ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Paramilitary describes forces which are organized as military forces, but are not part of the Armed Forces. Examples of such forces are police forces of a country. There are paramilitary groups that are official (run by a country), and others that are not. The name comes from Greek "para" (which means "beside") and Latin "miles" (which means "soldier"). Military compared to paramilitary. Though a paramilitary is not a military force, it is usually equivalent to a military's light infantry force in terms of intensity, firepower, and organizational structure. Paramilitary forces and organizations use "military" equipment, skills, tactics etc that are compatable with the civilian sector (IE: Urban environments etc). During peacetime, Paramilitary professions are usually found in areas such as high profile non-military sites such as laboratories, nuclear power plants, industrial explosive factories, seaports, airports, borders and government sites such as embassies, palaces, political summits etc tasked with roles of VIP protection, anti-terrorism etc. A paramilitary may also commonly fall under the command of a military, even despite not being part of the military or play an assisting role for the military in times of war. Paramilitary forces can also include private military company missions. Quasi-military compared to Paramilitary. Although similar, a quasi-military organization has more near-identical to military aspects ("i.e.", militia, political party, guerrilla, rebel, organized crime, "etc.") whereas a paramilitary is its own ("i.e.," security company, intelligence service, coast guard, border guard, "etc.").
The Palaeolithic (or Paleolithic) was a period of prehistory when humans made stone tools. It was the first and longest part of the Stone Age. It began around 3.3 million years ago and ended around 11,650 years ago. About 99% of human history happened in the Palaeolithic. The Palaeolithic began when hominids (early humans) started to use stones as tools for bashing, cutting, and scraping. All members of the genus "Homo" made stone tools, starting with relatively crude tools made by "Homo habilis" and "Homo erectus". In Europe, the large-brained Neanderthal Man ("Homo neanderthalensis") made tools of high quality. Our own species, "Homo sapiens", made even higher-quality tools. These tools are the first cultural products which have survived to modern times. The oldest stone tools ever found are about 3.3 million years old. Archaeologists found these tools in the Great Rift Valley of Africa. Australopithecines probably made them. Archaeologists have found stone tools in continental Europe from about one million years ago, and in Britain from about 700,000 years ago. During the Palaeolithic Age, humans grouped together in small bands. They lived by gathering plants and hunting wild animals. They made tools out of wood and bone as well as stone. They probably also used leather and vegetable fibers, but these do not last as long as stone and have not survived to modern times. The Palaeolithic ended around 11,650 years ago, when humans began to make smaller, finer tools. In Western Europe, this was the beginning of the Mesolithic period. In warmer climates like Africa, the Epipaleolithic period came after the Palaeolithic. The Pleistocene geological epoch (also called the Ice Age) happened at the same time as the Palaeolithic. In some areas, like Western Europe, this ice age affected the way people lived. In the Middle East, people began to switch from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Both the Palaeolithic and the Pliestocene ended around the same time. Cultures. Oldowan. H
Bolas (from Spanish "bola", "ball", also known as "boleadoras") are a throwing weapon made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs. They are used by the gauchos in South America today, but have been found in excavations of pre-Hispanic settlements, especially in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples used them to catch guanaco and ñandu. Use. Gauchos use boleadoras to capture running cattle or game. The thrower gives the balls momentum by swinging them and then releases the boledoras. The weapon is usually used to entangle the animal's legs, but when thrown with enough force might even break the bone. Design. There is no uniform design; most bolas have two or three balls, but there are versions of up to 8 or 9 balls. Some bolas have balls of equal weight, others vary the knot and cord. Gauchos use bolas made of leather cords with wooden balls or small leather sacks full of stones at the ends of the cords. Bolas can be named depending on the amount of weights used:
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976), was an American businessman and movie producer. During his life, he was one of the richest people in the world. He was born in Humble, Texas to a rich family. He went to Hollywood and became a movie producer and aviator. Hughes broke several world records for flying aeroplanes. He created his own air company, which was later bought by TWA. Biography. Many people now think Hughes may have had OCD or obsessive compulsive disorder. This is because later in life, he kept himself away from the outside world. He lived in a hotel suite at The Desert Inn in Las Vegas as a recluse. He never left his room. He also did not cut his hair or fingernails. He had a group of doctors and other people to help take care of him. In 1972, a man named Clifford Irving claimed to have co-written the autobiography of Hughes. It was later shown to not be real. Hughes died in Houston while being moved to a hospital in Mexico. After he died, there was an argument over his will.
