AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
The story would eventually have worldwide ramifications, for in a footnote, Patrick revealed he had written to Australia's Attorney General, Robert McClelland MP, requesting Watson not be deported to Alabama, because of the risk he faced from the death penalty in that state and because he had already been tried in the Australian State of Queensland, with a comprehensive review by the Queensland Court of Appeal. This brought an instant response from an Alabama police web site, questioning the link between the journalist and Mr. Watson.
On December 15, 2010, Watson appeared before Judge Tommy Nail in the 10th Judicial Circuit, Jefferson County, Alabama and requested bail.
The courtroom was packed with his friends and relatives, both Australian and U.S. media with a smaller showing from Tina's family.
Don Valeska Alabama's assistant attorney general, told the judge the basis of the Grand Jury indictment of Gabe Watson was evidence from Tommy Thomas that Gabe Watson had murdered Tina Watson for insurance money.
In often heated argument, Judge Nail said that motive could not be substituted for evidence. He asked what hard evidence the State had against Watson. Mr Valeska replied that the question of motive was a question for the jury.
After an hour-long hearing, Watson was granted bail with a bond of $100,000. He had to wear a monitoring radio bracelet, surrender his passport, not leave Alabama, and remain indoors at his home from sundown to sunup during the bail.
On hearing that bail was to be granted, those in the courtroom rose and cheered, causing Judge Nail to respond with the words, "Sit-down, sit-down; this is not a spectator sport."
On January 31, 2011, Gabe Watson appeared in Judge Nail's court to formally answer two charges: firstly, that he had kidnapped Tina and taken her to Australia with the intention of murdering her, and secondly, that he had then murdered her while Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
He pleaded "Not Guilty" to both charges.
The trial date was set for 23 May 2011 (later changed to 13 February 2012 due to security concerns). Mr Valeska told Judge Nail that important witnesses were to be flown in from Australia. He then added that a previous witness Mr David Glasgow, the Queensland Magistrate who was the Australian official responsible for Gabe's indictment of murder in Australia, would not now be called. No reason was given as to the reason why the State had changed its mind on calling Mr Glasgow. The arraignment lasted just fourteen minutes.
On February 23, 2012, the case against David Gabriel "Gabe" Watson was dismissed by Judge Tommy Nail in a Birmingham, Alabama County Court. The Judge found the State's case lacked credibility and said, "It just doesn't make any sense quite frankly."
In concluding his findings, His Honor determined, "There is no evidence to suggest that he [Gabe] intended to kill her and he hatched it here and carried it out there. I'm going to grant this defendant's motion. Case dismissed."
Watson was never at risk of facing the death penalty as both the U.S. Government and the State of Alabama had given undertakings to the Australian Government, he would not be executed. He faced a mandatory life sentence, if found guilty.
On 25 August 2012, The Lifetime Movie Network ran a cable TV movie titled, ""Fatal Honeymoon"".
It was billed by the Network as a movie, based on the true-story murder allegations that Gabe Watson had kidnapped then murdered his new wife, Tina Watson, during their scuba-diving trip to Australia in 2003. It stars Billy Miller as Gabe Watson and Aussie Amber Clayton as Tina, with Harvey Keitel in a supporting role as the father of the dead bride. Well-known Aussie actor, Gary Sweet plays tough Queensland cop Detective Campbell, as the lead Australian investigator.
The screenplay follows much of the work of Lindsay Simpson and Jennifer Cooke, published in their book, "Honeymoon Dive", and seems based on this title. While this work remains the most comprehensive attempt to review the death of Tina Watson, current events since publication have largely overtaken the Simpson/Cooke account of the fatality.
"Fatal Honeymoon" was directed by Nadia Tass. The screenwriters were Mac Gudgeon and Teena Booth.
Geoff Berkshire, writing for Variety TV Reviews says of the screenplay, "There's no sense that these stick figures trapped in a by-the-numbers melodrama could be real people swept up in tragic circumstances...Tech credits are in line with low-budget telepic standards."
Similarly, Jill O'Rourke in a review on the website "Crushable", describes "Fatal Honeymoon" as a show, underscoring Lifetime's skill at "making men look irredeemably evil and women look like clueless victims".
City of Wakefield
The City of Wakefield is in West Yorkshire, England. As well as Wakefield there are five other medium-sized towns - Normanton, Pontefract, Featherstone, Castleford and Knottingley - and some smaller towns in the City area. Most people who live in those towns will tell other people that they live in those towns, instead of telling them that they live in Wakefield. The City of Wakefield has a population of about 320,000 people.
There is a mulberry tree in the exercise yard of the Wakefield Prison. It is believed that the prisoners made up the song "Here we go round the mulberry bush" as they walked around and around the tree.
Io (moon)
Io is a moon of the planet Jupiter. It is Jupiter's third biggest moon with a diameter of 3642 km, being slightly bigger than Earth's moon. Io has about 400 active volcanos.
