Georges Leopold Cuvier is associated with which science?

Georges Cuvier Georges Cuvier, Discourse on the Revolutions of the Surface of the Globe Without a doubt, Georges Cuvier possessed one of the finest minds in history. Almost single-handedly, he founded vertebrate paleontology as a scientific discipline and created the comparative method of organismal biology, an incredibly powerful tool. It was Cuvier who firmly established the fact of the extinction of past lifeforms. He contributed an immense amount of research in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology and paleontology, and also wrote and lectured on the history of science. Biography of Cuvier Cuvier was born on August 23, 1769, at Montbéliard, a French-speaking community in the Jura Mountains that was not under French jurisdiction at the time; it was ruled by the Duke of Württemberg. Cuvier studied at a school which the Duke had founded, the Carolinian Academy in Stuttgart, from 1784 to 1788. He then took a position as tutor to a noble family in Normandy, which kept him out of the way of the worst of the violence of the French Revolution; there he was named to a position in the local government and began to make his reputation as a naturalist. In 1795, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire invited him to come to Paris; he was appointed an assistant, and shortly thereafter a professor of animal anatomy, at the newly reformed Musée National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History). Cuvier stayed at his post when Napoleon came to power, and was appointed to several government positions, including Inspector-General of public education and State Councillor, by Napoleon. Cuvier continued as a state councillor under three successive Kings of France; he thus accomplished the almost unbelievable feat of serving under three different, opposing French governments (Revolution, Napoleonic, and monarchy) and dying in his bed. All the while, Cuvier lectured and did research at the Musée National, amazing his colleagues with his energy and devotion to science. By the time of his death he had been knighted and made a Baron and a Peer of France. Cuvier's Scientific Thought Cuvier saw organisms as integrated wholes, in which each part's form and function were integrated into the entire body. No part could be modified without impairing this functional integration: . .. the component parts of each must be so arranged as to render possible the whole living being, not only with regard to itself, but to its surrounding relations, and the analysis of these conditions frequently leads to general laws, as demonstrable as those which are derived from calculation or experiment. Cuvier did not believe in organic evolution, for any change in an organism's anatomy would have rendered it unable to survive. He studied the mummified cats and ibises that Geoffroy had brought back from Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, and showed that they were no different from their living counterparts; Cuvier used this to support his claim that lifeforms did not evolve over time. Organisms were functional wholes; any change in one part would destroy the delicate balance. But the functional integration of organisms meant that each part of an organism, no matter how small, bore signs of the whole. Thus it was possible to reconstruct organisms from fragmentary remains, based on rational principles. Cuvier had a legendary ability to reconstruct organisms from fragmentary fossils, and many of his reconstructions turned out to be strikingly accurate. However, in practice, he based his reconstructions less on rational principles than on his deep knowledge of comparative anatomy of living organisms. Cuvier's insistence on the functional integration of organisms led him to classify animals into four "branches," or embranchements: Vertebrata , Articulata ( arthropods and segmented worms ), Mollusca (which at the time meant all other soft, bilaterally symmetrical invertebrates), and Radiata ( cnidarians and echinoderms ). For Cuvier, these embranchements were fundamentally different from each other and could not be connected by any evolutionary transformation. Any similarities be


"A 1999 James Bond film was entitled ""The World is not ... "" what?"

The World Is Not Enough (1999) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The World Is Not Enough ( 1999 ) PG-13 | James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain. Director: From $12.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 22 titles created 27 Jun 2011 a list of 26 titles created 21 Jul 2013 a list of 24 titles created 10 Jun 2014 a list of 25 titles created 04 Feb 2015 a list of 49 titles created 02 Mar 2015 Title: The World Is Not Enough (1999) 6.4/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. 7 wins & 12 nominations. See more awards  » Videos James Bond heads to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage. Director: Roger Spottiswoode James Bond is sent to investigate the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of an international space weapon. Director: Lee Tamahori James Bond teams up with the lone survivor of a destroyed Russian research center to stop the hijacking of a nuclear space weapon by a fellow agent formerly believed to be dead. Director: Martin Campbell James Bond goes rogue and sets off to unleash vengeance on a drug lord who tortured his best friend, a C.I.A. agent, and left him for dead and murdered his bride after he helped capture him. Director: John Glen James Bond is living on the edge to stop an evil arms dealer from starting another world war. Bond crosses all seven continents in order to stop the evil Whitaker and General Koskov. Director: John Glen A fake Fabergé egg and a fellow agent's death lead James Bond to uncover an international jewel-smuggling operation, headed by the mysterious Octopussy, being used to disguise a nuclear attack on N.A.T.O. forces. Director: John Glen James Bond is led to believe that he is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder. Director: Guy Hamilton James Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed. Director: Lewis Gilbert Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands. Director: John Glen 007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader. Director: Guy Hamilton An investigation of a horse-racing scam leads 007 to a mad industrialist who plans to create a worldwide microchip monopoly by destroying California's Silicon Valley. Director: John Glen James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide. Director: Lewis Gilbert Edit Storyline James Bond is back. An oil tycoon is murdered in MI6 and Bond is sent to protect his daughter. Renard, who has a bullet lodged in his brain from a previous agent, is secretly planning the destruction of a pipeline. Bond gains a hand from a research scientist, Dr. Christmas Jones who witnesses the action which happens when Bond meets up with Renard, but Bond becomes suspicious about Elektra King, especially when Bond's boss, M goes missing. Bond must work quickly to prevent Renard from destroying Europe. Written by simon See All (141)  » Taglines: Some men want to rule the world... Some women ask for the world... Some believe the world is theirs for the taking... But for one man, The World Is Not Enough!!! See more  » Genres: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence, some sexuality and innuendo | See all certifications  » Parents Guide: 19 November 1999 (USA) See more  » Also Known As: $35,519,007        (USA) (19 Novem


Who was the British engineer who designed the first television system suitable for broadcast transmission in 1939?

History of Television - Mitchell Stephens History of Television Article by Mitchell  Stephens Few inventions have had  as much effect on contemporary American society as television. Before 1947 the  number of U.S. homes with television sets could be measured in the thousands.  By the late 1990s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set,  and those sets were on for an average of more than seven hours a day. The typical  American spends (depending on the survey and the time of year) from two-and-a-half  to almost five hours a day watching television. It is significant not only that  this time is being spent with television but that it is not being spent engaging  in other activities, such as reading or going out or socializing. EXPERIMENTS Electronic television was  first successfully demonstrated in San Francisco on Sept. 7, 1927. The system  was designed by Philo Taylor Farnsworth, a 21-year-old inventor who had lived  in a house without electricity until he was 14. While still in high school,  Farnsworth had begun to conceive of a system that could capture moving images  in a form that could be coded onto radio waves and then transformed back into  a picture on a screen. Boris Rosing in Russia had conducted some crude experiments  in transmitting images 16 years before Farnsworth's first success. Also, a mechanical  television system, which scanned images using a rotating disk with holes arranged  in a spiral pattern, had been demonstrated by John Logie Baird in England and  Charles Francis Jenkins in the United States earlier in the 1920s. However,  Farnsworth's invention, which scanned images with a beam of electrons, is the  direct ancestor of modern television. The first image he transmitted on it was  a simple line. Soon he aimed his primitive camera at a dollar sign because an  investor had asked, "When are we going to see some dollars in this thing, Farnsworth?" EARLY DEVELOPMENT RCA, the company that dominated  the radio business in the United States with its two NBC networks, invested  $50 million in the development of electronic television. To direct the effort,  the company's president, David Sarnoff, hired the Russian-born scientist Vladimir  Kosma Zworykin, who had participated in Rosing's experiments. In 1939, RCA televised  the opening of the New York World's Fair, including a speech by President Franklin  Delano Roosevelt, who was the first president to appear on television. Later  that year RCA paid for a license to use Farnsworth's television patents. RCA  began selling television sets with 5 by 12 in (12.7 by 25.4 cm) picture tubes.  The company also began broadcasting regular programs, including scenes captured  by a mobile unit and, on May 17, 1939, the first televised baseball gameÑbetween  Princeton and Columbia universities. By 1941 the Columbia Broadcasting System  (CBS), RCA's main competition in radio, was broadcasting two 15-minute newscasts  a day to a tiny audience on its New York television station. Early television was quite  primitive. All the action at that first televised baseball game had to be captured  by a single camera, and the limitations of early cameras forced actors in dramas  to work under impossibly hot lights, wearing black lipstick and green makeup  (the cameras had trouble with the color white). The early newscasts on CBS were  "chalk talks," with a newsman moving a pointer across a map of Europe, then  consumed by war. The poor quality of the picture made it difficult to make out  the newsman, let alone the map. World War II slowed the development of television,  as companies like RCA turned their attention to military production. Television's  progress was further slowed by a struggle over wavelength allocations with the  new FM radio and a battle over government regulation. The Federal Communications  Commission's (FCC) 1941 ruling that the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)  had to sell one of its two radio networks was upheld by the Supreme Court in  194


Which country has won the most medals at the European Beach Volleyball Championship (later known as the Nestea European Championship Final) between 2000 and 2008 inclusive?

