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hatsune miku

2009-04-07T01:42:00.000-07:00

Hatsune Miku is the first installment in the Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series released on August 31, 2007. The name of the title and the character of the software was chosen by combining Hatsu , Ne , and Miku . The data for the voice was created by actually sampling the voice of Saki Fujita, a Japanese voice actress. Unlike general purpose speech synthesizers, the software is tuned to create J-pop songs commonly heard in anime, but it is possible to create songs from other genres.

2007-12-05T09:45:00.001-08:00

The Bureau of the European Parliament is responsible for matters relating to the budget, administration, organisation and staff. It is composed of the President of the European Parliament along with all 14 Vice-Presidents and the 6 Quaestors (in a consultive capacity). They are elected for two and a half years (renewable term) with the President holding a deciding vote. Elections are usually held at the start, and at the mid-point, of each Parliamentary term.

Current members

Hans-Gert Pöttering: President
Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou: Vice-President
Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca: Vice-President
Gérard Onesta: Vice-President
Edward McMillan-Scott: Vice-President
Mario Mauro: Vice-President
Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez: Vice-President
Luigi Cocilovo: Vice-President
Mechtild Rothe: Vice-President
Luisa Morgantini: Vice-President
Pierre Moscovici: Vice-President
Manuel António dos Santos: Vice-President
Diana Wallis: Vice-President
Marek Siwiec: Vice-President
Adam Bielan: Vice-President
James Nicholson: Quaestor
Astrid Lulling: Quaestor
Mia De Vits: Quaestor
Ingo Friedrich: Quaestor
Szabolcs Fazakas: Quaestor
Jan Mulder: Quaestor

2007-12-04T07:59:00.001-08:00

Piotr Skarga (February 2, 1536 [1] – September 27, 1612 [2]; actual name: Piotr Powęski; referred to in some English sources as Peter Skarga) was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.
Educated at Grójec and Kraków, he began life as a tutor to the family of Andrew Tenczynski, castellan of Kraków, and, some years later, after a visit to Vienna, took orders, and from 1563 was attached to the cathedral church of Lwów. His oratory was so successful that he determined to become a missionary-preacher among the people, in order the better to combat the social and political evils of the day. By way of preparation he studied theology in Italy from 1568 to 1570, and finally entered the Society of Jesus. On his return he preached successively at Pultusk, Jaroslaw, and Plock under the powerful protection of Queen Anna Jagiellon. During a subsequent mission to Lithuania he converted numerous noble families, including the Radziwills.
He became the first rector of the Vilnius Academy in 1579, where he wrote the Lives of the Saints (Żywoty świętych), which is still popular reading today. In 1584 he was transferred to the new Jesuit College at Kraków, and in 1588 he became court preacher to King Sigismund III Vasa (a position he would hold until 1611), and thus sometimes preached to the Sejm (parliament). The nobility (Polish: szlachta) ascribed to him a great (and baleful: he advocated strong royal authority) influence on King Sigismund.
Skarga is remembered by Poles as a vigorous early advocate of reforms to the Polish-Lithuanian polity and as a critic of the Commonwealth's governing classes. He advocated the strengthening of the monarch's power at the expense of Sejm, magnates and szlachta.
His name "Skarga", which in Polish means, "accusation", is likely because of this career as a reformer and critic. The loose translation of his name would therefore be "Peter the Accuser".
He established or enlarged many Catholic charitable societies and Jesuit schools.

Prominent writings

Lives of the Saints (Żywoty świętych, 1579, 8 editions in his lifetime).
Sejm Sermons (Kazania sejmowe, 1597, published posthumously).
Soldiers' Devotions (Żołnierskie nabożeństwo, 1618).

2007-12-03T09:51:00.001-08:00

1682-1796
1796-1855
1855-1892
1892-1917
1917-1927

Russian Revolution
Civil War
1927–1953
1953–1985
1985–1991 The era of Russian palace revolutions
Catherine II's reign featured imperial expansion, which brought the empire huge new territories in the south and west; and internal consolidation. Following the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War with the Ottoman Empire in 1768, the parties agreed to the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji in 1774. By that treaty, Russia acquired an outlet to the Black Sea, and the Crimean Tatars became independent of the Ottomans. In 1783, Catherine annexed the Crimea, helping to spark the next Russo-Turkish War with the Ottoman Empire, which began in 1787. By the Treaty of Jassy in 1792, Russia expanded southward to the Dniestr river. The terms of the treaty fell far short of the goals of Catherine's reputed "Greek project" - the expulsion of the Ottomans from Europe and the renewal of a Byzantine Empire under Russian control. The Ottoman Empire no longer posed a serious threat to Russia, however, and had to tolerate an increasing Russian influence over the Balkans.
Russia's westward expansion under Catherine resulted from the partitioning of Poland. As Poland became increasingly weak in the eighteenth century, each of its neighbors--Russia, Prussia, and Austria - tried to place its own candidate on the Polish throne. In 1772 the three agreed on an initial partition of Polish territory, by which Russia received parts of Belarus and Livonia. After the partition, Poland initiated an extensive reform program, which included a democratic constitution that alarmed reactionary factions in Poland and in Russia. Using the danger of radicalism as an excuse, the same three powers abrogated the constitution and in 1793 again stripped Poland of territory. This time Russia obtained most of Belarus and Ukraine west of the Dnieper river. The 1793 partition led to Kościuszko Uprising in Poland, which ended with the third partition in 1795. As a result Poland disappeared from the international political map.
Although the partitioning of Poland greatly added to Russia's territory and prestige, it also created new difficulties. Having lost Poland as a buffer, Russia now had to share borders with both Prussia and Austria. In addition, the empire became more ethnically heterogeneous as it absorbed large numbers of Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Jews. The fate of the Ukrainians and Belarusians, who primarily worked as serfs, changed little at first under Russian rule. Roman Catholic Poles resented their loss of independence, however, proved difficult to control, staging several uprisings against the occupation. Russia had barred Jews from the empire in 1742 and viewed them as an alien population. A decree of January 3, 1792, formally initiated the Pale of Settlement, which permitted Jews to live only in the western part of the empire, thereby setting the stage for anti-Jewish discrimination in later periods. At the same time, Russia abolished the autonomy of Ukraine east of the Dnepr, the Baltic territories, and various Cossack areas. With her emphasis on a uniformly administered empire, Catherine presaged the policy of Russification that later tsars and their successors would practice.
Historians have debated Catherine's sincerity as an enlightened monarch, but few have doubted that she believed in government activism aimed at developing the empire's resources and making its administration more effective. Initially, Catherine attempted to rationalize government procedures through law. In 1767, she created the Legislative Commission, drawn from nobles, townsmen, and others, to codify Russia's laws. Although the commission did not formulate a new law code, Catherine's Instruction to the Commission introduced some Russians to Western political and legal thinking.
During the 1768-1774 war with the Ottoman Empire, Russia experienced a major social upheaval, the Pugachev Uprising. In 1773, a Don Cossack, Emel'yan Pugachev, declared himself as the re-emergent tsar Peter III. Other Cossacks, various Turkic tribes that felt the impingement of the Russian centralizing state, and industrial workers in the Ural Mountains, as well as peasants hoping to escape serfdom, all joined in the rebellion. Russia's preoccupation with the war enabled Pugachev to take control of a part of the Volga area, but the regular army crushed the rebellion in 1774.
The Pugachev Uprising bolstered Catherine's determination to reorganize Russia's provincial administration. In 1775, she divided Russia into provinces and districts according to population statistics. She then gave each province an expanded administrative, police, and judicial apparatus. Nobles no longer had to serve the central government, as the law had required since Peter the Great's time, and many of them received significant roles in administering provincial governments.
Catherine also attempted to organize society into well-defined social groups, or estates. In 1785, she issued charters to nobles and townsmen. The Charter to the Nobility confirmed the liberation of the nobles from compulsory service and gave them rights that not even the autocracy could infringe. The Charter to the Towns proved complicated and ultimately less successful than the one issued to the nobles. Failure to issue a similar charter to state peasants, or to ameliorate the conditions of serfdom, left Catherine's social reforms incomplete in some eyes.
The "westernization" of Russia continued during Catherine's reign. An increase in the number of books and periodicals also brought forth intellectual debates and social criticism of the Russian Enlightenment. In 1790, Aleksandr Nikolaevich Radishchev published his Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, a fierce attack on serfdom and on the autocracy. Catherine, already frightened by the French Revolution, had Radishchev arrested and banished to Siberia. Radishchev later gained recognition as the father of Russian radicalism.
Catherine brought many of the policies of Peter the Great to fruition and set the foundation for the 19th century empire. Russia became a power capable of competing with its European neighbors in the military, political, and diplomatic spheres. Russia's elite became culturally more like the elites of Central and West European countries. The organization of society and the government system, from Peter the Great's central institutions to Catherine's provincial administration, remained basically unchanged until the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 and, in some respects, until the fall of the monarchy in 1917. Catherine's push to the south, including the establishment of Odessa as a Russian port on the Black Sea, provided the basis for Russia's nineteenth-century grain trade.
Despite such accomplishments, the empire that Peter I and Catherine II had built remained beset with fundamental problems. A small Europeanized elite, alienated from the mass of ordinary Russians, raised questions about the very essence of Russia's history, culture, and identity. Russia achieved its military pre-eminence by reliance on coercion and on a primitive command economy based on serfdom. Although Russia's economic development almost sufficed for its 18th century needs, it remained no match for the transformation the Industrial Revolution was causing in Western countries. Catherine's attempt at organizing society into corporate estates early faced the challenge of the French Revolution, which emphasized individual citizenship. Russia's territorial expansion and the incorporation of an increasing number of non-Russians into the empire set the stage for the future nationalities problem. Finally, the first questioning of serfdom and autocracy on moral grounds foreshadowed the conflict between the state and the intelligentsia that would become dominant in the nineteenth century.
During the early nineteenth century, Russia's population, resources, international diplomacy, and military forces made it one of the most powerful states in the world. Its power enabled it to play an increasingly assertive role in Europe's affairs. This role drew the empire into a series of wars against Napoleon, which had far-reaching consequences for Russia and the rest of Europe. After a period of enlightenment, Russia became an active opponent of liberalizing trends in Central and Western Europe.
Internally, Russia's population had grown more diverse with each territorial acquisition. The population included Lutheran Finns, Baltic Germans, Estonians, and some Latvians; Roman Catholic Lithuanians, Poles, and some Latvians; Orthodox and Uniate Belarusians and Ukrainians; Muslim peoples along the empire's southern border and in the East; Orthodox Greeks and Georgians; and members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. As Western influence and opposition to Russian autocracy mounted, the regime reacted by creating a secret police and increasing censorship in order to curtail the activities of persons advocating change. The regime remained committed to its serf-based economy as the means of supporting the upper classes, the government, and the military forces. But Russia's backwardness and inherent weakness stood revealed in the middle of the century, when major European powers forced the surrender of a Russian fortress in the Crimea.

2007-12-02T10:39:00.001-08:00

Market Square is one of Victoria, British Columbia's oldest landmarks and also one of its most visited tourist attractions.
There are more than 35 shops, restaurants, and clubs in the square. It is home to many concerts, festivals, and other events.

2007-12-01T09:33:00.001-08:00

DaimlerChrysler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) is a German car corporation and the world's fifth largest car manufacturer. As well as automobiles, DaimlerChrysler manufactures trucks and provides financial services through its DaimlerChrysler Financial Services arm. The company also owns a major stake in aerospace group EADS.
DaimlerChrysler was formed in 1998 when Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler-Benz of Stuttgart, Germany merged with US-based Chrysler Corporation. However, the merger failed to produce the trans-Atlantic automotive powerhouse dealmakers had hoped for, and DaimlerChrysler announced on 14 May 2007 that it would sell Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management of New York, a private equity firm that specializes in restructuring troubled companies, effectively unwinding the original transaction. The US company adopted the name Chrysler Holding LLC when the sale completed on 3 August 2007.
DaimlerChrysler produces cars and trucks under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart, Freightliner, GEM and many others.

Chrysler operations
DaimlerChrysler was reportedly in negotiations with other carmakers and investment groups since early 2007 to sell Chrysler. General Motors was reported to be a suitor while Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan auto alliance, and Hyundai Motor Company had said that they weren't interested in buying the company.
On August 3, 2007, DaimlerChysler completed the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 percent stake in the new company, Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler will change its name to Daimler AG and retain the remaining 19.9% stake in the separated Chrysler.[1]
The terms will see Daimler pay Cerberus US$650 million to take Chrysler and associated liabilities off its hands. This is a remarkable reverse in fortunes on the US$36 billion paid to acquire Chrysler in 1998. Of the US$7.4 billion, purchase price, Cerberus Capital Management will invest US$5 billion in Chrysler Holdings and US$1.05 billion in Chrysler's financial unit. The de-merged Daimler AG will receive US$1.35 billion directly from Cerberus but will invest US$2 billion in Chrysler itself.

Sale of Chrysler
Dieter Zetsche has been the Chairman of DaimlerChrysler and the President and CEO of Mercedes Car Group since January 1, 2006. The former President and CEO of the Chrysler Group, he is best known in the United States as Dr. Z from a Chrysler advertising campaign.
Current members of the supervisory board of DaimlerChrysler are: Heinrich Flegel, Nate Gooden, Earl Graves, Thomas Klebe, Erich Klemm, Hilmar Kopper, Arnaud Lagardère, Jürgen Langer, Robert Lanigan, Helmut Lense, Peter Magowan, William Owens, Gerd Rheude, Udo Richter, Wolf Röder, Manfred Schneider, Stefan Schwaab, Bernhard Walter, Lynton Wilson, and Mark Wössner.

Management
The largest voting shareholder DaimlerChrysler is the State of Kuwait, with 7.1% (as at 31 December 2006). Deutsche Bank, with 4.35% (as at 2 May 2007). United Arab Emirates, with 2.0% (as at 31 December 2005).

43.6% Germany
30.9% Other Europe
17.2% USA
8.3% Rest of world DaimlerChrysler shareholders
DaimlerChrysler sells automobiles under the following marques worldwide:

Mercedes Car Group

Maybach
Mercedes-Benz
Smart
Mercedes-AMG
Commercial Vehicle Brands
- Freightliner
  - Thomas Built Buses
    Sterling Trucks
    Western Star
    Mercedes-Benz (truck group)
    Mitsubishi Fuso
    Orion Bus Industries
    Setra
    Global Electric Motorcars (GEM)
    Financial Services:
    - DaimlerChrysler Financial Services

2007-11-30T07:40:00.001-08:00

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier in the United States Navy, the lead ship of its class. It is one of the largest warships in the world. It was laid down, launched and commissioned as CVAN-68, but was redesignated CVN-68 (nuclear-powered multimission aircraft carrier) on 30 June 1975 as part of the fleet realignment of that year.
The keel of Nimitz was laid down 22 June 1968 by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, and she was commissioned 3 May 1975 by President Gerald Ford. The ship was named for Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who commanded the Pacific fleet in World War II. Captain Michael Manazir assumed command of the Nimitz on 16 March 2007.

Ship's History
The USS Nimitz is part of Carrier Strike Group 11 (CSG-11) with Carrier Air Wing 11 embarked, with Nimitz as the flagship of the battle group and is the home of the commander of Destroyer Squadron 23.

Ships of DESRON-23

Strike Fighter Squadron 14 (VFA-14) "Tophatters"
Strike Fighter Squadron 41 (VFA-41) "Black Aces"
Strike Fighter Squadron 81 (VFA-81)"Sunliners"
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232) "Red Devils"
Electronic Attack Squadron 135 (VAQ-135) "Black Ravens"
Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 117 (VAW-117)"Wallbangers"
Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 6 (HS-6) "Indians"
Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 30 Detachment 4 (VRC 30)"Providers" Nimitz in popular culture

2007-11-29T09:30:00.001-08:00

• Spring • Summer • • Autumn • Winter • • Dry season • • Wet season •
• Thunderstorm • Tornado • • Tropical Cyclone (Hurricane) • • Winter storm • Blizzard •
• Fog • Drizzle • Rain • • Freezing rain • Sleet • • Hail • Snow •
• Meteorology • • Weather forecasting • • Climate • Air pollution •
A season is one of the major divisions of the year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in weather.
In temperate and polar regions generally four seasons are recognized: spring, summer, autumn (fall), and winter.
In some tropical and subtropical regions it is more common to speak of the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season versus the dry season, as the amount of precipitation may vary more dramatically than the average temperature.
In other tropical areas a three-way division into hot, rainy and cool season is used. In some parts of the world, special "seasons" are loosely defined based upon important events such as a hurricane season, tornado season or a wildfire season.

The seasons result from the Earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane; it deviates by an angle of approximately 23.44 degrees. Thus, at any given time during summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the Sun (see Fig. 1). This exposure alternates as the Earth revolves in its orbit. At any given time, regardless of season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience opposite seasons (see Fig. 2 and Month ranges of seasons (below) and Effect of sun angle on climate).
Seasonal weather fluctuations also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans or other large bodies of water, currents in those oceans, El Niño/ENSO and other oceanic cycles, and prevailing winds.
In the temperate and polar regions, seasons are marked by changes in the amount of sunlight, which in turn often causes cycles of dormancy in plants and hibernation in animals. These effects vary with latitude, and with proximity to bodies of water. For example, the South Pole is in the middle of the continent of Antarctica, and therefore a considerable distance from the moderating influence of the southern oceans. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean, and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the presence of all that water. The result is that the South Pole is consistently colder during the southern winter than the North Pole during the northern winter.
The cycle of seasons in the polar and temperate zones of one hemisphere is opposite to that in the other. When it is summer in the Northern hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern hemisphere, and vice versa, and when it is spring in the Northern hemisphere it is autumn in the Southern hemisphere, and vice versa.
In the tropics, there is no noticeable change in the amount of sunlight. However, many regions (famously the northern Indian Ocean) are subject to monsoon rain and wind cycles. Curiously, a study of temperature records over the past 300 years (David Thomson, Science, April 1995) shows that the climatic seasons, and thus the seasonal year, are governed by the anomalistic year rather than the tropical year.
In meteorological terms, the winter solstice and summer solstice (or the date maximum/minimum insolation) do not fall in the middle of winter and summer respectively. The heights of these seasons occur up to a month later due to seasonal lag. Seasons though, are not always defined in meteorological terms; see reckoning
Compared to axial tilt, other factors contribute little to seasonal temperature changes. It's a common misconception that the seasons are the result of the variation in Earth's distance to the sun due to its elliptical orbit.

In astronomical reckoning, the seasons begin at the solstices and equinoxes. The cross-quarter days are considered seasonal midpoints. The length of these seasons is not uniform because of the elliptical orbit of the earth and its different speeds along that orbit (see Kepler's laws).
In the conventional United States calendar:
Because of the differences in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (see Meteorological below), it is no longer considered appropriate to use the old northern-seasonal designations for the astronomical quarter days. The modern convention for them is:

Meteorological seasons are reckoned by temperature, with summer being the hottest quarter of the year, and winter the coldest quarter of the year.
Using this reckoning, the Ancient Roman calendar began the year and the spring season on the first of March, with each season occupying three months. This reckoning is also used in Denmark, the former USSR, and Australia. In modern United Kingdom and Ireland there are no hard and fast rules about seasons, and informally many people use this reckoning.
So, in meteorology for the Northern hemisphere:
Conversely, for the Southern hemisphere:

Traditional seasons are reckoned by insolation, with summer being the quarter of the year with the greatest insolation, and winter the quarter with the least. These seasons begin about 4 weeks earlier than the Meteorological seasons, and 7 weeks earlier than the Astronomical seasons.
In Traditional reckoning, the seasons begin at the cross-quarter days. The solstices and equinoxes are the midpoints of these seasons. For example, the days of greatest and least insolation are considered the "midsummer" and "midwinter" respectively.
This reckoning is used by various traditional cultures in the Northern Hemisphere, including East Asian and Irish cultures.
So, according to Traditional reckoning,
And, the middle of each season is considered,

In Australia, the aboriginal people defined the seasons by what was happening to the plants, animals and weather around them. This led to each separate tribal group have different seasons, some with up to 8 seasons a year. However, most modern Aboriginal Australians follow the Meteorological Seasons, as is conventional amongst non-Aboriginal Australians.

