AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
Oddleifson would have his breakout year in 1974–75, as he emerged as a leader on a young Canuck team which surprised by winning their division and making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. He proved himself to be an exceptional all-around player who possessed size, toughness, and playmaking ability, as well as the ability to play both at center and on the wing. He lead the Canucks in scoring through the early part of the season, until a fractured jaw forced him to miss 20 games. Nevertheless, he finished with career highs of 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points in just 60 games.
In 1975–76, Oddleifson would have his finest NHL season, as he notched 16 goals and a club-leading 46 assists for a career high 62 points. Although his production waned somewhat in the next few seasons, he remained one of the team's top all-around forwards and most popular players. He was named team captain for 1976–77, although he was replaced by Don Lever the following year. In 1977–78, he recorded a career-high 17 goals for the club.
By the 1979–80 season, the emergence of young stars like Thomas Gradin, Stan Smyl and Curt Fraser, as well as the acquisition of several skilled veterans, had pushed Oddleifson into a mainly defensive role, and he finished the season with career lows of just 8 goals and 28 points. Early in the 1980–81 campaign, he was assigned to the Dallas Black Hawks, effectively ending his NHL career.
Oddleifson spent two more seasons playing in Switzerland before retiring in 1983. He finished his NHL career with totals 95 goals and 191 assists for 286 points in 524 games, along with 464 penalty minutes.
Following his career, Oddleifson returned to Vancouver and became a successful real estate agent. He remains active with the Canuck Oldtimers squad.
Alex Plante
Alexandre "Alex" Plante (born May 9, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League. He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers 15th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut in 2009–10. He is the son of former professional defenceman Cam Plante, while his brother, Tyler, is a goaltender in the Florida Panthers organization.
Plante played junior hockey for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Hitmen selected him with their second round pick, 21st overall, in the 2004 WHL Bantam Draft. He established himself as a regular on Calgary's blue line in 2005–06, playing in 54 games. He appeared in 58 more in 2006–07 and attracted greater attention from NHL scouts in the 2007 playoffs, scoring 11 points in 13 games. As a result, the Edmonton Oilers selected him 15th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, a higher position than he was initially expected to go. Several injuries limited Plante to 36 games in 2007–08 and he failed to report to Calgary's training camp prior to the 2008–09 WHL season, claiming that the team had treated him poorly the previous year. While he initially demanded a trade out of Calgary, Plante ultimately recanted and returned to the Hitmen early in the season. He rebounded from his "nightmare season" in 2007–08 to rank among the leaders of the Hitmen defence with 45 points in the regular season and another 15 in the playoffs before Calgary was upset in the league championship series by the Kelowna Rockets.
The Oilers signed Plante to a three-year contract following the season. He began his professional career in 2009–10 with Edmonton's top minor league affiliate, the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (AHL). Several injuries on Edmonton's defence led the Oilers to recall Plante, and he made his NHL debut on February 1, 2010 against the Carolina Hurricanes and recorded an assist. He was returned to Springfield as injured players returned to the Oilers' lineup.
Phan Thanh Giản
Phan Thanh Giản or Phan Thanh Jan(潘淸簡, 1796 - 1867) was a Vietnamese politician, diplomat and historian. He was Vietnam's diplomat in France, the war.
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an American indie band from Los Angeles, California. Silversun Pickups has four members in the band; the current band members are Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Joe Lester, Christopher Guanlao.
The band was formed by four friends and was originally called, A Couple of Couples but was changed to Silversun Pickups because it was an off licence across from the Silverlake Lounge and near their house at Sunset and Silverlake Blvds in Los Angeles. The band currently has Brian Aubert on Vocals and guitar, Nikki Monninger on bass and vocals, Chris Guanlao on drums and Joe Lester on keyboards, samples and sound manipulation.
So far as of 2011, Silversun Pickups has released 4 EPs and two albums.
Tube worm
A tube worm is a worm-like sessile invertebrate which anchors its tail to an underwater surface. It creates a mineral tube around its body, and can withdraw the body into it.
Tube worms are found in these groups:
Kraken are legendary sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works.
The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles.
K-line
Coinage metal
A Group 11 element is one in the series of elements in group 11 (IUPAC style) in the periodic table, consisting of transition metals which are the traditional coinage metals of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au). Roentgenium (Rg) belongs to this group of elements based on its electronic configuration, but it is a short-lived transactinide with a 22.8 seconds half-life that has only been observed in laboratory conditions. The name "coinage metals" is often used in casual speech to refer to these elements, but various cultures have used many other metals in coinage including aluminium, lead, nickel, stainless steel, and zinc.
All the elements of the group except Roentgenium have been known since prehistoric times, as all of them occur in metallic form in nature and no extraction metallurgy has to be used to produce them.
Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost shells resulting in trends in chemical behavior:
They are all relatively inert, corrosion-resistant metals. Copper and gold are colored.
These elements have low electrical resistivity so they are used for wiring. Copper is the cheapest and most widely used. Bond wires for integrated circuits are usually gold. Silver and silver plated copper wiring are found in some special applications.
These metals, especially silver, have unusual properties that make them essential for industrial applications outside of their monetary or decorative value. They are all excellent conductors of electricity. The most conductive of all metals are silver, copper and gold in that order. Silver is also the most thermally conductive element, and the most light reflecting element. Silver also has the unusual property that the tarnish that forms on silver is still highly electrically conductive.
Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring and circuitry. Gold contacts are sometimes found in precision equipment for their ability to remain corrosion-free. Silver is used widely in mission-critical applications as electrical contacts, and is also used in photography (because silver nitrate reverts to metal on exposure to light), agriculture, medicine, audiophile and scientific applications.
Gold, silver, and copper are quite soft metals and so are easily damaged in daily use as coins. Precious metal may also be easily abraded and worn away through use. In their numismatic functions these metals must be alloyed with other metals to afford coins greater durability. The alloying with other metals makes the resulting coins harder, less likely to become deformed and more resistant to wear.
Gold coins: Gold coins are typically produced as 90% gold (e.g. with pre-1933 US coins), or 22 carat (92%) gold (e.g. current collectible coins and Krugerrands), with copper and silver making up the remaining weight in each case. Bullion gold coins are being produced with up to 99.999% gold (in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series).
Silver coins: Silver coins are typically produced as either 90% silver - in the case of pre 1965 US minted coins (which were circulated in many countries), or sterling silver (92.5%) coins for pre-1920 British Commonwealth and other silver coinage, with copper making up the remaining weight in each case.
Copper coins: Copper coins are often of quite high purity, around 97%, and are usually alloyed with small amounts of zinc and tin.
Inflation has caused the face value of coins to fall below the hard currency value of the historically used metals. This had led to most modern coins being made of base metals - copper nickel (around 80:20, silver in color) is popular as are nickel-brass (copper (75), nickel (5) and zinc (20), gold in color), manganese-brass (copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel), bronze, or simple plated steel.
Shadow cabinet
A shadow cabinet is a term which applies in some parliamentary democracies based on the UK parliamentary tradition. It is a group of politicians who hold a political position in their party, but whose party is not in government (that is, an opposition party). A member of the shadow cabinet is a shadow minister. The leader of a shadow cabinet is called the Leader of the Opposition. The term is of United Kingdom origin, and is used by some members of the Commonwealth. Some elements are found in other democratic systems of government.
Each minister of a Cabinet has a corresponding shadow minister. The shadow minister may provide alternative policies to the minister in the government. The two of them may debate on issues relating to their area of jurisdiction. For example, the British "Shadow Secretary of State for Health" often replies to the Secretary of State for Health.
The current UK Shadow Cabinet is made up of members of the Labour Party. The term refers only to the party in opposition which has the most seats of the opposition parties.
A smartphone is a mobile phone that can do more than other phones. They work as a computer but are mobile devices small enough to fit in a user's hand.
Uses include:
Another way to think of them is that they are PDAs that can make voice calls like any other mobile phone. Older phones also used computer technology, but lacked many of the parts of a computer that were too big to fit into a phone. Modern phone makers have been able to use smaller parts. Most smartphones are also GPS receivers and digital cameras.
Because smartphones are small computers, they run an operating system that is often common between devices to ensure compatibility. The majority of smartphones run on Apple iOS or Google Android but others use Windows Phone or BlackBerry OS. Most can do multitasking, running more than one program which helps the user do things quicker and easier. Users can get more programs, called mobile apps, from the manufacturer's app store, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play which can help them complete special tasks.
Data communication has become faster. Smart phones can send and receive data much faster than older phones. The industry uses different standards to label the data transmission rates. 2G was introduced in 1991. 2G means "2nd Generation". 2G phones transmit data at about the same speed as a 56kbit/s (kilobits per second) dial-up modem would get.
3G was introduced in the early 2000s. Depending on where they are, 3G phones vary in speed between about 200kbit/s to 14Mbit/s (megabits per second). This is comparable to a DSL or low end cable modem speed. Most smart phones use 3G technology to make them fast enough to practically use internet and other data features. Faster 4G networks operate in many places, with speeds estimated as fast as 100Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s (gigabit per second). This is as fast as some computer networks that use ethernet. Many smart phones introduced after 2010 use 4G technology including LTE, as later, even faster version. 5G was introduced in a few places in 2019.
Smartphones are powered by batteries. The amount of power they can store is reduced over time, and they become weaker, which causes the phone to become slower and later to turn itself off without the user asking for it. Some smartphones are designed so the user is able to take off the rear cover and take out the weakened battery, then insert a new and strong one. Most newer smartphones are designed in a way that denies this to users.
