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cnn

(CNN) -- Alexis Murphy was last seen at a gas station earlier this month, and though police have arrested a suspect in her abduction, his attorney tells a CNN affiliate his client split ways with the 17-year-old after a drug deal. Her disappearance set off a search that extended for 30 miles outside of Lovingston, Virginia, and involved helicopters, search parties with canine units, the Nelson County Sheriff's Office, Virginia State Police and FBI. Alexis left her Shipman, Virginia, home to visit Lynchburg on August 3, and police have surveillance video showing her at a Lovingston gas station, according to affiliate WVIR-TV in Charlottesville. Randy Taylor, 48, was seen on the video and was arrested in her abduction Sunday, police told CNN affiliate WRC-TV, but Taylor's attorney, Michael Hallahan, told WVIR that Taylor was arrested because they found one of Alexis' hairs in his camper. The attorney also told WVIR his client wasn't the last person to see Alexis and that police need to be looking for a "black male, mid- to late-20s, cornrows and a 20-year-old burgundy Caprice with 22-inch wheels." Taylor saw the girl the night she disappeared, the lawyer said. They were both parked at the gas pumps, and Alexis made a reference to smoking marijuana, Hallahan said. Taylor told her he'd like some marijuana, the attorney said. "She said, 'I know a guy.' She told him to meet at another location in Lovingston and they rode up there in both cars," the lawyer told the station. That "guy," Alexis and Taylor all took separate cars to Taylor's camper in Lovingston, where Taylor bought $60 worth of marijuana. The men smoked and drank together, but Murphy did not, the attorney said.

race

I hated writing thank-you notes as a child, but I had no choice: My mother was adamant about honoring other people's kindness and generosity. But now after a childhood spent crafting those notes, the music of gratitude flows naturally from me. I hire Brant to build an arbor around my front door. I drew it exactly as I wanted, and he realized my vision perfectly. Surprised at how the arbor's beauty uplifted me every time I stepped into my house, I called Brant a few weeks after the arbor went up. He answered the phone defensively. "What can I do for you?" he asked, his voice cold and distant. "You can say, 'You're welcome,' " I responded. "I don't understand," Brant shot back. "I am calling to say 'Thank you.' '' Silence. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I love my arbor, and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your work." More silence. "I've been doing this work for 20 years, and no one has ever called to thank me for it," said Brant. "People only call me when they have problems." He was doubtful. I also had a similar experience with L.J. He answered my questions, didn't push, and gave me space to think and decide. I wrote to let him know that he completely exceeded my expectations of what a beat-them-down car sales experience would be like, and that I was happy with my car choice. L.J. called me a few days later. He said that this was the first thank-you note in the history of the dealership. Are we really living in an age when feedback only closes with complaint? It seems to me that when we focus on problems, we only have dissatisfaction and complaint. But when we focus on celebrating goodness, we are likely to turn it into something positive.

race

Because plants cannot move or talk, most people believe that they have no feelings and that they cannot receive signals from outside. However, this may not be completely true. People who studied plants have found out that plants carry a small electrical charge . It is possible to measure this charge with a small piece of equipment called "galvanometer". The galvanometer is placed on a leaf off the plant, and it records any changes in the electrical field of the leaf. Humans have a similar field which can change when we are shocked or frightened. A man called Backster used a galvanometer for his studies of plants and was very surprised at his results. He found that if he had two or more plants in a room and he began to destroy one of them - perhaps by pulling off its leaves or by pulling it out of its pot - then the galvanometer on the leaves of the other plants showed a change in the electrical field. It seemed as if the plants were signalling a feeling of shock. This happened not only when Backster started to destroy plants, but also when he destroyed other living things such as insects . Backster said that the plants also knew if someone had destroyed a living thing some distance away, because they signalled when a man who had just cut down a tree entered the room. Another scientist, named Sauvin, achieved similar results to Backster's. He kept galvanometers fixed to his plants all the time and checked regularly to see what the plants were doing. If he was out of the office, he telephoned to find out about the signals the plants were sending. In this way, he found that the plants were sending out signals at the exact times when he felt strong pleasure or pain. In fact, Sauvin could cause a change in the electrical field of his plants over a distance of a few miles simply by thinking about them.

race

When we talk about red packets, the most important question is "What are you going to do with it?" One thing you could do is to put your money in the bank. Maybe you don't know, some students in Hubei began to use the Xiaogui Dangjia bank card this year. This is a card for children. It is from China Minsheng Bank in Wuhan. Wang Ming is a 14-year-old junior student in Wuhan. He said "All my pocket money has a place to go now. I can pay my own school fees ." Zhu Yu, a manager of Minsheng Bank, said that they knew lots of students who didn't know how to use their money. So they wanted them to know how to use it carefully. Parents worry that children don't know how to take care of the money by themselves. Shen qiangqiang's mother like the card very much. Shen was asking his mother for a computer for a long time, but his mother didn't buy it for him. She said, "We want him to use his card to save money for the computer. If we buy everything he asks for, he will think money comes too easily, and he won't work hard for it." Today, there are many different kinds of bank cards. They are from different banks. People put their money in them. Then they can use their money at any time. People can do many things with bank cards. They can wash cars, go shopping, eat delicious food and travel to other places with the money in their bank cards. The most important thing is not "How much did you get?" It is necessary for everyone to learn how to save your money and use your money correctly.