In hemiboreal and temperate climates:
In winter, the plant can't hold the leaves without Chloryphyll.
In spring, the plants produce Chloryphyll and start to grow again.
In summer, the plants grow. Usually at this time the plants completely mature.
In autumn, the trees stop making Chloryphyll and turn yellow or shades of orange and red then drop their leaves.

Temperate: Spring · Summer · Autumn/Fall · Winter Tropical: Dry season · Wet season
Winter (89 days) begins on 21-22 Dec, the winter solstice
Spring (92 days) on 20-21 Mar, the spring equinox
Summer (93 days) on 20-21 June, the summer solstice
Autumn (90 days) on 22-23 Sept, the autumn equinox
The March Equinox
The June Solstice
The September Equinox
The December Solstice
spring begins on March 1,
summer on June 1,
autumn on September 1, and
winter on December 1.
summer begins on December 1,
autumn on March 1,
winter on June 1, and
spring on September 1.
Winter begins on 5-10 Nov, Samhain, 立冬 (lìdōng),
Spring on 2-7 Feb, Imbolc, 立春 (lìchūn),
Summer on 4-10 May, Beltane, 立夏 (lìxià), and
Autumn on 3-10 Aug, Lughnasadh, 立秋 (lìqiū).
Mid-winter: 20-23 Dec, winter solstice, 冬至 (dōngzhì)
Mid-spring: 19-22 Mar, spring equinox, 春分 (chūnfēn)
Mid-summer: 19-23 June, summer solstice, 夏至 (xiàzhì)
Mid-autumn: 21-24 Sept, autumn equinox, 秋分 (qiūfēn)
Perennial tea ceremony
Sports season
Australian Weather and Seasons
When do the Seasons Begin? (from the Bad Astronomer)
Solstice does not signal season's start (from The Straight Dope)
Why the Earth has seasons article on h2g2.
Aboriginal seasons of Kakadu
Indigenous seasons (Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
Mt Stirling Seasons
The Lost Seasons
Melbourne's six seasons
The Lengths of the Seasons (numerical integration analysis)

2007-11-28T08:02:00.001-08:00

In linguistics, a basilect is a register of a creole language that is considerably different from an acrolect, or standard, "educated", variety. A basilect and acrolect of the same language may eventually reach mutual unintelligibility.
William Stewart, in 1965, proposed that the terms acrolect and basilect be the sociolinguistic labels for the boundaries of a post-creole speech continuum. In certain speech communities, a continuum exists between speakers of a creole language and a related standard language.

See also

Mesolect
Acrolect

2007-11-27T07:43:00.001-08:00

In the contexts of real estate and lodging, amenities are any tangible or intangible benefits of a property, especially those which increase the attractiveness or value of the property or which contribute to its comfort or convenience.
Tangible amenities might include parks, swimming pools, health club facilities, party rooms, bike paths, community centers, doormen, or garages, for example. Intangible benefits might include a "pleasant view" or aspect, low crime rates, or a "sun-lit living room", which all add to the living comforts of the property.

2007-11-26T07:43:00.001-08:00

Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.
A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture; however, while good design is essential to green building, the actual operation, maintenance, and ultimate disposal or deconstruction of the building also have very significant effects on buildings' overall environmental impact.
The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment. The appearance and style of sustainable homes and buildings can be nearly indistinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.
Green building is increasingly governed and driven by standards, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Air pollution control
Air pollution dispersion modeling
Alternative energy
Biofuel
Composting
Conservation biology
Conservation ethic
Ecoforestry
Energy conservation
Energy development
Environmental design
Environmental impact assessment
Environmental preservation
Green building
Hydrogen technologies
Industrial wastewater treatment
Natural building
Recycling
Renewable energy
Renewable energy development
Remediation
Solid waste treatment
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable energy
Sustainable development
Waste water treatment
Water purification
Waste management The environmental impact of buildings
Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment. On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.
Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable. Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation.
Low-impact building materials are used wherever feasible: for example, insulation may be made from low VOC (volatile organic compound)-emitting materials such as recycled denim, rather than the insulation materials that may contain carcinogenic or toxic materials such as formaldehyde. To discourage insect damage, these alternate insulation materials may be treated with boric acid. Organic or milk-based paints may be used.
Architectural salvage and reclaimed materials are used when appropriate as well. When older buildings are demolished, frequently any good wood is reclaimed, renewed, and sold as flooring. Many other parts are reused as well, such as doors, windows, mantels, and hardware, thus reducing the consumption of new goods. When new materials are employed, green designers look for materials that are rapidly replenished, such as bamboo, which can be harvested for commercial use after only 6 years of growth, or cork oak, in which only the outer bark is removed for use, thus preserving the tree. When possible, building materials may be gleaned from the site itself; for example, if a new structure is being constructed in a wooded area, wood from the trees which were cut to make room for the building would be re-used as part of the building itself.
To minimize the energy loads within and on the structure, it is critical to orient the building to take advantage of cooling breezes and sunlight. Daylighting with ample windows will eliminate the need to turn on electric lights during the day (and provide great views outside too). Passive Solar can warm a building in the winter - but care needs to be taken to provide shade in the summer time to prevent overheating. Prevailing breezes and convection currents can passively cool the building in the summer. Thermal mass stores heat gained during the day and releases it at night minimizing the swings in temperature. Thermal mass can both heat the building in winter and cool it during the summer. Insulation is the final step to optimizing the structure. Well-insulated windows, doors, and walls help reduce energy loss, thereby reducing energy usage. These design features don't cost much money to construct and significantly reduce the energy needed to make the building comfortable.
Optimizing the heating and cooling systems through installing energy efficient machinery, commissioning, and heat recovery is the next step. Compared to optimizing the passive heating and cooling features through design, the gains made by engineering are relatively expensive and can add significantly to the projects cost. However, thoughtful integrated design can reduce costs -- for example, once a building has been designed to be more energy-efficient, it may be possible to downsize heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment, leading to substantial savings. To further address energy loss hot water heat recycling is used to reduce energy usage for domestic water heating. Ground source heat pumps are more energy efficient then other forms of heating and cooling until you factor in the energy lost during generation and transmission if the project is on the grid.
Finally, onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building. Power generation is the most expensive feature to add to a building.
Good green architecture also reduces waste, of energy, water and materials. During the construction phase, one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing onsite solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.
To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, several options exist. "Greywater", wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used for non-potable purposes, e.g., to flush toilets, water lawns, and wash cars. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes, and some homes use specially designed rainwater collectors to gather rainwater for all water use, including drinking water.
Green building often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel for parking lots instead of concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well.

Green building practices

Green building worldwide
Many countries have developed their own standards of energy efficiency for buildings.

Code for Sustainable Homes, United Kingdom
BREEAM, United Kingdom
EnerGuide for Houses, Canada (energy retrofits & up-grades)
EnerGuide for New Houses, Canada (new construction)
Gold & Silver Energy Standards, United Kingdom
Green Building Council of Australia's Green Star
Haute Qualité Environnementale, France
House Energy Rating, Australia
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), USA and Canada
Green Globes, USA, Canada and United Kingdom
Minergie, Switzerland
National Association of Home Builders Green Building Guidelines, USA
New Zealand Green Building Council Green Star
Passivhaus, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom
EEWH, Taiwan Standards and ratings
There is a system in place in Australia called First Rate designed to increase energy efficiency of residential buildings. The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has developed a green building standard known as Green Star..
In Adelaide, South Australia, there are at least two different projects that incorporate the principles of Green building. The Eco-City development is located in Adelaide's city centre and the Aldinga Arts Eco Village is located in Aldinga. Guidelines for building developments in each project are outlined in the bylaws. The bylaws include grey water reuse, reuse of stormwater, capture of rainwater, use of solar panels for electricity and hotwater, solar passive building design and community gardens and landscaping.
Melbourne has a rapidly growing environmental consciousness, many government subsidies and rebates are available for water tanks, water efficient products (such as shower heads) and solar hot water systems. The city is home to many examples of green buildings and sustainable development such as the CERES Environmental Park. Two of the most prominent examples of green commercial buildings in Australia are located in Melbourne - 60L and Council House 2 (also known as CH2).

Australia
Canada has implemented "R-2000" guidelines for new buildings built after the year 2000. Incentives are offered to builders to meet the R-2000 standard in an effort to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability.
A progression of the R-2000 home program is the EnerGuide for New Houses service. This service is available across Canada and is designed to allow home builders and home buyers to build homes that use significantly less energy than the average homes being built. Some Canadian provinces are considering mandatory use of the service for all new homes.
In December 2002, Canada formed the Canada Green Building Council and in July 2003 obtained an exclusive licence from the US Green Building Council to adapt the LEED rating system to Canadian circumstances.

Beamish-Munro Hall at Queen's University features sustainable construction methods such as high fly-ash concrete, triple-glazed windows, dimmable fluorescent lights and a grid-tied photovoltaic array.
Gene H. Kruger Pavilion at Laval University uses largely non polluting, non toxic, recycled and renewable materials as well as advanced bioclimatic concepts that reduce energy consumption by 25% compared with a concrete building of the same dimensions. The structure of the building is made entirely out of wood products, thus further reducing the environmental impact of the building. Canada
German developments that employ green building techniques include:

The Solarsiedlung (Solar Village) in Freiburg, Germany, which features energy-plus houses.
The Vauban development, also in Freiburg.
Houses designed by Baufritz, incorporating passive solar design, heavily insulated walls, triple-glaze doors and windows, non-toxic paints and finishes, summer shading, heat recovery ventilation, and greywater treatment systems.
The new Reichstag building in Berlin, which produces its own energy. Germany
Main article: Energy efficient buildings in India
The Confederation of Indian Industry plays an active role in promoting sustainability in the Indian construction sector. There are many energy efficient buildings in India, situated in a variety of climatic zones.

India
The Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) promotes green building techniques. Malaysian architect Ken Yeang is a prominent voice in the area of ecological design.

Malaysia
The New Zealand Green Building Council has been in formation since July 2005. An establishment board was formed later in 2005 and with formal organisational status granted on 1st February 2006. That month Jane Henley was appointed as the CEO and activity to gain membership of the World GBC began. In July 2006 the first full board was appointed with 12 members reflecting wide industry involvement. The several major milestones were achieved in 2006/2007; becoming a member of the World GBC, the launch of the Green Star NZ - Office Design Tool, and welcoming our member companies.

New Zealand

Main article: Energy efficiency in British housing United Kingdom
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™, which is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. They have developed specific versions of the LEED rating system to assist specific building types in achieving certification. Some of the commercially available systems are:
Other versions that will soon be released for public consumption are:
The Green Building Initiative
LEED-CI: Commercial Interiors
LEED-CS: Core/Shell)
LEED-EB: Existing Buildings
LEED-Homes
LEED-ND: Neighborhood Developments
LEED for Schools
LEED for Healthcare
LEED for Labs
LEED for Retail
20% annual savings in energy costs
20% reduction in water costs
38% reduction in waste water production
22% reduction in construction waste United States

Architecture
Architectural engineering
Arcology - High density ecological structures
Active solar
BedZED - Zero-carbon building in the UK
Brise soleil
Deconstruction (building)
Domotics
Earthship
Ecocity
Ecological living
Ecopolis
Environmental planning
Energy-plus-house
Geo-exchange
Green technology
Hot water heat recycling
International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE)
Low-energy house
Metal Roofing Alliance
Natural Capital Center Green redevelopment of a building on the National Register
Paragon Space Development Green building engineering
Passive house
Passive solar
Photovoltaics
Self-build
Sustainable habitat
Zero-energy building See also

J. Baldwin
Steve Baer
Tom Bender
Peter Calthorpe
ESB Solar Homes
Eric Corey Freed
Buckminster Fuller
William McDonough
Glenn Murcutt
Rocky Mountain Institute
Natural Resources Defense Council
Sim Van der Ryn
Walter Segal
Michael Sorkin
Brenda and Robert Vale
Robert K. Watson
James Wines
Laurie Baker
Ken Yeang
Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum
Rod Percival
Paul Herring Designers and builders

International

Living Smart Sustainable living on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Greenlivingpedia Wiki on sustainable building and housing in Australia Canada

New Zealand Green Building Council Official website
Smarter Homes Creating healthy homes, New Zealand New Zealand

National organizations

California's Green Building Action Plan
Green Building Checklists Simple checklists created by the Colorado AIA Committee on the Environment
Cascadia Region Green Building Council
Common Fire Foundation - comprehensive overview of green building & "Greenest Building in the Eastern US" (non-profit)
Solar Energy International Green Building Program

2007-11-25T09:40:00.001-08:00

A software license comprises the permissions, rights and restrictions imposed on software (whether a component or a free-standing program). Use of software without a license could constitute infringement of the owner's exclusive rights under copyright or, occasionally, patent law and allow the owner to sue the infringer.
Under a software license, the licensee is permitted to use the licensed software in compliance with the specific terms of the license. If there is a breach of the license, depending on the license it may result in termination of the license, and potentially the right of the owner to sue.
A software vendor may offer a software license unilaterally (without giving the licensee the opportunity to negotiate for more favorable terms) such as in a shrink wrap contract, or even as part of a software license agreement with another party. Virtually all mass produced proprietary software is sold under some form or fashion of software license agreement. One off, or custom software is often licensed under terms of which are specifically negotiated between the licensee and licensor.
In addition to granting rights and imposing restrictions on use of the software, software licenses typically contain provisions which allocate liability and responsibility between the parties. In enterprise and commercial software transactions these terms (such as limitations of liability, warranties and warranty disclaimers, and indemnity if the software infringes intellectual property rights of others) are often negotiated by attorneys specialized in software licensing. The legal field has seen the growth of this specialized practice area due to unique legal issues with software licenses, and the desire of software companies to protect assets which, if licensed improperly, could diminish their value.

See also

Free/Open_Source_Software:Licensing

2007-11-24T10:06:00.001-08:00

Background

Political career
Patassé joined the Central African civil service in 1959, shortly before independence. He became an agricultural engineer and agricultural inspector in the Ministry of Agriculture on 1 July 1963, under President David Dacko. In December 1965, Dacko appointed him Director of Agriculture and Minister of Development. In 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa took power in a coup d'état. Patassé was the "cousin" of President Bokassa's principal wife, Catherine Denguiade. Patassé gained the confidence of the new president and he served in almost all the many governments formed by Bokassa (exceptions including short periods of several months in 1974 and 1976). He served as Minister of Development (1 January 1966 - 5 April 1968), Minister of Transport and Energy (5 April 1968 - 17 September 1969), Minister of State for Development, Tourism, Transport and Energy (17 September 1969 - 4 February 1970), Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Waters, Forests, Hunting, Tourism and Transport (4 February 1970 - 25 June 1970), Minister of State for Development (25 June 1970 - 19 August 1970), Minister of State for Transport and Commerce (19 August 1970 - 25 November 1970), Minister of State for the Organization of Transport by Roads, Rivers and Air (25 November 1970 - 19 October 1971), Minister of State for Civil Aviation (19 October 1971 - 13 May 1972), Minister of State for delegated by the President of the Republic for Rural Development (13 May 1972 - 20 March 1973), Minister of State for Public Health and Social Affairs (20 March 1973 - 16 October 1973), Minister of State delegated by the President of the Republic for Missions? (16 October 1973 - 1 February 1974 [at which point he left the government briefly for health reasons], Minister of State for Tourism, Waters, Forests, Hunting and Fishing (15 June 1974 - 4 April 1976), Minister of State serving as Agricultural Councilor for the Head of State (10 April 1976 -24 May 1976), Minister of State for Tourism, Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing (24 May 1976 - 4 September 1976). After Bokassa's creation of the Council for the Central African Revolution (in imitation of Libya's government council), Patassé was named a member of the Council of the Revolution with the rank of Prime Minister in charge of Posts and Communications, Tourism, Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing, as well as Custodian of the Seats?? of State (4 September 1976 - 14 December 1976). During this period Patassé followed Bokassa in briefly becoming a convert to Islam (October 1976 - January 1977) and changed his name to Mustafa Patassé. After Bokassa became Emperor Bokassa I, Patassé was named (7 December 1976) Prime Minister and Head of the first Imperial Government. He remained in this position until 14 July 1978, when a public announcement was made that Patassé had stepped down from office due to health problems. Patassé then left for France, where he remained in exile until the overthrow of Bokassa in September 1979. Shortly before Bokassa's overthrow, Patassé announced his opposition to the Emperor and founded the Front for the Liberation of the Central African People (Front de Libération du Peuple Centrafricain) or FLPC.
Emperor Bokassa was overthrown and President David Dacko restored to power by the French in 1979. Dacko ordered Patassé to be put under house arrest. Patassé attempted to escape to the Republic of Chad, but failed and was arrested again. He was later released due to alleged health problems.

1960s-1970s: Rise to power
Patassé returned to the CAR to present himself as a candidate for the presidential election of 15 March 1981, after which it was announced that Patassé gained 38% of the votes and thus came in second, after President Dacko. Patassé denounced the election results as rigged, which they clearly were. Several months later, on 1 September 1981, General André Kolingba overthrew Dacko in a bloodless coup and took power, after which he forbade political activity in the country. Patassé felt obliged to leave the CAR to live in exile once again, but on 27 February 1982, Patassé returned to the CAR and participated in an unsuccessful coup d'état against General Kolingba with the help of a few military officers such as General François Bozize. Four days later, having failed to gain the support of the military forces, Patassé went in disguise to the French Embassy in order to seek refuge. After heated negotiations between President Kolingba and the French, Patassé was allowed to leave for exile in Togo. After remaining abroad for almost a decade, of which several years were spent in France, Patassé returned to the CAR in 1992 to participate in presidential elections as head of the Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People (MLPC). The donor community, with the fall of the Soviet Union, saw no need to prop up the Kolingba regime and so had pressed for change helping to organise elections with some help from the UN Electoral Assistance Unit and with logistical support from the French army.

1990s: Return to power
Patassé left the country for a conference in Niger in 2003, and in his absence Bozizé seized Bangui on March 15. Although the coup was internationally condemned, no attempt was made to depose the new leader. Patassé is now living in exile in Togo.
Although nominated as his party's presidential candidate in November 2004, on December 30 Patassé was barred from running in the election due to what the constitutional court considered problems with his birth certificate and land title. He was one of seven candidates barred, while five, including Bozizé, were permitted to stand. After an agreement signed in Libreville, Gabon on January 22, 2005, all barred presidential candidates were permitted to stand in the March 13 election except for Patassé, on the grounds that he is the subject of judicial proceedings. Patassé's party backed his last prime minister, Martin Ziguélé, for president in preference to Patassé.
Patassé was accused of stealing 70 billion Central African francs from the country's treasury. He denied this and in an interview with Agence France-Presse on December 21, 2004, he stated that he had no idea where he could have found so much money to steal in a country with a budget of only 90-100 billion francs. He was also accused of war crimes in connection with the violence that followed a failed 2002 coup attempt, in which rebels from the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo came to Patassé's assistance, but were accused of committing many atrocities in the process. Patassé, the Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba (now the Vice-President) and three others were charged in September 2004. [2] However, the government of CAR was unable to arrest them, so the courts referred the matter in April 2006 to the International Criminal Court.
In March 2006, the Central African government accused Patassé of recruiting rebels and foreign mercenaries, establishing a training camp for them on the Sudanese border, and planning to destabilize the country. [3] [4]
At an extraordinary congress of the MLPC in June 2006, Patassé was suspended from the party for one year, while Ziguélé was elected as President of the MPLC. [5] In August 2006 a court in the Central African Republic sentenced Patassé in absentia to 20 years of hard labor after a trial over the financial misconduct charges. [6] At the MLPC's third ordinary congress in June 2007, Patassé was suspended from the party for three years, until the next party congress, with the threat of being expelled from the party altogether if he speaks on its behalf without approval while he is suspended. [7]

2007-11-23T09:52:00.001-08:00

Pepi I Meryre (reigned 2332 – 2283 BC) was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. His first throne name was Neferdjahor which the king later altered to Meryre meaning "beloved of Re.".

Reign Length
Two copper statues of Pepi I and his son Merenre were found at Hierakonpolis; they depict the two royals symbolically "trampling underfoot the Nine Bows," a stylized representation of Egypt's conquered foreign subjects.

2007-11-22T09:58:00.001-08:00

This article is about the official title "Emperor of India". For the list of Indian emperors see List of Indian monarchs
Emperor of India (or Empress of India) as a title was used by the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah II and colonial British monarchs during the British Raj in India.
Sometimes, the term "Emperor of India" is also used to refer to several Indian emperors such as Ashoka and Akbar, though this was not their official title.