For use as cameras, smartphones are usually not as functional as dedicated cameras, although some phones such as the LG V10 have a wide range of sophisticated camera software functionality, such as the independent setting of bitrate, framerate and resolution, with all manual capture controls being independent from each other. Such manual controls have only been adapted starting in the mid-2010s. As of early 2021, mobile phone chipsets may be capable of 2160p 4K video capture at 120 frames per second.
Michelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin (Born October 20, 1970) is a conservative blogger, political commentator and author. She runs a weekly syndicated column. Her weekly syndicated column is in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs. Malkin has written four books published by Regnery Publishing.
Dodge Ram Van
The Dodge B-Series were a series of passenger or cargo vans which began around 1971 and ended in 2003. These vans were full sized. They had the names of Sportsman for the passenger van. The cargo vans were named Dodge Tradesman. This was before 1979, beginning in which year these vehicles were renamed Dodge Ram. The vehicles were marketed under Dodge. The B-Series vans were discontinued in June 2003 and replaced with the Dodge Sprinter, a rebadged Mercedes which was already on sale since 2002.
Lincoln Town Car
The Lincoln Town Car is an American-made full size sedan. It was launched in 1980 as a 1981 model. However, the Town Car name was first used on the Lincoln Continental starting in 1959 and ending in 1979. For 1980, the Town Car name was used on a downsized version of the Continental before it was used on its own model. The first official generation of the Town Car was made from 1981 to 1989. For 1990, the second generation got a complete redesign and was facelifted for the 1995 model year. For 1998, the Town Car entered its third generation and got a rounder, more sleek design. For 2003, the Panther platform got new rack and pinion steering along with a slight redesign which lasted till its end in 2011. The Lincoln Town Car was distributed by The Ford Motor Company, Ford's Lincoln (automobile) division. This automobile was the most used limousine in the United States and in Canada. The automobiles are sometimes used as taxis. They were used as hearses as well. The Town Car was discontinued in 2011.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a studio album by Iron Maiden. It went on sale on 11 April 1988.
It is a concept album, and talks about the idea that a seventh son of a seventh son has special powers. The album was the most popular one in th eUnited Kingdom when it went on sale.
The album got good reviews. One person who reviewed it said that "ranks among [Iron Maiden's] best work."
Candida albicans is a yeast which causes oral and genital infections in humans. The infection is candidiasis, better known as "thrush". It is treated with antimycotics (anti-fungal drugs).
"C. albicans" biofilms readily form on the surface of medical devices. Hospital-related infections in patients are a major health concern.
"C. albicans" is among the gut flora, the many organisms that live in the human mouth and gastrointestinal tract. Under normal circumstances, it lives in 80% of the human population with no harmful effects, although overgrowth results in candidiasis.
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent (sometimes abbreviated as AGT) is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British ""Got Talent" series" franchise. It began in June 21, 2006. It features singers, dancers, magicians and other talents from America to compete for a contract and $1,000,000 and as a headliner on the Las Vegas Strip since season 3.
Artists compete for the judges votes. Before appearing, Applicants must audition to impress the crew who works on the show. This is how people get a chance to impress the judges.
Note: Certain seasons may have different variations of rounds.
Once applicants have made the show, they go on stage with the judges. Before the act, they introduce themselves("Who are you and where are you from?") is a common line. They perform their act with added help from the crew that helps the contestants with playing music, and props. The coaches have a big red X button they can press if the act starts performing and they get bored, don't like the act, or think the act isn't "talent" material or just plain stupid. If an act receives all of the Judges X's, they must stop performing, however, some have ignored the unofficial rule. After the act is complete, the judges make comments make positive and/or negative about it. Each judge then votes. If an act received 3 Yes's(75%) or more, they move on to the next round of competition. If an act received 2 yes's(50%) or less, they are eliminated from the competition. X's do not determine a judge's yes or no decision. Even if an act received four X's, they can still go through if they can convince the judges to give them 3 yes's, they still go through.
The second round of the competition features the contestants performing an act again(usually better and bigger) than the last time. The Judges decide on a certain number of acts moving to the live shows. The contestants are usually split into a certain number of groups as well. The judges decide who moves on as a group, instead of individually. The judges can still X a performance, but all performances are eligible to move on when the judges X a performance, even with four X's.
Stained glass
Stained glass is glass coloured by adding metallic salts when it is made. The coloured glass is made into stained glass windows. Small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures. The glass is held together by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame.
Painted details and yellow stain are often used to improve the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.
Stained glass is much used in Christian art but other themes are not rare. It is still popular today, and often called art glass. It is often used in luxury homes and commercial buildings.