mctest

Oliver is a cat. He has a sister called Spike. Oliver and Spike like to play outside. They chase bugs in the backyard. When they get tired, they sleep in the sun. They don't like to go outside when it is raining. On rainy days Oliver and Spike sit in the window. They watch the rain through the window. Oliver is big and has grey and white fur. His nose is pink. Spike is small and has grey fur. Her nose is the same color as her fur. Spike is round. Oliver is tall. Oliver likes to eat. He worries when there is no food in his bowl. Spike likes to roll in dirt. Sometimes she is smelly. At Christmas time they like to play with the Christmas tree and presents. Oliver climbs the Christmas tree and breaks ornaments. Spike plays with the presents and unwraps them with her claws.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXV PERILS OF THE FLOOD "Dave! Dave!" yelled Ben, as he saw our hero disappear into the swiftly-flowing river. "Look out, or you'll both be drowned!" "What's the trouble?" yelled Jerry Blutt, as he turned back for the first time since leaving the island. "Buster slipped in, and Dave went after him," answered Ben. "Oh, what shall we do?" he went on, despairingly. "Here--we'll throw out the rope!" answered the camp-worker, and took from his shoulder a rope he carried. In the meantime Dave had come up and was striking out with might and main for his chum. Our hero realized that Buster must be hurt, otherwise he would swim to save himself. "Must have struck on his head, when he went over," he thought, and he was right, poor Buster had done just that and now lay half-unconscious as the current swept him further and further from his friends. It was too dark to see much, and Dave had all he could do to keep in sight of the unfortunate one. But presently the stout youth's body struck against a rock and was held there, and our hero came up and seized the lad by the arm. "Buster! Buster!" he called out. "What's wrong? Can't you swim?" "Hel--help me!" gasped the fat youth. "I--I got a knock on the head. I'm so--so dizzy I do--don't know what I--I'm do--doing!" The current now tore Buster away from the rock, and he and Dave floated along on the bosom of the river for a distance of fifty yards. It was impossible to do much swimming in that madly-rushing element and Dave wisely steered for shore. He continued to support his friend, who seemed unable to do anything for himself.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXVII. LEONARD DE CARTIENNE. We all three stood and looked at one another for a moment, Milly Hart with her finger still pointing to the vacant place where the photograph had been. Then Cecil broke into a short laugh. "We're looking very tragical about it," he said lightly. "Mysterious joint disappearance of Leonard de Cartienne and a photograph of Mr. Hart. Now, if it had been a photograph of a pretty girl instead of a middle-aged man, we might have connected the two. Hallo!" He broke off in his speech and turned round. Standing in the doorway, looking at us, was Leonard de Cartienne, with a slight smile on his thin lips. "Behold the missing link--I mean man!" exclaimed Cecil. "Good old Leonard! Do you know, you gave us quite a fright. We expected to find you here and the room was empty. Are you better?" "Yes, thanks! I'm all right now," he answered. "I've been out in the yard and had a blow. What's Milly looking so scared about? And what was it I heard you say about a photograph?" "Father's likeness has gone," she explained, turning round with tears in her eyes. "It was there on the mantelpiece this afternoon and now, when we came in to look at it, it has gone!" "I should think that, if it really has disappeared," de Cartienne remarked incredulously, "the servant must have moved it. Ask her." Miss Hart rang the bell and in the meantime we looked about the room. It was all in vain. We could find no trace of it, nor could the servant who answered the summons give us any information. She had seen it in its usual place early in the morning when she had been dusting. Since then she had not entered the room.

cnn

A man has been charged with a federal hate crime in connection with what authorities say was a racially motivated "knockout" assault against an elderly black man, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday. Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, of Katy, Texas, has been charged with one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. According to the federal complaint, Barrett attacked the 79-year-old man "because of the man's race and color." He will next appear in court Friday afternoon for a detention hearing. The suspect made a video of the attack November 24, the complaint said. In the video, he allegedly commented that "the plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?" He then allegedly "hit the man with such force that the man immediately fell to the ground. Barrett then laughed and said 'knockout,' as he ran to his vehicle and fled." The victim suffered two jaw fractures and was hospitalized for several days, the complaint said. Barrett's attorney, George Parnham, told CNN the affidavit does not "pull back the layers of mental health." His client has bipolar disorder and takes medication, Parnham said in an earlier call. Parnham said he could not state whether his client carried out the attack, but, "mental health issues definitely played a part in anything that occurred." Barrett "is very sorry for this person," Parnham said, adding that he and his client haven't had much opportunity to discuss the facts of the case.

wikipedia

Raleigh (/ˈrɑːli/; RAH-lee) is the capital of the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees, which line the streets in the heart of the city. The city covers a land area of 142.8 square miles (370 km2). The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 439,896 as of July 1, 2014. It is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. The city of Raleigh is named after Sir Walter Raleigh, who established the lost Roanoke Colony in present-day Dare County. Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University and is part of the Research Triangle area, together with Durham (home of Duke University) and Chapel Hill (home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The "Triangle" nickname originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located in Durham & Wake Counties partway between the three cities and their universities. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau's Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which had an estimated population of 2,037,430 in 2013. The Raleigh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had an estimated population of 1,214,516 in 2013.

race

Tony Hawken, 57, is divorcing his wife Xiu Li, 51, Britain's wealthiest woman entrepreneur , because he says he doesn't like being rich and is 'not in the habit' of spending lots of money. The pair traded up their semi-detached home in South Norwood, London, and bought a PS1.5million house in Surrey. Li, who is now worth $1.2billion (PS700million) according to Forbes, quickly settled into a life which included sipping a PS900 bottle of wine on a luxurious yacht. However, Mr Hawken says he felt more comfortable getting lunch in his local Wetherspoon's. Despite his sudden wealth he continued to buy books from charity shops, and _ dear clothes. In an interview with The Times, he said: 'I think it made me uncomfortable because I'm not in the habit, I don't like spending lots of money -- I've been brought up that way. 'Until recently I was never a wealthy person. I've been moderately comfortable because I have been careful with my money.' Now the couple have decided to part, Mr Hawken will walk away with just PS1million, but says it will be enough for him. He added: 'I have got a settlement which is not great, but it's enough for me because I don't have an extravagant lifestyle. I won't have to work if I'm careful.' On a recent trip to China, Mr Hawken said his wife took him on a yacht and treated him to a PS900 bottle of wine, but he prefers his local Wetherspoon pub. 'I'm getting a little pay when you consider her potential wealth, but I don't really want to fight it.' Mr Hawken met Li on a blind date while he was still a teacher and she was studying English. The couple married, but as Li's business took off the couple spent more and more time apart. Mr Hawken says the couple have spent most of the relationship apart. Far from driving them apart, Mr Hawken believes the distance kept them together, and says they would have divorced a long time ago if they were under the same roof. Mr Hawken says his only regret is not getting a divorce sooner, but he didn't push for it over fears it would affect the couple's teenage son William, now 17. Mr Hawken no longer teaches full-time, but instead gives free tuition to under-privileged children.

wikipedia

Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are decorated eggs that are usually used as gifts on the occasion of Easter or springtime celebration. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in colourful foil, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate. Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth, in Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus, from which Jesus resurrected. In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the blood of Christ, shed as at that time of his crucifixion." This custom of the Easter egg can be traced to early Christians of Mesopotamia, and from there it spread into Russia and Siberia through the Orthodox Churches, and later into Europe through the Catholic and Protestant Churches. This Christian use of eggs may have been influenced by practices in "pre-dynastic period in Egypt, as well as amid the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete". The practice of decorating eggshells as part of spring rituals is ancient, with decorated, engraved ostrich eggs found in Africa which are 60,000 years old. In the pre-dynastic period of Egypt and the early cultures of Mesopotamia and Crete, eggs were associated with death and rebirth, as well as with kingship, with decorated ostrich eggs, and representations of ostrich eggs in gold and silver, were commonly placed in graves of the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians as early as 5,000 years ago. These cultural relationships may have influenced early Christian and Islamic cultures in those areas, as well as through mercantile, religious, and political links from those areas around the Mediterranean.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XX—LANDING ON CAVE ISLAND At the end of a week Dave was more worried than ever. Each day he and his chums went down to the shipping offices and each day returned to the hotel disappointed. Not a word had been heard concerning the missing vessel and those on board. The _Golden Eagle_ was all ready to sail on her return trip to the United States, but Phil told Captain Sanders to wait. “Perhaps we’ll hear to-day,” he said, and this was repeated day after day. It was very warm and the boys were glad they had brought along some thin clothing. They scarcely knew what to do with themselves, and Dave was particularly sober. “I suppose Mr. Wadsworth and the rest are waiting to hear from me,” he said to his chums. “But what is the use of sending a message when I haven’t anything to say?” Another Sunday passed, and on Monday the boys visited the _Golden Eagle_, and then went with Captain Sanders to the nearest shipping office. “Something is going on!” cried the senator’s son, as he noticed an unusual crowd congregated. “Must be news of some sort.” “Let us find out what it is!” returned our hero, quickly. “The _Emma Brower_ has been heard from,” said a man, standing near. “That’s the vessel that was missing, don’t you know,” he added. “What of her?” asked Dave. “Went down in that terrible storm we had about ten days ago.” “Down!” gasped all of the boys, while Captain Sanders looked the concern he felt.

