ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Brian Cowen (born 10 January 1960) was the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland. He became the Taoiseach on 7 May 2008, after Bertie Ahern, resigned after losing a general election on 9 March 2011. He was the leader of a political party called Fianna Fáil. They were in a coalition government with the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats. Independent TDs (Irish members of parliament) also support his government.  During his time as Taoiseach and after leaving office, Cowen was called by multiple media outlets as the worst Taoiseach in the country's history. Taoiseach. Cowen was elected leader of Fianna Fáil in May 2008, after the resignation of Bertie Ahern. Weeks after taking office as Taoiseach, his administration faced the Irish financial and banking crises. He was criticized for his failure to fix the crisis, which led the Irish Government to ask for financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This was seen in Ireland as a national humiliation.  His leadership subsequently saw public support for Fianna Fáil plunge to record lows, and Cowen set a record for the lowest approval rating in the history of Irish opinion polling, at one point reaching an approval rating of 8 percent. In January 2011, following a failed attempt at a cabinet reshuffle, and facing growing political pressure, Cowen resigned as Leader of Fianna Fáil, but remained as Taoiseach until after the general election. On 14 September 2010, after having an interview on RTÉ's "Morning Ireland," Cowen was accused of doing the interview while drunk. "The Sunday Times" called Cowen's time as Taoiseach as "a failure". In 2011, the "Irish Independent" called Cowen the "worst Taoiseach in the history of the State". Personal life. Brian Cowen was born to a Catholic family, in Tullamore, County Offaly, on 10 January 1960. He was raised in Clara by his parents, May and Bernard Cowen, a Fianna F
A web chat is a chat system to exchange information via the Web. People use a web browser to communicate with others. Apart from the browser you do not need anything else, which makes a web chat easy to use and ideal for people not very experienced with computers. On the technical side web chats are often written with Java, Flash or Ajax.
The British Grand Prix is a grand prix motor race organised in Great Britain by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1950 and after that every year since today. Winners. Multiple winners (drivers). "Drivers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season." Multiple winners (constructors). "Teams in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season."&lt;br&gt; "A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.&lt;br&gt; "A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship." Multiple winners (engine manufacturers). "Manufacturers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season."&lt;br&gt; "A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship.&lt;br&gt; "A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship." By year. A green background indicates an event which was part of the AIACR World Manufacturers' Championship."&lt;br&gt; "A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
The Ob is a river in Siberia. Together with the Lena and the Yenisei, it is one of the most important rivers of Siberia. Depending upon how its length is measured, it can be between 3.650 km and 6.210 km long. Some important cities on the banks of the river include Novosibirsk (Russia's third largest city), Barnaul, Kolpashevo, Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, Beryozovo, Labytnangi, and Salekhard. The Irtysh is the Ob river's main tributary. Other tributaries include the Omsk, Parabel, Chaya, Tobol and Ishim. The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary. Names. The name Ob is based on the Russian name of "Обь". The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the "As", "Yag", "Kolta" and "Yema"; to the Nenets people as the "Kolta" or "Kuay"; and to the Siberian Tatars as the "Umar" or "Omass".
Deduction is one of the two main types of reasoning. The other is induction. In deduction, we apply a general rule to a particular case. Deductive arguments are attempts to show that a conclusion must follow from a set of premises or hypotheses. A deductive argument is valid if the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises. Aristotle, the first person we know who wrote down laws of deduction, gives this example of deduction: The first two statements are called "premises". The last statement is called the "conclusion". The conclusion is taken from the premises.  Deductive reasoning is often called "top-down logic", whereas inductive reasoning is called "bottom-up reasoning".