Emperors and Empresses of India
George VI continued to hold the title King of India for two years during the short Governor-Generalships of Lord Mountbatten and of C. Rajagopalachari until India became a republic on 26 January 1950. George VI remained as King of the United Kingdom and King of Pakistan until his death in 1952. Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956, so Elizabeth II was Queen of Pakistan for four years.

2007-11-20T08:43:00.001-08:00

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the United Kingdom
Income tax · PAYE VAT · National Insurance Corporation tax Inheritance tax · Stamp Duty Capital gains tax · Excise tax Motoring taxes Council Tax · Business rates Rates
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMCE) was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government in the UK. It was responsible for the collection of Value added tax (VAT), Customs Duties, Excise Duties, and other indirect taxes such as Air Passenger Duty, Climate Change Levy, Insurance Premium Tax, Landfill Tax and Aggregates Levy. It was also responsible for managing the import and export of goods and services into the UK. HMCE was merged with the Inland Revenue (which was responsible for the administration and collection of direct taxes) to form a new department, HM Revenue and Customs, with effect from 18 April 2005.
HM Customs and Excise officers guarded the borders of the United Kingdom from smugglers. Since 1971, the service has included the Waterguard, whose officers are a common sight at entry points in to the UK; its insignia include a portcullis. Customs officers (not Waterguard) have authority throughout the country, including the powers of entry to premises and of arrest.

Excise
The combined Board of Customs and Excise was formed in 1909 by the transfer of responsibility for Excise from the Board of Inland Revenue.
HMCE was not responsible for collecting direct taxes: that was the job of the Inland Revenue. In March 2004, the O'Donnell review called for the merger of Customs and Excise with Inland Revenue; in the 2004 Budget, Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that the merger would go ahead, and the merged was implemented by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

2007-11-19T09:07:00.001-08:00

The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (French: République française) was proclaimed on 21 September 1792, during the French Revolution. On that day Louis XVI was formally deposed, ending the French monarchy. This presaged a new era of republican government in Europe.
The Republic officially lasted until the establishment of the First French Empire in 1804. Its leaders included Napoleon Bonaparte, who served as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, when he ended the republic by declaring himself Emperor Napoleon I.
Constitutionally, the republic subdivided into government by:
The period of government led by the National Convention, led by Maximilien Robespierre, is also known as the Reign of Terror.

the National Convention: 1792–95
the Directory: 1795–99
the Consulate: 1799–1804

2007-11-18T07:15:00.001-08:00

In computer science, the term integer is used to refer to any data type which can represent some subset of the mathematical integers. These are also known as integral data types.

Value and representation
Different CPUs support different integral data types. Typically, hardware will support both signed and unsigned types but only a small, fixed set of widths.
The table above lists integral type widths that are supported in hardware by common processors. High level programming languages provide more possibilities. It is common to have a 'double width' integral type that has twice as many bits as the biggest hardware-supported type. Many languages also have bit-field types (a specified number of bits, usually constrained to be less than the maximum hardware-supported width) and range types (which can represent only the integers in a specified range).
Some languages, such as Lisp, REXX and Haskell, support arbitrary precision integers (also known as infinite precision integers or bignums). Other languages which do not support this concept as a top-level construct may have libraries available to represent very large numbers using arrays of smaller variables, such as Java's BigInteger class or Perl's "bigint" package. These use as much of the computer's memory as is necessary to store the numbers; however, a computer has only a finite amount of storage, so they too can only represent a finite subset of the mathematical integers. These schemes support very large numbers, for example one kilobyte of memory could be used to store numbers up to 2466 digits long.
A Boolean or Flag type is a type which can represent only two values: 0 and 1, usually identified with false and true respectively. This type can be stored in memory using a single bit, but is often given a full byte for convenience of addressing and speed of access.
A four-bit quantity is known as a nibble (when eating, being smaller than a bite) or nybble (being a pun on the form of the word byte). One nibble corresponds to one digit in hexadecimal and holds one digit or a sign code in binary-coded decimal.

Common integral data types
Note: C++ has no compiler-independent integer types with fixed bit widths. C has them only since C99, in the form (u)int(n)_t. It does specify the minimum widths for char, short, int, long, and long long (as shown in the table above). It also specifies that each of those types is no larger than the following, and that char is exactly one byte (eight bits in vitually all modern computers; the exact value is defined as CHAR_BIT in <limits.h>, also for older machines with wider bytes).

Data type names
A pointer is often, but not always, represented by an unsigned integer of specified width. This is often, but not always, the widest integer that the hardware supports directly. The value of this integer is often, but not always, the memory address of whatever the pointer points to.

2007-11-17T07:31:00.001-08:00

KSMO-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for the Kansas City metropolitan area. Licensed to Kansas City, Missouri, the station broadcasts an analog signal on UHF channel 62 and a digital signal on UHF channel 47. KSMO's transmitter is located in Independence, Missouri. The station is owned by the Meredith Corporation as part of a duopoly with the area's CBS affiliate KCTV. The two stations share studios located on Shawnee Mission Parkway in Fairway, Kansas. KSMO is known on-air as "My KSMO TV".
KSMO runs first-run shows from MyNetworkTV, sitcoms, first-run talk / reality shows, and movies. The station may also take on the responsibility of airing CBS programming whenever KCTV is not able to do so such as in a news-related emergency.

History
Channel 62 signed on September 12, 1983 as KEKR-TV, its call letters coming from the congressman who helped the station obtain an FCC license. It was locally owned and ran a general entertainment format consisting of cartoons, drama shows, old movies, religious shows, westerns, and sitcoms.
The new station's slogan was "Super 62" but the launch was anything but that. It only had three local commercials on its first day of operation: a "Candelite Music" LP collection of Elvis songs, a "Candelite" collection of country songs, and an ad for a modeling school. These commercials ran in nearly every break if the station was not showing a slide of their logo. The picture was substandard with a mysterious black bar was at the top of most programs and commercials.
In 1985, the station was sold to Media Central and renamed KZKC. It added more sitcoms and movies and moved away from religious shows. The station experimented with a "complete and uncut" gimmick for airing movies. That policy led to big trouble when the station ran a sex comedy called "Private Lessons" and was fined by the FCC after a viewer complaint about frontal nudity. The violation made TV Guide's annual J. Fred Muggs awards (a list of those in television who "made monkeys of themselves").
The station remained unprofitable and was later sold to Abry in 1988 and later renamed KSMO in 1991. The new ownership put ballots in the local TV guide asking for programming advice, hence the checkmark in the "O" of KSMO's new logo.
Under Abry, the station began to turn a profit. It failed to land the FOX affiliation which went to KSHB-TV, but held its own with a syndication lineup of cartoons, sitcoms, a few talk, reality shows, and movies.
KSMO picked up some of KSHB's programming (including FOX Kids) in 1994 after KSHB became an NBC affiliate and the new FOX affiliate, WDAF-TV, opted for Saturday morning news. That year, Abry merged with the Sinclair Broadcast Group. KSMO took the UPN affiliation starting in January of 1995. However, it still essentially programmed as an independent station, since UPN only provided programming for a few nights out of the week at that time.
KSMO became a WB affiliate in January of 1998 after Sinclair cut an affiliation deal with The WB switching most of its independent stations and UPN affiliates to that network. The former WB affiliate KCWB, now KCWE, would not pick up the UPN affiliation for another month.
Meredith Corporation bought the station in 2005 and made KSMO a sister station to the area's CBS affiliate KCTV. That fall, KCTV began producing a daily 9 PM newscast for KSMO to compete with WDAF's nightly 9 PM newscast.
On January 24, 2006, the WB and UPN networks announced that they would cease broadcasting and merge to create a new network. The new combined network would be called The CW, the letters representing the first initial of its corporate parents CBS (the parent company of UPN) and the Warner Bros. unit of Time Warner.
On February 22, 2006, News Corporation announced that they would start up another new broadcast television network called MyNetworkTV. The new network, which would be sister to FOX, would be operated by FOX Television Stations and its syndication division Twentieth Television. MyNetworkTV was created in order to give UPN and WB stations, not mentioned as becoming CW affiliates, another option besides becoming independent. It was also created to compete against The CW.
It was confirmed on March 7, 2006 that KCWE would become Kansas City's CW affiliate after an announcement by the network and channel 29's owner Hearst-Argyle Television. Two days later, on March 9, KSMO was announced as Kansas City's MyNetworkTV affiliate and branded as "My KSMO TV".
KSMO began broadcasting MyNetworkTV on September 5, 2006. KCWE began broadcasting The CW on September 18, 2006.
Since MyNetworkTV does not air programming on Sunday nights, KSMO normally airs movies from 7 to 9 PM.

2007-11-16T09:37:00.001-08:00

The Chukchi Peninsula, Chukotski Peninsula or Chukotsk Peninsula, at about 66° North, 169° East, is the northeastern extremity of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev, in the Russian Far East. It is bordered by the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the east.
The peninsula was traditionally the home of the native Chukchi people, Siberian Yupiks, Koryaks, Chuvans, Evens/Lamuts, Yukagirs, and some Russian settlers. The peninsula is part of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia.
The peninsula lies along the Northern Sea Route (the Northeast passage).
Industries on the peninsula are mining (tin, lead, zinc, gold, and coal), hunting and trapping, reindeer raising, and fishing.
The governor of Chukotka is Roman Abramovich, the owner of English football club Chelsea F.C.
Coordinates: 66°00′N, 169°00′W

2007-11-15T10:37:00.001-08:00

Togo Dennis West, Jr. (born June 21, 1942), an African American attorney and public official, was the third person to occupy the post of United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1998, during Clinton's second term, and was confirmed by the Senate on May 5, 1998. He had previously served as United States Secretary of the Army under Clinton, from 1993 to 1997.

Personal life
West was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; there, he became an Eagle Scout with Bronze Palms, and attended Atkins High School (where his parents were teachers), graduating as valedictorian in 1959. He subsequently entered Howard University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering in 1965, and a Juris Doctor in 1968, receiving cum laude honors and graduating first in his class. While a freshman at Howard University, he became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. West is a member of the Kappa Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. While a student at the Howard University School of Law, West became the managing editor for the Howard Law Journal; he also met Gail Berry, who became his wife. The Wests later had two daughters.
He has been named a Distinguished Eagle Scout by the Boy Scouts of America and was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award for his national contributions to America's youth. Currently, he is the President of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

2007-11-14T09:34:00.001-08:00

The Eastern Romance languages, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe from the local eastern variant of Vulgar Latin.

Common features

Romanian (known officially as Moldovan in the Republic of Moldova)
Aromanian
Megleno-Romanian
Istro-Romanian

2007-11-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Rooney is a five-piece rock band from Los Angeles signed to Geffen Records. The band is composed of 5 members: Robert Carmine, Louie Stephens, Taylor Locke, Ned Brower, and Matthew Winter. The band is named after the character Edward "Ed" R. Rooney, Dean of Students, from the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They are also named after a good friend Donald Rooney who gave them the idea of naming the band Rooney. The name Rooney was originally only a joke but soon they decided to keep it. Lead singer Carmine (nee Robert Schwartzman) is brother to actor Jason Schwartzman, son of actor Talia Shire, nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and cousin of director Sofia Coppola. Shire, star of the Rocky films, has a cameo in the band's video, "When Did Your Heart Go Missing."
Their music is reminiscent of British Invasion rock and 1980s pop, and has been compared to The Beatles, The Cars and Blur. Having toured the nation with acts such as Weezer and The Strokes, Rooney's official website states that the band "manages to capture elements from the past four decades and make them sound modern today."

Early Days (1999-2002)
Eventually the band scored a recording deal with Geffen Records in 2002. After delays, the band's debut album saw release on May 20th, 2003.
Album sales were slow until in 2004 when they had a cameo appearance in an episode of The O.C., The Third Wheel. Sales doubled. Their song "Blueside" was featured on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 soundtrack. Their song "I'm Shaking" was featured on an episode of the daytime soap opera, All My Children.
On November 16, 2004 the band issued their first DVD entitled "Spit & Sweat." The hour long documentary features interviews with the band and live performances from Los Angeles. The DVD also includes the videos for "Blueside," "I'm Shakin'," and "If It Were Up to Me."

The Debut Album (2002-2004)
In late 2004, the band entered the studio to record tracks with producer Tony Hoffer for their second release. A spring 2005 release was planned. Initially it was announced the "The Kids After Sunset" would be the album's title, however the band wasn't happy with the songs. Actual recordings from the Hoffer sessions were posted on the band's Myspace later in 2005. These songs were "Radio," "Ain't Gonna Cut It," "Are You Through With Me," and "She's a Fool." Private demo versions of songs recorded of the Hoffer sessions were leaked onto the internet. Songs such as "One Armed Man," "Paralyzed," and "The Juice" had already been played live by the band. Fans began calling these private demos "The Lost Album."
Their song entitled "The Sleep Song," was included twice in the 2005 cult film The Chumscrubber and was subsequently searched out by many fans of the movie. The song was part of "The Lost Album."
In the fall of 2005, the band began a new attempt to a record an album, this time with producer Howard Benson. The album came very close to release. In the spring of 2006, the album was mastered, cover art was created, and a music video was even filmed for the lead single "Tell Me." However, again the album wasn't meant to be, as the label disagreed with the songs.
In the summer of 2006, Rooney toured the U.S. with Kelly Clarkson from late June to early August. During their final tour, Kelly pulled several pranks on the band during their performances, starting with a prank which consisted of the announcer introducing them as "the teen sensations from Cleveland, Ohio, RODNEY!" to over 20,000 people.
It was revealed in Reuters on April 7, 2007, that Rooney had switched labels from Suretone Records to Cherrytree Records after being dropped by their management the Firm, but they were quickly picked up by Sound Management.

Second Album Struggles (2004-2006)
Following their summer tour, the band began their third sessions for a second album. Only three songs from the previous sessions ("Don't Come Around Again," "Paralyzed," and "Tell Me Soon"), were kept for their new album, Calling the World. On March 6, 2007, the single "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?" was released on their official MySpace. The song was featured on the July 2007 Abercrombie Kids soundtrack and was played in stores across the country. The album was released to stores July 17, 2007 and debuted #42 on The Billboard Top 100 Albums chart.

Calling the World (2007-present)

Discography

Rooney (2003)
Dos (2006)
Calling the World (2007) Albums
Deli Meats (2000)
The Rooney Sampler
Plug It In (2001)
Mastedonia (2002)
Blueside
I'm Shakin'
When Did Your Heart Go Missing' (2007) UK Singles Chart #45

"Meltdown"
"Turn Away"
"Blueside"
"Find Myself"
"Losing All Control"
"Popstars"
"Why?"
"It Goes To Bed"
"No, Wait, But Listen, I'm Talking To You (Gone)"
"The Floor"
"Why?"
"It Goes To Bed"
"No, Wait, But Listen, I'm Talking To You (Gone)"
"If It Were Up To Me"
"Popstars"
"Losing All Control"
"Blueside"
"The Floor"
"Make Some Noise"
"I'm Shakin'"
"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"
"In My Pocket"
"When Did Your Heart Go Missing'"
"Too Late'" EPs

Spit & Sweat (2004) DVDs

"Metal Guru", from the album Herbie: Fully Loaded Soundtrack (2005)
"Death on Two Legs", from the album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005)
"Here Today, Gone Tomorrow", from the album We're A Happy Family Ramones tribute (2003)
"Merry X-Mas Everybody", from the album The Year They Recalled Santa Claus and The O.C. Mix 3: Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah
"Sleep Song" from The Chumscrubber soundtrack (2005)
"When You Walk Into the Room", released online only Other Official Releases

Lost Album (internet demos) Videos

Robert Schwartzman — Vocals/Guitar
Taylor Locke — Guitar/Vocals
Ned Brower — Drums/Vocals
Louie Stephens — Keyboards
Matthew Winter — Bass Guitar

2007-11-12T09:15:00.001-08:00

Office of Civilian Defense was a United States federal emergency war agency set up May 20, 1941 by Executive Order 8757 to co-ordinate state and federal measures for protection of civilians in case of war emergency. Its two branches supervised protective functions such as blackouts and special fire protection and "war service" functions such as child care, health, housing, and transportation. It also created the Civil Air Patrol. The agency was terminated by EO 9562 of June 4, 1945.

2007-11-11T08:23:00.001-08:00

Cultural literacy is the ability to converse fluently in the idioms, allusions and informal content which creates and constitutes a dominant culture. From being familiar with street signs to knowing historical reference to understanding the most recent slang, literacy demands interaction with the culture and reflection of it. A knowledge of a canonical set of literature is not valuable when engaging with others in a society if the knowledge stops at the end of the text — as life is interwoven with art, expression, history and experience, cultural literacy requires the broad range of trivia and the use of that trivia in the creation of a communal language and a "groupthink." Cultural literacy stresses the knowledge of those pieces of information which content creators will assume the audience already possesses.

See also

Cultural competence
Educational essentialism

2007-11-10T10:12:00.001-08:00

DragonForce are an English power metal band formed in London, England in 1999. They are known for their twin guitar solos, speed, and vocals.

DragonForce was formed in 1999 from the remnants of black metal band Demoniac (and various other extreme metal groups) under the name of DragonHeart, but soon changed their name to DragonForce before releasing any commercial albums due to possible trademark issues with Brazilian band Dragonheart. Their career began with the publishing of their early songs on the first incarnation of MP3.com, claiming the top of the site's heavy metal charts. The hit song "Valley of the Damned" reached over 500,000 in the first few months. Two of the original members, Steve Williams and Steve Scott, quickly left the band to form power metal outfit Power Quest.
DragonForce has enjoyed increasing popularity over the years, publishing three albums and touring extensively while supporting Helloween, W.A.S.P. and Iron Maiden. Their 2005 tour in support of the Sonic Firestorm album included support from Angra and Mendeed during their passage through the UK. On the October 28, 2005 bassist Adrian Lambert announced his departure from the band in order to focus more time on raising his young son with lyrics comparable to themes present in fantasy games.

Emphasis on fast, twin-guitar harmonies
Lyrics of a fantastical or epic nature
Use of background choral singing throughout songs
Generally optimistic and uplifting chorus sections (musically and lyrically)
Video game influenced melodies and guitar noises
Usage of keyboard
Play "Soldiers of the Wasteland (sample)" in browser (beta) Download Soldiers of the Wasteland (sample) (file info)

A brief sample of the sixth track on the Sonic Firestorm CD.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.
ZP Theart - Lead vocals
Herman Li - Lead / Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals
Sam Totman - Lead / Rhythm guitars & Backing vocals
Dave Mackintosh - Drums & Backing vocals
Frédéric Leclercq - Bass guitar & Backing vocals
Vadim Pruzhanov - Keyboard
Valley of the Damned (demo) (2000) (as DragonHeart)
Valley of the Damned (2003)
Sonic Firestorm (2004)
Inhuman Rampage (2006)
Inhuman Rampage Special Edition (2007)
"Through the Fire and Flames", from Inhuman Rampage
"Operation Ground and Pound", from Inhuman Rampage
DragonForce - official site
DragonForce at MySpace
Artist profile page at Roadrunner Records

2007-11-09T07:45:00.001-08:00

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation made up of Antigua, which, along with its satellite islets and rocks, is divided into six parishes; and two dependencies, the islands Barbuda and Redonda.

Queen

Elizabeth II
Governor-General
- Louise Lake-Tack
  Prime Minister
  - Baldwin Spencer
    Parliament
    - Senate
      House of Representatives
      Political parties
      Elections: 1999, 2004
      Parishes and Dependencies
      Foreign relations

2007-11-08T09:46:00.001-08:00

The centaurs are a class of icy planetoids named after the race of centaurs. Centaurs orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, crossing the orbits of the large gas giant planets. The first centaur to be discovered was 2060 Chiron in 1977, while the largest currently known is 10199 Chariklo discovered in 1997.
No centaur has yet been photographed up close by a spacecraft, although there is evidence that Saturn's moon Phoebe, imaged by the Cassini probe in 2004, may be a captured centaur. In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope has gleaned some information about the surface features of 8405 Asbolus.
Three centaurs, Chiron, 60558 Echeclus, and 166P/NEAT 2001 T4, have been found to display cometary comas. Chiron and 60558 Echeclus are now classified as both asteroids and comets. It is possible that other centaurs may also be comets, but as of March 2006 no cometary behavior has been discovered for any others.