cnn

Sandra Bullock is one of the highest-profile actresses in Hollywood and also one of the world's most photographed moms. It's hard to pick up a tabloid that doesn't feature a photo of the Oscar-winner with her adopted 3-year-old son, Louis Bardot. And now Bullock is speaking out in support of a new law that increases penalties for paparazzi harassing the children of celebrities. "We are fair game, I get it," Bullock told CNN at her handprint and footprint ceremony outside the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday. "Children should be allowed to be children and not be sold. You're taking a picture of a child and selling it!" California Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed the bill, which increases the penalties for intentional harassment of a child because of their parents' employment. The effort gained momentum after actresses Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner testified before the California Assembly Judiciary Committee in August to support the bill. The pair opened up about the hellish conditions faced by their children as a result of aggressive paparazzi. Nicole Kidman knocked down by photog Bullock commends the two on their fight. "I think it's brilliant," she explains."The girls worked so hard, the attorney worked so hard, and I think it's a good sign." According to a release from the governor's office, the new law "increases the maximum jail time for harassment of a child or ward because of the person's employment from six months in the county jail to a year in the county jail."

mctest

John was in the third grade, and nine years old. Every day he had to walk home from school. There were some kids in his class who were mean to him, and during the winter they would throw snowballs at him. John could have told the teacher, but one of the kids was a very pretty girl. She was mean, but John liked her because she was pretty and did not want her to get in trouble. One day, his teacher asked John to stay after class to wipe off the chalkboard and to empty the pencil sharpener. By the time he was done, the other kids had gone home. They could no longer throw snowballs at him. John did not mind helping out his teacher, and he soon stayed after class every day. John was not very good at math, and sometimes his teacher would help him when he stayed after school. She said if John could help her out for at least two weeks, he could pass his math class. John thought it was a good deal, and ended up being much better at math.

wikipedia

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. The city has a population of 763,908 (), of whom 601,448 live in the Municipality of Copenhagen. The larger urban area has a population of 1,280,371 (), while the Copenhagen metropolitan area has just over 2 million inhabitants. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road. Originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century, Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark in the early 15th century. Beginning in the 17th century it consolidated its position as a regional centre of power with its institutions, defences and armed forces. After suffering from the effects of plague and fire in the 18th century, the city underwent a period of redevelopment. This included construction of the prestigious district of Frederiksstaden and founding of such cultural institutions as the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. After further disasters in the early 19th century when Nelson attacked the Dano-Norwegian fleet and bombarded the city, rebuilding during the Danish Golden Age brought a Neoclassical look to Copenhagen's architecture. Later, following the Second World War, the Finger Plan fostered the development of housing and businesses along the five urban railway routes stretching out from the city centre.

mctest

My name is Sandra. Let me tell you the story of the best meal I ever had. I was sitting on the school bench outside Springfield Elementary School, waiting to pick up my granddaughter. She is a real cutie, and I am very proud of her grades. To pass the time, I played my triangle. In my youth, I was a triangle player in a large New York band, the Black Triangles. We all wore full black costumes every time we played. "What lovely triangle music! You make me think of a friend I had once upon a time." A strange lady, about my age, was standing next to me, talking! She was holding a trumpet. It turns out the strange lady was my old friend and Black Triangle trumpet player Matilda. We hadn't seen each other since New York. Matilda told me she wanted to keep in touch, but couldn't remember what I looked like! We found out that all we remembered were the black costumes we always wore! It turns out; Matilda was also there to pick someone up from school. "Well, Sandra, why don't you join me and my grandson for lunch? There is a lovely Thai place right down the road.' We went there with my granddaughter and her grandson, and had a delicious meal. Our grandchildren got married 15 years later.

gutenberg

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO PROJECT OF A DICTIONARY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES--DISAPPOINTMENT--NEGLIGENT AUTHORSHIP--APPLICATION FOR A PENSION--BEATTIE'S ESSAY ON TRUTH--PUBLIC ADULATION--A HIGH-MINDED REBUKE The works which Goldsmith had still in hand being already paid for, and the money gone, some new scheme must be devised to provide for the past and the future--for impending debts which threatened to crush him, and expenses which were continually increasing. He now projected a work of greater compass than any he had yet undertaken; a Dictionary of Arts and Sciences on a comprehensive scale, which was to occupy a number of volumes. For this he received promises of assistance from several powerful hands. Johnson was to contribute an article on ethics; Burke, an abstract of his Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, an essay on the Berkleyan system of philosophy, and others on political science; Sir Joshua Reynolds, an essay on painting; and Garrick, while he undertook on his own part to furnish an essay on acting, engaged Dr. Burney to contribute an article on music. Here was a great array of talent positively engaged, while other writers of eminence were to be sought for the various departments of science. Goldsmith was to edit the whole. An undertaking of this kind, while it did not incessantly task and exhaust his inventive powers by original composition, would give agreeable and profitable exercise to his taste and judgment in selecting, compiling, and arranging, and he calculated to diffuse over the whole the acknowledged graces of his style. He drew up a prospectus of the plan, which is said by Bishop Percy, who saw it, to have been written with uncommon ability, and to have had that perspicuity and elegance for which his writings are remarkable. This paper, unfortunately, is no longer in existence.

mctest

Once upon a time, there was a little white mouse that lived on a farm. He liked to hide in the hay stacks where it was warm through the day and night. On cold winter days, he would wiggle out from the hay stack to get closer to the lamp in the barn, getting some extra warmth. One winter day, the mouse was very cold, but needed something to eat. He left the hay stack, and ran past the lamp. He ran across an old wood board that was laying on top of the snow - the mouse didn't have mittens and wanted to keep his feet warm. He ran and ran until he couldn't any longer. The cold weather was keeping every living thing inside, so the mouse was all alone. He walked towards the house and met a little bug named Fred. Fred told the mouse that he went inside and found lots of crumbs to eat on the kitchen floor. The mouse waited until the farmer's wife, Julie, came out the back door, and then the mouse ran into the kitchen. There were bread crumbs everywhere! The mouse ate as many as he could before anyone found him. He heard the back door open again, and hid under the oven. It was warm there - there must have been a pie baking. Farmer Bill liked pies more than bread, cake, or cookies. The mouse stayed there to warm up, then ran back to the barn to sleep for the night.

