Scientists believe that Ashkenazi Jews originally came from the Land of Israel and initially went to Italy, France, and Germany. Later, during pogroms in the middle ages, mainly in Germany, they fled to Poland and Lithuania, and from there they spread over the rest of Eastern Europe. They then adopted the Yiddish language.
After that, two terms, Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews, became commonly used: The former indicates the Jews who worshiped in the German way and spoke Yiddish, the latter indicates the Jews who worshiped in the Spanish way and spoke the Ladino language. They differ in language (pronunciation), cultural tradition and worship style.
During World War II, about 6 million Jews, 5 million of whom were Ashkenazi, were killed in the Holocaust. The Holocaust destroyed or greatly reduced the large Jewish communities and the Yiddish language in Europe. Many of the surviving Ashkenazi Jews emigrated to countries such as Israel, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and the United States after the war.
As of 2018, Ashkenazim are around 75% of the 14.6 million Jews of the world. They are also the mainstream of Israeli politics. Famous Ashkenazim are Albert Einstein, George Gershwin, Gustav Mahler, Franz Kafka.
Dilation and evacuation
Dilation and evacuation (or "D&E") is a medical procedure. It may be used as a method of abortion when a woman is in her second trimester (between 12–32 weeks pregnant). This procedure also may be used after a woman has a miscarriage, to make sure that the uterus is emptied out completely. If tissue is left behind in a woman's uterus after a miscarriage, she can get an infection.
A dilation and evacuation involves two major steps. First, the cervix (the bottom part of the uterus) is dilated, or made bigger. This is often done about a day before the actual procedure. To dilate the cervix, a doctor may put special tools into the cervix. The cervix needs to be made larger so that medical tools, like forceps (surgical tongs) or a curette (a tool that is used to scrape away the lining of the uterus) can be put into the cervix.
The second step of the D&E procedure is to evacuate, or remove, everything inside of the uterus. The woman is given a local anesthetic to numb part of her body or a general anesthetic to put her to sleep. The doctor will then put a cannula (a medical tube) into the uterus, through the vagina. The cannula is attached to a bottle and a pump that create a vacuum. The cannula is used to vacuum (or suction) out everything that is in the uterus, including the fetus. The doctor may use forceps to take out any tissue that is still in the uterus. The doctor may also use a curette to scrape out the lining of the uterus. The vacuum can then be used again to make sure that the uterus is completely empty. This is to prevent infection from tissue left behind by accident.
If a woman is earlier on in her pregnancy, this procedure can sometimes be done without dilating the cervix first. This is called a "vacuum aspiration". It can be used for women who are in the first trimester (the first 12 weeks of pregnancy) or for women who are in the early stages of the second trimester. However, sometime during the second trimester, it becomes very difficult to do this procedure without dilating the cervix first. At this point, a full dilation and extraction is needed.
A complete D&E usually takes 10 to 20 minutes. Often, women are able to go home on the same day as the procedure, without staying overnight in a hospital.
Most abortions are done much earlier on in the pregnancy, so a full dilation and extraction is usually not needed.
Visual kei
Visual kei (aka visual rock) is a Japanese musical style that started in the late 1980s. Visual kei was influenced by glam rock. Visual kei artists use striking fashion and theatrical performances to highlight their music.
Early visual kei bands were strongly influenced by glam rock and heavy metal. Over time, visual kei has changed to meet the consumers' taste for music. Today, visual kei music includes goth, industrial, J-pop, and hip hop. Sometimes it is called "neo-visual kei".
Visual kei influenced the Goth lolita fashion trend. Visual kei artists often have wild dress, androgynous looks, jewelry, dyed hair, and thick make-up. Goth lolita dressers say that they are inspired by their favorite visual kei bands.
X Japan is widely seen as the first visual kei band. Other well-known bands that helped to increase visual kei's popularity include Malice Mizer, Luna Sea, and Dir en grey.
Dwarf hamster
The dwarf hamsters represent a group of small hamsters in the genus Phodopus. Although they do not belong to this genus, the Chinese hamster is often referred to as a dwarf hamster as well.
Although more limited in colour than the Syrian hamster, dwarf hamsters are an alternative to pet owners who enjoy a smaller, more sociable hamster. The dwarf hamster was discovered by W.C. Campbell in the early 1900's.
Damien Rice
Damien Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion. Some call his music Brit-pop (British pop music) but he says his music is alternative rock. He is known as a singer and song writer who wrote sad but beautiful songs for on popular movie and television programs. "The Blower's Daughter" is his representative song. It was used in the 2004 move "Closer". His music is often used in ice skating. Recently, Rice was given "special thanks" in the end credits of the Academy Award winning 2007 Irish musical movie "Once". The movie starred fellow Irish musician Glen Hansard.
He was born 7 December 1973 and raised in Celbridge, County Kildare Ireland. Before he started his own solo-career, he was a member of the rock band "Jupiter" which later became Bell X1. In this band, he released 2 singles and 1 album. However, Rice became disenchanted with the label and left the band to pursue a solo career. When he start his own career, he form a band with new members. For example, Lisa Hannigan is famous for featuring Damien Rice's songs like "Cold water", "9 crimes" and so on.
So far, he has released two studio albums: "O" in 2002, and "9" in 2006. And he also has released EPs "B side" in 2004. In 2002, his album was a strong commercial success and won the Shortlist Music Prize. After that, his second studio album "9" released not only in Ireland but also Europe and North America.
Rice is also known for his charity work. He helped the Burma Campaign to free Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Rice and Hannigan recorded a charity song, campaigning for her release, called "Unplayed Piano", which they performed at the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet which is an initiative to support Tibet and to underline the human rights situation in Tibet.
Entrena
Entrena is a municipality in the autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain. The population of the town is 1.488 (2009). Entrena is located near Logroño.
Brahui people
The Brahui people (Brahui: بروہی) are the only Dravidian ethnic group in Pakistan. Of the 2.2 million Brahuis, most live in Baluchistan and Afghanistan, where they are native. They are closely linked to the Balochs with whom they have intermingled, and whose cultural traits they have absorbed. Linguistically they were believed to be a remnant of the inhabitants of the IVC. The Brahui language, also called Bravi, is a Dravidian language.
DNA studies suggest that the Brahui are most closely related to the ancient Dravidian people, which are descedants of neolithic farmers from the Zagros mountains area in modern day Iran.
Chittagonian peoples