Io is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Volcanoes erupt massive volumes of silicate lava, sulphur and sulphur dioxide, constantly changing Io's appearance. This new basemap of Jupiter's moon Io was produced by combining the best images from both the Voyager 1 and Galileo Missions. Although the subjovian hemisphere of Io was poorly seen by Galileo, superbly detailed Voyager 1 images cover longitudes from 240 W to 40 W and the nearby southern latitudes.
Due to the same tidal locking that makes the Moon have the same side always facing Earth, Io always has the same side facing Jupiter. Unlike most celestial bodies, Io is a prolate spheroid, pulled out of round by tidal stress from Jupiter’s gravity.
Cormorants are a family of seabirds. There are about 40 different species of Cormorants. In some areas, they are also known as shags.
Cormorants range in size from as little as 45 cm (18 in) and 340 g (12 oz) to a maximum size 100 cm (40 in) and 5 kg (11 lbs). Most cormorants, including nearly all northern hemisphere species, have mainly dark feathers. Some southern hemisphere species are black and white. A few species are very colorful. Many species have areas of colored skin on the face. These areas can be bright blue, orange, red or yellow. They usually become more brightly colored in the breeding season. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet have webbing between all four toes.
Cormorants can dive for 4 minutes looking for food.
Cormorants breed on rocky headlands and islands as well as near inland lakes, marshes and reservoirs. The birds spend the winter on coasts, estuaries, rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France. It took place from 1 to 23 July 2006. The winner was Óscar Pereiro. Floyd Landis was the first person to finish the race, but was disqualified on 20 September 2007 for taking the drug testosterone during the 17th stage of the race.
The Tour began in Strasbourg, on the French-German border. It ended Sunday 23 July in Paris. The distance of the race was 3657 km (2272 mi). The race was the third fastest in average speed. Along the way, the cyclists passed through six different countries including France, The Netherlands (a stop at Valkenburg in Stage 3), Belgium (at Huy, Stages 3 and 4), Luxembourg (at Esch-sur-Alzette, Stages 2 and 3), Germany (though not stopping there, Stage 1) and Spain (Pla-de-Beret, Stage 11). For the first time since the 1999 race, there was no team time trial.
One day before the start of the Tour, there was a doping scandal. 13 racers were removed from the Tour, because it was believed that they were getting drugs from a doctor named Fuentes. Two of the 13 riders were the expected to do well in the race. They were Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso.
Beth Phoenix
Elizabeth Carolan (born November 24, 1980) better known by her ring name Beth Phoenix, is an American professional wrestler. She currently works for WWE, wrestling on its Raw brand.
Phoenix is a former 3-time WWE Women's Champion and won a Slammy Award in 2008 for "Diva of the Year". She is the actual WWE Divas Champion, she defeated to Kelly Kelly with her "Glam Slam" at Hell in a Cell 2011.
Cartridge (firearms)
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region). Most of the city of Hong Kong was built on the island. Hong Kong Island is in size.
In 2008, 1,289,500 people lived on Hong Kong Island (16,390 people per square kilometre). Years ago, when the British first took over Hong Kong Island, 3,000 people were living there in fishing villages. China officially gave the island to the United Kingdom in 1842. The British built a city on it, which they called the city of Victoria.
The northern part of the island has the southern shore of Victoria Harbour. This area is the historical, political, and economic centre of Hong Kong. The northern part of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon form the central urban area of Hong Kong. The island also includes the area of Aberdeen.
There are many famous places on the island, like Victoria Peak and Ocean Park. There are places that are important to history and large shopping centres. People like to hike on the mountains around the island.
Communist Party of China
From 1943-82 the most powerful position in the party was Chairman. In 1982, members of the Central Committee voted to name the leader of the party General Secretary again. The current General Secretary is Xi Jinping.
The CPC tries to keep good relationships(how good or bad they feel with each other) with other communist parties. Other communist parties also send people to have meets with the CPC. For example, the chairman of Portuguese Communist Party, Jeronimo de Sousa, met with Liu Qibao, a member of the Central Politburo in 2007. For another example, Pierre Laurent, the National Secretary of the French Communist Party (FCP), met with Liu Yunshan, a Politburo Standing Committee member.
Also, the CPC gives help to the communist party of Cuba in a wide range and a deep degree. After the disintegration of the USSR (USSR was not a whole country anymore), the CPC became the only major helpers of Cuba.
Communism had fallen in the Western Europe. The CPC began to make good party-to-party relations with other non-communist parties. The CPC also used this way to learn.
The relationships between the CPC and the Kuomintang and other parties in Taiwan, has loosened since Jiang Zemin’s time.
Tatar language
The Tatar language is a Turkic language that is spoken by the Tatar people, and is the official language of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia.
Like many other Turkic languages, different alphabets are used to write the Tatar language.