race

When he was a teenager, Hunter Adam was very unhappy and he spent many years in a special hospital for people with mental health problems. When he left the hospital, Adam decided to become a doctor, so he went to a medical school in Virginia, USA. But when he was there, he did things in a different way. For example, he didn't like the doctor's white coats, so he wore shirts with flowers on them when he visited his patients and he tried to make them laugh. The doctors at the medical school didn't like Adams because he was too different. But Adams believed that people in hospital need more than medicine. He saw unhappy and lonely people, and he tried to help them as patients, but as people too. He spent a lot of time with children in the hospital and often dressed up like a clown to make the children laugh When he finished medical school and become a doctor, Adams opened his own hospital, called "the Gusundheit Institute",together with some other doctors. They wanted it to be a place with a different way of working with sick people. Hunter Adams became famous during the 1980s, and in 1988, Universal Pictures made a film about his life. It was very successful. In the film, Robin Williams played Adams. Williams said,:"hunter is a really warm person, who believes that patients need a doctor who is a friend. I enjoyed playing him."

race

Walter owns three Italian restaurants which are running very well in Rhode Island in America. Every day his restaurants welcome crowds of customers all over the world. He studied to be a cook, but he sees now that his success is the result of a lifetime education. When he opened his first restaurant, all of a sudden his schooling knowledge , the history of his family and his ethics of his father _ . It made him a person who studied and explored the secrets in the food business. Walter's learning never stops. He says " The food business is one where you need to stay on top. Cooks should be trained. You have to keep on studying or you will be left behind." So he spent more time in reading. Every time he gets new ideas from the book, he brings them into his work. Walter also has a clear understanding about success. That is he would like to be remembered as a person who is creative, who believes in the Italian cooking culture in America. Food is like a bridge connecting to the past, to the family and to the country. He says "Success to me is not how much money I make, but if at the end of the day I am able to make fifteen or twenty customers happy, I'm a happy man."

race

Teary Joe was a boy with a special ability: he could make himself cry in less than a second. If he disliked something, or things became difficult, Teary Joe would not hesitate to put on a pitiful face and set great big tears running down his cheeks. In this way he managed to get practically everything he wanted, because no one could resist the pity inspired by his tearful little face. But one day, Teary Joe met Pipo. Pipo was asking people in the street for some change, in return for him helping them in any way he could. Pipo was very poor; he had no home and no family, so he made a living however he could. Even so, Pipo always had the biggest smiles on his face. Joe took to Pipo, so he decided to help him out in making some money. He went over next to Pipo, took off his hat, put it face-up on the ground, and started crying with the most pitiful of expressions. Ina few minutes, Joe's hat was full of coins and sweets, but when Joe offered all this to Pipo, Pipo declined. "I prefer deserving what I receive," answered Pipo with his usual smile, "It's much more fun making an effort to get things. Maybe I haven't gotten everything I've wanted, but I've done a load of interesting things." Teary Joe didn't answer; he just walked sadly away. Joe had got everything he wanted, but he'd done practically nothing of interest the whole day. That evening, having returned home, Joe requested a delicious cake for his supper. When his mother said no, Joe tried to cry but, remembering Pipo and how joyful he was, he tried to get the cake in some other way. Joe spent the whole evening helping his mother to water the plants and organize the library books. In the end there was no cake. But that wasn't so bad, because Joe discovered it had been much more fun doing all those things that evening rather than just sitting crying to get a piece of cake that, in the end, wouldn't have been worth it.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XX. FOLLOWING ALLEN. Hal was astonished to learn from Katie McCabe that Dick Ferris was coming up the tenement stairs. "He can't be coming here!" exclaimed the youth. "What shall we do if he does?" asked McCabe. "I don't know. Perhaps I had better hide. He may----" At that instant came a knock on the door. "It's him!" whispered Katie. Andy McCabe, the father, pointed to a closet. Hal tiptoed his way to it, and motioned for Katie to follow. The door was closed, and then Andy McCabe answered the summons. Ferris stood at the door, his hair disheveled and his lips trembling. "May I ask who lives here?" he asked. "My name is McCabe." "Isn't there a man by the name of Macklin living here?" went on Ferris. "Macklin?" repeated McCabe, slowly. "Yes, Tommy Macklin." "Not as I know on. What does he do?" "I don't know. I have a letter to deliver to him. So you don't know where he lives?" "No, sir." "It's too bad. Will you please tell me what time it is?" Andy McCabe glanced at the alarm clock that stood on the mantel-shelf. "Quarter to six." "As late as that!" cried Ferris. "I must hurry and catch him before six. Only quarter of an hour. Good-day, sir." "Good-day." In a moment Ferris was gone. McCabe closed the door, and Hal came out of the closet followed by Katie. "What does he mean?" questioned the man. "I'll tell you what it means," said Hal. "He is trying to prove an alibi, in case a body was found in the vat. He thinks you can remember he was here looking for Macklin at quarter to six. If that was true, how could he have helped Macklin at five o'clock?"

wikipedia

Microsoft Word is a word processor developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983 under the name "Multi-Tool Word" for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS (1983), Apple Macintosh running Classic Mac OS (1985), AT&T Unix PC (1985), Atari ST (1988), OS/2 (1989), Microsoft Windows (1989), SCO Unix (1994), and macOS (2001). Commercial versions of Word are licensed as a standalone product or as a component of Microsoft Office, Windows RT or the discontinued Microsoft Works suite. Microsoft Word Viewer and Office Online are freeware editions of Word with limited features. In 1981, Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo, the first GUI word processor, which was developed at Xerox PARC. Simonyi started work on a word processor called "Multi-Tool Word" and soon hired Richard Brodie, a former Xerox intern, who became the primary software engineer. Microsoft announced Multi-Tool Word for Xenix and MS-DOS in 1983. Its name was soon simplified to "Microsoft Word". Free demonstration copies of the application were bundled with the November 1983 issue of "PC World", making it the first to be distributed on-disk with a magazine. That year Microsoft demonstrated Word running on Windows.

