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Far East. The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North, East and Southeast Asia.[1][2] South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term.[3][4] In modern times, the term Far East has widely fallen out of use and been substituted by Asia–Pacific,[5] while the terms Middle East and Near East, although now pertaining to different territories, are still commonly used today. The term first came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 15th century, particularly the British, denoting the Far East as the farthest of the three Easts, beyond the Near East and the Middle East.[6] Likewise, during the Qing dynasty of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term Tàixī (泰西) – i.e., anything further west than the Arab world – was used to refer to the Western countries. Since the mid-20th century, the term has mostly gone out of use for the region in international mass media outlets due to its perceived Eurocentric connotations.[7][8][9] North Asia is sometimes excluded due to cultural and ethnic differences.[10] The term is still used in Russia to refer to its sparsely populated easternmost regions (being far in this case from the political, economic and cultural centres, Moscow and Saint Petersburg).
Western Pacific Railroad. The Western Pacific Railroad (reporting mark WP) was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WPs Feather River Route directly competed with SPs portion of the Overland Route for rail traffic between Salt Lake City/Ogden, Utah, and Oakland, California, for nearly 80 years. The Western Pacific was one of the original operators of the California Zephyr passenger line. In 1982, the Western Pacific was acquired by the Union Pacific Corporation and it was merged into the Union Pacific Railroad.[1] The original Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was established in 1862 to build the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, between Sacramento and San Jose, California (later to Oakland). After completing the last link from Sacramento to Oakland, this company was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870. The second company to use the western pacific appellation was the Western Pacific Railway Company, founded in 1903. Under the direction of George Jay Gould I, the Western Pacific Railway proposed to build a standard gauge track connection to the Pacific Coast for his aspiring Gould transcontinental system. Construction was financed by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, a company in the Gould system, which had lost access to California due to the attempted acquisition of the Southern Pacific Railroad by the Rio Grandes main rival, the Union Pacific Railroad. The Western Pacific Railway acquired the Alameda and San Joaquin Railroad and began construction on what became known as the Feather River Route. Completed in 1909, it was the last major rail line connected to California. After Western Pacific Railway Company defaulted on mortgage bonds, its assets were sold in 1916 to The Western Pacific Railroad Company.
British Western Pacific Territories. The British Western Pacific Territories (BWPT) was a colonial entity created in 1877 for the administration of a series of Pacific islands in Oceania under a single representative of the British Crown, styled the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. Except for Fiji and the Solomon Islands, most of these colonial possessions were relatively small islands. The Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 51), then later, the Foreign Jurisdiction Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 37), provided for jurisdiction over British subjects in the Pacific.[1] In 1877 the position of Western Pacific High Commissioner was formalised by the Western Pacific Order in Council 1877 by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.[1] Article 12 established the Chief Justice of Fiji as the Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific.[1][2] The Order in Council created the colonial entity – the British Western Pacific Territories – and granted the authority to manage the engagement of indentured labourers and to otherwise give the colonial entity authority over British subjects in the Western Pacific beyond the jurisdiction of British and colonial Australian laws.[1] The Governor of Fiji was given authority over persons and acts in the islands south of the equator. The Governor, as High Commissioner and Consul-General, was given the authority: to conduct diplomatic relations with local representatives of the foreign powers, to regulate the labour trade where it was conducted by British subjects only, and to maintain law and order among British subjects in the Pacific islands where there were no recognised governments.[1] The High Commissioner appointed resident commissioners to manage specific island territories. Following a commission of inquiry, a revised Order in Council was issued in 1893, which gave the resident commissioners wider autonomy over the islands under their control.[1] The composition of the territories of the BWPT varied over time.[1][3][4] As the islands were spread over the South Pacific, administration of the territories was problematic.[5] The most durable members were Fiji (from 1877 to 1952) and the Solomon Islands (from 1893 to 1976). Between 1942 and 1945, the high commission was suspended. While most islands were under British military administration, the Solomon Islands and Gilbert Islands came under Japanese occupation.
Mississippi Valley (disambiguation). The Mississippi Valley is a valley which the Mississippi River flows through. Mississippi Valley may also refer to:
Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870). The Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was formed in 1862 to build a railroad from Sacramento, California, to the San Francisco Bay, the westernmost portion of the First transcontinental railroad. After the completion of the railroad from Sacramento to Alameda Terminal on September 6, 1869, and then the Oakland Pier on November 8, 1869, which was the Pacific coast terminus of the transcontinental railroad, the Western Pacific Railroad was absorbed in 1870 into the Central Pacific Railroad. The Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was formed in December 1862 by a group led by Timothy Dame and including Charles McLaughlin and Peter Donahue, all associated with the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad (SF&SJ), to build a railroad from San Jose north to Niles (then called Vallejo Mills), east through Niles Canyon (then called Alameda Cañon), north to Pleasanton, east through the Livermore Valley, and over Altamont Pass to Stockton, then north to Sacramento,[2] with the plan that the transcontinental railroad would follow the Western Pacific to San Jose and then the SF&SJ to San Francisco. At the completion of the SF&SJ in January 1864, it was reported that the general contract for the Western Pacific was awarded to McLaughlin & Houston and that negotiations for iron, equipment, and rolling stock had begun.[3] On October 31, 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad assigned all the rights of the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864 to the Western Pacific for the route between Sacramento and San Jose, including land grants.[4] The amending Act of March 3, 1865 ratified and confirmed the assignment made by Central Pacific Railroad to Western Pacific Railroad and authorized Western Pacific Railroad as one of the charter companies.[5] The construction of the Western Pacific Railroad began in February 1865 near San Jose and northward under a contract taken by J.B. Cox & Myers.[6] After Chinese laborers had helped complete the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad in 1864, a force of 500 Chinese laborers was grading the roadbed and laying tracks for the Western Pacific in 1865.[7] By October 1866, Western Pacific completed 20 miles (32 km) of track north and east from San Jose, reaching halfway into Alameda Cañon (now Niles Canyon) to a point just beyond Farwell.[8] The first cars left San Jose to Vallejo Canyon (Alameda Cañon) on October 2.[9][10] It had also surveyed, and started work on some places on, the rest of the line through Alameda Cañon, through Livermore Valley, over Livermore Pass (now Altamont Pass), and on to Stockton and Sacramento, before running out of money and halting all construction. Part of the difficulty was that federal land grants were not available where Mexican land grants had previously been made. In June 1867, the five Associates (Big Four plus E. B. Crocker) of the Central Pacific completed a complicated transaction with moribund Western Pacific (WP) and resuscitated it and its assets while Charles McLaughlin, the only Western Pacific owner left, retained rights to sell his land grants.[2][11]: 335–339 In September 1867, Governor Stanford led a party to show them the projected WP line, which would captured his interest that it would soon be dubbed The Governors Road.[11]: 339, 407 In October 1867, patterned after the structure of the ill-fated Crédit Mobilier of America, the Contract and Finance Company was incorporated to act as the stock/asset holding/laundering subsidiary formally independent of Central Pacific, but informally transferring stocks/assets back to the five CP Associates, to finance the construction and purchase of railroad.[11]: 408, 739 n35
Alberta. Alberta is a province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, the Northwest Territories to its north, and the U.S. state of Montana to its south. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two landlocked Canadian provinces.[7] The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate, but seasonal temperatures tend to swing rapidly because it is so arid. Those swings are less pronounced in western Alberta because of its occasional Chinook winds.[8] [9] Alberta is the fourth largest province by area, at 661,848 square kilometres (255,541 square miles),[10] and the fourth most populous, with 4,262,635 residents.[2] Albertas capital is Edmonton; its largest city is Calgary.[11] The two cities are Albertas largest census metropolitan areas.[12] More than half of Albertans live in Edmonton or Calgary, which encourages a continuing rivalry between the two cities. English is the provinces official language. In 2016, 76.0% of Albertans were anglophone, 1.8% were francophone and 22.2% were allophone.[13] Albertas economy is advanced, open, market-based, and characterized by a highly educated workforce, strong institutions and property rights, and sophisticated financial markets. The service sector employs 80% of Albertans, in fields like healthcare, education, professional services, retail, tourism and financial services. The industrial base includes manufacturing, construction, and agriculture (10%, 5%, and 2% of employment respectively), while the knowledge economy includes about 3000 tech companies employing an estimated 60,000 people, mainly in Calgary and Edmonton.[14] The energy sector employs 5% of Albertans but significantly impacts exports and GDP.[15] Albertas exports, primarily US-bound,[16] consist of 70% oil and gas, 13% food products, and 12% industrial products.[17] Oil and gas are culturally influential, having shaped politics, generated striking it rich narratives, and created boom-and-bust cycles.[18] In 2023, Albertas output was $350 billion, 15% of Canadas GDP.[19] Until the 1930s, Albertas political landscape consisted of two major parties: the centre-left Liberals and the agrarian United Farmers of Alberta. Today, Alberta is generally perceived as a conservative province. The right-wing Social Credit Party held office continually from 1935 to 1971 before the centre-right Progressive Conservatives held office continually from 1971 to 2015, the latter being the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history. Since before it became part of Canada, Alberta has been home to several First Nations, such as Plains Indians and Woodland Cree. It was historically also a territory used by fur traders of the rival companies Hudsons Bay Company and North West Company. The Dominion of Canada bought the lands that would become Alberta as part of the NWT in 1870.[20] From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, many immigrants arrived in an effort to prevent the prairies from being annexed by the United States. Growing wheat and cattle ranching became very profitable during this period. In 1905, the Alberta Act was passed, creating the province of Alberta.[21] Massive oil reserves were discovered in 1947. The exploitation of oil sands began in 1967.[22]
Mississippi (disambiguation). Mississippi is a southern state of the United States of America. Mississippi may also refer to:
Effigy Mounds National Monument. Effigy Mounds National Monument preserves more than 200 prehistoric mounds built by pre-Columbian Mound Builder cultures, mostly in the first millennium CE, during the later part of the Woodland period of pre-Columbian North America. Numerous effigy mounds are shaped like animals, including bears and birds. The monument is located primarily in Allamakee County, Iowa, with a small part in Clayton County, Iowa, in the midwestern United States.[4] The parks visitor center is located in Harpers Ferry, Iowa, just north of Marquette. In 2017, the Effigy Mounds were featured in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. Prehistoric earthworks by mound builder cultures are common in the Midwest. However, mounds in the shape of mammals, birds, or reptiles, known as effigies, apparently were constructed primarily by peoples in what is now known as southern Wisconsin, northeast Iowa, and small parts of Minnesota and Illinois. An exception is the Great Serpent Mound in southwestern Ohio. Effigy Mounds National Monument takes in the western edge of the effigy region. The North Unit (67 mounds) and South Unit (29 mounds) are located where the counties meet along the Mississippi River. They are contiguous and easily accessible. The Sny Magill Unit (112 mounds) is approximately 11 miles (18 km) south of the other units, and offers no visitor facilities. Other mounds are located on remote parts of the Monument property.[5] The monument contains 2,526 acres (10.22 km2) with 206 mounds, of which 31 are effigies. The largest, Great Bear Mound, measures 42 meters from head to tail and rises over a meter above the original ground level.
Farming (disambiguation). Farming, or agriculture, is the science, art and practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Farming may also refer to:
Novellae Constitutiones. The Novellae Constitutiones (new constitutions; Ancient Greek: Νεαραὶ διατάξεις, romanized: Nearaì diatáxeis), or Justinians Novels, are now considered one of the four major units of Roman law initiated by Roman emperor Justinian I in the course of his long reign (AD 527–565). The other three pieces are: the Codex Justinianus, the Digest, and the Institutes. Justinians quaestor Tribonian was primarily responsible for compiling these last three. Together, the four parts are known as the Corpus Juris Civilis. Whereas the Code, Digest, and Institutes were designed by Justinian as coherent works, the Novels are diverse laws enacted after 534 (when he promulgated the second edition of the Code) that never were officially compiled during his reign.[1]. Justinian’s first Code, issued in 529, compiled and harmonized the imperial enactments (constitutiones, or constitutions) of previous emperors.[2] After the Code was promulgated, only it, and not the prior imperial legislation, could be cited as law.[3] However, in 530 and 531, Justinian issued the quinquaginta decisiones (fifty decisions) that resolved differences among the writings of classical jurists, and he continued to issue other new laws as well.[4] This meant the Code could no longer be the sole, unified source of imperial legislation. Hence, in 534 Justinian issued the Constitutio cordi nobis,[5] creating a second edition of the Code (Codex repetitae praelectionis). This edition integrated his new legislation into the imperial enactments in the first edition and superseded it. Justinian continued to legislate after he created the second edition of the Code. Thus, in his pragmatic sanction of 554 (Sanctio pragmatica pro petitione Vigilii),[6] he foresaw that he would need to maintain a collection of these new constitutions modifying the Code (novellae constitutiones, quae post nostri codicis confectionem). This he did in the form of an archive called the Liber legum or Libri legum.[7] While Justinian never made an official manuscript compilation of the new laws, private persons filled this void by making unofficial collections in several forms. The following timeline provides a succinct description of these collections and explains how they were transmitted through the centuries.[8]
Novel (Roman law). In Roman law, a novel (Latin: novella constitutio, new decree; Greek: νεαρά, romanized: neara) is a new decree or edict,[1] in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publishing of the Codex Theodosianus in 438 and then for the Justiniac Novels, or Novellae Constitutiones. The term was used on and off in later Roman history until falling out of use during the late Byzantine period.[1] This article about Roman law is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Mississippi (disambiguation). Mississippi is a southern state of the United States of America. Mississippi may also refer to:
The Novel. The Novel (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Micheners better known historical fiction, The Novel is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of a writer of Amish historical novels based in a fictional Pennsylvania Dutch town named Grenzler, in rural Pennsylvania.[1] There is much discussion of writing, not all of it in support of Micheners own style. Many story devices discussed by the characters are later used by Michener in this same story. This article about a historical novel of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Owl City. Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his parents basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site Myspace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic Records, now Republic Records, in 2008. After two independent releases, his debut EP Of June (2007) and debut studio album Maybe Im Dreaming (2008), Owl City gained mainstream popularity with its 2009 major-label debut and second studio album, Ocean Eyes, which includes the Diamond certified single Fireflies. The album was certified 2× Platinum in the United States, with Fireflies being certified Diamond in January 2023. In June 2011, Owl City released its third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful, which was followed by The Midsummer Station in August 2012. He released his fifth studio album and last under Republic Records, Mobile Orchestra in July 2015. He released his sixth and seventh studio album Cinematic (2018) and Coco Moon (2023), independently. Owl City has recorded songs for several animated films, including Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of GaHoole, Wreck-It Ralph, The Croods and The Smurfs 2.[2] Owl City also has released several charting singles, most notably Good Time and Fireflies.
