title: San Antonio

paragraphs: San Antonio is a large city in southern Texas, USA. It is the second most populous city in Texas, with about 1.3 million people. The city is known for The Alamo, and the River Walk along the small small San Antonio River that flows through the middle of the city. It is lined with shops and restaurants. San Antonio is also home to the San Antonio Spurs, which is a basketball team in the NBA.

paragraphs: 57% of the population is Hispanic, 32% is white, 8% is African-American, 2% is Asian, and 1% Native American. The main industries of San Antonio are health-care, tourism, and national defense. Besides tourist attractions, the city has many medical centers and military bases.

paragraphs: San Antonio is surrounded by Hill Country, Prairie, and the South Texas Plains.

paragraphs: San Antonio has a semi-arid climate with characteristics of a humid subtropical climate.

paragraphs: Like Austin, rain comes during the spring.

paragraphs: San Antonio has a Spanish Culture due to Spanish having settled here for years.

paragraphs: One of three SeaWorlds is located here, the other two being in Orlando and San Diego.

paragraphs: San Antonio is home to two amusement parks, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld San Antonio.

paragraphs: Downtown San Antonio, the city and metro area's urban core, encompasses many of the city's famous structures, attractions, and businesses. The central business district is generally understood to cover the northern half of the "Downtown Loop"— the area bordered by Cesar Chavez to the south. Due to the size of the city and its horizontal development, downtown accounts for less than one half of one percent of San Antonio's geographic area.

paragraphs: North Central is home to several enclaves and upscale neighborhoods including Castle Hills, Hollywood Park, Elm Creek, Inwood, and Rogers Ranch. The area is also the location of upper-middle-class neighborhoods (Deerfield, Churchill Estates, Hunter's Creek, Oak Meadow, and Summerfield).

paragraphs: Northwest Side is the location of the main campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the Northwest Campus of the University of the Incarnate Word, which includes the Rosenberg School of Optometry. The Medical Center District is also located in Northwest Side. Companies with headquarters in the area include Valero and NuStar Energy.

paragraphs: The South Side area of San Antonio is characterized for its predominantly Latino and Hispanic neighborhoods, an average above 81 percent. Large growth came to South Side when Toyota constructed a manufacturing plant. Palo Alto College and the Texas A&M University-San Antonio are located in the area.

paragraphs: East Side San Antonio is home to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, the AT&T Center, and the Freeman Coliseum. The area has the largest concentration of black residents.


title: The Alamo

paragraphs: The Alamo is an old Spanish mission (like a church built by Catholic missionaries to minister to the natives) that is in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. The Alamo was authorized in 1718 but was not built until 1744. The original name was San Antonio de Valero Mission.

paragraphs: The Alamo is most famous for The Battle of the Alamo, which took place during 1836. It was occupied by 187 men from Texas and around the world who were fighting for the independence of Texas from what was then Mexico. the men in the Alamo were defeated by a force of 5,000 Mexican troops. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was the general for the Mexican army. All 189 Texans were killed, and "Remember the Alamo!" became the battle cry of the Texas Revolution. The battle ended on March 6, 1836, when the defenders were executed.

paragraphs: Many years later, the Texas government restored the Alamo. The Alamo became a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and is now open for tourists. The Alamo also became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 5, 2015.


title: Odessa

paragraphs: Odessa or Odesa (, ; also referred to as Odessa) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the Black Sea shore. It is the administrative center of the province of Odessa Oblast. It is a major port on the Black Sea. The mayor of Odessa is Hennadiy Trukhanov. In 2004, about 1,012,500 people lived in Odessa.

paragraphs: Odessa is a warm water port. However, it is thought to be of small military value. Since Turkey controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, NATO can control ships moving between Odessa and the Mediterranean Sea.

paragraphs: The city has two important ports: Odessa itself and Yuzhne. Yuzhne is an oil terminal that handled more than million cargo in 2019. It is in Odessa's suburbs. Another important port, Chornomorsk, is in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odessa. Important transportation comes together at these ports. Railways and pipelines come to these ports. Pipelines connect Odessa's oil and chemical factories to Russia's and the EU's.

paragraphs: Odessa is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine. It is important in the country's trading. In the 19th century, it was the fourth city of Imperial Russia. It was just smaller than Moscow and St. Petersburg, and Warsaw. Its old buildings appear to be more Mediterranean than Russian. They were made like French and Italian buildings.

paragraphs: A very old Greek colony named "Olbia" (, glorious) perhaps was where the city is now. Many monuments from old times link this place to the Eastern Mediterranean.

paragraphs: In the Middle Ages, these lands were a part of the Kievan Rus, Galich and Volyn Principality, the Golden Horde, the Great Lithuanian Principality, the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire. The Crimean Tatars traded there in the 14th century. At the time of the Russian–Turkish wars, the lands were captured by Russia. That was at the end of the 18th century.

paragraphs: From 1819–1858, Odessa was a free port ("porto franco"). During the Soviet times, it was the most important port of trade in the U.S.S.R. and a Soviet naval base. On January 1, 2000, the Quarantine Pier of Odessa trade sea port was made a free port and free economic zone for 25 years.

paragraphs: In the 15th century AD, nomadic tribes of the Nogays, under the government of the Khanate of Crimea, lived there. During the reign of Khan Haci I Giray, he was in danger from the Golden Horde and the Ottoman Turks. To get help, the khan gave Odessa to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

paragraphs: The place now called Odessa was then named "Khadjibey" (also spelled as Khadjibei, Khadzhibei, or Gadzhibei; Lithuanian: "Chadžibėjus"; Crimean Tatar and Turkish: "Hacibey"). It was part of the Dykra region. Few people lived in that region. They were part of the Turkic tribes. The land was mostly empty steppes.

paragraphs: The Ottoman Empire controlled Khadjibey after 1529. The nearby region Khadjibey was named Yedisan. In the middle of the 18th century, the Ottomans rebuilt a fortress at Khadjibey. It was named Eni Dunia (Turkish: "Yeni Dünya", literally "new world").

paragraphs: At the time of the war between Russia and Turkey (1787–1792), on 25 September 1789, Ivan Gudovich led a group of Russian soldiers to Khadjibey. They took Khadjibey and Yeni Dünya for the Russian Empire. A Spaniard in the Russian army named Major General José de Ribas led one group of soldiers. Russians named him Osip Mikhailovich Deribas. The main street in Odessa today is named Deribasovskaya Street after him. Turkey let Russia keep the city in the Treaty of Jassy (agreement of Jassy) in 1792. Russians made it a part of a place they named Novorossiya(new Russia).

paragraphs: In 1794, the Russian government decided to build a naval fortress on the ruins of Khadjibey city. This became the city named Odessa by January 1795. In that year its new name was first written in government letters. The reasons for the new name are lost, but people had theories.

paragraphs: According to one of the stories, when someone said Odessos should be the name for the new Russian port, Catherine II said that all names in the South of the Empire were already 'masculine,' and she did not want another one. So, she decided to change it to more 'feminine' Odessa. This story may be false.

paragraphs: There were at least two cities (Eupatoria and Theodosia) with names that sound 'feminine' for a Russian; also, Catherine II did not speak Russian when she was a child, and lastly, all cities are feminine in Greek (and in Latin). Another story is that the name 'Odessa' is from word-play in French. French "was" then the language spoken at the Russian court. 'Plenty of water' is "assez d'eau" in French. If one says this backwards, it sounds like the Greek colony's name. Word-play about water makes sense. Odessa is next to a very big body of water but has a little fresh water. Anyhow, there is still a link with the name of the old Greek colony. So there may be some truth in the things people said long ago.

paragraphs: The new city quickly became a major success. Its early growth owed much to the work of the Duc de Richelieu, who was the city's governor between 1803–1814. Having fled the French Revolution, he had served in Catherine's army against the Turks. He is credited with designing the city and organising its amenities and infrastructure. He is also considered to be one of the founding fathers of the city together with another Frenchman, Count Alexandre Langeron, who succeeded him in office. Richelieu is commemorated by a bronze statue, unveiled in 1828 to a design by Ivan Martos.

paragraphs: In 1819 the city was made a free port, a status it retained until 1859. It became home to an extremely diverse population of Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Bulgarians, Albanians, Armenians, Italians, Frenchmen, Germans and traders representing many other European nationalities (hence numerous 'ethnic' names on the city's map, "e.g.", "Frantsuszkiy" (French) and "Italianskiy" (Italian) Boulevards, "Grecheskaya" (Greek), "Evreyskaya" (Jewish), "Arnautskaya" (Albanian) Streets). Its cosmopolitan nature was documented by the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, who lived in internal exile in Odessa between 1823–1824. In his letters he wrote that Odessa was a city where "you can smell Europe. French is spoken and there are European papers and magazines to read".