Some colours are added to stained glass by the salts of:
Shutter Island (movie)
Shutter Island is a 2010 American psychological thriller movie directed by Martin Scorsese, with Leonardo DiCaprio, based on novel "Dennis Levane".
The movie cost about $80 million to make. Worldwide, it had a total gross profit of $294,803,014.
List of United States Senators from Kansas
This is a list of United States Senators from Kansas.
Euston Road
Euston Road is the main east/west road in the north central London.
A number of railway stations are on the Euston Road including Marylebone station, Baker Street tube station, Great Portland Street tube station, Euston railway station, Euston tube station, Euston Square tube station, King's Cross station, St Pancras station and King's Cross St Pancras tube station.
It is also the home of the British Library, the Friend's Meeting House (a place of worship for Quakers) and various buildings associated with University College London.
Euston Road is connected to Marylebone Road, Baker Street, Tottenham Court Road, Pentonville Road and many other roads.
Calvin cycle
The Calvin cycle (also known as the Benson-Calvin cycle) is the set of chemical reactions that take place in chloroplasts during photosynthesis.
The cycle is light-independent because it takes place after the energy has been captured from sunlight.
The Calvin cycle is named after Melvin C. Calvin, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for finding it in 1961. Calvin and his colleagues, Andrew Benson and , did the work at the University of California, Berkeley.
Using the radioactive carbon-14 isotope as a tracer, Calvin, Andrew Benson and their team mapped the complete route that carbon travels through a plant during photosynthesis. They traced the carbon-14 from soaking up its atmospheric carbon dioxide to its conversion into carbohydrates and other organic compounds. The single-celled algae "Chlorulla" was used to trace the carbon-14.
The Calvin group showed that sunlight acts on the chlorophyll in a plant to fuel the manufacture of organic compounds, not directly on carbon dioxide as previously believed.
The steps in the cycle are as follows:
1. Grab: A five-carbon carbon catcher called RuBP (Ribulose bisphosphate) catches one molecule of carbon dioxide and forms a six-carbon molecule.
2. Split: the enzyme RuBisCO (with the energy of ATP and NADPH molecules) breaks the six-carbon molecule into two equal parts.
3. Leave: A trio of carbons leave and become sugar. The other trio moves on to the next step.
4. Switch: Using ATP and NADPH, the three carbon molecule is changed into a five carbon molecule.
5. The cycle starts over again.
The carbohydrate products of the Calvin cycle are three-carbon sugar phosphate molecules, or 'glucose triose phosphates' (G3P). Each step of the cycle has its own enzyme which speeds up the reaction.
Political machine
Hall &amp; Oates
Hall & Oates is an American musical group. The members are Daryl Hall and John Oates. They came from Philadelphia. Their greatest fame was from the late 1970s to mid 1980s. During this time they had many hit songs. They faded from view in 1990, but the duo are still performing together.
Duke of Normandy
The title Duke of Normandy was given to the rulers of the duchy of Normandy. This fief was created in 911 by Charles the Simple King of France for Rollo, a leader of Northmen. In 1066 the seventh duke, William II, became King William I of England. The title of Duke of Normandy was held by the Kings of England until Henry III gave up the title by treaty in 1259. King John had lost mainland Normandy in 1204, and kept only the Channel Islands. Today the Channel Islands are a British Crown dependency.
In 1660 when King Charles II was restored to the throne, the King of France, Louis XIV, created Charles' brother James Duke of Normandy, probably as a show of support for monarchy and to stop Charles claiming the title himself.
Fernando Wood
Fernando Wood (14 June 1812 – 14 February, 1881) was an American politician of the Democratic Party from Pennsylvania. He served as the Mayor of New York City twice (1855 – 1857, 1860 – 1862), United States Representative three times (1841–1843, 1863–1865, and 1867–1881) and as Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in both the 45th and 46th United States Congress (1877–1881). He was head of the political machine Tammany Hall. In 1854 he was elected Mayor of New York City and took office in 1855. He ran again in 1856, but lost to Daniel F. Tiemann, who was mayor from 1857 to 1859. Wood was re-elected in 1860 and took office again that year, for the last time. After being a mayor, Wood returned to the United States Congress. He died at the age of 68.
Terry Branstad
Terry Edward Branstad (born November 17, 1946) is an American politician. He was the United States Ambassador to China from May 24, 2017 to October 4, 2020. He was the 42nd Governor of Iowa from in January 14, 2011 until his resignation on May 24, 2017. Branstad was the 39th governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and President of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party and was the longest-serving governor in Iowa or American history.
In 2010, he won a three-way primary election to run as the Republican candidate for governor. He ran against incumbent Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, and four third party candidates in the November 2, 2010 general election. He won the general election in November, defeating Culver by 52.9% to 43.1%.
Branstad started the 2010 race with a lead in both the primary and general elections. He won the Republican primary with 50.4% of the vote, 9.5% ahead of the next candidate.