The death zone is the name used by mountain climbers for high altitude where there is not enough available oxygen for humans to breathe. Sometimes, the death zone is also given specific names as "Rainbow Valley" for the Everest death zone. This is usually above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet). Fourteen mountains have peaks that are in the death zone; Those mountains are in Asia, and they are part of the Himalaya and Karakoram. "People are advised not to stay in the death zone for more than 16 to 20 hours", media said; Shorter stays can also be deadly. Most of the 200+ climbers who have died on Mount Everest have died in the death zone.Due to the inverse relationship of atmospheric pressure to altitude, the average person takes in about 30% as much oxygen as at sea level at the top of Everest. Thus, a normal human person accustomed to breathing air at sea level could only be there for a few minutes before becoming unconscious. Most climbers have to carry oxygen bottles to be able to reach the top. Visitors become weak and have the inability to think clearly and make decisions, especially under stress. Since helicopters also perform poorly in thin air, many bodies of dead visitors are left on the mountain. Reports suggest that more than 150 of these bodies, older than 30 years, are still lying in the Everest death zone. Alive in the death zone for more than one night. In 2008, Pemba Gyalje stayed in K2's Death Zone for 90 hours. Among 96 total death in Mount K2, 56 have occurred in the death zone. In 2006, climber Lincoln Hall, had been left for dead on Everest on May 25, 2006. He did survive the event. The lack of oxygen in his blood made it easier for him to get frostbite. He also had headaches, nausea, vomiting and hallucinations. He said later this was caused by cerebral edema. This is a swelling of the brain. This is caused at high altitude when blood leaks into the brain. It can kill a person if the brain becomes too compressed. Hall was left for dead after his breathing
George Fitzgerald Smoot III (born February 20, 1945) is an American professor of astrophysics and cosmology. In 2006 he won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on cosmic microwave background radiation and COBE with John C. Mather. That work made it possible to measure black holes and cosmic radiation much more exactly than was possible before. This work gave new evidence for the big-bang idea that the universe was once a big explosion. This work was completed using the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE). The Nobel Prize committee said: "the COBE-project can also be regarded as the starting point for cosmology as a precision science." Professor Smoot works for the University of California, Berkeley Department of Physics. In 2003 he was awarded the Einstein Medal. Early life. Education. Professor Smoot was born in Yukon, Florida. He went to Upper Arlington High School in Upper Arlington, Ohio until 1962. He studied mathematics for some time before going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was awarded two bachelor's degrees for mathematics and physics in 1966, and a Ph.D. in particle physics in 1970. Smoots cousin, Oliver R. Smoot, also studied at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and was made famous for the Smoot measurement of the Harvard Bridge between Cambridge and Boston. The "Smoot" length was marked in paint over 360 times on the bridge and is repainted there every year. Oliver later worked as the Chairman of the American National Standards Institute. Early research. Professor Smoot began to study cosmology, and went to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he worked with Luis Walter Alvarez on the experiment HAPPE, a high up weather balloon for detecting antimatter in the upper atmosphere. He then took up an interest in the microwaves in cosmic radiation which had been discovered by Arno Allan Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson in 1964. This work gave new evidence of what the universe is made of. Some researchers thought that the universe was rotating, which would mean that temperature of microwaves would seem different when measured from different angles. With the help of Alvarez and Richard A
Soundgarden was an American rock band. They began in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. Soundgarden helped create the sound of grunge music. This is a genre of alternative rock that first became popular in Seattle. They were first signed to a local record label Sub Pop. Later, they were the first grunge band to sign to a major label, A&amp;M Records, in 1988. Soundgarden became well known with the 1994 album "Superunknown". It debuted at number one on the "Billboard" charts. Two singles won Grammy Awards; "Black Hole Sun" and "Spoonman". VH1 has ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". In 1997, the band broke up because they could no longer agree on the sound of their musical future. The members worked on other projects for more than ten years. Soundgarden got back together in 2010. Two years later, they released their sixth studio album, "King Animal". On May 17, 2017, frontman Chris Cornell was found dead in his Detroit hotel room, the night after a concert at the city's Fox Theatre. An autopsy on his body revealed that Cornell had killed himself. The band broke up after Cornell's death. Early band history. Soundgarden began in 1984. They first had three members: singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. The band named themselves after a wind-channeling pipe sculpture, "A Sound Garden". The art work is in Magnuson Park, in Seattle. At first, Cornell played drums while singing, but in 1985 the band hired Scott Sundquist so that Cornell could just sing. The band's first recordings were three songs on a compilation album for C/Z Records named "Deep Six". Also appearing on the album were early grunge artists Green River, Skin Yard, Malfunkshun, The U-Men and the Melvins. In 1986, Sundquist left the band. He was replaced by Matt Cameron, who had been the drummer for Skin Yard. A Seattle radio station
