ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Piciformes are an order of birds containing about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half. Amost all live in woods (arboreal). In general, the Piciformes are insectivorous, though the barbets and toucans mostly eat fruit and the honeyguides are unique among birds in digesting beeswax (though insects make up most of their diet). Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks. An exception are a few species of three-toed woodpeckers. The jacamars aside, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers. They range in size from the rufous piculet at 8 centimetres in length, and weighing 7 grams, to the toco toucan, at 63 centimetres long, and weighing 680 grams. All nest in cavities (holes) and have altricial young, meaning they have to look after their chicks for quite a long time. Classification. Order: PICIFORMES
Piombino is a town and commune in the province of Livorno (Tuscany), Italy, on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. It has an ancient historical centre, derived from the time in which it was the Etruscans' port, near the area of Populonia. In the Middle Ages, it was an important port of Pisa's Republic. Still today Piombino is one of biggest port in Italy, and is one of the most used port for to go in the Elba Island, (with the port of Livorno). Piombino outside the down town has a very big industrial area. Other. Piombino has schools, churches, banks, parks and squares. In the locality of Punta Falcone there is an astronomical observatory, built in 1976. Medals. On July 28 2000, the city of Piombino got the Gold Medal of Military Valor for the fight against nazism and fascism, before and during the World War II.
Caraş-Severin (; Serbian: Караш Северин, "Karaš Severin", ; , Bulgarian: Караш-Северин, "Karash-Severin") is a county (judeţ) of Romania, in historical region Banat. The capital of Caraş-Severin County is Reşiţa. Demographics. In 2002, about 332,000 people lived in Caraş-Severin County. Geography. Caraş-Severin County has an area of 8,514 km². It is the third biggest county in Romania, after Timiş and Suceava counties. The Danube enters Romania in Caraş-Severin County. Divisions. Caraş-Severin County has 2 municipalities, 6 towns, and 69 communes.
The Gold Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: "Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare") is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia. During World War I, the medal was awarded to military personnel for exceptional valor in the face of the enemy. After the World War II, the medal was gave to the cities that fought fascism and nazism during the war.
The Silver Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: "Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare") is an Italian medal established in 1833 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia. During World War I, the medal was awarded to military personnel for exceptional valor in combat. Like the Gold Medal and the Bronze Medal, the Silver Medal was given also to citizens who fought against nazism and fascism during World War II.
The Bronze Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal awarded by the King of Italy.  During World War I, the medal was awarded to military personnel for exceptional valor in combat. For each subsequent act of valor, the recipient was awarded a bar in the corresponding class. As the Gold medal and the Silver Medal, after the World War II, the Bronze Medal was gave to the cities that fought against the nazism and the fascism during the war.
Reșița (German: "Reschitz", Hungarian: "Resicabánya", Krashovani: Решица or "Rešica", Czech: "Rešice") is a city in the western part of Romania. It is the capital of Caraş-Severin County, in the Banat region. About 84,000 people live in Reşiţa as of the year 2004.
Orbetello is a town and "commune" in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is about south of Grosseto, on a lagoon, which is an important Natural Reserve. History. Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan village, which in 280 BC went under the control of the Romans, who had founded their colony of Cosa. In the Middle Ages it was controlled by the Aldobrandeschi family, who held it until the 14th century, when it was bought by the city of Orvieto. After some years, Orbetello was captured by the Sienese Republic. In the mid-16th century it was part of the Spanish puppet State of Presides, becoming its capital. Later it was under the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and, from the late 19th century, the new Kingdom of Italy. In 1927-1933, Italo Balbo's "air cruises" started from Orbetello's lagoon.
Pontedera is a small Italian industrial town in Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Pisa. Pontedera is the headquarters of the Piaggio company,from the 1930s one of most important Italian manufacturers motor vehicles such as the Vespa and the Ape. Piaggio was a subsidiary of FIAT. Today the owner of Piaggio is Roberto Colaninno. Pontedera is in the Arno valley at the confluence of the Era River and the Arno River. The Town has a small lake in Pietroconti called Braccini lake. Important places and monuments in Pontedera. Churches: Palaces:
Colle di Val d'Elsa or Colle Val d'Elsa is a town and "comune" in Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Siena. It has a population of c. 20,000 inhabitants (2005). Its name in Italian means "Hill of Elsa Valley", where "Elsa" is the name of the river which crosses it. Today, Colle di Val d'Elsa is internationally renowned for the production of crystal glassware and art, largely produced in the industrial lower town. History. The area was settled by man from at least the 4th millennium BC. In 1269 it was the seat of a famous battle during the wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines and in 1479 it was attacked by Neapolitan soldiers. From the 14th century it was under the control of the city of Florence and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the unification of Italy in 1860. In the 20th century it became an important industrial town. During World War II it was bombed by Allied aircraft. The oldest part of the town is the "colle alta", the higher part, with a well preserved medieval center. The city is also famous as the birthplace of sculptor and architect Arnolfo di Cambio.