Some Olympic doping bans 'unenforceable,' court says :: Jenkers Some Olympic doping bans 'unenforceable,' court says The Olympic Games are set to start in just hours and it's still not clear which Russian athletes will be allowed to compete. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) said that part of the International Olympic Committee's ban on Russian athletes -- specifically, the decision to bar any Russians from competition who have been caught for doping but accepted punishment and complied with sanctions -- is "unenforceable." "The IOC Decision deprives the Russian athletes of the presumption of innocence and rather establishes a presumption of guilt," CAS said in a news release. The court is tasked with mediating disputes involving the Olympics. The decision was announced Thursday with respect to the appeals of one swimmer, Yulia Efimova, and two rowers, Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov. Rowing events are set to start Saturday. The court says it should now up to the International Rowing Federation to decide "without delay" whether or not Karabelshikova and Podshivalov can compete. The rowing federation said on its website it will update the public on the cases. All of this is occurring as the Opening Ceremonies kick off Friday. Some competitions are already underway. Russia's first win A total of 271 Russian athletes were cleared to take part in the Rio Olympics, Alexander Zhukov, president of the Russian Olympics Committee, told reporters in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the number in a statement issued in the evening. However, an all-inclusive list of the 118 Russian competitors banned from competing in Rio has not been made public. Many consider the IOC's decision a victory for Russia, a nation that the independent World Anti-Doping Agency slammed for having what it called a state-sponsored doping program. Critics had called for the entire team to be banned to show systematic cheating is unacceptable. One man in Moscow told CNN's Matthew Chance: "This victory shows that Russia is respected, and so is our strength." A three-person IOC panel had assessed which athletes from Russia can take part after the World Anti-Doping Agency report last month. Hundreds of Russian athletes watched Thursday night as their national flag was raised finally on a pole at the Olympic village, joining the flags of the other 205 nations. Zhukov told reporters that no team has been drug tested as much as Russia. "Each and every sportsperson was checked and tested, and the international federations checked them and they concluded and made the decision that there were negative ... a huge amount of negative test results that indicates that the huge amount of sportsmen are completely clean." How we got here An independent WADA report undertaken by professor Richard McLaren and published last month alleged that wide-scale doping by Russian athletes had been covered up by the country's security services over a number of years with the full knowledge of the ministry of sport. WADA called for a blanket ban on Russian athletes in Rio as a result but the IOC initially opted to leave the decision up to the governing bodies of individual sports. The IOC then later stated it would compile a three-person panel to determine which Russian athletes would be cleared to take part before the Games begin on Friday. The uncertainty this back and forth has caused led to a war of words between WADA and the IOC in recent days over who was to blame for the uncertainty. Speaking Tuesday, Bach called for a complete overhaul of the anti-doping system. He said his organization could not be blamed for the timing of the McLaren report, published just two weeks before the commencement of the Rio Games, or the fact that information previously offered to WADA was not followed up. Bach also defended the IOC's decision not to take the "nuclear option" of issuing a blanket ban on Russian athletes at the Games, stating that would be unfair to clean athletes within the country. However, WADA president, Craig Reedie, hi


On 29 March 1971, Lieutenant William Calley was found guilty by a court martial for murdering 20 civilians in 1968 - where?

Calley found guilty of My Lai murders - Mar 29, 1971 - HISTORY.com Calley found guilty of My Lai murders Share this: Calley found guilty of My Lai murders Author Calley found guilty of My Lai murders URL Publisher A+E Networks Lt. William L. Calley is found guilty of premeditated murder at My Lai by a U.S. Army court-martial at Fort Benning, Georgia. Calley, a platoon leader, had led his men in a massacre of Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, at My Lai 4, a cluster of hamlets in Quang Ngai Province on March 16, 1968. The unit had been conducting a search-and-destroy mission to locate the 48th Viet Cong (VC) Local Force Battalion. The unit entered Son My village but found only women, children, and old men. Frustrated by unanswered losses due to snipers and mines, the soldiers took out their anger on the villagers, indiscriminately shooting people as they ran from their huts. The soldiers rounded up the survivors and led them to a nearby ditch where they were shot. Calley was charged with six specifications of premeditated murder. During the trial, Chief Army prosecutor Capt. Aubrey Daniel charged that Calley ordered Sgt. Daniel Mitchell to “finish off the rest” of the villagers. The prosecution stressed that all the killings were committed despite the fact that Calley’s platoon had met no resistance and that he and his men had not been fired on. The My Lai massacre had initially been covered up but came to light one year later. An Army board of inquiry, headed by Lt. Gen. William Peers, investigated the massacre and produced a list of 30 people who knew of the atrocity, but only 14 were charged with crimes. All eventually had their charges dismissed or were acquitted by courts-martial except Calley, whose platoon allegedly killed 200 innocents. Calley was found guilty of personally murdering 22 civilians and sentenced to life imprisonment, but his sentence was reduced to 20 years by the Court of Military Appeals and further reduced later to 10 years by the Secretary of the Army. Proclaimed by much of the public as a “scapegoat,” Calley was paroled in 1974 after having served about a third of his 10-year sentence. Related Videos


John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport all serve which city?

Accessibility Services - Airport Guide - Newark Liberty International Airport - Port Authority of New York & New Jersey PATH:  800-234-PATH (7284) MTA in New York: 511 Transportation is available in a range of services and prices. To insure prompt service, make a reservation for an accessible vehicle at least 24 hours in advance. Click here for information on shared ride and other providers. Travel tip: For your safety, always avoid accepting a ride from any driver who approaches you. Use only authorized providers for ground transportation. Parking  The parking lots near the entrances of each terminal have a number of spaces designated for travelers with disabilities. To park in these spaces and receive the lowest parking rate , official license plates or permits issued by a municipality or state of residence must be prominently displayed. Departing? Curbside unloading areas for baggage and passengers are available at each terminal and in most cases are weather protected and located close to each airline's entrance door. Please make arrangements with your airline at least 24 hours in advance to confirm assistance with baggage check-in, ticketing and movement to the gate area. Skycaps are available to assist you with your luggage. If you’re traveling with a motorized wheelchair, please ask the airline when you purchase the ticket about their policies regarding battery-operated wheelchairs. Is Someone Meeting You? If a friend, family member or business associate will be driving to the airport to meet you, please understand that they will not be permitted to wait in their car at the arrivals level curb frontage. If you and all your baggage are not there when your ride pulls up to the curb, the driver must park in an airport parking lot and walk to the terminal to wait for you. Accessible Services Drinking Fountains - Accessible fountains are available in all terminals. Restrooms - All restrooms are wheelchair accessible. Pet Relief Areas - All passenger terminals at the Port Authority’s airports provide these areas to conform with the federal Air Carrier Access Act, which mandates such areas for service animals who travel with air passengers. Signs featuring the international symbol for pet relief designate the areas. There are phones conveniently located in each terminal to accommodate the hearing impaired. Electric Carts - Specially designed electric carts are available at Terminal C for disabled passengers. These carts are available upon request from your airline to transport you from the check-in area to the ticket counter and then to the departure gate during operating hours. For more information, please call your airline in advance. Car Rental - Vehicles equipped with hand controls are available from some on-airport car rental companies. For additional information, please contact the rental car companies directly. Need assistance?  Customer care representatives (look for them in their red jackets) are available throughout the terminal to assist passengers with check-in, ground transportation, locating wheelchair providers, and many other travel needs. Getting Around the Airport AirTrain Newark is free for travel around the airport and makes frequent stops at airline terminals, parking lots, hotel shuttle areas and rental car facilities. The service is ADA compliant. Accessibility Services        Brochure for Air Travelers


What book was written by Alexandre Dumas about Edmond Dantes' imprisonment in the Chateau d'If?

The Count of Monte Cristo: Abridged Edition - Alexandre Dumas - Google Books The Count of Monte Cristo: Abridged Edition 3 Reviews https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo.html?id=9ooz3WjkueYC "A piece of perfect storytelling." — Robert Louis Stevenson. First published in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo remains one of literature's greatest adventures. Based on actual events, this sweeping historical romance, considered to be Dumas' finest work, recounts the story of Edmond Dant�s, a gallant young sailor whose life takes a bitter turn when, during the final days of Napoleon's reign, he is falsely accused of treason and condemned to lifelong imprisonment. After languishing for many years in a fetid dungeon, he makes his dramatic escape. In a labyrinthine tale plump with themes of justice, vengeance, lost love, and mercy and forgiveness, Dant�s is now free to play out his elaborate plans of revenge on those who betrayed him.   What people are saying -  Write a review LibraryThing Review I'm finished. It got better. MUCH better. More later. Maybe. Read full review LibraryThing Review I'm finished. It got better. MUCH better. More later. Maybe. Read full review Selected pages View all » Common terms and phrases abb� Abb� Faria Albert arms asked Baron Baroness Barrois Beauchamp Bonapartist brucine Caderousse captain carriage Catalan Cavalcanti Ch�teau d’If continued Count of Monte cried d’Avrigny d’�pinay daughter dear death Debray doctor door Edmond Dant�s Elba Emmanuel entered exclaimed eyes face Faria father Fernand fortune Franz gaoler gave give hand happy Haydee head heard heart Herbault honour horses hour hundred thousand francs leave Legion of Honour letter lips listen live looked Louis XVIII Madame de Villefort Mademoiselle Marseilles Maximilian Merc�d�s Mme Danglars Mme de Villefort Monsieur Danglars Monsieur de Morcerf Monsieur de Villefort Monsieur Morrel Monsieur Noirtier morning mother never notary o’clock opened pale Paris passed Pharaon piastres Piazza del Popolo prisoner returned round sailor servant silence smile speak tell terrible thought to-day took turned Valentine Valentine’s Vasiliki voice wait wish words About the author (2012) After an idle youth, Alexandre Dumas went to Paris and spent some years writing. A volume of short stories and some farces were his only productions until 1927, when his play Henri III (1829) became a success and made him famous. It was as a storyteller rather than a playwright, however, that Dumas gained enduring success. Perhaps the most broadly popular of French romantic novelists, Dumas published some 1,200 volumes during his lifetime. These were not all written by him, however, but were the works of a body of collaborators known as "Dumas & Co." Some of his best works were plagiarized. For example, The Three Musketeers (1844) was taken from the Memoirs of Artagnan by an eighteenth-century writer, and The Count of Monte Cristo (1845) from Penchet's A Diamond and a Vengeance. At the end of his life, drained of money and sapped by his work, Dumas left Paris and went to live at his son's villa, where he remained until his death. Bibliographic information


Which biblical personality was called Jekuthiel, Heber, Jered, Avi Zanoah, Avi Gedor, Avi Soco, Shemaiah ben Nethanel, Toviah, Levi, Heman, Mechoqeiq and Ehl Gav Ish?