Cis-Neptunian objects

Centaurs Orbits
The diagram illustrates the orbits of all known centaursFor the purpose of this diagram, an object is classified as a centaur if its semi-major axis is between those of Jupiter and Neptune. Last update: March 2007

1999 XS₃₅ follows an extremely eccentric orbit (e=0.947), leading it from inside of the Earth's orbit (0.94 AU) to well beyond Neptune (>34 AU)
2005 VB₁₂₃ follows a quasi-circular orbit (e<0.01)
2001 XZ₂₅₅ has the lowest inclination (i<3°).
Damocles is among a few centaurs on orbits with extreme inclination (prograde i>70°, e.g. 2007 DA₆₁, 2004 YH₃₂, retrograde i<120° e.g. 2005 JT₅₀; not shown) Distribution
Because the centaurs cross the orbits of the giant planets and are not protected by orbital resonances, their orbits are unstable within a timescale of 10 years. Dynamical studies of their orbits indicate that centaurs are probably an intermediate orbital state of objects transitioning from the Kuiper Belt to the Jupiter Family of short period comets. Objects may be perturbed from the Kuiper Belt, whereupon they become Neptune-crossing and interact gravitationally with that planet (see theories of origin). They then become classed as centaurs, but their orbits are chaotic, evolving relatively rapidly as the centaur makes repeated close approaches to one or more of the outer planets. Some centaurs will evolve into Jupiter-crossing orbits whereupon their perihelia may become reduced into the inner solar system and they may be reclassified as active comets in the Jupiter Family if they display cometary activity. Centaurs will thus ultimately collide with the Sun or a planet or else they may be ejected into interstellar space after a close approach to one of the planets, particularly Jupiter.

Physical characteristics
Centaurs display a puzzling diversity of colour that challenges any simple model of surface composition. In the diagram on the right, the colour indices are measures of apparent magnitude of an object through blue (B), visible (V) i.e. green-yellow and red (R) filters. The diagram illustrates these differences (in enhanced colour) for all centaurs with known colour indices. For reference, two moons: Triton and Phoebe, and planet Mars are plotted (yellow labels, size not to scale).
Centaurs appear to be grouped into two classes:
There are numerous theories to explain this colour difference, but they can be divided broadly into two categories:
As examples of the second category, the reddish colour of Pholus has been explained as a possible mantle of irradiated red organics, whereas Chiron has instead had its ice exposed due to its periodic cometary activity, giving it a blue/grey index. The correlation with activity and color is not certain, however, as the active centaurs span the range of colors from blue (Chiron) to red (166P/NEAT 2001 T4).

very red, for example 5145 Pholus
blue (or blue-grey, according to some authors), for example 2060 Chiron
The colour difference results from a difference in the origin and/or composition of the centaur (see origin below)
The colour difference reflects a different level of space weathering from radiation and/or cometary activity. Colours
The interpretation of spectra is often ambiguous, related to particle sizes and other factors, but the spectra offer an insight into surface composition. As with the colours, the observed spectra can fit a number of models of the surface.
Water ice signatures have been confirmed on a number of centaurs (including 2060 Chiron, 10199 Chariklo and 5145 Pholus). In addition to the water ice signature, a number of other models have been put forward:
Chiron, the only centaur with known cometary activity, appears to be the most complex. The spectra observed vary depending on the period of the observation. Water ice signature was detected during a period of low activity and disappeared during high activity. and methanol ice.
The surface of 52872 Okyrhoe has been suggested to be a mixture of kerogens, olivines and small percentage of water ice.
8405 Asbolus is been suggested to be a mixture of 15% Triton-like tholins, 8% Titan-like tholin, 37% amorphous carbon and 40% ice tholin. Spectra
Observations of Chiron in 1988 and 1989 near its perihelion found it to display a coma (a cloud gas and dust evaporating from its surface). It is thus now officially classified as both a comet and an asteroid, although it is far larger than a typical comet and there is some lingering controversy. Other centaurs are being monitored for comet-like activity: so far two, 60558 Echeclus, and 166P/NEAT 2001 T4 have shown such behavior. 166P/NEAT 2001 T4 was discovered while it exhibited a coma, and so is classified as a comet, though its orbit is that of a centaur. 60558 Echeclus was discovered without a coma but recently became active , and so it is now accordingly also classified as both a comet and an asteroid.

Theories of origin
Well-known centaurs include:

2007-11-07T10:17:00.001-08:00

This article is about the Scottish burgh. For other places with the same name, see Roxburgh (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 55°34′05″N 2°28′38″W / 55.56814, -2.47727
The destroyed Royal Burgh of Roxburgh, was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to Early Modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at least as much importance as Edinburgh, Stirling, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, for a time acting as de facto capital as the royal residence of David I. Its significance lay in its position in the centre of some of Lowland Scotland's most agriculturally fertile areas, and its position upon the River Tweed, which allowed river transport of goods via the main seaport of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Its position also acted as a barrier to English invasion.
The town stood on a defensible peninsula between the rivers Tweed and Teviot, with Roxburgh Castle guarding the narrow neck of the peninsula. Nothing remains of the town except some ruined segments of castle ramparts. Its site lies to the south of modern Kelso and Floors Castle, which lie on the other side of the Tweed. The Duke of Roxburghe owns the site.
English and Scots forces repeatedly captured and recaptured the town during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Its final recapture in 1460 saw the town and castle destroyed. After this time the town never regained its importance because the final English capture of Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482 left Roxburgh with little reason to exist.
Roxburgh was superseded as the county town of the former county of Roxburghshire by Jedburgh.
(See: http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/2004_rox_ancient.html )

Roxburgh District
In more recent times (1975–1996), Roxburgh referred to a local government district in the Borders region of Scotland. Its borders broadly resembled those of the traditional county of Roxburghshire. In 1996 the district of Roxburgh became part of the Scottish Borders unitary area. (See also: Subdivisions of Scotland)

2007-11-06T08:27:00.001-08:00

The Declaration of Arbroath was a declaration of Scottish independence, and set out to confirm Scotland's status as an independent, sovereign state and its use of military action when unjustly attacked. It is in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320. Sealed by fifty-one magnates and nobles, the letter is the sole survivor of three created at the time. The others were a letter from the King of Scots and a letter from the clergy which all presumably made similar points.

Influence

2007-11-05T09:35:00.001-08:00

Coordinates: 50°54′53″N 8°6′0″E / 50.91472, 8.1
Netphen is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Sieg, roughly 7 km northeast of Siegen.

Geography
Netphen lies on the Rothaargebirge's southern slope and forms the natural boundary of the Wittgensteiner Land. The municipal area is made up of many dales and mountain ridges. Northeast of the constituent community of Walpersdorf lies the source of the river Sieg and in the Lahnhof – another constituent community whose name takes the definite article – lies the source of the river Lahn.

Population development

Constituent communities

Afholderbach
The constituent community of Beienbach lies at the end of a small side dale of the Sieg between Netphen and Deuz and is fringed by spruce and broadleaf forest on the heights and by agricultural areas as well as old "fruit meadows" (where various fruit trees grow) right at the edge of the community. It is also crossed by the Katzenbach. It had its first documentary mention in 1299.

Beienbach
Brauersdorf lies near the Netphen Leisure Park (Netphener Freizeitpark) with its swimming pool, skating rink, fitness and sport centre, miniature golf course, and so on. Furthermore, the community lies right at the Obernau Dam.

Brauersdorf
Owing to its advantageous location, Deuz became the first industrial community in the old Amt of Netphen. Moving the Irle iron foundry from Kaan-Marienborn to Deuz is viewed as an economic birth. Over the years, further businesses have set up shop in Deuz.

Deuz
Dreis-Tiefenbach is, with its population of about 5300, Netphen's biggest constituent community, lying about 262 to 350 m above sea level on an area of some 7.5 km². It is roughly 6 km from Siegen and 4 km from Netphen (main town). Dreis-Tiefenbach lies on Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) 62, which joins with the Hüttentalstraße. The community's environs consist of relatively broad, thick mixed forest and broad meadows. Dreis-Tiefenbach was likely once settled by Celts. It had its first documentary mention in 1239.

Dreis-Tiefenbach

Eckmannshausen

Eschenbach
Frohnhausen lies roughly 2 km from Netphen (main town). As of 2005, some 470 people live there. The community ranges from 350 to 540 m above sea level, and roughly 70% of it is wooded, with the rest made up of fields, meadows, and built-up areas.
The heart of the village consists mainly of half-timbered houses protected as monuments and built in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Frohnhausen
Grissenbach lies in Netphen's east, right at the foot of the Rothaargebirge Nature Park. As with Frohnhausen, 70% of the community is wooded, with the rest made up of fields, meadows, and built-up areas. The community ranges from 336 to 530 m above sea level, and has an area of 4.6 km².
As of June 2005, Grissenbach is home to 894 people, giving it a population density of 194/km², considerably lower than the average for the Federal Republic of Germany (about 230/km²).

Grissenbach
Population development:
1939 439 1975 768 2005 1000+
Hainchen's area encompasses 1070 ha, 650 ha of which is wooded, with the rest made up of meadows and built-up areas. The boundary runs for roughly 8 km along the border with Hesse. As well, Hainchen borders on the town of Bad Laasphe in the north and in the south on the community of Wilnsdorf. The difference in elevation between the entrance to the community and the exit from it at the Hessian border is 96 m (384 to 480 m).
From the entrance to the Geiersgrundbach Valley to the boundary with Bad Laasphe, the difference in elevation is 190 m.
The community has developed from one of small handicraft businesses and independent farmers to an industrial community nowadays, with two prefabricated house companies, one mechanical workshop and four service-sector businesses setting up shop here. Furthermore, there are four businesses using agricultural land, two of which are major landholders.
All together, there are 129 registered jobs in the community. The overwhelming majority of workers commute to neighbouring areas (Greater Siegen, neighbouring areas in Hesse). An advantage to the community is the nearby A 45, only 14 km away and reachable in a matter of minutes. The advantageous transport links have also had something to do with revitalizing the hiking trails along the Rothaarsteig, 7 km of which run through Hainchen.
Hainchen also has a castle, the Burg Hainchen, built in the heights with a moat. It has been standing at least since 1290, the year when it was first mentioned in a document.

Hainchen
Some 400 people live in Helgersdorf. Things to see there include the Mahnglockenturm (bell tower), the Backes (an old bakehouse), the old mill and Saint Elisabeth's Chapel. Here, too, the Wurstekommission – "Sausage Commission" – has been represented since 1919 (this is an organization dedicated mostly to scaring away evil spirits at New Year's; they get their name from the door-to-door sausage donations that they seek for the attendant festival).

Helgersdorf
Herzhausen was for a long time an independent community, but is now a constituent community of Netphen. Lying in the middle of the Rothaargebirge, Herzhausen is even now still shaped by agriculture and forestry as well as ancient Siegerland traditions such as the Hauberg (a long-standing practice of coöperative forestry in this region) or the Martinsfeuer, or Saint Martin's Fire, a custom on Saint Martin's Day (11 November). The high point of the year is the yearly shooting festival, known far beyond the regional bounds.
Herzhausen lies on the state highway (Landesstraße) between Dreis-Tiefenbach and Hilchenbach. In 2005, a citizens' club was founded. Also once found in Herzhausen was the district garbage dump. The storage of household rubbish there, however, is no longer allowed, and it is now used as an earth dump. Further trash is now sorted for incineration and forwarded.

Herzhausen
Roughly 900 people call Irmgarteichen home. It was once a community with great (ecclesiastical) importance. In Irmgarteichen, many clubs have had a hand in shaping the community as it is today. Very import rites are Drette Krestach and the Osterfeuer of the Hermedeicher Jonge.

Irmgarteichen
Nenkersdorf lies east of the constituent community of Grissenbach. The historic watermill on the eastern edge of the community is said to be particularly worth seeing.

Nenkersdorf
The Lahnhof, whose name takes the definite article (always der/den/dem Lahnhof, des Lahnhof(e)s in German), lies in the southeast Rothaargebirge at a height of 607 m above sea level. Its name first appeared in a document in 1333. Right nearby rise the rivers Lahn, Sieg and Eder. The pristine nature, to say nothing of the outstanding views when the weather is good, has led the Lahnhof to become, just as was also true one hundred years ago, one of the best loved local outing destinations from near and far.

Lahnhof

Oelgershausen
Since at least 1920 there has been in Salchendorf a youth association called the Wurstekommission (see Helgersdorf above) which has about 50 active members, 14 of whom are on the council of elders. In the middle of the village has stood since 1995 the Wurstekommission Memorial.
A Salchendorf portal is in the planning stage.

Salchendorf

Sohlbach

Unglinghausen
Walpersdorf had its first documentary mention in 1344. It is well known for its charcoal kilns and nature reserve with its snowflake meadows. Geographically, Walpersdorf, the first place on the river Sieg, lies at the edge of the Rothaarsteig. About 3 km away rise the rivers Sieg, Lahn and Eder.

Walpersdorf
Wertenbach was once an independent community. It came into being sometime between 900 and 1300 and has an adjusted area of 937 ha, meaning that the area was once greater, but early in the 18th century, former border forests and protected woodlands belonging to the local lord were merged with neighbouring communities.
Werthenbach, unlike other constituent communities' names like Sohlbach, Beienbach, Grissenbach, and so on, is not the community's original name, but rather it was once called Werthenbrecht. The placename element brecht that occurred in the name before it was corrupted can be compared to the common mountain name Bracht, and in the Rhenish Slate Mountains can still be found as a description for newer "clearing" communities.
Werthenbach's earliest mentions:
In 1343, the Lords of Bicken relinquished an estate (actually a Hauberg – see Herzhausen above) to the villagers in what was then called Wertinbracht as long as they paid a yearly fee for this favour to the Monastery of Keppel. The earnings from the Bicken estates in 1447 amounted to a "tithe of 7 Malter of corn, 11 Malter of oats" (a Malter being "15 pieces", so 105 and 165 respectively). Eleven houses stood on monastery land in 1566.
A few meadows in Werthenbach have names bearing witness to the old landlords' ownership or rights. Zehntwiese, for instance, refers to Zehnten – tithes.
The Herrenberg (mountain) has a name suggesting lordly ownership ("Herr" means "lord").
The local "Hauberg" forestry coöperative, popularly called "Kloster" ("Monastery") evokes the Keppel Monastery's historical ownership of the land.
In Werthenbach, on the street "Am Heller", 5 holiday cottages are to be built by 2007. Despite considerable protest from some quarters of the village community, the holiday village was approved on 27 March 2006 by the Netphen Town Development Board. Critics hold that it is unfair that rather than private houses, holiday cottages are being built on these lots. They will be built by a local prefabricated house company.

1336 Hartmann von Wertinbrecht
1343 Hartmann von Wertinbracht
1344 Wernckenbracht. Werthenbach
The earliest mention of this region of Siegen-Wittgenstein goes back to the 11th century. Here, as in most parts of the old Siegen district, the princely House of Nassau is named as the local overlords.
In 1215, the Lords of Hain were mentioned as being at Hainchen Castle.
From 1635 to 1637 raged the Plague.
In 1742, Netphen, like all other places north of the Lahn, passed to Prince Wilhelm Karl Friso of Orange, Prince of Diez and heir to the United Netherlands, thereby making the Principality of Nassau-Siegen part of the Netherlands.
Napoleon added the Siegerland to the Grand Duchy of Berg as part of his rearrangement of Germany. This change was, however, undone in 1813 and Netphen once again became Orange domain. In 1815, the House of Orange forwent all its German possessions and Netphen passed to Prussia in 1816.
On 1 January 1969, as part of municipal reform, the greater community of Netphen came into being. On 30 June 1997, Netphen's population reached the 25,000 mark, thereby earning it town status. This was not made official, however, until just before the turn of the millennium, on 1 January 2000.

History

Politics
The town council's 38 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 September 2004:
Note: UWG is a citizens' coalition.

CDU 16 seats
SPD 9 seats
Greens 3 seats
FDP 3 seats
UWG 7 seats Town council
Netphen's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: Party per fess, above, in azure a lion rampant Or armed and langued gules with seven billets Or, below, in Or a boar saltant sable langued gules.
The lion is from Nassau's arms. The springing boar is copied from the oldest preserved seal of the Siegerland Court, from 1467. It belonged to the "Schöffen tzo Netfe ind Irmgarteichen", or the Jurymen at Netphen and Irmgarteichen. The Netphen symbol has its origins in the old Yule festival, in which the boar was sacrificed to the gods.

Coat of arms

Żagań, Poland, since 1995
Quiévy, France
Vrchlabí, Czech Republic Town partnerships

Culture and sightseeing

Museen
Since 1996 there has existed in the local history museum a great exhibition room with exhibits from prehistory and early history. The focus is on the Netpherland economy with tanning, charcoal making, the Hauberg forestry system, the practice of Hude ( ≈ silvopasture) and beekeeping. The same building also houses the cultural and tourism office.

Heimatmuseum

Buildings
The Martini Church is a hall church from the 13th century. Beginning at dusk and into the night, the Romanesque tower is lit up.

Martinikirche
The Obernau Reservoir, which holds 15 000 000 m³ of water is the biggest drinking water reservoir in the Siegerland. A track leading all the way round the reservoir invites hikers. Towering over the reservoir is the Alte Burg, or Old Castle, a "flight castle" (one used mainly for retreat or refuge) and a place of worship from La Tène times about 500 BC. Every New Year's Eve, a Volkslauf ( ≈ fun run) is held there.

Obernautalsperre
In Hainchen is found the reconstructed Wasserburg Hainchen, a moat-ringed castle.

Wasserburg Hainchen
The mill's history goes back to the 12th century. It belonged until the 14th century to the Lords (Schlossherren) of Hainchen. At that time, the lord gave it to his tenant. Since that time, for more than five generations, the mill has been under the Weber family's ownership.

Nenkersdorf Watermill
Making charcoal is a tradition that goes back a long time in the Siegerland, owing mainly to another long tradition, iron smelting. In Walpersdorf is found the Siegerland's only charcoal kiln that is still used. The charcoal is made out of oak, birch and beech, yielding roughly one tonne of charcoal for every four of wood.

Walpersdorf charcoal kiln
Netphen has a leisure park with a tennis hall, an ice stadium and an indoor swimming pool. The tennis hall and ice stadium were completed in October 1976, and on 14 May 1977 opened together with the indoor swimming pool. The outdoor swimming pool followed a short time later. Netphen's biggest sport club is the TVE.

Sport
Riewekooche, a kind of potato bread, is the local contribution to the world of food.

Culinary specialities

Economy and infrastructure

Established businesses
Walzen Irle GmbH is a roller manufacturer. The traditional business can look back on a 180-year history, and was the first company in Germany to make chilled cast iron rollers. Today Walzen Irle belongs to the Irle Group and is a 100% daughter company of Irle-Deuz GmbH.

Firma Walzen Irle GmbH
Flender-Flux is a traditional business in Deuz with a 240-year history whose main business is in manufacturing metal roof systems.

Flender-Flux
The firm began on 1 May 1939 as a limited partnership for the purpose of making machines and apparatuses and also pursuing trade in the same, under the name Maschinenfabrik M Heitze, Kommanditgesellschaft, and under the personally liable partner, millwrighting master Martin Heitze, the engineer Edmund Dietrich and the director Ernst Zimmermann.
By late 1939, the first works hall with a floor area of 600 m² was in place, and it was equipped with 3 lathes, 1 drilling machine, 1 handheld welding site and 5 millwrighting workplaces. Machine production did not, however, begin before the war broke out that same year.
In 1939, the workforce was 6 persons. By late 1945, this had risen to 8. The first machines built at the plant were ones for woodworking, such as firewood cutting machines, carpenter's circular saws, wood drilling machines and long band saws. This production stopped in 1945 after more than 200 machines had been completed.
When Mr. Honig joined the firm after the Second World War as a constructing engineer, and later a shareholder, his connection to his former employer, the Waldrich firm in Siegen, led to the company's beginning production, with the Eugen Waldrich firm in Bad Godesberg, of glass pane finishing machines late in 1945.
The programme was based on folding-arm polishing machines, combination grinding and polishing machines, horizontal grinding machines, glass drilling machines and groove cutting machines. Production continued until 1965, shutting down only slowly after having fulfilled the glass industry's backlog.

