. They were given only prison uniforms, made out of rags. In winter, inmates were given thin "rain-coats," and they were allowed to make light sandals. Inmates were given a small personal food bowl, to hold the 0.4 litres of "soup" they were fed. An inmate whose bowl was missing (because another inmate had stolen it to use it as a toilet) would get no food.

paragraphs: During delegation visits, inmates were given bowls twice as large as usual, with spoons. Also, during these visits, inmates were given colored tags.

paragraphs: Prisoners were affected by a constant fear of death, and terrible stress of being in a situation in which the living and dead are very close together.

paragraphs: When they first arrived at the camp, inmates would be shocked by the terrible conditions on the trip to the camp, and in the camp itself. The Ustaše would increase this shock by murdering a number of inmates as soon as they got to the camp, and by temporarily housing new-arrivals in warehouses, attics, in the train tunnel and outdoors.

paragraphs: After the inmates grew familiar with life in camp, they would have to get used to living through the hardships, abuse, torture, and deaths of other prisoners. The danger of death was greatest during "public performances for public punishment," also called selections. Inmates would be lined up in groups, and individuals would be randomly pointed out to be killed while facing the rest. The Ustaše would make this worse by making the process take a long time. They would walk around and ask questions; gaze at inmates; choose one person, then change their mind and choose another.

paragraphs: Inmates reacted to being in Jasenovac in two basic ways. Some became activists. They formed resistance movements (groups who tried to fight the Ustaše in different ways, like stealing food, planning escapes and revolts, and trying to get in touch with people outside the camp). But most of the inmates reacted by just trying to survive, and get through the day unharmed. This was not "going in line to slaughter," but rather another strategy to try to survive.

paragraphs: All inmates suffered from some kind of mental health problems. Some could not stop thinking about food; others became paranoid; some had delusions; some lost control of themselves. Others seemed to lose their sense of hope. Some inmates reacted by trying to write about what was happening to them. For example, Nikola Nikolić, Djuro Schwartz, and Ilija Ivanović all tried to memorize and even write about events, dates and details. This was very dangerous, since writing was punishable by death and tracking dates was hard.

paragraphs: Most of the executions of Jews at Jasenovac occurred before August 1942. After that, the ISC started to deport Jewish prisoners to the Auschwitz concentration camp. In general, Jews were first sent to Jasenovac from all parts of Croatia after being gathered in Zagreb, and from Bosnia and Herzegovina after being gathered in Sarajevo. Some, however, were sent directly to Jasenovac from other cities and smaller towns.

paragraphs: Many inmates sent to Jasenovac were scheduled to be murdered. Strong men who could do hard work, and were sentenced to less than 3 years in prison, were allowed to live. However, anyone who was sentenced to 3 years in prison or longer was immediately scheduled for execution.

paragraphs: The Ustaše used many different kinds of systematic extermination (killing many people at once, using a system). However, they liked using manual methods of killing - killing prisoners with their hands, using tools like knives, saws, and hammers.

paragraphs: The Ustaše cremated living inmates. Some were given drugs, but others were fully awake. They also cremated dead bodies.

paragraphs: When the Ustaše first started cremating people in January 1942, they used brick factory ovens. An engineer named Hinko Dominik Picilli made cremation much easier for them by creating seven better-working crematories.

paragraphs: Crematories were also placed in Gradina, across the Sava River. The State Commission says "there is no information that [the Gradina crematory] ever went into operation." Later testimony, however, says this crematory was used.

paragraphs: Some bodies were buried rather than cremated. Their bodies were dug up late in the war.

paragraphs: The Nazis had used poison gas to kill many prisoners in their concentration camps. Following this example, the Ustaše tried to use poison gas to kill inmates that arrived in Stara-Gradiska. At first, they tried to gas the women and children that arrived from camp Djakovo with gas-vans that Simo Klaić called "green Thomas". Later, they built gas chambers and used Zyklon-B and sulphur monoxide to kill prisoners.

paragraphs: Granik was a ramp used to unload goods from boats on the Sava River. In winter 1943-44, prisoners who did farming work had no jobs to do, since the ground was frozen. Meanwhile, large numbers of new prisoners arrived. By this time, the Axis powers were expected to lose World War II, and the Ustaše wanted to kill as many people as possible before that happened. They decided to execute people on the ramp, so that after they were killed, their bodies could be dumped into the river.

paragraphs: Every night for about 20 days, Ustaše officers brought in lists of prisoners who they planned to execute. They stripped, chained, and beat these prisoners. Then they took them to the Granik. There, weights were tied to them; their intestines and necks were cut; they were hit in the head; and then they were thrown into the river. Over time, the Ustaše changed this method, so that inmates were tied in pairs, back to back, and their bellies were cut open before they were tossed into the river alive.

paragraphs: Gradina and Ustice were villages around Jasenovac. The Ustaše chose some empty areas near these villages, and used wire to mark off an area for a massacre and mass graves. They gathered many prisoners there and killed them with knives or by smashing their skulls with hammers.

paragraphs: When Roma people (Gypsies) arrived in the camp, they did not undergo selection, because they were all scheduled to be killed. They were taken to Gradina. In between massacres, the men would be forced to work on the dike, and the women would be forced to work in the cornfields in Ustice. Eventually, they would all be killed. Thus Gradina and Ustice became Roma mass grave sites. The Ustaše killed more and more people Gradina, until it became the main killing-ground in Jasenovac. Grave-sites were also located in nearby Ustica and in Draksenic.

paragraphs: Mlaka and Jablanac were used as camps where women and children were held and forced to work. However, many women, children, and other people were killed at the Sava River bank between the two camps.

paragraphs: According to the State Commission, as many as 50,000 people were killed here in the winter of 1941 to 1942. Evidence says that more people were also killed here after that winter.

