title: Tsing Hua University

paragraphs: Tsing Hua University or THU (simplified Chinese: 清华大学; traditional Chinese: 清華大學; pinyin: Qīng Huá Dà Xué), is a university in Beijing, People's Republic of China. It is regarded as one of the best and most selective universities in China. It was established in 1911 as a school for Chinese graduates wanting to go further with their studies at universities in other countries, especially the United States and the UK.

paragraphs: Tsing Hua University was opened in Beijing, China in 1911 on the site of a former royal garden belonging to a prince. It was first a "preparatory school", a school for preparation, for students to be later sent by the government to study in America. The people who graduated were transferred directly to American schools as juniors upon graduation.

paragraphs: In 1925, the school established its College Department and started its research institute on Chinese Study. In 1928, the name officially changed to National Tsing Hua University (NTHU).

paragraphs: During the Second World War in 1937, Tsing Hua University, along with Peking University and Nankai University, merged to form Chang Sha Temporary University in Chang Sha, which later became National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming of Yunnan province. After the war, Tsing Hua moved back to Beijing and resumed its operation.

paragraphs: The communist victory at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 led to the creation of the People's Republic of China (PRC), so the university's President Mei Yi Qi and some professors went to Taiwan where they established the National Tsing Hua Institute of Nuclear Technology in 1955, which later became National Tsing Hua University.

paragraphs: In 1952, the communist government regrouped the country's higher education institutions in an attempt to build a Soviet style system, with individual institutions tending to specialise in a certain field of study. TsingHua University was disassembled, losing its law school, school of agriculture, school of sciences and humanities, and became a polytechnic engineering university. Even so, the University remained in the top tier schools in China (Many Chinese scholars regards that its only rival is Peking University). In many years following this regroup, the school was often referred to as the "MIT of China". But since the 1980s, the university began to incorporate a multidisciplinary system. As a result, a lot of schools were built and rebuilt. These included the School of Science, School of Economics and Management, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Law, School of Public Administration, and the School of Art. Only two colleges charge tuition to its graduate students; the law school and the Academy of Arts and Design.

paragraphs: During the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, the university became a battlefield between different sects of Mao's Red Guards (China) and a stronghold of the radicals. It did not resume its normal operation until 1977 when the Cultural Revolution was officially put to an end.

paragraphs: Since 1977, the university has enjoyed rich government funding and policy support which greatly improved its facilities. Since 1978, it has flourished with the re-establishment of the departments in sciences, economics and management, and the humanities. Its graduate school has been recognized nationally, ranking first in the National Evaluation of Graduate Schools. The School of Continuing Education uses modern information technologies, as well as the advanced educational resources at Tsing Hua.

paragraphs: Most Chinese university rankings place TsingHua first in China. It attracts the most talented students of the nation and enjoys the best engineering and applied sciences programs in China, occupying a position similar to MIT, Stanford, and Princeton in the US. Peking Union Medical College of Tsinghua University is likewise regarded as the best medical school in the country. Tsinghua's longtime rival Peking University is better known for natural sciences, social sciences, law, and liberal arts, somewhat similar to the Ivy League schools of Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania.

paragraphs: Admission to Tsinghua is highly competitive. The majority of selected students are national scholars and among the brightest high school graduates in the country. Many of China's top scientists, engineers, politicians and business leaders are among Tsinghua alumni. The former Chinese leader (2002-2012), Hu Jintao, is a former Tsinghua student who graduated with a degree in hydraulic engineering in 1964. The current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (since 2012), Xi Jinping, is a former Tsinghua student who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in 1979.

paragraphs: As of 2003, Tsinghua University had 12 colleges and 48 departments, 41 research institutes, 35 research centers, and 167 laboratories, including 15 national key laboratories. In September 2006, Peking Union Medical College was renamed to Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University . The university offers 51 bachelor's degree programs, 139 master's degree programs and 107 Ph.D. programs. Recently, Tsinghua has become the first Chinese university to offer a Master of Laws program in American law, through a cooperative venture with the Temple University Beasley School of Law. The university is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia. Each year, the University celebrates the Intellectual Property Summer Institute in cooperation with Franklin Pierce Law Center of Concord, New Hampshire.

paragraphs: On April 12, 2007, Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management became the first business school in the Chinese mainland to earn AACSB accreditation. Former Premier Zhu Rongji was the founding dean of the school.

paragraphs: The University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology is on a separate campus in a northern suburb of Beijing.

paragraphs: Tsinghua is where former United States Vice President Al Gore lectured at in his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Viewers can see the university lecture hall, with its well-known purple seats.

paragraphs: The campus of Tsinghua University is in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district which was designated for universities.

paragraphs: It is located on the former site of Qing Dynasty royal gardens and retains some Chinese-style landscaping as well as some traditional buildings, but many of its buildings are Western-style reflecting the American influence in its history. It is known throughout China for having one of the most beautiful campuses.

paragraphs: The university's architect T. Chuang, a 1914 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, modeled his designs for the quadrangle and auditorium of Tsinghua on the Illinois campus, specifically imitating Foellinger Auditorium, located on the quad at the University of Illinois.

paragraphs: Tsinghua's early alma mater (school anthem) was composed by an American instructor Miss Katherine E. Seelye:

paragraphs: In 1923, another version of the school alma mater with lyrics in Chinese (by Prof. Wang Luan Xiang, a Chinese language professor of Tsinghua) was composed by Mrs. Zhang Hui Zhen and was well received by the students and faculty. The song was then adopted as the school's official Alma Mater.

paragraphs: The last Sunday of April is Tsinghua's anniversary and Homecoming ("Xiao-Qing") Day.

paragraphs: The school cheer goes: Ri-ri-ri, Rah-rah-rah! Tsinghua, Tsinghua, Tsinghua ! Rah-rah-rah!

paragraphs: Tsinghua University has signed agreements with ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the renowned international accountancy body that offers Chartered Certified Accountant qualification worldwide, to train the new generation of professional accountants in China. Under the agreement, Tsinghua will develop the programme that under ACCA's syllabus for enabling China's young accounting students to join the ACCA professional exam scheme at a higher level. Tsinghua will also recognise the Oxford Brookes University BSc Applied Accounting degree, which has been successfully developed in conjunction with ACCA and which enables students who have completed two parts of the ACCA qualification to apply for the Oxford Brookes degree.(Please click: )


title: THU

paragraphs: Thu is most often an abbreviation for Thursday.


title: Yui Horie

paragraphs: Yui Horie (, Horie Yui, born on 20 September 1976) is a Japanese singer and voice actress. Her real name is Yoshiko (堀江 由子 Horie Yoshiko), and she is sometimes nicknamed "Ho'chan ほっちゃん Hocchan)" by her Japanese fans. She hosted aradio show called Yui's Angel Eggs (or 堀江由衣の天使のたまご Horie Yui No Tenshi No Tamago in Japanese) which airs every Monday morning at 0.30 am (local Tokyo time). She is the founding member of the band Aice5. She is also a member of the band Kurobara Hozonkai under the nickname YUI-EL. Her blood type is B and her hobbies include shoulder massage, reading and food.

paragraphs: Horie was born in Tokyo, Japan. As a child, she was a huge fan of the animated series "Dirty Pair" and stated that the series was her first inspiration to become a voice artist. She debuted in 1997 in a video game Voice Fantasia and for several years had minor roles in various animations. She landed her first leading role as Haruka in Kurogane Communication. The turning point in her career was not till the year 2000, when she won the role of Naru in "Love Hina" and the role of Honda Touru in "Fruits Basket". She released her first music album titled Mizutamari ni Utsuru Sekai in 2000. She formed a band called Yamato Nadeshiko with Yukari Tamura in 2001. They released two singles, "もうひとりの私" and "Merry Merrily". "Merry Merrily" was an insert song in the Love Hina Christmas Special. In October 2005, she founded Aice5, a J-pop supergroup made up of 4 other voice actors, to help launch their careers. Aice5 officially ended on 20 September 2007. She has collaborated with a few other artists, such as UNSCANDAL in 2005 and 黒薔薇保存会 in 2007. She was employed by Arts Vision until mid 2007 due to a scandal within the agency's top management. She left to become a freelance actress with no links to any talent management firm.


title: Bathymetry

paragraphs: Bathymetry is the study of the underwater terrain of lakes or ocean floors. It is the same as topography, except that it looks at the underwater topography. It is a field of oceanography. The name comes from Greek ("bathus"), meaning "deep", and ("metron"), meaning "measure". Bathymetric (or hydrographic) charts are often made to support the safety of underwater navigation and exploration. Most of these underwater topographic maps use contour lines (called "depth contours" or "isobaths") to show the terrain of the sea floor, and how deep it is. They usually also give surface navigational information.

paragraphs: Originally, bathymetry involved the measurement of ocean depth through sounding. Early techniques used heavy rope or cable lowered over a ship's side. This method measures the depth of the water at a single location each time. It was not a very accurate method. The data used to make bathymetric maps today usually comes from an echosounder (sonar). This device is attached to the bottom or the side of a boat.