Novel (film). Novel is a 2008 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film produced and directed by East Coast Vijayan in his directorial debut. The film stars Jayaram and Sadha in the lead role. The film marks the debut of Sadha in Malayalam cinema. Sethunath (Jayaram) is a prosperous business man and also a writer. However, when his creation titled Swantham becomes a best seller and bags the commonwealth awards. The writer is the least interested so much so that he is not even aware who translated his work & earned the award for the book. Aneesa, a journalist, is determined to get a personal interview with her favorite writer Sethu and does not hesitate to get it at the expense of bribing Sethus secretary Subramaniam Swamy and finally succeeds. Luckily for her, Sethu is impressed with her resilience and also the fact that she comes from the same orphanage that he hailed from makes him open his heart. He talks about his failed marriage and Priyanandini (Sadha) whom he encounters during the making of a lottery commercial. Gradually, Priya reaches the pinnacle of stardom with the support of Sethu. In this process, both of them fall in love with each other and decide to get married. Manju (Shari), Sethus wife from the US does not allow this. What does Manju do forms the rest of the story.
Regular script. The regular script[a] is the newest of the major Chinese script styles, emerging during the Three Kingdoms period c. 230 CE, and stylistically mature by the 7th century. It is the most common style used in modern text. In its traditional form it is the third-most common in publishing after the Ming and Gothic types used exclusively in print.[1] The Xuanhe Calligraphy Manual (宣和書譜) credits Wang Cizhong [zh] with creating the regular script, based on the clerical script of the early Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE). It became popular during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods,[2] with Zhong Yao (c. 151 – 230 BC),[3] a calligrapher in the state of Cao Wei (220–266), being credited as its first master, known as the father of regular script. His famous works include the Xuanshi biao (宣示表), Jianjizhi biao (薦季直表), and Liming biao (力命表). Palaeographer Qiu Xigui[2] describes the script in Xuanshi biao as: ...clearly emerging from the womb of early period semi-cursive script. If one were to write the tidily written variety of early period semi-cursive script in a more dignified fashion and were to use consistently the pause technique [(頓; dùn)], used to reinforce the beginning or ending of a stroke when ending horizontal strokes, a practice which already appears in early period semi-cursive script, and further were to make use of right-falling strokes with thick feet, the result would be a style of calligraphy like that in the Xuān shì biǎo. However, very few wrote in this script at the time other than a few literati; most continued writing in the neo-clerical script, or a hybrid form of semi-cursive and neo-clerical.[2] The regular script did not become dominant until the 5th century during the early Northern and Southern period (420–589); there was a variety of the regular script which emerged from neo-clerical as well as regular scripts[4] known as Wei regular (魏楷; Wèikǎi) or Wei stele (魏碑; Wèibēi). Thus, the regular script is descended both from the early semi-cursive style as well as from the neo-clerical script. The script is considered to have become stylistically mature during the Tang dynasty (618–907), with the most famous and oft-imitated calligraphers of that period being the early Tangs Four Great Calligraphers (初唐四大家): Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji, as well as the tandem of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan.
Agriculture in ants. Agriculture and domestication are practices undertaken by certain ant species and colonies. These ants use agricultural methods and are known as one of the few animal groups, along with Homo sapiens, to have achieved the level of eusociality necessary to practice agriculture. It is estimated that ants began this practice at least 50 million years ago. The domestication of plant, fungus, and animal species by ants is well documented. For some ant species or groups, this is an activity essential to their survival, particularly in a symbiotic relationship with the cultivated species, especially plants or fungi. Some plants require the presence of ants for their survival and offer benefits to the ants in return, creating a mutualistic relationship between their species. The agricultural practices of ants vary widely from one species to another, but they can engage in creating compost necessary for plant growth, fighting pathogens that affect cultivated species, destroying invasive species that threaten their crops, creating ant gardens of up to fifty different plants, optimizing crops by adapting to the solar cycle and other natural cycles, or generally engaging in grooming activities. In some cases, it is believed that ants can achieve productivity levels similar to the early stages of human agriculture. Ants also domesticate numerous animal species, especially aphids and Lepidoptera. Discovered only in 2016, ant farming and agriculture with plants is a rapidly evolving field of discoveries. As of 2022, it is estimated that ants assist in the dispersal of seeds for over 11,000 plant species, are in mutualistic relationships with at least 700 plant species, and engage in purely agricultural processes with hundreds of others. Regarding domesticated animals, more than 1,000 of the 4,000 known species of aphids and around 500 species of Lepidoptera are affected by ant domestication. The use of the term agriculture, which may not be entirely appropriate for mutualistic relationships—particularly in cases where a colony is hosted by a plant, such as a tree, in exchange for protection and aid in its survival and growth—is well documented in the scientific literature for processes where ants create crops and directly cultivate plants or fungi.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The use of the term domestication is also well established when ant domestication has led to specific evolutionary changes in the species involved.[1] It remains difficult to determine the causes that led different ant species to adopt these behaviors over millions of years of evolution, due to the vast diversity of behaviors depending on the location, the plants, fungi, and animals involved, as well as the great diversity of ant species. However, numerous studies focus particularly on these evolutionary developments, especially in a comparative framework with the human species, to identify commonalities and differences between the two processes.[1][4] Overall, it seems that leafcutter ant species that developed agricultural practices involving fungi began doing so at least 65-55 million years ago and may have been the first to have engaged in such behavior, though its not certain.[3][7][8] The common ancestor of these species is dated to -65/-55 million years ago.[9] It seems, according to research dating from 2017, that this change occurred in dry habitats, notably in South America.[10] As with the causes that led to such behavioral evolution in certain ants, it remains difficult to assess the overall prevalence of these behaviors. As of 2022, it is estimated that ants assist in the dispersal of seeds for over 11,000 plant species, are in mutualistic relationships with at least 700 plant species, and engage in purely agricultural processes with hundreds of others.[11] Regarding domesticated animals, more than 1,000 of the 4,000 known species of aphids and around 500 species of Lepidoptera are affected by ant domestication.[11] In comparison, Homo sapiens engages in farming and agriculture with 260 plant, 470 animal and 100 mushroom-forming fungal species.[10] Plant farming by ants was only discovered in 2016, making it a very young and rapidly evolving field of study.[9] However, these phenomena appear to involve hundreds of different ant species out of the approximately 13,000 species discovered to date.[9] In 2022, it was believed that approximately 37 various ant species engaged in true plant cultivation, without considering domestication and fungiculture.[12]
Center-pivot irrigation. Center-pivot irrigation (sometimes called central pivot irrigation), also called water-wheel and circle irrigation, is a method of crop irrigation in which equipment rotates around a pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers.[1][2] A circular area centered on a pivot is irrigated, often creating a circular pattern in crops when viewed from above (sometimes referred to as crop circles, not to be confused with those formed by circular flattening of a section of a crop in a field).[3] Most center pivots were initially water-powered, however today most are propelled by electric motors. Center-pivot irrigation systems are beneficial due to their ability to efficiently use water and optimize a farms yield. The systems are highly effective on large land fields. On March 23, 1914 James A. Norton of Odebolt, Iowa, filed the patent for the center pivot irrigation system. On August 17, 1915, it was granted as patent #1150144. The patent drawings shows multiple pairs of wheels supporting a pipe that is moved in a circle around a center pivot point. The description is: Watering arrangements making use of movable installations on wheels or the like movable around a pivot centre. Center-pivot irrigation was invented in 1940[4] by the farmer Frank Zybach,[5] who lived in Strasburg, Colorado.[4] It is recognized as an effective method to improve water distribution to fields.[3] In 1952, Zybach went into business with A. E. Trowbridge, a friend, Ethan James Olson, from Columbus, Nebraska. Trowbridge put up $25,000 (equivalent to $296,000 in 2024) and got 49% of the patent rights. Zybach moved back from Colorado to Columbus, opened a shop, hired a few men, moved the height of the pipe up to 1.8 m (6 ft), and went into business. In the first two years of operation, they sold only 19 systems. The early designs were finicky and few farmers understood the systems. Zybach kept improving his designs and focused on making his machines better, rather than attempting to sell systems with problems.[6]
Calgary. Calgary (/ˈkælɡəri/[11]) is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.[12] Calgary is at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the southwest of the province, in the transitional area between the Rocky Mountain Foothills and the Canadian Prairies, about 80 km (50 mi) east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, roughly 299 km (186 mi) south of the provincial capital of Edmonton and approximately 240 km (150 mi) north of the Canada–United States border. The city anchors the south end of the Statistics Canada-defined urban area, the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor.[13] Calgarys economy includes activity in many sectors: energy; financial services; film and television; transportation and logistics; technology; manufacturing; aerospace; health and wellness; retail; and tourism.[14] The Calgary Metropolitan Region is home to Canadas second-largest number of corporate head offices among the countrys 800 largest corporations.[15] In 2015, Calgary had the largest number of millionaires per capita of any major Canadian city.[16] In 2022, Calgary was ranked alongside Zürich as the third most livable city in the world, ranking first in Canada and in North America.[17] In 1988, it became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games.[18] Calgary was named after Calgary Castle (in Scottish Gaelic, Caisteal Chalgairidh) on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.[19] Colonel James Macleod, the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, had been a frequent summer guest there. In 1876, shortly after returning to Canada, he suggested its name for what became Fort Calgary.
Zhang (surname 章). Zhāng is a Chinese surname. According to a 2013 study it was the 122-most common surname, shared by 1,570,000 people or 0.120% of the population, with the province with the most people being Zhejiang.[1] It is the 40th name on the Hundred Family Surnames poem. The surname written 章 in Chữ Nôm is clearly distinguished and written as Trang or Chương.[citation needed] 章 was unlisted among the top 100 in either location. In 2015 it was reported 88th.[citation needed] 章 combines the characters 音 (yin, sound, (musical) note) and 十 (shi, ten). It originally meant brilliant, to display, a distinctive mark[2] and was used as the name of a fief, but as a common noun in modern use it means an article in a newspaper or magazine or a chapter in a book or law. The surname 章 (Old Chinese: *taŋ[2]) originated from the legendary Yan Emperor, whose personal surname was Jiang (姜). On the establishment of the state of Qi, Jiang Ziya apportioned the land among his many descendants, including a one known as Zhang (鄣国). Some of the people of this state simplified the character and took 章 as their surname, particularly after it was annexed by Qi.[3][full citation needed] The Middle Chinese pronunciation of the name was Tsyang, the beginnings of what we now know to be the Zhang surname.[2] It means stamp, seal in Chinese.
Calgary. Calgary (/ˈkælɡəri/[11]) is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.[12] Calgary is at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the southwest of the province, in the transitional area between the Rocky Mountain Foothills and the Canadian Prairies, about 80 km (50 mi) east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, roughly 299 km (186 mi) south of the provincial capital of Edmonton and approximately 240 km (150 mi) north of the Canada–United States border. The city anchors the south end of the Statistics Canada-defined urban area, the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor.[13] Calgarys economy includes activity in many sectors: energy; financial services; film and television; transportation and logistics; technology; manufacturing; aerospace; health and wellness; retail; and tourism.[14] The Calgary Metropolitan Region is home to Canadas second-largest number of corporate head offices among the countrys 800 largest corporations.[15] In 2015, Calgary had the largest number of millionaires per capita of any major Canadian city.[16] In 2022, Calgary was ranked alongside Zürich as the third most livable city in the world, ranking first in Canada and in North America.[17] In 1988, it became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games.[18] Calgary was named after Calgary Castle (in Scottish Gaelic, Caisteal Chalgairidh) on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.[19] Colonel James Macleod, the Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, had been a frequent summer guest there. In 1876, shortly after returning to Canada, he suggested its name for what became Fort Calgary.
Chang (surname). Cháng (/tʃɑːŋ/)[1] is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 常 (Cháng). It was listed 80th among the Song-era Hundred Family Surnames. Chang is also the Wade-Giles romanization of two Chinese surnames written Zhang in pinyin: one extremely common and written 張 in Traditional Chinese and 张 in Simplified Chinese, and another quite rare and written as 章 in both systems. There is also a rare case of 鄭 in Hong Kong written as Chang as well. For full details on them, see the Zhang 章 and Zheng 鄭 article. In Macao, this is the spelling of the surname Zeng 曾. Chang is also a common spelling of the surname 陈/陳 (Chen in Mandarin pinyin) in Peru. 常 is romanized as Chang in Wade-Giles, although the apostrophe is often omitted in practice. It is romanized as Soeng and Sheung in Cantonese; Seong and Siông in Minnan languages; and Sioh in Teochew. It is occasionally romanized Sōng and Thōng as well.[citation needed] It is the source of the Vietnamese surname Thường and the Korean surname romanized as Sang (상). It is also another Romanization of the Korean surname Jang. In Japanese, it is romanized as Jō.
Teoh. Teoh (also commonly rendered as Teo) is a romanised Chinese family name. It is a romanization of Teochew and Hokkien names, particularly simplified Chinese: 张; traditional Chinese: (張; pinyin: Zhāng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tiuⁿ / tioⁿ; HKG Cantonese: Cheung). It is also rendered as Tiu, Tio, Thio, and Tiew. The romanization Teo is the 11th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans, with 46,800 bearers making up 1.9% of that population.[1] In the United States, the romanization Tiu was the most common during the 1990 census, ranked 32,695th overall, and the romanization Teo was the most common during the year 2000 census, ranked 26,141st overall.[2]
Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company (that would later become Portland Wrestling) was founded by Herb Owen in 1925.[1] It was the Northwest territory[2] of the National Wrestling Alliance from the Alliances inception in 1948 until 1992.[3] The area was brought to its prime by Herbs son, Don Owen, and this version of Pacific Northwest Wrestling saw many of the top names in pro wrestling come through on a regular basis. The Pacific Northwest was considered one of the main pro wrestling territories from the 1960s to the 1980s. Portland Wrestling was forced to close its doors in July 1992. The closure came as a result of a slowdown in professional wrestling during the early 1990s, a declaration of bankruptcy by Portland Wrestlings main television sponsor, and negative fallout from a shift in regulatory emphasis by the Oregon Athletic Commission. The telecasts, which originated on Portland station KPTV, ended in December 1991 and were replaced on KPTV by syndicated WWF programming.[3] Portland Wrestlings referee Sandy Barr purchased the company from the Owen family in 1992 and continued the tradition of professional wrestling in the Pacific Northwest under the name Championship Wrestling USA. A new wrestling promotion emerged in 2000, calling itself Portland Wrestling and claiming to be a restart of the original Pacific Northwest/Portland Wrestling. It stressed a title lineage (through Len Denton) to the old NWA PNW Championships. Unlike the Don Owen promotion, the new incarnation of Portland Wrestling was not an NWA member. Due to legal problems the companys owner encountered, the promotion was forced to close down in 2007 and the owner sold his ownership rights to former announcer Don Coss. Coss, in conjunction with Roddy Piper, one of Owens biggest latter-day stars and a Portland-area resident, launched a new promotion in 2012 centered on a television program entitled Portland Wrestling Uncut. This program also originated on KPTV, though it would later move to another Portland television station.