In Russia, the Tatar alphabet is Cyrillic by a federal government law passed in 2002. It has 39 letters, of which 33 are the same as in Russian. The other 6 (and their positions in the alphabet) are:
In 2001, the government of the Republic of Tatarstan created a Latin alphabet for the Tatar language called "Zamanälif". But the next year, the federal government did not allow it to be made official. The "Zamanälif" alphabet has these 35 letters:
A, Ä, B, C, Ç, D, E, F, G, Ğ, H, I, İ, Í, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, O, Ö, P, Q, R, S, Ş, T, U, Ü, V, W, X, Y, Z
There was another Latin alphabet for Tatar called "Yañalif". It was used from 1928 to 1940, when it was replaced with Cyrillic by a Soviet law.
There have been two Arabic alphabets used to write Tatar: "İske imlâ" and "Yaña imlâ". "İske imlâ" is the older of the two and was used until 1920, when it was changed to become "Yaña imlâ" and remained in use until it was replaced by the Latin "Yañalif" alphabet. However, Tatars in China still use "İske imlâ".
Since 2012, it is possible for people and organizations to write to the Tatarstan government in either the Latin or Arabic scripts, but the government has to answer in Cyrillic.
The House Medici (pronounced med-ee-chee) or Medici family was a very important family in Florence, Italy from the year 1300 to about 1600. They were the richest family in Europe for many years. Many leaders of Florence during the Renaissance were Medicis. The Medicis were important because they ran many banks, including the most important bank in Europe. They were so powerful they became like a royal family. 4 popes of the Catholic Church were from the Medici. Their names were Pope Leo X (the 10th), Pope Clement VII(the 7th), Pope Pius IV (the 4th), and Pope Leo XI (the 11th) 2 Queens of France were from the medici- Catherine de’ Medici and Marie de’ Medici.The heir to the Tuscan throne was traditionally known as the Grand Prince.
The family ruled the state with the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Giovanni Bicep de' Medici, (1360-1429), was the first important member of the family. He invested his money very wisely and became rich. He and his son, Cosmo de' Medici, (1389-1464), began the Medici Banking Company, which did so well that they soon had branches of the bank in large cities all over Europe, including London and Paris. Giovanni Bicep and Cosmo were the richest men in Europe, and their family was politically the most powerful in Florence.
Florence already had an industry, the cloth industry. Florentine merchants (traders) traded with Lombard traders from the north of Italy. They bought English wool and Chinese silk to be woven into the most magnificent cloth in Europe at the riverside factories of Florence. Florence was perfectly sited for making cloth. A lot of water is needed to make cloth. Other towns nearby are high on the tops of hills, but Florence is in a wide valley, with the broad Arno River flowing through it. There was a harbor on the coast near Pisa. The Pisans were not very friendly towards Florence, so Florence took them over. Then the rich traders of Florence could have their own ships and did not have to worry about the Lombard traders who brought their goods across Europe and over the mountains on the backs of donkeys.
Cosimo de' Medici was a patriot and a patron. He was a "patriot" because he acted like a father to his city. He became part of the town council. They were a group of men called the "signorina" (the seniors or elders). Cosimo made laws that adjusted the taxes. Some of the rich people did not like this at all and left the city, making Cosimo more powerful. He took good care of industry, of trade and of farming, because Florence needed all these things. He particularly needed the loyalty of all the farms and villages, because a city in a valley is easy for an army to attack. Cosimo built public buildings and when he had a palace built for himself, he had long stone seats built along the walls for the poor and the elderly to sit on.
He was a patron because he supported the church, and lots of writers, artists, architects and students. He founded a "Platonic Academy" where students could study the works of Ancient Greek writers and talk about politics, religion and new ideas. The head of the Academy was a philosopher called Marsillio Ficino. Cosimo encouraged architects to design buildings in the style of Ancient Rome. He collected a huge library of books and gave them to the monastery of San Lorenzo to be used by students. When he wanted some quiet time, he went to friary, (which is like a monastery), Sant Marco's, where he encouraged one of the "brothers", Fra Angelico, to paint beautiful sacred pictures.
After the death of Cosimo, his grandson Lorenzo de' Medici became even more famous. He was called Lorenzo il Magnifico (the Magnificent). It was during the time of Lorenzo that some of the most famous artists in world history were alive in Florence, and worked for the Medici:- Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Giordano Bruno (January 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian friar of the Dominican Order. He was also a philosopher and mathematician. He is best known for believing in the infinity of the universe. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model.
Bruno thought the Sun was just one of an infinite number of independently moving heavenly bodies. He is the first man to have thought the stars we see at night are identical in nature to the Sun. For publishing beliefs contrary to Roman Catholic dogma about transubstantiation, trinity and other matters, he was burnt at the stake as a heretic by the Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church.
Bruno also wrote extensive works on the art of memory, a loosely organized group of mnemonic techniques and principles.
The Catholic Church made the following accusations against Bruno:
Bruno did accept and promote Copernicus' idea that the Earth revolves round the Sun. Many believe this was one of main reasons for his downfall; others think his theological beliefs were more critical. In 1584 he published two dialogues which argued for his idea on astronomy. Eight years later he was arrested, and his trial took another eight years. His accusers demanded complete recantation of all his 'erroneous' beliefs. He refused, and went to his death. Later the Inquisition used his example to terrify Galileo into withdrawing his works from publication.