Moses | The Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible Mōšéh ISO 259-3 Moše; Greek: Mωϋσῆς Mōüsēs; Arabic: موسىٰ Mūsa) was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur’an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbenu in Hebrew (מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ, Lit. “Moses our Teacher/Rabbi”), he is the most important prophet in Judaism,[1][2] and is also considered an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths. The existence of Moses as well as the veracity of the Exodus story is disputed amongst archaeologists and Egyptologists, with experts in the field of biblical criticism citing logical inconsistencies, new archaeological evidence, historical evidence, and related origin myths in Canaanite culture.[3][4][5] Other historians maintain that the biographical details, and Egyptian background, attributed to Moses imply the existence of a historical political and religious leader who was involved in the consolidation of the Hebrew tribes in Canaan towards the end of the Bronze Age. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was born in a time when his people, the Children of Israel, were increasing in number and the Egyptian Pharaoh was worried that they might help Egypt’s enemies. Moses’ Hebrew mother, Jochebed, hides him when the Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed, and the child is adopted as a foundling by the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slave-master, Moses flees across the Red Sea to Midian where he has his encounter with the God of Israel in the form of the “burning bush”. God sends Moses to request the release of the Israelites. After the Ten Plagues, Moses leads the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they base themselves at Mount Sinai, where Moses receives the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses dies aged 120, within sight of the Promised Land. Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE;[6] Christian tradition has tended to assume an earlier date.[7] Name Moses and the tablets of law The biblical text explains the name Mošeh משה as a derivation of the root mšh משה “to draw”, in Exodus 2:10: “[…] she called his name Moses (משה): and she said, Because I drew him (משיתהו) out of the water.” (KJV).[8] The name is thus suggested to relate to drawing out in a passive sense, “the one who was drawn out”. Those who depart from this tradition derive the name from the same root but in an active sense, “he who draws out”, in the sense of “saviour, deliverer”.[9] The form of the name as recorded in the Masoretic text is indeed the expected form of the Biblical Hebrew active participle.[10] Josephus argued for an Egyptian etymology, and some scholarly suggestions have followed this in deriving the name from Coptic terms mo “water” and `uses “save, deliver”, suggesting a meaning “saved from the water”.[11] Another suggestion has connected the name with the Egyptian ms, as found in Tuth-mose and Ra-messes, meaning “born” or “child”.[8][12] Biblical narrative In the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Moses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed.[13] Jochebed (also Yocheved) was kin to Amram’s father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron.[13] According to Genesis 46:11, Amram’s father Kehath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob’s household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during their time in Egypt.[14] In the Exodus account, the birth of Moses occurred at a time when an unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months.[13][15][16] When she could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deli


The Galapagos Islands belong to which country?

About The Galapagos Islands | Hood, Charles, Santa Cruz Island ABOUT THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS NEW YEAR ... In 1986 we were a young couple with a dream that was simple enough: we wanted to show the treasures of the Galapagos Islands to the world. We believed then that through sustainable tourism we could keep these islands intact and we decided to set out on the most memorable voyage of our lives. We employed a wonderful team, most of us really uncertain of the outcome of this crazy endeavor, and somehow we expected everyone to eliminate the impossible from our ideas and turn them into something magical. 30 years later, having gone through good and bad times, we are happy to say that our dream worked out. 30 years have passed since we laid the first foundations for the company that today you know as Quasar Expeditions. Some of you have been with us since the days of Quasar Nautica and we hold very fond memories of all who have been with us since the beginning. We know today that no matter how much time has passed since the day we started, no matter what took place in the interim, there are so many things we can never assign to oblivion and our memories can never rub away. We are very happy for the memories we have created in these 30 years. We are happy and blessed to have had such great people working along our side from the beginning. Some are no longer with us, but they hold a special place in our hearts and we are forever grateful for their contributions. The truth is we would not be here today if it wasn't for our valued clients. We want to thank you all for another wonderful year and we welcome an even better 2016. Expect some exciting announcements and events in this new year that marks a huge milestone for our company. With lots of love, SEVEN CUSTOM YACHTS TO DREAM ABOUT ... From Russian oligarchs to Middle Eastern oil barons to American movie stars, having a yacht seems de rigueur for the super-rich, even in the current economic climate. But the phenomenon of outsized personalities buying bloated boats is nothing new. For boating enthusiasts, Quasar Expeditions offers weeklong cruises for less than one-tenth the price someone might pay for the honor of borrowing Vajoliroja. On the Grace, which was constructed in the era in which Depp’s pretends to have been made, guests can cruise the Galapagos from the comfort of the same decks once graced by the likes of Aristotle Onassis, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. ... FROM BEYONCE TO GRACE KELLY: HOW TO HOLIDAY ON A CELEBRITY SUPERYACHT ... From modern day divas to past princesses, you could be sunning yourself aboard Grace Kelly's iconic honeymoon yacht M/Y Grace  -- as it tours the Galapagos Islands.The charming yacht was given to Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco as a wedding present from shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis in the 1950s, with the royal couple spending their honeymoon sailing it along the stunning Italian coast. Today the iconic boat has been refitted with nine luxury staterooms and a top deck hot tub. Guests can enjoy fine dining as they meander past Ecuador's remarkable islands teeming with unusual wildlife such as giant tortoises and marine iguanas.  ... A GRACEFUL TURN IN THE GALAPAGOS ... "Who wants to be a millionaire?” sing Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm in High Society. “Who wants to journey on a gigantic yacht?” “Do I want a yacht? Oh, how I do not.” Well, maybe those two didn’t, but their co-star Grace Kelly was certainly partial to a yacht. Just a few weeks after she had finished making the film, she became Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco and honeymooned for seven weeks aboard the 145ft Deo Juvante II, given as a wedding gift to her and Prince Rainier by Aristotle Onassis. Now that same yacht, renamed Grace and the very picture of elegance, just like its illustrious former owner, is plying the waters of the Galápagos Islands off Ecuador, the place where Darwin was inspired to devise his theory of evolution by means of natural selection .  ...


Jacqueline du Pr was famous for playing what instrument?

Jacqueline du Pr� Homage Page A Genius in the Family by Hilary and Piers du Pr� A short review: This is not just another biography, and fans of Jacqueline du Pr�, looking for an insight into the person behind the artist, will find much. Piers and Hilary (Jacqueline's siblings) bring the reader inside the family du Pr� and share their most intimate moments as a family. These authors hold nothing back and the picture they paint of the entire family, not just Jacqueline, is heart warming one moment and heart breaking the next. I am a Jacqueline du Pr� admirer. Anyone who has ever heard her play the cello must admire her. This book could tarnish ones image of Jacqueline du Pr�. It did not have that effect on me.  It is not a glossy account of Jacqueline's rise to success punctuated by her ultimate death from MS. There are family secrets which you may find painful to read. Think of how painful they must have been to write. Think of how painful they must have been to experience. This is the story of a family. A real family facing problems much the same as other families. The family du Pr� is not the typical family however, because they have, A Genius in the Family. Piers and Hilary put their heart and souls into this book. You are touched by their honesty and their tenderness. It is so intimate that you cannot help but feel their feelings right along with them. There are funny stories from their childhood. There are sad stories of their parents aging. There are the accounts, some of which you have already heard, of Jackie. Very personal, very sad. Michael Hartgraves One Week with Jacqueline Du Pr� By John Krakenberger It must have been in the early sixties when I was visiting London on other business, that I met Jackie. She was introduced to me by the violinist Alberto Lysy (Menuhin's side-kick during a number of years), who lived in London at that time, and with whom I had had contact in Buenos Aires where we both studied our respective instruments, in the forties and fifties. I do remember however that it was before she went to study with Rostropovich in Russia. She talked about her plans to go there. Since violists are always in short supply, Alberto used my presence to organise chamber music soir�es at his home. We played quintets and sextets, and one afternoon we went through the whole book of Beethoven's string-trios, where I had quite a hard time to follow, particularly in the Presto of op 9 N�1. I remember, however, that they were quite satisfied with me, and I still feel good about it today. This led to a meeting with Jackie at her parent's house in Curzon Street, where she had an attic for herself and where we spent a long afternoon checking our respective phrasing of the Bach Suites for Cello, me on the viola and she on the cello. I was twenty years her senior and we got along splendidly. I thought that at that time she was a little uneasy with her well-developed body, maybe a little too hefty for her taste...what the Germans mockingly call "Vollschlank". But this uneasiness was transformed miraculously the moment she sat down behind her cello. An extraordinary vitality surged from all her movements, and the cello was literally assaulted with verve, fire, and passion. In many places we can read that besides Pleeth, Tortelier and Rostropovich she also studied with Casals. This is not completely correct. She did go to Zermatt and met Casals but the chemistry did not work and they did not get along too well. There is a wonderful story circulating on their first meeting. Everybody knows about Casals' gruffness, his typical Catalan peasant demeanour, and his dislike of English musicians, which he expressed frequently. Therefore when it was announced to him that an English cello-prodigy was going to work with him, he frowned and expressed his misgivings. The afternoon their first meeting was scheduled, Jackie was warming up next door to the room where Casals was staying with Maurice Eisenberg, his assistant, and some other visitors. He suddenly cocked his ear


"In 2008 there were 193 members of the United Nations. How many ""nations"" were represented at the 2008 Summer Olympics?"