paragraphs: Odessa's growth was interrupted by the Crimean War of 1853–1856, during which it was bombarded by British and French naval forces. It soon recovered and the growth in trade made Odessa Russia's largest grain-exporting port. In 1866 the city was linked by rail with Kiev and Kharkiv as well as Iaşi, Romania.

paragraphs: The city became the home of a large Jewish community during the 19th century. By 1897, Jews were estimated to be about 37% of the population. They were, however, repeatedly subjected to severe persecution. Pogroms were carried out in 1821, 1859, 1871, 1881, and 1905. Many Jews fled abroad, particularly to Palestine after 1882, and the city became an important base of support for Zionism.

paragraphs: In 1905 Odessa was the place of a workers' uprising supported by the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin (also see Battleship Potemkin uprising) and Lenin's Iskra. Sergei Eisenstein's famous motion picture , "The Battleship Potemkin," commemorated the uprising and included a scene where hundreds of Odessan citizens were killed on the great stone staircase (now popularly known as the "Potemkin Steps"), in one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history.

paragraphs: At the top of the steps, which lead down to the port, stands a statue of Richelieu. The actual massacre took place in streets nearby, not on the steps themselves, but the movie caused many to visit Odessa to see the site of the "slaughter". The steps continue to be a tourist attraction. The film was made at Odessa's Cinema Factory, one of the oldest cinema studios in the former Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 during World War I, Odessa was occupied by several groups, including the Ukrainian "Tsentral'na Rada", the French Army, the Red Army and the White Army. Finally, in 1920, the Red Army took control of Odessa and united it with the Ukrainian SSR, which later became part of the USSR.

paragraphs: The people of Odessa suffered from a great famine that occurred in 1921–1922 as a result of the war. Romanian and German forces from 1941–1944 occupied the city during World War II, causing severe damage and many casualties.

paragraphs: Under the Axis occupation, approximately 60,000 Odessans (mostly Jews) were either massacred or deported. Many parts of Odessa were damaged during its fall and later recapture in April 1944, when the city was finally liberated by the Soviet Army. It was one of the first four Soviet cities to be awarded the title of "Hero City" in 1945.

paragraphs: During the 1960s and 1970s, the city grew tremendously. Between the 1970s and 1990s, the majority of Odessa's surviving Jews emigrated to Israel, the United States and other Western countries. Large-scale domestic migration of Odessan middle and upper classes to Moscow and Leningradthat offered even greater opportunities for career advancement. However, city grew even more by filling the void with new rural migrants elsewhere from Ukraine. Industrial professionals were invited from Russia as well as other Soviet republics.

paragraphs: Despite being part of Ukraine Socialist Republic, the city preserved and somewhat reinforced its unique cosmopolitan mix of Russian/Ukrainian/Mediterranean culture. It also preserved its predominantly Russophone environment, with a uniquely accented dialect of Russian being spoken in the city. The city's Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, Armenian, Moldovan, Azeri and Jewish communities, have all contributed to the different aspects of Odessa.

paragraphs: In 1991, after the collapse of Communism, the city became part of newly independent Ukraine. As of 2020, Odessa is a city of around 1.1 million people. The city's industries include shipbuilding, oil refining, chemicals, metalworking and food processing. It is also a Ukrainian naval base and home to a fishing fleet. It is also known for its huge outdoor market, the Seventh-Kilometer Market.

paragraphs: The transportation network of Odessa consists of trams (streetcars), trolleybuses, buses; and marshrutkas.

paragraphs: Odessa (Google Map) is above the hills overlooking a small harbor. It is approximately 31 km (19 mi.) north of the estuary of the Dniester river and some 443 km (275 mi) south of the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The city has a continental climate ("Dfa" in the Köppen climate classification) with average temperatures in January of -2 °C (29 °F), and July of 22 °C (73 °F). It averages only 350 mm (14 in) of precipitation annually.

paragraphs: The primary language spoken is Russian, with Ukrainian being less common despite of it being an official language in Ukraine. The city is a mix of many nationalities and ethnic groups, including Ukrainians, Russians, Jews, Greeks, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Armenians and Turks among others.

paragraphs: Odessa is a popular tourist destination. It has many resorts in and around the city. The Tolstoy, Vorontsov, and Potocki families owned palaces in Odessa. They are still open for visits from the public.

paragraphs: The writer Isaac Babel was born in the city. It has also produced several famous musicians, including the violinists Nathan Milstein, Mischa Elman and David Oistrakh, and the pianists Benno Moiseiwitsch, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels. The chess player Efim Geller was born in the city. All listed, except for Richter, are representatives of the city's Jewish community.

paragraphs: The most popular Russian show-business people from Odessa are Yakov Smirnoff (comedian), Mikhail Zhvanetsky (legendary humorist writer, who began his career as port engineer) and Roman Kartsev (comedian). Their success in 1970s contributed to Odessa's status of a "capital of Soviet humour". Later several humour festivals were established in the city, including the celebration of the April Fools' Day.

paragraphs: Most of the city's 19th century houses were built of limestone mined nearby. Abandoned mines were later used and broadened by local smugglers. This created a complicated labyrinth of underground tunnels beneath Odessa, known as "catacombs". They are a now a great attraction for extreme tourists. Such tours, however, are not officially sanctioned and are dangerous because the layout of the catacombs has not been fully mapped and the tunnels themselves are unsafe. These tunnels are a primary reason why subway was never built in Odessa.

paragraphs: The economy of Odessa is based on its port and its close distance to nearby ice-free ports in the mouths of the Dnieper, the Southern Bug, the Dniester and the Danube rivers. During the Soviet period, it was the USSR's largest trading port. Since Ukraine's independence, Odessa remains the busiest international port in the country. Odessa is also a home to almost 5% of all IT companies registered in Ukraine. It helps the city to thrive and attract talented software programmers from other cities of Ukraine and abroad.


title: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

paragraphs: Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002), known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, or just The Queen Mother was the wife (Queen Consort) of King George VI of the United Kingdom from 1936 until his death in 1952. After her husband's death, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, so that she would not be confused with her elder daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Before her husband became king, from 1923 to 1936 she was known as the Duchess of York. She was the last Queen Consort of Ireland and Empress Consort of India.

paragraphs: Her family belonged to the Scottish nobility. Her father was the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. In 1923, she became known to everyone when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of George V and Queen Mary. She was loved by the British people as she became a figure of family life. They had two daughters, the then-Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. She was known as the "Smiling Duchess".

paragraphs: In 1936, her husband unexpectedly became King when her brother-in-law, Edward VIII, abdicated because he wanted to marry an American lady, Wallis Simpson, who had been divorced. The king was known as King George VI. As his wife, she had the title of Queen Consort. She went with her husband on official tours to France and North America. During World War II, she supported the British public with great courage. After the war the king became ill and died in 1952. She was then 51, and she lived for another 50 years. As the mother of the queen, grandmother to the queen's four children and, later, great-grandmother, she continued to be a popular member of the royal family.

paragraphs: The Queen Mother had an appendectomy in 1964, colon cancer removed in 1966 and breast cancer removed in 1984.

paragraphs: The death of her younger daughter Princess Margaret on 9th February 2002 was a sad event for her. She died seven weeks later at the age of 101. She was the first member of the British royal family to live past the age of 100.


title: United States Department of Defense

paragraphs: The United States Department of Defense, also known as the DoD, is a department in the United States government that is in charge of the military of the United States. It was created in 1947 and its headquarters is in The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. The person in charge of the Department of Defense is called the Secretary of Defense. The current Secretary of Defense is Mark Esper. The Secretary of Defense answers directly to the President.

paragraphs: The Department of Defense is made up of the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency. (The Department of the Navy includes the Navy and the Marine Corps. Also, during time of war the United States Coast Guard is under the authority of the Department of Defense.)


title: United States Department of the Navy

paragraphs: The United States Department of the Navy was created by the United States Congress on April 30, 1798. It was created in order to give civilian leadership and administration to the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The Secretary of the Navy is in charge of the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Navy is under the authority of the Department of Defense.

paragraphs: The Department of the Navy is in charge of recruitment, training, organizing, building, and construction for the Navy and the Marine Corps. While the Navy and the Marine Corps both is under the Department of the Navy, they are two separate branches of the military.


title: Queen Elizabeth

paragraphs: There are many people called Queen Elizabeth.

paragraphs: Among the women known to history as "Queen Elizabeth" are, in order of date of death:

paragraphs: "(Note that the name "Isabel" or "Isabella" is sometimes translated into English as "Elizabeth" or "Elisabeth".)"


title: Weather station

paragraphs: A weather station has machines that measure wind speed, wind direction, temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity of the air around them. There are many ways to do this with instruments such as barometers (air pressure), psychrometers (humidity), anemometers (wind speed) and cielometers (electronic, for cloud cover). Many weather stations have no people; they report their measurements automatically.