paragraphs: In the late summer of 1942, the ISC sent tens of thousands of Serbian villagers were to Jasenovac. The villagers had lived in the Kozara mountain area (in Bosnia), where ISC soldiers were fighting against the Yugoslav Partisans. The women villagers were sent to do forced labor in Germany. Children were taken from their mothers and either killed or sent to Catholic orphanages. However, most of the men were killed at Jasenovac.

paragraphs: On the night of August 29, 1942, the camp's guards made bets about who could kill the most prisoners. One of the guards, Petar Brzica, reportedly cut the throats of about 1,360 of the new prisoners, using a butcher knife that became known as "srbosjek" ("Serb-cutter"). Other guards who admitted taking part in the bet included Ante Zrinušić, who killed about 600 inmates, and Mile Friganović, who gave a detailed and consistent report of what happened. Friganović admitted to killing 1,100 inmates. He specifically talked about how he tortured an old man named Vukasin. He ordered the man to bless the Ustaše leader, Ante Pavelić. The old man refused, even though Friganović cut off his ears, nose, and tongue every time he refused. Eventually, he cut out the old man's eyes, tore out his heart, and cut his throat. Dr. Nikola Nikolić saw this happen.

paragraphs: In April 1945, as Yugoslav Partisan units neared the camp, the Ustaše guards tried to get rid of evidence of their crimes and the people who knew what they had done. They tried to kill as many prisoners as possible, as fast as they could. On April 22, 600 prisoners revolted; 520 were killed and 80 escaped. Not long after the prisoners revolted, the Ustaše abandoned the camp. However, first, they killed the prisoners who were still alive. They also blew up and destroyed the buildings, guardhouses, torture rooms, crematoriums, and other parts of the camp. When they entered the camp, the Partisans found only ruins, soot, smoke, and dead bodies.

paragraphs: By the end of 1945, the rest of Jasenovac was destroyed.

paragraphs: Historians have had difficulty figuring out exactly how many people died at Jasenovac. Today, the most common estimate is that tens of thousands of people died at the camp. Before the 1990s, the most common estimate was that hundreds of thousands had died.

paragraphs: These estimates are very different for many reasons. The Ustaše did not keep accurate records. Different people use different ways of estimating deaths. Sometimes, the people making estimates have political biases. In some cases, entire families were killed at the camp, leaving no one to submit their names to lists of the dead. On the other hand, the lists sometimes include the names of people who died in other places; people who survived; or people who are on more than one list.

paragraphs: The Yad Vashem center claims that over 500,000 Serbs were killed in the Independent State of Croatia. This includes Serbs who were killed at Jasenovac. The Simon Wiesenthal Center estimates the same.

paragraphs: According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jasenovac's victims included "between 45,000 and 52,000 Serb residents of the so-called Independent State of Croatia; between 12,000 and 20,000 Jews; between 15,000 and 20,000 Roma (Gypsies); and between 5,000 and 12,000 ethnic Croats and Muslims, who were political and religious opponents of the regime."

paragraphs: There are many different documents from the time that Jasenovac existed, written by many different people. At the time, the Germans and Italians were fighting Yugoslav Partisans for control of Yugoslavia. People from both sides of that fight wrote about Jasenovac. The Ustaše themselves also wrote about the camp; so did the Vatican. Comparing all of these different accounts can help with estimates of how many people died at the camp.

paragraphs: As the war went on, German generals wrote reports on the number of Serbs, Jews, and others killed in the Independent State of Croatia. In 1943, three different generals estimated that 300,000 to 400,000 Serbs had been killed. By March 1944, Ernst Fick wrote that 600,000 to 700,000 Serbs had been killed. Hermann Neubacher wrote:

paragraphs: "When prominent Ustashi [Ustaše] leaders claimed that they slaughtered a million Serbs (including babies, children, women and old men), that is, in my opinion, a boastful exaggeration. On the basis of the reports submitted to me, I believe that the number of defenseless victims slaughtered to be three quarters of a million. (Neubacher, Dr. Hermann. Special Assignment in the Southeast, p. 18-30.)

paragraphs: Italian generals reported similar figures to their commanders. The Vatican's sources also wrote of similar figures. For example, Eugen Tisserant reported that 350,000 Serbs had been killed by the end of 1942. Godfried Danneels estimated that a total of "over 500,000 people" were killed.

paragraphs: The Ustaše themselves claimed that they had killed many more people. Vjekoslav "Maks" Luburić, commander-in-chief of all the Croatian camps, once bragged about Jasenovac's "efficiency." At a ceremony on October 9, 1942 - just a year after the camp was created - he said: "We have slaughtered here at Jasenovac more people than the Ottoman Empire was able to do during its occupation of Europe." The Ustaše general headquarters once published a pamphlet that said: "the concentration and labor camp in Jasenovac can receive an unlimited number of internees [prisoners]." Finally, Miroslav Filipovic-Majstorovic, once captured by Yugoslav forces, tried to minimize the crimes committed in Jasenovac by saying that during the three months that he ran the camp, 20,000 to 30,000 people died. In other sources, that three months' death toll is displayed as 40,000.

paragraphs: In 1945, the new Yugoslavian government, led by Tito, paid for a report by the National Committee of Croatia. The report looked into the crimes committed by the Ustaše and their allies. The report, dated November 15, 1945, stated that 500,000 to 600,000 people were killed at the Jasenovac complex. These figures were used by researcher Israel Gutman in the "Encyclopedia of the Holocaust"; by the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and by others.

paragraphs: Logically, the number of deaths in Jasenovac would depend on a few different things:

paragraphs: Also, crematories were built in Jasenovac as far back as January 1942, because the Ustaše were having trouble burying all of the camp's dead bodies. This suggests that many people were already dying at the camp. In addition, later that year, prisoners were being killed with poison gas in Stara-Gradiska, in both gas chambers and vans.