title: Cave painting

paragraphs: Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings. Usually these paintings were made in prehistoric times. Most cave paintings date from 10,000 to 20,000 years ago. The oldest are from about 32,000 years ago, but scientists still disagree if this dating is correct.

paragraphs: It is not known why these paintings were made. They may have had a function for rituals. They may also have been a way to transit information; to tell other people about something. Most paintings are in caves that are difficult to get at.

paragraphs: Today, there are about 350 caves known which have paintings in them. Many are in France and Spain. The best known are probably the caves of Altamira (in Spain), Lascaux (in France), or Creswell Crags in England. Sometimes, paintings were also done on cliff faces. Fewer of those have survived though, because of erosion. One such example are the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi (in Finland).

paragraphs: Most often, animals or hunting scenes were painted. Sometimes hands are there too. Rarely, there are also more abstract patterns.

paragraphs: The paintings were drawn with red and yellow ochre, hematite, manganese oxide and charcoal. Sometimes the silhouette of the animal was put into the rock first.

paragraphs: André Leroi-Gourhan (1911-1986) has classified the paintings into different styles:

paragraphs: There are different theories, what could have led people to paint in caves. The most common explanations are given below:

paragraphs: A painting on the wall of an Indonesian cave has is about 44,000 years old. It shows a buffalo being hunted. Last year another painting was found in Borneo.


title: Radiocarbon dating

paragraphs: Radiocarbon dating, also known as the C14 dating method, is a way of telling how old an object is. It is a type of radiometric dating.

paragraphs: The method uses the radioactive isotope carbon-14. Most organic matter contains carbon. Carbon has different isotopes, which are usually not radioactive. C is the radioactive one, its half-life (time it takes to reduce its radioactivity by half) is about 5,730 years. This makes it possible to tell the age of substances that contain carbon. The method works to about 60,000 years old. Dates obtained are usually written as "before present" ('present' is 1950).

paragraphs: Plants take up atmospheric carbon dioxide by photosynthesis, and are eaten by animals, so every living thing is constantly exchanging carbon-14 with its environment as long as it lives. Once it dies, however, this exchange stops.

paragraphs: In 1958 Hessel de Vries showed that the concentration of carbon-14 in the atmosphere varies with time and locality. The relatively short-lived C is constantly renewed by cosmic ray bombardment on atmospheric nitrogen. Since the bombardment is slightly variable, and for other reasons, the C taken into organic matter is also slightly variable. That leads to errors in the chronology. However, under about 20,000 years the results can be compared with dendrochronology, based on tree rings. For the most accurate work, variations are compensated by means of calibration curves.

paragraphs: The method was developed by Willard Libby and his colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1949. In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work. He first demonstrated the accuracy of radiocarbon dating by accurately estimating the age of wood from an ancient Egyptian royal barge of which the age was known from historical documents.


title: Passage tomb

paragraphs: A passage tomb or passage grave is a tomb which can be reached through a (usually low) passage. Most of these tombs were constructed during prehistoric times. Most often, large stones, called Megaliths were used to construct them. These kinds of tombs can be found in large numbers in Ireland and Scotland.


title: Hallstatt culture

paragraphs: The Hallstatt culture is named after Hallstatt, a city in Austria in which the first artifacts were found. It lasted from about 1200 BC to about 275 BC.

paragraphs: There were different periods that are now told apart mainly by the kinds of brooches used. The brooches changed rather rapidly and permit a good estimate. Hallstatt culture sites have been found in the east of France, in Switzerland, in the south of Germany, in Austria, in Slovenia and Croatia, northwestern Hungary, southwestern Slovakia and southern Moravia.

paragraphs: In this time, the social structure developed into a hierarchy. That can be documented by various things that were added to graves, such as at Magdalenenberg. In the Bronze Age, people lived in big settlements. As iron became available, trade routes changed. A new upper class could establish itself. Unlike before, the upper class liked to live in big houses in the countryside to show their power.

paragraphs: Funerary cults also changed, from cremation burials, to burials with sarcophagi. The new upper class used its wealth for import goods, mostly from the Mediterranean. People started settling there around the 2nd millennium BC.


title: La Tène culture

paragraphs: The La Tène culture existed from about 500 BC to about 100 AD. Named after a town in Switzerland near Neuchâtel, it was greatly influenced by the Roman and the Greek cultures. There are two sources for this:

paragraphs: The Celts basically lived in clans, which were led by leaders, the druids and the bards. Women were much better off than under the Romans and were of a similar status to men. There were both polygyny (a man could have several women) and polyandry (a woman could have several men).


title: Ringfort

paragraphs: A ring fort is a fortified settlement. Ring forts were made to protect villages, mostly in the Middle Ages. In Ireland where many such forts can be found, they are also known as ráth, caiseal, cathair and dún in the early Irish sources.

paragraphs: A "ráth" (anglicised rath), was made of earth, "caiseal" (northwestern Ireland, anglicised cashel) and "cathair" (southwestern Ireland) were built of stone. A "dun" is a more prestigious site, the seat of some kind of ruler, the term is applied to promontory forts as well.


title: Beowulf

paragraphs: Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem. It is not known who wrote it, and there is no agreement as to when it was written. Estimates for the date range from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there is no consensus. The poem has only one manuscript source, written about 1010. "Beowulf" is 3182 lines long. Tolkien describes and illustrates many of the features of Old English poetry in his 1940 essay "On translating Beowulf".

paragraphs: The protagonist of the poem is Beowulf. In the poem, Beowulf fights three monsters: Grendel and Grendel's mother, and later in his life an unnamed dragon.

paragraphs: Hrothgar, a Danish king, has built a big mead hall, which is called Heorot. Hrothgar and his people live a good life and celebrate in Heorot. But then they are attacked by Grendel, who comes to Heorot every night and kills some of Hrothgar's people.

paragraphs: Beowulf is a warrior from Geatland (modern southern Sweden). He hears of Hrothgar's troubles with Grendel. Beowulf and his men leave Geatland to help King Hrothgar.

paragraphs: Beowulf and his men stay the night in Heorot. When Grendel comes to kill them, Beowulf fights him. Beowulf tears Grendel's arm off from his body and sticks it on the wall as a trophy. Grendel runs to his home in the marshes, where he dies. Everyone is happy that Grendel is killed and celebrates.

paragraphs: But the next night, Grendel's mother comes to Heorot and kills many people for revenge and grabs Grendel's arm. Beowulf then goes to the marshes where Grendel and his mother lived. Beowulf fights Grendel's mother and kills her.

paragraphs: Beowulf later becomes a king. He fights a dragon that was living in a barrow. With the help of the young man Wiglaf, Beowulf kills the dragon. Beowulf is wounded in the final battle and dies and crowns Wiglaf as his successor.

paragraphs: The story of "Beowulf" has often been told in books, plays, and films. Sometimes the full story is told, sometimes just parts of the story. Sometimes the plot is altered. Sometimes only ideas or themes are taken from the story.


title: Romana (Doctor Who)

paragraphs: Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". She is a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey, and she was a companion of the Fourth Doctor.

paragraphs: Because she was a Time Lord, Romana was able to regenerate, having two on-screen incarnations with somewhat different personalities (called Romana I and Romana II by fans). Romana I was played by Mary Tamm from 1978 to 1979. When she became pregnant and chose not to return for another series, the part was recast. Romana II was played by Lalla Ward from 1979 to 1981.

paragraphs: The White Guardian assigns Romana to help the Doctor during his quest for the Key to Time. Romana first appears in "The Ribos Operation", and was intended as a contrast to her predecessor, the savage Leela. Romana is initially haughty and somewhat arrogant, looking down on the Doctor (whom she considers to be her academic inferior; she obtained a triple first at the Academy, while the Doctor passed with only 51 percent, on his second attempt) and responding to his initial resentment at her presence with icy put-downs. However, she soon gains an appreciation for the Doctor's experience and sense of adventure, and begins to respect him as a teacher.

paragraphs: The introduction of Romana's second incarnation in "Destiny of the Daleks", a script credited to Terry Nation, but with several changes by script editor Douglas Adams, treats the concept of regeneration humorously. At the beginning of the serial, Romana changes bodily forms several times, like she was trying on different outfits, before deciding to take the form of Princess Astra, who had been played by Lalla Ward in the final serial of Season 16, "The Armageddon Factor".

paragraphs: Romana II enjoys a more intimate relationship with the Doctor than her first incarnation, some fans have assumed that she had a romantic relationship with the Doctor. Although a relationship was never shown or intended by the writers. In many ways, she is the companion most like her Doctor - besides being of the same race and close to the same intelligence, she occasionally mimics his sense of style, wields her own sonic screwdriver and can occasionally get the better of him in moments of banter and more practical situations. As her practical experience develops, she also becomes more assured and capable in the situations she finds herself in.

paragraphs: Her final television appearance was in "Warriors' Gate", where, along with the robot dog K-9, she leaves to forge her own path in the parallel universe of E-space. She also appears briefly in the 20th Anniversary special "The Five Doctors" through the reuse of footage from the uncompleted story "Shada" because Tom Baker refused to come back.

paragraphs: After the departure of both Romana I and II, both versions of the character also appeared very briefly in flashback sequences during the Fourth Doctor's regeneration in "Logopolis" as well as the Fifth Doctor's mind-copy in "Resurrection of the Daleks".