The British Rail Class 141 was the first production model of the Pacer diesel multiple units. They were created because then British Rail had a large shortage of trains so rather than spending lots of money on expensive proper trains, they invented the Pacer. British Leyland at the time had a surplus in the production of bus bodies so the idea was to weld the bus body from an old bus on to a freight waggon chassis. The result of this was that pacers have notoriously poor suspension and are noisier around corners due to flanging (the squeaky noise that you'll sometimes hear when travelling by train). This makes them non-ideal passenger trains so they are now being replaced (or have been replaced in the case of the class 141) by new trains.
Rosignano Marittimo is a "comune" (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany. It is about 80 km southwest of Florence and about 20 km southeast of Livorno. As of 31 December 2004, it had 31,516 people. It has an area of 120.3 km². The "comune" of Rosignano Marittimo contains the "frazioni" of: Castiglioncello, Rosignano Solvay, Vada, Castelnuovo della Misericordia, Gabbro, and Nibbiaia. Rosignano Marittimo borders the following "comuni": Castellina Marittima, Cecina, Collesalvetti, Livorno, Orciano Pisano, Santa Luce.
Santa Croce sull'Arno is an Italian town in the province of Pisa, Tuscany. About 13,400 people lived there as of 2005. Industry. The city is famous for the tanning industries. In 16.92 square kilometres there are about 400 factories and laboratories.
Functional illiteracy means that a person is not able to read, write, and do math well in regular life. Someone who is fully illiterate can not read, write, or do math at all. Such people have perhaps never learnt how to read or write; perhaps they did not need to. A person who is functionally illiterate is different - at some point in their lives, these people were taught reading and writing skills. For different reasons, adults who are functionally illiterate try to avoid writing and reading as much as possible. That way, a person who is functionally illiterate may be able to write their name, but it is very difficult for them to write more than a few sentences. These people have trouble functioning in modern society: when they are confronted with printed materials they cannot perform simple tasks such as filling out a form, understanding a contract, following written instructions, reading a newspaper article, traffic signs, consulting a dictionary, or understanding a bus schedule. Because of functional illiteracy, these people also have a lot of trouble using modern communication technologies, such as a personal computer or a mobile phone. Links with poverty and crime. The people who are functionally illiterate often have other problems as well: Other people may bully them, they may have higher health risks, and stress. Because they cannot get good jobs, they often earn little money. Crime-researchers and sociologists have talked about the link between functional illiteracy and crime. How common it is. "Business" magazine estimates that 15 million functionally illiterate adults had a job in the United States at the start of the 21st century. The American Council of Life Insurers reported that 75% of the Fortune 500 companies provide some level of training to help their workers overcome this situation. All over the U.S 30 million - 14% of adults - are unable to perform simple and everyday literacy activities. The National Center for Education Statistics has more detail. This report sees three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy. There are four levels for each parameter: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a
The British Rail Class 143 is a diesel multiple unit, part of the Pacer family of trains introduced between 1985 &amp; 1986. They originally worked around North East England but were later transferred to Wales. The coaches are based on an Alexander bus body mounted on a chassis from a freight or Goods truck. Twenty-five units were built, numbered 143001-025 but later re-numbered 143601 - 143625.
The British Rail Class 153 "Sprinter" is a single-car diesel multiple unit train. In the early 1990s, British took the decision that running 2-car trains on rural routes was inefficient, and identified the need for single-carriage trains. Initially consideration was given to splitting the Met-Cam Class 156 units to form class 152 units, however due to various problems with the Class 155 units, the decision was taken to split these units instead.
Class 157 was the designation applied to a range of Diesel multiple unit trains of the Sprinter family planned for regional use, in particular for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive. As well as the class number, British Rail reserved carriage numbers in the 526xx and 576xx series for these units. As the Privatisation of British Rail began, this project became unviable as resources were concentrated on the privatisation process, leading to the famous 1064-day 'drought' of new train orders. By the time this period was over, plans had moved on and Stratchclyde ended up receiving a batch of Class 170 units.
