juno-labs/simple_wikipedia huggingface dataset:
FLAC

**FLAC** (which stands for **Free Lossless Audio Codec**) is a way to code audio files. It makes those audio files smaller, without affecting the sound quality. It is unlike MP3, because when encoding audio using an MP3 encoder, information is lost and cannot be recovered. When a FLAC file is decoded, it will be identical to the original raw audio. Uncompressed PCM (pulse code modulation) is another way to code audio files that is identical to the original raw audio, but FLAC makes files smaller, while PCM does not. FLAC is the most common lossless audio codec.

Lossy encoders, such as MP3 encoders will generate smaller files than lossless encoders such as FLAC, although with a lossy codec the decoder's output will not be exactly identical to the encoder's input, although with a decent encoder at sufficient bitrate, it will be extremely close.
Eastern Standard Time

There are three different time zones called **Eastern Standard Time Zone**:
- Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10
- Brazilian Eastern Standard Time, UTC−2
- Eastern Time Zone (North America), UTC−5
Decameron

The ***Decameron*** is a collection of 100 short stories. It was written by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio around 1350. In the book, ten friends, seven young women and three young men, leave the city of Florence because of the plague and stay in a large house in the countryside. Each day, they entertain each other by taking turns to tell stories. The stories are of different types. Some are romantic, some are erotic, some are comedies and some are tragedies.

Other writers have used the stories for ideas. Many paintings have been done which illustrate the stories. The picture to the right shows a scene from the story of "The Pot of Basil" in which Isabella buries the head of her murdered lover Ferdinand inside a potplant.

## Other websites

- Decameron Web, from Brown University
- The Decameron - Introduction , from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Lung transplant

A **lung transplant** is transplant, a type of surgery. People who can not breathe without additional oxygen may need a lung transplant. In this surgery, the patient's ill lung or lungs are removed.  A healthy lung or lungs are put into the patient. The healthy lungs may come from a dead or from a living person. When the person who gives, or donates, the healthy lung is still alive, only one lung is removed. Sometimes a healthy person can give just part of a lung to a sick person. A healthy person can normally give a lung or part of a lung without becoming sick.
Damascus

**Damascus** () is the capital city of Syria. In Arabic, its name is Dimashq (دمشق). It is the largest city in Syria with about 4.8 million people living there. Damascus is thought to be one of oldest cities in the world that still has people living in it. It is believed that people started living in Damascus as long ago as 8000 BC to 10,000 BC (12000 years ago).

## Location

Damascus is about 50 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea, sheltered by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

## Economy

Damascus used to play an important role as an important trade center. Now it is not because of political development in the region as well as the development of modern trade. Most goods produced in Damascus, as well as in Syria, are distributed to countries of the Arabian peninsula. Damascus also holds an annual international trade exposition in the fall since 1955.

## Education

There are many universities in Damascus, one public university: Damascus University. while other universities are private, such as the Syrian Private University  and the aljazeera Private University.

## Historical sites

Damascus has many historical sites dating back to many different periods of the city's history. Since the city has been built up with every passing job, it has become almost impossible to dig out all the ruins of Damascus that lie up to 8 feet (2.4 m) below the modern level. The Citadel of Damascus is in the northwest corner of the Old City. The Bab Sharqi street is filled with small shops and leads to the old Christian quarter of Bab Tuma (St. Thomas's Gate). Medhat Pasha Souq is also a main market in Damascus and was named after Medhat Pasha. At the end of the Bab Sharqi street, one reaches the House of Ananias, an underground chapel that was the cellar of Ananias's house. The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is one of the largest mosques in the world and also one of the oldest sites of continuous prayer since the rise of Islam.

## Other websites

- eDamascus - Official website for Damascus
- Damascus Online - Brief information about the city of Damascus
- The 31 Places to Go in 2010 (The New York Times)

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Damascus
- **nickname**: City of Jasmin
- **image skyline**: View of Damascus 02.jpg
- **imagesize**: 280px
- **image caption**: View of Damascus in 2010
- **image seal**: Flag of Damascus (until 2024).svg
- **seal type**: Flag and Seal
- **pushpin map**: Syria
- **pushpin mapsize**: 300
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Governorates of Syria, Governorates
- **subdivision name1**: Damascus Governorate, Capital City
- **leader title**: Governor
- **leader name**: Bishr Al Sabban
- **area total km2**: 105
- **area urban km2**: 77
- **population as of**: 2009 est.
- **population total**: 1,711,000
- **timezone**: Eastern European Time, EET
- **utc offset**: +2
- **timezone dst**: EEST
- **utc offset dst**: +3
- **elevation m**: 680
- **area code**: Country code: 963, City code: 11
- **website**: [http://www.damascus.gov.sy/ Damascus Governorate]
- **footnotes**: Sources: Damascus city area
- **blank name**: Demonym
- **blank info**: Damascene
Heart-lung transplant

A **heart-lung transplant** is a type of surgery to help people who have very sick hearts and lungs. In this surgery, the patient's own heart and lungs are taken out and replaced by healthy organs. During the surgery, a machine called a heart-lung machine pumps blood for the patient and breathes for him or her. Not many heart-lung transplants are done, because there are not enough donated organs.
Ronnie Barker

**Ronald William George Barker** (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005), popularly known as **Ronnie Barker** and (as a writer) **Gerald Wiley**, was an English comic actor, comedian and writer. He was born in Bedford and moved to Oxford when he was four. He is best known for being on the very popular television variety show _The Two Ronnies_. Also on the show was his long-time comedy partner, Ronnie Corbett. Barker died of heart failure in Adderbury, Oxfordshire.
Guantanamo (disambiguation)

**Guantánamo** is a city in Cuba.

**Guantánamo** or **Guantanamo** might also mean:
- Guantánamo Province, a province of Cuba that contains the city
- Guantánamo Bay, a bay in the south of Cuba
- Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a naval base used by the United States, located in that bay
Guantánamo Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Guantánamo|
|Area:|6,167.97km²|
|Inhabitants:|507,118|
|Population Density:|82.22 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
- _This article is about the province in Cuba. For other titular locales and uses, see Guantanamo (disambiguation)._
**Guantánamo** is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province surrounds the important U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.