title: Atmospheric pressure

paragraphs: Atmospheric pressure is a force in an area pushed against a surface by the weight of the atmosphere of Earth, a layer of air. The air is not distributed evenly around the globe. It moves, and at different times, the layer of air is thicker in some places than in others. Where the layer of air is thicker, there is more air. Since there is more air, there is a higher pressure in that spot. Where the layer of air is thinner, there is a lower atmospheric pressure.

paragraphs: At higher altitude, the atmospheric density and pressure are lower. This is because high places do not have as much air above them, pushing down.

paragraphs: Barometers can be used to measure atmospheric pressure. There is the same atmospheric pressure from all directions. The SI unit for pressure is hPa. Other units such as Bar (unit) and torr are used for various applications.


title: Franz Berwald

paragraphs: Franz Adolf Berwald was a Swedish composer of the 19th Century. He was born in Stockholm on 23 July 1786. He died in Stockholm on 3 April 1868. While he was alive, people generally ignored his composing work, so he had to do other things to gain a living. He worked as an orthopedic surgeon, and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory. Franz adolf berwald came from a family with four generations of musicians.

paragraphs: Today, many people see him as one of the finest Swedish composers of the 19th century.


title: Chemnitz

paragraphs: Chemnitz is a city in Germany. It is in the state of Saxony. In 2006, about 245,000 people lived there.

paragraphs: During the partition of Germany Chemnitz was in East Germany. From 1953 to 1990 Chemnitz was called Karl-Marx-Stadt. The name was in reference to the social reformer Karl Marx. Now the city has its old name. This name is from the river that flows through it.

paragraphs: The first mention of the city was in 1143. The city had an important role in the Industrial Revolution. In about 1883, the city population passed 100.000 inhabitants.

paragraphs: Chemnitz is north of the Ore Mountains in the western part of the Bundesland Saxony. It is the 3rd biggest city in Saxony with about 245.000 inhabitants. The area is about 220 km. There is a river that is also called Chemnitz.

paragraphs: The average temperature is 8 °C and the amount of rain and snow every year (annual precipitation) is 700 mm.

paragraphs: The "Karl-Marx-Monument" has been an attraction of the city since 1971. The 7,10 meter high statue was created by the Russian artist Lev Kerbel. The inhabitants of Chemnitz call it "Nischel", which means "head" in the dialect of the area.

paragraphs: The "Roter Turm" (the "red tower")is one of Chemnitz's oldest sites; it was built in the 12th or 13th century and was once part of the city wall.

paragraphs: The town hall of Chemnitz consists of two buildings. The old town hall was built in the 15th century. The new townhall, on the other hand, was built at the beginning of the 20th century and was designed by Richard Möbius. The new town hall was erected next to the old one.

paragraphs: One of the new attractions of the city is "das Tietz". The former department store was constructed in 1912/1913. Today the Museum for Natural History, the public library, an adult education centre, a gallery and the "Petrified Forest" are here.

paragraphs: Chemnitz had an ICE connection for a short time, until 2006. Chemnitz is part of the railway line Dresden - Chemnitz - Hof - Nuremberg which is called 'Franken - Sachsen - Magistrale'. Today an InterRegioExpress services Dresden, Nuremberg and Leipzig. There are regional train (RegionalBahn) connections to the Ore Mountains and to Elsterwerda.

paragraphs: Here are listed on the most important roads of the metropolitan:

paragraphs: Chemnitz has got a big tram and a big bus network. There are 6 tram lines and 25 (+1 at fair days) bus lines. These networks belong to CVAG, the transport companies of Chemnitz.


title: Small intestine

paragraphs: The small intestine is between the stomach and the large intestine. In humans over 5 years old, a small intestine is about 7.5 meter long. It is where most of the digestion and absorption happens.

paragraphs: The small intestine has three regions – the duodenum, jejunum and ileum.


title: Songwriter

paragraphs: A songwriter is a writer who creates songs. A songwriter generally writes songs for popular music, rather than art songs or classical music. Many songwriters are also singers, and perform the songs they write - they are called singer-songwriters. Other songwriters have their songs performed by other singers.

paragraphs: The history of writing songs is thousands of years old. Scholars believe that men and women may have created and sung songs even at the time of prehistory. Many modern bands have one or two members who write songs for the band. Others have more members contribute songs, or give the whole band credit for writing. Others perform songs by outside writers.


title: Hezbollah

paragraphs: Hezbollah (, meaning "Party of God") is an Islamic political party and paramilitary organization in Lebanon. It was formed in Lebanon in 1982, during the Lebanese Civil War. The leader of Hezbollah is currently Hassan Nasrallah.

paragraphs: Hezbollah's main goals during the Civil War were to fight against Western influences and create an Islamic state in Lebanon. Its members are Shia Muslims, which are the largest Islamic denomination in Lebanon. It is also supports Arab nationalism. It wants freedom for the Palestinian people in Palestine. Because of this, it believes that the State of Israel should not exist, and fights against it. Over the years, the Hezbollah militia has fought a guerrilla war against the Israeli Army along the border in southern Lebanon. It often attacks Israel's military positions by firing rockets across Israel's northern border.

paragraphs: Hezbollah is supported by Syria, Iran, Russia, Lebanon and Iraq.

paragraphs: To destroy Hezbollah bases, Israel has responded in different ways; for example, air strikes on sites in Lebanon and sending ground troops into Southern Lebanon. In 2000, Israel withdrew its troops from the "security zone" in Southern Lebanon, but not from a sliver of land called Shebba Farms. This fertile area was kept under Israeli occupation. The border stayed relatively quiet until July 2006, except for targeted assassinations and kidnappings by Israel. In July, Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers. This led to the 2006 Lebanon War, in which Hezbollah rockets reached deep into Israel.

paragraphs: A few governments consider Hezbollah a terrorist group. The majority do not. Among those who consider it to be a terrorist group are the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and Israel. The European Union and the United Kingdom consider Hezbollah's military branch to be a terrorist group, but not the political party. Lebanon considers Hezbollah to be a legitimate resistance movement. This view is shared by Syria, Iran and all other countries in the Arab world.Russia considers Hezbollah as a legitimate sociopolitical organization while China remains neutral, and maintains contacts with Hezbollah. Other countries that do not consider Hezbollah a terror organization includes Cuba, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and others.


title: S.E. Palmeiras

paragraphs: Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, usually called Palmeiras, is a Brazilian football team. They are from São Paulo, Brazil. The team was founded by an Italian-speaking community on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Itália. They changed to the name used now on September 14, 1942.

paragraphs: They play in green shirts, white shorts and green socks and are one of the most popular and traditional Brazilian clubs.

paragraphs: Palmeiras plays at the Palestra Itália stadium, which has seats for 32,000. But in the past, local derbies against São Paulo or Corinthians were usually played in Morumbi stadium. However, the Arena Palestra Itália is under construction with capacity for 45,000 people, expected to be finalized in 2013.


title: Agastya

paragraphs: According to Hindu mythology, Agastya was the name of a famous sage (rishi). The Hindu tradition states that he brought the Vedic culture to the southern part of India. He also helped in development of Tamil language. According to traditional belief, he still lives in a mountain names "Agasyta Malai" in Tamil Nadu, India. Scholars believe that Agastya wrote many hymns of Rigveda. He also find mention many times in the Vedic mythology.

paragraphs: There are many stories about Agastya. In the famous Hindu epic, the Ramayana, Rama (an avatar of god Vishnu) meets Agastya. Agastya gives Rama many advices and his support. There are two older stories about Agastya. One story tells that he forced the Vindhya mountains to bow down. The Vindhya Mountain is in middle of India, and divided the North India and the South India. In the second story, he drank all the waters of the ocean. This happened before the Churning of the Ocean.


title: International Criminal Court

paragraphs: The International Criminal Court (ICC) was created on 1 July 2002. It investigates and punishes people for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It is sometimes called the ICC or the ICCt.

paragraphs: The ICC's main office is in The Hague in The Netherlands. It has smaller offices in New York City, Kampala, Kinshasa, Bunia, Abéché and Bangui.

paragraphs: The ICC is different from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The main difference is that ICJ settles arguments between countries, but the ICC punishes people.

paragraphs: On 1 January 2008, 105 countries were members of the ICC. These countries have a duty to help the ICC.

paragraphs: Nearly all the countries in Europe and South America are members, and about half the countries in Africa are members. Only a few countries in Asia have joined.

paragraphs: The ICC can normally only investigate three kinds of crime:

paragraphs: The ICC can only investigate crimes that happened after 1 July 2002. It can only open a case when national courts are not able to or do not want to. If a national court is investigating or prosecuting a case, the ICC is not allowed to.

paragraphs: There are 18 judges in the ICC. They all come from member-countries of the ICC. No two judges can come from the same country.

paragraphs: The prosecutor's job is to investigate crimes. If he finds evidence that a person did something wrong, he asks the judges to start a trial.

paragraphs: The ICC is managed by an "Assembly of States Parties". The Assembly elects the judges and the prosecutor. Each ICC member-country has one vote in the Assembly.