paragraphs: She would also be mentioned in "Castrovalva" during the Fifth Doctor's post-regenerative confusion, as well as "Arc of Infinity", where the Fifth Doctor, in response to a reprimand from the High Council of Time Lords for "leaving her behind", retorts that she "chose to remain in E-Space".

paragraphs: In the new series the doctor says that all of the Time Lords apart from him were killed in the time war. Whether Romana was killed with the others, or is still alive in E-Space or elsewhere, has not been specifically established on screen.

paragraphs: An article by Russell T Davies in the "Doctor Who Annual 2006" states that Romana was President of the Time Lords during the Time War against the Daleks (see below), which ended with Gallifrey being destroyed. As with all spin-off media and the new series, it is unknown if it is canon.

paragraphs: In the licensed Virgin New Adventures novel "Blood Harvest" by Terrance Dicks, Romana II leaves E-Space and returns to Gallifrey with the help of the Seventh Doctor. In "Goth Opera" by Paul Cornell, from the complementary Missing Adventures series, she is given a seat on the High Council of Time Lords. In New Adventures' "Happy Endings", also by Cornell, it is revealed that Romana has become Lady President of Gallifrey. Romana's presidency is reflected in the later novels and in her appearances (voiced by Ward) in audio dramas from Big Finish Productions. Romana appears in independent charity novel Time's Champion, in the role of President of the Time Lords.

paragraphs: In the BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, Romana undergoes a second regeneration, and her new incarnation (Romana III, whose appearance was modelled on silent movie actress Louise Brooks) is far less sympathetic and far more ruthless than the other two.

paragraphs: Romana II appeared pseudonymously in a series of audio plays produced in the early 2000s by BBV. In this series, Lalla Ward played a character who appeared with K-9 in an unnamed parallel universe. This character is called the Mistress (which was what K-9 called Romana in the television series). Because of an unusual copyright situation in which BBV was able to license K-9 but not Romana or other "Doctor Who" elements, the Mistress is not explicitly called Romana. For similar reasons, the parallel universe (obviously intended to reflect Romana's exile in E-Space) is called a "pocket universe" in the series' packaging.

paragraphs: In Big Finish's regular line of "Doctor Who" audio stories, Ward joined the Sixth Doctor in "The Apocalypse Element", in which Romana is Lady President of Gallifrey. In "Zagreus", Romana II is forced to banish the Eighth Doctor from the universe as he has become a danger to it following his infection by the forces of "anti-time". Following on from this, she is featured in a number of audio plays with former Doctor companion Leela (played by Louise Jameson) under the umbrella title of "Gallifrey".

paragraphs: The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Gallifrey on the brink of economic and social collapse as well as in danger of being overrun by a Free Time virus, while most of the characters are trapped with no apparent means of escape.


title: Tegan Jovanka

paragraphs: Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". She was played by Janet Fielding. Tegan Jovanka was an Australian airline stewardess who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to 1984. Tegan was the longest-serving companion in terms of years on the series (3 years, 1 month), although Jamie McCrimmon was in the most episodes and stories.

paragraphs: Tegan first appears in the Fourth Doctor's last serial, "Logopolis". On her way to Heathrow Airport to start her new job with Air Australia, her car suffers a flat tyre. She enters a roadside police box to seek help, but she enters and does not realise that it is the Doctor's Tardis. She is present when the Fourth Doctor falls from the Pharos Project radio telescope and regenerates into his fifth incarnation, and continues to travel with the doctor

paragraphs: Eventually, the chaos during the events of "Resurrection of the Daleks" prove too much and she chooses to leave the Doctor and Turlough and stay in 1984 London.

paragraphs: According to David Tennant's video diary of filming "Doctor Who" Series 3, John Barrowman (who plays Captain Jack Harkness in the 21st century series of "Doctor Who" and its spinoff "Torchwood") has a dog named Tegan, named after the companion.


title: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

paragraphs: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a television series that appeared on the Fox Television Network from January 13, 2008 until 2009. It is a spin-off of "".

paragraphs: It is a about Sarah Connor, her teenage son, and a good robot named Cameron trying to stop the evil computer Skynet from ever being created.


title: Stigma (botany)

paragraphs: A stigma is a part of a flower that gets pollen from pollinators such as bees. The stigma is part of the female reproductive part of a flower, the pistil. The stigma is on top of the style. The stigma can be either hairy or sticky, or both to trap pollen. When the pollen lands on the stigma, the pollen will grow a pollen tube down the style, and into the ovary of the pistil.


title: Empress Dowager Cixi

paragraphs: Empress Dowager Cixi (November 29 1835 – November 15 1908), often known in China as the West Dowager Empress was from the Manchu Yehe Nara Clan.

paragraphs: Cixi was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the "de facto" ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and ruled over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908. Though her exact origins are unclear it is very likely that she came from an ordinary Manchu family. She was chosen by the Xianfeng Emperor as a concubine. She gained almost total control over the court when the rule of her son the Tongzhi Emperor started. He and her nephew the Guangxu Emperor attempted unsuccessfully to rule in their own right.

paragraphs: As the source tells it, Cixi had a partnership with the #1 concubine Zhin, who had been raised to Empress. The two women ruled together, with Cixi as the more dominant personality.

paragraphs: She was in charge during the Opium Wars, First Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion. She was largely conservative during her rule, and some historians consider her reign despotism, and think that she might be responsible for the fall of the Qing Dynasty, and therefore Imperial China, as a result of Cixi's rule.


title: Human trafficking

paragraphs: Human trafficking (or Trafficking in human beings) is a way to exploit people. People are sold, bought, traded much like slaves , and are even sold to couples who don't have children. It is estimated to be a $5 to $9 billion-a-year industry. Trafficking victims typically are recruited by using force or because they are deceived, or fraud is used, power is abused, or they are simply abducted. Threats, violence, and economic problems can often make a victim consent to exploitation.

paragraphs: Human trafficking should not be confused with human smuggling.

paragraphs: Exploitation includes forcing people into prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. For children exploitation may also include forced prostitution, illegal international adoption, trafficking for early marriage, or recruitment as child soldiers, beggars, for sports (such as child camel jockeys or football players), or for religious cults.

paragraphs: The norms based on international human rights law, such as Vienna Declaration and the Yogyakarta Principles prohibit human trafficking and Council of Europe and Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union also prohibit them and do effort to save the victims.

paragraphs: Child trafficking is defined as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" of a child for the purpose of exploitation. The commercial sexual exploitation of children can take many forms. This includes forcing a child into Child prostitution. Or it can be other forms of sexual activity like child pornography. exploitation may also involve forced labour or services like slavery. It can mean practices similar to slavery such as or the removal of organs, illegal adoption, or recruitment as child soldiers.


title: Controversy

paragraphs: A controversy is a prolonged public dispute or debate, with people having different opinions. There may be several groups of people who have different opinions and who cannot agree. Examples for controversial topics are the question of whether abortion should be legal, or whether research on embryonic stem cells should be permitted. Controversies can happen when there is not a lot of understanding about a topic. A controversy may also happen when different people interpret the same information differently based on their own biases.

paragraphs: Any opinion that has opposing sides or points of view can become a controversy. In the winter of 2015, consumers argued over the color and design of Starbucks Christmas cup. Some suggested a boycott of the coffee brand to protest.


title: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund

paragraphs: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund is a confederation of German trade unions. It was a national trade union center of Germany.

paragraphs: The DGB hat 8 German trade unions with more than 7 million people (31.12.2004). It was founded in Munich in 12 October 1949.


title: The Best Damn Thing (song)

paragraphs: The Best Damn Thing is the fourth single off the album The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne. The song was released June 13, 2008.


title: Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft

paragraphs: ver.di is a large German trade union. It is the largest trade union in the world, with 2.6 million members. "ver.di" is an abbreviation for Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, which means "United Services Union."

paragraphs: In 2001 ver.di was formed when the Deutsche Angestellten Gewerkschaft (DAG) ("German Salaried Employees") merged with four unions of the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB) (DPG, HBV, ÖTV, IG Medien).


title: Deutscher Beamtenbund

paragraphs: Deutscher Beamtenbund (dbb) ("Civil Service Federation") is a national trade union center of Germany.

paragraphs: The DBB was started in 1918 and organizes workers of public administration.

paragraphs: DBB has a membership of 1,250,000 members. President is Peter Heesen


title: Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer

paragraphs: Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokomotivführer (GDL) () is a trade union of Germany. Its president is Claus Weselsky , who took over from Manfred Schell in 2008.

paragraphs: The GDL has a membership of 34,000. Most members live in the old East Germany.

paragraphs: GDL is a member of the Deutscher Beamtenbund (dbb).


title: TRANSNET Gewerkschaft

paragraphs: TRANSNET, which stands for Transport, Service, and Networks, is a trade union in Germany. It 283,000 workers, and is one of eight industrial affiliations of the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (DGB). Its president is Norbert Hansen.