paragraphs: Some of the camp's officials and their post-war fates are listed below:

paragraphs: The Jasenovac Memorial Museum was temporarily abandoned during the Yugoslav wars. In November 1991, Simo Brdar, a former associate director of the Memorial, collected the documentation from the museum and brought it to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Brdar kept the documents until 2001, when he gave them to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, with the help of SFOR and the government of Republika Srpska.

paragraphs: With the help of former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, the New York City Parks Department, the Holocaust Park Committee, and the Jasenovac Research Institute created a public monument to the victims of Jasenovac in April 2005 (on the sixtieth anniversary of the camp's liberation). Ten Yugoslavian Holocaust survivors were there, along with diplomats from Serbia, Bosnia, and Israel. It is the only public monument to Jasenovac victims outside of the Balkans. Ceremonies are held there every April.


title: Geshe Sonam Rinchen

paragraphs: Geshe Sonam Rinchen was born in Kham in Eastern Tibet in 1933. In 1945, he joined Dhargyey Monastery, and entered Sera monastery in Lhasa in 1952, where he studied until he was forced to leave Tibet in 1959.

paragraphs: In India he completed his studies for the degree of Geshe Lharampa which he received in 1980. He also received the degree of Acarya from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath. He was appointed resident teacher at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India in 1978, where he teaches Buddhist philosophy and practice, mainly to westerners. He has also taught in Japan, Australia, Great Britain, South Korea, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland.


title: Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden

paragraphs: Geshe Acharya Thubten Loden leads the Tibetan Buddhist Society in Australia. Geshe Loden established the Peaceful Land of Joy Meditation Centre in Victoria, and has written many books. In 2011, he was named Hume Citizen of the Year.

paragraphs: Born in 1924, Geshe Loden became a monk at the age of seven. Completing his study of all divisions of Buddhist philosophy, he was awarded the Geshe Lharampa degree from Sera Monastery in Tibet, and an Acharya degree from Varanasi's Sanskrit university in India. He also gained a Master's qualification in Vajrayana Buddhism after six years' study at Gyudmed Tantric College. Geshe Loden originally came to Australia in 1976 as a Tibetan refugee.

paragraphs: Geshe Loden has written many books on Tibetan Buddhism, including:


paragraphs: The FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) is a group of Buddhist centers focusing on the Gelugpa tradition of Tibet. Founded in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, who began teaching Buddhism to Western students in Nepal, the FPMT has grown to encompass 150 teaching centers, projects, and social services in 33 countries. Since the death of Lama Yeshe in 1984, the FPMT's spiritual director has been Lama Zopa Rinpoche.


title: Gerhard Tremmel

paragraphs: Gerhard Tremmel (born 16 November 1978 in Munich) is a German football goalkeeper. He plays for Swansea City in the Premier League.

paragraphs: He played in the youth teams of Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich and was transferred to SpVgg Unterhaching where he made his senior debut. He left Bavaria in 2002 and played for Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin (1st and 2nd team) and for Energie Cottbus. After four seasons with Cottbus he intended to go back to Berlin, but finally he signed one year for FC Red Bull Salzburg to replace the injured goalkeeper Eddie Gustafsson. He only got 13 goals in the 2010/11 season, this made him to the best goalkeeper in the Austrian Bundesliga.

paragraphs: In 2011 he went to Swansea City which plays in the Premier League.


title: Macropodiformes

paragraphs: Macropodiformes is one of the three suborders of the large marsupial order Diprotodontia. Kangaroos, wallabies and allies, bettongs, potaroos and rat kangaroos are all in this suborder.


title: Smoke (movie)

paragraphs: Smoke is an American independent movie released in 1995. It was produced by Hisami Kuroiwa, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein. It was directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. Auster also wrote the screenplay.

paragraphs: Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Victor Argo, Forest Whitaker, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing and Harold Perrineau Jr. all appear in the movie.

paragraphs: The movie follows the lives of several characters. Their lives are connected because they are all customers at a small tobacco shop in Brooklyn, New York. The store manager is the main character, Auggie (Harvey Keitel). In the movie, the Brooklyn Cigar Co. was on the corner of 16th Street and Prospect Park West.

paragraphs: "Blue in the Face" was the next movie by the same directors. It follows the lives of some of the same characters and new characters join the story.


title: Yew

paragraphs: A Yew is a coniferous tree. The name is most used for species of the genus Taxus, or for other members of the coniferous family Taxaceae.

paragraphs: All species of yew contain highly poisonous alkaloids known as taxanes. All parts of the tree except the arils (red 'fruits') contain the alkaloid.

paragraphs: The arils are edible and sweet, but the seeds are dangerously poisonous. Unlike birds, the human stomach can break down the seed coat and release the taxanes into the body. This can have fatal results if yew 'berries' are eaten without removing the seeds first.

paragraphs: The seeds and leaves will kill cattle and horses, but deer can break down the poisons and will eat yew foliage freely. In the wild, deer browsing of yews is often so extensive that wild yew trees are restricted to cliffs and steep slopes inaccessible to deer. The foliage is also eaten by the larvae of some Lepidopteran insects including Willow Beauty.

paragraphs: Yews are slow growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m. They have reddish bark, spear-shaped flat, dark-green leaves 1-4 cm long and 2-3 mm broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem.

paragraphs: The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4-7 mm long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8-15 mm long and wide and open at the end.

paragraphs: The arils are mature 6-9 months after pollination, and are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings.

paragraphs: The male cones are round, 3-6 mm diameter, and shed their pollen in early spring. Yews are mostly dioecious, but occasional individuals can be variably monoecious, or change sex with time.