On December 14, 2015, Branstad became the longest serving governor in American history.
In December 2016, Branstad was nominated by President-elect of the United States Donald Trump to become the United States Ambassador to China. Branstad was confirmed by the Senate on May 22, 2017, and was succeeded as Governor of Iowa by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds after he resigns to take up the ambassadorship. He resigned in October 2020.
Branstad's family were Norwegian-American Lutheran farmers who lived in Leland, Iowa. Branstad graduated from the University of Iowa and earned a law degree from Drake University Law School. He served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1971 and earned the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. In 1989, he was named an honorary member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity at Iowa State University.
Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 and served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1979 to 1983, when he was elected Governor of Iowa.
When he became governor at age 36, Branstad was the youngest governor in Iowa's history and when he left office, he was Iowa's longest-serving governor. He served as chair of the National Governors Association during 1989–1990, and was chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. In 1997, he chaired the Education Commission of the States, the Republican Governors Association, and the Governors' Ethanol Coalition. Honor doctor of University of Northern Iowa.
After Branstad's term as governor ended in 1999, he founded Branstad and Associates, LLC and was also a partner in the firm of Kaufman, Pattee, Branstad & Miller, and a financial advisor for Robert W. Baird and Co.
In August 2003, Branstad became the president of Des Moines University. On October 16, 2009, he said that he was leaving Des Moines University to run for governor again.
In 2001, Branstad was appointed by President George W. Bush to chair the President's Commission for Excellence in Special Education. This group's goal was to make a plan to improve the educational performance of students with disabilities. After finishing that work with the commission in 2003, he was asked to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for Positive Action for Teen Health, or PATH. The Council's goal is to detect adolescent mental illness.
Branstad is or was on the boards of the Conmed Health Management Inc, American Future Fund, Iowa Health System, Liberty Bank, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Living History Farms.
On August 2, 2009, the "Des Moines Register" reported that Branstad might run for the Republican nomination for governor. On October 7, 2009, Branstad filed papers to run for governor in the 2010 election. According to a poll taken in September 2009 by "The Des Moines Register", he had a 70% positive rating from Iowans compared to Governor Chet Culver's rating of 50%.
On June 8, 2010, Branstad won the Republican primary election in Iowa; on January 2, 2010, he won the general election.
On December 8, 2016, Branstad accepted President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of him for the post of United States Ambassador to China (PRC).
Branstad was confirmed by the United States Senate on a 83-12 vote on May 22, 2017, and was succeeded as Governor of Iowa by Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds once he resigned to take up the ambassadorship.
Branstad announced his resignation on September 15, 2020. He left the ambassadorship on October 4, 2020.
The Ford Expedition is a full sized SUV that can carry up to nine people. This SUV debuted around 1997 as a replacement for Ford Bronco. The vehicle is used by EMS, by law enforcement and by fire department agencies.
Chironex fleckeri
2010–2011 Queensland floods
The 2010–11 Queensland floods were a series of floods in Australia which began in December 2010 and ended in January 2011. The majority of the floods were in Queensland including its capital city, Brisbane. The rain also caused floods further south in central and western Victoria. at least 90 towns flooded. A huge area of Queensland, the size of Texas and France combined, was flooded. The floods forced thousands of people to leave their homes. At least 70 towns In Queensland and over 200,000 people were affected. Three-quarters of the state of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone. The 2010–2011 floods have killed 35 (not 30) people across Queensland since November and 14 are still missing. More than 20 people have died in flash floods between Brisbane and Toowoomba.
The floods were caused by heavy rain from tropical cyclone "Tasha" that joined with a trough during a La Niña event. La Niña is an unusual weather pattern, which brings wet weather to eastern Australia. The 2010 La Niña was the strongest since 1973. This caused heavy rainfall across Queensland. December 2010 was the wettest on record, with 107 places getting their highest rainfalls ever. The state average rainfall level of 404.7mm was much bigger than the old record of 369mm set in 1975. 2010 was also recorded as the state's wettest spring since 1900 and Australia's third wettest year. Flooding started across parts of the state in early December. On 28 December a monsoonal trough crossed the coast from the Coral Sea, bringing very heavy rain from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gold Coast.
About 300 roads were closed, including nine major highways. Many places, including Condamine and Chinchilla were flooded several times. Coal railway lines were closed and many mine sites flooded. The floods have caused fruit and vegetable prices to rise as crops have been destroyed. The wet conditions have also led to a large number of snakes seeking safety on the higher ground or in houses with people. Saltwater crocodiles and sharks were seen in some flooded areas of towns.
The flooding forced 8,000 people to leave Theodore, Queensland Theodore and other towns. The military transported people by helicopter to an evacuation centre at Moura, Queensland. The total evacuation of a Queensland town had never happened before.