title: Can-can

paragraphs: The can-can (also spelled "cancan" or "Can Can") is a music hall dance, performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, like the fashions of the 1890s. The can-can was first danced in low class ballrooms of Montparnasse in Paris about 1830. The dancers of the 1890s, such as La Goulue and Jane Avril, were highly paid for their appearances at the Moulin Rouge and elsewhere. The female dancers of the French Second Empire and the fin de siècle developed the various cancan moves.

paragraphs: The Galop from Jacques Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld" is the tune most often played with the can-can (a somewhat simplified form and a more evolved one Can-Can ("Orpheus in the Underworld"). Performed on the accordion).

paragraphs: The can-can was adapted as an American movie titled "Can Can"(1960), acted by Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine with music by Cole Porter.


title: Jacques Offenbach

paragraphs: Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819, in Cologne – 5 October 1880, in Paris) was a French composer and cellist of the Romantic era. He is seen as one of the originators of the operetta form. Of German-Jewish descent, he was one of the most influential composers of popular music in Europe in the 19th century. Many of his works are still played today.

paragraphs: Offenbach's many operettas, such as "Orpheus in the Underworld", and "La belle Hélène", were extremely popular both in France and elsewhere in the 1850s and 1860s. They combined political and cultural satire with witty grand opera parodies. His popularity in France declined in the 1870s after the fall of the Second Empire. He fled France, but during the last years of his life, his popularity came back. Several of his operettas are still performed. While his name remains most closely associated with the French operetta and the Second Empire, it is Offenbach's one fully operatic masterpiece, "Les contes d'Hoffmann" ("The Tales of Hoffmann"), composed at the end of his career, that has become the most familiar of Offenbach's works in major opera houses.


title: Shane MacDougall

paragraphs: Shane MacDougall is a Canadian stand-up comedian, former columnist, television writer, and documentarian. Best known for his 1999 challenge to Queen Elizabeth II to a kickboxing match or math test for the monarchy of Canada, the challenge resulted in him receiving death threats but also brought much media attention to the burgeoning Canadian republican movement.

paragraphs: He is also known for The Dark Show, which in the late 1990s was Canada's longest running independent comedy show. Held at Toronto's famous Rivoli club, The Dark Show featured some of Canada's top comedians doing material on topics from school shootings to date rape, and also generated protests from some citizens.

paragraphs: For two years Shane was a comedy reporter and humorist for eye Weekly in Toronto, then in 2000 moved to New York City where he worked as a writer for various MTV shows.

paragraphs: In 2005, MacDougall completed filming on a documentary entitled "Wiener Takes All", which followed the competitive dachshund racing circuit. The documentary screened such venues as the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival, the 27th Atlantic Film Festival, BendFilm, the Laguna Beach Film Society/Museum of Art, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.


title: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

paragraphs: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter of the Post-Impressionist period. He was born into a noble family, but lived for most of his life among the actors, dancers and prostitutes of Paris. He is famous for painting the lives of these people, the entertainment of Paris, and many portraits.

paragraphs: He was expert at drawing and also made many printed posters to advertise entertainments.

paragraphs: In a 2005 auction at Christie's auction house a new record was set when "La blanchisseuse", an early painting of a young laundress, sold for $22.4 million U.S.

paragraphs: Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa was born in Albi in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France. He was the oldest child of Count Alphonse and Countess Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec. His mother and father were cousins. This is thought to have been a reason for his weakness and bad health. His younger brother was born on 28 August 1867, but died the following year.

paragraphs: Henri had two accidents when he was 13 and 14. He fractured (broke) the thigh bones of both his legs. They took a long time to heal, and never grew again. No-one knows exactly what caused this problem. As an adult he had a man-sized body but child-sized legs and was 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in) tall,

paragraphs: As a young man, Toulouse-Lautrec was not able to do many of the things that other men of his age liked doing. He had been good at drawing from the time he was a child. He spent his time drawing and painting instead of joining in sports and hunting. He travelled to Paris where he met other artists as well as writers, actors and dancers. The "night life" (entertainment) of Paris had so many colourful scenes and people to paint. His paintings are famous for showing the scenes of modern life in a way they had never been shown before.

paragraphs: Toulouse-Lautrec lived in Montmartre, a part of Paris that was famous for its "bohemian" people: artists, poets, philosophers and poor students. He was called "the soul of Montmartre". He often visited the nightclubs such as the Moulin Rouge. He also spent a lot of time at the brothels in that area, and lived for a time at the brothel at des Moulins where he was a good friend to many of the women there.

paragraphs: Toulouse-Lautrec painted scenes of the lives of these people, which were very shocking to some people in the polite society of Paris. As well as showing the dancing, singing, acting and circus performances that many people enjoyed, he also showed people in bed together, the sad faces of people who were addicts and the half-naked prostitutes lined up for STD medical examination. Many of his pictures were of women in lesbian relationships.

paragraphs: He painted the singer Yvette Guilbert, the dancer Jane Avril and the dancer Louise Weber, who was known as "La Goulue" ("The Greedy-Guts") and who created the leg-kicking dance called the "Can-Can", which is still danced at the "Moulin Rouge" to this day. Toulouse-Lautrec gave painting lessons to Suzanne Valadon, who was one of his models and may have also been his girlfriend.

paragraphs: Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was an alcoholic for most of his adult life. He was put into a psychiatric hospital shortly before his death. He died from syphilis and problems caused by his alcoholism at his family's home in Malromé. He was nearly 37 years old. He is buried in Verdelais, Gironde, a few kilometres from his birthplace.

paragraphs: Throughout his working life of less than 20 years, Toulouse-Lautrec created 737 canvases, 275 watercolors, 363 prints and posters and 5,084 drawings. He also made some ceramics and stained glass After Toulouse-Lautrec's death, his mother, the Countess Adèle Toulouse-Lautrec, and his art dealer Maurice Joyant made his art famous. His mother gave money for a museum of his works to be built in Albi, his birthplace.

paragraphs: Several films have been made about Toulouse-Lautrec:


title: Alleghany County, North Carolina

paragraphs: Alleghany County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2000, 10,677 people lived there. Its county seat is Sparta.

paragraphs: The county was made in 1859 from the eastern part of Ashe County, North Carolina.

paragraphs: Alleghany County is part of the High Country Council of Governments.

paragraphs: Since it is in the mountains, Alleghany County has cooler summers than most other places in North Carolina. The temperature usually does not go above 85 °F in the summer. But in the winter the temperature is colder than most places in North Carolina.

paragraphs: These counties are connected to Alleghany County:

paragraphs: These are the biggest roads in Alleghany County:

paragraphs: These cities and towns are in Alleghany County:


title: Sparta, North Carolina

paragraphs: Sparta is a town in Alleghany County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,817 people as of the year 2000. It is the county seat of Alleghany County.

paragraphs: The Sparta Teapot Museum is being built right now and should be finished by the summer of 2008.


title: Anson County, North Carolina

paragraphs: Anson County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2000, 25,275 people lived there. Its county seat is Wadesboro.

paragraphs: The county was made in 1750 from Bladen County.

paragraphs: In 1753, the northern part of Anson County became Rowan County. In 1762 the western part of the county became Mecklenburg County. In 1779 the northern part of the county became Montgomery County, and the part east of the Pee Dee River became Richmond County. And in 1842 the western part of Anson County was combined with the southeastern part of Mecklenburg County to make Union County.

paragraphs: In 1985 most of the movie The Color Purple (film), starring Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg along with Danny Glover, was filmed in Anson county.

paragraphs: Anson County is part of the Centralina Council of Governments.

paragraphs: These counties are connected to Anson County:

paragraphs: These cities and towns are in Anson County


title: Wadesboro, North Carolina

paragraphs: Wadesboro is a town in Anson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,552 people as of the year 2000. It is the county seat of Anson County.


title: Alexander County, North Carolina

paragraphs: Alexander County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2000, 33,603 people lived there. Its county seat is Taylorsville.

paragraphs: Alexander County is part of the Western Piedmont Council of Governments.

paragraphs: These counties are connected to Alexander County:

paragraphs: These cities and towns are in Alexander County:


title: Ashe County, North Carolina

paragraphs: Ashe County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2000, 24,384 people lived there. Its county seat is Jefferson.

paragraphs: Native Americans used to live in Ashe County. Pieces of broken pottery, arrowheads, and other Native American things have been found in the county.

paragraphs: In 1849, the southwestern part of Ashe County was combined with parts of Caldwell County, Wilkes County, and Yancey County to make Watauga County. In 1859, the eastern part of Ashe County became Alleghany County.

paragraphs: These cities and towns are in Ashe County:

paragraphs: These counties are connected to Ashe County:


title: Long March

paragraphs: The Long March is the retreat of Mao Zedong and the Communists in 1934-35. The communists went to their stronghold away from Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. Here they were able to join together and start fighting again to beat the Nationalists. They trekked 6,000 miles over 370 days, and only 8,000 survived out of 100,000 people. However, because they had survived such a difficult trial together the survivors were very dedicated and created a more cohesive group. Mao Zedong rose up as a leader during this time.