Wheel of Fortune (US game show)
Wheel of Fortune is a game show on television. It was created by Merv Griffin in 1975. It was first hosted by Chuck Woolery from 1975 until 1981. Pat Sajak has been hosting the show since 1981 and Susan Stafford and Vanna White replaced in 1982. The show has been aired in syndicated format since 1983. The show is currently in its 38th season on September 14, 2020.
Three contestants compete. The game combines the game of hangman with a prize wheel. At the beginning of the show, there is a $1,000 Toss-Up puzzle. During a Toss-Up puzzle, one letter at a time appears on the board. Contestants can ring in to solve the puzzle before the last letter is revealed. An incorrect solution locks out that contestant for the rest of that Toss-Up. New it Call Triple Toss Up on September 9 2019 Same $2,000 in September 2020 New Thing in Toss Up & Triple Toss Up in Season 37/Season 38
Next, a second Toss-Up is worth $2,000 and determines who starts round one. There are 24 spaces on the wheel. A contestant who lands on a cash space is credited with that amount multiplied by how many of a particular letter is in the puzzle. A contestant can buy a vowel for $250. A, E, I, O, and U are the 5 Vowels.
Any contestant who lands on Lose a Turn loses his or her turn but not the winnings they have earned during the round. Landing on Free Spin space means they must guess a letter in the puzzle to earn it. If a contestant lands on Bankrupt, he or she will lose all of his or her winnings they have earned during the current round as well as a Wild Card, or any prizes they have at that point, plus loss of turn (unless they possess the Free Spin). The Wild Card is used to call for another consonant while the wheel is still on the cash space a contestant landed on. Also on the wheel are two "1/2 Car" tags. If a contestant wins a round with both tags, they win a car. Both tokens offer $500 per letter if claimed. There is also a prize wedge and a Gift Tag. The prize wedge is a prize announced before the first round. To win it, a contestant has to land on the wedge, call a correct letter, and solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt. The Gift Tag is $1,000 credit for purchases from a company. Both tokens offer $500 per letter if claimed. In the first three rounds, there is a special $1,000,000 wedge that, if claimed and brought to the bonus round, allows the contestant a chance to play for $1,000,000 in the bonus round. If a contestant lands on Free Play, the contestant can do anything without any risk. They can buy a vowel even if they have no money. If they do have money, the vowel is free. If they call a letter that is not in the puzzle, they don't lose their turn. They can even choose to solve the puzzle, and if they're wrong, they don't lose their turn. A consonant on the Free Play is worth $500. The top dollar value on the wheel is $2,500 in round one, $3,500 in the second and third rounds, and $5,000 from the fourth round on.
In round two, two mystery wedges are added to the wheel. One hides $10,000 and the other hides a Bankrupt. A contestant who lands on a mystery wedge calls for a letter. He or she may take $1,000 per letter occurrence or turn over the wedge. The $10K is a cash prize, and it can only be won if the person who has it solves the puzzle without landing on Bankrupt. If one wedge was turned over, the other acts as a regular $1,000 space and cannot be turned over. Round three is the Prize Puzzle round. The contestant who solves the puzzle wins a prize. Also in round three is an Express wedge. If a contestant lands on this wedge and calls a correct letter, they can continue playing the game like normal, or choose to play for $1,000 per letter without spinning. If a contestant chooses to play for $1,000 per letter without spinning and calls a wrong letter, or takes too long to call a letter, it will count as a Bankrupt.
Starting in Season 37, there is a Triple Toss-Up, in which there are three consecutive puzzles worth $2,000 apiece and under the same category. The third puzzle determines who starts Round 4. When time runs short, a bell sounds. The host spins the wheel. Remaining consonants are worth $1,000 plus the value in front of the left-most contestant. The contestants take turns calling for letters. A vowel can be called at no cost. Then, the contestant in control has three seconds to solve
The contestant with the most cash at the end of the game advances to the bonus round. If the game ends in a tie, another toss-up puzzle is played to determine who goes to the bonus round. The contestant who wins the game gets to pick from one of three categories for the bonus round, starting in Season 35. The contestant spins the bonus wheel, which has 24 prizes, just like the main wheel. The category is announced. A bonus puzzle is revealed. The contestant is given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. In the early 1970s and on the 1988 Present Season 6, the contestant then calls for three more consonants and a vowel. If a contestant has a Wild Card in the bonus round, a fourth consonant is called. Then, the contestant has 10 seconds to solve the puzzle. If the puzzle is solved, the contestant wins the prize that they landed on. If they don't, then the board shows the correct answer. The host then shows the prize in the envelope regardless of the result. Prizes include cash amounts ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 in $5,000 amounts, again, prior to season 35, a car with $5,000 cash, and a top prize of $100,000. If the Million Dollar Wedge is bought to the bonus round, the $100,000 envelope is replaced with a $1,000,000 one.
Shalom (שלום) is a Hebrew word which means "peace". It is also used as a method of greeting like "hello" and "goodbye".