paragraphs: All of the yews are very closely related to each other, and often described together as "Taxus baccata".


title: Wichita Falls, Texas

paragraphs: Wichita Falls is a city in Wichita Couty, Texas, United States. The population of Wichita Falls was 107,000 in 2006. The mayors of Wichita Falls are Glenn Barham, Linda Ammons, Michael Smith, Dorothy Roberts Burns, Rick Hatcher, Tim Ingle and Mary Ward. Wichita Falls was founded on Sept. 27, 1872 when the Choctaw Indians settled the area in the early 18th century and then white settlers arrived in the 1860s to form cattle ranches.


title: Diastole

paragraphs: Diastole () is the time during a heart beat when the heart fills with blood after a contraction. The contraction of the heart is called systole and is the opposite of diastole. The term "diastole" comes from the Greek word "διαστολη". This means expanding or opening.

paragraphs: During ventricular diastole, the pressure in the (left and right) ventricles drops. When the pressure in the left ventricle becomes lower than the pressure in the left atrium, the mitral valve opens. The blood then flows from the atrium into the ventricle. The speed at which the blood flows into the ventricles can be used to diagnose diastolic dysfunction.

paragraphs: Because the heart relaxes during diastole, "diastolic pressure" is the lowest pressure within the arterial blood stream during each heart beat. The highest arterial pressure happens when the heart muscle contracts, and is called systolic pressure.

paragraphs: When blood pressure is measured for medical purposes, diastolic pressure is the second number in the "ratio" of systolic to diastolic pressure; for example: 120/80.


title: Systole

paragraphs: Systole is the last stage of a heart beat. It happens right after diastole, when the heart refills with blood. During systole, the heart's two ventricles contract (squeeze). (The ventricles are the largest parts of the heart, which pump blood to the body and lungs.)

paragraphs: During systole, the heart muscle gets an automatic electrical signal that tells the heart to contract (squeeze). This makes the blood flow out of the heart.

paragraphs: Above the ventricles are smaller chambers (sections) of the heart called atria. They contract (squeeze) during the last part of diastole, and send blood down to the larger, lower ventricles. The atria have valves that close after this so blood cannot flow backward into the atria.

paragraphs: When the ventricles are filled and the valves to the atria are closed, the ventricles contract. So, the atria and ventricles contract in sequence. The left and right atria feed blood into the ventricles. Then, the left and right ventricles contract.

paragraphs: The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs, and the left ventricle pumps blood to the rest of the body. This is why we have a pulse.

paragraphs: Because the heart muscle contracts during systole, "systolic pressure" is the highest pressure in the arterial blood stream during each heart beat. (Blood causes the most pressure against the walls of the arteries when it is being pushed out during systole). The lowest arterial pressure happens when the heart muscle relaxes, and is called "diastolic pressure".

paragraphs: When blood pressure is measured for medical purposes, systolic pressure is the first number in the "ratio" of systolic to diastolic pressure. For example, if a person's blood pressure is 120/80, 120 is the systolic pressure, and 80 is the diastolic pressure.


title: Halite

paragraphs: Halite is the mineral a lot of people call "rock salt". It is a different form of sodium chloride (NaCl). It looks like it is made out of cubes.


title: Psychoactive drug

paragraphs: A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Its action affects the central nervous system. It can affect the brain and change perception, mood, consciousness, cognition and behaviour. Hypnotics are often prescribed to help people sleep. Sometimes they are also used in rituals, or as illegal drugs. These drugs enable their users to change their consciousness. This can also help students when they are preparing their examinations. Certain therapies also use such substances.

paragraphs: Psychoactive substances change the consciousness and mood of their user. The people using them may have pleasant feelings, such as euphoria or they may be more alert. For this reason, many psychoactive substances are abused: They are used outside the aims of the treatment. This may lead to the user developing a psychological and physical dependence (""addiction""). It will get more difficult to interrupt the cycle of abuse.

paragraphs: Drug rehabilitation aims to break this cycle of dependency; this is done with psychotherapy, support groups and even other psychoactive substances: Acamprosate or naltrexone are examples of substances used to treat alcoholism, methadone or buprenorphine maintenance therapy in the case of opioid dependency. However, the reverse is also true in some cases, that is certain experiences on drugs may be so unfriendly and uncomforting that the user may never want to try the substance again. This is especially true of the deliriants (e.g. "datura") and dissociatives (e.g. "salvia divinorum").

paragraphs: In part because of this potential for abuse and dependency, the ethics of drug use are the subject of a continuing philosophical debate. Many governments worldwide have placed restrictions on drug production and sales in an attempt to decrease drug abuse. Ethical concerns have also been raised about over-use of these drugs clinically, and about their marketing by manufacturers.


title: Mangalore

paragraphs: Mangalore is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the capital city of Dakshina Kannada district. It is a port city. It is located on the Arabian Sea. It is the largest city in the Tulu Nadu region.

paragraphs: People in Mangalore speak many languages like Kannada, Tulu, Konkani and Beary.


title: West Coast of the United States

paragraphs: The West Coast of the United States is a term that generally refers to the states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. It also sometimes include the state of Hawaii, even though it has little in common geologically with the continental states. Almost 50 million people live in these states. The region includes the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Anchorage, Portland and San Diego.


title: Stryper

paragraphs: Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Tim Gaines (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). In 2004 Gaines left the band and was replaced by Tracy Ferrie (bass guitar) but rejoined in 2009.