Parade of Nations: Which Countries Are (and Aren't) in the Olympics? (Rio 2016) - Political Geography Now Friday, August 5, 2016 Parade of Nations: Which Countries Are (and Aren't) in the Olympics? (Rio 2016) This is an updated version of an article first published in 2012. You can also read the London 2012 and Sochi 2014 versions. Map of all countries in the Olympics and their regional associations. Two newest Olympic Nations labeled. (By Evan Centanni, starting from public domain blank map and modeled after this Wikipedia map ) The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil officially open tonight, Friday, August 5th! They'll be the first Olympics ever to be held in South America , and also the first in any Portuguese-speaking country . If that wasn't enough, they're also the first Summer Olympics to be held entirely in the winter ! Of course, it wouldn't be an Olympic opening ceremony without the Parade of Nations. But how many countries are there in the games, and is everyone included? Read on for an exclusive updated guide to the roster of Olympic Nations... How many countries are in the Olympics? There are currently 206 recognized Olympic Nations , represented by a National Olympic Committee (NOC) in each country. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) presides over the Olympic Games themselves, and the NOCs are divided between five continental associations (see map above). [1] If 206 countries sounds like too many, don't worry, you're not going crazy. The UN only recognizes 195 countries worldwide (See: How Many Countries Are There in the World? ). So what gives? Well, it turns out the IOC has historically been more lax than the UN about requirements for nationhood... Dependent Territories that are Olympic Nations Before 1995, some dependent territories were allowed to qualify for the Olympics, and were allowed to stay even after the rules changed. Today, ten of these territories hold Olympic Nation status: Click to enlarge: Dependent territories and partially recognized countries admitted to the Olympics. (By Evan Centanni, from public domain base map ) Americas   Kosovo Taiwan - which is claimed by China but ruled as an independent country under a pre-Communist version of the Chinese constitution - was allowed to stay after the Communist government in Beijing took over representation of Mainland China in 1979. However, a compromise deal made at the time says Taiwan has to call itself "Chinese Taipei" in the games. [2] Disputed Palestine , whose claimed territory is largely controlled by the military of Israel, was admitted in 1995 for the sake of athletes in Gaza and the West Bank, whose residents don't have Israeli citizenship. Palestine has since been recognized as a UN observer state , but at the time it had no UN status. However, it had already been recognized individually by about 100 of the world's countries (more than half of the UN's members). The third non-UN country in the Olympics, Kosovo , is a new addition. A separatist state that controversially declared independence from Serbia eight years ago, Kosovo has never been allowed into the UN due to objections from Serbia, Russia, and others. But the IOC decided to admit Kosovo as an Olympic Nation in 2014, after about 55% of UN member countries had recognized the breakaway state as independent . Which countries are new to the Olympics? There are two new Olympic Nations that have been approved since the last games: Kosovo , the disputed breakaway state mentioned above, and South Sudan , which became independent and joined the UN in 2011. At the time of the 2008 and 2014 Olympics, South Sudan's sports world wasn't organized enough to even apply to join the IOC, but it finally got things together and was approved as an Olympic Nation in summer of 2015. Although not an actual "nation", there will be one other new national-level team attending Rio 2016: the Refugee Olympic Team . This team was put together by the IOC in honor of the record-high number of people in the world who have been forced to leave their home countries to escape wars. Its 10


"What type of visual art is often called ""the art of writing""?"

8. All the Arts Equal Beauty 8. All the Arts Equal Beauty                 Chapter 8 of Experiencing the Humanities by Richard Jewell                                     Art is a language completely different from English, French, Chinese, or any other normal spoken language. The language of all the arts is feeling: emotion, intuition, and form or idea without words. According to twentieth-century American philosopher Suzanne Langer, best known for her philosophy of understanding art, the special quality of the arts is that they provide symbolic language, nonverbal language, that helps us understand, learn, and appreciate life in ways in which words cannot.  There is a whole world of experiences in the arts--and inside us--that cannot be described quickly or easily with mere words. That is one of the great functions of the arts for us: it gives meaning to the unnamable, and helps us relive feelings and experiences that we might not ever otherwise bring back, know, or understand. When an artist creates a work of art such as a painting, a sculpture, or a piece of music, he or she is communicating with us just as surely as if she were talking to us. Her "words," though, are not spoken things, but rather are color, line, shape, movement, and musical sound.  There are so many ways of "speaking" to us through artistic expression, and so many different things an artist can say by using different combinations of things. Opening Up To Art There are many ways in which we are already open to artistic things. How do we feel, for example, if we look at the color red? How do we feel when we gently stroke a long, warm, smooth curve on a statue made of wood? How do we feel when we listen to our favorite kind of music or read our favorite kind of story? All these are art and our reactions to art. So we are already open to different arts of different kinds. Music does not have to be classical, or drawings or dance two hundred years old, for it to be true art. True art--the definition of art--is simply the use of materials to create a symbolic sensory image--an image that causes us, usually, to react with emotion. We are, all of us, already participants--nearly every day--in art. Though our reactions may be fleeting instants of time in any given day, still we react on an almost daily basis to colors meant to be pleasing to us, sounds meant to excite us, words meant to tell a story that gets to us. There are certainly differences between good art and bad, between "high" art and, say, folk or common art. But they all are art. As human beings, we already are patrons of art, whatever we happen to like. For this reason, it is possible to learn more about art forms--or art styles--that we know little about. It is possible to open ourselves up to a work of art and begin to learn to appreciate the work of art more. There are several ways to do this. One way is to approach a work of art, or "discover" it, simply by just opening up our own feelings and emotions. We can let the work of art loom larger in us, concentrate on it, empty our minds and our feelings before it, and let it sweep over and through us, taking us up in its hands and arms and giving us a ride. Imagine that a painting, for example, is a body of water into which we can dive. Let it take us into its depths; we can swim in it. And often, gradually or quickly, we will discover--as we swim--what the painter was trying to get across, consciously or unconsciously. We will feel the feelings and emotions that the painter herself felt as she created the work of art. Imagine that music, for example, is an ocean wave coming in to shore, and we can concentrate on the leading edge of the wave, just listening purely without thinking about it. With such edge-of-the-wave listening, we will begin hearing the different instruments and voices more and more. When we approach a sculpture or other three- dimensional work of art, we should--if at all possible-- touch it. Sculpture is meant to be touched. We should feel it, strok


What is the nationality of 2007 IndyCar Series champion George Dario Marino Franchitti?

Dario Franchitti Ethnicity - Dario Franchitti Net Worth Dario Franchitti Ethnicity Read more... Dario Franchitti Dario Franchitti Net Worth is $35 Million. Dario Franchitti is a well known race car driver and has a net worth of $35 million. Dario Franchitti has earned his net worth through his years racing. He was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland and st. George Dario Marino Franchit... Dario Franchitti Net Worth is $35 Million. Dario Franchitti Net Worth is $35 Million. Dario Franchitti is a well known race car driver and has a net worth of $35 million. Dario Franchitti has earned his net worth through his years racing. He was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland and st George Dario Marino Franchitti is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing until mid-2008 when his team shut down. Franchitti returned to the IndyCar Series for the 2009 season, driving the #10 Target Honda/Dallara for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the current, four-time IndyCar Series champion after claiming a third title in 2010 and fourth title in 2011 in addition to his 2007 and 2009 titles. On 30 May 2010, he won his second Indianapolis 500 race. He is the second driver in IndyCar Series history to take four titles in four consecutive series of racing, after S'ebastien Bourdais, after accounting for his 2008 absence from the series. He also competed in the American Le Mans Series for Andretti Green Racing with his brother Marino and former ...


Which currently reigning royal family is from the House of Orange?

The Dutch Royal Family - Holland.com The Dutch Royal Family The Dutch Royal Family Holland is a fairly young monarchy. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was established in 1815, and King William I was its first ruler. The first king of Holland was from the House of Orange-Nassau. The origin of Holland’s motto, ‘Je maintiendrai (“I will maintain”)’, the colors of the flag and the national color orange may all be found in the House of Orange-Nassau. Princess Beatrix was the reigning monarch for over 30 years. In 2013 her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, succeeded to the throne.. The monarch has limited power; the King has immunity, but the real power lies with the ministers. The monarch is neutral and does not make pronouncements about political topics. The King & his family


What is the family name of the rulers of Monaco?