Similar to its use in English, it can mean peace between two persons or entities. It also means inner peace, being calm or the quietness of a person, well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group.
The root of the word "shalom" can be related to ""shalem"" which means "wholeness", or to "le-shalem" which means "to complete, to reward, to pay, to compensate". This means that it is more than the absence of conflict or struggle or the breaking of unfriendliness: It also means a return to the balance, to justice, and to the complete equality.
In general, one uses the word "shalom" as the short form of the sentence "Shalom Aleichem" (exactly "Peace is with you") that can be translated as "good day (morning, afternoon, high noon...)" (a greeting). This is very similar to the Arabic phrase "Salam Alaykum" (سلام عليكم) which is again a greeting meaning "Peace be with you".
Villa Gordiani
Villa Gordiani is a park situated in Rome. Several Roman ruins,some of them still well preserved, are scattered throughout the park.
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement in the 17th century on the east coast of North America. The colony was later called New England and what is now the cities of Salem and Boston. The Bay Colony also included what is now known as the States of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
John Winthrop, the founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, continued to work on the colony, and improve it any possible way. He knew that the Church of England was bad, so he decided to improve it at the New World; either colonizing the natives or getting rid of them.
There were two companies who brought settlers in the New World. The first company was the Dorchester Company but was a failure. The second company was in 1628 and called the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This was successful and brought approximately 20,000 people to the Colony.
At first the colonists had a good friendship with the Native Americans but as more Europeans moved to these areas there were problems over land borders. The Native Americans also had many different customs. These differences led first to the Pequot War (1636–1638), and then to King Philip's War (1675–1676). After these wars, the Native Americans became peaceful and others moved to different places.
The colony was doing well and made money trading with England. They also traded with the West Indies. In 1686 there was a civil war in England. King James II wanted to have total control over the colonies. After the war, the colonies remained the same until 1692. Then Sir William Phips arrived and Massachusetts Bay and the Plymouth Colony were combined. The colonists helped in the running of the government and how it would spend its money.
From the earliest times many Native American lived in this area. They farmed and hunted within their own land borders and did not cross each other's land. Early in the 1600s, explorers, Samuel de Champlain and John Smith made a map of the area.
Living in the New World was very hard work for the first settlers. Many became ill and died though the cold winter. There was not enough food, and the rest of the people decided to return to England after one year. For awhile there was no more talk of settling people in those parts. English ships did still come to the New England area for fishing and trading with the Indians.
In November 1620, a group of Europeans arrived and started Plymouth Colony. Other settlements were tried near there but they failed and the people either joined the Plymouth Colony, returned to England, or lived nearby the Colony.
The people of Plymouth faced many problems during the first years and could not pay back their investors. In 1627 the companies left the colonists to take care of themselves. Edward Winslow and William Bradford, two of its leaders, wrote about the "Mayflower" and the colony they created, called Plymouth Colony. It was published in England in 1622 called "Mourt's Relation". The two men have different opinions but it was written to encourage people to come to the New World to live.
About a Girl (TV series)
About a Girl is a Canadian comedy television series, which was first shown on October 5, 2007 on The N in the United States, and Global in Canada. It is the first scripted comedy for The N. On February 25, 2008, actor Sandy Robson announced that the show was getting cancelled. The show ended with 13 episodes in one season.
The series centers around Amy, a young college co-ed who moves in an apartment off campus with four guys, when she finds out her dorm room is a uninhabitable sty. Her new roommates are wild, unpredictable, and...kind of hot.
Number line
A number line is a line with integers (simply ordinary numbers, ...-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3...) on it extending forever in both directions. Usually, zero (0) is placed in the middle of the line. The numbers have an equal space from each other. Other numbers in between the numbers on the line represent rational, irrational, and other types of real numbers.
There is another number line, equally valid and useful, that extends vertically through 0 (the origin) at right angles to our traditional number line and uses imaginary numbers ("i"). These so-called imaginary numbers extend above and below the traditional number line and are used in very real calculations in many areas of science and technology and also extend in both directions forever (into infinity).
A number line is usually drawn as a simple horizontal line. Another form is the helical number line. If the line of numbers is wrapped around a cylinder following an upward helical path, it becomes a helical number line.
If the circumference of the cylinder is equal to the length occupied by ten numbers on the number line, it then becomes a decimal helical number line, and the numbers arrange themselves into columns, each number in a particular column having the same number ending.
Tunicate
Tunicates (sea squirts or Urochordata) are a subphylum of the Chordates.
They are sea filter-feeders: they live mainly on plankton. They are called tunicates because the adult form is covered by a leathery tunic. This tunic supports and protects the animal. The adults are sessile, stuck to rocks.
Many tunicates are colonial or semi-colonial in their adult stage. They are quite a large group, containing about 3,000 species. The adults live mostly on the sea floor, in the littoral zone.
The sea squirt has two openings in its small body. One opening, called the "oral siphon", sucks water into the animal; the other opening, called the "atrial siphon", squirts water out of the animal. Inside is a little basket-like sieve which traps food: so these sea squirts are filter feeders. The Sea squirt can close the holes in its siphons, like a drawstring can close the opening in a bag.