paragraphs: Formed in 1983 as Roxx Regime, they would change their message and name to Stryper to go on to be the first Christian rock band to be recognized by the mainstream. In 1983 they were signed by Enigma Records and released their first album The Yellow and Black Attack. By the mid-1980s, Stryper saw their most successful period starting with the release of To Hell with the Devil which achieved Platinum sales status. Stryper would go on to release two more Gold albums before breaking up in 1992. In 2003 Stryper came out of retirement for a reunion tour and subsequently signed a multi-album contract with Big3 Records in 2005.

paragraphs: The name "Stryper" derives from the King James Version of the Bible. "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:

paragraphs: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." The reference, Isaiah 53:5, is frequently included as part of their logo. Stryper's drummer, Robert Sweet, also created a backronym for their name: "salvation through redemption, yielding peace, encouragement and righteousness".


title: Christian metal

paragraphs: Christian metal, also known as 'white metal', is a form of heavy metal music which a Christian band makes to praise Jesus. Christian metal is typically performed by professed Christians, sometimes principally for Christians who listen to heavy metal music. It is often produced and distributed through various Christian networks.

paragraphs: Christian metal bands exist in all the subgenres of heavy metal music, and the only common link between most Christian metal bands are the lyrics. The Christian themes are often melded with the subjects of the genre the band is rooted in, regularly providing a Christian take on the subject matter. It has been argued that the marginal yet transnational Christian metal subculture provides its core members an alternative religious expression and Christian identity, and that the music serves the purpose of offering a positive alternative or counterbalance to secular metal music which is known for its generally dark and negative message.

paragraphs: Christian metal emerged in the late 1970s as a means of evangelism to the wider heavy metal music scene, and was pioneered by the American Resurrection Band and Swedish Jerusalem. Los Angeles' Stryper achieved wide success in the 1980s, otherwise the genre was mostly ignored by the mainstream. California's Tourniquet and Australia's Mortification led the movement in the 1990s. The metalcore groups Underoath, Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, and Norma Jean (dubbed by Revolver Magazine as "The Holy Alliance") brought some mainstream attention to the movement in the first decade of the 21st century, achieving ranks in the Billboard 200.


title: Jerusalem (rock band)

paragraphs: Jerusalem is a Swedish Christian rock band, founded in 1975 by Ulf Christiansson. It was one of the first bands to combine Christian lyrics with a hard rock sound.

paragraphs: Jerusalem's message was primarily aimed at youth, with their lyrics describing the band's relationship to God in an ordinary, but radical way. The band's purpose was expressly evangelistic. Their concerts have been described as a series of revival meetings which often included altar calls and occasionally exorcisms.¡When the band first toured in the mid-1970s in Sweden, their combination of Christian lyrics with a hard rock sound was very controversial. The band was only permitted to perform at a few churches.

paragraphs: "For albums released in both Swedish and English versions, the English titles are in parentheses."


title: Neobatrachia

paragraphs: Neobatrachia is a suborder of the Anura, which contains all frogs and toads. It is the most advanced (derived or apomorphic) and by far the largest of the three suborders. Its over 5,000 species make up over 96% of all living anurans.


title: Hydrosphere

paragraphs: The hydrosphere is the total mass of water on, under, and over the surface of a planet. It is part of physical geography. The oceans, rivers, and lakes are all part of the hydrosphere. Some electricity is made by the hydrosphere.

paragraphs: The total mass of the Earth’s hydrosphere is about 1.4 × 10 grams, which is about 0.023% of the Earth’s total mass. Around 2 × 10 grams of this is the Earth’s atmosphere. In addition, 71% of the Earth’s surface, an area of 361 million square kilometers, is covered by ocean.


title: Bohuslav Martinů

paragraphs: Bohuslav Martinů (born Polička, Bohemia, 8 December 1890; died Liestal, Switzerland, 28 August 1959) was a Czech composer. He wrote an enormous amount of music, including six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and many orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. His music is often inspired by his native country.

paragraphs: Martinů was born in the tower of a town church and that is where he spent the first seven years of his life, away from the rest of the world. When he was old enough to go to school he had to climb the 193 steps down to the street every day. He started to have violin lessons from the local tailor. He was very shy because he was used to being all by himself with his family in the tower, but he made good progress and in 1905 gave his first violin recital.

paragraphs: Martinů soon started to compose music and nothing else interested him very much. He went to the Prague Conservatory to study the violin but he preferred going to the theatre and reading. In 1909 he changed to the organ school but he did no work and was expelled from school.

paragraphs: He managed to avoid fighting in the World War I by composing. After the war he became a member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, playing second violin.

paragraphs: In 1923 he moved to Paris where he stayed for 17 years. He was very poor. He had some lessons with Albert Roussel and soon became known as a composer. He married in 1931 and his wife worked hard to earn money so that he could spend his time composing. He liked to use Czech folk stories and literature as inspiration for his music.

paragraphs: In 1940 he had to leave Paris to escape from the Nazis. He spent several months living rough, often sleeping on stationplatforms. In March 1941 he and his wife managed to get to New York.

paragraphs: Life in the United States was hard for him. He spoke no English and people there did not know his music. He had left all his scores behind. However, he worked hard and the famous conductor Sergei Koussevitsky asked him to write a symphony. His music still sounded very Czech. After World War II he very much wanted to go back to his own country, but the communist government made that impossible. He had a bad fall and it took him years to recover properly. He taught at Princeton University, then he retired to Nice in France. He died of cancer in Basle.

paragraphs: Bohuslav Martinů wrote a lot of music. He loved sitting down and writing music. Once he had finished a composition he was never very interested in hearing it performed or what happened to it. As a result, some of his music is very good but some of it is less interesting. One of his last works was called "Řecké Pašije" ("The Greek Passion") which uses Greek folk melody and church chant. He was never influenced by American music, he preferred the modes, folktunes, bagpipe drones and mountain calls of his native country. His music can often be described as neoclassical in style.