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Tony Hawken, 57, is divorcing his wife Xiu Li, 51, Britain's wealthiest woman entrepreneur , because he says he doesn't like being rich and is 'not in the habit' of spending lots of money. The pair traded up their semi-detached home in South Norwood, London, and bought a PS1.5million house in Surrey. Li, who is now worth $1.2billion (PS700million) according to Forbes, quickly settled into a life which included sipping a PS900 bottle of wine on a luxurious yacht. However, Mr Hawken says he felt more comfortable getting lunch in his local Wetherspoon's. Despite his sudden wealth he continued to buy books from charity shops, and _ dear clothes. In an interview with The Times, he said: 'I think it made me uncomfortable because I'm not in the habit, I don't like spending lots of money -- I've been brought up that way. 'Until recently I was never a wealthy person. I've been moderately comfortable because I have been careful with my money.' Now the couple have decided to part, Mr Hawken will walk away with just PS1million, but says it will be enough for him. He added: 'I have got a settlement which is not great, but it's enough for me because I don't have an extravagant lifestyle. I won't have to work if I'm careful.' On a recent trip to China, Mr Hawken said his wife took him on a yacht and treated him to a PS900 bottle of wine, but he prefers his local Wetherspoon pub. 'I'm getting a little pay when you consider her potential wealth, but I don't really want to fight it.' Mr Hawken met Li on a blind date while he was still a teacher and she was studying English. The couple married, but as Li's business took off the couple spent more and more time apart. Mr Hawken says the couple have spent most of the relationship apart. Far from driving them apart, Mr Hawken believes the distance kept them together, and says they would have divorced a long time ago if they were under the same roof. Mr Hawken says his only regret is not getting a divorce sooner, but he didn't push for it over fears it would affect the couple's teenage son William, now 17. Mr Hawken no longer teaches full-time, but instead gives free tuition to under-privileged children.

cnn

Beijing (CNN) -- "Please excuse me, I can't talk about this." Clunk! The phone line goes dead. We had tried to get this British businessman to talk about the mysterious death of Neil Heywood. Heywood has emerged from the shadows to be a key link in a story of intrigue, mystery and betrayal that goes all the way to the inner sanctum of China's secretive Communist Party. Heywood was found dead last November in his hotel room in the sprawling southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing. According to media reports, local authorities quickly ruled his cause of death as "excessive alcohol use." An autopsy was not performed, media reports said, and his body was cremated. Slowly, however, media reports are raising more uncomfortable questions about Heywood's death. He was married to a Chinese woman and had business interests in the country. He moved in the orbit of a company known as Hakluyt and Co., a British strategic information consultancy formed by former officers of the UK's spy agency MI6. Hakluyt has released a statement on Heywood, saying, "We had a long history of advising Western companies on China and we are among those who sought (Heywood's) advice. We are greatly saddened by his death." Now, the British government is asking China to investigate Heywood's death. "Our embassy in Beijing and consulate general in Chongqing provided consular assistance to the family, as we would in any case involving a British national overseas," the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said. "We recently asked the Chinese authorities to investigate the case further after we heard suggestions that there were suspicious circumstances."

cnn

(EW.com) -- Identity Thief (CinemaScore: B) fared even better than expected, bringing in $36.6 million over the weekend across 3,141 theaters. For comparison, Melissa McCarthy's last major film Bridesmaids (though it was in a supporting role) opened at $26.2 million, in 2,918 theaters. With an opening like this, big things are surely expected from Seth Gordon's R-rated comedy which has already surpassed its $35 million production budget. Though Bateman and Gordon had a successful run with Horrible Bosses after a $28.3 million opening weekend in July 2011, Bateman hasn't had this kind of luck with most of his starring roles. Universal's The Change-Up (with Ryan Reynolds) opened at $13.5 million in August 2011 and went on to gross only $37.1 million domestically, on a $52 million production budget. Jonathan Levine's Warm Bodies took second place for its second weekend with $11.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $36.7 million. This breaks Levine's record, beating the lifetime domestic gross of his last feature, the cancer dramedy 50/50 with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which brought in $35 million. The R-rated Hitchcock-style, prescription-drug thriller Side Effects (CinemaScore: B) ended up beating director Steven Soderbergh's January 2012 weekend opening of Haywire, earning $10 million weekend this weekend and averaging $3,845 per theater. We talked a little bit about stars Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum's box office history yesterday. Another star of Side Effects is Jude Law, and he's got a varied track record at the box office. He generally participates in ensemble casts -- Anna Karenina, the Sherlock Holmes franchise, Soderbergh's Contagion, The Holiday -- making his singular box office appeal somewhat more elusive. Side Effects has Soderbergh's name and another strong ensemble, and could go on to a respectable run, even though it won't reach Contagion heights (the epidemic thriller eventually grossed $76 million).

mctest

Leah and the Big Yellow Dog Leah was very happy. It was a bright, sunny day and Mommy was taking her to Leah's favorite place. Leah loved the play park near the water! Mommy parked the car and Leah ran out right away and climbed the big slide. Up she went and then down. Two other kids saw Leah and ran over and slid down, too. Leah was laughing and happy. Suddenly a big, yellow dog walked into the park. This was really a friendly dog, and only wanted someone to play with. But Leah was scared of dogs. Leah didn't see the dog at first. Leah started walking toward the swing, and the dog followed Leah. Before Leah sat on the on the swing, she turned around and saw the dog smiling at her. The dog looked goofy standing there with its mouth open. Leah was scared. She started yelling and screaming. This only made the dog look confused. The dog then began sounding out with Leah, barking and howling itself. They were a sight to see with Leah screaming and the dog howling. Mommy went over and took Leah away from the dog, but mommy could barely keep herself from laughing. The dog's master came and got the dog, and Leah went back to playing. "Some dogs are nice," Mommy told Leah.

cnn

(CNN) -- Paris St Germain have completed the signing of Barcelona's Brazilian left-back Maxwell on a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee. The 30-year-old finalized his move on Thursday after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms with the big-spending French league leaders. Maxwell, who has never made a full international appearance for his country, joined Barcelona from Inter Milan in July 2009, and played 57 La Liga matches for the club without scoring a goal. Who are football's top January transfer targets? In his two full seasons with the Catalan giants, Maxwell collected a remarkable 10 trophies; three Spanish Super Cups, two European Super Cups, two League titles, two Club World Cups and one Champions League. However, he struggled to command a regular place in the Barcelona side, with compatriot Adriano and Frenchman Eric Abidal often selected ahead of him. PSG sporting director Leonardo told reporters: "We're thrilled, he is a player I have always liked and who plays in the same position that I used to play in -- we have something in common." Maxwell himself added: "The main motivation for me to come here was the interest that PSG showed in me. The ambition the club has for the future also persuaded me to join." Paris St Germain, who appointed Italian Carlo Ancelotti as their new coach late last year and are boosted by funds from their cash-rich Qatari owners, are currently three points clear at the top of the French table.