Cheung. Cheung is a Cantonese romanization of several Chinese surnames, including 張 (simplified Chinese: 张; Jyutping: Zoeng1; pinyin: Zhāng; Wade–Giles: Chang1; Vietnamese: Trương), 章 (Jyutping: Zoeng1; pinyin: Zhāng), and 蔣 (simplified Chinese: 蒋; Jyutping: Zoeng2; pinyin: Jiǎng). It is a fairly common American surname, listed 3,672nd during the 1990 US census and 2,069th during the year 2000 US census.[1]
History of agriculture. Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least eleven separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin. The development of agriculture about 12,000 years ago changed the way humans lived. They switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to permanent settlements and farming.[1] Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 104,000 years ago.[2] However, domestication did not occur until much later. The earliest evidence of small-scale cultivation of edible grasses is from around 21,000 BC with the Ohalo II people on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.[3] By around 9500 BC, the eight Neolithic founder crops – emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chickpeas, and flax – were cultivated in the Levant.[4] Rye may have been cultivated earlier, but this claim remains controversial.[5] Regardless, ryes spread from Southwest Asia to the Atlantic was independent of the Neolithic founder crop package.[6] Rice was domesticated in China by 6200 BC[7] with earliest known cultivation from 5700 BC, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Rice was also independently domesticated in West Africa and cultivated by 1000 BC.[8][9] Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 11,000 years ago, followed by sheep. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and India around 8500 BC. Camels were domesticated late, perhaps around 3000 BC. In subsaharan Africa, sorghum was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 3000 BC, along with pearl millet by 2000 BC.[10][11] Yams were domesticated in several distinct locations, including West Africa (unknown date), and cowpeas by 2500 BC.[12][13] Rice (African rice) was also independently domesticated in West Africa and cultivated by 1000 BC.[8][9] Teff and likely finger millet were domesticated in Ethiopia by 3000 BC, along with noog, ensete, and coffee.[14][15] Other plant foods domesticated in Africa include watermelon, okra, tamarind and black eyed peas, along with tree crops such as the kola nut and oil palm.[16] Plantains were cultivated in Africa by 3000 BC and bananas by 1500 BC.[17][18] The helmeted guineafowl was domesticated in West Africa.[19] Sanga cattle was likely also domesticated in North-East Africa, around 7000 BC, and later crossbred with other species.[20][21]
Northwestern United States. The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Some sources include Southeast Alaska in the Northwest. The related but distinct term Pacific Northwest generally excludes areas from the Rockies eastward, whereas the term Inland Northwest excludes areas west of the Cascades. The Northwestern United States is a subportion of the Western United States (which is, itself, even more ambiguous). In contrast, states included in the neighboring regions (Southwestern United States and Great Plains) and Utah are not simultaneously considered part of both regions. Like the southwestern United States, the Northwest definition has moved westward over time. The current area includes the old Oregon Territory (created in 1848–Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and areas in Montana west of the Continental Divide).[1] The region is similar to Federal Region X, which comprises Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. It is home to about 14.3 million people (as of 2016). Some of the fastest growing cities in this region and in the nation include Seattle, Spokane, Bellevue, Tacoma, Kennewick, Pasco, Yakima, Portland, Eugene, Salem, Boise, Idaho Falls, Missoula, Bozeman, and Billings.
Pacific Northwest Bell. The Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company was an American telecommunications company based in Seattle, Washington. It was a local exchange carrier for the Bell System, the AT&T Corporation-controlled network of companies, providing telecommunications services in Oregon, Washington, and northern Idaho. Pacific Northwest Bell was formed in 1961 when it was spun off from the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. Pacific Northwest Bell was split from AT&T in 1984 as ordered in the settlement of United States v. AT&T and became a subsidiary of US West, a then-newly formed Regional Bell Operating Company. US West consolidated its three main operating subsidiaries in 1991. US West merged with Qwest in 2000, and the US West brand was replaced by the Qwest brand.[1] Qwest Communications merged with Louisiana-based CenturyLink in 2011, and the Qwest brand was replaced by the CenturyLink brand. It now does business with the Lumen Technologies brand as of 2020.[2][3] On March 7, 1883, the Sunset Telephone-Telegraph Company opened for business with 90 subscribers. This first office was in rented space in the Western Union Telegraph office. Weeks later the company moved into its own building at the corner of Second Avenue and Cherry Street in Seattle, WA.[4] In 1899 the original company was reincorporated as the Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Company and continued under that name until 1917 when the Sunset Company (which had grown to provide service throughout Washington and northern Idaho) merged with the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company. Telephones began to crop up all over Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho. The first Seattle-Tacoma to Portland toll line was built in 1893. Assorted independent telephone companies set up competitive business throughout Oregon and Washington. With competition both the Bell and independent companies found it hard to do business and make money. Under the leadership of J. P. Morgan, the nations most powerful banker, the Bell companies around the country began to buy out their major competitors. By 1924, the Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company had acquired most of the independents property along the Pacific Coast. Headquartered in San Francisco, the Bell operating company served customers in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho. As the Pacific Northwest grew in population, AT&T made plans to split off Pacific Telephone and Telegraphs operations there to better serve the region. AT&T started the process by creating a division within the company called Pacific Telephone Northwest on February 1, 1960, then filing articles of incorporation for Pacific Northwest Bell, the new entity that would serve the region, on March 27, 1961.[5][6] The Washington Public Service Commission approved the formation of Pacific Northwest Bell on June 5, with the separation occurring at midnight on July 1.[7][5] Its service territory included Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho (Southern Idaho was served by Mountain Bell). The new companys first major job was to build the worlds most advanced telephone service to serve the Seattle Worlds Fair which was scheduled to open in less than ten months (April 21, 1962.) This was accomplished.
Greater China. In ethnogeography, Greater China is a loosely defined term that refers to the region sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people, often used by international enterprises or organisations in unofficial usage.[1][2][3][4][failed verification] The notion contains a great deal of ambiguity in its geographical coverage and politico-economic implications,[5] because some users use it to refer to the commercial ties among ethnic Chinese, whereas others are more interested in cultural interactions, and still others in the prospects for political reunification.[6] The term encompass linkages among regional Chinese communities,[7][8] but usually refers to an area encompassing the People’s Republic of China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau) and the Republic of China (known as Taiwan), places where the majority population is culturally Chinese.[9][10] Some analysts may also include places which have predominantly ethnic Chinese population such as Singapore.[11] The terms usage is contested; some observers in Taiwan characterise the term as harmful or a conflation of distinct polities and markets,[4] while the Chinese government has avoided it, either to allay fears of its economic expansionism or to avoid suggesting Taiwan (known as the Republic of China) and the Peoples Republic of China are on equal footing.[original research?] Australian sinologist Wang Gungwu has characterised the concept as a myth, and wrong if applied to overseas Chinese communities.[12] Multinational corporations frequently use the term when naming their headquarters in the region. For example, Procter & Gamble uses the term to name its regional headquarters in Guangzhou that also operates in Hong Kong and Taipei;[13] Apple Inc. uses it when referring to its regional headquarters in Shanghai.[14][15] The term is often used to avoid invoking sensitivities over the political status of Taiwan.[16] Contrastingly, it has been used in reference to Chinese irredentism in nationalist contexts, such as the notion that China should reclaim its lost territories to create a Greater China.[17][18]
Origins of agriculture in West Asia. Agriculture in West Asia can be traced back to the early Neolithic in the Near East, between 10,000 and 8,000 BC, when a series of domestications by human communities took place, primarily involving a few plants (cereals and legumes) and animals (sheep, goats, bos, and pigs). In these regions, this gradually led to the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry and their expansion to other parts of the world. The Neolithic is commonly defined as the transition from a “predatory” economy of hunter-gatherers (or “collectors”) to a “productive” economy of farmer-breeders, which places the question of plant and animal domestication at the heart of the upheavals brought about by this period. Farming and livestock breeding appeared in areas of rich biological diversity, where domesticated plants and animals were found in the wild. These regions also contain a large number of food resources in their natural state. Before their domestication, domesticated plants and animals were exploited in the form of gathering and hunting, with the methods and techniques required for domestication already known at the end of the Palaeolithic. Between 9500 and 8500 B.C., “pre-domestic” forms of agriculture were introduced; plants still had a wild character, but their reproduction was controlled by humans. Control of wild animals also began in the same period. These practices gradually led to the emergence of domesticated plant and animal species, which are distinct from the wild forms from which they derive. From a biological point of view, these domesticated species undergo a transition from natural selection to artificial selection by humans. This indicates the conclusion of the domestication process in the period between 8500 BC and 8000 BC. From this point onwards, village communities relied more on the “agro-pastoral” system, combining agriculture and animal husbandry, and less on hunting, fishing, and gathering practices. Many explanations have been put forward to explain why these changes have occurred, none of which has achieved consensus. The sedentary (or semi-sedentary) lifestyle introduced as early as the Final Epipalaeolithic (c. 12500 BC - 10000 BC) precedes the phenomenon and can therefore no longer be seen as its consequence, but may be one of its causes. Questions have focused on demographic changes since the increase in population prompted human communities to better control their food resources and domesticate. Climatic changes occur during the transition phase between the end of the last Ice Age and the beginning of the Holocene, which coincides with the domestication process and is therefore one of the factors to be taken into account. Other research has emphasized the “symbolic” aspects of the phenomenon, which alters mans relationship with nature. The development of agriculture is a fundamental process in human history. It led to strong demographic growth and was accompanied by numerous material (notably the appearance of ceramics) and mental changes. Although the Near East was not the only focus of domestication worldwide, it was probably the earliest and most influential. The expansion of agriculture, and with it the Neolithic village lifestyle, was rapid after 8000 B.C., spreading throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North and East Africa, and Europe. The species domesticated during this period formed the basis of the economies of these regions until the modern era, and gained even more territory.
Iowa. Iowa (/ˈaɪ.əwə/ ⓘ EYE-ə-wə)[8][9][10] is a state in the upper Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the east and southeast, Missouri to the south, Nebraska to the west, South Dakota to the northwest, and Minnesota to the north. Iowa is the 26th largest in total area and the 31st most populous of the 50 U.S. states, with a population of 3.19 million.[11] The states capital, most populous city, and largest metropolitan area fully located within the state is Des Moines. A portion of the larger Omaha, Nebraska, metropolitan area extends into three counties of southwest Iowa.[12] Other metropolitan statistical areas in Iowa include Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Ames, Dubuque, Sioux City, and the Iowa portion of the Quad Cities. Iowa is home to 940 small towns, though its population is increasingly urbanized as small communities and rural areas decline in population.[13][14] During the 18th and early 19th centuries, Iowa was a part of French Louisiana and Spanish Louisiana; its state flag is patterned after the flag of France. After the Louisiana Purchase, pioneers laid the foundation for an agriculture-based economy in the heart of the Corn Belt.[15] In the latter half of the 20th century, Iowas agricultural economy began to transition to a diversified economy of advanced manufacturing, processing, financial services, information technology, biotechnology, and green energy production.[16][17]
Seas (disambiguation). Seas include marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. Seas or SEAS may also refer to:
Sinicization. Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix sino-, Chinese, relating to China) is the process by which non-Chinese societies or groups are acculturated or assimilated into Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cultural practices, and ethnic identity of the Han Chinese—the largest ethnic group of China. Areas of influence include diet, writing, industry, education, language/lexicon, law, architectural style, politics, philosophy, religion, science and technology, value systems, and lifestyle. The term sinicization is also often used to refer to processes or policies of acculturation or assimilation of norms from China on neighboring East Asian societies, or on minority ethnic groups within China. Evidence of this process is reflected in the histories of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam in the adoption of the Chinese writing system, which has long been a unifying feature in the Sinosphere as the vehicle for exporting Chinese culture to other Asian countries. In recent times, the term Sinicization has sometimes been used more narrowly in reference to specific policies of the Government of China towards ethnic minorities as well as the promotion of ethnic unity.[1] The assimilation policy is a type of Chinese nationalism aimed at strengthening the Chinese national identity (Zhonghua minzu) among the population. Proponents believe it will help to develop shared values, pride in being the countrys citizen, respect and acceptance towards cultural differences among citizens of China.[citation needed] Critics argue that assimilation destroys ethnic diversity, language diversity, and cultural diversity. The historian James A. Millward has claimed that the Peoples Republic of China has used the concept of sinicization as a means to obscure Han settler colonialism.[2]
Sea Kumada. Sea Kumada (熊田聖亜, Kumada Sea; born July 18, 2001) is a Japanese child actress and tarento. She is best known for her work in Saya Zamurai, for which she won a Newcomer of the Year Award at the 35th Japan Academy Prize ceremony. Her sister is child actress Koko Kumada. Sea Kumada was born July 18, 2001, in Tokyo, Japan. For the 2011 movie Saya Zamurai, directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto, she received one of the seven Newcomer of the Year awards at the 35th Japan Academy Prize ceremony.[1][2][3]
Bay. A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay.[1][2][3] A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narrow entrance. A fjord is an elongated bay formed by glacial action.[4] The term embayment is also used for related features, such as extinct bays or freshwater environments. A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay, an estuary of the Susquehanna River.[2] Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada. Some bays are large enough to have varied marine geology, such as the Bay of Bengal (2,600,000 km2 or 1,000,000 sq mi) and Hudson Bay (1,230,000 km2 or 470,000 sq mi). The land surrounding a bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves. Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches, which are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore with a broad, flat fronting terrace.[5] Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they provided easy access to marine resources like fisheries.[6] Later they were important in the development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports.[7] The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a bay as a well-marked indentation in the coastline, whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation, however, shall not be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation[8][a] – otherwise, it would be referred to as a bight. A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass,[13] larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay.[14] The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of salt water that are enclosed by the coastline.[13] Many gulfs are major shipping areas, such as the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Finland, and Gulf of Aden.[14]
Southeast Africa. Southeast Africa,[1][2] or Southeastern Africa,[3][a] is an African region that is intermediate between East Africa[b] and Southern Africa.[c][8] It comprises the countries Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi,[9] Mozambique,[10][11] Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda,[12] Zambia and Zimbabwe[13] in the mainland, with the island-nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, and Seychelles also included.[10] East and southern Africa are among the earliest regions where modern humans (Homo sapiens) and their predecessors are believed to have lived. In September 2019, scientists reported the computerized determination, based on 260 CT scans, of a virtual skull shape of the last common human ancestor to modern humans/H. sapiens, representative of the earliest modern humans, and suggested that modern humans arose between 350,000 and 260,000 years ago through a merging of populations in South and East Africa.[14][15] Bantu-speakers traversed from Central Africa into Southeast Africa approximately 3,000 years ago.[10] In the 19th and 20th centuries, David Livingstone[16] and Frederick Courtney Selous visited Southeast Africa. The latter wrote down his experiences in the book Travel and Adventure in South-East Africa.[17]
International Hydrographic Organization. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: Organisation Hydrographique Internationale) is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography.[1][2] As of August 2025,[update] the IHO comprised 103 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the worlds seas, oceans and navigable waters are properly surveyed and charted. It does this through the setting of international standards and through its capacity building programs and offices. The IHO enjoys observer status at the United Nations, where it is the recognized competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting.[3] When referring to hydrography and nautical charting in conventions and similar instruments, it is the IHO standards and specifications that are normally used. During the 19th century, many maritime nations established hydrographic offices to provide means for improving the navigation of naval and merchant vessels by providing nautical publications, nautical charts, and other navigational services. There were substantial differences in hydrographic procedures charts, and publications. In 1889, an International Maritime Conference was held at Washington, D.C., and it was proposed to establish a permanent international commission. Similar proposals were made at the sessions of the International Congress of Navigation held at Saint Petersburg in 1908 and the International Maritime Conference held at Saint Petersburg in 1912.[4]
Bight (geography). In geography, a bight (/baɪt/) is a concave bend or curvature in a coastline, river or other geographical feature,[1] or it may refer to a very open bay formed by such a feature.[2] Such bays are typically broad, open, shallow and only slightly recessed.[3] The size of bights differs greatly, which may be as small as a bend in a river or large like a sound. Large bights are shallower than sounds.[citation needed] Traditionally, explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack in a square-rigged sailing vessel, regardless of the direction of the wind[citation needed] (typically meaning the apex of the bight is less than 25 degrees from the edges[citation needed]). According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an indentation with an area as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation, can be regarded as a bay not merely a bight.[4] The term is derived from Old English byht (bend, angle, corner; bay, bight) with German Bucht and Danish bugt as cognates, both meaning bay. Bight is not etymologically related to bite (Old English bītan).