Induction is one of the main forms of logical reasoning. The other is deduction. In induction, we find a general rule by using a large number of particular cases. For example, watching water in many different situations, we can conclude that water always flows downhill. Induction is not the method of science, but it can be the starting-point for science. Everyone can see that the sun, moon and stars appear to move across the sky. Early civilisations thought this meant they revolved around the Earth, because that is what they always seem to do. We now know this is quite wrong, but discovering the real explanation was the start of modern science (see Copernicus, Galileo and heliocentrism). What they did was to work out an alternative theory or hypothesis, which eventually was shown to be a much better explanation of all the observations. That is real science, but the observations of the heavens, which started with the Babylonians, showed the regularity which needed to be explained. What science did was to prove the obvious explanation was not the right one.  Another example is the work of Darwin, who spent half his life collecting interesting facts about animals and plants. What he did was suggest a way in which all these facts could be explained. It was a hypothesis which could be, and was, tested in every way possible. It is well known now that the theory of evolution by natural selection best explains the way the living world has come to be as we see it. Again, real science was built on a collection of facts which needed an explanation. The philosophy of science is about testing hypotheses, rather than collecting facts, though facts are the basis of all science. Induction, the collecting of facts, is not by itself science. The philosopher Hume said it meant “instances of which we have had no experience resemble those of which we have had experience”. Later, John Stuart Mill raised the question “Why is a single instance, in some cases, sufficient for a complete induction, while in others [many examples] go such a little way towards establishing a universal proposition?” Philosophers usually think the real issue is: what distinguishes good from bad inductions? A way to say it is: "
In everyday speech, the word "theory" is used as a "best guess". In modern science, a scientific theory is a tested and expanded hypothesis that explains many experiments. It fits ideas together in a framework. If anyone finds a case where all or part of a scientific theory is false, then that theory is either changed or thrown out. An example of a scientific theory that underwent many changes is the germ theory of disease. In ancient times, people believed that diseases were caused by the gods, or by curses, or by improper behavior. Germs (microorganisms) were unknown, because germs are too small to see. With the invention of the microscope, germs were discovered, and the germ theory of disease was proposed. Thanks to the germ theory of disease, many diseases can now be cured. However, the germ theory of disease had to be modified, because some diseases are not caused by germs. The flu and scurvy are examples of diseases that are not caused by bacteria, but viruses or poor nutrition. Scientists modified the germ theory of disease, so that today we would state that theory as "Some diseases are caused by germs". To be a scientific theory, a theory must be tested a large number of times, by different scientists in different places, and must pass the test every time. The theory must be stated exactly, sometimes using mathematics. And it must fit in with all of the other scientific theories. Science has many branches. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy are some of the major branches of science. A scientific theory in one branch of science must hold true in all of the other branches of science. For example, the atomic theory of matter, that all matter is made up of atoms, was discovered using physics, but the chemicals used in chemistry, the living tissue used in biology, the rocks studied in geology, and the planets studied in astronomy are all made up of atoms. The atomic theory of matter holds in every area of science. Sometimes scientists come up with a theory that is wrong. The discovery of an exception to a scientific theory is a major event, and a scientist can become famous by discovering an exception to a rule. Einstein became famous for his
Marin-Epagnier was a municipality in the district of Neuchâtel in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. In 1888, the formerly independent municipality merged with Epagnier and Marin to form Marin-Epagnier. On 1 January 2009, the former municipalities of Marin-Epagnier and Thielle-Wavre joined together and became the new municipality of La Tène. It lies at the northeastern tip of Lake Neuchâtel close to Biel, at the boundary between French- and German-speaking regions, and at a knot of highways. The Iron Age archaeological site of La Tène is within Marin-Epagnier's communal boundaries. "(See also La Tène culture.)" La Tène is a village at the eastern end of the Lake Neuchâtel (Lac de Neuchâtel), a lake in Switzerland. La Tène has a sandy beach, unique in Switzerland.
Magdalenenberg is the name of a tumulus grave which dates from the Iron Age. It lies at the southwestern tip of the Black Forest, in Germany. The nobleman who is buried there was part of the Hallstatt culture. With a volume of 33.000 cubic metres it is the biggest grave from that time in Central Europe. In his first-hand account of the Gallic Wars (Commentarii de Bello Gallico), Julius Caesar observes that the Gallic people have a moon- based calendar, and that the big event for them was what astronomers now call the Lunar Standstill, which occurs every 18.6 years. Lunar Standstills are marked in several ancient cultures (including sites in Colorado and Ohio), usually by standing stones that indicate the point where the moon seems to rise and set in the same place, instead of rising in one place and appearing to move across the sky to set in another. Now a German scholar, Dr Allard Mees, a researcher at the Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseum in Mainz, has discovered evidence to back Caesar's observation: a huge royal tomb that functions as a lunar calendar and that preserves a map of the sky at Midsummer 618 BC, the presumed date of the burial. Dr Mees said that Magdalenenberg was ‘the earliest and most complete example of a Celtic calendar focused on the moon’, and that following Caesar's conquest of Gaul, ‘Gallic culture was destroyed and these types of calendar were completely forgotten in Europe, to be replaced by the Roman sun-based calendar’.