Family tree of the Royal House of Monaco - hellomagazine.com, HELLO! - hello! Online From left: Princess Caroline, Prince Ernst August of Hanover, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, Prince Albert and Princess Stephanie The House of Grimaldi         has ruled the tiny principality of Monaco on the Mediterranean         coast for over 700 years. The first Lord of Monaco, a merchant-turned-pirate         called Lanfranco Grimaldi, was Italian by birth and a member of         the Genoan Guelphic family who invaded the area in 1297, following         an economic dispute with rival clan, the Ghibellines. When Lanfranco died in 1309, he was succeeded by his first cousin, Rainier I, from whom all subsequent Monegasque monarchs are descended. Rainier was also a seafaring man, but unlike those of his predecessor, the new leader's trading activities were legitimate, and eventually earned him the respect of the French monarch who appointed him Grand Admiral of France in 1304. Monaco became a principality when the then ruler Honor� II assumed         the title of prince in 1612. At that point the territory was still         under the protection of Spain, with whom it had been linked since         1524, but the Treaty of Peronne in 1641 allied it instead with         France. Subsequent Monegasque sovereigns upped their title count         by marrying a string of French heiresses, which explains why,         in addition to the title of Sovereign Prince of Monaco, the head         of the principality can lay claim to 19 other titles. Although the Grimaldi family was exiled from Monaco in 1793 following         the French revolution - during which time the principality reverted         to its ancient name of Fort d'Hercule - its members returned in         1815, following the Treaty of Paris, and have been its monarchs         ever since. The official         royal website can be found at www.monaco.gouv.mc ROYAL HOUSES


The large wrinkled leaves of which plant provide digitalin, used in the treatment of heart conditions?

Medicinal Plants Hortus Medicus The      Medicinal Plants Disclaimer:    This page presents a description and history of the medicinal uses of these    plants. The intention is not to provide specific medical advice.       You should consult your personal physician before taking any form of medication. Achillea       millefolium, Yarrow Yarrow Achilleus, the greatest hero of the Trojan War in Homerï¿½s ï¿½Iliadï¿½, is reported to have used yarrow to stop the flow of blood from his wounds inflicted in battle. It has been scientifically proven that this plant has substances that have blood clotting and anti-inflammatory properties. In the Middle Ages in Europe, yarrow tea was taken to stop internal bleeding. Micmac Indians drank it with warm milk to treat upper respiratory infections. Alcea      rosea, Hollyhock The flowers are used in the treatment of repiratory and inflammatory      ailments and the root extracts to produce marshmallow sweets. Alchemilla      vulgaris, Lady’s     Mantle Lady's          Mantle The      common English name is accounted for by the leaves resemblance to      a cloak worn by English women in medieval times. A preparation      of dried leave was used     to control diarrhea and to stop bleeding. Allium         cepa, Onion Like garlic, onions contain antibiotics and substances that lower blood sugar, serum cholesterol and blood pressure. Onion juice sweetened with sugar or honey is a traditional remedy for colds and coughs. Onions are rich in vitamins B-1, B-2 and Vitamin C. Allium sativum, Garlic It has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes and as a culinary herb. In the Talmud Book of Ezra, Jews are encouraged to partake of garlic at the Friday night Shabbat meal for the following five reasons: (1) to keep the body warm; (2) to brighten the face; (3) to kill intestinal parasites; (4) to increase the volume of semen; and (5) to foster love and to do away with jealousy. Garlic is mentioned more than twenty times in the ancient Egyptian medical papyrus called the Codex Ebers dating back to ca. 1550 B.C. Pliny the Elder sited more than sixty therapeutic uses for garlic. Dioscorides, chief physician for the Roman army, prescribed garlic for intestinal parasitic disorders. Garlic oil was first isolated in 1844. More than one hundred compounds have been identified as constituents of garlic oil. In the Middle Ages, it was eaten daily as a protection against the bubonic plagues that ravished the European continent. Louis Pasteur described its antibacterial properties in 1858. Tons of garlic were used in World War I in field dressings to prevent infection. Alliin and allicin are sulfur-containing compounds that are antibacterial and anti-fungal. When garlic cloves are sliced, diced, or minced, alliin converts allicin into a large number of thioallyl compounds that are effective in lowering blood pressure, blood sugar, serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides It is effective in boosting the immune system. Garlic is a natural pesticide against mosquito larvae. Allium        schoenoprasum, Chives In traditional folk medicine Chives were eaten to treat and purge intestinal parasites, enhance the immune system, stimulate digestion, and treat anemia. Garlic and        scallions, along with onions, leeks, chives, and shallots, are        rich in flavonols, substances in plants that have been shown to        have anti tumor effects. New research from China confirms that     eating vegetables from the allium group (allium is Latin for garlic)     can    reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Allium    tuberosum, Garlic Chives In Chinese herbal medicine, garlic chives have been used to    treat fatigue, control excessive bleeding, and as an antidote for ingested    poisons. The leaves and bulbs are applied to insect bites, cuts, and wounds,    while the seeds are used to treat kidney, liver, and digestive system problems. Althea      officinalis, True Marshmallow It is a n


What did Sir Robert Peel establish in London in the late 19th century?

Sir Robert Peel and his 'bobbies' By  Ben Johnson   |   Comments In Britain today all policemen are commonly referred to as ‘Bobbies’! Originally though, they were known as ‘Peelers’ in reference to one Sir Robert Peel (1788 - 1850). Today it is hard to believe that Britain in the 18th century did not have a professional police force. Scotland had established a number of police forces following the introduction of the City of Glasgow Police in 1800 and the Royal Irish Constabulary was established in 1822, in large part because of the Peace Preservation Act of 1814 which Peel was heavily involved with. However, London was sadly lacking in any form of protective presence and crime prevention for its people as we entered the 19th century. Following the success of the Royal Irish Constabulary it became obvious that something similar was needed in London, so in 1829 when Sir Robert was Home Secretary in Lord Liverpool’s Tory Cabinet, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed, providing permanently appointed and paid Constables to protect the capital as part of the Metropolitan Police Force. © Greater Manchester Police Museum The first thousand of Peel’s police, dressed in blue tail-coats and top hats, began to patrol the streets of London on 29th September 1829. The uniform was carefully selected to make the ‘Peelers’ look more like ordinary citizens, rather than a red-coated soldier with a helmet. The 'Peelers' were issued with a wooden truncheon carried in a long pocket in the tail of their coat, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle to raise the alarm. By the 1880s this rattle had been replaced by a whistle. To be a ‘Peeler’ the rules were quite strict. You had to be aged 20 - 27, at least 5' 7" tall (or as near as possible), fit, literate and have no history of any wrong-doings. These men became the model for the creation of all the provincial forces; at first in the London Boroughs, and then into the counties and towns, after the passing of the County Police Act in 1839. An ironic point however; the Lancashire town of Bury, birthplace of Sir Robert, was the only major town which elected not to have its own separate police force. The town remained part of the Lancashire Constabulary until 1974. Early Victorian police worked seven days a week, with only five days unpaid holiday a year for which they received the grand sum of £1 per week. Their lives were strictly controlled; they were not allowed to vote in elections and required permission to get married and even to share a meal with a civilian. To allay the public’s suspicion of being spied upon, officers were required to wear their uniforms both on and off duty. Sir Robert Peel In spite of the huge success of his ‘Bobbies’, Peel was not a well liked man. Queen Victoria is said to have found him ‘a cold, unfeeling, disagreeable man’. They had many personal conflicts over the years, and when he spoke against awarding her ‘darling’ Prince Albert an annual income of £50,000, he did little to endear himself to the Queen. When Peel was Prime Minister , he and the Queen had a further disagreement over her ‘Ladies of the Bedchamber’. Peel insisting that she accepted some ‘Tory’ ladies in preference to her ‘Whig’ ladies. Although Peel was a skilful politician, he had few social graces and had a reserved, off-putting manner. After a long and distinguished career, Sir Robert came to an unfortunate end …he was thrown from his horse while riding on Constitution Hill in London on 29th June 1850, and died three days later. His legacy remains however as long as the British ‘Bobbies’ patrol the streets and keep the population safe from wrong-doers …and help lost tourists find their way back to the comfort of their hotels!


A United Nations report published in July 2007 placed which country first in the industrialized world in marijuana use, at 14.1% of the population?