Ilminster. Ilminster is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808.[1] Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to Chard and Axminster). The parish includes the hamlet of Sea. Ilminster is mentioned in documents dating from 725 and in a Charter granted to Muchelney Abbey (10 miles (16 km) to the north) by Æthelred the Unready in 995. Ilminster is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ‘Ileminstre’, meaning The church on the River Isle from the Old English ysle and mynster. By this period Ilminster was a flourishing community and was granted the right to hold a weekly market, which it still does. Ilminster was part of the hundred of Abdick and Bulstone.[2][3] In 1645 during the English Civil War Ilminster was the scene of a skirmish between parliamentary troops under Edward Massie and Royalist forces under Lord Goring, who fought for control of the bridges prior to the Battle of Langport.[4]
Provinces of China. Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures
Jiangzhe. Jiangzhe may refer to:
Qiantang River. The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River[1][2][3] or Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for 459 kilometers (285 mi) through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangzhou before flowing into the East China Sea via Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai. Its original name, the Zhe River or Zhe Jiang, is the origin of the name of Zhejiang province. The river is also known, along with Hangzhou Bay, for having what is called by locals as the Silver Dragon, the worlds largest tidal bore, a phenomenon where the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) that can rise to a height of 9 meters (30 ft) and travels up the river or narrow bay at top speeds of 40 km/h (25 mph; 11 m/s) against the direction of the river or bays current, and can be seen from miles away.[4][5][6] Its upper stretch near the Anhui–Jiangxi border is also known as the Xinan River (新安, Newly Peaceful); its middle stretch through the mountains of Zhejiang is also known as the Fuchun River (富春江, Abundant Spring River); and the former name of its lower stretch—the Zhe (浙) or Crooked River—gave Zhejiang Province its name.[7] Historically, it was first documented in the Classic of Mountains and Seas as the Zhejiang River (浙江). It appeared later in the Zhuangzi as the Zhe River (淛河) and then in the Water Classic as the Jianjiang River (漸江水). All those names probably originate from the Old Yue language of the Baiyue peoples.[8] In the early 18th century, the Kangxi Dictionary glossed the Zhejiang River as taking its name from its crooked lower stretch and the countercurrent tidal bore.[9] The Qiantang Rivers current name, literally the River of King Qians Dyke, is similarly somewhat misleading. Rather than being named directly after the Qian kings of Wuyue, it instead took the name from its lower stretch within Qiantang County (zh:钱塘县), a former name of Hangzhou City, and only later in the 20th century became known by the name throughout its course.[10]
Korea. Korea[a] is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula,[b] Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in Asia in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK). Both countries proclaimed independence in 1948, and the two countries fought the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. The region is bordered by China to the north and Russia to the northeast, across the Amnok (Yalu) and Duman (Tumen) rivers, and is separated from Japan to the southeast by the Korea Strait. Known human habitation of the Korean peninsula dates to 40,000 BC.[3] The kingdom of Gojoseon, which according to tradition was founded in 2333 BC, fell to the Han dynasty in 108 BC. It was followed by the Three Kingdoms period, in which Korea was divided into Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. In 668 AD, Silla conquered Baekje and Goguryeo with the aid of the Tang dynasty, forming Unified Silla; Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. In the late 9th century, Unified Silla collapsed into three states, beginning the Later Three Kingdoms period. In 918, Goguryeo was resurrected as Goryeo, which achieved what has been called a true national unification by Korean historians, as it unified both the Later Three Kingdoms and the ruling class of Balhae after its fall.[4] Goryeo, whose name developed into the modern exonym Korea, was highly cultured and saw the invention of the first metal movable type. During the 13th century, Goryeo became a vassal state of the Mongol Empire. Goryeo overthrew Mongol rule before falling to a coup led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established the Joseon dynasty in 1392. The first 200 years of Joseon were marked by peace; the Hangul, the Korean alphabet was created and Confucianism became influential. This ended with Japanese and Qing invasions, which brought devastation to Joseon and led to Korean isolationism. After the invasions, an isolated Joseon experienced another nearly 200-year period of peace and prosperity, along with cultural and technological development. In the final years of the 19th century, Japan forced Joseon to open up and Joseon experienced turmoil such as the Kapsin Coup, Donghak Peasant Revolution, and the assassination of Empress Myeongseong. In 1895, Japan defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War and China lost suzerainty over Korea and Korea was placed under further Japanese influence. In 1897, the centuries old Joseon was replaced by the Korean Empire with the Joseons last king, Gojong, becoming the Emperor of the Korean Empire. Japans further victory in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, expelled Russian influence in Korea and Manchuria. In 1905, the Korean Empire became a protectorate of the Empire of Japan. In 1910, the Empire of Japan officially annexed the Korean peninsula. Korea under Japanese rule was marked by industrialization and modernization, economic exploitation, and brutal suppression of the Korean independence movement, as reflected in the 1919 March First Movement. The Japanese suppressed Korean culture, and during World War II forcefully mobilized millions of Koreans to support its war effort. In 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies, and the Soviet Union and United States agreed to divide Korea into two military occupation zones divided by the 38th parallel, with the Soviet zone in the north and American zone in the south. The division was meant to be temporary, with plans for Korea to be reunited under a single government. In 1948, the DPRK and ROK were established with the backing of each power, and ongoing tensions led to the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, which came to involve U.S.-led United Nations and communist Chinese forces. The war ended in stalemate in 1953, but without a peace treaty. A demilitarized zone was created between the countries, approximating the original partition. This status contributes to the high tensions that divide the peninsula, and both states claim to be the sole legitimate government of Korea. South Korea is a regional power and a developed country, with its economy ranked as the worlds fourteenth-largest by GDP (PPP). Its armed forces are one of the worlds strongest militaries, with the worlds second-largest standing army by military and paramilitary personnel. South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music (K-pop) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave. North Korea follows Songun, a military first policy which prioritizes the Korean Peoples Army in state affairs and resources. It possesses nuclear weapons, and is the country with the highest number of military personnel, with a total of 7.8 million active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel, or approximately 30% of its population. Its active duty army of 1.3 million soldiers is the fourth-largest in the world, consisting of 4.9% of its population. North Korea is widely considered to have the worst human rights record in the world.
Han Chinese. The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people,[a] are an East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China.[18] With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the worlds largest ethnic group, making up about 17.5% of the world population. The Han Chinese represent 91.11% of the population in China and 97% of the population in Taiwan.[19][20] Han Chinese are also a significant diasporic group in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Singapore, people of Han Chinese or Chinese descent make up around 75% of the countrys population.[21] The Han Chinese have exerted a primary formative influence in the development and growth of Chinese civilization.[22][23][24] Originating from Zhongyuan, the Han Chinese trace their ancestry to the Huaxia people, a confederation of agricultural tribes that lived along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River[25][26][27][28] in the north central plains of China. The Huaxia are the progenitors of Chinese civilization and ancestors of the modern Han Chinese.[29][30] Han Chinese people and culture later spread southwards in the Chinese mainland, driven by large and sustained waves of migration during successive periods of Chinese history, for example the Qin (221–206 BC) and Han (202 BC – 220 AD) dynasties, leading to a demographic and economic tilt towards the south, and the absorption of various non-Han ethnic groups over the centuries at various points in Chinese history.[27][31][32] The Han Chinese became the main inhabitants of the fertile lowland areas and cities of southern China by the time of the Tang and Song dynasties,[33] with minority tribes occupying the highlands. The term Han not only refers to a specific ethnic collective, but also points to a shared ancestry, history, and cultural identity. The term Huaxia was used by the ancient Chinese philosopher Confuciuss contemporaries during the Warring States period to elucidate the shared ethnicity of all Chinese;[34] Chinese people called themselves Hua ren.[35] The Warring States period led to the emergence of the Zhou-era Chinese referring to themselves as being Huaxia (华夏; literally: the beautiful grandeur): under the Hua–Yi distinction, a Hua culture (華; 华; often translated as civilized) was contrasted to that of peoples perceived as Yi (夷; Yí; often translated as barbarian; ‘non-Han) living on the peripheries of the Zhou kingdoms.[36][27][37][38] Overseas Chinese who possess non-Chinese citizenship are commonly referred as Hua people (华人; 華人) or Huazu (华族; 華族). The two respective aforementioned terms are applied solely to those with a Han background that is semantically distinct from Zhongguo ren (中国人; 中國人; literally: China person) which has connotations and implications limited to being citizens and nationals of China, especially with regard to ethnic minorities in China.[39][40][23]
Hybrid martial arts. Hybrid martial arts, also known as hybrid fighting systems or sometimes eclectic martial arts or freestyle martial arts, referred to as mixed martial arts or fighting systems that incorporate techniques and theories from several martial arts. While numerous martial arts borrow or adapt from other arts and to some extent could be considered hybrids, a hybrid martial art emphasizes its disparate origins. The idea of hybridization or mixing of martial arts traditions originates in the 5th century BC. The concept rose to wide popularity during 5th century BC in Greek Olympic game Pankration, which uses aspects derived from various arts including boxing and wrestling. Hybrid martial arts are systems that blend techniques and philosophies from multiple traditional martial arts, creating comprehensive and adaptable methods for self-defense, sport, and combat. These arts typically integrate striking, grappling, and weapons training, allowing practitioners to handle various combat scenarios effectively. Some notable hybrid martial arts include: These hybrid martial arts highlight the diversity and adaptability of martial systems, drawing from various disciplines to create effective methods for different contexts. They illustrate the evolution and integration of martial arts practices across cultures and time periods.
The Sea (2000 film). The Sea (Catalan: El mar) is a 2000 Spanish drama film directed by Agustí Villaronga, starring Roger Casamayor. It is based on a novel by Blai Bonet. The plot, set in Mallorca, follows the fates of three childhood friends traumatized by the violence they witnessed during the Spanish Civil War. Ten years later, they are reunited in a sanatorium for TB patients. The film won the Manfred Salzgeber Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. In the summer of 1936, the violence of the Spanish Civil war reaches a small village in Mallorca. Four children: Andreu Ramallo, Manuel Tur, Pau Inglada and a girl, Francisca, are witness to the execution of leftists at the hands of pro-Franco villagers. Pau, whose father has been killed the previous day by the lead executioner, plans to avenge his fathers murder by torturing Julià Ballester, the son of his fathers killer. His idea is to force the boy to drink castor oil. However, things go wrong when the boy, Julià Ballester, taunts them and Pau becomes enraged. He brutally kills Julià by bashing his head against a rock and then stabbing him in the throat. Unable to deal with what he has just done, Pau commits suicide by jumping down a hole into a cave. The remaining children, Andreu, Manuel, and Francisca, are witnesses to these tragic events. Over a decade later, Ramallo, now a cocky young man, is sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium on Mallorca to recuperate from the initial stages of the disease. Ramallo, like all the tubercular and lung diseased patients, is placed in a large dormitory style room. However, as a patients health dwindles and they are expected to die, they are sent to a private room numbered 13. Ramallo with his boastfulness and stories of sexual prowess attracts the admiration of the other patients, particularly from Galindo, the youngest. Ramallo is surprised to find that Manuel Tur, his childhood friend, is also a patient. A pale and drawn man, Manuel has found solace for his illness in religion. Even more surprising is the sight of the beautiful Francisca, now a selfless nun, nursing the sick. Alcántara, the brutal caretaker and Carmen, his unhappy wife, run the place. Shortly after his arrival, Ramallo receives the unwanted visit of Don Eugeni Morell, his former boss, smuggling contraband. The well-to-do, middle-aged Morell has also sexually exploited him for a long time. Morells visit makes Ramallo furious and he tries to disassociate himself from the crime lord, who has been funding him. As a reminder than he wants to count only on himself, Ramallo gets his own name tattooed on his chest by Alcántara. Manuel has a pet cat that he dotes on. In a fit of anger, Ramallo kicks the cat almost to death. Manuel gives the dying animal back to Ramallo to put it out of its misery. They bury the animal together and reconcile, remembering their childhood friendship. Ramallo wants to cut his link to Morell for good but needs money to get away, but his first attempt—stealing some money from the church of the sanatorium—fails when he is discovered by Francisca. As a child, Francisca had a crush on Ramallo and now she is glad to see him again, but assures him that she is perfectly happy as a nun. Ramallo then starts scheming to hijack smuggled goods from Morell. He recruits Manuel in helping him to steal the keys of Alcántaras car in order to go to the nearby port. In the middle of this dealing, Galindos death affects Ramallo deeply. Carmen has a soft spot for Manuel and tries to seduce him. At first, Manuel tries to resist because she is married, but she assures him that she is unhappy in her marriage and only feels disgust for her husband. They have sex, but when Manuel finds out that she came to visit him on Ramallos suggestion, he tells her to leave him alone. Manuel angrily confronts Ramallo, accusing him of being jealous of his purity. Ramallo silences him by telling him that his anger is because he is secretly in love with Ramallo. In fact, attracted to his friend, Manuel steals Ramallos clothes but, in his morbid religious fervor, fights his desires that he believes are diabolical. Manuels sexual panic turns into self-inflicted stigmata.
Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia[b] is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of mainland Australia, which is part of Oceania.[5] Southeast Asia is bordered to the north by East Asia, to the west by South Asia and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceania and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australia and the Indian Ocean. Apart from the British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia, Maritime Southeast Asia is the only other subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere. Mainland Southeast Asia is entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. Timor-Leste and the southern portion of Indonesia are the parts of Southeast Asia that lie south of the equator. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with both heavy seismic and volcanic activities.[6] The Sunda plate is the main plate of the region, featuring almost all Southeast Asian countries except Myanmar, northern Thailand, northern Laos, northern Vietnam, and northern Luzon of the Philippines, while the Sunda plate only includes western Indonesia to as far east as the Indonesian province of Bali. The mountain ranges in Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lesser Sunda Islands, and Timor are part of the Alpide belt, while the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia as well as Timor-Leste are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Both seismic belts meet in Indonesia, causing the region to have relatively high occurrences of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia.[7] It covers about 4,500,000 km2 (1,700,000 sq mi), which is 8% of Eurasia and 3% of Earths total land area. Its total population is more than 675 million, about 8.5% of the worlds population. It is the third most populous geographical region in Asia after South Asia and East Asia.[8] The region is culturally and ethnically diverse, with hundreds of languages spoken by different ethnic groups.[9] Ten countries in the region are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organisation established for economic, political, military, educational, and cultural integration among its members.[10] Southeast Asia is one of the most culturally diverse regions of the world. There are many different languages and ethnicities in the region. Historically, Southeast Asia was significantly influenced by Indian, Chinese, Muslim, and colonial cultures, which became core components of the regions cultural and political institutions. Most modern Southeast Asian countries were colonised by European powers. European colonisation exploited natural resources and labour from the lands they conquered, and attempted to spread European institutions to the region.[11] Several Southeast Asian countries were also briefly occupied by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The aftermath of World War II saw most of the region decolonised. Today, Southeast Asia is predominantly governed by independent states.[12]
Giuseppe Patroni Griffi. Giuseppe Patroni Griffi (26 February 1921 – 15 December 2005) was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director and author.[1][2] He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent his professional life there. Patroni Griffi is considered one of the most prominent contributors to Italian theater and film in post-war Italy. Roberto Rossellini made a film from his play Anima nera.[citation needed] His first listed film writing credit was on the 1952 musical Canzoni di mezzo secolo. Patroni Griffi would later direct Charlotte Rampling, Elizabeth Taylor, Marcello Mastroianni, Laura Antonelli, Florinda Bolkan, Terence Stamp, Fabio Testi.[citation needed]
Close-quarters battle. Close-quarters battle (CQB), also called close-quarters combat (CQC), is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat.[1] It can occur between military units, law enforcement and criminal elements, and in other similar situations. CQB is typically defined as a short duration, high intensity conflict characterized by sudden violence at close range.[2] Close-quarters battle has occurred since the beginning of warfare, in the form of melee combat, the use of ranged weaponry (such as slings, bows, and muskets) at close range, and the necessity of bayonets.[clarification needed] During World War I, CQB was a significant part of trench warfare, where enemy soldiers would fight in close and narrow quarters in attempts to capture trenches. The origins of modern close-quarters battle lie in the combat methods pioneered by Assistant Commissioner William E. Fairbairn of the Shanghai Municipal Police, the police force of the Shanghai International Settlement (1854–1943).[citation needed] After the 1925 May Thirtieth Movement, Fairbairn was tasked with developing a dedicated auxiliary squad for riot control and aggressive policing. After absorbing the most appropriate elements from a variety of martial arts experts, Fairbairn condensed these arts into a martial art he called defendu. The aim of defendu was to be as brutally effective as possible, while also being relatively easy for recruits and trainees to learn compared to other martial arts. The method incorporated both less-lethal and lethal fighting tactics, such as point shooting, firearm combat techniques, and the use of more ad hoc weapons such as chairs or table legs. During World War II, Fairbairn was recruited to train Allied special forces in defendu. During this period, he expanded defendus lethality for military purposes, calling it the Silent Killing Close Quarters Combat method; this became standard combat training for British special forces. He also published a textbook for CQB training called Get Tough.[3] U.S. Army officers Rex Applegate and Anthony Biddle were taught Fairbairns methods at a training facility in Scotland, and adopted the program for the training of Allied operatives at Camp X in Ontario, Canada. Applegate published his work in 1943, called Kill or Get Killed.[4] During the war, training was provided to British Commandos, the First Special Service Force, OSS operatives, U.S. Army Rangers, and Marine Raiders. Other military martial arts were later introduced elsewhere, including European Unifight, Chinese sanshou, Soviet sambo, and the Israeli kapap and Krav Maga.
La Mer (film). La Mer (also known as The Sea) is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent documentary film directed and produced by Louis Lumière. Given its age, this short film is available to freely download from the Internet. The film formed part of the first commercial presentation of the Lumière Cinématographe on 28 December 1895 at the Salon Indien, Grand Café, 14 Boulevard des Capuchins, Paris.[1] As with all early Lumière movies, this film was made in a 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It was filmed by means of the Cinématographe, an all-in-one camera, which also serves as a film projector and developer.[2] This 38 second film has a very simple plot in which four boys and a plump woman (perhaps their mother) walk along a jetty and then dive into stormy water, only to then struggle to the shore and repeat the process. This article related to a French film of the 1890s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Seattle. Seattle (/siˈætəl/ ⓘ see-AT-əl) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is the 18th-most populous city in the United States with a population of 780,995 in 2024,[3] while the Seattle metropolitan area at over 4.15 million residents is the 15th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation.[11] The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington. Seattles growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the countrys fastest-growing large cities.[12] Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border. A gateway for trade with East Asia, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021[update].[13] The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish, who had at least 17 villages around Elliot Bay) for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers.[14] Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, Oregon, on the schooner Exact at Alki Point on November 13, 1851.[15] The settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay in 1852 and named Seattle in honor of Chief Seattle, a prominent 19th-century leader of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Seattle currently has relatively high populations of Native Americans as well as Americans with strong Asian, African, European, and Scandinavian ancestry, and, as of 2015, hosts the fifth-highest percentage of residents who identify as LGBT among major metropolitan areas in the U.S. (4.8 percent).[16] Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. The city grew after World War II, partly due to the local company Boeing, which established Seattle as a center for its manufacturing of aircraft. Beginning in the 1980s, the Seattle area developed into a technology center; Microsoft established its headquarters in the region. Alaska Airlines is based at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the citys population by almost 50,000 in the decade between 1990 and 2000.
The Sea (1933 film). The Sea (Polish: Morze) is a 1933 Polish short documentary film directed by Wanda Jakubowska. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1933 for Best Short Subject (Novelty).[1] This article related to a Polish film of the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Ocean. The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth.[8] The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as oceans (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic/Southern, and Arctic Ocean),[9][10][11] and are themselves mostly divided into seas, gulfs and subsequent bodies of water. The ocean contains 97% of Earths water[8] and is the primary component of Earths hydrosphere, acting as a huge reservoir of heat for Earths energy budget, as well as for its carbon cycle and water cycle, forming the basis for climate and weather patterns worldwide. The ocean is essential to life on Earth, harbouring most of Earths animals and protist life,[12] originating photosynthesis and therefore Earths atmospheric oxygen, still supplying half of it.[13] Ocean scientists split the ocean into vertical and horizontal zones based on physical and biological conditions. Horizontally the ocean covers the oceanic crust, which it shapes. Where the ocean meets dry land it covers relatively shallow continental shelfs, which are part of Earths continental crust. Human activity is mostly coastal with high negative impacts on marine life. Vertically the pelagic zone is the open oceans water column from the surface to the ocean floor. The water column is further divided into zones based on depth and the amount of light present. The photic zone starts at the surface and is defined to be the depth at which light intensity is only 1% of the surface value[14]: 36 (approximately 200 m in the open ocean). This is the zone where photosynthesis can occur. In this process plants and microscopic algae (free-floating phytoplankton) use light, water, carbon dioxide, and nutrients to produce organic matter. As a result, the photic zone is the most biodiverse and the source of the food supply which sustains most of the ocean ecosystem. Light can only penetrate a few hundred more meters; the rest of the deeper ocean is cold and dark (these zones are called mesopelagic and aphotic zones). Ocean temperatures depend on the amount of solar radiation reaching the ocean surface. In the tropics, surface temperatures can rise to over 30 °C (86 °F). Near the poles where sea ice forms, the temperature in equilibrium is about −2 °C (28 °F). In all parts of the ocean, deep ocean temperatures range between −2 °C (28 °F) and 5 °C (41 °F).[15] Constant circulation of water in the ocean creates ocean currents. Those currents are caused by forces operating on the water, such as temperature and salinity differences, atmospheric circulation (wind), and the Coriolis effect.[16] Tides create tidal currents, while wind and waves cause surface currents. The Gulf Stream, Kuroshio Current, Agulhas Current and Antarctic Circumpolar Current are all major ocean currents. Such currents transport massive amounts of water, gases, pollutants and heat to different parts of the world, and from the surface into the deep ocean. All this has impacts on the global climate system. Ocean water contains dissolved gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. An exchange of these gases occurs at the oceans surface. The solubility of these gases depends on the temperature and salinity of the water.[17] The carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is rising due to CO2 emissions, mainly from fossil fuel combustion. As the oceans absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, a higher concentration leads to ocean acidification (a drop in pH value).[18]
Seattle. Seattle (/siˈætəl/ ⓘ see-AT-əl) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is the 18th-most populous city in the United States with a population of 780,995 in 2024,[3] while the Seattle metropolitan area at over 4.15 million residents is the 15th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation.[11] The city is the county seat of King County, the most populous county in Washington. Seattles growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 made it one of the countrys fastest-growing large cities.[12] Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Canadian border. A gateway for trade with East Asia, the Port of Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling as of 2021[update].[13] The Seattle area has been inhabited by Native Americans (such as the Duwamish, who had at least 17 villages around Elliot Bay) for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers.[14] Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequently known as the Denny Party, arrived from Illinois via Portland, Oregon, on the schooner Exact at Alki Point on November 13, 1851.[15] The settlement was moved to the eastern shore of Elliott Bay in 1852 and named Seattle in honor of Chief Seattle, a prominent 19th-century leader of the local Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Seattle currently has relatively high populations of Native Americans as well as Americans with strong Asian, African, European, and Scandinavian ancestry, and, as of 2015, hosts the fifth-highest percentage of residents who identify as LGBT among major metropolitan areas in the U.S. (4.8 percent).[16] Logging was Seattles first major industry, but by the late 19th century the city had become a commercial and shipbuilding center as a gateway to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. The city grew after World War II, partly due to the local company Boeing, which established Seattle as a center for its manufacturing of aircraft. Beginning in the 1980s, the Seattle area developed into a technology center; Microsoft established its headquarters in the region. Alaska Airlines is based at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington. The stream of new software, biotechnology, and Internet companies led to an economic revival, which increased the citys population by almost 50,000 in the decade between 1990 and 2000.
Shuangyu. Shuangyu (Chinese: 雙嶼; pinyin: Shuāngyǔ; lit. Double Island) was a port on Liuheng Island [zh] (六橫島) off the coast of Zhejiang, China. During the 16th century, the port served as an illegal entrepôt of international trade, attracting traders from Japan, Southeast Asia, and Portugal in a time when private overseas trade was banned by Chinas ruling Ming dynasty. Portuguese sources called the place Liampó, taking the name of the nearby city of Ningbo on the mainland.[1] Shuangyus days as a smuggling hub and pirate haven began as early as 1524 and lasted until its destruction by the Ming navy in 1548, an event that was greatly exaggerated (and wrongly dated) by the 16th-century Portuguese travel writer Fernão Mendes Pinto. In the 16th century, a global demand for Chinese products like silk and porcelain coincided with a high demand of silver in China. However, the premier suppliers of silver in East Asia, the Japanese and the Portuguese, could not legally trade in China to meet the massive demand. At the same time, Chinese merchants were prevented from trading with foreigners due to the Ming dynastys maritime prohibition laws. To conduct private trade in China, the Japanese and Portuguese traders collaborated with smugglers on island ports along the Zhejiang and Fujian coast. Among these ports, Shuangyu emerged as the primary emporium of clandestine trade,[2] since it was at a reasonable distance from the markets of Ningbo and Hangzhou, but also sufficiently far away from the Ming coast authorities.[3] The earliest mentions of Shuangyu as a smuggling port notes that the chaos on the Zhejiang coast (a reference to the Ningbo incident of 1523) caused an overstocking of commodities at Shuangyu in 1524.[4] At first, Shuangyu only had temporary mat-sheds for the smugglers to house themselves and their goods during the trading season.[5] In 1539, Fujianese traders started to guide foreign traders from Patani and Malacca to barter in Shuangyu and started to occupy the island. They were soon joined by the Fujianese merchants Jinzi Lao (金子老, Gold Elder) and Li Guangtou (李光頭, Baldy Li), who led the Portuguese and assorted adventurers to Shuangyu. Attracted by the growing trade on the Zhejiang coast, the syndicate led by Xu Dong (許棟) and his brothers moved their base of operations from the Malay Peninsula to Shuangyu. The existing clout of the Xu syndicate and its close partnership with the Portuguese made it the foremost smuggling bloc by 1542 after a series of mergers among the merchant-pirates in Shuangyu.[5] The Ming authorities began to clamp down on smuggling in 1543, viewing such activities in the same vein as wokou piracy. However, the Xu syndicate was able to repulse these initial Ming attacks on Shuangyu with the aid of Portuguese firearms. Hardened by their victories against the Ming navy, the smugglers expanded their network of activities down the coast of China all the way to Guangdong and inland to the metropolis of Nanjing, with Shuangyu being their hub.[5] In 1544, this network was further expanded when the Japan-based merchant Wang Zhi joined the Xu syndicate, bringing along his Japanese connections to Shuangyu. Thus Shuangyu reached its zenith as the biggest entrépot in maritime East Asia trading goods from Europe and Asia.[6] On the eve of its destruction, Shuangyu had an estimated population of 600 Wo barbarians, a term that referred to the Japanese but might have also included other foreigners at the time.[7] At Shuangyus height of prosperity, local residents of Shuangyu willingly aided the pirates, since the smuggling trade brought considerable wealth to the island. The villagers, who previously relied on subsistence agriculture and fishing to make a living, turned to making weapons and armour for Wang Zhi and other pirates of the area: [They] melted copper coins to make shot, used saltpeter to make gunpowder, iron to make swords and guns, and leather to make their armour.[8] Their admiration for the pirates was such that not only did they provide the pirates with daily necessities, they also gave women and pledged their own children. Many youngsters willingly joined Wang Zhis group.[8] As for the Portuguese in the Shuangyu settlement, the friar Gaspar da Cruz wrote that they were so firmly settled and with such freedom, that nothing was lacking them save having a gallows and pelourinho,[9] a freedom that they and their Chinese accomplices sometimes abused when they make great thefts and robberies, and killed some of the people.[9]
Prefecture-level city. Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing)
Ningbo (disambiguation). Ningbo is a city in Zhejiang, China. Ningbo may also refer to:
Bopomofo. Bopomofo, also called Zhuyin Fuhao[1] (/dʒuːˌjɪn fuːˈhaʊ/ joo-YIN foo-HOW; 注音符號; Zhùyīn fúhào; phonetic symbols), or simply Zhuyin,[2] is a transliteration system for Standard Chinese and other Sinitic languages. It is the principal method of teaching Chinese Mandarin pronunciation in Taiwan. It consists of 37 characters and five tone marks, which together can transcribe all possible sounds in Mandarin Chinese. Bopomofo was first introduced in China during the 1910s by the Beiyang government, where it was used alongside Wade–Giles, a romanization system which used a modified Latin alphabet. Today, Bopomofo is more common in Taiwan than on the mainland, and is used as the primary electronic input method for Taiwanese Mandarin, as well as in dictionaries and other non-official documents. Bopomofo is the name used for the system by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Unicode. Analogous to how the word alphabet is derived from the names of the first two letters alpha and beta, the name bopomofo derives from the first four syllabographs in the systems conventional consonant order: ㄅ, ㄆ, ㄇ, and ㄈ.[3] In Taiwan the system is commonly known by its official name Zhuyin fuhao (注音符號; phonetic symbols), or simply as zhuyin (注音; phonetic notation). In official documents, it is occasionally called Mandarin Phonetic Symbols I (國語注音符號第一式), abbreviated as MPS I (注音一式),[4][5] to distinguish it from the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols II (MPS II) system published in 1984. Formerly, the system was named Guoyin zimu (國音字母; national language alphabet) and Zhuyin zimu (注音字母; phonetic alphabet).[4]
The Sea (2002 film). The Sea, (Icelandic: Hafið (pronunciationⓘ)), is a 2002 Icelandic comedy drama film, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The film tells the story of a wealthy Icelandic family, owners of a fish industry company in a small Icelandic coastal town, and various family issues they have to deal with. The Sea was filmed almost entirely in and around Neskaupstaður. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 49% approval rating, based on 51 reviews with an average rating of 5.6/10. The websites consensus reads, This look at a fraught family reunion should be easily relatable, but The Sea drowns viewers in melodrama when it should be carrying them toward darkly comedic shores.[1] On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 52 out of 100, which is based on 23 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews.[2] The film won eight awards at the Edda Awards, Iceland in 2002 (Best Actor for Gunnar Eyjólfsson, Best Actress for Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor for Sigurður Skúlason, Best Supporting Actress for Herdís Þorvaldsdóttir, Film of the Year and Professional Category: Sound/Vision), where it was also nominated for 4 more awards. In the same year, it was nominated for the Nordic Council Film Prize and for the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 2003, it won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for the Golden Tulip, and the Audience Award at the Tromsø International Film Festival in Norway.