paragraphs: The ICC has opened investigations in four places: Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur.

paragraphs: The ICC has arrested three people. They are all from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thomas Lubanga is accused of using children to make war. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are both accused of murder, sexual slavery, using children to make war, and other crimes.


title: Brahma

paragraphs: According to Hinduism and Hindu mythology, Brahma is one of the three major gods of Hindus. Brahma is said to be the creator of the whole universe. The other two gods are Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer, all three of which make up the Trimurti.

paragraphs: Hindu tradition states that Brahma originally had five heads. However, the mythological story tells that Shiva ordered Bherav to cut one of the heads of Brahma because Brahma lied, saying that he had found the finite source of the actually infinite Linga of light that was Shiva's manifestation. He had not found it, but had come only to the highest heaven and not to the Transcendent, Shiva. The tradition also states that the remaining four heads of Brahma represent many aspects of Hinduism. The four heads represent four Vedas, which are very important Hindu scriptures. It is said that the four heads of Brahma are eternally reciting the four Vedas in penance for having lied. These four heads also represent four divisions of time of Hinduism, the Yugas. They also represent four divisions of the Hindu society, the four Varnas.


title: Asexual reproduction

paragraphs: Asexual reproduction is reproduction without sex.

paragraphs: In this form of reproduction, a single organism or cell makes a copy of itself. The genes of the original and its copy will be the same, except for rare mutations. They are clones.

paragraphs: Asexual reproduction is the opposite of sexual reproducing. The second one has sex and the first one does not. Mostly the first one contains splitting of body part.

paragraphs: The main process of asexual reproduction is mitosis. This type of reproduction is common among some single-cell organisms, for example, "Amoeba". Many plants also reproduce asexually, for example by means of runners. The individual zooids in a particular coral or bryozoan are usually genetically identical. They are formed by asexual reproduction of the first individual to arrive in a place. One whole order of the rotifers, the bdelloid rotifers, has no sexual reproduction. Many types of living things have a double cycle. At one stage they have sexual reproduction, at another they simply multiply by splitting, or producing eggs which develop without fertilization (aphids). All the daughters of the honey bee develop from unfertilized eggs. So, asexual reproduction is common in many forms of life.

paragraphs: Some organisms like bacteria reproduce using binary fission. They split in two, so one bacterium becomes two bacteria. This always leads to daughter cells, and the offspring will be identical to the parent.

paragraphs: Budding is similar to binary fission, but it is used by plants and some animals, which cannot simply split in half as bacteria can. It is when a small part of a plant or animal breaks off and then, while they are separated from their "mother", they start to grow until both the "parent" and the "offspring" are the same size and both are capable of budding again. This may happen many more times.

paragraphs: Parthenogenesis is found in both plants and animals. Eggs develop without fertilization. Examples occur in water fleas, rotifers, aphids, stick insects, some ants, bees and parasitic wasps. Parthenogenesis is very rare for vertebrates.

paragraphs: Very common in some types of plants using rhizomes or stolons (for example in strawberry). Other plants form bulbs or tubers (for example tulip bulbs and dahlia tubers). Some plants may form a clonal colony, where all the individuals are clones, and the clones may cover a large area.

paragraphs: Fungi (for example, mushrooms) produce spores, which may be asexual or sexual. The asexual spores have the genetic material inside, which allows them to make a whole new organism identical to its parent. They are produced by mitosis. Different fungi make different kinds of asexual spores, conidia, oidia, and pycniospores. The shape and color of the spores can be helpful to identify the species of fungus.


title: Brahman

paragraphs: Brahman is the Ultimate Reality of Universe in Hinduism. It is a Sanskrit language word.Brahman is said to be infinite, with no beginning or end. Brahman is changeless and is the source of the universe in Hindu beliefs.


title: International Monetary Fund

paragraphs: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization. 189 countries are members of the International Monetary Fund. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA.

paragraphs: In the 1930s, many countries faced economic problems. The standard of living declined, and a great many people were unemployed. International trade became much smaller. Some countries reduced the value of their currencies. All these factors combined in the 1930s, and an economic depression resulted. By late 1939, the Second World War had started.

paragraphs: As the Second World War ended, most countries found that international values faced many restrictions and were not smooth. Leaders of many countries thought over these matters and discussed them in meetings and agreed on the Bretton Woods system. Thus, after the Second World War, many countries felt the need to have an organization to get help in monetary matters between countries. To begin with, 29 countries discussed the matter, and signed an agreement. The agreement was the Articles of Association of the International Monetary Fund. The International Monetary Fund came into being in 29th December 1945.

paragraphs: Any country may apply to become a member of the IMF. When a country applies for membership, the IMF’s Executive Board examines the application. If found suitable, the Executive Board gives its report to IMF’s Board of Governors. After the Board of Governor clears the application, the country may join the IMF. However, before joining, the country should fulfill legal requirements, if any, of its own country. Every member has a different voting right. Likewise, every country has a different right to draw funds. This depends on many factors, including the member country’s first subscription to the IMF.

paragraphs: The IMF does a number of supervisory works relating to financial dealings between different countries. Some of the works done by IMF are:

paragraphs: A Board of Directors manages the IMF. One tradition has governed the selection of two most senior posts of IMF. Firstly, IMF’s managing director is always European. World Bank's president is always from the United States of America.

paragraphs: Current managing director is French economist Christine Lagarde.

paragraphs: The major countries of Europe and America control the IMF. This is because they have given more money to IMF by way of first subscriptions, and so have larger share of voting rights.

paragraphs: Many people and countries have commented about IMF. Some are good and some are bad comments about the work of IMF. Despite many bad comments about IMF, research shows that more than 60 percent of Asians and 70 percent of Africans feel that IMF has had a "positive" effect on their country.


title: São Paulo F.C.

paragraphs: São Paulo Futebol Clube, usually called São Paulo FC or just São Paulo, is a very traditional Brazilian football team from São Paulo. The team was founded on January 25, 1930, and re-founded on December 16, 1935. It is often called "Tricolor" (meaning "with three colours") by its supporters. The prime footballer in the team is the goalkeeper called Rogério Ceni.

paragraphs: It is the most successful club of Brazilian football.

paragraphs: Twenty-two won state championships, six Brazilian Championships - besides being the only one to win it three times, in 2006, 2007 and 2008, three Libertadores and three World Club Championship.


title: World Bank Group

paragraphs: The World Bank Group is a group of five international organizations. The World Bank Group gives advice and finance to member countries for economic development and reducing poverty. It is a non-profit-making international organization owned by member governments. The Group has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.. It also has offices in 124 other member countries.

paragraphs: The World Bank Group is made of the following five organizations:

paragraphs: The World Bank Group originated at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Many countries met and decided to start a Bretton Woods system including an international organization to provide finance to member countries. The Bank came into existence on 27th December 1945. Its name was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The Bank’s first loan was to France. The loan was of 250 million US Dollars. The purpose was to help France to again build industry and other important things like roads destroyed during the Second World War.

paragraphs: The activities of the World Bank Group cover many activities. Some of these activities are as follows:

paragraphs: The World Bank Group gives loans at low rate of interest to member countries. The member countries use the money received for any one of above or some other similar activity.

paragraphs: In short, the World Bank Group’s main mission is 1) to fight poverty and 2) to improve the living standards of people in the developing world. Beside giving direct money and finance, the World Bank Group provides advice and assistance to developing countries on almost every aspect of economic development.

paragraphs: In general, the World Bank Group is part of the United Nations system. But, member countries govern it through a board. The IBRD has 184 countries as its members. Other four organizations of the Group have between 140 and 176 member countries. A Board of 24 Executive Directors controls the activities of the World Bank Group. A President heads the Board.

paragraphs: Many economists and people have criticized the World Bank Group for its style of functioning. Before giving loans, the Bank sometimes requires many changes in the policies of a country. This has attracted criticism as it reduces the country’s independence to run its economy in its own way. The criticism is also on account of other factors. One of them is that two or three countries have more power to decide matters. As of November 1, 2004 the United States held 16.4% of total votes, Japan 7.9%, Germany 4.5%, and the United Kingdom and France each held 4.3%. As major decisions require an 85% super-majority, the US can block any change.

paragraphs: In spite of several criticisms, the World Bank Group’s role in economic development and reduction of poverty has continued in many countries.


title: International Court of Justice

paragraphs: The International Court of Justice (French La Cour internationale de justice (CIJ), is an international organization. It is the main judicial organ or branch of the United Nations. In short, International Court of Justice is ICJ; sometimes people call it the World Court. In French language, it is "Cour internationale de justice". Established ICJ in 1945, ICJ has its headquarters at The Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ began its working from 1946. It replaced an earlier similar court named Permanent Court of International Justice. The International Court of Justice is different from the International Criminal Court. The ICJ uses two languages, the English language and the French language.