United States United States Motto:  In God We Trust   (official) (From Many, One; Latin , traditional) Anthem: " The Star-Spangled Banner" Largest city New York City Official languages None at federal level 1 National language English ( de facto) 2 Demonym American Government Constitutional federal presidential republic  -  President George W. Bush ( R)  -  Vice President Dick Cheney ( R)  -  Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ( D)  -  Chief Justice John Roberts Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain  -  Declared July 4, 1776    -  Recognized September 3, 1783    -  Current constitution June 21, 1788   Area  -  Total 9,826,630 km² ( 3rd/4th 3 3,794,066  sq mi   -  Water  ( % ) 6.76 Population  -  2008 estimate 304,832,000 ( 3rd 4 )  -  2000 census 281,421,906   -  Density 31/km² ( 180th) 80/sq mi GDP  ( PPP) 2007 estimate  -  Total $13.543 trillion ( 1st)  -  Per capita $43,444 ( 4th) GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate  -  Total $13.794 trillion ( 1st)  -  Per capita $43,594 ( 9th) Gini (2006) 47.0 (high)  HDI (2005) 0.951 (high) ( 12th) Currency United States dollar ($) ( USD "$") Time zone ( UTC-5 to -10)  -  Summer ( DST)  ( UTC-4 to -10) Internet TLD .us .gov .mil .edu Calling code +1 1 English is the official language of at least 28 states—some sources give a higher figure, based on differing definitions of "official." English and Hawaiian are both official languages in the state of Hawaii. 2 English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 82% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language. 3 Whether the United States or the People's Republic of China is larger is disputed. The figure given is per the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook. Other sources give smaller figures. All authoritative calculations of the country's size include only the fifty states and the District of Columbia, not the territories. 4 The population estimate includes people whose usual residence is in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, including noncitizens. It does not include either those living in the territories, amounting to more than four million U.S. citizens (most in Puerto Rico ), or U.S. citizens living outside the United States. The United States of America is a constitutional federal republic comprising fifty states and a federal district, as well as several territories, or insular areas, scattered around the Caribbean and Pacific. The country is situated mostly in central North America , where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C. , the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans , bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to its east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait, and the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with more than 300 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and third largest by land area and by population. The United States is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with a nominal 2006 gross domestic product (GDP) of more than US$ 13 trillion (over 19% of the world total based on purchasing power parity). The nation was founded by thirteen colonies of Great Britain located along the Atlantic seaboard. Proclaiming themselves "states," they issued the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 . The rebellious states defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War , the first successful colonial war of independence. A federal convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787 ; its ratification the following year made the states part of a single republic. The Bill of Rights , comprising ten constitutional amendments, was ratified in 1791. In the nineteenth century, the United States acquired l


Who discovered the moon of Saturn called Titan in 1655?

Titan: Facts About Saturn's Largest Moon Titan: Facts About Saturn's Largest Moon By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | June 30, 2016 04:56pm ET MORE This view shows a close up of toward the south polar region of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and show a depression within the moon's orange and blue haze layers near the south pole. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft snapped the image on Sept. 11, 2011 and it was released on Dec. 22. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Titan is Saturn's largest moon and the second largest in the solar  system  (after Ganymede of Jupiter). It is the only moon in the solar system with clouds and a dense, planet-like atmosphere.  Scientists believe that  conditions on Titan are similar to Earth's early years  (the main difference is that, because it is closer to the sun, Earth has always been warmer). According to  NASA , "In many respects, Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is one of the most Earth-like worlds we have found to date." Titan stats Diameter: 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers), about half the size of Earth and almost as large as Mars Surface temperature: minus 290 Fahrenheit (minus 179 degrees Celsius), which makes water as hard as rocks and allows methane to be found in its liquid form Surface pressure: Slightly higher than Earth's pressure. Earth's pressure at sea level is 1 bar while Titan's is 1.6 bars. Orbital period: 15,945 days NASA's Cassini spacecraft peers through the murk of Titan's thick atmosphere in this view, taken with Cassini's narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2008. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Other Titan facts Titan's name comes from Greek mythology. The Titans were elder gods who ruled the universe before the Olympians came to power, according to the  Theoi Project  website.  The moon was discovered by Dutch astronomer  Christiaan Huygens  in 1655. The Huygens lander probe sent to the moon aboard  NASA's Cassini spacecraft  by the European Space Agency is named in his honor. Huygens was the first human-built object to land on Titan's surface. [ Amazing Photos of Titan ] Titan's diameter is 50 percent larger than that of  Earth's moon . Titan is larger than the planet  Mercury  but is half the mass of the planet. Titan's mass is composed mainly of water in the form of ice and rocky material. Titan has no magnetic field. Atmosphere of Titan Titan is surrounded by an orange haze that kept its surface a mystery for Earth's scientists until the arrival of the Cassini mission.  Titan's atmosphere  extends about 370 miles high (about 600 kilometers), which makes it a lot higher than Earth's atmosphere. Because the atmosphere is so high, Titan was thought to be the largest moon in the solar system for a long time. It wasn't until 1980 that Voyager was close enough to discover it was actually smaller than Ganymede. Titan's atmosphere  is active and  complex , and it is mainly composed of nitrogen (95 percent) and methane (5 percent). Titan also has a presence of organic molecules that contain carbon and hydrogen, and that often include oxygen and other elements similar to what is found in Earth's atmosphere and that are essential for life.  There is an unsolved mystery surrounding Titan's atmosphere: Because methane is broken down by sunlight, scientists believe there is another source that replenishes what is lost. One potential source of methane is volcanic activity, but this has yet to be confirmed. Titan's atmosphere may escape to space in a similar way that Earth's atmosphere does . The Cassini spacecraft has detected polar winds that draw methane and nitrogen (charged with interactions with light) out along Saturn's magnetic field and out of the atmosphere. A similar process is believed to happen on Earth with our own magnetic field.  Magic Island There is an abundance of  methane lakes , which are mainly concentrated near its southern pole. In 2014, scientists found a transient feature they playfully referred to as " Magic Island ." It's possible that nitrogen bubbles formed in Titan's oceans sit on the surface  for a period of time, creating a tem


Which company bought the Daimler, Lanchester, Jaguar and Land Rover brand names in March 2008?

News : March 2008 - AROnline : AROnline News : March 2008 TATA Motors acquires Jaguar and Land Rover Classic names are part of Tata deal Tony Lewin, Automotive News Europe 27th March, 2008 Tata Motors will get the right use three classic British auto-brand names as part of its £1.15bn deal to buy Jaguar and Land Rover. Included in the deal are the Rover name and the Jaguar-owned names of Daimler and Lanchester. Ford bought the rights to the Rover brand name from BMW in September 2006 for an undisclosed sum to ensure no other automaker could use it and cause confusion with the Land Rover brand. “We acquired the Rover trademark in the interests of protecting Land Rover,” said Ford of Europe spokesman John Gardiner. “So it’s also in the interests of the new owner of Land Rover to have it.” BMW obtained ownership of the Rover name when it bought the Rover Group in 1994. In 2006, BMW refused a request from China’s SAIC to use the Rover brand name under licence. SAIC had bought some assets of the ailing MG Rover Group and now builds cars called Roewes in China. Jaguar acquired the rights to sell cars badged as Daimlers in 1960 from the UK Daimler car company that was founded in 1896 and licensed by Gottlieb Daimler to use his internal combustion engine. The UK Daimler car company also owned the Lanchester brand name. LEADER: Jaguar goes to Tata, The Financial Times 27th March, 2008 Tata’s £1.15bn successful bid for Jaguar and Land Rover has propelled India’s biggest vehicle-maker on to the international stage. The company famed for making the world’s cheapest car has acquired two of Britain’s prime luxury marques. Ratan Tata, Tata’s chairman and the driving force behind its global ambitions, believes it can succeed where Ford, the previous owner, failed. He faces a monumental task. The sale of Jaguar and Land Rover is a strategic withdrawal for Ford, which in recent years has had to subsidise losses in Jaguar. It is profitable in Europe and can now focus on its core US car business. By contrast, Tata’s appetite for global reach is as strong as ever. It has risen beyond its domestic roots to become the undisputed standard bearer of India’s push overseas, possibly at the expense of India’s own industrialisation. The combination of a lossmaking Jaguar and a profitable Land Rover poses a sterner test for management than last year’s acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus, to which Tata can marry low-cost production of raw materials. With Jaguar, the challenge is whether Tata has the resources – and patience – to save a brand that has been in decline for 40 years. Tata would be advised to learn from Ford’s mistakes, particularly in the managing of the Jaguar brand. The US company miscalculated badly when it sought to turn Jaguar into a high-volume producer, making a car based on the mass market Mondeo. Tata should exploit Jaguar’s traditional appeal: a distinctive blend of style and power that could sell well in expanding Asian markets. The new XF model, developed on Ford’s watch and a sleek replacement for an S-type in need of a makeover, could be the fillip it needs. Tata’s decision to stick to current business plans is logical. Even so, it is hard to see how anyone can turn a struggling manufacturer into a world-class business in a country where the industrial base has shrunk dramatically. The decline and collapse in 2005 of MG Rover, the UK’s last mass car producer, shows that fusty design and high labour costs carry a heavy price in a fiercely competitive automotive industry. Tata has won plaudits from trade unions by insisting that it will not “Indianise” the British brands. But it is likely to have to cut costs, despite a pledge not to close down factories in the UK before 2011. Tapping its own cheaper engineering and development expertise is an obvious early remedy. More drastic action may yet be needed if Jaguar is to survive and prosper. Tata pledge on UK car plants The Financial Times, Jonathan Guthrie in Birmingham, Joseph Leahy in Mumbai and John Reed in London, 27th March, 2008 Tata Motors has promised to kee


Mount St Helens is in which state of the USA?