Guantánamo's architecture and culture is unlike the rest of Cuba.
The original settlement was done by Catalan families from the Ampurdan region of north-eastern Catalunya, Spain in 1764. British forces had occupied the area for over 40 years and Scot-Irish settlers were a constant preoccupation to the Spanish auhorities. In 1805, when the French were forced out of St. Domingue (Haiti) 35,000 French settlers were given lands in Cuba, many French families settled in the Guantanamo area becoming coffee and cacao planters meaning that many buildings are comparable to those of the French Quarter of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana.

Before the Castroite Revolution the Carnivals of Guantanmo were famous in Cuba.

The province is only 80 km away from Haiti its closest point, across the Windward Passage and close enough to see lights on Haiti on a clear night. Guantánamo also has a number of immigrants from Jamaica.

The Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountains (Sierra de Cristal) dominate the province, dividing both climate and landscape. The northern coast, battered by prevailing winds, is the wettest part of the country, while the south, sheltered and dry, is the hottest. The north is characterized by rainforests, while the south is arid and has many cacti.

## Municipalities

1. Baracoa
1. Caimanera
1. El Salvador
1. Guantánamo
1. Imías
1. Maisí (La Máquina)
1. Manuel Tames
1. Niceto Pérez
1. San Antonio del Sur
1. Yateras (Palenque)

## Related pages

- _Guantanamera_
- Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt
La Habana Province (1976–2010)

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Havana City|
|Area:|5,731.59km²|
|Inhabitants:|2,093,715|
|Population Density:|124.06 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||

**Havana Province,** (Spanish - **Provincia de la Habana**), Cuba, is a former provinces of Cuba. On January 1, 2011 it was split into two new provinces - Artemisa Province and Mayabeque Province.

The capital city of Havana is a separate province, surrounded by the province of Havana. It had 711 066 people in the 2002 census. The largest city is the city of Artemisa with a population of 75,000 in 2003. The second largest city is Güines (70,000).

Havana Province had borders with the city of Havana, Pinar del Rio, and Matanzas. It has coasts in the south and north and has dozens of towns and a few small cities which rank between the 20 and 40 largest of the island.

The southern coast of the province has many swamps and wetlands.

Most of the province's farms raise cattle and grow food, mostly potatos and fruit. Unlike much of Cuba, sugar and tobacco play only a small role in the province's economy. There is also much industrialization in the province, with many electricity plants and sugar mills.
Santiago de Cuba Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Santiago de Cuba|
|Area:|6,315km²|
|Inhabitants:|1,049,084|
|Population Density:|168.32 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Santiago de Cuba Province** is the second most populated province in the island of Cuba. It has a population of about 1.2 million people. The largest city Santiago de Cuba (554,000) is its main administrative center. Other large cities include Palma Soriano (125,000), Contramaestre (88,000), Mayarí Arriba (80,000), San Luis (65,000) and Songo-la Maya (50,000).

The province has many material resources such as iron and nickel. The economy, however, relies mostly on agriculture, with large plantations growing bananas, cacao and coffee dotting the landscape. Industry is growing around the capital, as is tourism. The natural beauty of the area is attracting many tourists from both the rest of Cuba and from overseas.

Santiago de Cuba province has been the site of many battles, both during the war for independence and the 1959 Cuban Revolution, where much of the guerrilla fighting took place in the mountainous province.

## Municipalities

1. Contramaestre
1. Chivirico
1. Mella
1. Palma Soriano
1. San Luis
1. Santiago de Cuba
1. Mayarí Arriba
1. La Maya
1. Cruce de los Baños

## Historical use of the name

Before 1976, Cuba was divided into six provinces. One of these was Oriente province, which was, prior to 1905, known as Santiago de Cuba province. See Historical provinces of Cuba.

## Other websites

- Santiago.cu (in spanish)
- Travel info on Santiago de Cuba
- santiagoencuba.com (in spanish)
Granma Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Bayamo|
|Area:|8,375.49km²|
|Total Population:|739,200 hab|
|Population Density:|98,20 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||

**Granma** is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Bayamo. Other towns on it include Manzanillo (a port on the Gulf of Guacanayabo) and Pilón. Cuban military leader and founding father Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was born in the province.

## History

The province was named after the yacht _Granma_, used by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to land in Cuba with 82 guerrillas in 1956. The American who sold them the secondhand yacht in Mexico apparently had named it after his grandmother http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1215891.ece  and so the name of this vessel, with its non-standard spelling, became an icon for Cuban communism. Not every Cuban realizes that the name would translate as _abuela,_ although all can name the mothership of the revolution.