Deuzer Maschinenfabrik Heitze GmbH & Co.
In Netphen lies a Bombardier Transportation works at which bogies are made.

Transport
This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.

2007-11-04T08:21:00.001-08:00

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected. In modern parlance the term is used to mean a place of safety.

Sanctuary as a sacred place
The area around the altar was also considered holy because of the physical presence of God in the Eucharist, both during the Mass and in the tabernacle on the altar the rest of the time. So that people could tell when Jesus was there (in the tabernacle), the "sanctuary lamp" would be lit, indicating that anyone approaching the altar should genuflect (bow by bending the knee and inclining the head), to show respect for Him. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches of Byzantine rite and Coptic Orthodox churches, the sanctuary is separated from the nave (where the people pray) by an iconostasis, literally a wall of icons, with three doors in it. In other Oriental Orthodox traditions, a sanctuary curtain is used. In most Protestant Churches, the term sanctuary denotes the entire worship area while the term chancel is used to refer to the area around the altar-table. In many traditions, such as the Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, and United Methodist Church, altar rails mark the edge of the sanctuary or chancel.
The area around the altar came to be called the "sanctuary," and that terminology does not apply to Christian churches alone: King Solomon's temple, built in about 950 BC, had a sanctuary ("Holy of Holies") where the tabernacle ("Ark of the Covenant") was, and the term applies to the corresponding part of any house of worship. In most modern synagogues, the main room for prayer is known as the sanctuary, to contrast it with smaller rooms dedicated to various other services and functions.

The Altar
Sanctuary was also a right to be safe from arrest in the sanctuary of a church or temple, recognized by English law from the fourth to the seventeenth century.

Sanctuary in medieval law

Main article: Right of asylum Relating to political asylum
See also: Sanctuary movement
Sanctuary of refugees from Central American civil wars was a movement in the 1980s. Part of a broader anti-war movement positioned against U.S. foreign policy in Central America, by 1987 440 sites in the United States had been declared "sanctuary cities" open to migrants from this civil wars in the Central America region.
Sanctuary of immigrants: These sites included university campuses and cities. From the 1980s continuing into the 2000s, there also have been instances of churches providing "sanctuary" for short periods to migrants facing deportation in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, and Canada, among other nations. From 1983 to 2003 Canada experienced 36 sanctuary incidents.

See also

Sanctuary Movement history on New Sanctuary Movement page

2007-11-03T09:26:00.001-07:00

A mantra (Devanagari मन्त्र) is a religious or mystical syllable or poem, typically from the Sanskrit language. Their use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies. Mantras originated in the Vedic religion of India, later becoming an essential part of the Hindu tradition and a customary practice within Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. The use of mantras is now widespread throughout various spiritual movements which are based on, or off-shoots of, the practices in the earlier Eastern religions.
Mantras are interpreted to be effective as sound (vibration), to the effect that great emphasis is put on correct pronunciation (resulting in an early development of a science of phonetics in India). They are intended to deliver the mind from illusion and material inclinations. Chanting is the process of repeating a mantra.
Khanna (2003: p.21) states:
Mantras, the Sanskrit syllables inscribed on yantras, are essentially 'thought forms' representing divinities or cosmic powers, which exert their influence by means of sound-vibrations. (NB: Original text not meta-enhanced.)

Etymology
In the context of the Vedas, the term "mantra" refers to the entire portion which contains the texts called Rig, Yajus or Saman, that is, the metrical part as opposed to the prose Brahmana commentary. With the transition from ritualistic Vedic religion to mystical and egalitarian Hindu schools of Yoga, Vedanta, Tantra and Bhakti, the orthodox attitude of the elite nature of mantra knowledge gave way to spiritual interpretations of mantras as a translation of the human will or desire into a form of action, with some features in common with spells in general. For the authors of the Hindu scriptures of the Upanishads, the syllable Aum, itself constituting a mantra, represents Brahman, the godhead, as well as the whole of creation. Kūkai suggests that all sounds are the voice of the Dharmakaya Buddha — i.e. as in Hindu Upanishadic and Yogic thought, these sounds are manifestations of ultimate reality, in the sense of sound symbolism postulating that the vocal sounds of the mantra have inherent meaning independent of the understanding of the person uttering them. Nevertheless, such understanding of what a mantra may symbolise or how it may function differs throughout the various traditions and also depends on the context in which it is written or sounded. In some instances there are multiple layers of symbolism associated with each sound, many of which are specific to particular schools of thought. For an example of such see the syllable: Aum which is central to both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
While Hindu tantras eventually came to see the letters as well as the sounds as representatives of the divine, it was when Buddhism travelled to China that a major shift in emphasis towards writing came about. China lacked a unifying, ecclesiastic language like Sanskrit, and achieved its cultural unity by having a written language that was flexible in pronunciation but more precise in terms of the concepts that each character represented. The Chinese prized written language much more highly than did the Indian Buddhist missionaries, and the writing of mantras became a spiritual practice in its own right. So that whereas Brahmins had been very strict on correct pronunciation, the Chinese, and indeed other Far-Eastern Buddhists were less concerned with this than correctly writing something down. The practice of writing mantras, and copying texts as a spiritual practice, became very refined in Japan, and the writing in the Siddham script in which the Sanskrit of many Buddhist Sutras were written is only really seen in Japan nowadays. However, written mantra-repetition in Hindu practices, with Sanskrit in any number of scripts, is well-known to many sects in India as well.

Introduction
Mantras were originally conceived in the great Hindu scriptures known as the Vedas. Within practically all Hindu scriptures, the writing is formed in painstakingly crafted two line "shlokas" and most mantras follow this pattern, although mantras are often found in single line or even single word combinations.
The most basic mantra is Aum, which in Hinduism is known as the "pranava mantra," the source of all mantras. The philosophy behind this is the Hindu idea of nama-rupa (name-form), which supposes that all things, ideas or entities in existence, within the phenomenological cosmos, have name and form of some sort. The most basic name and form is the primordial vibration of Aum, as it is the first manifested nama-rupa of Brahman, the unmanifest reality/unreality. Essentially, before existence and beyond existence is only One reality, Brahman, and the first manifestation of Brahman in existence is Aum. For this reason, Aum is considered to be the most fundamental and powerful mantra, and thus is prefixed and suffixed to all Hindu prayers. While some mantras may invoke individual Gods or principles, the most fundamental mantras, like 'Aum,' the 'Shanti Mantra,' the 'Gayatri Mantra' and others all ultimately focus on the One reality.
In the Hindu tantras the universe is sound. The supreme (para) brings forth existence through the Word (Shabda). Creation consists of vibrations at various frequencies and amplitudes giving rise to the phenomena of the world. The purest vibrations are the var.na, the imperishable letters which are revealed to us, imperfectly as the audible sounds and visible forms.
Var.nas are the atoms of sound. A complex symbolic association was built up between letters and the elements, gods, signs of the zodiac, parts of the body -- letters became rich in these associations. For example in the Aitrareya-aranya-Upanishad we find:
"The mute consonants represent the earth, the sibilants the sky, the vowels heaven. The mute consonants represent fire, the sibilants air, the vowels the sun? The mute consonants represent the eye, the sibilants the ear, the vowels the mind"
In effect each letter became a mantra and the language of the Vedas, Sanskrit, corresponds profoundly to the nature of things. Thus the Vedas come to represent reality itself. The seed syllable Aum represents the underlying unity of reality, which is Brahman.

Mantra in Hinduism
Mantra japa was a concept of the Vedic sages that incorporates mantras as one of the main forms of puja, or worship, whose ultimate end is seen as moksha/liberation. Essentially, Mantra Japa means repetition of mantra, and has become an established practice of all Hindu streams, from the various Yoga to Tantra. It involves repetition of a mantra over and over again, usually in cycles of auspicious numbers (in multiples of three), the most popular being 108. For this reason, Hindu malas (bead necklaces) developed, containing 108 beads and a head bead (sometimes referred to as the 'meru', or 'guru' bead). The devotee performing japa using his/her fingers counts each bead as he/she repeats the chosen mantra. Having reached 108 repetitions, if he/she wishes to continue another cycle of mantras, the devotee must turn the mala around without crossing the head bead and repeat.
It is said that through japa the devotee attains one-pointedness, or extreme focus, on the chosen deity or principal idea of the mantra. The vibrations and sounds of the mantra are considered extremely important, and thus reverberations of the sound are supposed to awaken the prana or spiritual life force and even stimulate chakras according to many Hindu schools of thought.
Any shloka from holy Hindu texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutra, even the Mahabharata , Ramayana, Durga saptashati or Chandi are considered powerful enough to be repeated to great effect, and have therefore the status of a mantra.
A very common mantra is formed by taking a deity's name. Called Nama japa and saluting it in such a manner: "Aum namah ------" or "Aum Jai (Hail!) ------" or several such permutations. Common examples are "Aum namah Shivaya" (Aum I bow to Lord Shiva), "Aum Namo Narayanaya"; or "Aum Namo Bhagavate Vasudevãya," (Salutations to the Universal God Vishnu), "Aum Shri Ganeshaya Namah" (Aum to Shri Ganesha) and "Aum Kalikayai Namah" and "Aum Hrim Chandikãyai Namah." (i.e., mantras to Devi.)
Repeating an entire mantric text, such as the Durga Saptashati, in its entirety is called patha.

Mantra japa
Arguably the most representative mantra of all the Hindu mantras is the famed Gayatri Mantra:
ॐ भूर्भुवस्व: |
तत्सवितुर्वरेण्यम् |
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि |
धियो यो न: प्रचोदयात्
Aum Bhūr Bhuva Svaha
(Aum) Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayāt, (Aum)
It is considered one of the most universal of all Hindu mantras, invoking the universal Brahman as the principle of knowledge and the illumination of the primordial, Sun.

Some Hindu mantras
असतोमा सद्गमय। तमसोमा ज्योतिर् गमया।
मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय॥
Aum Asato mā sad gamaya
Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya
Mṛtyormā amṛtam gamaya
Aum śānti śānti śāntiḥ
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad I.iii.28)
"lead me from non-truth to truth; lead me from darkness to light; lead me from mortality to immortality"

Lead me from ignorance to truth
For main article see Hare Krishna
A mantra comprising of the names Hare, Krishna and Rama. It appears originally in the Kali-Saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad (Kali Santarana Upanisad):
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare
In the 16th century, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, along with his followers, spread this mantra across India through public congregational chanting (sankirtan). Chaitanya and his followers traveled from town to town singing this mantra, claiming that it would awaken love of Krishna (bhakti) in whoever happened to hear it. It is often referred to as the 'Maha Mantra' by practitioners.
In 1966, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), a branch of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, and introduced the Hare Krishna mantra to the West, describing it as: "an easy yet sublime way of liberation in the Age of Kali."

Hare Krishna Maha-mantra
Aum sahanaavavatu
Sahanau bhunaktu
Saha viiryan karavaavahai
Tejasvi naavadhiitamastu
Maa vidvishhaavahai
May we be protected together.
May we be nourished together.
May we work together with great vigor.
May our study be enlightening
May no obstacle arise between us.
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः
Aum shaantih shaantih shaantih
Aum peace, peace, peace.
-- Black[krishna] Yajurveda Taittiriya Upanishad 2.2.2

The shanti mantras
सर्वेषां स्वस्ति भवतु । सर्वेषां शान्तिर्भवतु ।
सर्वेषां पूर्नं भवतु । सर्वेषां मड्गलं भवतु ॥
Sarveśām Svastir Bhavatu
Sarveśām Sāntir Bhavatu
Sarveśām Pūrnam Bhavatu
Sarveśām Mangalam Bhavatu
(May good befall all, May there be peace for all, May all be fit for perfection, and May all experience that which is auspicious.)
सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः। सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः।
सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु। मा कश्चित् दुःख भाग्भवेत्॥
Sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ | Sarve santu nirāmayāḥ
sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu | Mā kaścit duḥkha bhāgbhavet||
(Om, May all be happy. May all be healthy. May we all experience what is good and let no one suffer. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace!)

Universal prayer

Tryambakam.
Sūrya namaskāra
Soham "I am He"
Ram Nam Other examples
Indo-Iranian *mantra is preserved in Avestan manthra, effectively meaning "word" but with far-reaching implications: Manthras are inherently "true" (aša), and the proper recitation of them brings about (realizes) what is inherently true in them. It may then be said that manthras are both an expression of being and "right working" and the recitation of them is crucial to the maintenance of order and being. (See also: Avestan aša- and Vedic ṛtá-)
Indo-Iranian *sātyas mantras (Yasna 31.6: haiθīm mathrem) thus "does not simply mean 'true Word' but formulated thought which is in conformity with the reality' or 'poetic (religious) formula with inherent fulfillment (realization).'"

Mantra in Zoroastrianism
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While similar to practices of Vedic society, the various traditions of Buddhism have developed their own distinctive understanding and practice of mantra. For example, the use of mantra in Tibetan Buddhism has evolved in dialogue with Bön and other Himalayan shamanic practice.

Mantra in Buddhism
Kūkai (774-835), a noted Buddhist monk, advanced a general theory of language based on his analysis of two forms of Buddhist ritual language: dharani (dhāra.nī) and mantra. Mantra is restricted to esoteric Buddhist practice whereas dharani is found in both esoteric and exoteric ritual. Dharanis for instance are found in the Pali Canon see below. The term "shingon" (lit true word) is a Japanese translation of the Chinese term for mantra, chen yen.
The word dharani derives from a Sanskrit root dh.r which means to hold, or maintain. Ryuichi Abe suggests that it is generally understood as a mnemonic device which encapsulates the meaning of a section or chapter of a sutra. This is perhaps related to the use of verse summaries at the end of texts as in the Udana which is generally acknowledged as being in the oldest strata of the Pali Canon. Dharanis are also considered to protect the one who chants them from malign influences and calamities.
The term mantra is traditionally said to be derived from two roots: "man", to think; and the action oriented (k.rt) suffix "tra". Thus a mantra can be considered to be a linguistic device for deepening ones thought, or in the Buddhist context for developing the enlightened mind. However it is also true that mantras have been used as magic spells for very mundane purposes such as attaining wealth and long life, and eliminating enemies.
The distinction between dharani and mantra is a difficult one to make. We can say that all mantras are dharanis but that not all dharanis are mantras. Mantras do tend to be shorter. Both tend to contain a number of unintelligible phonic fragments such as Om, or Hu.m which is perhaps why some people consider them to be essentially meaningless. Kūkai made mantra a special class of dharani which showed that every syllable of a dharani was a manifestation of the true nature of reality -- in Buddhist terms that all sound is a manifestation of shunyata or emptiness of self-nature. Thus rather than being devoid of meaning, Kūkai suggests that dharanis are in fact saturated with meaning -- every syllable is symbolic on multiple levels.
One of Kūkai's distinctive contributions was to take this symbolic association even further by saying that there is no essential difference between the syllables of mantras and sacred texts, and those of ordinary language. If one understood the workings of mantra, then any sounds could be a representative of ultimate reality. This emphasis on sounds was one of the drivers for Kūkai's championing of the phonetic writing system, the kana, which was adopted in Japan around the time of Kūkai. He is generally credited with the invention of the kana, but there is apparently some doubt about this story amongst scholars.
This mantra-based theory of language had a powerful effect on Japanese thought and society which up until Kūkai's time had been dominated by imported Chinese culture of thought, particularly in the form of the Classical Chinese language which was used in the court and amongst the literati, and Confucianism which was the dominant political ideology. In particular Kūkai was able to use this new theory of language to create links between indigenous Japanese culture and Buddhism. For instance, he made a link between the Buddha Mahavairocana and the Shinto sun Goddess Amaterasu. Since the emperors were thought to be descended form Amaterasu, Kūkai had found a powerful connection here that linked the emperors with the Buddha, and also in finding a way to integrate Shinto with Buddhism, something that had not happened with Confucianism. Buddhism then became essentially an indigenous religion in a way that Confucianism had not. And it was through language, and mantra that this connection was made. Kūkai helped to elucidate what mantra is in a way that had not been done before: he addresses the fundamental questions of what a text is, how signs function, and above all, what language is. In this he covers some of the same ground as modern day Structuralists and others scholars of language, although he comes to very different conclusions.
In this system of thought all sounds are said to originate from "a" -- which is the short a sound in father. For esoteric Buddhism "a" has a special function because it is associated with Shunyata or the idea that no thing exists in its own right, but is contingent upon causes and conditions. (See Dependent origination) In Sanskrit "a" is a prefix which changes the meaning of a word into its opposite, so "vidya" is understanding, and "avidya" is ignorance (the same arrangement is also found in many Greek words, like e.g. "atheism" vs. "theism" and "apathy" vs. "pathos"). The letter a is both visualised in the Siddham script, and pronounced in rituals and meditation practices. In the Mahavairocana Sutra which is central to Shingon Buddhism it says: Thanks to the original vows of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, a miraculous force resides in the mantras, so that by pronouncing them one acquires merit without limits". [in Conze, p.183]

Mantra in Shingon Buddhism
Noted translator of Buddhist texts Edward Conze (1904 - 1979) distinguishes three periods in the Buddhist use of mantra.
Initially, according to Conze, like their fellow Indians, Buddhists used mantra as protective spells to ward of malign influences. Despite a Vinaya rule which forbids monks engaging in the Brahminical practice of chanting mantras for material gain, there are a number of protective for a group of ascetic monks. However, even at this early stage, there is perhaps something more than animistic magic at work. Particularly in the case of the Ratana Sutta the efficacy of the verses seems to be related to the concept of "truth". Each verse of the sutta ends with "by the virtue of this truth may there be happiness".
Conze notes that later mantras were used more to guard the spiritual life of the chanter, and sections on mantras began to be included in some Mahayana sutras such as the White Lotus Sutra, and the Lankavatara Sutra. The scope of protection also changed in this time. In the Sutra of Golden Light the Four Great Kings promise to exercise sovereignty over the different classes of demigods, to protect the whole of Jambudvipa (the India sub continent), to protect monks who proclaim the sutra, and to protect kings who patronise the monks who proclaim the sutra. The apotheosis of this type of approach is the Nichiren school of Buddhism that was founded in 13th century Japan, and which distilled many previously complex Buddhist practices down to the veneration of the Lotus Sutra through recitation of the daimoku: "Nam myoho renge kyo" which translates as "Homage to the Lotus Sutra".
The third period began, according to Conze, in about the 7th century, to take centre stage and become a vehicle for salvation in their own right. Tantra started to gain momentum in the 6th and 7th century, with specifically Buddhist forms appearing as early as 300CE. Mantrayana was an early name for the what is now more commonly known as Vajrayana, which gives us a hint as to the place of mantra in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. The aim of Vajrayana practice is to give the practitioner a direct experience of reality, of things as they really are. Mantras function as symbols of that reality, and different mantras are different aspects of that reality -- for example wisdom or compassion. Mantras are often associated with a particular deity, one famous exception being the Prajnaparamita mantra associated with the Heart Sutra. One of the key Vajrayana strategies for bringing about a direct experience of reality is to engage the entire psycho-physical organism in the practices. In one Buddhist analysis the person consists of body, speech and mind. So a typical sadhana or meditation practice might include mudras, or symbolic hand gestures; the recitations of mantras; as well as the visualisation of celestial beings and visualising the letters of the mantra which is being recited. Clearly here mantra is associated with speech. The meditator may visualise the letters in front of themselves, or within their body. They may pronounced out loud, or internally in the mind only.

Mantra in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Probably the most famous mantra of Buddhism is Om mani padme hum (Chn. 唵嘛呢叭咪吽, pinyin Ǎn Má Ní Bā Mī Hōng), the six syllable mantra of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara (Tibetan: Chenrezig, Chinese: Guanyin). This mantra is particularly associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, and so the mantra is especially revered by his devotees.
The book Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism by Lama Anagarika Govinda, is a classic example of how a mantra like om mani padme hum can contain many levels of symbolic meaning.
Donald Lopez gives a good discussion of this mantra and its various interpretations in his book Prisoners of Shangri-LA: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Lopez is an authoritative writer and challenges the stereotypical analysis of the mantra as meaning "The Jewel in the Lotus", an interpretation that is not supported by either a linguistic analysis, nor by Tibetan tradition, and is symptomatic of the Western Orientalist approach to the 'exotic' East. He suggests that Manipadma is actually the name of a bodhisattva, a form of Avalokiteshvara who has many other names in any case including Padmapani or lotus flower in hand. The Brahminical insistence on absolutely correct pronunciation of Sanskrit broke down as Buddhism was exported to other countries where the inhabitants found it impossible to reproduce the sounds. So in Tibet, for instance, where this mantra is on the lips of many Tibetans all their waking hours, the mantra is pronounced Om mani peme hung.