Mount Saint Helens | mountain, Washington, United States | Britannica.com Mount Saint Helens Mount Saint Helens, volcanic peak in the Cascade Range , southwestern Washington , U.S. Its eruption on May 18, 1980, was one of the greatest volcanic explosions ever recorded in North America . The north face of Mount St. Helens in June 1970. R.W. Decker Eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980. U.S. Geological Survey The lava dome of Mount St. Helens in May 1984. Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey; photograph, Lyn Topinka Mount St. Helens, named by the English navigator George Vancouver for a British ambassador, had been dormant since 1857. An explosive steam eruption on March 27, 1980, was followed by alternating periods of quiescence and minor eruption. Pressure from rising magma within the volcano caused extensive fissures and the growth of a bulge on the north flank of the peak. On the morning of May 18, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale triggered a gigantic landslide on the mountain’s north face. The north slope fell away in an avalanche that was followed and overtaken by a lateral air blast, which carried a high-velocity cloud of superheated ash and stone outward some 15 miles (25 km) from the volcano’s summit; the blast reached temperatures of 660 °F (350 °C) and speeds of at least 300 miles (500 km) per hour. The avalanche and lateral blast were followed by mudflows, pyroclastic flows, and floods that buried the river valleys around Mount St. Helens in deep layers of mud and debris as far as 17 miles (27 km) away. Meanwhile, simultaneously with the blast, a vertical eruption of gas and ash formed a column some 16 miles (26 km) high that produced ash falls as far east as central Montana . Complete darkness occurred in Spokane , Washington, about 250 miles (400 km) northeast of the volcano. On May 18, 1980, as geologists watched in awe, Mount Saint Helens erupted in a gigantic explosion. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Paricutín A total of 57 people and thousands of animals were killed in the May 18 event, and trees over an area of some 200 square miles (500 square km) were blown down by the lateral air blast. At the event’s end, Mount St. Helens’s volcanic cone had been completely blasted away; in place of its 9,677-foot (2,950-metre) peak was a horseshoe-shaped crater with a rim reaching an elevation of 8,363 feet (2,549 metres). Further eruptions occurred until 1986, and a dome of lava grew intermittently in the crater. Seismic activity occurred again between 1989 and 1991 (including some small explosions) as well as in 1995 and 1998. Statue of a man planting trees, dedicated to those who replanted the area around Mount Saint … © Michael Hynes In 1982, 172 square miles (445 square km) of land surrounding the volcano was designated Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The monument provides a unique opportunity for scientific study of the dynamics of an active composite volcano and for research on how ecosystems respond to cataclysmic disturbances. The monument also presents many recreational and educational opportunities. Visitors can view the crater, lava dome , pumice plain, and effects of the landslide from Johnston Ridge Observatory on the monument’s west side, less than 5 miles (8 km) from the volcano. The west side also provides opportunities to observe animals and plants that have recolonized the blast zone and lakes that have formed as a result of the eruption. The edge of the blast zone, marked by standing dead trees, lies in the eastern part of the monument where old-growth forests, undamaged by the blast, still stand. On the south side are lava formations of various ages, including the longest continuous lava tube in the 48 conterminous U.S. states, which formed during an eruption about 2,000 years ago. Mount Rainier National Park is to the northeast. Mount Saint Helens, Wash.


Which city hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002?

Ten Years After! What is the Legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games for Manchester? | cities@manchester Ten Years After! What is the Legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games for Manchester? The B of the Bang was a sculpture designed by Thomas Heatherwick and was commissioned to mark the 2002 Commonwealth Games.   In July and August 2002 the city of Manchester hosted the XVII Commonwealth Games.  This eleven day event was to mark the beginning of a strategy to systematically redevelop the east of Manchester.  After decades of losing its population and suffering multiple forms of distress, the plan was to use the Games to reintegrate the area’s neighborhoods back into the wider space economy.  New East Manchester, an urban regeneration company, was established to oversee the redevelopment.  Fast forward to July 2012 and London is about to host the Olympics.  A central feature of the discussions prior to the Games has been over their legacy in the area to the east of London.  This has involved learning from the efforts of other cities, such as Manchester, who have hosted major cultural and sporting events. On 10 July 2012, cities@manchester will host a panel discussion ( view full details and book a free place here ) to explore the current state of East Manchester and the on-going legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games.  This forum will bring together stakeholders with a wide range of views to debate this vital issue.  The aim is to develop understandings that can inform the wider redevelopment efforts in the city, particularly in the context of shrinking public sector finances. Below are some brief provocations from each panelist to initiate reflection and debate. Pete Bradshaw, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Infrastructure, Manchester City Football Club. Ten years on… legacy in action or inaction? The Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games undoubtedly captured the imagination of people across our city, our region, our nation and across the Commonwealth too. Manchester and its city region had gained valuable experience in bidding for two Olympic Games (1996 and 2000) and in doing so, had the opportunity to stage a variety of international sporting events and an insight and understanding of what Games’ host cities needed – and indeed the risks involved. Embarking on a bid to stage the Commonwealth Games therefore, would need to be founded in reality, deliverability and should leave lasting legacy for the people of Manchester and for sport, locally, regionally and nationally. When considering the development of Games’ facilities – it would be critical that they should be fit-for-purpose insofar as the Games were concerned, but no less important would be the need for those very facilities to provide a life beyond the Games without the need for further funding whilst developing new opportunities, events, inward investment and jobs. Facilities  for the future and in helping deliver legacy would only be one consideration; participation and engagement another. Some twenty years previous, the Sports Council in its launch of Sport – The Next ten Years noted: “Although participation is made possible through facility provision, it is made actual only by sensitive management, inspiring leadership and energetic promotion”. Never more would this be the case with the legacy of Manchester 2002. Programmes and activities directly related to the Games were (and are) there for all to see, successful at the time and in some cases setting precedence for events and investments ten years on. 15,000 Volunteers engaged with M2002 Pre Volunteer Programme and across the city we can still find them working on events and engaged in jobs as a result. There was Games XChange which created a comprehensive data base and event information resource; the Community Curriculum Pack shared with local education authorities from across the region whilst Let’s Celebrate engaged people of all ages in arts, cultural and events management. Passport gave people access to opportunities which included art, sport, environment, health and jobs and these were supported by Healt


Who published his method of heating food to kill micro-organisms and sealing the container, in 1810?

Food Preservation     - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society Jump to Navigation Food Preservation Food preservation has been an essential activity throughout history. The very cycle of the seasons creates periods of shortage and abundance of different foods at different points of the year. This problem was only worsened with the development of agriculture as people sacrificed their mobility and came to rely on fewer sources of food, each with its own cycle of growing season. Only through human effort and ingenuity has it become possible to obtain some of these foods throughout the year. Although some food may be damaged by chemical changes such as oxidation, most food is destroyed in storage by spoilage cause by living organisms such as molds, bacteria, and yeast. Food preservation techniques, therefore, depend upon killing or inhibiting the growth of these microorganisms. Many of our most common means for preserving food have been with us since the beginning of history and can be found distributed in many different locations. Drying, pickling, fermenting, and smoking have all been incorporated into the foodways of cultures throughout the world. Although the methods are diverse, what they all have in common is an attempt to create an environment that is inhospitable to microorganisms such as molds, yeast, and bacteria. Methods of Food Preservation Drying is perhaps the oldest of all food preservation techniques. It also is one of the most simple in that it removes water, the ingredient needed for all forms of life to survive. This method has been particularly useful for meats, some fruits, and cereals. Those who are experienced with drying food rarely determine whether a product is sufficiently dehydrated by its weight. Rather they will usually judge whether it is dry by its texture and appearance. The primary disadvantage to this method is that it changes the nature and taste of the food and it requires proper storage once the drying is complete. Since moisture can form on the exterior of dried foods, ventilation must be maintained to reduce the possibility of condensation. any moisture on the surface will make it possible for molds to grow, thereby spoiling the remainder of the food. A good example of preserving food through drying are the pumpkin mats made by the early Pawnee and Wichita peoples of Kansas. Historically, Native Americans grew pumpkins in gardens along the river banks. Strips of pumpkin were dried and woven into mats for storage. The dried pumpkin would be used to flavor soups and other dishes. Tribes such as the Kiowa and the Comanche often traded buffalo meat to the Pawnees and Wichitas for pumpkin mats. Most of the other forms of food preservation used prior to canning and refrigeration employed naturally produced chemicals to retard the growth of organisms that produce spoilage. The smoking of meat and fish, for example, leaves compounds in the meat the destroy microorganism. smoking also partly preserves the meat by lowering its moisture content. Usually meat is soaked in brine or salted for a short time before smoking. The meat is then usually rinsed with warm water and allowed to drain before it is placed in the smokehouse. Many containers are used for smoking meat. A sealed box or barrel may be used, but at one time many farms had a proper smokehouse for the large-scale preservation of meat. Generally such a building has a series of hooks for hanging the food, a fire box to provide the smoke, and small holes to create enough ventilation to draw smoke from the fire. In most cases the fire box is connected to the smokehouse with a small tunnel to reduce the amount of heat to which the food is subjected. This is to prevent the meat from being partly cooked.The house is often heated in the winter because smoke will not penetrate meat if it is frozen. many materials can e used to produce the smoke. Although chips from hardwoods such as hickory are often favored, bark and corn cobs are frequently used. Meat may be smoked for up to three weeks before it is properly done. In the Croatian American


Which 1980s pop group was led by Boy George?