Wu Chinese. Wu (simplified Chinese: 吴语; traditional Chinese: 吳語; pinyin: Wúyǔ; Wugniu and IPA:6wu-gniu6 [ɦu˩.nʲy˦] (Shanghainese), 2ghou-gniu6 [ɦou˨.nʲy˧] (Suzhounese)) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang province, and parts of Jiangsu province, especially south of the Yangtze River,[2] which makes up the cultural region of Wu. The Wu languages are at times simply called Shanghainese, especially when introduced to foreigners. The Suzhounese variety was the prestige dialect of Wu as of the 19th century, but had been replaced in status by Shanghainese by the turn of the 20th century, coinciding with a period of rapid language change in the city.[3] The languages of Northern Wu constitute a language family and are mutually intelligible, while those of Southern Wu do not form a phylogenetic language family and are not mutually intelligible.[2] Historical linguists view Wu of great significance because of its obviously distinct nature.[4] The Wu languages typically preserve all voiced initials of medieval Chinese, as well as the checked tone in the form of a glottal stop.[5] Wu varieties also have noticeably unique morphological and syntactic innovations,[6] as well as lexicon exclusively found in the Wu grouping. It is also of note that the influential linguist Chao Yuen Ren was a native speaker of Changzhounese, a variety of Northern Wu.[7] The Wu varieties, especially that of Suzhou, are traditionally perceived as soft in the ears of speakers of both Wu and non-Wu languages, leading to the idiom the tender speech of Wu (吴侬软语; 吳儂軟語). Most speakers of Wu varieties do not readily identify with or are entirely unaware of this term for their speech, since the classificatory imposition of Wu used in linguistics today is a relatively recent coinage. Saying someone speaks Wu is therefore akin to saying someone speaks a Romance language; it is not a particularly defined entity like Standard Mandarin or Hochdeutsch. Most speakers are aware of their local varietys affinities only with other similarly classified varieties. They generally refer only to their local Wu variety, rather than to the dialect family as a whole. This is typically done by affixing 話 (speech) to a locations endonym. For example, 溫州話 (Wu Chinese pronunciation: [ʔy˧꜖ tɕiɤu˧꜖ ɦo˩꜒꜔]) is used for Wenzhounese. Affixing 閒話 is also common, and more typical of Northern Wu, as in 嘉興閒話 (Wugniu: ka-shin ghae-o) for the Jiaxing variety [zh]. Names for the group as a whole include:
Atlantic Basin (disambiguation). The Atlantic Basin is the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Basin may also refer to:
Sub-provincial division. Provinces Autonomous regions Sub-provincial autonomous prefectures Autonomous prefectures Leagues (Aimag) (abolishing)
Yinzhou, Ningbo. Yinzhou (Chinese: 鄞州; pinyin: Yínzhōu) is a district of the major city of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China. In 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, established three counties called Yin (鄞), Mao (鄮) and Gouzhang (句章).[1] Later they were merged into Gouzhang county during the Sui dynasty. It was renamed Mao county during the Tang dynasty. It had assumed its current name of Yin in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The city of Ningbo was administrated by Yin county until after the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. At the same time, Yin county became a county of Ningbo city. On April 19, 2002, it was renamed Yinzhou District. It is one of the few counties that has kept the same name since its establishment more than 2000 years ago.[citation needed] Subdistricts:[2] Towns: The only township is Longguan Township (龙观乡)
Ancient Warfare (magazine). Ancient Warfare is a glossy Dutch bi-monthly military history magazine. Ancient Warfare was started in 2007.[2] It is published in Rotterdam by the Dutch publishing company Karwansaray.[3] The magazine was founded by Jasper Oorthuys, who now serves as managing director and editor-in-chief.[3] Most of the magazines feature articles focus on a central theme per issue.[4] These include articles on a specific general, campaign or more abstract phenomenon such as sieges. Each issue usually starts off with a historical introduction to the theme. The introduction is usually followed by an article that delves into relevant sources for the theme, such as a historical narrative or an archaeological source. The theme is then fleshed out by articles on warriors, battles and generals that fit that issues theme. Among the authors are well-known specialists like Bob Bennett, Duncan B. Campbell, Ross Cowan, Lukas de Blois, Stephen English, Adrian Murdoch, Joseph Pietrykowski, Jona Lendering, and Mike Roberts. The magazine also includes news and letters from readers, as well as reviews of relevant books, games, models, and museums. The illustrations include original artwork, maps and photographs of artifacts. Online free features of the magazine include the editors blog and a podcast which is published to coincide with the magazine themes. Other spin-offs were specials on the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and the nature of the Roman centuria. Since 2012, the yearly special is published in the form of a hardcover book. The first was Edge of Empire (2012), a reworked English translation of an originally Dutch book by Jona Lendering and Arjan Bosman on the Roman occupation of the Low Countries. The second was Henchmen of Ares: Warriors and Warfare in Early Greece (2013) written by then-editor Josho Brouwers and based on his PhD dissertation on Early Greek warfare.
Atlantic (disambiguation). The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the worlds oceans, that separates the old world from the new world. Atlantic may also refer to:
North Atlantic (disambiguation). The North Atlantic is the portion of the Atlantic Ocean which lies north of the Equator. North Atlantic may also refer to:
South Atlantic (disambiguation). The South Atlantic is the portion of the Atlantic Ocean which lies south of the Equator. South Atlantic may also refer to:
Vietnam. in Southeast Asia Vietnam,[e][f] officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV),[g][h] is a country at the eastern edge of Mainland Southeast Asia. With an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, it is the worlds 15th-most populous country. One of two communist states in Southeast Asia,[i] Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east; it also shares maritime borders with Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to the south and southwest, the Philippines to the east, and China to the northeast. Its capital is Hanoi, while its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam.[15] The Han dynasty annexed northern and central Vietnam, which were subsequently under Chinese rule from 111 BC until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences through Confucianism and Buddhism, and expanded southward to the Mekong Delta, conquering Champa. During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài. The Nguyễn—the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to France in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into French Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Viet Minh, a coalition front led by the communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, launched the August Revolution and declared Vietnams independence from the Empire of Japan in 1945. Vietnam went through prolonged warfare in the 20th century. After World War II, France returned to reclaim colonial power in the First Indochina War, from which Vietnam emerged victorious in 1954. As a result of the treaties signed between the Viet Minh and France, Vietnam was also separated into two parts. The Vietnam War began shortly after, between the communist North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union and China, and the anti-communist South Vietnam, supported by the United States. Upon the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, Vietnam reunified as a unitary communist state that self-designated as a socialist state under the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 1976. An ineffective planned economy, a trade embargo by the West, and wars with Cambodia and China crippled the country further. In 1986, the CPV launched economic and political reforms similar to the Chinese economic reform, transforming the country to a socialist-oriented market economy. The reforms facilitated Vietnamese reintegration into the global economy and politics.
United States Marine Corps. 10 November 1775(249 years, 10 months)[2](as the Continental Marines) Joint Meritorious Unit Award Navy Unit Commendation Valorous Unit Award Meritorious Unit Commendation French Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Philippine Presidential Unit Citation Korean Presidential Unit Citation Vietnam Gallantry Cross The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations[11] through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the six armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Marine Corps has been part of the United States Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 with its sister service, the United States Navy.[12] The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world. Additionally, several of the Marines tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers.[13]
United States Navy. 13 October 1775(249 years, 11 months)(as the Continental Navy)[1][2] The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the worlds most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021.[9] It has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, one undergoing trials, two new carriers under construction, and six other carriers planned as of 2024. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 299 deployable combat vessels and about 4,012 operational aircraft as of 18 July 2023.[10][11] The U.S. Navy is one of six armed forces of the United States and one of eight uniformed services of the United States. The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the hands of the Barbary pirates from Algiers, the United States Congress passed the Naval Act of 1794 for the construction of six heavy frigates, the first ships of the Navy. The United States Navy played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The United States Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world. The modern United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. It is a blue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it a frequent actor in American foreign and military policy. The United States Navy is part of the Department of the Navy, alongside the United States Marine Corps, which is its coequal sister service. The Department of the Navy is headed by the civilian secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy is itself a military department of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the secretary of defense. The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the most senior Navy officer serving in the Department of the Navy.[12]
Self Defense. Self-defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself Self Defense may also refer to:
English in the Commonwealth of Nations. The use of the English language in current and former countries of the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British colonisation, with some exceptions. English forms part of the Commonwealths common culture and serves as the medium of inter-Commonwealth relations.[1][2] Commonwealth English refers to English as practised in the Commonwealth; the term is most often interchangeable with British English, but is also used to distinguish between British English and that in the rest of the Commonwealth.[3] English in the Commonwealth is diverse, and many regions have developed their own local varieties of the language. The official status of English varies; in Bangladesh, it lacks any but is widely used, and likewise in Cyprus, it is not official but is used as the lingua franca.[4][5] Written English in current and former Commonwealth countries generally favours British English spelling as opposed to that of American English,[6] with some exceptions, particularly in Canada, where there are strong influences from neighbouring American English.[7]
Early thermal weapons. Early thermal weapons, which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories, were employed in warfare during the ancient and post-classical periods (approximately the 8th century BC until the mid-16th century AD). Incendiary devices were frequently used as projectiles during warfare, particularly during sieges and naval battles: some substances were boiled or heated to inflict damage by scalding or burning; other substances relied on their chemical properties to inflict burns or damage. These weapons or devices could be used by individuals, thrown by siege engines, or utilised as army strategy. Incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrows and bolts and fired by hand or machine. The simplest and most common thermal projectiles were boiling water and hot sand, which could be poured over attacking personnel. Other anti-personnel weapons included the use of hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat and other similar compounds. Smoke was used to confuse or drive off attackers. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding. Fire and incendiary weapons were also used against enemy structures and territory, sometimes on a massive scale. Large tracts of land, towns and villages were frequently ignited as part of a scorched earth strategy. Some siege techniques—such as mining and boring—relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances, which led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Development of the early weapons has continued ever since, with modern war weapons such as napalm, flame throwers, and other explosives having direct roots in the original early thermal weapons. Fire-raising and other destructive strategies can still be seen in modern strategic bombing.
Baton (law enforcement). A baton (also truncheon, nightstick, billy club, billystick, cosh, lathi, or simply stick) is a roughly cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic, or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon[1] by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards and military personnel. The name baton comes from the French bâton (stick), derived from Old French Baston, from Latin bastum.[2] As a weapon a baton may be used defensively (to block) or offensively (to strike, jab, or bludgeon), and it can aid in the application of armlocks. The usual striking or bludgeoning action is not produced by a simple and direct hit, as with an ordinary blunt object, but rather by bringing the arm down sharply while allowing the truncheon to pivot nearly freely forward and downward, so moving its tip much faster than its handle. Batons are also used for non-weapon purposes such as breaking windows to free individuals trapped in a vehicle, or turning out a suspects pockets during a search (as a precaution against sharp objects). Some people other than law enforcement officers use batons as weapons because of their simple construction and easy concealment. The use or carrying of batons or improvised clubs by people other than law enforcement officers is restricted by law in many countries. In the Victorian era, police in London carried truncheons about one foot long called billy clubs. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, this name was first recorded in 1848 as slang for a burglars crowbar. The meaning policemans club is first recorded 1856. The truncheon acted as the policemans Warrant Card as the Royal Crest attached to it indicated the policemans authority. This was always removed when the equipment left official service (often with the person who used it). Earlier on, the word was used in vulgar Latin (bastο—a stick helping walking,[3] from basta—hold).