paragraphs: The International Court of Justice has two major functions. Firstly, it settles disputes, which the member countries may bring before it. Secondly, it may give its opinions on legal matters. Since 1980s, many developing countries have been using the services of the ICJ. But, in 1986, the United States of America did not accept the court’s views on all matters, but rather selectively, on a case-to-case basis. Since the year 2000 the docket went down from 23 to 12 cases. In the meantime the staff tripled.

paragraphs: The ICJ has fifteen permanent judges. The UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council elects the judges. A judge serves for a nine-year period and may be re-elected if necessary. If a serving judge dies, another judge, from the same country he or she belonged to is generally elected to fill the vacant position. Elections are staggered, thus five judges (one-third of the Court) come up for election every three years.

paragraphs: The fifteen permanent judges are elected from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The election process is set out in Articles 4-12 of the ICJ statute Generally, five members of the Security Council of the United Nations always have a judge from their country. These countries are China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

paragraphs: In some case, the ICJ allows Ad hoc judges. Thus, the countries in dispute have a right to nominate one judge each for that particular case, if desired. This right is not available if that country already has a judge of its nationality in the ICJ. Thus, sometimes, instead of fifteen, seventeen judges may be deciding a case.

paragraphs: There are many rules, which lay down the qualifications and conduct of the judges of the ICJ.

paragraphs: Generally, all the judges of the ICJ sit together to hear and decide any matter. However, sometimes smaller chambers of three to five judges hear and decide a case. Such chambers may be for special types of cases. Sometimes, the ICJ sets up ad hoc chambers to hear and decide particular disputes.

paragraphs: While deciding the case, the ICJ applies the principles of international law. It also uses the laws of the civilized world. This may be the civil and criminal law of major countries. It may also refer to legal writings, law books, and earlier decisions while deciding any matter.


title: Bethlehem

paragraphs: Bethlehem is a Palestinian city on the West Bank. It is most famous as the place where Jesus was born. (See Gospel of Matthew chapter 2.) It is five miles from Jerusalem in Israel.


title: Disco

paragraphs: Disco is a style of music that was most popular from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. People usually dance to disco music at bars called disco clubs. The word "disco" is also used to refer to the style of dancing that people do to disco music, or to the style of clothes that people wear to go disco dancing. Disco music was an up-tempo form of music which included elements of soul, funk and Latin music. It had a strong beat meant for dancing, a steady four-on-the-floor rhythm, and a big bass line, and orchestral instrumentation often included string sections. Disco is dance music too.

paragraphs: Disco was at its most popular in the United States and Europe in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Disco was brought into the mainstream by the hit movie "Saturday Night Fever," which was released in 1977. This movie, which starred John Travolta, showed people doing disco dancing. Many radio stations played disco in the late 1970s. By the early 1980s, disco had started to fall out of popularity, and other genres, such as dance, Hi-NRG and post-disco grew in popularity. Nevertheless, disco still exerts an influence on modern day dance music, and still has occasional moments of popularity. Additionally, a different form of disco arose in Europe, known as Euro disco, which obtained some popularity.

paragraphs: Disco music blends R&B with funk, soul and dance music. Disco music usually consists of a singer, electric guitars, synthesizer keyboards, electric bass guitar, and a drummer or electronic drum machine. Disco music is often very simple music, with a strong beat and a strong "bass line". Disco music often has many electronic effects.

paragraphs: Disco dancing is often sexually suggestive. When people go disco dancing, they usually wear tight trousers, leather shoes or boots, and glittery clothes. Women going disco dancing often wore tight clothes that revealed body parts such as their thighs or the upper part of their chest. Men going disco dancing often opened up the buttons of their shirts to show the upper part of their chest.

paragraphs: Disco music is played at disco clubs. In the late 1970s, there were famous disco clubs such as Studio 54 in New York City. Disco clubs have a large dance floor and a large pa system. A Disk Jockey (or "DJ") plays records of disco music through powerful amplifiers with a number of high wattage speakers. Disco music was usually played very loud, with lots of low bass frequencies. Disco clubs usually had coloured lights that flashed with the music called scanners, and mirror balls with hundreds of small mirrors, that reflect light onto the dancers and all corners of the room.

paragraphs: Most people who went disco dancing at disco clubs drank alcohol such as champagne and rum. Many people consumed illegal drugs such as cocaine or marijuana, so that they would become intoxicated. People who went disco dancing often had sex with people that they would meet at the disco club.


title: Albert II, Prince of Monaco

paragraphs: His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco (born 14 March 1958) is the ruler of Monaco. He became ruler after his father Prince Ranier III died in April 2005. He is the only son and the middle of three children of Rainer and his wife Grace Kelly.

paragraphs: Prince Albert and his wife Charlene had twins:

paragraphs: On 19 March 2020, amid the large-scale outbreak of COVID-19, it was officially announced that Albert II had tested positive. This made Albert II the first monarch and head of state to have tested positive for COVID-19. On 31 March, it was announced that he had made a full recovery.


title: Rex Warner

paragraphs: Reginald Ernest Warner or Rex Warner (9 March 1905-24 June 1986) was a classical English writer and translator.


title: Hugh Cook

paragraphs: Hugh Cook (born 1942) is a Canadian writer.


title: Franz Boas

paragraphs: Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942)

paragraphs: Franz Boas was a German born America anthropologist. He is considered by many to have been the 'Father of American Anthropology.' While today archaeology, cultural anthropology , linguistics, and Biological anthropology are often considered somewhat separate discipline, Boas had a holistic approach, meaning to him they were a unified discipline.

paragraphs: Boas was born in Germany to Jewish parents. His parents were rich, well educated, and sought to expose him to the values of the enlightenment. This resulted in Boas did not identifying as Jewish, and left him with a dislike of religion. Because of parents, he received a very strong early education. Boas studied natural history in primary school, and in secondary school he researched the natural range of plants.

paragraphs: Franz Boas attended Heidelberg University for one semester, before transferring to Bonn University where he studied mathematics, physics, and geography.

paragraphs: He received a doctorate in physics in 1881 from the University of Kiel. By today's standards Boas' doctorate would be closer to a degree in geography than physics.

paragraphs: Boas first traveled to Baffin Island in 1883 to study the native Inuit to see what role the environment plays in their migrations. He published his findings in 1888. Boas returned to Germany for a time, but due to rising antisemitism he decided to emigrate to the United States. He worked as an editor for "Science" and as a docent of anthropology at Clark University. He left the university in 1892. He went north to collect ethnographic material for the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition. After the exposition the material was given to the Field museum in Chicago, here Boas became the curator for anthropology. During this time Boas became involved in the Fin de Siècle debates. It was here he argued for separating natural sciences from the humanities. He also began the ground work that would eventually grow into historical particularism: the idea that every aspect of a culture has a unique history.

paragraphs: Boas eventually settled at the University of Colombia in 1896, creating the very first PhD program for anthropology in the United States. It was here where he taught his most famous students, which included: Alfred Kroeber, Ruth Benedict, Margaret Mead, Edward Sapir, and Zora Neale Hurston.

paragraphs: Franz Boas was censored by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in December of 1919 for a publication he wrote denouncing anthropologists who became involved with the war effort during the First World War. This persisted for the remainder of his life, not being reversed until 2005. He was very critical of Nazism as well as critical of the radical the war effort in the United States. Boas was also involved with combating racism. In 1963 Thomas Gossett claimed that "It is possible that Boas did more to combat race prejudice than any other person in history." Franz Boas died of a stroke on December 21, 1942.  According to legend he died in the arms of none other than Claude Levi-Strauss.

paragraphs: Franz Boas is often credited with the development of 'historical particularism', as well as 'cultural relativism.' Boas was a founding member of the American Anthropology Association (AAA) and served as one of the organization's first vice presidents.


title: Zapotec people

paragraphs: The Zapotec are a native tribe of people from Mexico. People think there are between 300.000 and 400.000 people. Most of them live in the state of Oaxaca. Most of them speak either Zapotec dialect continuum or the Chatino language. Before Christopher Columbus came to America, the Zapotec civilisation was highly developed. It also included a system of writing.


title: IMAX

paragraphs: IMAX is a kind of movie projection system, which shows movies on a very large screen. It was first introduced in Japan in 1970.


title: Esotericism

paragraphs: Esotericism is about secret knowledge for a small group of people. Esotericism also describes mystical, spiritual or occult viewpoints (point of view). Esotericism studies Gnosticism, Yoga, Alchemy, Magic, Spiritualism, Hypnosis, Astrology, Meditation, Mysticism, and Occultism. Many followers of Abrahamic faiths, particularly Christianity and Islam, have criticized Esotericism as black magic. Esotericism in religion is called "obscurantism".

paragraphs: Esotericism can also be about understanding symbolism and hidden meanings of many different books. They include religious books, philosophy books and books about history. They use these books as their texts.


title: Hugh Cook (science fiction author)

paragraphs: Hugh Walter Gilbert Cook (9 August 1956 – 8 November 2008) is a science fiction author. Cook was born in Essex, England, and moved to New Zealand. Then in 1997 he moved to Japan.