A cenote is a type of sinkhole that contains groundwater. It is typical in the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula and some nearby Caribbean islands. The term comes from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya to refer to any location where groundwater can be got at.  Definition and description. Cenotes are surface connections to underground water bodies. While the most well-known cenotes are large open water pools measuring tens of metres in diameter, such as those at Chichén Itzá, most cenotes are smaller sheltered sites and do not necessarily have any surface exposed water. The term cenote has also been used to describe similar karst features in other countries such as Cuba and Australia, in addition to the more generic term of sinkholes.  Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain water infiltrating slowly through the ground. The groundwater flow rate within a cenote may be very slow at velocities ranging from 1 to 1000 meters per year. Cenotes around the world attract cave divers. They have explored extensive flooded cave systems, some of which have been investigated for 100 kilometers or more. Cause. Cenotes in or near the Yukatán may have been caused by the Chicxulub meteor impact 60 million years ago. Famous cenotes. Mexico. Yucatán Peninsula: Central and Northern Region:
Monkton is an English village on the Canterbury-Ramsgate road. It is at the southwestern edge of the Isle of Thanet, Kent near St Nicholas at Wade and Minster-in-Thanet. The church there is dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Inside the Church is a plaque, commemorating a local soldier, Euncie Rochelle, who died in the Iraq war. Monkton is no longer thought of as a village in its own right and is usually assumed to be part of neighbouring village Minster-in-Thanet. In the November of 2007, the village exploded, with the remains afterwards being burnt down, with firefighters attempting to put out the blaze, but having so few people and being so far away from any other main towns, the thirty firefighters were unable to reach it in time. However, fortunately, all of Monkton's twenty people were evacuated into safety to nearby Minster. However, Minster was reported to have complained about the overcrowding caused by this and threw out the newcomers, expecting them to go back to the destroyed settlement. Unfortunately for the hamlet, Monkton's largest building, a single storey house, was also lost, and therefore it is thought to take a long time before the people of Monkton are able to resettle in a new place, or whether they will be able to reconstruct some of their old one.
An electric chair is a specially built chair which is used to execute condemned criminals by electrocuting (giving them a strong electric shock) them. This means that they are being killed as a punishment for a crime that they were accused of, usually murder. An electric chair is a strong wooden chair which has electrodes (which are objects often made out of metal that conduct electricity) for running electric current through the convict's body. One electrode is placed on the convict's head, and another is placed on the convict's right shin. When the switch is turned on, a 2,000 volt current goes through the convict. The current is to stop the heartbeat, cause unconsciousness, and cause death. Sometimes, the chair was made from the wood of the gallows which it replaced. The electric chair is sometimes used as the very symbol of death penalty. It is also a part of Americana (that is: cultural symbols of USA) and the electric chairs of many states have ironic nicknames like Old Sparky, Yellow Mama, Gruesome Gertie, Sizzling Sally or Hot Seat. The execution itself is sometimes called "riding the lightning". History of the electric chair. The electric chair was designed by Dr. Alfred Southwick, and first built by Harold Brown in 1888. Dr. Southwick had seen a drunk man falling in a generator and dying immediately from electric shock. There had been a very gruesome hanging in New York in 1886 that did not go right. The drop had been too long and the convict's head was torn off. Many people wanted a less cruel method of execution. The state of New York chose the electric chair. This execution method has been used only in the United States and, for several decades, in the Philippines (its first use there in 1924, last in 1976). The electric chair has become a symbol of the death penalty, and a part of American folklore. However, it is becoming replaced as a method of executing criminals in the United States by lethal injection. Altogether, 25 US states and the US federal government have used the electric chair. The decline of the electric chair. Death in the electric chair is usually quick as the
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. It is the second largest stadium in Spain. It has a capacity for 85,000 people. The stadium is called Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Spanish. The 1982 FIFA World Cup and the final, were held at the Santiago Bernabéu. History. The stadium was built at the same site of Campo de Chamartín. Construction began in 1945. On December 14, 1947, the stadium officially opened. The first match was against Portuguese champions Os Belenenses (3-1). At that time, the stadium consisted of two uncovered tiers that could hold about 75,000 spectators. Capacity was further increased to 125,000 in 1954, when one of the long sides got expanded with a third tier. The Bernabéu was together with the Camp Nou as the playing venue of the UEFA 1964 European Nations' Cup, hosting one of the two semi-finals and the final between Spain and the Soviet Union (2-1). Towards the end of the 1970s, the stadium had already started to age. Club officials started making plans to build a new stadium in the north of the city. However, with the coming of the 1982 World Cup it was instead decided to renovate the Bernabéu. The renovation included the construction of a roof over the three two-tiered stands and the installation of seats in half of the stadium. As a result, capacity was reduced to 90,800. During the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the Santiago Bernabéu hosted three matches in the second group stage and the final between Italy and West Germany (3-1). In the 1990s, UEFA required the stadium to become an all-seater, which would have reduced capacity to 50,000 seats. The club president therefore started a redevelopment program. The changes included extending the third tier over the entire stadium, the creation of corporate facilities, and four access towers in each corner of the stadium. Works started in 1992 and were completed two years later. The stadium was further refurbished and upgraded between 2001 and
Electrocution or electric shock is when electricity passes through something living. It happens when the human body gets in contact with electric current. The word "electrocution" originated as a portmanteau between electricity and execution, referring to those executed by electric chair, but has evolved to describe any fatal encounter with electricity. Nonfatal encounters are called electric shocks, or simply a "shock".  The human body is affected by electric current (measured in Amperes). If the electric current is strong, it can stop heartbeat and cause death. High current can cause severe burns and even fry the victim alive. In order for current to flow through a body you need a sufficiently high voltage, typically more than 50 volts AC, and the voltage generator must be able to supply enough current. Super high voltages, such as from a small Tesla coil, supply such a small amount of current that a person feels just a tickle. A large Tesla coil can burn and kill.  Safety devices like a GFCI or RCD try to protect humans from any current greater than 5 to 30 mA (0.005 to 0.03 Amps). Human muscles are paralyzed -- you cannot move an affected arm or leg -- at currents from 10 to 20 mA; as a result a victim may be unable to let go of a wire that is shocking him. At around 20 mA breathing is difficult. At about 75mA breathing stops. At 100 mA the heart fibrillates -- death is quick. At 200 mA you get severe musculature contractions and burning.