Culture Club Discography at Discogs Report Enjoyable and controversial, what a voice too. I saw them perform live recentlty (August 15th 2016) in Saratoga and they put on a real show. Original line up almost with a big backing band and every song was standing ovation. George had to keep asking the audience to sit down and be quiet. They played a few new songs from the forthcoming albums "Tribes" and they sounded on fire hot. Hope they release it in time for Christmas. When I was young they were very popular and even though it wasn't my sort of thing back then, everyone knew they had some great songs. Hard to believe they could write so well and sing so well and then to see them live in 2016 and they sound better than I could have ever imagined. Mind Blowing really. Report edited over 11 years ago Boy George was a fixation in my early teens - like a living puppet among teenage idols of that time, I took notice by listening to Culture Club. I remember that charming headline in newsweek 'Britain Rocks America Again'... with Ann Lennox and Boy George posing so effectively. Culture Club for all that's worth about their music, the group gave two fine pop-albums - 'Kissing To Be Clever' and 'Colour By Numbers'. While the first one combined dub effects over funk and reggae-spiced music (the entire affair is somewhat reminiscent of Bow Wow Wow/Malcolm McLaren's pop-demonstration), the second effort took more of a pop course and earned the group a number of deserved hits - among them 'Karma Chameleon' seems to be the best-remembered ever. Afterwards, Boy George ran into serious drug problems, the group seriously ran out of ideas and as the 80s progressed none of them offered any considerable developments - Boy George continued his carreer solo. 'To Be Reborn' reflects some of the Culture Club's charm although 'Sold' is just a number in a vacuum of albums that circled around in 1987-88...


According to the proverb, the way to hell is paved with what?

What does 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions' mean? Ethics and Religion Talk |    MLive.com What does 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions' mean? Ethics and Religion Talk Hell is for sale Guest writer By Guest writer The Grand Rapids Press on July 28, 2015 at 7:55 AM, updated July 28, 2015 at 8:26 AM comments By Rabbi David Krishef Reader Donald Z. asks, "What exactly do you think the well known and often quoted saying 'The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions' means?" As a rule, Judaism doesn't care about intentions. It cares about actions. A person who never shares his or her wealth, never volunteers to help others, does not celebrate Jewish holidays or adhere to a Jewish way of eating, such a person misses many opportunities to sanctify his or her life with mitzvot, God's commandments. The first century rabbinic work Pirkei Avot (2:4), "Do not say, 'When I have time, I shall study,' for you may never have time." The time to do mitzvot is now. One's intention to do them later, such as after one retires, after one's children are grown, when the weather is nicer, when the weather is not so nice -- the intention is good, but too often leads to inaction. Fred Wooden is the senior pastor of Fountain Street Church: "Setting aside the the question of what heaven and hell are real, the phrase refers to when we justify a bad act as being for a good purpose - a variation on 'the ends justify the means. There are times when a bad act can serve a larger good, or prevent a greater evil. But they are rare and rarely obvious. More often we rationalize actions that we know to be questionable if not wrong. It is human nature. Reinhold Niebuhr said, 'No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own.' Our 'good intentions' thus hide the real and cumulative outcomes of our actions, allowing us to 'fall' further and faster as a result." The Rev. Sandra Nikkel is head pastor of Conklin Reformed Church: "Indeed, the good intentions we have are often forgotten, not ever carried out. Therefore, the purpose of this saying could very well be to emphasize the importance of good deeds--meaning that those who are in hell are filled with good intentions which they never carried out. From a Christian perspective this proverb makes sense because the Bible is clear that everyone will be judged according to what they have done (Revelation 20:12-13). But, the proverb can also be misleading because it assumes that not carrying out the good intentions we have, can lead us to hell. This can be true or not--depending on whether or not we are in Christ. Having Christ in our hearts as our Savior and Lord amounts to a reality that is supernatural. The punishment that we deserve for the sins we have committed was put on Christ. Therefore, we are now free to live without fear. We are free to experience unconditional love, and most important of all, we are free to live for him even if we don't do it perfectly!" Father Kevin Niehoff, O.P., is a Dominican priest and serves as Adjutant Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Grand Rapids: "This phrase is a metaphor and an attempt to give it an exact meaning is not necessarily helpful. Still, there is a phrase in the prayer: The Act of Contrition that is helpful here. 'I resolved with the help of God's grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.' Human beings were not created to be perfect as only the divine possesses that characteristic. As such, humans find themselves falling into sin. Sometimes the sin is much easier to commit than to avoid, but the person intended to not sin. The intent to avoid the sins without giving much effort into changing one's ways - good intentions - are the paving stones on the metaphorical road to hell." David Spearman is the senior pastor of the Faith Ministries Center Church: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, to me means that sometimes we can have the best intentions in trying to help someone, a group of people or a situation, but the end result is disaster. How often has our governmen


Singer Avril Levigne was born in which country?

Avril Lavigne - Songwriter, Singer - Biography.com Avril Lavigne Mixing rock, punk and a rebellious style, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne burst onto the music scene in 2002 with her multi-platinum album "Let Go." IN THESE GROUPS Famous People Named Lavigne quotes “I have always looked for ways to give back because I think it's a responsibility we all share.” Avril Lavigne Avril Lavigne - Mini Biography (TV-PG; 2:48) Punk pop singer Avril Lavigne entered the music scene with a rebellious streak, capturing audiences with songs like "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi." She later opted to go a more tame route when releasing her music. Synopsis Avril Lavigne, born on September 27, 1984, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, spent most of her childhood in Napanee, Ontario. Lavigne began singing in church in church at a young age, and signed with Arista Records in 2000. Two years later, she released her debut album, Let Go. Thanks to hit singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi," the record sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Lavigne followed with the albums Under My Skin (2004), The Best Damn Thing (2007), Goodbye Lullaby (2011) and Avril Lavigne (2013). Early Life Avril Ramona Lavigne was born on September 27, 1984, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, and spent most of her childhood in Napanee, Ontario. For more than a decade, Avril Lavigne has enjoyed huge success with her punk-influenced pop sound. She has also branched out in new directions over the years, including starting her own fashion line. Lavigne sang all the time as a child, much to the chagrin of her two siblings. Raised by deeply religious parents, she first started performing in church choirs. Lavigne learned to play the guitar, and began composing her own music as a teenager. At first, she reportedly focused on country music, eventually changing her tune. Leaving high school, she went first to New York City and then to Los Angeles to work with Arista Records. Punk-Pop Musician In 2002, Lavigne released her first album, Let Go. She scored a No. 1 hit with the single "Complicated," a catchy tale of a difficult relationship. More hits soon followed, such as "Sk8er Boi" and "I'm With You." In addition to her music, Lavigne was deemed a style icon; fans mimicked Lavigne's multicolored hair and copied her skate-punk fashions. Lavigne's music took a more contemplative turn with 2004's Under My Skin, which did not fare as well as her first album. Still she had two modest hits, "Don't Tell Me" and "Nobody's Home," and one Top 10 track, "My Happy Ending." While many of her songs explored relationship troubles and woes, Lavigne's personal life seemed to be going well. In 2006, she married fellow musician Deryck Whibley, of Canadian pop-punk band Sum 41. Returning to her more up-tempo and exuberant pop style, Lavigne released The Best Damn Thing in 2007. She landed a Top 10 hit with the infectious "Girlfriend." A Rolling Stone critic called the song "hypercatchy" and said that the album had "big doses of [Lavigne's] usual sass, anger and vulnerability." On next album, Goodbye Lullaby, Lavigne looked at love from different stages, from joyful togetherness to the pain of breaking up. The subject matter came as no surprise; between the release of The Best Damn Thing and her next record, Lavigne and Whibley had divorced. The split was amicable enough, however, for the pair to work together on Goodbye Lullaby; Whibley served as a producer on several of the album's songs. Not straying too far from her power-pop roots, Lavigne used the incredibly hooky hit "What the Hell" as the album's first single. Goodbye Lullaby enjoyed enormous success abroad, hitting the top of the charts in Japan, Australia and Korea. Music hasn't been Lavigne's only interest. She launched her own fragrance called Forbidden Rose and created her own clothing line, Abbey Dawn, using a childhood nickname given to her by her father. Lavigne has also taken time out to help others. In 2010, she established the Avril Lavigne Foundation, which aims help young people with disabilities and serious illnesses. "I have always loo


Liberia is a country on which continent?

Liberia Map / Geography of Liberia / Map of Liberia - Worldatlas.com Print this map Liberia is one of the very few African countries not colonized by a European country, and subsequently established a unique relationship with the Unites States . The country was in fact founded and colonized by freed American slaves with the help of a private organization called the American Colonization Society in 1821-1822 That concept was based on the premise that former American slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa . In that regard, slaves freed from other slave ships also were sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. Those black colonists formed an elite group in Liberian society, and, in 1847, they founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the Unites States . They named their capital city Monrovia, after James Monroe, the fifth president of the Unites States . Prior to this colonization, the region was known as Costa de Pimenta (Pepper Coast), due to the amount of melegueta pepper, and was inhabited by Mende-speaking peoples as far back as the 12th century. By 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. From 1944 to 1971, President Tubman put great effort into bridging the political, economic, and social gaps between descendents of original settlers and inhabitants of the interior, as well as in promoting of foreign investments. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel Doe ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. Subsequently, internal unrest overcame the country as repression grew, and by December 1989, Charles Taylor launched a rebellion against Doe's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which countless thousands were killed, including Doe himself. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought Taylor to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. In August 2003, a peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of Taylor, who was exiled to Nigeria . He is now on trial in The Hague. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president in 2005, and reelected in 2011. Liberia is still recovering from the lingering effects of civil war and related economic dislocation. The process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country is difficult, and statistics indicate that about 85% of the population live below US$1.25 a day. See Also