title: Jainism

paragraphs: Jainism is a religion originally from India that teaches that "all the events in the universe are self-caused, random, fixed and are independent of previous events or external causes or god": Jain philosophy is the oldest philosophy of India that distinguishes body (matter) from the soul (consciousness) completely. It teaches that the universe is eternal and that every living being has a soul which has the power to become all-knowing(observer of all the random events). A soul which has won over its inner enemies like attachment, greed, pride, etc. is called "jina" which means conqueror or victor(over ignorance). The holy book of Jainism is Pravachansara.


title: Sect

paragraphs: A sect is a small religious or political group that separates from a larger group. Sects have many of the same beliefs and practices as the original group, but often have some different doctrines. In contrast, a denomination is a large religious group.


title: Caracal

paragraphs: The Caracal, also called Persian lynx or African lynx, is a wild cat. Caracals are similar to lynxes, but are more related to the serval. Caracals are the fastest of the small cats.

paragraphs: The Caracal is 65 cm in length (about 2 feet), plus 30 cm tail (about 1 foot). It has longer legs and a look very similar to a lynx. The colour of its fur may be wine-red, grey, black, or sand-coloured (a type of yellow). Young caracals have red spots on the fur, but the only markings adults have are black spots above the eyes. A special part of the caracal body are its long black ears - the word "caracal" come from the Turkish word "karakulak" ("black ear"). Their ears are controlled by 20 different muscles, to help them find the animals they hunt.

paragraphs: Caracals live in Africa and Western Asia. Their habitat is dry steppes (areas without trees, covered with grass or shrubs) and semi-deserts, but also can live in places similar to woodlands, savannas, and scrub forests. They live alone or with a mate in a territory.

paragraphs: A caracal may live without drinking for a long time - they get the water from the body of the animals they eat. It hunts at night (but in winter they also hunt in the daytime) for rodents, birds, and hares. It is not usual, but sometimes they hunt small antelopes or young ostriches. They prefer to eat only the external meat of the mammals they hunt, and do not eat the internal organs, and they also do not like eating fur. But they eat the feathers of small birds and rotten meat.

paragraphs: They can hunt birds very well; a caracal is able to snatch a bird in flight, sometimes more than one at a time. Caracals can jump and climb every well, which enables them to catch hyraxes better than any other carnivore.

paragraphs: Because they can learn tricks and get accustomed to live with humans, caracals are sometimes kept as pets (especially in the United States and some European countries). Farmers in Africa do not like them, because sometimes they enter in farms and eat chickens and other animals. So they make their dog chase the caracal.

paragraphs: It is not easy to see caracals in nature because they hide very well. Drivers in countries where caracals live, for example, Kenya and Botswana, see many animals next to roads, but it is very rare a sighting of a caracal.

paragraphs: There are many species of caracals. See them and where they live:


title: Eel

paragraphs: True eels are teleost fish. They have long and narrow bodies like snakes. Adult eels can be as short as 10 cm or as long as 3 m. It depends on their species. The large eels can weigh up to 65 kg.

paragraphs: Eels have fewer fins than other fish. They do not have all the belly and chest fins. The back and anal fins are long and usually connected to the tail fin. The fins do not have spines.

paragraphs: The shoulder bones are separate from the skull. The scales have smooth edges or are absent.

paragraphs: Eels hatch from eggs. Baby (larval) eels are flat and transparent (clear). They are called "leptocephalus" (Greek for "thin head"). A young eel is called an elver. For a long time people did not know where eels came from, because baby eels look very different from adults. They thought the babies were a different species.

paragraphs: Most eels prefer to live in the shallowest parts of the ocean. They live at the bottom of the ocean, sometimes in holes. Eels in the "Anguillidae" family come to fresh water to live there. Eels in the "Nemichthyidae" family swim about 500 m below the ocean surface. Eels in the "Synaphobranchidae" family live as deep as 4000 m below the surface.

paragraphs: Hand netting (catching with nets) is the only legal way of catching eels in England. It has been done for thousands of years on the River Parrett and River Severn.

paragraphs: Most eels are predators. They hunt their prey.

paragraphs: True eels belong to the order (group) Anguilliformes (Latin for "eel-shaped").

paragraphs: This order has 4 suborders (smaller groups) called "Anguilloidei", "Nemichthyoidei", "Congroidei", and "Synaphobranchoidei".

paragraphs: The suborders are separated into 19 families. The families are divided into 110 genera. The genera are then divided into species.

paragraphs: Freshwater eels ("unagi") and marine eels (Conger eel, "anago") are used in Japanese food. Eels are used in Cantonese (Hong Kong) food and Shanghai food.

paragraphs: Some people eat the European eel and other eels that live in lakes all around the world. A traditional London food is "jellied eels." The Spanish meal, "angulas", consists of deep-fried elvers.

paragraphs: Eel skins are used to make some wallets and purses.

paragraphs: Taxonomy based on Neslon, Grande and Wilson 2016.

paragraphs: In some classifications, the family Cyematidae of bobtail snipe eels is included in the Anguilliformes, but in the FishBase system that family is included in the order Saccopharyngiformes.

paragraphs: The electric eel of South America is not a true eel, but is a South American knifefish more closely related to the carps and catfishes.


title: Easter egg

paragraphs: An Easter egg is an egg, eaten and used for decoration during the Easter holidays. The egg was a symbol of the earth to celebrate spring. It was used by early Christians as a sign of the resurrection (rising from the dead) of Jesus.

paragraphs: The use of painted and decorated Easter eggs was first recorded in the 13th century. The church did not let people eat eggs during Holy Week, but chickens still laid eggs during that week. Because there was nothing else to do with the eggs, they were used for Easter decoration.

paragraphs: In modern times, chocolate eggs with a colorful wrapping are given to children to be eaten. In the United Kingdom, children receive on average 8.8 chocolate Easter eggs every year. It is unclear where this tradition comes from. Most likely, it comes from a pagan fertility ritual during spring. Sometimes on Easter, children go on egg hunts to look for Easter eggs. They can look for them indoors or outdoors.

paragraphs: An easter egg is also the name of something secret added in computer programs, such as a joke, a picture, or a message that can be uncovered.

paragraphs: Although there have been claims that Easter eggs came from the pagan symbols, there is no solid evidence for this. At the Passover, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water is a symbol of both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. In Christian times, the egg was a symbol of new life just as a chick might hatch from the egg. The Easter egg tradition may have celebrated the end of the privations of Lent. In the Medieval Europe, people were not allowed to eat eggs on fast days. It was traditional to use up all of the eggs that they had before Lent began, and this also made the tradition of Pancake Day. Eggs were viewed as symbols of new life and fertility through the ages. It is believed that for this reason many ancient cultures, including the Ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, used eggs during their spring festivals. In Eastern Christianity, both meat and dairy are still not allowed to be eaten during the fast, and eggs are seen as "dairy" too.

paragraphs: It was during Easter that everybody was trying to get rid of the eggs before the fast. Eggs were given as gifts for children and servants, and used for decoration. And this is probably the reason why eggs came to be associated with Easter.


title: Lemur

paragraphs: Lemurs are primates and prosimians (not monkeys). The word "lemur" comes from the Latin word "lemures", which means "ghosts". Lemur are divided into eight families, with 15 genera and about 100 living species. However, lemur classification is controversial: it depends on which species concept is used. "Lemur" is also a genus in one of the families.

paragraphs: Lemurs are native "only" to the island of Madagascar. From there a few species got to smaller islands nearby, for example the Comoros. Madagascar, like Africa and India, was part of the ancient southern continent of Gondwana.

paragraphs: Lemurs weigh from 30g to the 10kg. Larger species have all become extinct since human groups moved to Madagascar. Usually, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), and the larger ones were active during the day (diurnal).

paragraphs: Lemurs are endangered species because people destroy their habitat and used to hunt them, and perhaps still do so.

paragraphs: Ring-tailed lemur, the most studied, are white and black with a ring tail The larger species are about 1.5 meters tall and weigh about 2 to 3.5 kilograms. They move quietly, usually at night, sometimes letting out eerie wailing cries, which some people think is the reason why they got their names.

paragraphs: Lemurs mostly eat fruit, leaves, and other plant parts. They live in family groups of 5 to 42 members which is called a troop. Females are dominant and remain in the same troop for life. Males move between troops. The female's gestation period lasts four to five months, and they usually have one or two babies. Lemur mothers nurse their babies until they are about four months old. Then they begin to feed the babies solid food such as fruit. Lemurs spend most of their time in the trees. Some are great leapers, flinging themselves from tree to tree.

paragraphs: Lemurs communicate with a variety of hoots. They will also send messages with scents (smells). When a male lemur wants to scare another male away, he first rubs its tail on the smelly glands under its arms and then waves the tail in the other male's face. These are called "stink fights".