Om mani padme hum
The following list of mantras is from Kailash - Journal of Himalayan Studies, Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 168-169) (augmented by other contributors). It also includes renderings of Om mani padme hum.
Please note that the word swaha is sometimes shown as svaha, and is usually pronounced as 'so-ha' by Tibetans. Spellings tend to vary in the transliterations to English, for example, hum and hung are generally the same word. The mantras used in Tibetan Buddhist practice are in Sanskrit, to preserve the original mantras. Visualizations and other practices are usually done in the Tibetan language.

Om wagishwari hum This is the mantra of the Mahabodhisattva Manjusri, Tibetan: Jampelyang (Wylie "'jam dpal dbyangs")... The Buddha in his wisdom aspect.
Om mani padme hum The mantra of Chenrezig, Mahabodhisattva, the Buddha in his compassion aspect.
Om vajrapani hum The mantra of the Buddha as Protector of the Secret Teachings. ie: as the Mahabodhisattva Channa Dorje (Vajrapani).
om vajrasattva hum The short mantra for Vajrasattva, there is also a full 100-syllable mantra for Vajrasattva.
Om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi hum The mantra of the Vajraguru Guru Padma Sambhava who established Mahayana Buddhism and Tantra in Tibet.
Om tare tuttare ture svaha The mantra of Jetsun Dolma or Tara, the Mother of the Buddhas.
Om tare tuttare ture mama ayurjnana punye pushting svaha The mantra of Dölkar or White Tara, the emanation of Tara representing long life and health.
Om amarani jiwantiye svaha The mantra of the Buddha of limitless life: the Buddha Amitayus (Tibetan Tsépagmed) in celestial form.
Om dhrum svaha The purificatory mantra of the mother Namgyalma.
Om ami dhewa hri The mantra of the Buddha Amitabha (Hopagmed) of the Western Buddhafield, his skin the colour of the setting sun.
Om ah ra pa tsa na dhih The mantra of the "sweet-voiced one", Jampelyang (Wylie "'jam dpal dbyangs") or Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of wisdom.
Hung vajra phat The mantra of the Mahabodhisattva Vajrapani in his angry (Dragpo) form.
Om muni muni maha muniye sakyamuni swaha The mantra of Buddha Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha
Om gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha The mantra of the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Heart Sutra)
Om maitri maitreya maha karuna ye The Maitri mantra, bija mantra of MahaBodhisattva Maitreya.
Namo bhagavate Bhaishajya-guru vaidurya-praba-rajaya tathagataya arthate samyak-sambuddhaya tadyata OM bhaishajye bhaishajye bhaishajya-samudgate svaha The mantra of the 'Medicine Buddha', from Chinese translations of the Master of Healing Sutra.
Om ami dewa hri The mantra of Amitabha (Ompagme in Tibetan). Some other mantras in Tibetan Buddhism

In the Sikh religion, a mantar or mantra is a Shabad (Word or hymn) from Gurbani to concentrate the mind on God and the message of the Ten Gurus.
Mantras have two components of primary importance - Meaning and Sound. First is the actual meaning of the word or words and the second is the effective sound (vibration). For the mantra to be effective, great emphasis is put on correct pronunciation and the level of concentration of the mind on the meaning of the word or words that are recited.
Due to this emphasis, some care has to be taken regarding the place and surrounding in which the mantras are recited; the way in which these are delivered - ie, a loud; quietly; in a group; with music; without music; etc. The purpose of mantras is to deliver the mind from illusion and material inclinations and to bring concentration and focus to the mind.
The main mantras of Sikhism are:

Chanting is the process of the continuous repeating a mantra.
The Gurmantar, which is Waheguru
The Mool Mantar which starts "Ek-onkar, Satnam..." Mantra in Sikhism
Transcendental Meditation, also known simply as 'TM', uses what the group refers to as 'simple mantras' - as a meditative focus.
The spiritual exercises of Surat Shabda Yoga include simran (repetition, particularly silent repetition of a mantra given at initiation), dhyan (concentration, viewing, or contemplation, particularly on the Inner Master), and bhajan (listening to the inner sounds of the Shabda or the Shabda Master).
In the Islamic Sufi tradition, chants of the 99 Names of Allah are popular invocations of attributes as are the names of the Prophet.
In Neo-Pagan ritual, deities may be invoked by a recitation of their many names or aspects.
In Christianity, repetitive prayer using prayer beads such as a rosary or chotki includes well known mantras such as the Jesus prayer and Hail Mary. A form of Christian meditation was taught by Dom John Main that involves the silent repetition of a mantra.

Mantra in other traditions or contexts

Hindu philosophy
Sound symbolism
Pranava yoga
Japa
Kuji-in
Bhajan
Sankirtan
Tantra
Sandhyavandanam Notes

Abe, R. The weaving of mantra : Kukai and the construction of esoteric Buddhist discourse. (New York : Columbia University Press, 1999.)
Beyer, S. Magic and ritual in Tibet : the cult of Tara. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsisdass, 1996).
Conze, E. Buddhism : its essence and development. (London : Faber, c1951).
Gelongma Karma Khechong Palmo. Mantras On The Prayer Flag. Kailash - Journal of Himalayan Studies, Volume 1, Number 2, 1973. (pp. 168-169).
Gombrich, R. F. Theravaada Buddhism : a social history from ancient Benares to modern Colombo. (London, Routledge, 1988)
Govinda (Lama Anagarika). Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism. (London : Rider, 1959).
Khanna, Madhu (2003). Yantra: The Tantric Symbol of Cosmic Unity. Inner Traditions. ISBN-10: 0892811323 & ISBN-13: 978-0892811328
Lopez, D. Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. (Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1998)
The Rider Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and religion. (London : Rider, 1986).
Skilton, A. A concise history of Buddhism. (Birmingham : Windhorse Publications, 1994).
Sangharakshita. Transforming Self and World : themes from the Sutra of Golden Light. (Birmingham : Windhorse Publications, 1994).
Walsh, M. The Long discourses of the Buddha : a translation of the Digha Nikaya. (Boston : Wisdom Publications, 1987) Buddhist Mantra Calligraphy

Vedic Mantras
About the Hare Krishna mantra
Mantras
Why chant Hare Krishna?
Tantra, Mantra and Yantra, significance and analysis
On the Gayatri Mantra - Nadesan Satyendra
Mantras and Indian Music for meditation and worship

2007-11-02T10:45:00.001-07:00

Glasgow University Student Television or GUST, is the student television station of the University of Glasgow. Founded in 1964

Organisation

2007-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

University of Pavia Università degli Studi di Pavia
The University of Pavia (Italian: Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV) is a university located in Pavia, Italy. It was founded in 1361 and is organized in 9 Faculties.

Organization

Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities)
List of Italian universities
Pavia

2007-10-31T08:20:00.001-07:00

The Master of the United College is a senior academic at the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland who is charged with carrying out duties as required by the Academic Senate of that University. The post was created to head the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard, one of the colleges of the University, the other college being St Mary's College, headed by the Principal of St Mary's College.
Neither post should be confused with the Principal of the University who is the chief executive and Vice-Chancellor. See Governance of the University of St Andrews.

2007-10-30T08:33:00.001-07:00

American Idol is an annual American televised singing competition, which began its first season on June 11, 2002. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the British reality program Pop Idol.
The program seeks to discover the best young singer in the country, through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the latter stages of this competition are determined by public voting by phone. The format features three judges who critique the contestants' performances in order to facilitate the voting: record producer and bass player Randy Jackson; former pop star Paula Abdul; and music executive Simon Cowell. The show is hosted by former children's game show emcee and television personality Ryan Seacrest; and comedian Brian Dunkleman (Season 1 only).
The show usually airs on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. In its six seasons, its six winners have been, in order of their season, Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and Jordin Sparks. The first five American Idols are from the Southern United States of America (U.S) and the sixth, Jordin Sparks, is from the Southwest. Hicks was the oldest winner at 29, Sparks the youngest at just 17.
American Idol is televised on Fox in the United States and on Fox and CTV in Canada. The Idol series was first created by Simon Fuller (manager of the Spice Girls and S Club 7) and developed by Simon Jones of FremantleMedia. The directors are Bruce Gowers (director of Queen's original "Bohemian Rhapsody" video), Nigel Lythgoe (a judge on So You Think You Can Dance) and Ken Warwick (Gladiators and Grudge Match).

Damir Kovacevic is the lead director of the Fox television show American Idol. Contestants are not permitted to have any current record deals or talent management agreements (though they may have had one at some point in the past). Contestants must be U.S. citizens eligible to work full-time and, for the first three seasons, had to be 16 to 24 years of age on October 19 of the year of audition. Since the fourth season, the upper age limit was raised to 28 with an earlier cutoff date, August 4, to attract more mature and diverse contestants.
Auditioning contestants must bring with them to the audition a valid proof of age and citizenship, such as a birth certificate, driver's license or a passport, and minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. All auditioning contestants are required to sign on to the Web at www.americanidol.com and print out a copy of the release form to fill out and turn in at the audition in order to grant permission to be seen and heard by the producers' cameras. Contestants who were found out to have given false information are disqualified. It should be noted that after auditioning - regardless of the outcome (even if eliminated on the very first cut) - contestants are under contract with the show until three months after the final episode.
America's Got Talent
America's Most Talented Kid
American Juniors
American popular music
Canadian Idol
DialIdol
Idol Camp
Idol series
Idol Gives Back
Indian Idol
List of American Idol spin-offs
Latin American Idol
Music of the United States
Music competitions
Nouvelle Star
Objetivo Fama
Pop Idol
Star Search
Superstar USA
Teen idol
Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour
The X-Factor
Star Academy
You're A Star
American Idol Official Website (owned by Fox Interactive Media)
American Idol SMS Voting Statistics
On 'Idol,' the South Rises Again ... and Again
TVWeek.com Producer Shop Talk With Exec Producer Nigel Lythoe
Unofficial Contestant Ranker on AOL Television
Jim Verraros Interview
American Idol TV Listings on TVGuide.com
Vote For The Worst web site
Radar Online: American Idols - Worthy of Worship?
Infoplease/TIME magazine 2006 Almanac of Bestselling Albums by American Idol Alumni

2007-10-29T10:28:00.001-07:00

Zambia (IPA: [ˈzæmbɪə]), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, the country's name reflects the Zambezi river.

History
In the 1st century, technologically-advanced migrating tribes began to displace or absorb the indigenous Khoisan hunter-gatherer occupants. In the 12th century, major waves of Bantu-speaking immigrants arrived during the Bantu expansion. Among them, the Tonga people (also called Batonga) were first to settle in Zambia and are believed to have come from the far east near the "big sea." The Nkoya people had also come early in the expansion, with some suggesting that they were the first of the expansion into today's Zambia, having come from the Luba-Lunda kingdoms in the north.
In the late 17th and early 19th centuries, other groups followed with the greatest influx coming between . These later migrants also came primarily from the Luba-Lunda tribes of southern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola but in the 19th century the Ngoni peoples from the south joined them. By the later part of the 19th century, most of the various peoples of Zambia were largely established in the areas they currently occupy. In the early 18th century, the (Nsokolo People) under the leadership of Joe Nsokolo Chupa, also known as Elvin, settled in Mbala district in Northern province .

European colonial era
A two-stage election held in October and December 1962 resulted in an African majority in the legislative council and an uneasy coalition between the two African nationalist parties. The council passed resolutions calling for Northern Rhodesia's secession from the federation and demanding full internal self-government under a new constitution and a new National Assembly based on a broader, more democratic franchise. Led by Kenneth Kaunda, on 31 December 1963, the federation was dissolved, and Northern Rhodesia became the Republic of Zambia on 24 October 1964. At that time, Kaunda became the country's first president.
At independence, despite its considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges. Domestically, there were few trained and educated Zambians capable of running the government, and the economy was largely dependent on foreign expertise. Abroad, three of its neighbours – Southern Rhodesia and the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola – remained under white-dominated rule. Southern Rhodesia's white-ruled government unilaterally declared independence in November, 1965. In addition, Zambia shared a border with South African-controlled South-West Africa (now Namibia).

Independence
Zambia's sympathies lay with forces opposing colonial or white-dominated rule, particularly in Southern Rhodesia. During the next decade, it actively supported movements such as the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA); the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU); the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC); and the South-West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO).
Conflicts with Rhodesia (so renamed from Southern Rhodesia) resulted in the closing of Zambia's borders with that country and severe problems with international transport and power supply. However, the Kariba hydroelectric station on the Zambezi River provided sufficient capacity to satisfy the country's requirements for electricity (despite the fact that the hydro control centre was on the Rhodesian side of the border). A railway to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam, built with Chinese assistance, reduced Zambian dependence on railway lines south to South Africa and west through an increasingly troubled Angola. Until the completion of the railway, however, Zambia's major artery for imports and the critical export of copper was along the TanZam Road, running from Zambia to the port cities in Tanzania. Also a pipeline for oil was built from Dar-es-Salaam to Ndola in Zambia.
By the late 1970s, Mozambique and Angola had attained independence from Portugal. Zimbabwe achieved independence in accordance with the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement, however Zambia's problems were not solved. Civil war in the former Portuguese colonies generated an influx of refugees and caused continuing transportation problems. The Benguela railway, which extended west through Angola, was essentially closed to traffic from Zambia by the late 1970s. Zambia's strong support for the ANC, which had its external headquarters in Lusaka, created security problems as South Africa raided ANC targets in Zambia.
In the mid-1970s, the price of copper, Zambia's principal export, suffered a severe decline worldwide. In Zambia's situation, the cost of transporting the copper great distances to market was an additional strain. Zambia turned to foreign and international lenders for relief, but, as copper prices remained depressed, it became increasingly difficult to service its growing debt. By the mid-1990s, despite limited debt relief, Zambia's per capita foreign debt remained among the highest in the world.

Post-Independence

Main article: Politics of Zambia Politics

Main articles: Provinces of Zambia and Districts of Zambia Administrative divisions
The official language is English, used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. Commonly-spoken indigenous languages include the 7 major languages: Chibemba, Chinyanja, Lunda, Chitonga, Kaonde, Silozi and Luvale. These 7 languages are taught in schools and broadcast on national radio and television. The Ethnologue report on Zambia lists 42 languages and many more dialects spoken in Zambia. A Zambian languages website lists 78 languages. Some of the difference may be attributed to dialects in the Ethnologue list being counted as languages in the second list.
A number of the indigenous languages have altered quite dramatically during the process of urbanisation, Zambia being one of the most urbanised countries in Africa. Languages have assimilated words from other indigenous languages and English to such an extent that urban dwellers will often differentiate between the urban and rural dialects of the same language by prefixing the rural languages with 'deep'. E.g. a Bemba speaker might say "I don't know that word it is deep Bemba."

Languages

Main articles: Education in Zambia and List of schools in Zambia Education
Schooling usually falls into three levels: Primary (years 1 to 7), Junior Secondary (years 8 to 9) and Upper Secondary (years 10 to 12). So-called "basic schools" teach years 1 to 9, as year 9 is considered to be a decent level of schooling for the majority of children; however, schooling is only free up to year 7, and Unesco estimated that 80% of children of primary school age in 2002 were enrolled. Most children drop out after year 7 when fees are payable.
Both government and private schools exist in Zambia. The private school system began largely as a result of Christian mission efforts during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Amongst famous private schools are the Roman Catholic run St Mary's Seminary located in the Msupadzi area, south of Chipata, Eastern Province and Simba International School close to Ndola, Copperbelt Province. Private schools operate under either the British or American way of schooling, but also offer curricula approved by the Examinations Council of Zambia.

Lower education
Educational opportunities beyond secondary school are limited in Zambia. After secondary school, most students study at the various colleges, around the country.
There are two main universities: University of Zambia (UNZA) and Copperbelt University (CBU). They normally select or invite the brightest students to pursue courses there and competition to get in is very tight. The introduction of fees in the late 1990s has made the pursuing of an university level eductaion quite hard for some, although bursaries do exist from the state. In the late 1970s Copperbelt University (CBU) opened on the copperbelt, taking over most of what previously was the Zambia Institute of Technology (ZIT) site in Kitwe.
Other places of learning include NIPA (Public Administrations College), NORTEC (Northern Technical College), NRDC (National Resources Development College),Evelyn Hone College, ZIBSIP, ZCAS, ZAMIM etc.
Several teacher training colleges offer two-year programmes beyond high school, missionary hospitals dotted around the country offer high quality training of an internationally acceptable standard to nurses and several Christian schools offer seminary-level training.

University of Zambia
Copperbelt University Higher education

Main article: Geography of Zambia Geography
In the Zambezi River basin, there are four major rivers that either run through Zambia or form the country's borders: the Kafue, the Luangwa, the Kwando and the Zambezi. The last three form part of Zambia's southern borders. The Kwando River forms Zambia's south-western border with Angola, then it runs easterly along the northern boundary of Namibia's Caprivi Strip before spreading into the Linyanti Marshes, which finally drain eastwardly into the Zambezi. From its confluence with the Kwando, the Zambezi flows east, forming the whole of Zambia's border with Zimbabwe.
The other two rivers, the Kafue and the Luangwa, lie entirely within Zambia and are major tributaries of the Zambezi. Their confluences with the Zambezi are on Zambia's Zimbabwean border at Chirundu and Luangwa town respectively. Before its confluence, the Luangwa River forms part of Zambia's border with Mozambique. From Luangwa town, the Zambezi leaves Zambia and flows into Mozambique, and eventually into the Indian Ocean's Mozambique Channel.
The Zambezi falls 100 m (360 feet) over the 1.6 km (1mile) wide Victoria Falls, located in the south-western corner of the country, subsequently flowing into Lake Kariba.
The Zambezi Valley, running along the southern border, is both deep and wide. Moving northwards the terrain shifts into a high plateau of 900 to 1,200 m (3000 to 4000 ft) to over 1,800 m (6000 ft) in the northern area of the Copperbelt. In the east, the Luangwa Valley curves southwards with hills on either side until it enters the Zambezi. In the west, large plains are a key geographic feature, flooding the western plains during the annual rainy season (typically October to April).

Zambezi River basin
Zambia hosts two major rivers from the Congo River basin: the Chambeshi and the Luapula. The latter forms part of Zambia's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Chambeshi lies entirely within Zambia and is the furthest headstream of the Congo River. It flows into the Bangweulu Swamps, which provide the waters that form the Luapula River. The Luapula flows south then west before it turns north until it enters Lake Mweru. The lake's other major tributary is the Kalungwishi River, which flows into it from the east. The Luvua River drains Lake Mweru, flowing out of the northern end.
Lake Tanganyika is the other major hydrographic feature that belongs to the Congo River basin. Its south-eastern end receives water from the Kalambo River, which forms part of Zambia's border with Tanzania. This river has Africa's second highest uninterrupted waterfall, the Kalambo Falls. (The continent's highest waterfalls is the Tugela Falls in South Africa.)

Congo River basin

Main article: Economy of Zambia Economy

Main article: Demographics of Zambia Demographics and ethnicity
See also: History of Church activities in Zambia

Religion
Zambia's constitution identifies the country as a Christian nation, but a variety of religious traditions exist. Traditional religious thought blends easily with Christian beliefs in many of the country's syncretic churches. Islam also has a visible presence especially in urban settings.
Within the Christian community, a variety of denominations can be found: Roman Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, New Apostolic Church, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness and a variety of Evangelical denominations. These grew, adjusted and prospered from the original missionary settlements (Portuguese and Catholicism in the east from Mozambique) and Anglican (English and Scottish influences) from the south. Except for some technical positions (e.g. physicians), western missionary roles have been assumed by native believers. After Frederick Chiluba (a Pentecostal Christian) became President in 1991, Pentecostal congregations sprouted around the country. Further information on the growth of Christianity can be found at the History of Church activities in Zambia
Zambian-born Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo was a high-ranking Bishop at the Vatican until he left to marry Maria Sung, a 43-year-old Korean acupuncturist, at a ceremony officiated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in New York (May, 2001). He was ex-communicated by the Roman Catholic Church in September, 2006 for conducting a consecration of 4 married men as bishops.

