The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a large international organization to regulate trade that was established in 1995. As of 2018, there are 164 members and 23 observer nations. In the WTO, agreements are made on trade between countries. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) means that countries have to lower barriers to international trade, such as tariff on goods crossing borders. This lets businesses operate in many different countries.
There are about 30 such agreements. Based on these agreements, the member countries trade with each other. They sell items to each other and follow a set of rules. They have to give a special job to the other country. The phrase used (for such and many alike items) is to give the other country a special job – this is known as to give the other country "a most favored country job". From 2004, if a member sells any item to another member country, the same type of item should be offered to all other member countries.
While it is highly regarded, from its beginning the WTO has also received criticism.
Międzyrzec Podlaski
Międzyrzec Podlaski is a city in the east of Poland, in Lublin Voivodeship. It is on the Krzna rivers. It has 17 283 people.
Qing dynasty
The Qing Dynasty () was a dynasty of rulers of China from 1644 to 1912. The dynasty was founded by the Manchus and so its other name is the Manchu dynasty. The surname of the Qing emperors was Aisin Gioro.
In 1580, Nurhaci became the Jian Zhou general of the Ming dynasty. He unified the Manchu tribe and organised the Eight Banners. In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself Khan (King) and founded the Jin dynasty in Liao Ling. In 1626, Nurhaci led armies to attack Ning Yuan. Unluckily, Nurhaci was wounded by Yuan Chonghuan's Portuguese cannon and he died 2 days later. Huang Taiji, the son of Nurhaci, then succeeded to the throne and became the Khan of the Manchu tribe. In 1643, Huang Taiji was dead, caused by apoplexy. Shunzhi Emperor inherited Huang Taiji's throne. Prince Dorgon became the regent. In 1644, the Manchu armies conquered the north of China. The capital was changed to Beijing. The Ming dynasty was overthrown, though fighting continued until 1683.
The self-strengthening movement ( or ; 1861 - 1895) was a reform organised during the late Qing. With the defeat in the Opium Wars and the outbreak of Taiping Rebellion, the emperor and the imperial officials realised that it was necessary to improve the country's state with a series of reforms. Therefore, the Self-Strengthening Movement was started.
The movement could be divided into three phases: the first phase (1861 - 1872), the second phase (1872 - 1885) and the third phase (1885 - 1895). The major leaders are Yixin, Prince Gong (Chinese: 恭親王), Wenxiang (Chinese: 文祥), Zeng Guofan (Chinese: 曾國藩), Li Hongzhang (Chinese: 李鴻章), Zuo Zongtang (Chinese: 左宗棠), Shen Baozhen (Chinese: 沈葆禎) and Zhang Zhidong (Chinese: 張之洞). However, owing to the conservatives opposition and the problems of modernization, it failed finally.
Reforms were:
With the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movenment, the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the scramble for concessions, many Chinese leaders realised that reforms were urgently needed. Thus, the Hundred Day's Reform (Chinese: 戊戌變法; 11 June 1898 - 21 September 1898) was started in 1898. The leaders of the reform were Guangxu Emperor, Kang Youwei (Chinese: 康有為) and Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啟超). Eventually, it ended in a coup d'état led by Empress Dowager Cixi.
The main reforms were:
The Manchus changed their ways to be more like the Chinese in order to rule them better. The Manchus started wearing Chinese clothes and writing in Chinese. They began to enjoy Chinese food and art. One of the Manchu emperors, Qianlong Emperor, began to worry about how much like the Chinese the Manchus were becoming and he tried to get Manchus to be more Manchu. Qianlong Emperor made Manchus ride horses and shoot bows and arrows so that they would remember where they came from. The Chinese people used different types of clothes like maccukau, konaha, schinin and sakahn.
In the early Qing, Guangdong was a province. There were totally 79 counties. In 1911, it was checked that there were 5,041,780 households, approximately 28,001,564 people. The famous mountains in Guangdong were Lingchau, Huangling and Luofu. Dongjiang, Beijiang and Xijiang were the most important rivers in Guangdong. Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Xiamen and Fujian were the major Guangdong cities.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a video game developed by BioWare. It was released in 2003. The game has a sequel, titled "".
The game, also known as "KotOR", is a role-playing game. Developed using BioWare's engine "Aurora", the game is set in the fictional universe of "Star Wars". The story takes place four thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, 40 years after the war with Exar Kun (circa 3,956 BBY).
Darth Revan has been killed by his apprentice, Darth Malak, who has taken the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. Malak is continuing the war against the Old Republic, using numerous battleships. The Jedi Order sees its hope in Bastila Shan, a young female Jedi who is skilled in the art called "Battle Meditation". With that power, she can optimize the performance of the Jedi troops and the battleships. Also, an unnamed soldier (the player chooses the name) comes under attention of the Jedi Council.
Since it is a roleplaying game, the player can choose which class he wants to be. He can choose between soldier, scout, and scoundrel. The choice affects the statistics of the character (strength, agility, etc.). Also, the player can choose their character's gender and face.
The player must follow several main objectives, with many other minor missions. The player, while travelling on several planets, will meet some people who join him in his quest. A number up to 8 companions can join the player: Trask Ulgo, Carth Onasi, Bastila Shan, Mission Vao, Zaalbar, Canderous Ordo, Juhani, Jolee Bindo.
The main goal is to find the Star Forge, a powerful battle station that builds an endless fleet, which is used against the Republic. The player also has to kill Darth Malak.
The main character (the player) is entirely customizable. Face, gender and class can be chosen from a series of menus. One later discovers that they are Darth Reven, but still go by the original own name.
The player will meet some companions (playable characters, or PCs) during the adventure.
The player will also meet other minor characters (non-playable characters, or NPCs).
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination".
It is an altered state of consciousness.
Usually, one person (the "hypnotist") talks to another (the "subject") in a special way that puts the subject into a trance. While the subject is in this state, he can be influenced by suggestions. The hypnotist can tell him to forget his name, or that the room is hot (he will start sweating), or that he is someone else. Hypnotic suggestions may be delivered by a hypnotist in the presence of the subject, or may be self-administered ('self-suggestion' or 'autosuggestion'). The use of hypnotism for therapeutic purposes is referred to as 'hypnotherapy', while its use as a form of entertainment for an audience is known as 'stage hypnosis'.
Contrary to a popular misconception—that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling sleep—some contemporary research suggests that hypnotic subjects are fully awake and are focusing attention, with a corresponding decrease in their peripheral awareness. Subjects also show an increased response to suggestions. However, the behaviour of subjects under hypnotism goes so far beyond normal focused attention that the description of "altered state of consciousness" is more used.