The British Rail Class 165 "Network Turbo" diesel multiple units (DMUs) are diesel multiple unit that were built by BREL at York Works from 1990–1992 . These units are suburban trains, with an express version appearing later in the form of the Class 166 "Network Express Turbo" units. The Class 165 belongs to the Networker families of trains.
The Class 168 "Clubman" is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train used by Chiltern Railways for InterCity services between London and the Midlands. They were built in several batches from 1997 onwards. The first batch of units was classified 168/0 under TOPS and bore a large resemblance, both visually and in terms of electrical design, to the Class 165 units previously built by BREL at York. This is because they were based on plans originally drawn up by Network SouthEast and thus can be considered to be Networker Turbos. Subsequent builds, classified 168/1 and 168/2, were given the newer style cab and a new design of wiring and thus are part of the Turbostar family of trains.
The Class 171 "Turbostar" is a type of DMU operated by Southern. The Class 171 is identical to the Class 170, except for the replacement of the BSI coupler with a Dellner coupler. This provision was made in order to allow emergency joining with Class 377 DC third-rail electric units. They live at Selhurst Depot with Class 377’s &amp; 375
The Class 175 "Coradia" is a model of diesel multiple unit passenger train used in the United Kingdom. They were built from 1999–2001 by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham. The fleet was based at Chester Depot. The fleet was used in North Wales on services from Holyhead, South Wales, normally going south or up to the North Wales Coast. Many also operated round the Manchester area.
The British Rail Class 205 (or 3H) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh railway works from 1957–1962. Preservation. Due to a generous disposal policy by Porterbrook Leasing, nearly all of the final units in service were preserved. The only unit not preserved was no. 205012, which had poor bodywork and donated its engine to the only surviving unrefurbished Class 207 unit.
Christopher Flavin is the President of the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization focused on natural resource and environmental issues, based in Washington, DC. He is also a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy] and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, the Climate Institute, and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. His research and writing focus is international energy and climate policy. Flavin has participated in several notable international conferences, including the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the Climate Change Conference in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. He has testified before national and state legislatures and meets frequently with government and international leaders. Flavin is a native of Monterey, California and a cum laude graduate of Williams College, where he studied economics, biology, and environmental studies.
The Class 220 "Voyager" is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin Trains, but are now operated by CrossCountry. They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of . They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets. The trains were built between 2000 and 2001 and the first train entered service on 5 June 2001. The train is still operating currently in 2023 in parts of the United Kingdom. Trains like the Class 220 have made appearances in multiple popular Video Games as a result. Some predecessors of the Class 220 includes the HST and its tilting “cousin” the APT.
Lester R. Brown (born March 28, 1934) is an environmental analyst who has authored and co-authored over fifty books. His books have been translated into more than forty languages. He is the founder of the Worldwatch Institute and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute. The recipient of twenty-five honorary degrees and a MacArthur Fellowship, Brown has been described as "one of the world's most influential thinkers."  Writings. Brown has authored or coauthored 50 books. One of the world's most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages. Among his earlier books are "Man, Land and Food", "World Without Borders", and "Building a Sustainable Society". His 1995 book "Who Will Feed China?" challenged the official view of China’s food prospect, spawning hundreds of conferences and seminars.  In May 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving sustainable development. In November 2001, he published "Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth", and his most recent book is "World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse" (2011).  Awards. He is the recipient of many prizes and awards, including 25 honorary degrees, a MacArthur Fellowship, the 1987 United Nations' Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "exceptional contributions to solving global environmental problems." More recently, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Italy, the Borgström Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, and appointed an honorary professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1991, the American Humanist Association named Brown the Humanist of the Year. Other websites. Books online:
Khamosh Pani (, , ) is a 2003 French/German production about a widowed mother and her young son set in a late 1970s village in Punjab, Pakistan which is coming under radical influence. The movie was released in India too. It was shot in a village in Pakistan.
Gbangbatoke is a small town in southern Sierra Leone. It is in the Moyamba District. The people of Gbangbatoke are mainly from the Mende ethnic group. The Mende language is the main language. Two of Sierra Leone's important politicians, Sir Milton Margai and Sir Albert Margai were born in Gbangbatoke.