The Book of Judges is the seventh book in both the Christian Bible (Old Testament), and the Hebrew Tanakh. It was originally written in Hebrew, to the people in Israel. The Hebrew word for the book is "Shaptiym", which means, 'people of judgment.' Content. The book contains the stories of many "judges" who were leaders who typically led the people in battle and then served as a civil leader. While not kings, these men were respected and they sometimes decided cases. That is why they were called Judges. One of the Judges was Samson who was a very strong man. He fought against the Philistines. After his beloved, Delilah, tricked him by cutting his hair, he was made a slave. At his death, he destroyed many enemies by pulling down a building on them. Gideon was another famous judge. He defeated an army of Midianites with only 300 men. Another famous judge was Deborah. She was a military, civil and religious leader.  In the book, there is a pattern which repeats. The people turn from God, and he allows their enemies to harm them. Then they pray to God. He sends them a new judge. This judge helps the people and defeats their enemies. The people are happy for a time, but soon they again turn from God. This happens again and again.
Black people is a term that is used for a racial group of people with a dark skin color. The meaning of the word is mainly used for people of Sub-Saharan African descent, but also includes certain groups in Oceania and Southeast Asia. Black people in the Americas. United States. Black people in the United States are called "African Americans". Before 1860, many Africans were brought to the United States in the European slave trade by white people. Many African slaves worked on cotton, sugarcane, tobacco and rice plantations in the Southern United States for their white slave masters. Later, other Africans came out of their free will. Discrimination against African Americans is a big problem. Black Lives Matter is a movement fighting against racism. In 2010, the cities with the largest numbers of African Americans were Detroit (670,000 black inhabitants) and Memphis (607,000 black inhabitants).  In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American president of the United States. In 2021, Kamala Harris became the first African American to be the Vice President of the United States. Some blacks in the United States are Hispanic, Caribbean or African because of immigration. Most recent African immigrants are refugees from East Africa such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia etc. or high-skilled immigrants from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. Most non-Hispanic blacks in the United States live in the South. States with a large black population are Texas, Georgia, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Maryland, Illinois, Virginia and Louisiana. New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Houston have the largest black population by city. The first black people were brought to the United States by white colonizers on a Dutch boat from Angola in 1619 to the British colony of Jamestown in Virginia. Latin America. White men who were Spanish colonizers shipped African slaves to Latin American countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Cuba, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic because of the decline of Native Americans from smallpox and disease. Native Americans were initially slaves but white Europeans turned to Africans because of the mass
The Book of "Ruth" is the eighth book of the Old Testament (Christian), and the Tanakh (Jewish). It is one of the shortest books in both the Jewish and Christian holy books, consisting of only four chapters. It is unknown who wrote the book. The book does not name its author. In the past, people believed the prophet Samuel (11th century BCE) was the author. But the majority of scholars now date it to the Persian period (6th–4th centuries BCE).  Story of Ruth. The book tells the story of the family of Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion. Because of a famine, they were forced to leave Bethlehem and go to the land of Moab. Once there, Elimelech died, and his sons married two Moabite women. Mahlon married Ruth, and Chilion married Orpah. After some time there, Mahlon and Chilion both died. Naomi was forced to return home because her husband and sons were dead. She then told Ruth and Orpah to return home to their families and find new husbands. Orpah returned home but Ruth promised she would follow Naomi wherever she went. Ruth's pledge to Naomi is found in chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. " But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!"" Although originally made by a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law, a form of this pledge is sometimes included in wedding services. They returned to their home and Ruth decided she would go into the fields to pick up grain the wealthy people would drop on the ground (a common practice in that time). A kind man named Boaz, who was the owner of the field, noticed her and her beauty. He also learned that she had chosen to follow the God