Christianity
Islam in Zambia constitutes about 5% of the population. run by the Baha'i community is particularly active in areas such as literacy and primary health care.

Art and Culture

List of Zambia-related topics
List of Zambians
List of national parks of Zambia
History of Zambia
Monuments and Historic Sites of Zambia
Communications in Zambia
History of Church activities in Zambia
Transport in Zambia
Foreign relations of Zambia
Military of Zambia
Zambia Scouts Association
Zambia Medical Mission
Project Zambia

2007-10-28T09:21:00.001-07:00

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union
President José Manuel Barroso Barroso Commission
President Hans-Gert Pöttering MEPs (2004-09 term)
Presidency: Portugal (Luís Amado) High Representative · Voting
Court of Justice · Court of Auditors Central Bank · European Council
A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from European Union regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on its subject matter.

Legal basis
Directives are only binding on the member states to whom they are addressed, which can be just one member state or a group of them. In practice however, with the exception of directives related to the Common Agricultural Policy, directives are addressed to all member states.

Direct Effect

List of European Union directives
European Union law
EUR-Lex
EudraLex

2007-10-27T09:08:00.001-07:00

The Russian Empire (Pre-reform Russian: Pоссiйская Имперiя, Modern Russian: Российская империя, translit: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union. It was one of the largest empires the world had seen. At one point in 1866, it stretched from eastern Europe, across northern Asia, and into North America. At the beginning of the 20th century, only the British Empire rivaled its size, and its ruler, the Russian Tsar, was the only absolute monarch left in Europe.

History

Main article: Russian history, 1682-1796 The eighteenth century

Main article: Russian history, 1796-1855 Second half of the nineteenth century

Main article: Russian history, 1892-1917 Early twentieth century

Territory
The administrative boundaries of European Russia, apart from Finland, coincided broadly with the natural limits of the East-European plains. In the North it met the Arctic Ocean; the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Kolguyev and Vaigach also belonged to it, but the Kara Sea was reckoned to Siberia. To the East it had the Asiatic dominions of the empire, Siberia and the Kyrgyz steppes, from both of which it was separated by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Caspian Sea — the administrative boundary, however, partly extending into Asia on the Siberian slope of the Urals. To the South it had the Black Sea and Caucasus, being separated from the latter by the Manych depression, which in Post-Pliocene times connected the Sea of Azov with the Caspian. The West boundary was purely conventional: it crossed the peninsula of Kola from the Varangerfjord to the Gulf of Bothnia; thence it ran to the Kurisches Haff in the southern Baltic, and thence to the mouth of the Danube, taking a great circular sweep to the West to embrace Poland, and separating Russia from Prussia, Austrian Galicia and Romania.
It is a special feature of Russia that it has no free outlet to the open sea except on the ice-bound shores of the Arctic Ocean. Even the White Sea is merely a gulf of that ocean. The deep indentations of the gulfs of Bothnia and Finland were surrounded by what is ethnological Finnish territory, and it is only at the very head of the latter gulf that the Russians had taken firm foothold by erecting their capital at the mouth of the Neva. The Gulf of Riga and the Baltic belong also to territory which was not inhabited by Slavs, but by Finnish peoples and by Germans. The East coast of the Black Sea belonged properly to Transcaucasia, a great chain of mountains separating it from Russia. But even this sheet of water is an inland sea, the only outlet of which, the Bosphorus, was in foreign hands, while the Caspian, an immense shallow lake, mostly bordered by deserts, possessed more importance as a link between Russia and her Asiatic settlements than as a channel for intercourse with other countries.

1682-1796
1796-1855
1855-1892
1892-1917
1917-1927

Russian Revolution
Civil War
1927–1953
1953–1985
1985–1991 Boundaries

Main article: Geography of Russia Geography
In addition to modern Russia, prior to 1917 the Russian Empire included most of Ukraine (Dnieper Ukraine and Crimea), Belarus, Moldova (Bessarabia), Finland (Grand Duchy of Finland), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (Russian Turkestan), most of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia (Baltic provinces), as well as a significant portions of Poland (Kingdom of Poland) and Ardahan, Artvin, Iğdır, and Kars from Turkey. Between 1742 and 1867 the Russian Empire claimed Alaska as its colony.
Following the Swedish defeat in the Finnish War and the signing of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn on September 17, 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as an autonomous grand duchy. The Tsar ruled the Grand Duchy of Finland as a constitutional monarch through his governor and a native Finnish Senate appointed by him.

Territory development
According to the 1st article of the Organic law, the Russian Empire was one indivisible state. In addition, the 26th article stated that "With the Imperial Russian throne are indivisible the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Finland". Relations with the Grand Duchy of Finland were also regulated by the 2nd article, "The Grand Duchy of Finland, constituted an indivisible part of the Russian state, in its internal affairs governed by special regulations at the base of special laws" and the law of 10 June 1910.
In 1744–1867 the empire also controlled the so-called Russian America. With the exception of this territory (modern day Alaska), the Russian Empire was a contiguous landmass spanning Europe and Asia. In this it differed from contemporary, colonial-style empires. The result of this was that whilst the British and French Empire declined in the 20th century, the Russian Empire kept a large proportion of its territory, firstly as the Communist Soviet Union, and latterly as part of the present-day Russian Federation.
Furthermore, the empire at times controlled concession territories, notably the port of Kwantung and the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone, both conceded by imperial China, as well as a concession in Tientsin. See for these periods of extraterritorial control the relations between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire.

Imperial external territories
Russia was described in the Almanach de Gotha for 1910 as "a constitutional monarchy under an autocratic tsar." This obvious contradiction in terms well illustrates the difficulty of defining in a single formula the system, essentially transitional and meanwhile sui generis, established in the Russian empire since October 1905. Before this date the fundamental laws of Russia described the power of the emperor as "autocratic and unlimited." The imperial style is still "Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias"; but in the fundamental laws as remodeled between the October Manifesto and the opening of the first Imperial Duma on 27 April 1906, while the name and principle of autocracy was jealously preserved, the word "unlimited" vanished. Not that the regime in Russia had become in any true sense constitutional, far less parliamentary; but the "unlimited autocracy" had given place to a "self-limited autocracy," whether permanently so limited, or only at the discretion of the autocrat, remaining a subject of heated controversy between conflicting parties in the state. Provisionally, then, the Russian governmental system may perhaps be best defined as "a limited monarchy under an autocratic emperor."

Government and administration

Main article: Tsar#Russia The emperor

Main article: State Council of Imperial Russia Imperial Council

Main article: State Duma of the Russian Empire The Duma and electoral system

Main article: Russian Council of Ministers Council of Ministers

Main article: Most Holy Synod Most Holy Synod

Main article: Governing Senate Senate
Further information: History of the administrative division of Russia
For purposes of provincial administration Russia was divided (as of 1914) into 81 provinces (guberniyas) and 20 regions (oblasts) and 1 district (okrug). Vassals and protectorates of the Russian Empire included the Emirate of Bukhara, the Khanate of Khiva and, after 1914, Tuva (Uriankhai). Of these 11 Governorates, 17 provinces and 1 district (Sakhalin) belonged to Asiatic Russia. Of the rest 8 Governorates were in Finland, 10 in Poland. European Russia thus embraced 59 governments and 1 province (that of the Don). The Don province was under the direct jurisdiction of the ministry of war; the rest have each a governor and deputy-governor, the latter presiding over the administrative council. In addition there were governors-general, generally placed over several governments and armed with more extensive powers usually including the command of the troops within the limits of their jurisdiction. In 1906 there were governors-general in Finland, Warsaw, Vilna, Kiev, Moscow and Riga. The larger cities (St Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Nikolayev, Rostov) have an administrative system of their own, independent of the governments; in these the chief of police acts as governor.

Provincial administration

Main article: Judicial system of the Russian Empire Judicial system
Alongside the local organs of the central government in Russia there are three classes of local elected bodies charged with administrative functions:

the peasant assemblies in the mir and the volost;
the zemstvos in the 34 Governorates of Russia;
the municipal dumas. Local administration
Since 1870 the municipalities in European Russia have had institutions like those of the zemstvos. All owners of houses, and tax-paying merchants, artisans and workmen are enrolled on lists in a descending order according to their assessed wealth. The total valuation is then divided into three equal parts, representing three groups of electors very unequal in number, each of which elects an equal number of delegates to the municipal duma. The executive is in the hands of an elective mayor and an uprava, which consists of several members elected by the duma. Under Alexander III, however, by laws promulgated in 1892 and 1894, the municipal dumas were subordinated to the governors in the same way as the zemstvos. In 1894 municipal institutions, with still more restricted powers, were granted to several towns in Siberia, and in 1895 to some in Caucasia.

Municipal dumas

Main article: Baltic governorates Baltic provinces
The state religion of the Russian Empire was that of the Russian Orthodox Christianity. Its head is the tsar; but although he makes and annuls all appointments, he does not determine questions of dogmatic theology. The principal ecclesiastical authority was the Holy Synod, the head of which, the Procurator, is one of the council of ministers and exercises very wide powers in ecclesiastical matters. In theory all religions may be freely professed, except that certain restrictions, such as domicile, are laid upon the Jews; but in actual fact the dissenting sects are more or less severely treated. According to returns published in 1905, based of the Russian Empire Census of 1897, the adherents of the different religious communities in the whole of the Russian empire numbered approximately as follows, though the heading Orthodox includes a very great many Raskolniks or Dissenters.
The ecclesiastical heads of the national Russian Orthodox Church consist of three metropolitans (St Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev), fourteen archbishops and fifty bishops, all drawn from the ranks of the monastic (celibate) clergy. The parochial clergy must be married when appointed, but if left widowers may not marry again.

Religions
Subjects of the Russian Empire were segregated into sosloviyes, or social estates (classes) such as nobility (dvoryanstvo), clergy, merchants, cossacks and peasants. Native people of Siberia and Central Asia were officially registered as a category called inorodtsy (non-Slavic, literally: "people of another origin").
The great mass of the people, 81.6%, belonged to the peasant order, the others were: nobility, 1.3%; clergy, 0.9%; the burghers and merchants, 9.3%; and military, 6.1%. Thus more than 88 millions of the Russians were peasants. Half of them were formerly serfs (10,447,149 males in 1858) – the remainder being " state peasants " (9,194,891 males in 1858, exclusive of the Archangel Governorate) and " domain peasants " (842,740 males the same year).

Society

Main article: Serfdom in Russia Serfdom
After the Emancipation reform one quarter of peasants have received allotments of only 2.9 acres per male, and one-half less than 8.5 to 11.4 acres – the normal size of the allotment necessary to the subsistence of a family under the three-fields system being estimated at 28 to 42 acres. Land must thus of necessity be rented from the landlords at fabulous prices. The aggregate value of the redemption and land taxes often reaches 185 to 275% of the normal rental value of the allotments, not to speak of taxes for recruiting purposes, the church, roads, local administration and so on, chiefly levied from the peasants. The arrears increase every year; one-fifth of the inhabitants have left their houses; cattle are disappearing. Every year more than half the adult males (in some districts three-fourths of the men and one-third of the women) quit their homes and wander throughout Russia in search of labor. In the governments of the Black Earth Area the state of matters is hardly better. Many peasants took the "gratuitous allotments," whose amount was about one-eighth of the normal allotments.
The average allotment in Kherson was only 0.90 acre, and for allotments from 2.9 to 5.8 acres the peasants pay 5 to 10 rubles of redemption tax. The state peasants were better off, but still they were emigrating in masses. It was only in the steppe governments that the situation was more hopeful. In Little Russia, where the allotments were personal (the mir existing only among state peasants), the state of affairs does not differ for the better, on account of the high redemption taxes. In the West provinces, where the land was valued cheaper and the allotments somewhat increased after the Polish insurrection, the general situation was better. Finally, in the Baltic provinces nearly all the land belonged to the German landlords, who either farmed the land themselves, with hired laborers, or let it in small farms. Only one quarter of the peasants were farmers, the remainder were mere laborers.

Peasants
The situation of the former serf-proprietors was also unsatisfactory. Accustomed to the use of compulsory labor, they have failed to accommodate themselves to the new conditions. The millions of rubles of redemption money received from the crown have been spent without any real or lasting agricultural improvements having been affected. The forests have been sold, and only those landlords are prospering who exact rack-rents for the land without which the peasants could not live upon their allotments. During the years 1861 to 1892 the land owned by the nobles decreased 30%, or from 210,000,000 to 150,000,000 acres (610,000 km²); during the following four years an additional 2,119,500 acres (8,577 km²) were sold; and since then the sales have gone on at an accelerated rate, until in 1903 alone close upon 2,000,000 acres (8,000 km²) passed out of their hands. On the other hand, since 1861, and more especially since 1882, when the Peasant Land Bank was founded for making advances to peasants who were desirous of purchasing land, the former serfs, or rather their descendants, have between 1883 and 1904 bought about 19,500,000 acres (78,900 km²) from their former masters. There has been an increase of wealth among the few, but along with this a general impoverishment of the mass of the people, and the peculiar institution of the mir, framed on the principle of community of ownership and occupation of the land, was not conducive to the growth of individual effort. In November 1906, however, the emperor Nicholas II promulgated a provisional ukaz permitting the peasants to become freeholders of allotments made at the time of emancipation, all redemption dues being remitted. This measure, which was endorsed by the third Duma in an act passed on the 21 December 1908, is calculated to have far-reaching and profound effects upon the rural economy of Russia. Thirteen years previously the government had endeavored to secure greater fixity and permanence of tenure by providing that at least twelve years must elapse between every two redistributions of the land belonging to a mir amongst those entitled to share in it. The ukaz of November 1906 had provided that the various strips of land held by each peasant should be merged into a single holding; the Duma, however, on the advice of the government, left this to the future, as an ideal that could only gradually be realized.

See also

2007-10-26T10:28:00.001-07:00

Boundaries
Following their review of parliamentary representation in Kent, the Boundary Commission for England has made major changes to the constituency boundaries in the county as a consequence of population changes.
The entire district of Shepway and the Ashford electoral ward of Saxon Shore are brought together to form this modified constituency.

Members of Parliament

2007-10-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are often associated with high rates of biological productivity. An estuary is where the river meets the sea.
An estuary is typically the tidal mouth of a river (aestus is Latin for tide), and estuaries are often characterized by sedimentation or silt carried in from terrestrial runoff and, frequently, from offshore. They are made up of brackish water. Estuaries are more likely to occur on submerged coasts, where the sea level has risen in relation to the land; this process floods valleys to form rias and fjords. These can become estuaries if there is a stream or river flowing into them. Large estuaries, like Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound often have many streams flowing into them and can have complex shapes. Estuaries are often given names like bay, sound, fjord, etc. The terms are not mutually exclusive. Where an enormous volume of river water enters the sea (as, for example, from the Amazon into the South Atlantic) its estuary could be considered to extend well beyond the coast.
Estuarine circulation is common in estuaries; this occurs when fresh or brackish water flows out near the surface, while denser saline water flows inward near the bottom. Anti-estuarine flow is its opposite, in which dense water flows out near the bottom and less dense water circulates inward at the surface. These two terms, however, have a broader oceanographic application that extends beyond estuaries proper, such as in describing the circulation of nearly-closed ocean basins. Estuaries are marine environments, whose pH, salinity, and water level are varying, depending on the river that feeds the estuary and the ocean from which it derives its salinity (oceans and seas have different salinity levels).

Classes of estuary
Grouped by circulation, there are several types of estuary:
River output greatly exceeds marine input; there is little mixing, and thus a sharp contrast between fresh surface water and saline bottom water.
River output and marine input are more even, with river flow still dominant; turbulence induces more mixing of salt water upward than the reverse.
River output is less than the marine input. Here, turbulence causes mixing of the whole water column, such that salinity varies more longitudinally rather than vertically.
River output is much less than marine input, such that the freshwater contribution is negligible; longitudinal salinity variation only.
Located in regions with high evaporation, there is no freshwater input and in fact salinity increases inland; overall flow is inward at the surface, downwells at the inland terminus, and flows outward subsurface.
Estuary type varies dramatically depending on freshwater input, and is capable of changing from a wholly marine embayment to any of the other estuary types.

2007-10-24T10:00:00.001-07:00

Gerda Steinhoff (January 29, 1922 – July 4, 1946) was a Nazi prison camp overseer born in Danzig-Langfuhr.

SS career
In 1939, Steinhoff became a cook, got married and had one child. In 1944, because of the call for new guards, she joined the camp staff at Stutthof. On October 1, 1944, she became a Blockleiterin in Stutthof women's camp SK-III. There, she took part in selections of prisoners to the gas chambers. On October 31, 1944, the young matron was promoted to SS-Oberaufseherin and was assigned to the Danzig-Holm subcamp. On December 1, 1944 she was reassigned to the Bydgoszcz subcamp of Stutthof located near Danzig. There on January 25, 1945, she received a medal for her loyalty and service to the Third Reich. She was devoted to her job in the camps and was known as a very ruthless overseer. Soon before the end of World War II, she fled the camp and went back home.

2007-10-23T08:39:00.001-07:00

The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around Kennedy Space Center, where the U.S. Air Force and NASA frequently launch rockets and shuttles into space. Cities in the area include Titusville, Cocoa, Merritt Island (unincorporated), Cocoa Beach, Melbourne and Palm Bay; and most of the area lies within Brevard County.
It is bounded on the south by the Treasure Coast. It is not only bounded on the west and north by the Central Florida region, it is often included in that region, as well. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.

Space-named landmarks (outside NASA and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station)

Alan Shepard Park, Cocoa Beach
Apollo Boulevard, Melbourne
Apollo Elementary School, Titusville
Armstrong Drive, Titusville
Astronaut Boulevard, Cape Canaveral
Astronaut High School, Titusville
Atlantis Elementary School, Port St. John
Challenger Memorial Parkway, (Florida State Road 407), Titusville
Challenger 7 Elementary School, Port St. John
Chaffee Drive, Titusville
Christa McAuliffe drawbridge, Merritt Island
Christa McAuliffe Elementary School, Palm Bay
Columbia Boulevard (Florida State Road 405), Titusville
Columbia Elementary School, Palm Bay
Discovery Elementary School, Palm Bay
Endeavour Elementary Magnet school, Cocoa
Enterprise Elementary School, Cocoa
Freedom 7 Elementary School, Cocoa Beach
Gemini Elementary School, Melbourne Beach
Grissom Parkway, Cocoa
John F. Kennedy Middle School, Rockledge
Jupiter Boulevard, Palm Bay
Jupiter Elementary School, Palm Bay
Kennedy Point Park, Titusville
Ronald McNair Middle Magnet School, Rockledge
MILA Elementary School, Merritt Island
Minuteman Causeway, Cocoa Beach
NASA Boulevard (Florida State Road 508), Melbourne
Satellite Beach, Florida
Satellite Boulevard, Cocoa
Satellite High School, Satellite Beach
Saturn Elementary School, Cocoa
Shepard Drive, Titusville
Space Coast Academy, Melbourne
Space View Park, Titusville
White Drive, Titusville

2007-10-22T10:21:00.001-07:00

Alexandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (Russian: Алекса́ндр Иса́евич Солжени́цын, IPA: [ʌlʲɪˈksandr ɘˈsaə̟vʲə̟ʨ səlʐɘˈnʲitsən] ; born December 11, 1918) is a Russian novelist, dramatist and historian. Through his writings, he made the world aware of the Gulag, the Soviet labor camp system, and, for these efforts, Solzhenitsyn was both awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970 and exiled from the Soviet Union in 1974. He returned to Russia in 1994. In 1994, he was elected as a member of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in the Department of Language and Literature.