Arctic. The Arctic (/ˈɑːr(k)tɪk/;[1][Note 1] from Ancient Greek ἄρκτος (árktos) bear) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying north of the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway (Nordland, Troms, Finnmark, Svalbard and Jan Mayen), northernmost Sweden (Västerbotten, Norrbotten and Lappland), northern Finland (North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu and Lappi), Russia (Murmansk, Siberia, Nenets Okrug, Novaya Zemlya), the United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), and northern Iceland (Grímsey and Kolbeinsey), along with the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost under the tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places. The Arctic region is a unique area among Earths ecosystems. The cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions. Life in the Arctic includes zooplankton and phytoplankton, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals, plants, and human societies.[3] Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic. The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός arktikos near the Bear, northern[4] and from the word ἄρκτος arktos meaning bear for either to the constellation known as Ursa Major, the Great Bear, which is prominent in the northern portion of the celestial sphere,[5][6] or the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, which contains the celestial north pole (currently very near Polaris, the current north Pole Star, or North Star).[7]
Combat (disambiguation). Combat is purposeful violent conflict. Combat may also refer to:
Fight (disambiguation). A fight is a purposeful violent conflict of combat intended to establish dominance over the opposition. Fight or fighting may also refer to:
Medieval warfare. Medieval warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. Technological, cultural, and social advancements had forced a severe transformation in the character of warfare from antiquity, changing military tactics and the role of cavalry and artillery (see military history). In terms of fortification, the Middle Ages saw the emergence of the castle in Europe, which then spread to the Holy Land (modern day Israel and Palestine). The medieval knight was usually a mounted and armoured soldier, often connected with nobility or royalty, although (especially in north-eastern Europe) knights could also come from the lower classes, and could even be enslaved persons. The cost of their armour, horses, and weapons was great; this, among other things, helped gradually transform the knight, at least in western Europe, into a distinct social class separate from other warriors. During the crusades, holy orders of Knights fought in the Holy Land (see Knights Templar, the Hospitallers, etc.).[1] The light cavalry consisted usually of lighter armed and armoured men, who could have lances, javelins or missile weapons, such as bows or crossbows. In much of the Middle Ages, light cavalry usually consisted of wealthy commoners. Later in the Middle Ages, light cavalry would also include sergeants who were men who had trained as knights but could not afford the costs associated with the title. Light cavalry was used as scouts, skirmishers or outflankers. Many countries developed their styles of light cavalries, such as Hungarian mounted archers, Spanish jinetes, Italian and German mounted crossbowmen and English currours. The infantry was recruited and trained in a wide variety of manners in different regions of Europe all through the Middle Ages, and probably always formed the most numerous part of a medieval field army. Many infantrymen in prolonged wars would be mercenaries. Most armies contained significant numbers of spearmen, archers and other unmounted soldiers.
Land warfare. Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet.[1] Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personnel employing a diverse set of combat skills, methods and a wide variety of weapon systems and equipment, conducted in diverse terrains and weather environments. Land warfare, by virtue of being conducted in defence of urban and rural population areas, dominates the study of war, and is a focus for most national defence policy planning and financial considerations. Land warfare in history has undergone several distinct transitions in conduct from a large concentration of largely untrained and irregularly armed populace used in frontal assaults to current employment of combined arms concepts with highly trained regular troops using a wide variety of organisational, weapon and information systems, and employing a variety of strategic, operational and tactical doctrines. Although land combat in the past was conducted by the combat arms of the armed forces, since World War II it has largely involved three distinct types of combat units: infantry, armour, and artillery. These arms, since the Age of Sail, have used amphibious warfare concepts and methods to project power from the seas and oceans, and since the wide introduction of military transport aircraft and helicopters have used airborne forces and vertical envelopment to the variety of doctrines used to prosecute warfare on land. Land forces include personnel, weapons platforms, vehicles, and support elements operating on land to accomplish assigned missions and tasks.[2]
Timeline of the gunpowder age. This is a timeline of the history of gunpowder and related topics such as weapons, warfare, and industrial applications. The timeline covers the history of gunpowder from the first hints of its origin as a Taoist alchemical product in China until its replacement by smokeless powder in the late 19th century (from 1884 to the present day). Major developments: Earliest stage of gunpowder development. Mentions of gunpowder ingredients and their uses in conjunction with each other. Major developments: Earliest definite references to a gunpowder formula and awareness of its danger.
Right of self-defense. The right of self-defense is the right for people as individuals to commit a crime, violent or non-violent, for the purpose of defending their own life (self-defense) and property, or to defend the lives of others, in certain circumstances.[1] For example, while reckless driving is usually against the law, it can be justified if it was done to avoid a collision. The right, when it applies to the defense of another, is also called alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person. Nations and states also have a right to self-defense in relation to their existence and independence.[2] In criminal law, if a defendant commits a crime because of a threat of deadly or grievous harm, or a reasonable perception of such harm, the defendant is said to have a perfect self-defense justification.[3] If a defendant commits a crime because of such a perception, and the perception is not reasonable, the defendant may have imperfect self-defense as an excuse.[3] Justification does not make a criminal use of force lawful; if the use of force is justified, it cannot be criminal at all.[4] The early theories make no distinction between defense of the person and defense of property. Whether consciously or not, this builds on the Roman Law principle of dominium where any attack on the members of the family or the property it owned was a personal attack on the pater familias – the male head of the household, sole owner of all property belonging to the household, and endowed by law with dominion over all his descendants through the male line no matter their age.[5] The right to self-defense is phrased as the principle of vim vi repellere licet (it is permitted to repel force by force) in the Digest of Justitian (6th century). Another early application of this was Martin Luthers concept of justified resistance against a Beerwolf ruler, which was used in the doctrine of the lesser magistrate propounded in the 1550 Magdeburg Confession.
Ocean (disambiguation). An ocean is a major body of salt water on Earth. Ocean may also refer to:
History of gunpowder. Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been created in the world. Popularly listed as one of the Four Great Inventions of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century). Knowledge of gunpowder spread rapidly throughout Eurasia, possibly as a result of the Mongol conquests during the 13th century, with written formulas for it appearing in the Middle East between 1240 and 1280 in a treatise by Hasan al-Rammah, and in Europe by 1267 in the Opus Majus by Roger Bacon. It was employed in warfare to some effect from at least the 10th century in weapons such as fire arrows, bombs, and the fire lance before the appearance of the gun in the 13th century. While the fire lance was eventually supplanted by the gun, other gunpowder weapons such as rockets and fire arrows continued to see use in China, Korea, India, and this eventually led to its use in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. Bombs too never ceased to develop and continued to progress into the modern day as grenades, mines, and other explosive implements. Gunpowder has also been used for non-military purposes such as fireworks for entertainment, or in explosives for mining and tunneling. The evolution of guns led to the development of large artillery pieces, popularly known as bombards, during the 15th century, pioneered by states such as the Duchy of Burgundy. Firearms came to dominate early modern warfare in Europe by the 17th century. The gradual improvement of cannons firing heavier rounds for a greater impact against fortifications led to the invention of the star fort and the bastion in the Western world, where traditional city walls and castles were no longer suitable for defense. The use of gunpowder technology also spread throughout the Islamic world and to India, Korea, and Japan. The so-called Gunpowder Empires of the early modern period consisted of the Mughal Empire, Safavid Empire, and Ottoman Empire. The use of gunpowder in warfare during the course of the 19th century diminished due to the invention of smokeless powder. Gunpowder is often referred to today as black powder to distinguish it from the propellant used in contemporary firearms.[1]
Thure de Thulstrup. Thure de Thulstrup (born Bror Thure Thulstrup;[1]April 5, 1848 – June 9, 1930) was an American illustrator with contributions for numerous magazines, including three decades of work for Harpers Weekly.[2] He primarily illustrated historical military scenes. Thulstrup was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on April 5, 1848.[3] His father was Swedens Secretary of the Navy amongst other such positions.[4] After graduating from the Royal Swedish Military Academy,[5] Thulstrup joined the Swedish military as an artillery officer at the age of twenty. However, he soon left Sweden for Paris, where he joined the French Foreign Legion and saw service in the Franco-Prussian War.[4] Thulstrup also served in the French part of Northern Africa as a member of the First Zouave Regiment.[5] After leaving the French Army, Thulstrup moved to Canada in 1872 to become a civil engineer.[5] He moved to the United States in 1873,[6] where he became an artist for the New York Daily Graphic, and, later, Frank Leslies Illustrated Newspaper, documenting local events.[7] As his skills improved, he became able to move into more and more prestigious roles, including work for Century, Harpers Monthly, and Scribners Magazine.[2] While living in New York, Thulstrup studied at the Art Students League.[6] His military pictures include a series of paintings depicting the American Civil War, and illustrations of a Virginian lifestyle in the middle of the eighteenth century.[5]
Home Defense. Home Defense is a 1943 animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures.[1] The film shows Donald Duck and his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie serving as civilian aircraft spotters during World War II. The film was directed by Jack King, Clarence Nash voices the characters. The story takes place during World War II in which Donald Duck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, are serving as civilian aircraft spotters on the West Coast of the United States. In order to detect the sound of approaching enemy aircraft, Donald uses a listening apparatus consisting of headphones and a large horn amplifier pointed skyward. One morning at the listening post, Donald accidentally wakes up Huey, Dewey, and Louie who were sleeping nearby. The boys, serving as Donalds gun crew, retaliate by faking an airborne invasion as a prank. They fill a motorized toy plane with gingerbread paratroopers and fly it around the amplifier. Donald awakes, sees the plane, and shoots it down with his home-made anti-aircraft battery. As the plane is falling to earth, the gingerbread men deploy. When Donald sees the parachutes, he panics and hides in the grass while Huey, Dewey, and Louie create artificial combat noises. When Donald finally discovers the ruse, he angrily calls his nephews to attention and relieves them of duty. The nephews tearfully leave as Donald continues to listen for aircraft alone. Later, Donald hears the sound of a bee buzzing near the amplifier and believes that his nephews are playing a trick on him again. However, when he sees the boys are not up to anything, Donald returns to the listening post and continues to hear the bee, imagining the sound is approaching Japanese forces. Donald quickly reinstates the boys and has them man a large cannon. Donald carefully calculates the position of the sound and relays orders to Huey, Dewey, and Louie in aiming the cannon. After following Donalds instructions, the nephews aim the cannon directly at the acoustic horn where the bee is. Despite their objections, Donald orders them to fire the weapon, which sends the amplified blast into Donalds ears. The nephews laugh while Donald goes into his characteristic temper tantrum while suspended off the ground by his earphones.
List of countries by length of coastline. This article contains a list of countries by length of coastline, in kilometers. Though the coastline paradox stipulates that coastlines do not have a well-defined length, there are various methods in use to measure coastlines through ratios and other metrics. A coastline of zero indicates that the country is landlocked. The coastline paradox states that a coastline does not have a well-defined length. Measurements of the length of a coastline behave like a fractal, being different at different scale intervals (distance between points on the coastline at which measurements are taken). The smaller the scale interval (meaning the more detailed the measurement), the longer the coastline will be.[a] This magnifying effect is greater for convoluted coastlines than for relatively smooth ones. Data are from the CIA World Factbook[2][3] and the World Resources Institute.[1] Non-sovereign areas are listed in italics.
New York City Police Department. The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, municipal police departments in the United States.[8] The NYPD is headquartered at 1 Police Plaza, located on Park Row in Lower Manhattan near City Hall. The NYPDs regulations are compiled in title 38 of the New York City Rules. Dedicated units of the NYPD include the Emergency Service Unit, K-9, harbor patrol, highway patrol, air support, bomb squad, counterterrorism, criminal intelligence, anti-organized crime, narcotics, mounted patrol, public transportation, and public housing units. The NYPD employs over 40,000 people, including more than 30,000 uniformed officers as of September 2023.[9][10] According to the official CompStat database, the NYPD responded to nearly 500,000 reports of crime and made over 200,000 arrests during 2019.[11][12] In 2020, it had a budget of US$6 billion.[2] However, the NYPDs actual spending often exceeds its budget.[13] The NYPDs history has been colored by police brutality, corruption, and misconduct, which critics argue persists till the present day.[14][15][16] Due to its high-profile location in New York City, the largest city and media center in the U.S., fictionalized versions of the NYPD and its officers have frequently been portrayed in novels, radio, television, motion pictures, and video games.
Borders of the oceans. The borders of the oceans are the limits of Earths oceanic waters. The definition and number of oceans can vary depending on the adopted criteria. The principal divisions (in descending order of area) of the five oceans are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern (Antarctic) Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays, straits, and other terms. Geologically, an ocean is an area of oceanic crust covered by water. See also: List of seas on Earth for the seas included in each oceanic area. Though generally described as several separate oceans, the worlds oceanic waters constitute one global, interconnected body of salt water sometimes referred to as the World Ocean or Global Ocean.[1][2] This concept of a continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance to oceanography.[3]
History of criminal justice. Throughout the history of criminal justice, evolving forms of punishment, added rights for offenders and victims, and policing reforms have reflected changing customs, political ideals, and economic conditions. Primates often have notions of fairness and sharing, with violations punished by exclusion or banishment from social groups. In human history, prior to agriculture, more nomadic cultures had systems of punishment for behavior or resistance. With the development of agriculture, which led to more closely populated cities and cultures and behavior to address fears of persons taking advantage of or causing harm to others, more formal systems of punishment for crimes developed, independently around the world, or based upon other cultures, including those developed in the early Babylonian laws of Hammurabi and the Hammurabic Code. A police force called the shurta was an urban force for the suppression of crime that originated as a branch of the military. They were responsible for dealing with brigands and allegedly rebels as well as exercising judicial functions (often in rivalry with the qadi).[1] The muhtasib was responsible for enforcing laws on markets, Islamic morality and sumptuary laws for dhimmis.[2]
Medieval fortification. Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications changed warfare, and in turn were modified to suit new tactics, weapons and siege techniques. Towers of medieval castles were usually made of stone, wood or a combination of both (with a stone base supporting a wooden loft). Often toward the later part of the era they included battlements and arrow loops. Arrow loops were vertical slits in the wall through which archers inside shot arrows at the attackers, but made it extremely difficult for attackers to get many arrows back through at the defenders. Sieges were common during the Middle Ages and because of this many cities fortified their walls and castles to defend against the use of siege engines by their attackers1. Many cities utilized catapults that would hurl stones and other missiles at enemy siege engines and soldiers. The most commonly used catapult for defense was the trebuchet, a torsion powered catapult that dominated the Middle Ages both offensively and defensively. The trebuchet was known for its considerable force but required a longer loading time compared to other siege engines, sometimes taking up to an hour, which lead to some cities using catapults such as the mangonel and onager instead, which could put projectiles downrange much faster than the trebuchet. The trebuchet’s destructive force caused engineers to thicken walls, round out towers, and to redesign fortifications so that they could employ trebuchets for defense. The Ayyubids between 1196 and 1218 built towers mounted with massive trebuchets, which hypothetically would use their height advantage to take out opposing siege engines.[1] Ballistas were another type of catapult utilized as a defensive weapon, however they were not often used. This is because their missiles sometimes lacked the force to dismantle enemy siege engines and their immobility confined them to the top of a citys towers were they could easily be taken out by enemy catapults, including offensive ballistas which were usually employed for the very reason of dismantling defenses on the top of towers and keeping defenders off of a walls battlements. After the invention of cannons near the beginning of 12th century CE, many torsion powered catapults became largely obsolete and cannons became commonplace medieval siege engines by the 15th century. While mostly used for offensive purposes, the first recorded use of a cannon in Europe was to defend the city of Algeciras during the siege of 1343-44.[2] However slow to load, cannons proved to be devastating weapons that could level a citys walls or destroy siege engines with only a single projectile. An exact nature of the walls of a medieval town or city would depend on the resources available for building them, the nature of the terrain, and the perceived threat. In northern Europe, early in the period, walls were likely to have been constructed of wood and proofed against small forces. Especially where stone was readily available for building, the wood will have been replaced by stone to a higher or lower standard of security. This would have been the pattern of events in the Five Boroughs of the Danelaw in England. In many cases, the wall would have had an internal and an external pomoerium. This was a strip of clear ground immediately adjacent the wall. The word is from the late medieval, derived from the classical Latin post murum (behind the wall).