title: Good Friday

paragraphs: Good Friday is a religious holiday usually observed by Christians. It is also called Holy Friday, Black Friday, or Great Friday. It is observed to remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, his death, and his rising from the dead. The holiday is often at the same time as the Jewish holiday of Passover.

paragraphs: The estimated year of Good Friday is AD 33, by two different groups, and at first as AD 34 by Isaac Newton by the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars.

paragraphs: According to the Gospels, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the Temple Guards. This was done through the help of his disciple Judas Iscariot. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) () for betraying Jesus. He had told the guards that whomever he kisses was the one they were to arrest. Jesus was brought to the house of Annas. Annas was the father-in-law of the high priest at that time, Caiaphas. There he was questioned. However, it was with little result. Tied up, he was sent to Caiaphas the high priest, where the Sanhedrin had come together ().

paragraphs: Lots of people came and said conflicting things about Jesus to make him look bad. As he heard these, Jesus said nothing. At last, the high priest tells Jesus, "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus said yes: "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest ripped his clothes, crying out that Jesus had blasphemed God. The trial ended with a sentence of death (). While they were questioning Jesus, Peter was waiting in the courtyard. He also said that he did not know Jesus three times to people standing by. According to the Bible, Jesus already knew that Peter would say this.

paragraphs: In the morning, the people brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. They said he was troubling the nation. They also said he tried to stop people from paying taxes to Caesar, and wanted to make himself a king (). Pilate questioned Jesus. He told the people that Jesus had nothing to be sentenced for. When he learned that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate said that Jesus should be judged by the ruler of Galilee, King Herod. At that time, Herod was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus, but Jesus did not answer. Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the people that neither he nor Herod have found Jesus guilty. Pilate wished to have Jesus whipped, then let him go ().

paragraphs: It was a custom during the feast of Passover for the Romans to let one prisoner go free as requested by the Jews. Pilate asked the crowd whom they would like to go free. The crowd asked for Barabbas, another prisoner. He had gone to prison for murdering people. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus. At this, and they demanded, "Crucify him!" (). Pilate's wife warned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man" (). She had had a dream about him earlier that day.

paragraphs: Pilate had Jesus whipped, then tried to let him go. The chief priests demanded that Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This filled Pilate with fear. He brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came ().

paragraphs: Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent. He washed his own hands in water to show he has no part in this. However, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified so that the crowd would not get angry () and that he could keep his job.

paragraphs: Jesus carried his cross a place of the Skull, or "Golgotha" in Hebrew. In Latin it is called "Calvary". There he was crucified with two criminals ().

paragraphs: Jesus is hung on the cross for six hours in extreme pain. During his last 3 hours on the cross there is darkness over the whole land (; ; ). At last, Jesus cried, "It is finished". He then "gave up his spirit". There is an earthquake. Tombs break open, and the curtain in the Temple is torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the crucifixion declares, "Truly this was God's Son!" ()

paragraphs: Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, who had not said yes to his death, went to Pilate. He asked for the body of Jesus (). Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought a mix of spices and helped wrap the body of Christ (). Pilate asked the centurion to make sure that Jesus is dead (). A soldier pierced the side of Jesus, causing blood and water to flow out (). At this, the centurion told Pilate that Jesus was dead ().

paragraphs: Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock (). The tomb was in a garden. Nicodemus () also came bringing 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body of Jesus, according to Jewish burial customs (). They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb (). Then they went back home and rested, because at sunset began Shabbat (). According to the Bible, on the third day, Sunday, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or "Pascha"), Jesus rose from the dead.

paragraphs: Special prayer services are usually held on this day with readings from the Gospel accounts of the events leading up to the crucifixion. Major Christian churches say that Christ's crucifixion as a voluntary act, which he did for everyone who believed in him, and also one by which, together with resurrection on the third day, death itself was crushed.


title: Archaea

paragraphs: The Archaea (or "Archea") are a group of single-celled organisms. The name comes from Greek αρχαία, "old ones". They are a major division of living organisms.

paragraphs: Archaea are tiny, simple organisms. They were originally discovered in extreme environments (extremophiles), but are now thought to be common to more average conditions. Many can survive at very high (over 80 °C) or very low temperatures, or highly salty, acidic or alkaline water. Some have been found in geysers, black smokers, oil wells, and hot vents in the deep ocean. Recent research has found ammonia-eating archaea in soil and seawater.

paragraphs: In the past they had been classed with bacteria as prokaryotes (or Kingdom Monera) and named archaebacteria, but this is a mistake. The Archaea have an independent evolutionary history and show many differences in their biochemistry from other forms of life. They are now classified as a separate domain in the three-domain system. In this system, the three distinct branches of evolutionary descent are the Archaea, Bacteria and Eukaryota.

paragraphs: Archaea are, like bacteria, prokaryotes: single-celled organisms that do not have nuclei and cell organelles of the eukaryote type.

paragraphs: The following table compares some major characteristics of the three domains, to illustrate their similarities and differences. Many of these characteristics are also discussed below.


title: Jared Diamond

paragraphs: Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American author and biologist. His book "Guns, Germs, and Steel" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1997.

paragraphs: Diamond was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a doctor and his mother was a teacher. He received his college degree from Harvard University in 1958, and then he received a doctorate degree from the University of Cambridge in 1961.

paragraphs: In 1966, he became a teacher at UCLA, a university in Los Angeles, California. He has also traveled to some islands called New Guinea, which are far away from the United States, in the South Pacific Ocean. Diamond is famous for knowing a lot about the birds that lived on that island, and he has traveled there many times.

paragraphs: Diamond writes about science in ways that people can understand, and he has written many articles for magazines like "Discover" in the United States.

paragraphs: He also writes books. One of his first books was called "The Third Chimpanzee", which talked about the way that people evolved from monkeys, and how many things are the same between humans and monkeys.

paragraphs: His most famous book is "Guns, Germs, and Steel". In his book, Diamond explained why he thought that different parts of the Earth had people on them at different times, and why some people in some parts of the world had more science or farming than people in other parts of the world. The book went over thousands of years of human history.

paragraphs: In 2004, he wrote another book, called, "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed." In this book, Diamond wrote about why he thought that some groups of people from many hundreds of years ago were able to have their groups get very big and strong, while other groups fell apart. His book talked about what people today can maybe learn from the studying the problems from history.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

paragraphs: The (IPA: ; Filipino for Church of Christ), or INC, is a church which was made in the Philippines by Felix Manalo in 1914. The INC says it was made by Jesus Christ. The church does not believe in the religious teachings of the Trinity, including the teaching that Jesus is God.

paragraphs: Felix Manalo joined many religious organizations as a young adult. He said that God gave him a mission to teach the gospel and to bring back the first church made by Jesus. The INC began with a handful of followers on July 27, 1914 in Punta, Santa Ana, Manila, with Manalo as highest minister. It has now spread to many different countries.

paragraphs: Some of the teachings INC believes in are:


title: State court (United States)

paragraphs: In some countries, a municipal court is a court with limited jurisdiction, both in people and laws. Most commonly, municipal courts only deal with the laws and citizens of one city or town. But in some places they make decisions for an entire county, and may be involved with early hearings of cases that will be tried in a higher court. Some things that often involve municipal courts are traffic tickets, leash laws, and building code violations and death.

paragraphs: Municipal courts in Mississippi are "Judge Alone" courts. This means that judges alone hear the presented cases and offenders(and alleged offenders)have no right to jury trials. In felony cases in Mississippi, the Municipal court holds a preliminary hearing and then sends the case to the grand jury of the state. The Municipal court is not a court of record and its cases are summarized by docket.

paragraphs: There are no municipal court facilities in the state. All courthouses are done at the county level. For example, if a speeding ticket violation occurred, it automatically goes to the county seat in which the violation occurs whether it is in a municipality or unincorporated. In the case of some elongated counties like Chatham County, there is an alternate courtroom in Siler City as well as Pittsboro, the county seat. In other cases where there are multiple large population centers like in Guilford County, court cases are handled in Greensboro and High Point. Although a federal issue, traffic violations occurring in military bases are not subject to civilian courts.


title: Emma Goldman

paragraphs: Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was one of the most well-known anarchists from the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s.

paragraphs: Emma Goldman was an anarcho-communist who was an early supporter of atheism, gay rights and feminism.

paragraphs: She was born in modern-day Lithuania (at the time it was part of Russia). She moved to Rochester, New York with her sister when she was 17.

paragraphs: At first she worked in a textile factory and married her co-worker Jacob Kersner. Their relationship began to blossom after Kersner found out about her prostitution business. Their marriage was short and Goldman moved to New York City and became a member of the anarchist community. She became good friends with Alexander Berkman (another anarchist) and helped him plan the attempted-assassination of Henry Clay Frick, a rich man who treated his workers badly. Berkman was unsuccessful and spent fourteen years in prison, but Goldman was not punished.