### Results

The province is full of reminders of the Cuban Revolution, and the Cuban Wars of Independence. There are many plaques in the mountains that commemorate the struggle against Fulgencio Batista. The struggle took place in 1959.
It is believed there are many unmarked grave sites from the different wars. The sites of the various palenques, the fortified hamlets of escaped slaves can be found. These have been uncovered by archaeological digs. Most of these are not specially marked. Recently a hurricane destroyed the site of Castro's headquarters at La Plata. Cuba's highest point is located in Granma.

## Economy

There are numerous abandoned gold, silver, and manganese mine sites. This is the area where Raúl Castro holds his centre of power and it is said to be the site of secret garrisons.

Coffee is grown in the mountainous regions of the province, and during the coffee harvest, there may be road blocks, where soldiers ensure that the coffee is delivered to the government and not the black market.

## Municipalities

1. Bartolomé Masó
1. Bayamo
1. Buey Arriba
1. Campechuela
1. Cauto Cristo
1. Guisa
1. Jiguaní
1. Manzanillo
1. Media Luna
1. Niquero
1. Pilón
1. Río Cauto
1. Yara

## Other websites

- Granma Portal  (Spanish)

---
Vail, Colorado

**Vail** is a town in the American state of Colorado. It is best known for being one of the best places to ski in North America. The Vail Ski Resort is the largest ski resort with only one mountain in North America. In 2020, 4,835 people lived in Vail.
Holguín Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Holguín|
|Area:|9,292.83 km²|
|Inhabitants:|1,021,321|
|Population Density:|109.90 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Holguín** is one of the provinces of Cuba, the second most populous after Ciudad de la Habana. It lies in the southeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa.

The province has a population of slightly over one million people. Its territory extends over more than 9300 km², 25 percent of which are covered by forest.

## History

Christopher Columbus landed in what is believed to have been today's Holguín province on October 27, 1492. He declared that it was "the most beautiful country human eyes had ever seen".

The Holguín province was established in 1978, when it was split from the _Oriente_ region.

## Illustrious Sons

General Calixto García (1839-1898), 19th century patriot. Wars of independence from Spain.

Fulgencio Batista (1901–1973), General, President, Dictator of Cuba.

Commander in Chief Fidel Castro (1926–2016), lawyer, revolutionary, ex-President of Cuba.

Army General Raúl Castro (1931), minister of the Revolutionary Army Forces, Vice-President and President of Cuba.

## Economy

Like much of Cuba, Holguín's economy is based around sugarcane, though mining, corn and coffee are also large earners for the province.

At Moa, there is a huge cobalt processing plant with shipping facilities, that was constructed with the help of foreign aid , much of it from Canada. There are chrome, nickel, iron and steel plants dotted throughout the province as well.

Tourism has only recently begun to be experimented with by the Fidel Castro government, and in Holguín, there are numerous hotels around the Guardalavaca area.

## Municipalities

Holguín is divided into 14 municipalities:

1. Antilla
1. Báguanos
1. Banes
1. Cacocum
1. Buenaventura
1. Cueto
1. Frank País (Cayo Mambí)
1. Gibara
1. Holguín
1. Mayarí
1. Moa
1. Rafael Freyre
1. Sagua de Tánamo
1. Urbano Noris

## Other websites

- Holguín.cu
- Holguín Hotels
Las Tunas Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Victoria de Las Tunas|
|Area:|6,587.75km²|
|Inhabitants:|525,485|
|Population Density:|79.77 per km²|
|Total Population|756,431|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Las Tunas** is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns include Puerto Padre and Amancio, as well as the capital, Victoria de Las Tunas (sometimes known as Las Tunas, or even just Tuna).

The Las Tunas province was established in 1978, when it was split from the _Oriente_ region.

The southern coast, which opens onto the Golfo de Guacanayabo, is marshy and characterised by mangroves. This wet area is used to grow sugarcane in, as the wet climate is well suited for the crop.

Cattle are also grazed in the province, which was, until the 1975, part of the Oriente province that was divided into five smaller provinces by the Cuban government. Victoria de Las Tunas was just a small market town until that year, and a large development program was started to modernise the town and connect it by road to Havana.

## Municipalities

1. Amancio
1. Colombia
1. Jesús Menéndez
1. Jobabo
1. Las Tunas (Victoria de Las Tunas)
1. Majibacoa (Calixto)
1. Manatí
1. Puerto Padre

## Other websites

- Periodico 26  — Newspaper of Las Tunas Province (in English)
- Las Tunas portal  (Spanish)
Camagüey Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Camagüey|
|Area:|15,413.02 mi²|
|Inhabitants:|784,178 hab|
|Population Density:|50.22 per mi²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||

**Camagüey** is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas.

Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province. Numerous large cays (including what used to be one of Fidel Castro's favourite fishing spots; the Archipiélago Jardines de la Reina) characterise both the northern and southern coasts.

Sandy beaches are found on both coasts also, and despite a large potential for tourism, the province has seen little development in that area. Exception being Santa Lucía beach, on the North coast.

The economy of the Camagüey province is primarily cattle and sugar (in the north and south) farming, and the province is known for its cowboy culture, with rodeos frequently held. Chickens and rice are also farmed, and a small citrus fruit industry exists. The capital city also has one of the few breweries on the island.