Emerald, Queensland was cut-off by road on 29 December as the Nogoa River rose. The next day, the river level rose above the 2008 flood peak level of . At the peak of the flooding, 80% of the town was flooded, the worst the town ever experienced. 1,200 people from Emerald were listed as evacuees.
Rockhampton had nearly a week to get ready for the flood peak from the Fitzroy River, which flows through the centre of the city. The airport was closed on 1 January. A metal flood barrier was set up to protect the buildings. An evacuation centre was set up at the Central Queensland University. The Bruce Highway leading south out of Rockhampton was closed to traffic. The river reached just short the of the predicted maximum.
The Port of Gladstone cut back its coal exports because the coal piles at the port were too wet and further coal deliveries could not be made by rail. The Goonyella railway line which is used by a number of coal mines in the Bowen Basin was closed for one week and shipments of grain were also stopped.
The towns of Gayndah, Queensland and Mundubbera, Queensland when the Burnett River flooded on 28–29 December. The river peaked at at Mundubbera. This was the highest river height since 1942 and flooded more than 20 houses. Downstream at Gayndah, the river peaked at with floodwaters reaching two houses. Both towns were isolated for several days and there was major disruption to the drinking water supply and local agricultural production.
Bundaberg had its worst flooding in 40 years, after the Burnett River flooded the city. Floodwater forced 300 households to leave their homes .
The Ford Flex is a full size crossover which is manufactured by Ford Motor Company. Its styling was based on the concept of the Ford Fairlane. The vehicle made its debut in 2007 at the New York International Auto Show. It replaced the Ford Freestar as well as Ford Taurus X and began sales in June 2008 as a 2009 model. It was facelifted for the 2013 model year and ended production in 2019.
Rod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich (born December 10, 1956) was 40th Governor of Illinois beginning January 13, 2003 and ending January 29, 2009. He succeeded George Ryan, who would also be arrested for non-related charges. Blagojevich was the first Governor of Illinois to be impeached while in office and the first Democratic politician in over 25 years to face such charges. In February 2020, President Donald Trump ended Blagojevich's prison sentence four years earlier.
Blagojevich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the second of four children. His father, Radislav, was an immigrant steel plant laborer from a village near Kragujevac, Serbia. Blagojevich graduated from Chicago's Foreman High School after transferring from Lane Technical High School. He began boxing at a young age.
During 2002, Blagojevich campaigned for his party's nomination to become governor. Blagojevich won a close primary campaign against former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Paul Vallas, who ran well in the suburban collar counties of Chicago. Blagojevich finished strongly in Southern Illinois, winning 55% of the primary vote downstate, enough to win a primary victory by a thin margin.
In the general election, Blagojevich defeated Topinka and the Green Party's Rich Whitney, outspending Topinka $27 million to $6 million. He attempted to tie Topinka to former Republican governor George Ryan's corruption. Blagojevich won re-election.
He was arrested in December of 2008 on federal corruption charges, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Blagojevich was later impeached during January 2009, convicted and removed from office on January 29, 2009. On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. He is held at Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood in Jefferson County, Colorado.
On May 31, 2018, President Donald Trump, soon after having pardoned commentator Dinesh D'Souza, told reporters that he was considering reducing Blagojevich's sentence (without pardoning him). Trump called Blagojevich's 14-year sentence "unfair", saying that Blagojevich's statements about enriching himself were "stupid", but also the sort of thing "that many other politicians say".
President Donald Trump commuted his sentence on February 18, 2020, ending his sentence four years early.
Blagojevich has been married to Patricia Mell Blagojevich. They have two children. His family owns a home in Ravenswood, Chicago, but live in Jefferson County, Colorado because of Blagojevich's prison stay.
Daintree Rainforest
The Daintree Rainforest is a tropical rainforest in Queensland, Australia. At around 1200 square kilometres the Daintree is the largest continuous area of tropical rainforest on the Australian mainland.It is named after Richard Daintree, an Australian geologist and photographer
The Daintree Rainforest is a main part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
The Daintree Rainforest meets all four natural criteria on the "Criteria for Selection to be a World Heritage Site". It is one of only twelve natural World Heritage Sites worldwide that meet all four criteria. The Daintree area is adjacent to another World Heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef. This makes it the only place in the world where two natural World Heritage Sites meet.
The Daintree Rainforest contains 30% of the frog, marsupial and reptile species in Australia, and 65% of Australia's bat and butterfly species. 18% of bird species in the country can be found in this area. There are also over 12,000 species of insects. All of this diversity is contained within an area that takes up 0.2% of Australia.
The Daintree Rainforest is extremely ancient; it is thought to be over one hundred and thirty-five million years old. About 430 species of birds live among the trees. The primitive flowering plants "Austrobaileya scandens" and "Idiospermum australiense" are also endemic to the Daintree.