When in its larval state, it looks like a tadpole and is sometimes called a "tadpole larva". Like many sea creatures, a sea squirt larva looks very different from an adult sea squirt. The larva swims for a short time and then attaches itself to something on the sea floor, like a rock, transforming into its adult form. It usually stays in one place for the rest of its life.
Tunicates are more closely related to craniates (hagfish, lampreys, jawed vertebrates) than to lancelets, echinoderms, hemichordates, or other invertebrates.
Chemical substances which might help fight diseases like cancer or various viruses have been found in some species.
Scientists have also found out that some species can heal some damage done to them, over several generations. A similar process might be possible for humans.
Zheng He
Zheng He or Ma He (Chinese 郑和; 1371–1433) was an explorer, diplomat, and admiral from China. He lived during the Ming Dynasty. Zheng He was the leader of a very large fleet of ships that traveled all over the Indian Ocean and Southwest Asia. Zheng He was an eunuch of China's Imperial Court. The fleet that Zheng He commanded had 317 ships that were very large. 28,000 Chinese soldiers were on board these ships.
Zheng He was born in Kunyang, a village in Yunnan. He was born with the name Ma He (Chinese 马三宝). He and his family were Muslim. At the time, Yunnan was ruled by Mongols. In 1381, however, a Ming army invaded and took control of the area.
Ma He was taken as a prisoner by the Ming armies. He was about 10 years old. He was castrated and then taken away to serve the Prince, Zhu Di (the future emperor). Ma He became a servant at the Imperial Court. The name Zheng He was given to him by the Prince. He also came to be called "Sanbao", a reference to the Three Jewels of Buddhism.
From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He went on seven journeys to the Indian Ocean, or what the Chinese people called the "Western Ocean". He was the leader of a large fleet of ships and a big army.
In his first three journeys he visited the countries of Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka. In his fourth to seventh journeys he went as far as the east African coast. In his journeys he gave the countries he visited gifts of silk, porcelain, gunpowder and other goods. He got lots of unusual gifts as well, including giraffes and zebras.
He had his first journey from 1405–1407, but it is not known why the journey was made. He travelled from the mouth of the Yangtze River to Vietnam, as well as the south of India. His fleet was made up of 317 ships, more than 27,000 men, and the cargo included porcelain, silk, and lacquerware. He used a treasure fleet which is known as the largest wooden ships ever built, being long, and about wide. On his first voyage, he defeated a famous pirate in the Strait of Malacca.
For the next 28 years, Zheng He traveled on six more voyages. From 1407–1409, he visited Calicut, Thailand and Java. From 1409–1411, he saw Ayutthaya, Malaya, Sumatra and Sri Lanka. From 1413–1415, he went to Sri Lanka, Bengal, India, Hormuz, Arabia and Aden. On his fifth journey, from 1417–1419, he visited the Ryukyu Islands, Brunei, and east Africa. Then from 1421–1422, he expanded on his fifth journey. His final journey, from 1433–1435, he revisited many of the previous places and brought back gifts from many rulers.
Zheng He visited over 30 countries, and is believed to have died in 1433 on the journey home during the final treasure fleet voyage. After Zheng He died at sea in 1433, his treasure fleet quickly faded, even though his voyages had been a success. Less than 100 years after his death, all of the ships from China were destroyed.
List of elements
This page shows a list of all 118 chemical elements that have been identified.
Georg Büchner Prize
The Georg Büchner Prize (German: Georg-Büchner-Preis) is the most important literary prize of Germany. It was created in 1923 in memory of German writer Georg Büchner and was only given to artists who came from or were closely tied to Büchner's home of Hesse.
In 1951, the prize changed to a general literary prize, given yearly by the "Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung". It goes to German language authors, and the annual speech by the recipient takes place in Darmstadt. Since 2002, the prize has been endowed with 40,000 Euros.
Brigham Young University Hawaii
Brigham Young University Hawaii, or "BYU-Hawaii" for short, is an undergraduate university that educates 2,400 students from Asia, the Pacific islands, the United States, and other parts of the world.
The campus is in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was founded in 1955 by the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - David O. McKay.
Australopithecus africanus
Austalopithecus africanus was first discovered by Raymond Dart in 1925. He found a well-preserved skull of a young australopithecine, three to four years old. This skull is often called the Taung Child, after Taung, South Africa where it was found. It is perhaps the most complete skull of "A. africanus" known. Based on current data "A. africanus" dates to between 3.03 and 2.04 million years ago.
"Australopithecus africanus" had a dish shaped facial structure with teeth that were large compared to modern humans. While it had larger front teeth compared to the back, the emphasis was on back tooth grinding. Males had a sagital crest on the tops of their skulls. Large muscles were attached to this ridge that helped to support the heavy jaw.
Australopithecus
Australopithecus is a genus of extinct hominids closely related to humans.
The first "Australopithecus" described was the Taung Child, discovered by Raymond Dart, and described in 1925.