The Mesolithic was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. In the Palaeolithic, people were pure hunter-gatherers. In the Neolithic they were farmers in settlements with domesticated animals and wheat, with over 100 kinds of tools and with pottery. The Mesolithic was a transitional period between the two. It happened at different times in different places. Mesolithic tools are small tools produced by chipping, and are hunter-gatherer tools, often arrowheads and points. Neolithic tools are often polished and far more varied. They are tools of more settled societies with some agriculture. The term 'Mesolithic' was introduced by Hodder Westrop in 1877, though the idea had been used earlier. It was not much used until V. Gordon Childe popularized it in his book "The dawn of Europe" (1947). There is another term, 'Epipalaeolithic', which is sometimes used instead. Distinctive features. The type of tool is the diagnostic factor. The Mesolithic featured devices made with small chipped stone tools. The Neolithic mainly abandoned this mode in favor of polished, not chipped, stone tools. The Mesolithic culture can be set apart from that of the Palaeolithic in these ways: The Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent was the first part of the world to move out of the Palaeolithic. In some areas, such as the Near East, agriculture was already underway by the end of the Pleistocene, and there the Mesolithic is short. In areas with limited influence of ice age, the term "Epipaleolithic" is sometimes preferred. Regions that experienced greater environmental effects as the last ice age ended have a much more evident Mesolithic era. This lasted millennia. In Northern Europe, societies were able to live well on rich food supplies from the marshlands. Such conditions produced distinctive human behaviours which are preserved in characteristic finds. These conditions also delayed the coming of the Neolithic until as late as 4000 BC (6,000 before present) in northern Europe. Mesolithic people in Europe. Genetic research has been done on the skeleton
The Epipaleolithic or "peripheral old stone age" is a term used for the hunter-gatherer cultures that existed after the end of the last ice age, before the Neolithic.  The term is sometimes confused with Mesolithic, and the two are sometimes used as synonyms. Yet, when a distinction is made, Epipaleolithic is used for those cultures that were not much affected by the ending of the Ice Age and the term Mesolithic is reserved for Western Europe where the extinction of the Megafauna had a great influence on the paleolithic populations at the end of the Ice Age.
The Neolithic revolution was the first agricultural revolution. It was a gradual change from nomadic hunting and gathering communities to agriculture and settlement. It changed the way of life of the communities which made the change. It occurred in different prehistoric human societies at different times. Many societies changed 10–7 thousand years ago. The term refers to the general time period over which these developments took place. It also applies to the developments in social organization and technology. These included the adoption of early agriculture techniques, crop cultivation, and the domestication of animals. The Neolithic revolution led to people living in permanent or semi-permanent settlements. Because of this fewer people led a nomadic lifestyle. To be able to know who the crops grown belonged to, the concept of land ownership was developed. The natural environment was changed, population sizes grew, and people ate more vegetable and cereal foods in their diet. Hierarchies developed in society. Grain was stored, and could be traded. Surplus production from good crop yields helped societies survive bad years. General process. With crops and domesticated animals such as dogs, goats, sheep, and cattle, human society changed. Having crops and livestock, they no longer needed to move around. They could build better settlements. Their diet also changed. It included more oats and vegetables. People also started to keep and manage food: it was not advisable to eat all grain seeds, because then there would be no seeds left to plant the next year. Also, there were surplus in some years and that could be traded for other goods with other peoples. These changes happened independently in several parts of the world. They did not happen in the same order. The earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. It is still unclear to what extent plants were domesticated in Britain, or if permanently settled communities existed at all. Early Japanese societies used pottery "before" developing agriculture. In the Paleolithic there were more than one human species, but only the modern human reached the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Vere Gordon Childe gave the name "Neolithic Revolution" to this process in the 1920s. He thought that it was as important as the Industrial Revolution (which happened in the 18th and 19th century). Theories about the Neolithic revolution. There are different theories why this transition could have happened: Reasons why it happened. According to Harland, there are three main reasons why the Neolithic revolution happened:
The British Army is the army of the British Armed Forces, the military of the United Kingdom. The British Army came into being with unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army included regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. Around a quarter of soldiers in the British Army are in the Infantry. Under Oliver Cromwell, the English Army was active in the conquest and settlement of Ireland since the 1650s. The Cromwellian campaign was characterised by its uncompromising treatment of Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War.  Since the Seven Years' War ebded in 1763, the British have been one of the leading military and economic powers of the world. The British Empire expanded to include colonies, protectorates, and dominions throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as having been vital for the rise of the empire and British dominance of the world, the British Army also played important roles in colonisation.  The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars by serving in Spain and the rest of Europe and in North Africa. The war between the British and the French Empires stretched around the world. The British Army finally came to defeat Napoleon at one of Britain's greatest military victories at the Battle of Waterloo.