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Wide awake in Aunt Bet's Southern house, Annie Van Lew shivered at the sounds of distant guns. It was bad enough that America was at war, but the young Virginia girl was not used to battles being fought this close. _ .Annie sat up in bed and listened.Had a stranger broken in? Earlier, the family had heard that captured officers recently escaped from a prison nearby. Quietly opening her bedroom door, Annie walked out. A figure in a black gown was walking down the hall. It was Aunt Bet, carrying a candle in one hand and a plate of fried chicken in the other. Annie followed her aunt to a stairway at the far end of the house. Aunt Bet climbed to the top, and opened a door leading to the attic . Annie followed closely behind. In the attic, Aunt Bet stopped at a chest of drawers, moved it aside, and felt along the wall behind it. Slowly a door sprang open, revealing a hidden room. A thin man stepped out of the opening. As Aunt Bet handed him the plate of food, the young man saw Annie in the doorway and froze. Desperately shaking her head "no", the girl raised one finger to her lips. The officer understood and shifted his look. Quickly Annie went back downstairs and hid, waiting until after Aunt Bet left to return. Back inside the attic,Annie called softly to the man inside, who told her where to find the hidden spring. Soon the young officer stood in the open doorway. A small candle burned on a table behind him and, in its soft light, Annie studied his face. Clear eyes reflected the calm of one who faced death bravely. Smiling, he said,"What trouble you should have gotten into if your aunt had turned around!" That night, Annie learned Aunt Bet was one of many daring Southerners whose hatred of slavery drove them to risk their lives by spying for the North. The girl chatted as she dared, wishing her new friend luck when he said he would leave at dawn. Back in her room, Annie felt proud and was determined to guard her family's secret to the end.

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Tom and Mike were good friends. Sometimes they were kind to each other, sometimes they were not. But all of their classmates said they were like brothers. One day they went out for a walk together. At noon they were very hungry and they went into a restaurant to have lunch. The waiter came up to them and asked,"What can I do for you?" "Please bring us two apples first." said Tom. When the waiter put two apples on the table, Mike took the bigger one at once. Tom got angry, "You are impolite,Mike. Why don't you take the smaller one?" Tom said. "But I am right."said Mike with a smile,"if I let you take first, which one will you choose?" "Of course I'11 take the smaller one. "said Tom. "Yes."Mike said,"If you take the smaller one,the bigger one will still be mine. Don't you think so?" "Oh!"Tom couldn't answer.

gutenberg

CHAPTER I I SET OFF UPON MY JOURNEY TO THE HOUSE OF SHAWS I will begin the story of my adventures with a certain morning early in the month of June, the year of grace 1751, when I took the key for the last time out of the door of my father's house. The sun began to shine upon the summit of the hills as I went down the road; and by the time I had come as far as the manse, the blackbirds were whistling in the garden lilacs, and the mist that hung around the valley in the time of the dawn was beginning to arise and die away. Mr. Campbell, the minister of Essendean, was waiting for me by the garden gate, good man! He asked me if I had breakfasted; and hearing that I lacked for nothing, he took my hand in both of his and clapped it kindly under his arm. "Well, Davie, lad," said he, "I will go with you as far as the ford, to set you on the way." And we began to walk forward in silence. "Are ye sorry to leave Essendean?" said he, after awhile. "Why, sir," said I, "if I knew where I was going, or what was likely to become of me, I would tell you candidly. Essendean is a good place indeed, and I have been very happy there; but then I have never been anywhere else. My father and mother, since they are both dead, I shall be no nearer to in Essendean than in the Kingdom of Hungary, and, to speak truth, if I thought I had a chance to better myself where I was going I would go with a good will."

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When we asked Oprah to pick the 10 books she's read in the past decade that have mattered to her most, she was momentarily stumped. For someone who describes herself as --inspired, challenged, and sustained by books, it was almost impossible for Oprah to stay within our limit of 10. Still, she offered up the following, but she emphasized that it was only a sampler of delightful titles that have also managed to teach her -- and all of us -- a few things. 1. Discover the Power Within You By Eric Butterworth 256 pages; Harper One Advice from the internationally known spiritual teacher. 2. A New Earth By Eckhart Tolle 316 pages; Plume There's a reason Oprah picked this for her Book Club in 2008 -- and that she gave audience members Post-it pens along with their copies.So much wisdom, so little time! A real-life guide to living your best life. 3. The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver 576 pages; Harper Perennial This novel is about a family involved in the political trouble of postcolonial Africa. It established Kingsolver as one of our wisest observers of history, politics, and human nature. 4. Night By Elie Wiesel 120 pages; Hill and Wang A memoir of a childhood suffered in concentration camps during the Holocaust. It's horrific butuplifting. --I gain courage from his courage,|| Oprah says. 5. A Fine Balance By Rohinton Mistry 624 pages; Vintage A Dickensian novel about India during the Emergency. Like the aftermath of September 11, it teaches us about cultures we haven't understood. "It takes us out of our own little shell and exposes us to a whole other world out there." Oprah say. 6. East of Eden By John Steinbeck 608 pages; Penguin This classic is about good and evil as played out in a late-19th-century California ranch family. If you didn't read it in high school, read it now. If you did, reread it! 7. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle By David Wroblewski 576 pages; Harper Collins A kind of Hamlet on the prairie, this is the wrenching story of a mute boy and his dog. Oprah compares it to East of Eden and To Kill a Mickingbird. 8. The Pillars of the Earth By Ken Follett 973 pages; Penguin About the challenges of building cathedrals in 12th-century England. This novel couldn't be more different in setting, time, and plot from the author's breakthrough success, Eye of the Needle. Oprah declares it simply "great". 9. The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison 224 pages; Penguin How to choose among the great Morrison's novel? Start with this one about a girl who thinks she has to have blue eyes to be beautiful. Oprah considered it one of the best in a crowded Morrison field. 10. The Known World By Edward P. Jones 400 pages, Harper Collins When this book was published in 2003, it shocked everybody with its description of slave-owning blacks before the Civil War. A daring, unusual examination of race.

wikipedia

MaxiCode is a public domain, machine-readable symbol system originally created and used by United Parcel Service. Suitable for tracking and managing the shipment of packages, it resembles a barcode, but uses dots arranged in a hexagonal grid instead of bars. MaxiCode has been standardised under ISO/IEC 16023. A MaxiCode symbol (internally called "Bird's Eye", "Target", "dense code", or "UPS code") appears as a 1 inch square, with a bullseye in the middle, surrounded by a pattern of hexagonal dots. It can store about 93 characters of information, and up to 8 MaxiCode symbols can be chained together to convey more data. The centered symmetrical bullseye is useful in automatic symbol location regardless of orientation, and it allows MaxiCode symbols to be scanned even on a package traveling rapidly. MaxiCode symbology was released by UPS in 1992. MaxiCode symbols using modes 2 and 3 include a "Structured Carrier Message" containing key information about a package. This information is protected with a strong Reed-Solomon error correction code, allowing it to be read even if a portion of the symbol is damaged. These fields include: The structured portion of the message is stored in the inner area of the symbol, near the bull's-eye pattern. (In modes that do not include a structured portion, the inner area simply stores the beginning of the message.)