## Municipalities

1. Camagüey
1. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
1. Esmeralda
1. Florida
1. Guáimaro
1. Jimaguayú
1. Minas
1. Najasa
1. Nuevitas
1. Santa Cruz del Sur
1. Sibanicú
1. Sierra de Cubitas
1. Vertientes]
Ciego de Ávila Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Ciego de Ávila|
|Area:|6,783.13km²|
|Inhabitants:|961,914|
|Population Density:|60.70 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Ciego de Ávila** is one of the provinces of Cuba, and was previously part of Camagüey Province. Its capital is Ciego de Ávila, which lies on the Carretera Central (central highway), and the second city is Morón, farther north.

Off the north coast of the province are a string of _cayos_ (cays) - these islands are being developed as tourist resorts, principally Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. The south coast is characterised by mangroves.

Between Morón and the north coast are several lakes, including La Laguna de Leche (the Lake of Milk, so called for its white appearance because of large lime deposits underwater) which is the largest natural lake in Cuba.

Central Ciego de Ávila is used for cattle ranching, elsewhere in the province sugar, pineapples and citrus fruit are grown.

The province was separated from Camagüey Province in 1975 by Fidel Castro's government.

## Municipalities

1. Baraguá (Gaspar)
1. Bolivia
1. Chambas
1. Ciego de Ávila
1. Ciro Redondo
1. Florencia
1. Majagua
1. Morón
1. Primero de Enero
1. Venezuela
Sancti Spíritus Province

**Sancti Spíritus** is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is the identically named Sancti Spíritus. Another major city is Trinidad.

The southern coast of the province is flat, but the western portion of Sancti Spíritus province is mountainous. The southeast has numerous mangroves and swamps.

The largest man made reservoir in Cuba, the Embalse Zaza, is in Sancti Spíritus province.

Tourism is a big earner for the province, with most of the tourism revolving around the old city of Trinidad, a World Heritage listed city which has dozens of colonial buildings (and almost no 20th century architecture) dating back to the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, and, as with most of Cuba, sugarcane and cattle are important commodities. Some tobacco and rice is also grown.

During the 1600s, both Dutch and British pirates attempted to take control of what is today Sancti Spíritus province, but with little success, as the Spanish garrison held them off. From 1660 to 1680, Trinidad was plagued by pirates from Jamaica and Tortuga, and on two occasions, pirates razed the city.

The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara were once all part of the now defunct province of Santa Clara.

## Municipalities

1. Cabaiguán
1. Fomento
1. Jatibonico
1. La Sierpe
1. Sancti Spíritus
1. Taguasco
1. Trinidad
1. Yaguajay

## Other websites

- Hotel del Rijo in Sancti Spíritus
- A complete list of Sancti Spíritus Hotel's
- Hotel Zaza in Sancti Spíritus

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Sanctí Spiritus
- **settlement type**: Provinces of Cuba, Province of Cuba
- **image map**: Sancti Spiritus in Cuba.svg
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: Cuba
- **seat type**: Capital
- **seat**: Sancti Spíritus
- **parts type**: Municipalities
- **parts style**: para
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6779.81
- **population total**: 460,328
- **population as of**: 2002
- **population density km2**: auto
- **blank name sec2**: Human Development Index, HDI (2019)
- **blank info sec2**: 0.767
 · List of Cuban provinces by Human Development Index, 12th of 16
- **timezone1**: Eastern Time Zone (North America), EST
- **utc offset1**: -5
- **area code**: +53-41
- **website**: https://www.espirituano.gob.cu/
- **official name**: Provincia de Sancti Spiritus (Spanish)
 Province of Sancti Spiritus (English)
Villa Clara Province

|colspan=2 align=center bgcolor=#AEFHAD|**Statistics**|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Santa Clara|
|Area:|8,412.41 km²|
|Inhabitants:|817,395|
|Population Density:|97.17 per km²|
**Villa Clara** is one of the provinces of Cuba. Its main cities are Santa Clara (the capital), Sagua La Grande, Placetas, Camajuaní, Remedios and Caibarién.

The coast of Villa Clara is dotted with numerous cays, and there are many coral reefs and sandy beaches, too.

Around Santa Clara, the land rises into the Alturas de Santa Clara. The highest point in the province is in the Alturas, at 464 m above sea level. Villa Clara also has numerous lakes, which are used for both water sports and fishing. The largest Cuban river to drain into the Atlantic, Río Sagua la Grande, is also in Villa Clara province.

Sugar, the commodity that the Cuban economy relies upon, is grown in the plains in the north of the province, and several large mills provide employment to many people.

The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara were once all part of the now defunct province of Las Villas.Santa Clara was the capital of Las Villas.

## Famous People of Villa Clara

- Joe Carollo - former mayor of Miami, USA
- Richard Egues - Musician (Orquesta Aragon)
- Francisco Gatorno - actor
- Rubén González - pianist
- Livan Hernandez - baseball player
- Orlando Hernandez - baseball player
- Wilfredo Lam - painter
- Benny "Kid" Paret - boxer
- José Bernal - artist
- Amelia Pelaez - painter
- Zaida del Rio - painter
- Aida ida Morales - painter

## Municipalities

1. Caibarién
1. Camajuaní
1. Cifuentes
1. Corralillo
1. Encrucijada
1. Manicaragua
1. Placetas
1. Quemado de Güines
1. Ranchuelo
1. Remedios
1. Sagua La Grande
1. Santa Clara
1. Santo Domingo
Cienfuegos Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Cienfuegos|
|Area:|4,180.02km²|
|Inhabitants:|404,228|
|Population Density:|94.54 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Cienfuegos** (Spanish for "one hundred fires") is one of the provinces of Cuba. The capital city of the province is also called Cienfuegos and was founded by French settlers in 1819.