paragraphs: The long march was over 12400 km, in one year. About 300,000 people started, and fewer than 10% finished. They climbed some mountains more than 4000 meters high,

paragraphs: Before the Long March, China had two sides: the nationalists and the communists. Both sides wanted to rule the country. This brought the Chinese Civil War. Chinese nationalists used 500,000 soldiers to remove the communists from Jiang Xi. They failed four times before. Now the nationalists changed the way to attack the communists, using encirclement (make a circle around the enemy army) to stop them from running away. The Communists leader Borgu tried to fight 500,000 soldiers face to face. But the problem is that the Jianxi communists just had 86,000 soldiers and more than half of them just had a broadsword and no guns. They failed to push the nationalist army back, so they tried to go to meet another communist army in Shaanxi.

paragraphs: The Long March was an important event in Chinese history. It made the China communists army survival and change the way they fight the capitalism. The communists also choose Mao Zedong to became the leader of the communists and all the red armies in china (china communists army), They should listen Mao Zedong to fight. It was a point for the communists decide fight and live in the countryside and use guerrilla to fight with the nationalists.

paragraphs: The Long March also made the nationalists follow the communists and kill some local warlord leaders so they controlled more parts of China. They followed the communists all the way to ShaanXi and killed a lot of red army soldiers so that after World War II, the communists had very few soldiers. They took four years to get more soldiers so they could win the civil war.

paragraphs: The communists' believed they won by making a lot of soldiers survive and successfully meet the Communists party in Shaanxi. They also said it is so successful to run away from 100,000 soldiers encirclement and about 200,000 soldiers hunt between the long march.

paragraphs: The Nationalists' thought they were successful because the communists were running away from the battle and were forced to move to the other side of China. They killed at least half of the Red Army soldiers in China.

paragraphs: The reason they have different opinions is because their goals were very different: the Communists just wanted to survive the Nationalist army's attack. The Nationalists' goal was to destroy the Red Army in Jian Xi, making the communists weaker than before. It took the communists four years to rebuild their army and win the civil war.


title: Avery County, North Carolina

paragraphs: Avery County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In 2000, 17,167 people lived there. Its county seat is Newland. It is known for growing Fraser Fir Christmas trees. Avery County is part of the High Council of Governments.

paragraphs: The county was made in 1911 from parts of Caldwell County, Mitchell County, and Watauga County. Avery County was the last county made in North Carolina.

paragraphs: These counties border, or connect to, Avery County:

paragraphs: These cities and towns are in Avery County:


title: Hersfeld-Rotenburg

paragraphs: Hersfeld-Rotenburg is a "Kreis" (district) in the east of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: In 1821 districts were created in Hesse, including the districts Hersfeld and Rotenburg, which stayed nearly unchanged after Hesse-Kassel was taken over by Prussia. In 1972 both districts were joined into one.


title: Rings of Rhea

paragraphs: The Saturnian moon Rhea may have a thin ring system with three narrow bands in a disk of solid particles. These would be the first rings seen around a moon. The discovery was announced in the journal "Science" on March 6 2008.

paragraphs: In November of 2005 the "Cassini" orbiter found that Saturn's magnetosphere near Rhea did not have energetic electrons. According to the discovery team, this is best explained by assuming they were absorbed by solid material in the form of an equatorial disk having denser rings or arcs, with particles perhaps many decimeters to about a meter in diameter.

paragraphs: "Voyager" 1 saw an area without as many energetic electrons trapped in Saturn's magnetic field downstream from Rhea in 1980. These measurements, which were never explained, were made at a farther distance than the "Cassini" data.

paragraphs: On November 26, 2005, "Cassini" made the one targeted Rhea flyby of its primary mission. It passed within 500 km of Rhea's surface, downstream of Saturn's magnetic field, and saw the resulting plasma wake as it had with other moons, such as Dione and Tethys. In those cases, there was a cutoff of energetic electrons as "Cassini" crossed into the moons' plasma shadows (the regions where the moons themselves blocked the magnetospheric plasma from reaching "Cassini)." However, in the case of Rhea, the electron plasma started to drop off at eight times that distance, and decreased gradually until the expected sharp drop off as "Cassini" entered Rhea's plasma shadow. The extended distance corresponds to Rhea's Hill sphere, the distance of 7.7 times Rhea's radius inside of which orbits are dominated by Rhea's rather than Saturn's gravity. When "Cassini" emerged from Rhea's plasma shadow, the reverse pattern occurred: A sharp surge in energetic electrons, then a gradual increase out to Rhea's Hill-sphere radius.

paragraphs: These readings are similar to those of Enceladus, where water coming out from its south pole absorbs the electron plasma. However, in the case of Rhea, the absorption pattern is symmetrical.

paragraphs: In addition, the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) saw that this gentle gradient was punctuated by three sharp drops in plasma flow on each side of the moon, a pattern that was also nearly symmetric.

paragraphs: In August 2007, "Cassini" passed through Rhea's plasma shadow again, but farther downstream. Its readings were similar to those of "Voyager" 1.

paragraphs: There are no images or direct sightings of the material thought to be absorbing the plasma, but the likely candidates would be difficult to detect directly. Further sightings are planned for "Cassini"'s first mission extension, with a targeted flyby scheduled for March 2, 2010.

paragraphs: "Cassini"'s flyby path makes interpretation of the magnetic readings difficult.

paragraphs: The obvious candidates for magnetospheric plasma-absorbing matter are neutral gas and dust, but the quantities required to explain the seen decrease in electrons are far higher than "Cassini"'s measurements allow. Therefore the finders, led by Geraint Jones of the "Cassini" MIMI team, argue that the decrease of electrons must be caused by solid particles orbiting Rhea:

paragraphs: An analysis of the electron data indicates that this obstacle is most likely in the form of a low optical depth disk of material near Rhea’s equatorial plane and that the disk contains solid bodies up to ~1 m in size.

paragraphs: The simplest explanation for the symmetrical punctuations in plasma flow are "extended arcs or rings of material" orbiting Rhea in its equatorial plane. These symmetric dips bear some similarity to the way by which the Rings of Uranus were found in 1977.

paragraphs: However, not all scientists are convinced that the seen signatures are caused by a ring system. No rings have been seen in images, which puts a very low limit at least on tiny dust-sized particles. Furthermore, a ring made of boulders would be expected to generate dust that would likely have been seen in the images.

paragraphs: Simulations suggest that solid bodies can stably orbit Rhea near its equatorial plane over astronomical timescales. They may not be stable around Dione and Tethys because those moons are so much closer to Saturn, and therefore have much smaller Hill spheres, or around Titan because of drag from its dense atmosphere.

paragraphs: Many suggestions have been made for the possible origin of rings. An impact could have brought material into orbit; this could have happened as recently as 70 million years ago. A small body could have been disrupted when caught in orbit about Rhea. In either case, the debris would eventually have settled into circular equatorial orbits. Given their long-term orbital stability, however, it is possible that they survive from the formation of Rhea itself.

paragraphs: For different rings to exist, something must separate them. Suggestions include moonlets or clumps of material within the disk, similar to those seen within Saturn's A ring.


title: Werra-Meißner-Kreis

paragraphs: Werra-Meißner is a "Kreis" (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: The district was created in 1974 by merging the two district Eschwege and Witzenhausen, which both existed with only slight modifications since 1821.

paragraphs: The main river in the district is the Werra. The "Hohe Meißner" with is the highest of the "Meißner" mountains. The river and the mountain gave the district its name.

paragraphs: The Hohe Meißner was also home to USA military forces up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Soldiers of the Special Forces guarded the eavesdropping listening post situated on the hilltop.


title: Waldeck-Frankenberg

paragraphs: Waldeck-Frankenberg is a "Kreis" (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: The district was created in 1972 by merging the two districts Frankenberg and Waldeck. Most of the area of the district was previously part of the old principality of Waldeck.


title: Schwalm-Eder-Kreis

paragraphs: Schwalm-Eder is a "Kreis" (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany.

paragraphs: The two rivers Schwalm and Eder gave the district its name.


title: Velvet Revolver

paragraphs: Velvet Revolver (VR), was a Grammy Award-winning rock supergroup that started in 2002. The members of the band are Slash (guitarist), Duff McKagan (bassist, backing vocals), Matt Sorum (drums) of Guns N' Roses, and Dave Kushner (guitarist) of Wasted Youth. Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots was previously the lead singer. He joined the band after Stone Temple Pilots broke up in 2003. The band got success with their first album "Contraband" and released their second album "Libertad" in 2007. Scott Weiland left the band in 2008, though he did one more one-off show with the band in 2012. Velvet Revolver have had several searches for a new singer since then, but have yet to announce a replacement.


title: Manchu

paragraphs: The Manchu people are a Tungusic people who came from Manchuria (today's Northeastern China). During their rise in the seventeenth century they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, which established a republican government in its place.

paragraphs: The Qing Dynasty required by law that all males must wear a hairstyle called the Manchu queue, in which men had to shave the front of their heads and wear a long braid on the back of their heads.

paragraphs: The Manchu have largely assimilated with the Han Chinese.


title: Kristanna Loken

paragraphs: Kristanna Sommer Loken or Kristanna Sommer Løken (born October 8, 1979) is an American actress known for her work in both film and television, and a former fashion model. She is perhaps known as T-X from the movie (2003) and Rayne from the movie Bloodrayne (2006).