title: Gallipoli Campaign

paragraphs: The Gallipoli Campaign was an Allied attack on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I. The campaign took place between April 25, 1915 and January 9, 1916. The Allies, the British Empire and French forces, were fighting the Ottoman Empire.

paragraphs: The reason for the campaign was to break the stalemate on the Western and Eastern Front and to help the Russians.

paragraphs: The campaign started with a naval attack along the Dardanelles. Naval mines sank or damaged several ships and soon the Turks fought back and stopped the Allies from entering the Sea of Marmara. It was decided that if the Russians were to receive any British help, a land invasion was necessary.

paragraphs: On April 25, 1915, Allied forces landed at various locations along the Gallipoli peninsula. Many British soldiers were landed in the wrong places resulting in heavy casualties. The British landed at Cape Helles and the ANZACs landed at a place later known as Anzac Cove. However, the Allies did not push on. Instead, they were told to dig trenches and wait for a Turkish attack. There was trench warfare until an evacuation of all Allied troops was finally ordered. The campaign is widely viewed as an Allied failure.

paragraphs: The British historian A.J.P. Taylor wrote this of the Gallipoli campaign: "The Gallipoli expedition was a terrible example of an ingenious strategical idea carried through after inadequate preparation and with inadequate drive."

paragraphs: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led the Turkish defenders. It was the only big victory in the war, and he became a hero. Years after the war ended, he became the first president of Turkey. He paid tribute to the ANZAC soldiers who died there.


title: Sparassodont

paragraphs: The Sparassodonts were an order of carnivorous Metatherian mammals. They are all now extinct.

paragraphs: The Sparassodonta is native to South America. They were once considered to be true marsupials, but are now thought to be a sister taxon to them.

paragraphs: A number of these mammalian predators closely resemble placental predators that evolved separately in Eurasia. They were first described by Florentino Ameghino, from fossils found in the Santa Cruz beds of Patagonia.

paragraphs: Members of the order Sparassodonta showed many similarities with placental carnivora, but they were not closely related. They are a very good example of convergent evolution.

paragraphs: For example, sparassodont molars were similar to the meat slicing teeth of modern cats. The canines were also lengthened, and in some cases, such as "Thylacosmilus", resemble those of saber-toothed cats like "Smilodon". Their body size varied, ranging from 80 cm (2 ft 8 in) long to the size of today's modern big cats.

paragraphs: Another family of large predators wrere the borhyaenids, which were more like wolves or dogs.


title: Rudi Hiden

paragraphs: Rudi Hiden (Josef Rudolf Hiden, born 9 March 1909 in Graz, Styria, Austria – died 11 September 1973 in Vienna) was an Austrian–French footballer. He was goalkeeper. After his career as player he became football coach.

paragraphs: He started playin football with Grazer A.K., where he played from 1925 - 1927. Then he went to Vienna, where he played for WAC(1927-1933). 1933 he planed to went to Arsenal London, but the Players Union did not allow this, so he went on to RC Paris together with Auguste Jordan, another Austrian footballer. 1937 he took the French nationality and played once for the French team in a 1940 match versus Portugal.

paragraphs: He started at the age of 19 in a match versus Yugoslavia(3:0). His second match he played two years later, he was very good so he became No.1 goalkeeper of the Austrian team. He was the goalkeeper in the golden age of the Austrian team, the so called Wunderteam (Wonderteam). In the early 1930 the team played 15 matches and won 12 and lost only one game (in Wembley versus England 3:4)

paragraphs: After his footballer career he became coach of different teams in Italys Seria B.


title: Brahmavar

paragraphs: Brahmavar is a town in India. It is in Udupi district of Karnataka State. It is near to the capital of the Tulu Nadu kingdom. It is on National Highway 17.


title: AB III

paragraphs: AB III is the third studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge. It was released on October 8, 2010 in Germany and Australia, since then released worldwide through late 2010 and early 2011. It received critical acclaim, and debuted at #17 in the "Billboard" 200 with more than 28,000 copies sold.

paragraphs: It contains one of Alter Bridge most successful songs, "Isolation" which peaked at #1 at the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.


title: Macaw

paragraphs: A macaw is a New World parrot. Some of the species are large birds, the largest of the parrots. Macaws are native to Mexico, Central America, South America, and formerly the Caribbean.

paragraphs: Macaws, like all parrots, are unusually intelligent birds. The usual thing for parrots is to pair for life. They stay together even out of the mating season. They often fly in formation, one above the other.

paragraphs: Macaws eat a variety of foods including seeds, nuts, fruits, palm fruits, leaves, flowers, and stems. Wild species may forage widely, over for some of the larger species such as "Ara araurana" (blue & yellow macaw) and "Ara ambigua" (great green macaw), in search of seasonally available foods.

paragraphs: In the western Amazon, hundreds of macaws and other parrots descend to exposed river banks to lick clay almost daily, except on rainy days.

paragraphs: It was suggested that parrots and macaws in the Amazon basin eat clay from exposed river banks to neutralize toxins.

paragraphs: The clay eating behavior of parrots was studied at clay licks in Peru. Apparently, macaws and other birds and animals prefer clays with higher levels of salt. Sodium is a vital element which is scarce in environments over 100 kilometers from the ocean.


title: Harrison Bergeron

paragraphs: "Harrison Bergeron" is a science fiction short story by Kurt Vonnegut. It was first published in 1961. The story is set in a future where the United States government thinks everyone should be equal, so the government gives people "handicaps". People who are strong must carry heavy weights, and people who are smart must wear a radio that sends out signals that distract them.

paragraphs: Harrison Bergeron is a boy who is very talented. He gets rid of his handicaps and dances with a ballerina on national television. The government kills him for doing this. His parents are watching, but are too distracted by their handicaps to understand what is going on.