Cienfuegos is the smallest province in Cuba. Growing and processing sugar is very important to its economy. There are many sugar mills and sugarcane plantations across the province.

Scuba diving is a popular activity in Cienfuegos. There are many underwater caves and over 50 places for diving. There are also waterfalls in the mountains of the province.

The provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara were once all part of the Santa Clara province. The Santa Clara province no longer exists though.

## Municipalities

1. Abreus
1. Aguada de Pasajeros
1. Cienfuegos
1. Cruces
1. Cumanayagua
1. Lajas
1. Palmira
1. Rodas
Matanzas Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Matanzas|
|Area:|11,802.72km²|
|Inhabitants:|694,476|
|Population Density:|57.27 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||
**Matanzas** is one of the provinces of Cuba.

### Major towns

Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province.

### Geographical location and appearance

The second largest in Cuba, Matanzas province is largely flat, with its highest point (Pan de Matanzas) at only 380m above sea level.

The north coast has numerous small cays of its coast, and scrubland and mangroves near the shoreline.

The southern coast has one of Cuba's most distinctive features: an enormous marsh, Ciénaga de Zapata that covers both the southern part of the province and the peninsula of the same name. East of the peninsula lies the Bay of Pigs, the site of the failed US backed invasion.

## Economy

Of Cuba's provinces, Matanzas is one of the most industrialised, with petroleum wells, refineries, supertanker facilities, and 21 sugar mills to process the harvests of the fields of sugarcane in the province.

## Municipalities

1. Agramonte
1. Alacranes
1. Arcos de Canasí
1. Bolondrón
1. Cárdenas
1. Carlos Rojas
1. Colón
1. Guamacaro
1. Jagüey Grande
1. Jovellanos
1. Juan Gualberto Gómez
1. Los Arabos
1. Manguito
1. Martí
1. Matanzas
1. Máximo Gómez
1. Pedro Betancourt
1. Perico
1. San Antonio de Cabezas
1. San José de los Ramos
1. Santa Ana (Cidra)
1. Unión de Reyes
1. Varadero

## References

<div class=references-small>
- Cuba Demographycs
</div>

## Other websites

- Provincial portal
Pinar del Río Province

|colspan="2" bgcolor="#AEFHAD"|Statistics|
| --- | --- |
|Capital:|Pinar del Río|
|Area:|10,904.03km²|
|Inhabitants:|726,574|
|Population Density:|66.63 per km²|
|colspan="2" align="center"||

**Pinar del Río** is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is at the western end of the island of Cuba.

The Pinar del Río province has one of Cuba's three main mountain ranges, the Cordillera de Guaniguanico. The mountains are divided into the easterly Sierra del Rosario and the westerly Sierra de los Organos. These form a landscape characterised by steep sided limestone hills and flat, fertile valleys.

The province relies on tobacco farming, with Pinar del Río producing 70% of Cuba's crop, used to make the cigars that are so prized overseas. The best tobacco, used for more expensive cigar brands, is grown in the flat lands of San Juan y Martínez. Tourism in the Viñales Valley is another important part of the economy.
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## Municipalities

- Bahía Honda
- Candelaria
- Consolación del Sur
- Guane
- La Palma
- Los Palacios
- Mantua
- Minas de Matahambre
- Pinar del Río
- San Cristóbal
- Sandino
- San Juan y Martínez
- San Luis
- Viñales

## Famous people from Pinar del Río

- Omar Ajete - baseball player
- Danys Baez - baseball player
- José Contreras - baseball player
- Silvia Costa - high jumper
- Emeterio González - javelin thrower
- Pedro Luis Lazo - baseball player
- Omar Linares - baseball player
- Alay Soler - baseball player

## Other websites

- Official site
- Visit Hotel Pinar del Río
- Villa Maria La Gorda
- Villa Cabo San Antonio
- Hotel Moka, Las Terrazas, Pinar del Río
Hergé

**Georges Prosper Remi** (22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), also known as **Hergé**, was a Belgian cartoonist. Hergé was born in Etterbeek, Brussels from a group of people in Belgium called Walloons and spoke French. He is best known for his comic, _The Adventures of Tintin_. Hergé first made Tintin in _Le Petit Vingtième_ in 1929.
> "This famous Belgian artist is often considered to be the most influential European comic artist ever and his "clear line" style was widely copied by new generation of comic artists."
Hergé died in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert on 3 March 1983. He was 75 years old. Hergé's life's work is watched over by his widow. She shut down Hergé Studios. She started the Hergé Foundation in 1987. It is now called Moulinsart S.A.

## Other websites

- http://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/herge.htm - Hergé Georges Remi - Overview of his life and works
- http://us.tintin.com/about/herge/  - Hergé
Mount Rushmore

**Mount Rushmore** is a famous mountain and memorial near Keystone, South Dakota in the United States. It has the heads of four of America's presidents carved on it: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The Mount Rushmore Memorial is a part of the United States Presidential Memorial, which covers  and is  above sea level (altitude).