The British Rail Class 312 is a type of alternating current electric multiple unit built intended for use on outer-suburban passenger services. It was the last class of multiple unit to be constructed to the British Rail Mark 2 bodyshell, and also the last with slam doors. This latter feature contributed to their relatively early withdrawal (between 25–28 years old, compared to a life expectancy of 30 years). Ironically, the examples withdrawn by First Great Eastern and later 'one' Great Eastern between 2003 and 2004 were slightly newer than most of the carriages the operator introduced during 2005 for use on its premier express service
The British Rail Class 319 dual-voltage electric multiple units (EMU) were built by BREL York in two batches from 1987–88 and 1990. The trains were introduced for new north-south cross-London services from Bedford to Brighton, and since privatisation these services have been operated by Thameslink and First Capital Connect, the former franchise having been merged with the Great Northern section of the former WAGN franchise to form the latter train operating company at 0200 BST on 1 April 2006 as a result of re-franchising. Class 319 units have dual power pick-up, from either 25 kV alternating current (AC) overhead lines for services north of London, or 750 V direct current (DC) third rail to the south. However, some units were only used on outer suburban services in South London. The Class 325 postal units were based on the Class 319 units, with the same traction equipment and body design, but are fitted with cabs of the same design as the newer Class 365 and Class 465  "Networker" units. Since delivery of new rolling stock for Thameslink services started in 2015, a number of Class 319 units have been redeployed for use on other operators' services, including in the North West of England. In 2017, the last Thameslink units were withdrawn and were replaced by Class 700s.
The British Rail Class 320 is an alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU) train found on the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) rail network in Central Scotland, and is used exclusively on the North Clyde Line between Helensburgh and Airdrie, North Lanarkshire via Glasgow Queen Street railway station. 2010 Service. What with the introduction of the class 380 dsiros for the Inverclyde line, the class 334s will be put to service on the Airdrie to Bathgate route, the class 320s will be split between the cathcart circle lines and the Argyll line, 14 of the 1990 built EMUs will be put to work on the Glasgow - Newton, Neilston and Cathcart Circle lines, while the remaining units shall work alongside the class 318s on the North Clyde/Argyll lines. This can not happen without, the class 320s bogies being upgraded, currently, they have a 75 mph top speed, in November 2010 the class will be driven under their own power to WABTEC Doncaster by GBRF drivers where they will be given a full refurbishment scheme which shall include new seats, toilets fitted, painting into the new scotrail saltire livery and their top speed raised to 90 mph.
The British Rail Class 321 alternating current (AC) electric multiple units (EMU) were built by BREL York in three batches from 1986–1989. The design was very successful and led to the development of the similar Class 320 and Class 322 units for use by Strathclyde PTE and Stansted Express (now used by Greater Anglia) respectively. The bodyshell design was also used for construction of the Class 456 direct current (DC) units. The Class 321s were nicknamed 'Dusty Bins', due to the class number sharing the same name as the game show 3-2-1. (This name has also been given to the diesel multiple unit (DMU) Class 153 no. 153321 for the same reason). Past operations. Class 321s were originally built for the Bedford services. However, in 1990, they started being used on Great Eastern Main Line services to Southend Victoria, Braintree and Clacton, to replace the class 302 and 305 EMUs, many of which were approaching 50 years old. Some 321s (many of the 3214s) were sent to work inter-regional services for Silverlink, and then briefly for London Midland, primarily on Euston to Northampton/Milton Keynes/Tring services.
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal rail traffic. Early Shinkansen trains had a top speed of , which is the world's first high-speed rail. Various definitions are used in different countries. According to the European Union, high-speed trains must run at least on existing lines, and at least on newly built ones. According to the United States Federal Railroad Administration, they should go above but there is no single standard, and lower speeds can be required by local constraints. As of 2020, speeds of to are common in regular operation.
The InterCity 125 is the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train (HST) fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two locomotives, one at each end of a fixed formation of carriages, and is capable of 125 mph in regular service. British Rail initially used the fleet on the Great Western Main Line, on the East Coast Main Line, on the Cross Country Route and latterly on the Midland Main Line, serving destinations such as London, Bristol, Edinburgh, as far south as Penzance and as far north as Aberdeen and Inverness. The InterCity 125 took the world record for the fastest diesel-powered train, when it was recorded at an absolute maximum speed of during 1987. From 2017, most have been replaced by the British Rail Class 800 or similar types of train.