Bunkobon. In Japan, bunkobon (文庫本) are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and space-saving. The great majority of bunkobon are A6 (105×148mm or 4.1×5.8) in size.[1] They are sometimes illustrated and like other Japanese paperbacks usually have a dust wrapper over a plain cover. Modern bunkobon can include bestsellers and works of scholarship alike and their pocketbook size make them useful while commuting.[2] They are used for similar purposes as Western mass market paperbacks: generally for cheaper editions of books which have already been published as hardbacks.[3] However, they are typically printed on durable paper and durably bound, and some works are initially published in bunkobon format. Bunkobon take their name from the publisher Iwanami Shoten, which, in 1927, launched the Iwanami Bunko (Iwanami Library), a series of international works aimed to bring the classics of new and old, east and west to the broadest possible audience. The original Iwanami Bunko series is credited for transforming books in Japan into affordable, mass-market commodities.[1] The bunkobon format began to flourish during the late 1920s, following the development of printing technology able to mass-produce cheap books and magazines. During this period, the Japanese industry further developed the bunkobon format based on German Reclams Universal-Bibliothek book formats.[4]
Challenger Deep. The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. The GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names indicates that the feature is situated at 11°22.4′N 142°35.5′E / 11.3733°N 142.5917°E / 11.3733; 142.5917 and has an approximated maximum depth of 10,903 to 11,009 m (35,771 to 36,119 ft)[1] below sea level. A 2011 study placed the depth at 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft)[2] with a 2021 study revising the value to 10,935 ± 6 m (35,876 ± 20 ft) at a 95% confidence level.[3] The depression is named after the British Royal Navy survey ships HMS Challenger, whose expedition of 1872–1876 first located it, and HMS Challenger II, whose expedition of 1950–1952 established its record-setting depth.[4] The first descent by any vehicle was conducted by the United States Navy using the bathyscaphe Trieste in January 1960. As of July 2022[update], there were 27 people who have descended to the Challenger Deep. The Challenger Deep is a relatively small slot-shaped depression in the bottom of a considerably larger crescent-shaped oceanic trench, which itself is an unusually deep feature in the ocean floor. The Challenger Deep consists of three basins, each 6 to 10 km (3.7 to 6.2 mi) long, 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, and over 10,850 m (35,597 ft) in depth, oriented in echelon from west to east, separated by mounds between the basins 200 to 300 m (660 to 980 ft) higher. The three basins feature extends about 48 km (30 mi) west to east if measured at the 10,650 m (34,941 ft) isobath.[5] Both the western and eastern basins have recorded depths (by sonar bathymetry) in excess of 10,920 m (35,827 ft), while the center basin is slightly less deep.[6] The closest land to the Challenger Deep is Fais Island (one of the outer islands of Yap), 287 km (178 mi) southwest, and Guam, 304 km (189 mi) to the northeast.[7] Detailed sonar mapping of the western, center and eastern basins in June 2020 by the DSSV Pressure Drop combined with manned descents revealed that they undulate with slopes and piles of rocks above a bed of pelagic ooze. This conforms with the description of Challenger Deep as consisting of an elongated seabed section with distinct sub-basins or sediment-filled pools.[8]
Local Autonomy Act. The Local Autonomy Act (地方自治法, Chihō-jichi-hō), passed by the House of Representatives and the House of Peers on March 28, 1947[1] and promulgated as Law No. 67 of 1947 on April 17,[2][3] is an Act of devolution that established most of Japans contemporary local government structures and administrative divisions, including prefectures, municipalities[3] and other entities. On July 16, 1999, the law was amended to eliminate administrative functions imposed upon local governments by the central governments and to establish Committee for Settling National-Local Disputes.[4] The law and other relevant laws have been amended after the revision to promote decentralization.[5] The classification of local public entities (地方公共団体, chihō kōkyō dantai) (LPEs) are: Ordinary LPEs are the basic local governments. The distinction between ordinary and special LPEs is primarily relevant under the Constitution of Japan, which grants ordinary LPEs particular rights, including: Special LPEs do not have these authorities except as otherwise provided by statute. While special wards are regarded as basic local governments within Tokyo, other special LPEs are consortia of LPEs for specific fields such as schools, waterworks and waste management. LPEs are self-governing in many respects, but report indirectly to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in Tokyo, which monitors relations between LPEs, as well as relations between LPEs and the government. The Ministry generally approves all inter-prefectural special LPEs, while inter-municipal special LPEs are approved by prefectural governors.
Non-state actor. A non-state actor (NSA) is an individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state.[1] The interests, structure, and influence of NSAs vary widely. For example, among NSAs are non-profit organizations, labor unions, non-governmental organizations, banks, corporations, media organizations, business magnates, peoples liberation movements, lobby groups, religious groups, aid agencies, and violent non-state actors such as paramilitary forces. Some common and influential classes of NSAs are listed here in alphabetical order: The proliferation of non-state actors since the Cold War ended has been one of the factors leading to the Cobweb Paradigm in international politics.[5] Under this paradigm, the traditional Westphalian nation-state experiences an erosion of power and sovereignty, and non-state actors are part of the cause. Facilitated by globalization, NSAs challenge nation-state borders and sovereignty claims. MNCs are not always sympathetic to national interests but are loyal to the corporations interests instead. NSAs challenge the nation-states sovereignty over internal matters through advocacy for societal issues, such as human rights and the environment.[4] Armed non-state actors operate without state control and are involved in internal and trans-border conflicts. The activity of such groups in armed conflicts adds layers of complexity to traditional conflict management and resolution. The conflicts are often fought not only between non-state actors and states but also between multiple NSA groups. Interventions in such conflicts is particularly challenging since international law and the norms governing the use of force for intervention or peacekeeping purposes were written primarily in the context of the nation-state.
Battle of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg (locally /ˈɡɛtɪsbɜːrɡ/ ⓘ)[14] was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, is widely considered the Civil Wars turning point, leading to an ultimate victory of the Union and the preservation of the nation. The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of both the Civil War and of any battle in American military history, claiming over 50,000 combined casualties.[15] Union Major General George Meades Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lees invasion of the North and forcing his retreat.[fn 1][16] After his success in the Battle of Chancellorsville in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in May 1863, Lee led his Confederate forces through Shenandoah Valley to begin the Gettysburg Campaign, his second attempt to invade the North. With Lees army in high spirits, he intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged Northern Virginia in the hopes of penetrating as far as Harrisburg or Philadelphia, which he hoped would convince northern politicians to end the war. President Abraham Lincoln initially prodded Major General Joseph Hooker into pursuing Lee, then relieved him of command just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg commenced, replacing him with Meade. On July 1, 1863, as Lees forces moved on Gettysburg in the hopes of destroying the Union army, the two armies encountered each other, and the battle commenced. Low ridges to the northwest of Gettysburg were initially defended by a Union cavalry division under Brigadier General John Buford, soon reinforced by two corps of Union infantry. Two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, however, collapsing the hastily developed Union lines, leading them to retreat through the streets of Gettysburg to the hills just south of the city.[17] On the second day of battle, on July 2, the Union line was laid out in a defensive formation resembling a fishhook. In the late afternoon, Lee launched a heavy assault on the Unions left flank, leading to fierce fighting at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Devils Den, and the Peach Orchard. On the Unions right flank, Confederate demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on Culps Hill and Cemetery Hill. Despite incurring significant losses, Union forces held their lines. On the third day of battle, July 3, fighting resumed on Culps Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south of Gettysburg. Picketts Charge featured the main engagement, a Confederate infantry assault of approximately 12,000 Confederates troops, who attacked the center of the Union line at Cemetery Ridge, which was repelled by Union rifle and artillery fire, leading to great Confederate losses. The following day, on the Fourth of July, Lee led his Confederate troops on the torturous retreat from the North. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, the most in any battle in American history.
Imprint (trade name). An imprint of a publisher is a trade name under which it publishes a work. A single publishing company may have multiple imprints, often using the different names as brands to market works to various demographic consumer segments.[1] An imprint of a publisher is a trade name—a name that a business uses for trading commercial products or services—under which a work is published. Imprints typically have a defining character or mission. In some cases, the diversity results from the takeover of smaller publishers (or parts of their business) by a larger company. In the video game industry, some game companies operate various publishing labels. Electronic Arts (EA) 2008 CEO, John Riccitiello, stated that, with the establishing of Rockstar, Take-Two Interactive effectively invented the label corporate structure, which EA followed into in 2008.[2] This model has influenced rivals including Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, Electronic Arts from 2008 to 2018, Warner Bros. Interactive, Embracer Group, and Koei Tecmo. Take-Two have had such models in place since 1997–1998. Take-Two is seen as a game holding company with autonomous game publishing and development subsidiaries.[3][4] Independently-owned game publishers like Devolver Digital also use the word label to describe themselves.[citation needed] A single publishing company may have multiple imprints, with the different imprints often used by the publisher to market works to different demographic consumer segments. For example, the objective of Viking—an imprint of the Penguin Group—is [t]o publish a strictly limited list of good nonfiction, such as biography, history and works on contemporary affairs, and distinguished fiction with some claim to permanent importance rather than ephemeral popular interest.[5] This publishing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Loanword. A loanword is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing.[1][2] Borrowing is a metaphorical term that is well established in the linguistic field despite its acknowledged descriptive flaws: nothing is taken away from the donor language and there is no expectation of returning anything (i.e., the loanword).[3] Loanwords may be contrasted with calques, in which a word is borrowed into the recipient language by being directly translated from the donor language rather than being adopted in (an approximation of) its original form. They must also be distinguished from cognates, which are words in two or more related languages that are similar because they share an etymological origin in the ancestral language, rather than because one borrowed the word from the other. A loanword is distinguished from a calque (or loan translation), which is a word or phrase whose meaning or idiom is adopted from another language by word-for-word translation into existing words or word-forming roots of the recipient language.[4] Loanwords, in contrast, are not translated. Examples of loanwords in the English language include café (from French café, which means coffee), bazaar (from Persian bāzār, which means market), and kindergarten (from German Kindergarten, which literally means childrens garden). The word calque is a loanword, while the word loanword is a calque: calque comes from the French noun calque (tracing; imitation; close copy);[5] while the word loanword and the phrase loan translation are translated from German nouns Lehnwort[6] and Lehnübersetzung (German: [ˈleːnʔybɐˌzɛt͡sʊŋ] ⓘ).[7]
Indian Ocean. Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the worlds five oceanic divisions, covering 70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi) or approximately 20% of the water area of Earths surface.[4] It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica, depending on the definition in use.[5] The Indian Ocean has large marginal or regional seas, including the Andaman Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Laccadive Sea. Geologically, the Indian Ocean is the youngest of the oceans, and it has distinct features such as narrow continental shelves. Its average depth is 3,741 m. It is the warmest ocean, with a significant impact on global climate due to its interaction with the atmosphere. Its waters are affected by the Indian Ocean Walker circulation, resulting in unique oceanic currents and upwelling patterns. The Indian Ocean is ecologically diverse, with important ecosystems such as coral reefs, mangroves, and sea grass beds. It hosts a significant portion of the worlds tuna catch and is home to endangered marine species. The climate around the Indian Ocean is characterized by monsoons.
Times Square. Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent Duffy Square, Times Square is a bowtie-shaped plaza five blocks long between 42nd and 47th Streets.[2] Times Square is brightly lit by numerous digital billboards and advertisements as well as businesses offering 24/7 service. One of the worlds busiest pedestrian intersections,[3] it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District[4] and a major center of the worlds entertainment industry.[5] Times Square is one of the worlds most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually.[6] Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily,[7] many of them tourists,[8] while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days.[2] The Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal stations have consistently ranked as the busiest in the New York City Subway system, transporting more than 200,000 passengers daily.[9] Formerly known as Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the then newly erected Times Building, now One Times Square.[10] It is the site of the annual New Years Eve ball drop, which began on December 31, 1907, and continues to attract over a million visitors to Times Square every year,[11] in addition to a worldwide audience of one billion or more on various digital media platforms.[12] Times Square, specifically the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street, is the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States for motorized vehicles.[13] Times Square is sometimes referred to as the Crossroads of the World,[14] the Center of the Universe,[15] and the heart of the Great White Way.[16][17][18]
Atsugi. Atsugi (厚木市, Atsugi-shi) is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 June 2021[update], the city had an estimated population of 223,960 and a population density of 2400 persons per km2.[1] The total area of the city is 93.83 square kilometres (36.23 sq mi). While the name Atsugi is often associated with the United States Navy base named Naval Air Facility Atsugi, the base is actually not in Atsugi, but straddles the border between the nearby cities of Ayase and Yamato. Atsugi is located in the hilly center of Kanagawa Prefecture, approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) from central Tokyo or 30 kilometres (19 mi) from central Yokohama. It is located at the northern end of the Sagami Plain created by the Sagami River, which originates from Lake Yamanaka, and straddles the Tanzawa Mountains in the west and the plain on the west bank of the Sagami River to the southeast. The Nakatsu River and Koayu River, which originate from the Higashitanzawa Mountains, join the Sagami River, which forms the border with Ebina, Zama, and Sagamihara. Parts of the western portion of the city are within the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park and include Mount Ōyama. Kanagawa Prefecture Atsugi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Atsugi is 13.4 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1906 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 24.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around 2.3 °C.[2] Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Atsugi grew rapidly during the late 20th century and has plateaued in the 21st.

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