The forest is north of Mossman, Queensland, on the coast, north of Cairns in the tropical far north of Australia. Named after Richard Daintree, part of the forest is protected by the Daintree National Park and drained by the Daintree River.
The Daintree Rainforest is loosely defined as the area between the Mossman Gorge and the Bloomfield River. The roads north of the Daintree River wind through areas of lush forest, and have been designed to minimize impacts on the forest.
The Daintree Region is home to a number of rare and endangered species, including the southern cassowary and Bennett's tree-kangaroo. Other animals include the saltwater crocodile and the musky rat-kangaroo.
The rainforest also holds many ancient plants which have survived from the southern supercontinent Gondwana.
Rotes Rathaus
The Red City Hall () is the town hall of Berlin, in the Mitte borough on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government (the Senate of Berlin) of the Federal state of Berlin. The landmark building got its name from the red clinker bricks with which it is covered.
The Rathaus was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the north Italian High Renaissance by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann. It was modelled on the Old Town Hall of Toruń, now in Poland, while the architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral tower of Notre-Dame of Laon in France. It replaced several individual buildings dating from the Middle Ages and now fills an entire city block.
The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II and rebuilt to the original plans between 1951 and 1956. The "Neues Stadthaus", which survived the bombing and had been the head office of the Berlin city fire insurance company in Parochialstraße was the temporary city hall for the post-war city government for all four sectors of Berlin until September 1948. Following that time, it housed only those of the Soviet sector. The reconstructed Rotes Rathaus, then in the Soviet sector, served as the town hall of East Berlin, while the Rathaus Schöneberg in Schöneberg borough was seat of the West Berlin Senate. After German reunification, the administration of reunified Berlin officially moved into the Rotes Rathaus on 1 October 1991.
List of mayors of Berlin
The following list of mayors of Berlin shows all the mayors () of Berlin, Germany since 1809:
"" (generally "Lord Mayor")
Mayors () of East Berlin, capital in the socialist state of German Democratic Republic.
The Mayor of Berlin ("Regierender Bürgermeister von Berlin") was democratically elected in January 1991.
Governing Mayors () of West Berlin (1949–90), and Berlin, capital of Germany since 1990.
Gondwana Rainforests
The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the 'Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves', are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The area includes 50 separate reserves covering . It is around the New South Wales–Queensland border.
The Gondwana Rainforests are so-called because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living today. The number of visitors to the reserve is about 2 million per year.
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden (lime in British English) trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall in the middle of the road
Unter den Linden runs east–west from the site of the former Stadtschloss royal palace at the Lustgarten park, where the demolished Palast der Republik used to be, to Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate. Eastward the boulevard crosses the river Spree near the Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and continues as Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The western continuation behind Brandenburg Gate is Straße des 17. Juni. Major north–south streets crossing Unter den Linden are Friedrichstraße and Wilhelmstrasse.
Unter den Linden at the heart of the historic section of Berlin developed from a bridle path laid out by Elector John George of Brandenburg in the 16th century to reach his hunting grounds in the Tiergarten. It was replaced by a boulevard of linden trees planted in 1647, stretching from the city palace to the gates of the city, by order of the “Great Elector” Frederick William. While the western part of the boulevard retained its character, the area around present-day Bebelplatz was changed after the Thirty Years' War and fortified. There are no trees.
By the 19th century, as Berlin grew and expanded to the west, Unter den Linden became the best-known and grandest street in Berlin. In 1851 the famous equestrian (horse-riding) statue of King Frederick the Great, designed by Christian Daniel Rauch, was put up on the centre strip. In the course of the building of the Nord-Süd-Tunnel for the Berlin S-Bahn in 1934/35 most of the linden trees were cut down and during the last days of World War II the remaining trees were destroyed or cut down for firewood. The present-day linden were replanted in the 1950s, they are affected by air pollution as well as by soil contamination.
Since 1937, the numbering has started at the "Schlossbrücke" (Palace Bridge), connecting Unter den Linden with the Lustgarten and Museum Island. The disputed replica of the Alte Kommandantur is No. 1, vis-à-vis the Zeughaus arsenal, the oldest building on Unter den Linden, built between 1695 and 1706, today the seat of the "Deutsches Historisches Museum" (No. 2). Buildings along the street include (from east to west) the Kronprinzenpalais (former palace of the Hohenzollern crown princes, No. 3), the Neue Wache war memorial built in 1817 (No. 4), considered by many to be Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s masterpiece. Furthermore, on Bebelplatz the Berlin State Opera (No. 7), coloquially called "Lindenoper", St. Hedwig's Cathedral and the "Altes Palais" (No. 9), favoured residence of Emperor Wilhelm I; in the north the main building of the Humboldt University (No. 6) and House I of the Berlin State Library (No. 8). On the western end are the Russian Embassy (former Soviet Embassy, No. 63-65) the Hungarian Embassy (No. 76) at the corner of Wilhelmstrasse and finally the Hotel Adlon (No. 77) at the corner of Pariser Platz, which has been completely rebuilt on the site of the prewar hotel. Well-known statues of Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt in front of the university as well as of the Prussian generals Scharnhorst and Bülow also adorn the street.