wikipedia

The Iberian Peninsula , also known as Iberia , is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is principally divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. It also includes Andorra and a small part of France along the peninsula's northeastern edge, as well as Gibraltar on its south coast, a small peninsula that forms an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. With an area of approximately , it is the second largest European peninsula, after the Scandinavian. The English word "Iberia" was adapted from the use of the Ancient Greek word Ἰβηρία by Greek geographers under the rule of the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabo's 'Iberia' was delineated from Keltikē (Gaul) by the Pyrenees and included the entire land mass southwest (he says "west") of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, by voyaging westward on the Mediterranean. Hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term "Iberia", which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that "it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with... Iberia." According to Strabo, prior historians used "Iberia" to mean the country "this side of the Ἶβηρος" as far north as the river Rhône in France, but currently they set the Pyrenees as the limit. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, with the Atlantic side having no name. Elsewhere he says that Saguntum is "on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia."

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Why Are Pig Farmers Still Using Growth-Promoting Drugs? It's one of the most controversial practices in agriculture: feeding small amounts of antibiotics to animals in order to make them grow faster. But what if the drugs don't even work very well? There's some good evidence that they don't, at least in pigs. They used to deliver a boost in growth, but that effect has disappeared in recent years or declined greatly. The reason for this is interesting and even paradoxical. Researchers think the antibiotics used to work by suppressing low-grade infections. In recent years, however, pork producers found other ways to accomplish the same thing through improved hygiene . As a result, the drugs have become largely superfluous -- yet many farmers still use them. To understand how this happened, you have to step back in time, says Steve Dritz, a specialist in pig nutrition at Kansas State University. Sixty years ago, when antibiotics were new, "people started treating animals, and feeding [the antibiotics], and finding that they had increased growth rates and feed efficiencies," he says. Nursery-age pigs, for instance, grew 12 to 15 percent faster with antibiotics. The animals also needed less feed to reach full weight. Other studies showed similar results in chickens and cattle. In the 1980s, a new set of studies found similar effects. So the growth-promoting effects of antibiotics became standard practice among meat producers. Fast forward to the 1990s. Dritz was starting his career as a scientist at Kansas State University, and pork production was changing dramatically. Previously, pigs were born and raised in one barn or in several barns close together. This meant infections could easily pass from one generation to the next, the way that kids share germs between their friends on the playground and their parents at home. Under the new system, when piglets are weaned, they move to a whole different place. That new site is carefully scrubbed and free of disease. Craig Rowles, who runs a large swine operation in Carroll, Iowa, shows me one such room. There's not a piglet in sight. "This room just got completely washed and disinfected, and now it's going to sit here and dry for a while," he says. A whole group of pigs will come in here together, and later they will move out together to yet another site. "That group of pigs will stay together until they go to market," Rowles says. The groups are kept strictly separated from each other. If workers move between the groups, they first have to change their boots. When farmers adopted multisite production, it cut down on disease -- and pigs actually grew faster.

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Have you ever tried broccoli ice cream? That's what Oliver serves his customers in the new movie Oliver's Organic Ice Cream. The one-minute film was created by kids. A film is a movie. The young students learned their moviemaking skills at the Jacob Burns Film Center. The center is in Pleasantville, New York. Kids who go there learn how to make movies and music videos. The character Oliver and his treats are animated. In an animated movie, objects, such as ice cream and paper dolls, appear to be alive or moving. Animated movies are made up of hundreds of pictures. It takes 15 pictures to make just one second of film. To make a movie that lasts one minute, students need to take about 900 frames. A frame is a picture. Animation expert Joe Summerhays teaches kids the steps to shoot a movie. He says what they learn behind the scenes, however, also counts. Students create their films in small groups. They have to agree on every decision. " The benefit of the class is less animation and more problem-solving," Summerhays said. "It's all about teamwork." About 4,000 kids have made movies at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Mikey Price, 11, of Briarcliff Manor, New York, is one of them. "I'm actually making a real movie," he said. "It's an adventure."

gutenberg

CHAPTER IV THE CHASE ON THE LAKE "He means to give us as much of a chase as possible," remarked Tom, as he glanced over his shoulder. "If I remember rightly, Baxter was always a pretty fair oarsman." "Yes, that was the one thing he could do well," returned Dick. "But we ought to be able to catch him, Tom." "We could if we had two pairs of oars. One pair can do just about so much and no more." "Nonsense! Now, both together, and put all your muscle into it," and Dick set a stiff stroke that his brother followed with difficulty. Baxter had been rowing down the lake, but as soon as he saw that he was being pursued he changed his course for the east shore. He was settled to his work, and for several minutes it was hard to tell whether he was holding his own or losing. "Hurrah! we are catching up!" cried Dick, after pulling for five minutes. "Keep at it, Tom, and we'll have him before he is half over." "Gosh, but it's hot work!" came with a pant from Tom Rover. "He must be almost exhausted to row like that." "He knows what he has at stake. He sees the prison cell staring him in the face again. You'd do your best, too, if you were in his place." "I'm doing my best now, Dick. On we go!" and Tom renewed his exertions. Dick set a faster stroke than ever, having caught his second wind, and the rowboat flew over the calm surface of the lake like a thing of life.

cnn

(CNN) -- Armed renegade soldiers walked through Mali's damaged presidential palace on Thursday, hours after the troops' leaders claimed to have ousted the West African nation's democratically elected leader. Shell casings, bullet-ridden cars and shattered windows were evident in video from outside the palace, as well as at least one burned-out room inside. And there was no sign of or indication of what happened to President Amadou Toumani Toure, with the military group's apparent leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo saying little about him beyond that he was "safe." Still, within much of Mali on Thursday night, the situation appeared to be relatively calm as most people appeared to have abided by coup leaders' call for a nighttime curfew. Amadou Konare, a spokesman for the troops behind the apparent coup, asked citizens to return to their jobs Friday, though he gave no timetable as to when Mali's borders would reopen. Earlier Thursday, Konare was among a group of soldiers wearing fatigues who said on television that they had suspended the constitution and dissolved public institutions because of the government's handling of an insurgency. "Considering the incapacity of the regime in effectively fighting against terrorism and restoring dignity to the Malian people, using its constitutional rights, the armed forces of Mali, along with other security forces, have decided to take on their responsibilities to put an end to this incompetent regime of President Amadou Toumani Toure," said Konare. Surgeons told an aid worker -- who asked to remain anonymous -- that 29 people who had been injured as a result of the recent unrest were in Bamako's main hospital, while another nine were in a medical facility in Kati, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) to the northwest.