## History

Before the memorial was carved, the native Lakota Indian Tribes called the mountain "Six Grandfathers". Later, the mountain was named after Charles E. Rushmore, a well-known later, after an expedition in 1885. The memorial was carved to help increase tourism in the Black Hills, where the mountain was. Doane Robinson first formed the idea in 1923. Robinson convinced many influential people in the United States government to build the memorial. Congress soon allowed construction to begin.

After gaining Congress's approval, Gutzon Borglum, a famous American sculptor, was hired to begin the project.

The work of carving the heads began on March 3, 1925. It was completed on October 31, 1941.
2006 in movies

The following is an overview of events in **2006**, including the highest-grossing movies, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of movies released and notable deaths.

## Highest-grossing movies

|Rank|Title|Distributor|Worldwide gross|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest_|Disney|$1,066,179,725||
|_The Da Vinci Code_|Columbia|$758,239,851||
|_Ice Age: The Meltdown_|20th Century Fox|$660,940,780||
|_Casino Royale_|Sony|$599,045,960||
|_Night at the Museum_|20th Century Fox|$574,480,841||
|_Cars_|Disney|$462,216,280||
|_X-Men: The Last Stand_|20th Century Fox|$459,359,555||
|_Mission: Impossible III_|Paramount|$397,850,012||
|_Superman Returns_|rowspan="2"|Warner Bros.|$391,081,192|
|_Happy Feet_|$384,335,608|||
West Side Story

***West Side Story*** is a musical. It is based on Shakespeare's play, _Romeo and Juliet_. The book was written by Arthur Laurents. The music was composed by Leonard Bernstein, and the lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim. It starred Carol Lawrence as Maria.

_West Side Story_ opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on 26 September 1957, and on the West End at Her Majesty's Theatre on 12 December 1958. On the West End, was performed 1,039 times. It won two Tony Awards.

The musical was adapted to a movie in 1961, starring Natalie Wood. The movie won 10 Academy Awards. The movie was remade in 2021.

## Plot

The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid-1950s.  It is a working-class neighborhood with a mixture of ethnic groups. (In the early 1960s, much of the neighborhood would be cleared to make room for Lincoln Center, which changed the neighborhood.)

The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks' members are immigrants from Puerto Rico. The Jets' members are Caucasian (their families immigrated from places like Ireland and Italy).  The two gangs fight over which areas in the neighborhood belong to which gang.

There are four main characters in the play:
- Riff, the Jets' leader
- Bernardo, the Sharks' leader
- Maria, Bernardo's sister
- Tony, Riff's best friend.  Tony used to be a member of the Jets.
After meeting her at a dance, Tony falls in love with Maria.  This causes more fighting between the Jets and the Sharks.

## Music

Bernstein's score for the musical includes:

## Importance

The play's dark theme, sophisticated music, long dance scenes, and focus on social problems made _West Side Story_ a turning point in American musical theatre.

## Related pages

- Musical theatre
- _Romeo and Juliet_

## Other websites

- The Official West Side Story website

## Infobox (musical)

- **name**: West Side Story
- **image**: The Rumble from West Side Story 1957.JPG
- **caption**: Scene from the first performance of _West Side Story_ in 1957
- **music**: Leonard Bernstein
- **lyrics**: Stephen Sondheim
- **book**: Arthur Laurents
- **basis**: _Romeo and Juliet_, play by William Shakespeare
- **productions**: Broadway (1957)
West End theatre, West End (1958)
Movie (1961)
Lorscheid

**Lorscheid** is a village and a part of the Ruwer (municipality) near Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Lorscheid is on an old Roman road. Many archaeological settlements are nearby. The village is first mentioned in the inventory of the Abbey of St. Maximin in Trier for the year 1211.

## Other websites

- Lorscheid

## Infobox (german location)

- **image photo**: Herl-Lorscheid02.jpg
- **image coa**: DEU Lorscheid COA.svg
- **image plan**: Lorscheid in TR.svg
- **state**: Rheinland-Pfalz
- **district**: Trier-Saarburg
- **verbandsgemeinde**: Ruwer
- **elevation**: 420
- **area**: 5.09
- **population**: 601
- **stand**: 2006-12-31
- **postal code**: 54317
- **area code**: 06500
- **licence**: TR
- **gemeindeschlüssel**: 07 2 35 080
- **mayor**: Jutta Gard-Becker
Thrash metal

**Thrash metal** is an extreme metal type of heavy metal music that is characterised by its high speed and aggression.

## Origins

The origins of thrash metal are generally traced to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a number of bands began incorporating the sound of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of hardcore punk and more specifically Thrashcore, creating a new genre and developing into a separate movement from punk rock. This genre is much more aggressive compared to its relative, speed metal.

## Thrash metal bands

- Anthrax
- Artillery
- As I Lay Dying
- Celtic Frost
- Coroner
- D.R.I.
- Dark Angel
- Death Angel
- Deaths Head
- Defiance
- Destroyer 666
- Excel
- Exodus
- Flotsam and Jetsam
- Forbidden
- Hellhammer
- Helloween
- Kreator
- Megadeth
- Mercenary
- Metal Church
- Metallica
- Mortal Sin
- Nevermore
- Overkill
- Onslaught
- Pantera
- Sepultura
- Sabbat
- Sanctuary
- Shadows Fall
- Silent Civilian
- Slayer
- Suicidal Tendencies
- Tankard
- Testament
- Trivium
- Venom
- Voivod

## Infobox (music genre)

- **name**: Thrash metal
- **cultural origins**: Early 1980s, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Latin America
- **fusiongenres**: * Blackened thrash metal
* crossover thrash
* deathrash
* funk metal
* metalcore
- **regional scenes**: * Australian thrash metal, Australia
* Bay Area thrash metal, San Francisco Bay Area
* Brazilian thrash metal, Brazil
* Teutonic thrash metal, Germany
* Polish thrash metal, Poland
* British heavy metal, United Kingdom
- **other topics**: * Extreme metal
* New Wave of American Heavy Metal, NWOAHM
* power metal
* thrashcore
Coronation

A **coronation** is a ceremony that gives a monarch regal or royal power or recognizes that power. The power is symbolized by putting a crown on his or her head. We say that the monarch is "crowned" at the coronation.