paragraphs: Some conservatives have thought the story has a conservative point of view, although Vonnegut was not a conservative.


title: The Cramps

paragraphs: The Cramps were an American punk rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. They were part of the early CBGB punk rock movement that had emerged in New York. The Cramps are widely recognized as one of the prime innovators of psychobilly, and they inspired many of the early gothic rock bands.


title: Young Bond

paragraphs: Young Bond is a series of young adult spy books. It is written by English author Charlie Higson. There are five books in the series. The series is about the fictional spy James Bond (who was originally invented by Ian Fleming) as a teenager. The series is set in the 1930s and Bond's school is Eton College. The books are published by Puffin Books in the United Kingdom.

paragraphs: The first novel in the series is "SilverFin". It was published in 2005 and, since then, the series has become very successful.

paragraphs: The official website for the books is www.youngbond.com.

paragraphs: The series has received many positive reviews, with many people liking the tension and the action. "The Guardian" newspaper said that "SilverFin" is "a well-crafted page-turner with substance".


title: G. L. Pridgen

paragraphs: Gaston Layton Pridgen, known as G. L. Pridgen (born ca. 1944), is a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly and the North Carolina House of Representatives. In the House of Representatives, he represents the 46th District, including constituents in Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties. A retired telecommunications technician from Laurinburg, North Carolina, Pridgen also has experience in the United States Military.

paragraphs: Pridgen was born in Robeson County, where he graduated from Littlefield High School and studied at Robeson Community College. His career with Southern Bell Telephone Company, which later became BellSouth Telecommunications and then AT&T, was interrupted by two years of service in the United States Army. Drafted into the army, he served as a communication lineman in Vietnam with the rank of Specialist-5, and was awarded the Bronze Star.

paragraphs: In 1994, he started his own telecommunications company, The Communications Company, Inc., providing telecommunications to local businesses. In 2009 he began working in the IT Department at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.

paragraphs: Pridgen is currently serving his first term as Representative for District 46 of North Carolina. In the House of Representatives he is active on seven committees. These are the Agriculture committee, the Appropriations committee (both Appropriations and Appropriations of Education, for which he is Vice-Chair) and the committees on Education, Judiciary (and Judiciary subcommittee B), and Public Utilities.

paragraphs: Pridgen has been the primary sponsor of eleven bills and has co-sponsored twenty-eight other bills, including H475 which authorizes a referendum on whether to make English the official language of North Carolina. He was also a primary sponsor of bill H219 which aimed to keep stricter records of registered sex offenders in the state. Pridgen nominated Dick Taylor to serve on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Pridgen also served as Vice-Chairman of the Appropriations Committee for Education. In this role, he supported a motion that would allow extra tax revenue to help fund the University of North Carolina system schools. This came less than a week after the committee proposed a budget for the UNC-system of schools that would have reduced funding by $483 million, or 17.4 percent. The cuts were described as potentially causing the school system to lose 3,200 jobs and cut 9,000 classes.

paragraphs: Pridgen has four children with his wife, Wendy.


title: Foreigner (band)

paragraphs: Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones, ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm. Foreigner have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, (including over 37.5 million in the United States alone).


title: Stonewall riots

paragraphs: The Stonewall riots were a series of riots in New York City from 28 June to 6 July in 1969. They happened after the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. After this, many LGBT+ people protested being persecuted by the police. They are seen as the start of the Gay Rights Movement.


title: Glycerol

paragraphs: Glycerol (or glycerin, glycerine) is a simple organic molecule. It is a colorless, odorless, thick liquid that is widely used during the last step of preparing prescription drugs. Glycerol has three hydrophilic (water-loving) hydroxyl (oxygen-hydrogen) groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature (which means it attracts water from the air). The glycerol backbone is central to all lipids known as triglycerides. It is used is in making nitroglycerin.


title: Arthur C. Clarke Award

paragraphs: The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a prize for excellent science fiction writing. It is a British award for a science fiction novel from the year before. To win, a the novel must be published first in the United Kingdom. The winner gets money as a prize. The prize amount increases each year. It is a number of pounds sterling equal to the year of the prize (£1987 for the first prize in 1987, and £2011 for the most recent prize).

paragraphs: The science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke gave money to start the prize. The first prize was given in 1987. A group of judges choose the winning book. Judges come from the British Science Fiction Association, the Science Fiction Foundation and a third group. Now, that third group SF Crowsnest. The Serendip Foundation manages the prize. Recently, the award has been presented on the first night of the SCI-FI-LONDON film festival.


title: Pat Cadigan

paragraphs: Pat Cadigan is an American science fiction author. Her work is part of the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories all share a common theme of exploring the relationship between the human mind and technology.

paragraphs: She was born in Schenectady, New York, and grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Cadigan was a student at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Kansas. She studied with James Gunn at Kansas and graduated in 1975. That same year Cadigan joined the convention committee for MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention being held in Kansas City, Missouri over Labor Day weekend 1976. Her job as a committee member was to help guest of honor Robert A. Heinlein.

paragraphs: She also worked for fantasy writer Tom Reamy at his Nickelodeon Graphics typesetting and graphic design business. Reamy died in 1977 and Cadigan went to work as a writer for Kansas City's Hallmark Cards. She went to live in England with her son Bob Fenner in 1996. She is now married there to her third husband.

paragraphs: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was a magazine editor. She worked on small press fantasy and science fiction magazines called "Chacal" and" Shayol" with her second husband, Arnie Fenner. Cadigan sold her first professional science fiction story in 1980. She became a full-time writer in 1987.

paragraphs: Cadigan's first novel was "Mindplayers". It introduced a common theme in her writing. Her stories make the human mind a real place where people can go and do things. What is real becomes unclear.