paragraphs: All of Loken's four grandparents were immigrants to the United States from Norway. She is openly bisexual.


title: Geneva

paragraphs: Geneva (, , , , ) is the second biggest city in Switzerland. Only Zürich is bigger. Geneva is the biggest city in Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland).

paragraphs: Geneva is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. It is situated where the Rhône River leaves Lake Geneva (called in French "Lac Léman").

paragraphs: Geneva is a very important financial and diplomatic center. There are many international organizations in Geneva, including the United Nations and the Red Cross. A 2009 survey states that Geneva has the third highest quality of living in the world (narrowly outranked by Zürich).

paragraphs: Internationally, Geneva is strongly associated with the Geneva Conventions.

paragraphs: "Geneva" was first written about as a border town, set up to protect the Roman Empire against the Helvetii. The Romans took the city in 120 B.C. In A.D. 443 it was taken by Burgundy, and with the latter fell to the Franks in 534. In 888 the town was part of the new Kingdom of Burgundy, and with it was taken over in 1033 by the German Emperor.

paragraphs: From 1154 the bishops of Geneva had the status of prince of the Holy Roman Empire, but the counts of Geneva and later the counts of Savoy were "guardians", always ready to take over from the bishops. In 1290 the counts of Savoy got the right to appoint a deputy ruler (vice-dominus) of the diocese, the title of Vidame of Geneva was granted to the family of count François de Candie of Chambéry-Le-Vieux a Chatellaine of the Savoy. The "vidominus" or Curia Viscount of Geneva, had legal and financial powers over the town, under the control of the Bishop and the Duchy of Savoy.

paragraphs: In 1387 Bishop Adhémar Fabry granted the town its great charter, the basis of its communal self-government, which every bishop on his accession was expected to confirm. The last Count of Geneva died in 1394, and the House of Savoy took over their land. In 1416 the counts became dukes, and kept trying to bring the city of Geneva under their control, often by making members of their own family to Bishops of Geneva. The city protected itself by joining the Swiss Federation ("Eidgenossenschaft"), uniting itself in 1426 with Berne and Fribourg.

paragraphs: In the Protestant Reformation Bern favoured the new Protestant teaching and demanded liberty of preaching for the Reformers Guillaume Farel and Antoine Froment, but Catholic Fribourg renounced in its union with Geneva in 1511. Later the Protestant leader John Calvin was based in Geneva from 1536 to his death in 1564.

paragraphs: At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) the territory of Geneva was enlarged to cover 15 Savoyard and 6 French parishes, with more than 16,000 Catholics; at the same time it became a part of the Swiss Confederation. The treaty said that Catholic religion was to be protected, and that no changes were to be made without agreement with the Holy See. Later, Pope Pius VII made the cities of Geneva and Lausanne a new diocese of and part of Geneva diocese that was in France part of the French diocese of Annecy.

paragraphs: The Protestant and Old Catholic churches got money from the city taxes, but the Roman Catholics did not. On 30 June 1907, most of the Catholics of Geneva voted for the separation of Church and State.

paragraphs: Geneva is located at 46°12' North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the lake meets the Rhône River. It is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and the Jura.

paragraphs: The city of Geneva has an area of . The area of the Canton of Geneva is .

paragraphs: The altitude of Geneva is 373.6 m. This is the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks in the lake that are used as a reference point for surveying in Switzerland.

paragraphs: The second main river of Geneva is the Arve River which flows into the Rhône River just west of the city centre.

paragraphs: Geneva has a temperate oceanic climate ("Cfb" in the Köppen climate classification). Winters are cool and generally a little cloudy. During the winter, it is possible to have several days without thawing, and a day or two with severe freezes where the thermometer displays -10 °C. There are several days each month when, if anticyclonic conditions are stable, the clouds may stay for several days. From March, with temperatures rising it feels like summer in late May. However, the rain intensifies and often has a stormy character during the month of May. These may be short but strong storms depositing several centimetres of rain within just a few minutes. Summers are often hot and rather humid, although some may be more changeable, the mornings remain relatively fresh. During the summer season, the rains are less frequent but more intense. This is the season where you most likely get thunderstorms with hail. If the weather in early September is still hot, it cools down quickly to become really cold in November. The morning frosts are then reappearing. Autumn is also the season of mists, and the month of October is often the month with the most fog in the year. The fog can be very intense, restricting vision to less than 100 m in the areas outside the city.

paragraphs: The city's main newspaper is the Tribune de Genève, a daily newspaper founded on 1 February 1879 by James T. Bates, with a readership of about 187,000.

paragraphs: Le Courrier, founded in 1868, was originally supported by the Roman Catholic Church, but has been completely independent since 1996. Mainly focused on Geneva, Le Courrier is trying to expand into other cantons in Romandy. Both Le Temps (headquartered in Geneva) and Le Matin are widely read in Geneva, but both actually cover the whole of Romandy.

paragraphs: Geneva is covered by the various French language radio networks of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, in particular the Radio Suisse Romande. While these networks cover the whole of Romandy, special programs related to Geneva are sometimes broadcast on some of the local frequencies in the case of special events such as elections. Other local station broadcast from the city, including RadioLac (FM 91.8 MHz), Radio Cité (Non-commercial radio, FM 92.2 MHz), OneFM (FM 107.0 MHz, also broadcast in Vaud), and World Radio Geneva (FM 88.4 MHz), Switzerland's only English-language radio station.

paragraphs: The main television channel covering Geneva is the Télévision Suisse Romande; while its headquarters are in Geneva, the programmes cover the whole of French-speaking Switzerland. Léman Bleu is a local TV channel, founded in 1996 and distributed by cable. Because Geneva is nearly surrounded by France, many French television and radio channels can be picked up in Geneva.

paragraphs: Most theatre in Geneva is in French, however there are several companies that stage regular English productions.

paragraphs: Movie going is a favorite activity in Geneva and there are plenty of theaters throughout the city. Most movies are dubbed into French. Because of the number of English speakers in the city movies may also be subtitled.

paragraphs: In has over 1,000 restaurants, so it is the undisputed capital of cuisine in Switzerland. However eating out can be expensive, and many people drive the few kilometres over the border into France where prices are lower.

paragraphs: Since 1818, a particular chestnut tree is used as the official "herald of the spring" in Geneva. The "sautier" (secretary of the Parliament of the Canton of Geneva) observes the tree and notes the day of arrival of the first bud. While this event has no practical impact, the sautier issues a formal press release and the local newspaper will usually mention the news. In 2007, the first bud appeared on 2 March.

paragraphs: Geneva celebrates Jeune genevois on the first Thursday following a Sunday in September. By local tradition, this commemorates when the news of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots reached Geneva. The Genevois (people of Geneva) joke that the federal equivalent holiday, "Jeune fédéral", is celebrated two weeks later on account of the rest of the country being a bit slow on the uptake.

paragraphs: Genevans also traditionally celebrate the failure of a Savoyard attempt to invade the city in 1602. The celebration, which takes place in December, is called L'Escalade, and includes a parade in the Old Town, a marathon, and numerous costume parties across the city. Inhabitants generally eat vegetable stew to commemorate a fictional character called Mère Royaume who is said to have thrown boiling hot soup on the Duke of Savoy's men when they were climbing the walls of the city during the night (hence the name L'Escalade, which means "the climb" in French). Traditionally, children are encouraged to knock on people's doors and sing songs in old Genevan, while teenagers generally throw eggs and flour at each other. Another tradition is to cross a pot made of chocolate filled with marzepan vegetables while saying "and so perished the enemies of the Republic".

paragraphs: The main sport team in Geneva is Servette FC, a football club founded in 1890 and named after a borough on the right bank of the Rhône River. Servette was the only club to have remained in the top league in Switzerland since its creation in the 1930s; however, in 2005, management problems caused the bankruptcy of the club's parent company, causing the club to be demoted two divisions lower. It is now playing in second division. Geneva is also home of the Genève-Servette Hockey Club, who play in the Swiss Nationalliga A.

paragraphs: The city of Geneva is divided into 8 "quartiers" or districts, often made up of several conglomerated neighborhoods. On the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) these include Jonction, Centre / Plainpalais / Acacias, Eaux-Vives and Champel while the Right Bank includes Saint-Jean / Charmilles, Servette / Petit-Saconnex, Grottes / Saint-Gervaise and Paquis / Nations.

paragraphs: As of 2005, the population of the Commune (city) of Geneva was 185,028, while 441,000 people lived in the Canton of Geneva; around 960,000 people live in the Geneva urban community, which extends into Vaud Canton and neighbouring France.

paragraphs: The population of the Canton is split between 148,500 people originally from Geneva (33.7%), 122,400 Swiss from other cantons (27.6%) and 170,500 foreigners (38.7%), from 180 different countries. Including people holding multiple citizenship, 54.4% of people living in Geneva hold a foreign passport.

paragraphs: While Geneva is usually considered a Protestant city, there are now more Roman Catholics (39.5%) than Protestants (17.4%) living in the Canton. 22% of the inhabitants claim not to be religious, the rest being shared between Islam (4.4%), Judaism (1.1%), other religions and people who did not respond.