The ritual with anointing may have a religious meaning. Coronations are not as common now as in the past, although in some countries such as Great Britain it is still normal to hold the ceremony to install a new king or queen.

## Related pages

- Enthronement
- Inauguration
Perth and Kinross

**Perth and Kinross** (_Peairt agus Ceann Rois_ in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Dundee, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth  is the administrative centre.  It corresponds broadly, but not exactly, with the former counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire.

## Other websites

- Perth and Kinross Council
- Scottish Local Government areas and history
- The Perthshire Diary - 365 history stories
- Perth Scotland

## Towns and villages

- Aberfeldy
- Acharn
- Alyth
- Auchterarder
- Ballinluig
- Blackford
- Blairgowrie
- Bridge of Balgie
- Clunie
- Comrie
- Coupar Angus
- Crieff
- Dull
- Dunkeld
- Dunning
- Finegand
- Fearnan
- Forteviot
- Fortingall
- Glenshee
- Kenmore
- Killiecrankie
- Kinloch Rannoch
- Kinross
- Lawers
- Meigle
- Meiklour
- Methven
- Milnathort
- Muthill
- Perth
- Pitlochry
- Rattray
- Spittal of Glenshee
- Weem

## Places of interest

- Atholl Country Collection
- Ben Lawers
- Blackhall Roman Camps
- Blair Atholl Mill
- Blair Castle
- Castle Menzies
- Cluny House
- Drummond Castle
- Forest of Atholl
- Fortingall Yew
- Glen Lyon
- Grampian Mountains
- Loch Earn
- Loch Rannoch
- Loch Tay
- Melville Monument
- Rannoch Moor
- Strathearn
Cylon

The **Cylons** are fictional robots on the science fiction television series _Battlestar Galactica_.

## The Story So Far

The people from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol created the Cylon robots. They told them to work for them and fight for them. The Cylons stood up to the people from the Colonies and fought against them. The Cylons went away after the war and changed into real people as well as robots. After forty years, the Cylons came back and almost killed all the people in the Colonies. They went after the people that were not killed in many ships.

## Types of Cylons

- Skinjob Cylons look the same as normal people. It is very hard to know if they are Cylons or normal people. There are many Skinjobs that look the same. There are only twelve looks. Cylons that look the same do not always act the same.

- Centurions are metal robots with armor. Humans sometimes call them toasters because they are shiny like a toaster. Centurions fight and work.  They are the only type of Cylons to not be alive.

- Cylon raiders are small ships that fight other small ships. The ship is actually a type of animal.
Gestapo

The **Gestapo** was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. It was formed in 1933. It was led by Hermann Göring, Reinhard Heydrich,Ernst Kaltenbrunner and Heinrich Himmler. It became part of the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1939.

Hermann Göring, the Minister-President of Prussia, formed the unit in 1933. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of SS national leader Heinrich Himmler. In 1936, Himmler was appointed Chief of German Police (_Chef der Deutschen Polizei_) by Hitler.

The name stands for _Geheime Staatspolizei_. This means "secret state police". It was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel.

The Gestapo were allowed to arrest people that offended the government. The government could use the secret police to accuse and arrest anyone they wanted without being questioned. They were important to the SS in enforcing The Holocaust.
Skrewdriver

**Skrewdriver** was a punk rock band formed in Blackpool, England in 1976 by Ian Stuart Donaldson. They later became a skinhead/Oi! band, and became controversial by having racist views. They became one of the first white power punk bands and played a leading role in the Rock Against Communism movement.

## Members

- Ian Stuart Donaldson-Singer
- Phil Walmsley-Guitar
- Ron Hartley-Guitar
- Kev McKay-Bass
- John "Grinny" Grinton-Drums

## Albums

- _All Skrewed Up_
- _Peel Session_
- _Hail The New Dawn_
- _Blood and Honour_
- _White Rider_
- _After The Fire_
- _Warlord_
- _The Strong Survive_
- _Freedom What Freedom_
- _Hail Victory_

## Live albums

- Waterloo Live '92
- Deutschland Erwache

## Collections

- Land On Fire
- Undercover
- 1977-83 The Complete Studio Collection

## Video/DVD

- Skrewdriver-Live In Germany

## Ian Stuart Donaldson solo albums

- Slay The Beast
- Patriot
- No Turning Back
- The Klansmen-Fetch The Rope
- White Diamond-True Blood

## Internet

ISD Records/Blood & Honour/Combat 18 http://www.skrewdriver.net

bbc's united in my bussom

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Skrewdriver
- **img**: Skrewdriver logo.png
- **background**: group_or_band
- **origin**: Poulton-le-Fylde, England
- **genre**: Punk rock
Rock Against Communism
- **years active**: 1976–1993
- **label**: Chiswick Records, Chiswick
Rock-O-Rama
- **past members**: Ian Stuart Donaldson
 Phil Walmsley
 Ron Hartley
 Kevin McKay
John "Grinny" Grinton
Jarosław Kaczyński

**Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński** (born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician. He was born in Warsaw.