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Chihuahua may refer to:
Chihuahua Municipality
Chihuahua is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat is the state capital, the city of Chihuahua.
As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 758,791, with 748,551 in the municipal seat. It covers an area of .
Chihuahua City
Bridle path
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II (; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was a King in Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. As a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was Frederick IV Margrave of Brandenburg. He was also the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel. Victorious in war, he became known as Frederick the Great () and was nicknamed "der alte Fritz" ("Old Fritz").
When he was young, Frederick was mostly interested in music and philosophy and not military affairs. Frederick tried to escape from his strict father, Frederick William I, with childhood friend, Hans Hermann von Katte. When they were captured Frederick was forced to watch von Kattel's execution. Many historians consider him to be bisexual and perhaps possibly celibate in his later life. After the death of Frederick William I in 1740, Frederick the Great only attended his wife with formal visits once a year.
Shortly after becoming King in Prussia, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars. Near the end of his life, Frederick united most of his separated parts of his kingdom through the First Partition of Poland.
For years Frederick exchanged letters with Voltaire. He modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and promoted religious tolerance. Frederick patronized the arts and philosophers, and wrote flute music. Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II of Prussia, son of his brother, Prince Augustus William of Prussia.
In 1732, Queen Sophia Dorothea tried to arrange a dual marriage of Frederick and his sister Wilhelmina with Amelia and Frederick, the children of her brother, King George II of Great Britain. Fearing an alliance between Prussia and Great Britain, Field Marshal von Seckendorff, the Austrian ambassador in Berlin, bribed Field Marshal von Grumbkow, the Prussian Minister of War, and Benjamin Reichenbach, Prussian ambassador in London. They pair discreetly slandered the British and Prussian courts in the eyes of the two kings. Angered by the idea of the marriage Frederick William made impossible demands to the British, such as Prussia acquiring Jülich and Berg, leading to the collapse of the marriage proposal.
After von Kattel died Frederick was granted a royal pardon and released from his cell on 18 November, but he was not given back his military rank. Instead of returning to Berlin, however, he was forced to stay in Küstrin and began learning statecraft and administration for the War and Estates Departments on 20 November. Tensions eased slightly when Frederick William visited Küstrin a year later, and Frederick was allowed to visit Berlin on the occasion of his sister Wilhelmina's marriage to Margrave Frederick of Bayreuth on 20 November 1731. The crown prince returned to Berlin after finally being released from Küstrin on 26 February 1732.
Frederick William considered marrying Frederick to Elisabeth of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the niece of Empress Anna of Russia, but this plan was opposed by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Frederick himself proposed marrying Maria Theresa of Austria in return for renouncing the succession. Instead, Eugene persuaded Frederick William, through Seckendorff, that the crown prince marry Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, a Protestant relative of the Austrian Habsburgs. Although Frederick wrote to his sister that, "There can be neither love nor friendship between us," and he considered suicide, he went along with the wedding on 12 June 1733. He had little in common with his bride and resented the political marriage as an example of the Austrian interference which had plagued Prussia since 1701. Once Frederick secured the throne in 1740, he would not let Elisabeth visit his court in Potsdam, and instead gave her Schönhausen Palace and apartments at the Berliner Stadtschloss. Frederick bestowed the title of the heir to the throne, "Prince of Prussia", on his brother Augustus William; despite this, his wife remained devoted to him.
Frederick was given back a rank in the Prussian Army as Colonel of the Regiment von der Goltz, stationed near Nauen and Neuruppin. When Prussia gave troops to help Austria during the War of the Polish Succession, Frederick studied under Prince Eugene of Savoy during the campaign against France on the Rhine. Frederick William, weakened by gout brought about by the campaign, gave Frederick Schloss Rheinsberg in Rheinsberg, north of Neuruppin. In Rheinsberg, Frederick assembled a small number of musicians, actors and other artists. He spent his time reading, watching dramatic plays, making and listening to music, and regarded this time as one of the happiest of his life. Frederick formed the "Bayard Order" to discuss warfare with his friends; Heinrich August de la Motte Fouqué was made the grand master of the gatherings.
The works of Niccolò Machiavelli, such as "The Prince", were considered a guideline for the behaviour of a king in Frederick's age. In 1739, Frederick finished his "Anti-Machiavel", which put another point of view. It was published anonymously in 1740, but Voltaire distributed it in Amsterdam.