Their remains are mostly found in East Africa, and the first fossil is from 3.9 million years ago (mya). The split from other apes would have taken place earlier, perhaps about 5 mya.
It is widely believed that the group of which they are part gave rise to the genus "Homo", and hence to human beings.
The genus "Australopithecus" originally included two rather different forms. One form was lightweight: the gracile australopithecines. The other form was bulkier, the robust australopithecines.
It is still under discussion whether they should be put in separate genera. Here we treat the gracile forms; the robust forms are described elsewhere as "Paranthropus".
Gracile australopithecines shared several traits with modern apes and humans. They were widespread throughout Eastern and Northern Africa 3.9 to 3 million years ago.
The brains of most species of "Australopithecus" were roughly 35% of the size of that of a modern human brain. This is not much more than the brain of a chimpanzee. Brain size in hominins does not increase significantly until the arrival of the genus "Homo".
The Taung specimen had short canine teeth, and the position of the foramen magnum was evidence of bipedal locomotion.
Most species of "Australopithecus" were diminutive and gracile, usually standing between 1.2 and 1.4 m tall (approx. 4 to 4.5 feet). There is a considerable degree of sexual dimorphism. Modern hominids do not show sexual dimorphism to the same degree — particularly, modern humans display a low degree of sexual dimorphism, with males being only 15% larger (taller, heavier) than females, on average.
In "Australopithecus", however, males can be up to 50% larger than females, though usually less pronounced than this.
The skeleton, the fossil footprints found at Laetoli, Tanzania, the canine teeth and the foramen magnum all show that these apes had achieved bipedalism.
"Australopithecus africanus" used to be regarded as ancestral to the genus "Homo" (in particular "Homo erectus").
However, fossils assigned to the genus "Homo" have been found that are older than "A. africanus". Thus, the genus "Homo" either split off from the genus "Australopithecus" at an earlier date (the latest common ancestor being "A. afarensis" or an even earlier form, possibly "Kenyanthropus platyops"), or both developed from a common ancestor independently.
According to the Chimpanzee Genome Project, both human ("Ardipithecus", "Australopithecus" and "Homo") and chimpanzee ("Pan troglodytes" and "Pan paniscus") lineages diverged from a common ancestor about 5 to 6 million years ago, if we assume a constant rate of evolution.
However, hominins discovered more recently are somewhat older than the molecular clock would suggest. "Sahelanthropus tchadensis", commonly called ""Toumai"" is about 7 million years old and "Orrorin tugenensis" lived at least 6 million years ago. Since little is known of them, they remain controversial because the molecular clock in humans has determined that humans and chimpanzees had an evolutionary split at least a million years later.
One theory suggests that the human and chimpanzee lineages diverged somewhat at first, then some populations interbred around one million years after diverging. More likely, the assumptions behind molecular clocks do not hold exactly. The key assumption behind the technique is that, in the long run, changes in molecular structure happen at a steady rate.
Researchers such as Ayala have challenged this assumption.
Homo is a genus of upright primates that walk on two legs, with the only living species being "Homo sapiens" (Humans).
The genus began about 2.3 million years ago. Their ancestors were almost certainly some line of Australopithecine apes.
The physical characteristics of these species are larger brain (above 900ml), and various changes to the skeleton which improve walking and running ability. As the process continues, the forehead becomes more vertical, the skull becomes rounder, the teeth are reduced in size, arms are shorter and legs are longer, and the skeleton becomes more delicate. All species used stone tools, but there is no evidence of when language developed. Human evolution is a much studied topic.
Poverty in India
Poverty in India is an important issue. India has some of the poorest people in the world.
The Government of India says that the poverty line for rural areas is ₹ 816 per month and ₹ 1000 per month in urban areas. This means that many people do not have enough money. India's proposed but not yet adopted official poverty line is ₹972 (US$14) a month in rural areas or ₹1,407 (US$21) a month in cities.
In India, the average calorie requirement of an average man is 2400 calories per day in Rural area and 2100 calories per day in Urban area.
In 2012, the latest report by the Planning Commission of India (Tendulkar Committee) reported that 26% of all people in India fall below the international poverty line of US$1.25 per day. Over the last decade, poverty has been witnessed a consistent decline with the levels dropping from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10. The number of poor people is now estimated at 250 million.
In 1947 the average income in India was similar to South Korea. South Korea became a developed country by the 2000s, but India did not.
For the first 40 years, India followed the Soviet-style economic planning, nationalization programs and government ownership of industry. Its economic growth averaged about 3.5%, while Asian economies such as South Korea grew on average more than twice that rate annually. Adjusted for population growth in India, its income per head grew at 1.49% annually, while incomes of South Koreans - rich and poor - rose rapidly.
India's Soviet-style economy included the "Licence Raj": the elaborate licences, regulations and red tape needed to set up and run a business in India between 1947 and 1990. The License Raj was a result of India's decision to have a planned economy, where all aspects of the economy are controlled by the state. Licences were only given to a select few. Corruption flourished under this system. Under this system, the country created few jobs and little wealth. Widespread poverty remained.