Stora Enso is a Finnish-Swedish cellulose and paper making corporation. It is the one of the largest paper making firms in the world. It was formed by the merger of Swedish mining and forestry products company Stora and Finnish forestry products company Enso-Gutzeit Oy in 1998.  Its head office is in Helsinki, and it has some 46,000 employees. In 2002 it was the fifth largest pulp and paper maker in money income and in 2005 it was the world's largest pulp and paper manufacturer in terms of tonnes. The Finnish State is the biggest owner in the company. The Stora corporation originally began as a copper mine (whole name "Stora Kopparbergs Bergslag" (Big Copper Mountain's Mining Works)). It was founded in 1288 and it is the oldest corporation in the world. It later became also a paper and cellulose maker. Enso-Gutzeit was founded by Mr. Hans Gutzeit in a small town called Enso in Finland. It was founded in 19th century. Both companies were the largest paper and cellulose makers of both countries. It is the second largest corporation in Scandinavia after Nokia.
A SpeechWeb is a collection of SpeechWeb applications. The collection or web of applications can be navigated using a SpeechWeb browser. The goals of the SpeechWeb are:  A SpeechWeb browser is a document or program allowing a human user to interact with a SpeechWeb application. A SpeechWeb browser can be implemented in X+V, VoiceXML, or others. An example browser using X+V is available here . A SpeechWeb application is an application that provides a special interface. The basic idea is that not much more than natural language is used to communicate with the applications. SpeechWeb applications also need to describe the possible input texts by publishing a JSGF grammar.
Tikal (or Tik’al, according to modern orthography) is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. It is in modern day Guatemala at . Now it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular tourist spot.  Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. The oldest monumental architecture at the site dates to the 4th century BC. The best time of Tikal was during the Classic Period, from 200 AD to 900 AD. In this period, Tikal was in charge of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily. This is because it was linked with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as central Mexican, the center of Teotihuacan. After the end of the Late Classic Period, no new major monuments were built. Some palaces were burned and the population declined. The site was abandoned by the end of the 10th century. Site characteristics. The ruins are on lowland rainforest, but Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored underground. Archaeologists working in Tikal during the last century used the underground facilities to store water for their own use. The absence of springs, rivers, and lakes nearby is unusual for a major city. However, Tikal did well with intensive agricultural techniques. These were more advanced than the slash &amp; burn methods originally theorized by archeologists. The reliance on seasonal rainfall made Tikal open to drought. This is now thought to play a major part in the "Classic Maya Collapse". Rulers. The known rulers of Tikal, with general or specific dates attributed to them, include the following:
The bard probably belonged to a social class in Celtic Europe. Bards were poets or singers and were most likely in the service of Celtic nobility. They were probably employed to tell about how good their master (the nobleman) was or to sing about what he did. Today, it is not quite clear what the difference was from a druid. Early Roman scolars used the word vates to refer to all of them, which has been translated as "prophet" or "soothsayer". It is also a common school in the North East Pacific West.
A mausoleum is a building used to store the remains of people who have died. Instead of being buried in soil, like in a cemetery, they are placed in chambers behind walls, or in a vault under the floor. The word came from the name of an ancient king. Lenin's Mausoleum. Soviet leader Lenin is a mausoleum. In 1953, Joseph Stalin was buried next to him but his body was removed during destalinization.