paragraphs: Geneva's economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old finance sector, which is specialized in private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD) and financing of international trade. It is also an important centre of commodity trade.

paragraphs: Geneva hosts the international headquarters of companies like JT International (JTI), Mediterranean Shipping Company, Serono, SITA, Société Générale de Surveillance and STMicroelectronics. Many other multinational companies like Caterpillar, DuPont, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, INVISTA, Procter & Gamble and Sun Microsystems have their European headquarters in the city too.

paragraphs: There is a long tradition of watchmaking (Baume et Mercier, Chopard, Franck Muller, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Raymond Weil, Omega, etc.). Two major international producers of flavours and fragrances, Firmenich and Givaudan, have their headquarters and main production facilities in Geneva.

paragraphs: Many people also work in the numerous offices of international organizations in Geneva (about 24,000 in 2001).

paragraphs: Geneva Motor Show is one of the most important international auto-shows. The show is held at Palexpo, a giant convention centre located next to the International Airport. The show is so important that the Jet d'Eau is switched on for longer than usual because of all the visitors in the city during the show.

paragraphs: The city is served by the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. It is connected to both the Swiss railway network SBB-CFF-FFS, and the French SNCF network, including direct connections to Paris, Marseille and Montpellier by TGV. Geneva is also connected to the motorway systems of both Switzerland (A1 motorway) and France.

paragraphs: Public transport by bus, trolleybus or tram is provided by "Transports Publics Genevois" (TPG). In addition to an extensive coverage of the city centre, the network covers most of the municipalities of the Canton, with a few lines extending into France. Public transport by boat is provided by the Mouettes Genevoises, which link the two banks of the lake within the city, and by the "Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman" (CGN) which serves more distant destinations such as Nyon, Yvoire, Thonon, Evian, Lausanne and Montreux using both modern diesel vessels and vintage paddle steamers.

paragraphs: Trains operated by SBB connect the airport to the main station of Cornavin in six minutes, and carry on to towns such as Nyon, Lausanne, Fribourg, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Berne, Sion, Sierre, etc. Regional train services are being increasingly developed, towards Coppet and Bellegarde. At the city limits, two new stations have been created since 2002: Genève-Sécheron (close to the UN and the Botanical Gardens) and Lancy-Pont-Rouge.

paragraphs: In 2005, work started on the CEVA (Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse) project, first planned in 1884, which will connect Cornavin with the Cantonal hospital, the Eaux-Vives station and Annemasse, in France. The link between the main station and the classification yard of La Praille already exists; from there, the line will go mostly underground to the Hospital and the Eaux-Vives, where it will link up to the existing line to France. Support for this project was obtained from all parties in the local parliament.

paragraphs: Taxis in Geneva can be difficult to find, and may need to be booked in advance especially in the early morning or at peak hours. In addition, which may be surprising in a modern country like Switzerland, taxis often refuse to take babies and children.

paragraphs: The University of Geneva was founded by John Calvin in 1559. The International School of Geneva is the oldest international school in the world. It was founded in 1924 along with the League of Nations.

paragraphs: Geneva is also home to one of the most prestigious graduate schools of international relations, the Graduate Institute of International Studies. Other international schools include the International School of Geneva and Institut International de Lancy (founded in 1903).

paragraphs: The Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations is a private university located on the grounds of the Château de Penthes, an old castle with a park and view of Lac Leman.

paragraphs: The Canton of Geneva's public school system has "écoles primaires" (4-12), "cycles d'orientation" (12-15), and the post-obligatory "collèges" (15-19), the oldest of which is the Collège Calvin. It is housed in the ancient buildings of the University of Geneva, and could be considered one of the oldest public schools in the world.

paragraphs: Geneva also has a wide choice of reputed private schools.

paragraphs: As the Geneva authorities say, the history of the city is closely related to that of the foreign communities. Ever since the migration of foreigners to Geneva, these communities have found refuge, bringing their know-how, their customs and hope of a new life. They have widely participated in the international influence of Geneva, to its economic prosperity, and also to the spreading of views and of science.

paragraphs: Many other communities or minorities are also very well represented in Geneva, including sexual minorities, with no less than three organizations: Dialogai, a gay organization; Lestime, a lesbian organization; and association 360, an LGBT organization. The Gay International Group (Geneva, Switzerland) is a good resource for gay foreigners, tourists or expatriates. Also, a new LGBT group has debuted within the University of Geneva itself, called "Think Out". This group addresses students and professors linked directly or indirectly with the matter of sexual diversity.

paragraphs: There are a lot of different communities in Geneva. Even if Geneva is supposed to be the Protestant Rome, many religions are represented in Geneva. The Plymouth Brethren have a thriving assembly there, established since the days of John Nelson Darby. Besides the Protestants, the Catholic religion becomes more influential thanks to immigration from Latin countries. The Jewish community is one of the oldest of Switzerland, and the more recent Muslim community is emerging in this tolerant city.

paragraphs: Geneva is the seat of the European headquarters of the United Nations and of many other inter-governmental organizations, including:

paragraphs: Geneva was the seat of the League of Nations between 1919 and the league's dissolution in 1946. It was first housed in the Palais Wilson, and then in the Palais des Nations, which now hosts the United Nations. Numerous international non-governmental organizations have also elected Geneva as their headquarters, including:


title: Concubinage

paragraphs: Concubinage is the state of a woman in a relationship with a man of higher social status that gives her less rights than a marriage. In most of the cases the man has an official wife and one or more concubines. Concubines have only limited rights of support from the man, and their children have lower status than children born by the official wife or wives; these legal rights distinguish a concubine from a mistress.

paragraphs: Historically, the family of a girl were in favour of a concubinage with an mighty man, as it meant economic security for the woman. But concubinage could also mean sexual slavery of one member of the relationship, typically the woman, who was a pleasure slave to the man.

paragraphs: In the Western world there is no legal status of concubines, as only monogamous marriages are allowed. Any other relationship does not enjoy legal protection; the woman is necessarily a mistress.


title: Mistress (lover)

paragraphs: A mistress is a man's long term female sexual partner and companion who is not married to him. This term is especially used when the man is married to another woman. The relationship is generally stable; however, the couple do not live together openly. Also, the relationship is usually but not always secret. Rather often the man is paying for some of the woman's living expenses. A mistress has no legal relationship to the man, that makes the difference to the status of a concubine.

paragraphs: The term can also be used to describe the "other" companion in a female same-sex marriage. Likewise, a woman may be married to a man and have a mistress of her own.

paragraphs: Historically, the term was used for women who could afford a comfortable lifestyle, because a wealthy man financed that so that she will be available for his sexual pleasure. Such a woman could move between the roles of a mistress and a courtesan. Today however, the word "mistress" is used primarily to refer to the female companion of a man who is married to another woman; in the case of an unmarried man it is usual to speak of a "girlfriend".

paragraphs: The historically best known and most researched mistresses are the royal mistresses of European monarchs, for example Madame de Pompadour.

paragraphs: In the courts of Europe, particularly Versailles and Whitehall in the 17th and 18th centuries, a mistress often had great power and influence. A king might hold numerous mistresses but have a single "favourite mistress" or "official mistress" (in French, "maîtresse en titre"), as with Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour.


title: Eastern Front

paragraphs: Eastern Front can be one of the following:


title: Italian Campaign

paragraphs: Italian Campaign can mean the following:


title: Eastern Front (World War I)

paragraphs: The Eastern Front of World War I was the theatre in which Germany and Austria-Hungary fought Russia. This front had more troops than the Western Front but was at least three and up to five times longer. Planning where to concentrate forces was very important because railways were few and troops could not be moved and reinforced as quickly as on the Western Front.

paragraphs: Russia lost many battles, but her overall situation improved as she improved her forces and more and more allies entered the war on her side. The Eastern Front ended when the Russian Civil War broke out between the Communists and Russian Social-Democratic Party in 1917 and the Communists signed a peace treaty with Germany so they could focus on winning the Civil War.


title: Gibbon

paragraphs: Gibbons belong to the group of lesser apes. They are known for their ability to swing from one tree to another with great agility and swiftness.

paragraphs: There are four genera of gibbons. Gibbons live in dense tropical forests, for example, in Sumatra, Thailand, and Malaysia.

paragraphs: Gibbons are the best tree travelers in the animal kingdom. They almost seem to be flying as they swing themselves hand over hand through the trees. Like great apes, gibbons can also walk upright on the ground. When they walk on the ground, gibbons hold their long arms in the air to keep them from dragging.

paragraphs: Gibbons are "singers" too. Their powerful voices travel for kilometers through the forests of Southeast Asia. At times, a male, a female, and their young get together and "sing" in a chorus. These sounds help groups of gibbons stay in contact. They also tell unwelcome visitors to stay away.

paragraphs: Gibbons stay busy for most of the day. They swing through the trees, looking for leaves, flowers, fruit, and insects to eat. When night falls, small groups settle down in familiar trees for the night.

paragraphs: Unlike most other primates, male and female gibbons are not very different in size and shape, although they may differ in color. The males are usually black, while the females tend to be ash blond. Female gibbons have one offspring per gestation period and live about 25 years.