paragraphs: Cadigan has won several awards, including: Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1986; the Philip K. Dick Award in 1987 for "Mindplayers"; the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1991; the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1992 and 1995 for her novels "Synners" and "Fools".

paragraphs: Robert A. Heinlein had become her friend after she helped him when he was a guest at the 34th Worldcon in Kansas City. He partly dedicated his novel "Friday" to her.

paragraphs: In the 1960s, Cadigan and a childhood girlfriend "invented a whole secret life in which we were twins from the planet Venus," she told National Public Radio. The Beatles asked "us for advice about their songs" and help being famous, Cadigan says. In this fantasy, sometimes the girls would shape-shift to become The Beatles and finish recording songs or playing concerts for them. As Venusian twins, Cadigan said they had other superpowers too. Sometimes they would help Superman, Wonder Woman and other heroes, she said.

paragraphs: One of her early stories appeared in "Rock On" (1981).


title: Iris (goddess)

paragraphs: Iris was known as the goddess of the rainbow and another messenger for the gods in Greek mythology.

paragraphs: She is depicted as a beautiful golden goddess, with wings (for flight), sandals, a staff, and a tunic. There is often much art, such as vases and murals, shown of her because she is worshiped and very beautiful. She was also seen briefly in Homer's "Legacies".

paragraphs: Iris is generally seen as Hera's personal servant and messenger. Iris is very swift and fast and she generally travels by rainbow. It is even said that the reason the rainbow comes and goes so fast is because Iris only uses it for travel and since she is so fast, it is only in the sky for a small amount of time.

paragraphs: She is seen today in both Roman, and Greek mythology, as an important figure to Greece, and the gods. In Greek mythology it is believed that if you throw a drachma (Greek currency) into a rainbow you can communicate with anyone anywhere (like the Skype of ancient times).

paragraphs: Her parents are Thaumas (marine titan) and Elektra (cloud nymph). Her husband is Zephryus (west wind). In some versions of Greek mythology, Iris is the mother of Pothos.


title: Mike Weinberg

paragraphs: Mike Weinberg (born Michael Andrew, February 16 1993) is an American former child actor. He starred in "Home Alone 4" as Kevin McCallister. He is the younger brother of Matt Weinberg.


title: SC Wiener Neustadt

paragraphs: SC Wiener Neustadt(official name "SC Wiener Neustadt 08") is a footballclub from Austria. The club is playing in the Austrian Bundesliga.

paragraphs: The club was founded in 2008 as the Upper Austrian club SC Schwanenstadt decided to transfer to Oberwaltersdorf because of financial problems. Because SC Schwanenstadt was 7th in the second league the new club could also play in this league.

paragraphs: The first match was against FC Wacker Innsbruck (0-3). The rest of the season was more successful. They became champion of the second league and promoted to the Austrian Bundesliga.

paragraphs: The club´s president was Frank Stronach, the founder of Magna Inetrnational. He was also the main sponsor. But he decided to leave the club, so the future of the club is not clear. For the 2011/12 season Wiener Neustadt has got a new coach, Peter Stöger, who came from GAK, because Peter Schöttl became new coach of SK Rapid Wien. After Peter Stöger went to Austria Wien, because the earlier Austria coach Ivica Vastic was not very successful, the team had to look for a new coach. Just before the season 2011/2012 began, the SC Wiener Neustadt presented Heimo Pfeifenberger as the new coach.


title: Redding, California

paragraphs: Redding is a city in Northern California in the Western United States. It is the county seat of Shasta County and is located at the northern end of the state's great Central Valley at the base of the Shasta Cascades, about 110 miles south of the Oregon border on Interstate 5 and east of the Pacific Ocean on State Highway 299.

paragraphs: 89,861 people live in Redding, according to the 2010 Census,


title: Dental formula

paragraphs: A dental formula is a summary of a mammal's teeth.

paragraphs: Almost all mammals have four kinds of teeth:

paragraphs: Teeth numbers and form have adapted to different feeding methods. Over time, different mammal groups have evolved distinct dental features, in the number and type of teeth, and in the shape and size of the chewing surface.

paragraphs: The number of teeth of each type is written as a dental formula for one side of the mouth, or quadrant, with the upper and lower teeth shown on separate rows. The number of teeth in a mouth is twice that listed as there are two sides.

paragraphs: In each set, incisors (I) are indicated first, canines (C) second, premolars (P) third, and finally molars (M), giving I:C:P:M. So for example, the formula 2.1.2.3 for upper teeth indicates 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars, and 3 molars on one side of the upper mouth.

paragraphs: The deciduous dental formula is notated in lowercase lettering preceded by the letter d: e.g. di:dc:dm. An animal's dentition for either deciduous or permanent teeth can thus be expressed as a dental formula, written in the form of a fraction: I.C.P.M / I.C.P.M.

paragraphs: Since the teeth are always listed in the same order, the letters can be dropped, thus:

paragraphs: Both felines and horses have a large diastema, or gap, between their front teeth and their back teeth. This is a natural feature in many types of mammal.


title: Scania OmniLink

paragraphs: The Scania OmniLink is a bus produced by Scania since 1998. It replaced the Scania CL113.

paragraphs: It is powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of 9 litre.


title: Lux Interior

paragraphs: Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009), better known as Lux Interior, was an American singer. He was a founding member of punk the band The Cramps.


title: Poison Ivy (musician)

paragraphs: Kristy Marlana Wallace (born February 20, 1953) is an American guitarist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and sometimes a vocalist. Wallace is better known by the stage names of Poison Ivy and sometimes Poison Ivy Rorschach. She was a co-founder of the American garage punk band The Cramps.

paragraphs: She was married to Lux Interior for 37 years until he died on February 4, 2009.