While in the Soviet Union
Solzhenitsyn became something of a cause célèbre in the West, earning him the enmity of Soviet regime. He could have emigrated at any time, but always expressed the desire to stay in his motherland and work for change from within. During this period, he was sheltered by the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who suffered considerably for his support of Solzhenitsyn and was eventually forced into exile himself.
However, on February 13, 1974, Solzhenitsyn was deported from the Soviet Union to West Germany and stripped of his Soviet citizenship. The KGB had found the manuscript for the first part of The Gulag Archipelago. Less than a week later, the Soviets carried out reprisals against Yevgeny Yevtushenko for his support of Solzhenitsyn.
After a time in Switzerland, Solzhenitsyn was invited to Stanford University in the United States to "facilitate [your] work, and to accommodate you and your family." He stayed on the 11th floor of the Hoover Tower, part of the Hoover Institution. Solzhenitsyn moved to Cavendish, Vermont in 1976. He was given an honorary Literary Degree from Harvard University in 1978 and on Thursday, June 8, 1978 he gave his Commencement Address condemning modern western culture.
Over the next 17 years, Solzhenitsyn worked hard on his historical cycle of the Russian Revolution of 1917 The Red Wheel, four "knots" (parts of the whole) of which had been completed by 1992, and outside of this, several shorter works.
Despite an enthusiastic welcome on his first arrival in America, followed by respect for his privacy, he had never been comfortable outside his homeland. He did not become fluent in spoken English despite spending two decades in the United States; he has read works in English since his teens however, something his mother encouraged him to do. More important, he resented the idea of becoming a media star and of tempering his ideas or ways of talking to fit television.
Solzhenitsyn's warnings about the dangers of Communist aggression and the weakening of the moral fiber of the West were generally well received in conservative circles in the West, and fit very well with the toughening-up of foreign policy under Reagan. But liberals and secularists were increasingly critical of what they perceived as his reactionary preference for Russian patriotism and the Russian Orthodox religion. He also harshly criticised what he saw as the ugliness and spiritual vapidity of the dominant pop culture of the modern West, including television and rock music: "…the human soul longs for things higher, warmer and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits … by TV stupor and by intolerable music."

In the West
In 1990, his Soviet citizenship was restored, and, in 1994, he returned to Russia with his wife, Natalia, who had become a United States citizen. Their sons stayed behind in the United States (later, his oldest son Ermolay returned to Russia, to work for the Moscow office of a leading management consultancy firm). Since then, he has lived with his wife in a dacha in Troitse-Lykovo (Троице-Лыково) in west Moscow between the dachas of Mikhail Suslov and Konstantin Chernenko.
Since returning to Russia in 1994, Solzhenitsyn has published eight two-part short stories, a series of contemplative "miniatures" or prose poems, a literary memoir on his years in the West (The Grain Between the Millstones) and a two-volume work on the history of Russian-Jewish relations (Two Hundred Years Together 2001, 2002). In it, Solzhenitsyn emphatically repudiates the idea that the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 were the work of a "Jewish conspiracy" (see chapters 9, 14, and 15 of that work). At the same time, he calls on both Russians and Jews to come to terms with the members of their peoples who acted in complicity with the Communist regime.
The reception of this work confirms that Solzhenitsyn remains a polarizing figure both at home and abroad. According to his critics, the book confirmed Solzhenitsyn's anti-semitic views as well as his ideas of Russian supremacy to other nations. Professor Robert Service of Oxford University has defended Solzhenitsyn as being "absolutely right", noting that Trotsky himself claimed Jews were disproportionately represented in the Soviet bureaucracy.
Another famous Russian dissident writer, Vladimir Voinovich, wrote a polemic study "A Portrait Against the Background of a Myth" ("Портрет на фоне мифа", 2002.), in which he had tried to prove Solzhenitsyn's egoism, anti-semitism and lack of writing skills. Voinovich had already mocked Solzhenitsyn in his novel Moscow 2042, portraying him by the self-centered ego-maniac Sim Simich Karnavalov, an extreme and brutal dictatorial writer who tries to destroy the Soviet Union and, eventually, to become the king of Russia. Using a more subtle line of argument, Joseph Brodsky in his essay Catastrophes in the Air (in Less than One) argued that Solzhenitsyn, while a hero in showing up the brutalities of Soviet Communism, failed to discern that the historical crimes he unearthed might be the outcome of authoritarian traits that were really part of the heritage of Old Russia and of "the severe spirit of Orthodoxy" (lionized by Solzhenitsyn) and not so much to do with political ideology.
In his recent political writings, such as Rebuilding Russia (1990) and Russia in Collapse (1998)' Solzhenitsyn has criticized the oligarchic excesses of the new Russian 'democracy' while opposing any nostalgia for Soviet communism. He has defended moderate and self-critical patriotism (as opposed to extreme nationalism), argued for the indispensability of local self-government to a free Russia, and expressed concerns for the fate of 25 million ethnic Russians in the "near abroad" of the former Soviet Union. He has also sought to "protect" the national character of the Russian Orthodox church and fought against the admission of Catholic priests and Protestant pastors to Russia from other countries. For a brief period, he had his own TV show where he freely expressed his views. The show was cancelled because of low ratings, but Solzhenitsyn continued to maintain a relatively high profile in the media.
All of Solzhenitsyn's sons became U.S. citizens. One, Ignat, has achieved acclaim as a pianist and conductor in the United States.
Since the death of Naguib Mahfouz in 2006, Solzhenitsyn is the oldest living Nobel laureate in literature.
The most complete 30-volume edition of Solzhenitsyn's selected works is soon to be published in Russia. The presentation of its first three published volumes has recently taken place in Moscow.
On June 5, 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree which conferred an award for Solzhenitsyn. President Putin personally visited the writer at his home on June 12, 2007 to give the award.

Return to Russia

Historical and political views
During his years in the west, Solzhenitsyn was very active in the historical debate, discussing the history of Russia, the Soviet Union and communism. He tried to correct what he considered to be western misconceptions.

Historical views
It is a popular view that the October revolution of 1917 resulting in a violent totalitarian regime was closely connected to Russia's earlier history of tsarism and culture, especially that of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. Solzhenitsyn claims that this is fundamentally wrong and has famously denounced the work of Richard Pipes as "the Polish version of Russian history". Solzhenitsyn argues that Tsarist Russia did not have the same violent tendencies as the Soviet Union. For instance, in Solzhenitsyn's view, Imperial Russia did not practise censorship; political prisoners were not forced into labour camps and in Tsarist Russia numbered only one ten-thousandth of those in the Soviet Union; the Tsar's secret service was only present in the three largest cities, and not at all in the army. The violence of the Communist regime was in no way comparable to the lesser violence of the tsars.
He considered it far fetched to blame the catastrophes of the 20th century on one 16th century and one 18th century tsar, when there were many other examples of violence that could have inspired the Bolshevik in other countries earlier in time, especially mentioning similarities with the Jacobins of the Reign of Terror of France.
Instead of blaming Russian conditions, he blamed the teachings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, arguing that Marxism itself is violent. His conclusion is that Communism will always be totalitarian and violent, wherever it is practiced. There was nothing special in the Russian conditions that affected the outcome.
He also criticized the view that the Soviet Union was Russian in any way. He argued that Communism was international and only cared for nationalism as a tool to use when getting into power, or for fooling the people. Once in power, Communism tried to wipe clean every nation, destroying its culture and oppressing its people.
According to Solzhenitsyn, the Russian culture and people were not the ruling national culture in the Soviet Union. In fact, there was no ruling national culture. All national cultures were oppressed in favour of an atheistic Soviet culture. In Solzhenitsyn's opinion, Russian culture was even more oppressed than the smaller minority cultures, since the regime was less afraid of ethnic uprisings among these. Therefore, Russian nationalism and the Orthodox Church should not be regarded as a threat by the west, but rather as allies that should be encouraged..

Communism, Russia and nationalism
Solzhenitsyn criticized the Allies for not opening a new front against Nazi Germany in the west earlier in World War II. This resulted in Soviet domination and oppression of the nations of Eastern Europe. Solzhenitsyn claimed the western democracies apparently cared little about how many died in the east, as long as they could end the war as quickly and painlessly for themselves in the west.

World War II
He also rejected the view that Stalin created the totalitarian state, while Lenin (and Trotsky) had been a "true communist". In proof of this, he argued that Lenin started the mass executions, wrecked the economy, founded the Cheka that would later be turned into the KGB, and started the Gulag even though it did not have the same name at that time. Solzhenitsyn's negative views of Lenin and Trotsky have been proved true by the opening of the Soviet era archives in the 1990s.

Stalinism
In his commencement address at Harvard University in 1978 (A World Split Apart), Solzhenitsyn alleges that many in the U.S. did not understand the Vietnam War. He argues that although many antiwar proponents were sincere about stopping all wars as soon as possible, they "became accomplices … in the genocide and the suffering today imposed on thirty million people there." He rhetorically asks if the American antiwar proponents now realize the effects that their actions had on Vietnam by inquiring, "Do these convinced pacifists now hear the moans coming from their Vietnam?"
During his time in the West, Solzhenitsyn made a few surprising public statements: notably, he characterized Daniel Ellsberg as a traitor.

Vietnam
Solzhenitsyn has strongly condemned the 1999 NATO bombing in Yugoslavia, saying that "there is no difference between NATO and Hitler".

Kosovo War
from a BBC Address 26th March 1979

The West
He described the problems of both East and West as "a disaster" rooted in agnosticism and atheism. He referred to it as "the calamity of an autonomous, irreligious humanistic consciousness."
It has made man the measure of all things on earth—imperfect man, who is never free of pride, self-interest, envy, vanity, and dozens of other defects. We are now paying for the mistakes which were not properly appraised at the beginning of the journey. On the way from the Renaissance to our days we have enriched our experience, but we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility.

Modern world

Mask of Sorrow
Anne Applebaum
Alexander Galich Published works and speeches

2007-10-21T09:47:00.001-07:00

Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. You may improve the article or discuss this issue on its talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since December 2006.
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was a blues composer and musician, often known as "the Father of the Blues."
W. C. Handy remains among the most influential of American songwriters. Though he was one of many musicians who played the style of music that is distinctively American, he is credited with giving it its contemporary form not only because he was able to notate his music for publication and hence, posterity, but because of syncopated rhythms, a style unique to his music.
While Handy was not the first to publish music in the blues form, he took the blues from a not very well-known regional music style from the Delta to one of the dominant forces in American music.
Handy was an educated musician who used folk material in his compositions. He was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works, which frequently combined stylistic influences from several performers. He loved this folk musical form and brought his own transforming touch to it.

Early life
Handy joined a local blues band as a teenager, but he kept this fact a secret from his parents. He purchased a cornet from a fellow bandmember and spent every free minute practicing it. An exceptional student in school, he placed near the top of his class. In September of 1892, Handy traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to take a teaching exam, which he passed easily. He obtained a teaching job in Birmingham but soon learned that the teaching profession paid poorly. He quit the position and found work at a pipe works plant in nearby Bessemer.
During his off-time, he organized a small string orchestra and taught musicians how to read notes. He formed a quartet called the "Lauzetta Quartet." When the group read about the upcoming World's Fair in Chicago, they decided to attend. The trip to Chicago was long and arduous. To pay their way, group members performed at odd jobs along the way. They finally arrived in Chicago only to learn that the World's Fair had been postponed for a year. The group then headed to St. Louis but working conditions there proved to be very bad. The Laurzetta Quartet disbanded and Handy subsequently left St. Louis for Evansville, Indiana.
In Evansville, Handy's luck changed dramatically. He joined a successful band which performed throughout the neighboring cities and states. While performing at a barbecue in Henderson, Kentucky, he met Elizabeth Price, and they married shortly afterwards (on July 19, 1896).
His musical endeavors were varied, and he sang first tenor in a minstrel show, moved from Alabama and worked as a band director, choral director, cornetist and trumpeter. At age 23, he was band master of Mahara's Colored Minstrels.
As a young man, he played cornet in the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and in 1902 he travelled throughout Mississippi listening to various musical styles played by ordinary Negroes. The instruments most often used in many of those songs were the guitar, banjo and to a much lesser extent, the piano. His remarkable memory served him well, and he was able to recall and transcribe the music he heard in his travels. In particular, he noted in his autobiography a blues guitarist he heard in Tutwiler, Mississippi.
Shortly after his marriage to Elizabeth Price in 1896, he was invited to join a minstrel group called "Mahara's Minstrels." In their three year tour, they travelled to Chicago, throughout Texas and Oklahoma, through Tennessee, Georgia and Florida on to Cuba and was paid a salary of $6 per week. Upon their return from their Cuban engagements, they travelled north through Alabama, and stopped to perform in Huntsville, Alabama. Growing weary from life on the road, it was there he and his wife decided to stay with relatives in his nearby hometown of Florence.
On June 29, 1900 in Florence, Elizabeth gave birth to the first (a daughter, Lucille) of their six children. Around that time, William Hooper Councill, President of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes in Normal, Alabama (a small community just outside Huntsville) approached Handy about teaching music. At the time, AAMC and Tuskegee Institute were the only colleges for Negroes in Alabama. Handy accepted Councill's offer and became a faculty member that September. He taught music there from 1900 to 1902 which is today named Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University.
An important factor in his musical development and in music history, was his enthusiasm for the distinctive style of uniquely American music which was often considered inferior to European classical music. He was soon disheartened to discover that American music was often cast aside by the college and instead emphasized foreign music considered to be "classical". Handy felt he was underpaid and felt he could make more money touring with a minstrel group and after a dispute with AAMC President Councill, he resigned his teaching position to rejoin the Mahara Minstrels to tour the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. In 1903 he was offered the opportunity to direct a Black band named the Knights of Pythias, located in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Handy accepted and remained there six years.

Musical and social development
In 1909 he and his band moved to Memphis, Tennessee and established their presence on Beale Street. At that time, American society and culture was distinctively segregated and Handy's observations of whites' responses to native black music in conjunction with his own observations of his habits, attitudes and music of his ethnicity served as the foundation for what was later to become the style of music popularized as "the Blues."
The genesis of his "Memphis Blues" was as a campaign tune originally entitled as "Mr. Crump" which he had written for Edward Crump, a successful Memphis, Tennessee mayoral candidate in 1909 (and future "boss"). He later rewrote the tune and changed the name to "Memphis Blues."
The 1912 publication of his "Memphis Blues" sheet music introduced his style of 12-bar blues to many households, and was credited as the inspiration for the invention of the foxtrot dance step by Vernon and Irene Castle, a New York-based dance team. Some consider it to be the first blues song. He sold the rights to the song for $100, and by 1914, at age 40, his musical style was asserted, his popularity increased significantly, and he composed prolifically.
Because of the difficulty of getting his works published, he published many of his own works, and in 1917, he and his business moved to New York City. By the end of that year, his most successful songs, "Memphis Blues", "Beale Street Blues", and "St. Louis Blues" had been published. The Original Dixieland Jazz Band, a white New Orleans jazz ensemble, had recorded the very first jazz record that year, introducing jazz music to a wide segment of the American public. Handy initially had little fondness for this new "jazz" music, but jazz bands dove into the repertoire of W. C. Handy compositions with enthusiasm, making many of them jazz standards.
Handy's foray into publishing was noteworthy for several reasons. Not only were his works groundbreaking because of his ethnicity, but he was among the first blacks who were successful because of it. The rejection of his manuscripts for publication led him to self-publish his works. In 1912, Handy met Harry H. Pace at the Solvent Savings Bank in Memphis. Pace was valedictorian of his graduating class at Atlanta University and student of W.E.B. DuBois. By the time of their meeting, Pace had already demonstrated a strong understanding of business and earned his business reputation by rebuilding failing businesses. Handy liked him, and he later became manager of Pace and Handy Sheet Music.
In 1920, frustrated at white publishing companies that would buy their music and lyrics and record them using white artists, Pace amicably dissolved his long standing partnership with Handy, with whom he also collaborated as lyricist, and resolved to start his own record firm which he later named Black Swan Records.
For years, scholars thought Handy was a founder of Black Swan Records. However, Handy wrote, "To add to my woes, my partner withdrew from the business. He disagreed with some of my business methods, but no harsh words were involved. He simply chose this time to sever connection with our firm in order that he might organized Pace Phonograph Company, issuing Black Swan Records and making a serious bid for the Negro market. . . . With Pace went a large number of our employees. . . . Still more confusion and anguish grew out of the fact that people did not generally know that I had no stake in the Black Swan Record Company."
Although Handy's partnership with Pace was dissolved, he continued to operate the publishing company as a family-owned business, and published other works of other black composers as well as his own, which included more than 150 sacred compositions and folk song arrangements and about sixty blues compositions.
In the 1920s, he founded the Handy Record Company in New York City.
Bessie Smith's January 14, 1925 Columbia Records recording of "St. Louis Blues" with Louis Armstrong is considered by many to be one of the finest recordings of the 1920s.
In 1926 he authored and edited a work entitled Blues: An Anthology: Complete Words and Music of 53 Great Songs, which is probably the first work of its type which attempted to record, analyze and describe the blues as an integral part of the U. S. South and the history of the United States.
So successful was Handy's "St. Louis Blues" that in 1929, he and director Kenneth W. Adams collaborated on a RCA motion picture project of the same name which was to be shown before the main attraction. Handy suggested Blues singer Bessie Smith be placed in the starring role since she had gained widespread popularity with that tune. The picture was shot in June and was shown in movie houses throughout the United States from 1929 to 1932.
The genre of the blues was a hallmark of American society and culture in the 1920s and 1930s. So much so was its influence and Handy's hallmark, that author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his novel The Great Gatsby that, "All night the saxophones wailed the hopeless comment of the "Beale Street Blues" while a hundred pairs of golden and silver slippers shuffled the shining dust. At the gray tea hour there were always rooms that throbbed incessantly with this low, sweet fever, while fresh faces drifted here and there like rose petals blown by the sad horns around the floor."

Transition: popularity, fame and business
Following publication of his autobiography, Handy published a subsequent book on African American musicians entitled Unsung Americans Sing, which was published in 1944. He wrote a total of five books:
In this time period, he lived on Strivers' Row in Harlem. An accidental fall from a subway platform in 1943 resulted in his blindness. Following the death of his first wife, he remarried in 1954 at age 80 to his secretary Irma Louise Logan, who he frequently said had become his eyes.
In 1955 he suffered a stroke and became confined to a wheelchair. Over 800 people attended his 84th birthday party at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
On March 28, 1958, W. C. Handy succumbed to acute bronchial pneumonia and died. Over 25,000 people attended his funeral in Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. Over 150,000 people gathered in the streets near the church to pay their respects.
He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.

Blues: An Anthology: Complete Words and Music of 53 Great Songs
Book of Negro Spirituals
Father of the Blues: An Autobiography
Unsung Americans Sing
Negro Authors and Composers of the United States Later life
Handy's songs don't always follow the classic 12-bar pattern, often having 8- or 16-bar bridges between 12-bar verses.

"Memphis Blues", written 1909, published 1912. Although usually subtitled "Boss Crump", it is a distinct song from Handy's campaign satire, "Boss Crump don't 'low no easy riders around here", which was based on the good-time song "Mamma Don't Allow It."
"Saint Louis Blues" (1912), "the jazzman's Hamlet."
"Yellow Dog Blues" (1912), "Your easy rider's gone where the Southern cross the Yellow Dog." The reference is to the Southern Railway and the local Yazoo Delta Railroad, called the Yellow Dog.
"Loveless Love", based in part on the classic, "Careless Love". Possibly the first song to complain of modern synthetics, "with milkless milk and silkless silk, we're growing used to soulless soul."
"Aunt Hagar's Blues", the biblical Hagar, handmaiden to Abraham and Sarah, was considered the "mother" of the African Americans.
"Beale Street Blues" (1916), written as a farewell to the old Beale Street of Memphis (actually called Beale Avenue until the song changed the name); but Beale Street did not go away and is considered the "home of the blues" to this day. B.B. King was known as the "Beale Street Blues Boy" and Elvis Presley watched and learned from Ike Turner there.
"Long Gone John (From Bowling Green)", rap-style tribute to a famous bank robber.
"Chantez-Les-Bas (Sing 'Em Low)", tribute to the Creole culture of New Orleans.
"Atlanta Blues", includes the song known as "Make Me a Pallet on your Floor" as its chorus. Performances, honors, recognition, miscellany

The W. C. Handy Award was the most prestigious award for blues artists. It was renamed "The Blues Music Awards." for 2006.
The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in the Shoals area of Florence, Alabama. Previous week-long festivals have featured jazz and blues legends including Jimmy Smith, Ramsey Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobby Blue Bland, Diane Schuur, Billy Taylor, Dianne Reeves and Charlie Byrd.
W. C. Handy Park is a city park located on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. The park contains a life-sized bronze statue of Handy.
The W.C. Handy Blues & Barbeque Festivalis a week-long musical event that features blues and Zydeco bands from across the U.S and is held every June on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Henderson, Kentucky. See also