paragraphs: The family is divided into four genera based on their diploid chromosome number: "Hylobates" (44), "Hoolock" (38), "Nomascus" (52), and "Symphalangus" (50).


title: Same-sex marriage

paragraphs: Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is a term for a relationship in which two people of the same sex live together as a family in a governmentally, socially, or religiously recognized marriage. It is sometimes called "marriage equality", especially by supporters.

paragraphs: Marriage by the civil law is presently available to same-sex couples at any place in some countries. The countries that have them are Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark (including Greenland and Faroe Islands), Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. The Netherlands was the first country to allow marriages of two people of the same sex in 2001.

paragraphs: Same-sex marriage became legal everywhere in the United States in 2015. The Supreme Court ruled that not allowing same-sex couples to marry was unconstitutional. In Mexico, same-sex marriages are practised in Mexico City and 15 states, but recognised throughout Mexico. There are various faiths that practise same-sex marriages, including Eckankar, Wicca, Unitarian Universalism, Raelism, and Native American religions with a two-spirit tradition.

paragraphs: In the Netherlands, a same-sex marriage law does not actually exist. Back in 2001, the existing (normal) marriage law was 'only' changed, so that it now includes marriage of same-sex partners. This means that same-sex marriage in the Netherlands is not different from a normal marriage; it's exactly the same. The Dutch law says the following:

paragraphs: That is consistent with the first article of the Dutch civil law, and with the Dutch constitution:

paragraphs: The first same-sex union in modern history was recognized by the government in Denmark in 1989.

paragraphs: Civil unions, civil partnership, domestic partnership, unregistered partnership/unregistered co-habitation or registered partnerships offer some of the benefits of marriage and are available in: Andorra, Australia (except Commonwealth law), Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark (replaced by same-sex marriage in 2012), Ecuador, Estonia, Finland (replaced by same-sex marriage in 2017), France, Germany (replaced by same-sex marriage in 2017), Greece, Hungary (unregistered co-habitation since 1996; registered partnership from 2009), Iceland, Ireland (replaced by same-sex marriage in 2015), Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands (including Aruba), New Zealand, Norway (no longer separate civil union as of June 2008 same-sex marriages are under same law as male-female-marriages), Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden (replaced by same-sex marriage in 2009), Switzerland, the United Kingdom (also available in some overseas territories) and Uruguay. They are also available in some parts of Argentina, Mexico, Taiwan and Japan.

paragraphs: In the United Kingdom, civil partnerships have identical legal status to a marriage, and partners have all the same benefits and legal rights; ranging from tax exemptions and joint property rights, to next-of-kin status and shared parenting responsibilities. Partnership ceremonies are performed by a marriage registrar in exactly the same manner as a secular civil marriage.

paragraphs: The controversy over recognition of same-sex unions as marriages is a very important part of a larger debate about the definition of a family. Same-sex marriage is not considered as valid by many religions. Many others, however, see same-sex marriage as important for all people to be equal. They sometimes say that religions and law (Defense of Marriage Act, for example) who do not support same-sex marriage are intolerant (they do not show respect to other peoples' beliefs). Additionally, people married in civil unions usually do not enjoy all the benefits (lower taxes, health insurance etc.).

paragraphs: Various organizations exist in part to support the rights of homosexual or gay men and women to marry people of the same sex. One organization is the Human Rights Campaign or HRC.


title: Chiron (hypothetical moon)

paragraphs: Chiron is the name given to a moon of Saturn claimed to be sighted by Hermann Goldschmidt in 1861. It has since been determined that it does not exist as it was never seen again.


title: Dual monarchy

paragraphs: Dual monarchy is a union of two monarchies where the thrones of each monarchy are combined. A typical case is a personal union in which the crowns of the separate kingdoms are held by one person. The following are examples of dual monarchies, listed alphabetically with the dominant or co-dominant nation first:


title: Union

paragraphs: Union generally means that two or more things are joined into one. That can be an organization of several people or organizations, several objects combined into one, and so on. The term may mean:

paragraphs: The term student union can be used in either of two senses:

paragraphs: In the United States, the phrase more commonly refers to the building. The phrase "student government" or "student senate" is usually used when referring to the subject of the "Students' union" article.


title: Carl von Moers

paragraphs: Carl von Moers (9 December 1871 in Neuwied – 26 May 1957) was a German horse rider who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

paragraphs: He and his horse "May-Queen" won the silver medal as members of the German team at the 1912 Summer Olympics. But he was 15th in the individual eventing competition.

paragraphs: He also participated in the individual dressage event at the 1912 Summer Olympics with his horse "New Bank". They finished twelfth.


title: Burnham Grammar School

paragraphs: Burnham Grammar School (BGS) is a grammar school in Burnham, Buckinghamshire. It was started in 1960. It is a community school. The school takes children from the age of 11 to the age of 18. The school has about 900 pupils. They are split into five houses.

paragraphs: The school has an all weather sports pitch which the Wycombe Wanderers first team sometimes train on.

paragraphs: In September 2004 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) awarded the school status as a Science College.

paragraphs: The current head teacher is Dr Andrew Gillespie who took over from Cathy Long in January 2008.


title: Avant-garde

paragraphs: Avant-garde (pronounced ) in French means "front guard", "advance guard", or "vanguard". The term is commonly used in French, English, and German for people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly in the areas of art, culture, and politics.

paragraphs: Avant-garde represents a going against what is accepted as the norm, especially in culture.


title: Dumb Luck

paragraphs: Dumb Luck is a 2001 movie written and directed by Craig Clyde and starring Scott Baio, Tracy Nelson, Hal Linden and Eileen Brennan.


title: Gil Fates

paragraphs: Gil Fates (born Joseph Gilbert Fates on 29 September 1914 in Newark, New Jersey, United States; died 1 May 2000 in New York City, United States) was an American television producer. Fates who also hosted "CBS Television Quiz", which was the first television game show to be shown often. Before World War 2, he was a stage actor.


title: Innovation

paragraphs: The classic definitions of innovation include:

paragraphs: In economics, business and government policy,- something new - must be substantially different, not an unimportant change. In economics the change must increase value, customer value, or producer value. Innovations are intended to make someone better off, and the succession of many innovations grows the whole economy.


title: Santieh River

paragraphs: The Santieh River is a river in Taiwan. It flows through Tainan County for .


title: Scott S. Sheppard

paragraphs: Scott S. Sheppard is an astronomer in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He graduated from the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii.

paragraphs: He discovered many small moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, the second known Neptune Trojan, 2004 UP10 as well as several Kuiper Belt Objects, Centaurs, and near Earth asteroids.


title: Mario Kart DS

paragraphs: Mario Kart DS is a racing game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the fifth game in the series and the first which used Nintendo's free online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released in the North America, Australia, and Europe in November 2005, and in Japan in December 2005, and in South Korea in which it is the very first Wi-Fi Connection game launched in April 2007.

paragraphs: It got positive reviews, and scored an average of 91% from Metacritic.

paragraphs: Like other games in the "Mario Kart" series, "Mario Kart DS" involves characters from "Mario" games racing each other in go-karts on tracks themed from locations in the "Mario" series. The game, like other "Mario Kart" games, employs various weapons or items that players can use to help themselves or slow down others. These weapons make "Mario Kart" different from other racing games.

paragraphs: "DS" is the first "Mario Kart" game ever to have computer opponents in battle mode. In battle mode, up to eight carts have four balloons and battle each other until one wins. Another change is that players start with one balloon and must blow into the microphone to blow up other balloons. With fewer balloons, players get better items, but run the risk of getting knocked out early. With more balloons, they are safer, but get items that are not as good.

paragraphs: "DS" is also the first online "Mario Kart" title. It used the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Players used "friend codes" and pick four tracks to race. Some tracks cannot be played over Wi-Fi because the game might slow down due to large obstacles.


title: Metacritic

paragraphs: Metacritic is a website which collects expert reviews for movies, video games, music and books. It provides a Metascore, an average score out of 100 possible points based on published reviews.


title: Marktbreit

paragraphs: Marktbreit is a town in Germany, near Kitzingen in Bavaria. It is on the river Main.

paragraphs: It is the birthplace of Alois Alzheimer, after whom Alzheimer's disease is named.


title: Eclipse

paragraphs: An eclipse is an astronomical event. It is when one object in the sky moves into the shadow of another such object. When an eclipse happens within a system of stars, like the Solar System, it makes a type of syzygy. This means that three or more objects in the sky are lined up in a straight line in the same gravitational system.

paragraphs: The term "eclipse" is most often used to describe a "solar eclipse", when the Moon's shadow crosses the Earth's surface, or a "lunar eclipse", when the Moon moves into the shadow of Earth. No solar eclipse can last longer than 7 minutes and 58 seconds because of the speed at which the Earth and Moon move.

paragraphs: When the Sun is not involved, the event is called occultation.

paragraphs: The word comes from the ancient Greek noun ('), which is from the verb ('). This means "to cease (stop) to exist (be there)".


title: Lena Gercke

paragraphs: Lena Johanna Gercke is a model. She is the winner of the first cycle (season) of "Germany’s Next Topmodel" by Heidi Klum.

paragraphs: After a casting, Lena Gercke made it to the last 12 girls and eventually won the competition.