As a child, he and his brother Lech Kaczyński starred in the 1962 Polish movie The Two Who Stole The Moon (_O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc_), based on a popular Polish children's story by Kornel Makuszyński.

He was Prime Minister of Poland from July 2006 to November 2007. He is also the chairman of Law and Justice ("Prawo i Sprawiedliwość"), a political party which he helped start in 2001.

He ran for president in 2010, but was defeated by Civic Platform candidate Bronisław Komorowski.

In October 2020, he became the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland.
Sierpc

**Sierpc** is a city in Poland in the Masovian Voivodeship. About 18,872 people live there. The area is 18,6 km².

The football club there is called Kasztelan Sierpc.

## Other websites

- Official town webpage
- Map via mapa.szukacz.pl
- Open air museum in Sierpc - photo
Heart failure

**Heart failure** is when the heart cannot pump blood well. Heart failure is different from cardiac arrest, because the heart is still working. Heart failure can be sudden ("acute"), like after a heart attack, or can come on slowly.

Someone with heart failure can have shortness of breath (which may be worse when they lie flat), waking up breathless at night, swelling of the legs, and needing to urinate often during the night. There are many reasons why someone can get heart failure. Most often, heart failure is caused by heart attacks, high blood pressure, or problems with the heart valves.

A doctor makes a diagnosis of heart failure by asking about the symptoms above, and examining the heart, blood vessels, lungs, liver (for swelling) and legs (for swelling or edema). Other tests to prove the diagnosis are X-rays of the lungs, an echocardiogram (an ultrasound test of the heart) and blood tests.

Heart failure can only be cured with a heart transplant, which is not done often, but most people with heart failure need to take diuretic medicines and other medication (ACE inhibitor, statin). Some people with heart failure are treated with an artificial pacemaker that makes the heart work better.
George Bernard Shaw

**George Bernard Shaw** (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish writer. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.

His best known works are his plays, some of which were made into movies. He wrote many plays about political problems, and those polemic plays sometimes gave him enemies. For example, he wrote a play about prostitution, and another about women's rights.

His play _Saint Joan_ was made into a movie in 1957.

His play _Pygmalion_ was made into a movie twice. The first _Pygmalion_ movie won him an Academy Award for the best adapted screenplay, 1938. Later, the play was also made into a musical play called _My Fair Lady_. The movie based on that musical won 8 Academy Awards in 1964.

Shaw was the first person to win both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award.

Shaw also wrote musical criticism using the pseudonym (made-up name) Corno di Bassetto (which means: Basset horn).

In 1962, his play _Androcles and the Lion_ was printed in a two-language version. On one side of the book, the text is written using regular English. On the other side, it is written using the Shaw alphabet.

He also wrote a play called Caesar and Cleopatra.

## Personal views

Shaw was a vegetarian, did not drink alcohol, and spoke strongly in favor of socialism and women's rights. He was also interested in making the English language easier to spell. In his will, he left money to be used to make a new alphabet. He wanted the new alphabet to have at least 40 letters, so that each sound could be spelled with just one letter.

Shaw delivered speeches supporting the idea of eugenics (selected breeding to improve the human race) and he became a noted figure in the movement in England. He sometimes exaggerated his arguments to an extreme to expose the cruelty that might come from this.

## Infobox (writer)

- **name**: George Bernard Shaw
- **image**: George Bernard Shaw 1936.jpg
- **caption**: Shaw in 1936
- **birth place**: Dublin, Ireland
- **death place**: Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, England
- **occupation**: Playwright, critic, political activist
- **nationality**: Ireland, Irish
- **genre**: Satire, black comedy
- **movement**: Ibsenism, Naturalism (literature), naturalism
- **alma mater**: Wesley College, Dublin
- **signature**: George Bernard Shaw signature.svg
Kalash people

The **Kalash** (Nuristani: _Kasivo_) or **Kalasha**, are an ethnic group of the Hindu Kush mountain range. They live in the Chitral district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They  speak the Kalash language, a member of the Dardic language family of Indo-Aryan.

There are only about 10,000 Kalash people. The Kalash people live in three isolated valleys. They claim to have a Greek origin. The Kalash have a polytheist religion, while neighboring peoples are Muslims. The Kalash are also known for their human features. It can vary from someone with light brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair to someone with white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair.

## Related pages

- Kalasha religion
- Nuristani people

### General Information

- Picturesque Pakistan  Extensive, general Kalash information
- Site Shara Forum for Chitral and the Kalasha
- Kalash: The descendants of Alexander's soldiers
- Reaching out to Alexander’s sons _The Kalash, Pakistan’s remaining pagans, find unlikely savior in British senior citizen_
- The Kalash: The Lost Tribe of Alexander the Great

### Resource

- Kalasha People Online  A blog used by Kalasha and their New Alphabet to write Kalashamondr (Kalasha language)
- Frontier Language Institute  Kalasha dictionary

### Media

- Kalash Valleys  A plethora of high quality pictures of the Kalash people and their homeland.
- Youtube: Kalash Image and video montage
- The Alphabet Book Trailer   Promotional trailer for the feature documentary "The Alphabet Book"