The Christian Community
List of Melbourne railway stations
This is a list of the 200 currently operating suburban railway stations (216 including greater metropolitan stations) in Melbourne, Australia. The stations make up 16 railway lines going out from the city (and 4 greater metropolitan lines), as well as the central City Loop.
There are also a further 19 stations on 3 old, volunteer-operated, tourist railways. These are not a part of the suburban network.
Stations are broken up into 2 Myki ticketing zones (some stations are included in both zones, where tickets for either zone may be used), as well as the City Saver area, which is within Zone 1 and covers the central business district. On March 4, 2007 zone 3 was made part of zone 2.
For detailed travel information, do not rely only on this page; please go to the Metlink website.
56 stations
Separates from the Pakenham line at Caulfield station.
19 stations
The Stony Point line is a greater metropolitan line that joins the Frankston line.
Separates from the Sandringham line at South Yarra station.
23 stations
The Traralgon line is a regional line that continues the Pakenham line.
Separates from the Pakenham line at Dandenong station.
Separates from the Eastern lines (Burnley group) at Richmond station.
12 stations
53 stations
Separates from the City Loop at Southern Cross and Flagstaff stations.
14 stations
Separates from the Craigieburn railway line at North Melbourne station.
13 stations
The Sunbury line is a greater metropolitan line that joins the Sydenham line.
Separates from the Sydenham line at Footscray station.
7 stations
Separates from the Williamstown line at Newport station.
The Geelong and Warrnambool regional lines join the Werribee line.
Separates from the Craigieburn railway line at Newmarket station. Trains may start running on this line every day, as part of renewing the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds.
49 stations
Separates from the City Loop at Flinders Street and Parliament stations.
Separates from the Lilydale line at Burnley station.
Separates from the Lilydale line at Ringwood station.
8 stations
Separates from the Lilydale line at Camberwell station.
6 stations
37 stations
Separates from the Hurstbridge line at Clifton Hill station.
These lines have trains pulled by diesel engines and railcar services, and use Myki tickets. All trains are run by V/Line, except for the Stony Point line run by Metro Trains Melbourne using engines borrowed from V/Line Passenger.
15 stations
Begins at Frankston station on the Frankston line.
9 stations
Separates from the Sydenham line at Sunshine station.
The Ballarat regional line is joined to the Melton line.
Continues from the Sydenham line.
The Bendigo regional line is joined to the Sunbury line.
These lines are run part-time (full-time in the case of Puffing Billy) by groups of people who want to keep old trains running, and are do not use Myki tickets.
12 stations. In this list only, a star ( * ) shows stations at which trains do not normally stop, and are there mainly to be historic.
Flag of Kurdistan
The Flag of Kurdistan (Kurdish: "Alaya Kurdistanê") has three colours and are placed horizontally. The top colour is red, the middle is white and the bottom is green. In the middle of the white is a sun with 21 rays. The 21 rays represent Navruz.
Vector graphics (also called graphical modeling, or object-oriented graphics) is a type of computer graphics. Vector graphics uses geometrical objects, like points, lines, curves, and polygons to model the image. Mathematics can be used to describe the graphics. Most often vectors and matrices are used. The first major use of vector graphics was in the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment air defense system.
The other way to model computer graphics is to use raster graphics. Raster graphics model images as a collection of pixels. Unlike raster images, vector-based images can be scaled indefinitely without loss of quality. Vector graphics are most often used for diagrams, and other things that can be described using simple shapes. Photographs are most often raster images.
Silence (band)
Silence is a German rock - heavy metal band. It was founded in 1995 in Bavaria, Germany. Its founding members were Stefan Mueller (guitar), Holger Kronester (drums), and the brothers Bernd (guitar) and Marco Wolf (bass). They played a mix of rock and metal music. Their music always had a dark, depressive side.
The band's first successful album was "Enola". It was listed as "Album of the month" in German Metal-Hammer. The album was released in 2000. Three years later they recorded "the p/o/u/r letters". It got very good reviews all over Germany and Europe. In 2007 they released their 5 track EP "The Badtime Stories". With this album they got a record deal with the German record label Biohazzard Records, a sublabel of Danse macabre.
In 2010 they released the follow-up full-length album to "the p/o/u/r letters". It was titled "Life: Failed".
The today's members of the band consists of Stefan (singer), Bernd (guitar), Sebastian (keyboard), Bastian (guitar), Oliver (bass) and Bastian (drums).
Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of prose. He was the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchner. Many people think that he might have become as important as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller if he had lived longer.
He was the son of a doctor and born in Goddelau near Darmstadt, Hesse-Darmstadt. Büchner went to a secondary school that focused on Latin, Greek and on modern languages (including French, Italian and English). But he was mainly interested in science and when he went to university he studied medicine in Strasbourg.
In 1828 he became interested in politics and joined a group which later on probably became the Gießen and Darmstadt section of the "Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte" (Society for Human Rights). In Strasbourg, he studied not only medicine but French literature and political thought as well.