paragraphs: Goldman did face many legal troubles though. In 1893 she was convicted of starting a riot and spent a year in prison. She was arrested in 1901 for allegedly conspiring in the assassination of President McKinley, but was never found guilty.

paragraphs: In 1916 she spent time in prison for giving out information on birth control (which was a crime at the time). In 1917 she was arrested and spent two years in prison for not supporting World War I.

paragraphs: In 1919, Goldman and Berkman were deported (sent back) to Russia because the American government thought they were too dangerous. The Russian Revolution had just happened and Goldman was hopeful that Russia might end up being a good place. She ended up deciding that the revolution in Russia was not as good as she thought and that the Bolsheviks tricked many of the people in Russia. She thought the Bolsheviks were too controlling and were too powerful. She also did not like that the Soviet Union put lots of anarchists in jail for not agreeing with them.

paragraphs: She and Berkman left after two years and Goldman lived in many places in Europe, including England and France. In 1936 she moved to Spain to help the anarchists fight the fascists during the Spanish Civil War.

paragraphs: She died in Toronto May 14, 1940 of a stroke. She is buried near Chicago.


title: Computer engineering

paragraphs: Computer engineering is the practice of making computers and their parts. Computer engineers are always trying to make new parts smaller and better. They can also work on software, especially software for embedded systems (specialized electronics like cell-phones and satellite receivers, not a general-purpose computer).

paragraphs: Computers are electrical machines that run programs. So Computer engineering has parts of both electrical engineering and computer science/software engineering. In Computer engineering classes, students learn about the hardware and software of computers. This starts with learning how transistors and computer chips are made and how they work (which uses quantum mechanics). Then the student learns how the chips talk to each other and how to make a complete printed circuit board (PCB). This is the electrical part. They also learn how to program the ROM or Flash memory so the computer can do something useful.

paragraphs: Because Computer engineering is closely related to electrical engineering and computer science, the fields are found in the same department at many universities. Students also need to learn fundamental science subjects and mathematics, such as calculus and differential equations.

paragraphs: Computer engineering is difficult to learn, but computer engineers are needed. Software engineering companies, telecommunications firms, designers of digital hardware, and many other companies hire computer engineering majors upon graduation and pay them well.


title: Spanish Civil War

paragraphs: The Spanish Civil War (18 July 1936 – 1 April 1939) was a war in which the Spanish General Francisco Franco and his troops successfully took control of Spain. A lot of different groups worked together with the Spanish Republic (the government of the time) to stop him, including socialists, communists, anarchists, and other leftist groups. The fascist governments of Germany and Italy provided troops and supplies for Franco, while the communist Soviet Union sold the Republican forces weapons. Lots of people from other countries volunteered to fight against Franco (sometimes against the orders of their own countries), including people from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and many other countries. These groups were known as the International Brigades. The war ended on 1 April 1939 when the last of the Republican troops gave up. Franco became the ruler of Spain until he died in 1975.

paragraphs: Half a million people died in the war, and many atrocities were committed by both sides. The most famous was the bombing of Guernica. On April 26, 1937, Guernica was bombed by Legion Condor, supported by Hitler's Nazi regime. It was the first time that large civilian casualties resulted. The bombing was reported all over the world in newspapers, and made people aware of German involvement.


title: Fyodor Tyutchev

paragraphs: Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (rus: "Фёдор Иванович Тютчев", fyô'dər ēvä'nəvĭch tyū'chĭf) (December 5 1803 – July 27, 1873) was one of the most significant Russian poets. Almost 20 years of his life he spent in Munich and Turin. Tyutchev was a good friend of Heinrich Heine, knew Schelling as well. Tyutchev didn’t want people to know him as a poet. He didn’t take any part in a literary life.

paragraphs: He has around 400 of his poems. Russian people quote them very often. His early poems are made in Russian poetic tradition of the XVIII century. In the 1830s we can find an influence of European (especially German) romanticism on Tyutchev’s lyrics. He writes philosophic poems about the universe, nature and human being. In 1840s Tyutchev wrote several articles about relations between Russia and Occidental civilization. In 1850s Tyutchev created several heartfelt poems, in which we can see love as a tragedy. These poems are combined into one cycle, named “Denisievsky”. “Denisievsky” means dedicated to a mistress of Tyutchev – Elena Alexandrovna Denisieva. In 1860s–1870s Tyutchev wrote mainly political poems.

paragraphs: The most famous Tyutchev's poem is “Silentium!”. This is a hard appeal to be silent. Because a man never can understand another person. A line “A word once uttered is untrue” is one of the most popular aphorisms of Tyutchev. As well as “We can’t understand Russia by the reason” and “We are not know, what will be the respond for our word”.


title: Erythropoietin

paragraphs: Erythropoietin, or Erythropoetin (EPO) is a hormone produced by the kidneys. Epoetin is a synthetic version.

paragraphs: Erythropoietin acts on the bone marrow so that it makes more red blood cells. It is used to treat some kinds of anemia. Anemia can happen in kidney failure, or from chemotherapy to treat cancer. The man-made hormone is made with cell cultures. The hormone can be used for blood doping in endurance sports although this is illegal in all athletic competitions.

paragraphs: It is also responsible for inhibiting the body process "Gluconeogenesis" (a process in your body which makes glucose from products other than carbohydrates), thus contributing to cure of type2 diabetes, glucose intolerance.


title: Anarcho-punk

paragraphs: Anarcho-punk is a subculture that combines punk music and anarchist politics. Some important anarcho-punk bands include Crass, Conflict, Chumbawamba, and Subhumans. Common ideas that many anarcho-punks support are anti-war, animal rights, feminism, environmentalism, equality, anti-capitalism and other common anarchist causes.


title: Household hardware

paragraphs: Household hardware describes various things used mostly at home. Those things can be equipment such as fasteners, keys, door knobs, locks, hinges, latches, handles, wire, chains, tools, screws and machine parts, especially when they are made of metal.


title: Slavic peoples

paragraphs: Slavs live in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Central Asia and North Asia. Present-day Slavic peoples are classified into West Slavs (mainly Poles, Czechs and Slovaks), East Slavs (mainly Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians), and South Slavs (mainly Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, Slovenes, and Montenegrins).

paragraphs: , Austrians, Hungarians, Romanians (although 1/3 of Romanian population is made of Slavic population, mainly , Serbians and Bulgarians) , Estonians, Lithuanians and Latvians (and these 3 countries have sizable Russian and Poles population, so much so that they make a majority etnic groups in those countries) live near the Slavic nations but are not Slavs themselves. There are more Slavs than any other ethnic group in Europe. Russians make up the most Slavs, followed by Poles and Ukrainians.

paragraphs: There are many small historic Slavic nations like Lusatia (and Lusatian Serbs stil live in eastern Germany), Rusin, Kashubia and others. Russia is now the most powerful and populated Slavic country, but in the 10th century Serbs and Czechs were powerful, in 13th and 14th century Serbs were powerful, and in the 16th century Poland was the strongest nation in the area.

paragraphs: The Slavic languages are closely related. The largest similarities can be found within the same group (for example, Polish and Slovak, both West Slavic languages), but similarities exist even between Slavic languages from other different subgroups (such as Bulgarian and Russian).

paragraphs: However, the greastest similarities are between Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian, which are South Slavic languages. They are considered separate by the Bosnian and Croatian governments (the separation is of political nature), but linguistically they are one language- Serbo-Croatian (since Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin are more similar than those variants of English, German. Dutch, or Hindi–Urdu, and mutual intelligibility between their speakers "exceeds that between the standard variants of English, French, German or Spanish).

paragraphs: Slavic languages are spoken natively by 300 million people and as second or third languages by many more people in countries as far away as Germany and China.

paragraphs: Only Albanians and Kosovars aren't slavic. Serbs are gypsy who came from Russia. Albania is autochu


title: Maharbal

paragraphs: Maharbal was Hannibal's cavalry-leader during the Second Punic War. Many times he was important in Carthage's successes over Rome. In his Italian campaign, Hannibal always was able to have more cavalry than Rome, and so relied on them and Maharbal to give himself a big advantage.

paragraphs: Maharbal is most famous for what he said to Hannibal after the Battle of Cannae. According to Livy, a Roman historian, the conversation went like this after Maharbal said he wanted to go with the army to Rome immediately:

paragraphs: "I commend your zeal", Hannibal said to Maharbal; "but I need time to weigh the plan that you propose." "Assuredly", Maharbal replied, "no one man has been blessed with all God's gifts. You know, Hannibal, how to gain a victory; you do not know how to use it." -Livy, The History of Rome 22.51

paragraphs: "I like your enthusiasm", Hannibal said to Maharbal; "but I need time to think about what you want to do." Maharbal said back, "It is true that no one is perfect. You know how to win, Hannibal; you do not know what to do after."

paragraphs: Livy wrote this in Latin, so Maharbal's reply is often quoted in Latin, and is a famous phrase: "Vincere scis, Hannibal; victoria uti nescis."