wikipedia

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism, while—especially in the rural South—populism was its leading characteristic. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party, leading to a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party and Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social-liberal platform, supporting social justice. Today, the House Democratic caucus is composed mostly of progressives and centrists, with a smaller minority of conservative Democrats. The party's philosophy of modern liberalism advocates social and economic equality, along with the welfare state. It seeks to provide government intervention and regulation in the economy. These interventions, such as the introduction of social programs, support for labor unions, affordable college tuitions, moves toward universal health care and equal opportunity, consumer protection, and environmental protection form the core of the party's economic policy. The party has united with smaller liberal regional parties throughout the country, such as the Farmer–Labor Party in Minnesota and the Nonpartisan League in North Dakota.

cnn

(CNN) -- Real Madrid will name Jose Mourinho as their new coach on Monday after the Spanish giants confirmed they had agreed a compensation package with his current club Inter Milan. Mourinho, who led the Italian Serie A side to an unprecedented treble this season, will now be released from his San Siro contract -- which ran until 2012. The Portuguese, who has guided both Porto and Inter to Champions League glory, will be presented at 1:00pm local time on Monday in succession to Manuel Pellegrini -- who was sacked on Wednesday. Blog: Mourinho will bring magic to Madrid Mourinho reportedly had a release clause which meant Inter were to receive 16 million euros should he depart the club. A joint statement from the two clubs read: "Presidents Massimo Moratti and Florentino Perez met on Friday and, In light of the excellent and constructive relations between the two clubs, an agreement was reached on the contractual clause that binds Jose Mourinho to FC Internazionale. "The time and the manner by which the agreement will be honored has been defined. Massimo Moratti thanks Florentino Perez for his willingness to join him in Milan and for his courtesy, which confirms the strong links between the two clubs." Moratti had earlier told reporters that he was unwilling to compromise with Real on the subject of the release clause. "Mourinho has been spectacular, intelligent, brave and we acknowledge that," said Moratti. "This doesn't take away the fact that there is still an issue regarding the negotiations with Mourinho and with the club that wants him.

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In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between.However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break.Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms.And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms. Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time.She supports the idea."The kids," she says, " have much longer holidays then and I can't afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them.But nobody wants the work in the summer holidays -- they all have holidays of their own. Not surprisingly, some young people disagree.Student Jason Panos says , "It's a stupid idea.I would hate staying at school in the summer.It's unfair, too.The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer.The kids in Spain and American have much longer holidays than here, but they don't forget everything they've learnt in a few months." Nadia Salib agrees."Sure," she says, "the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it.The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble.But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer."

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In 2004, three young men went to a dinner party in San Francisco. Afterward ,they wanted to share a video from the party with their friends. They wanted to send it over the Internet. But at the time, the process of sharing videos that way was difficult. Using e-mail did not work and the friends complained that there, was no website to help them. So they created their own. They called their website YouTube. It made sharing videos easy, so the website soon became very popular. People watched 2.500 million videos in the first six months! Today, more than 70,000 new videos go up on YouTube each day. People watch more than 1,000 million videos a day. Many last no more than 10 minutes. These videos show all kinds of things, from sleeping cats to earthquakes. Most of the filmmakers are not professionals. They are just everyday people making videos, and they use the website in many interesting ways. First many people use YouTube to entertain others. One example is Judson Laipply. He made a funny dance video and put it on YouTube in 2006. People watched the video more than 10 million times in the first two weeks. Now people stop Judson on the street to ask, "Are you the dance guy on Youtube?" Some people have invited him to dance at their parties. A few women even asked to marry him. Judson wants to make more dance videos, and people look forward to seeing them. Other people use YouTube to advertise a business. David Taub does this. He is a guitar teacher and he sells videos of guitar lessons on his own website. He wanted to increase his business, so he put short videos with free lessons on YouTube. People enjoyed watching the lessons on YouTube, and afterward, many decided to go to David's own website. Now David sells hundreds of guitar lesson videos each week. People also use YouTube to help others. Ryan Fitzgerald is one example. Ryan is friendly young man who knows that some people are lonely and have no one to talk to. One day, he made a video of himself for YouTube. In the video, he gave his phone number and invited people to call him. In less than a week, he had more than 5,000 calls and messages from all over the world. These days, he is very busy talking on the phone. He helps people when he can, but mostly, he just listens, like a friend. Finally, some filmmakers use YouTube in a more serious way. They want to inform people about important events happening in the world. For example, they show clips of videos from countries at war, or they show people in need of help after a storm. Sometimes TV news shows do not give enough information about these events. Thanks to YouTube filmmakers, people can go to their computers and learn more. For many people, YouTube is more than just another website to visit. It is a way to communicate with others. More and more people are using it every day, and they will probably find even more ways to use it.

cnn

(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal may be most at home on a clay tennis court, but he has always found comfort on the sea. The "King of Clay" has racked up countless titles on his favored surface, but hailing from the island of Majorca, the Balearic Sea has also been the scene for much personal enjoyment. There was no better way, then, for Nadal to gear up for this week's ATP Monte-Carlo Masters than to sail around Monaco's harbor while being treated to spectacular views of the Cote d'Azur coastline. The world No. 1 -- who is looking to reclaim his title in the Principality after Novak Djokovic ended his eight-year reign in 2013 -- jumped on board the Tuiga, manning the rudder and learning the ropes of how to sail the Yacht Club de Monaco's flagship. "It was a wonderful way to enjoy an afternoon," Nadal told the ATP World Tour's official website. "It was a special experience for me. I am from an island, so the sea, the sails and everything involved means a lot to me." Nadal, who will also be looking to avenge last month's Miami Masters final defeat to Djokovic, still lives in the Majorcan town of Manacor where he was born. But while the 27-year-old is more likely to be found on a motor boat than a sailing ship in the waters outside his house, his experience in Monte Carlo has left a lasting impression on him. "I spend a lot of time on the sea when I'm at home, especially in the summer. I live in front of the sea and the port is three minutes from my home," he said.

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"The Lord of the Rings", one of the best sellers in the new millennium , was made up of three parts--"The Fellow Ship of the Ring", "Two Towers", and "The Return of the King". Millions upon millions of people have read it in over 25 different languages, but fewer know about the author and the history of the composition of the creative masterwork. John Ronald Refuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892. His parents died when he was a child. Living in England with his aunt, Tolkien and his cousins made up play languages, a hobby that led to Tolkien's becoming skilled in Welsh, Greek, Gothic, Old Norse and Anglo--Saxon. After graduating from Oxford, Tolkien served in World War I. In 1917, while recovering from trench fever he began composing the mythology for The Rings. As a professor of Anglo-Saxon in the 1930s at Oxford, Tolkien was part of an informal discussion group called the Inklings, which included several writers. The group was soon 1istening to chapters of Tolkien's imaginative work "The Hobbit". Hobbit was a name Tolkien created for people that could best be described as half-sized members of the English rural class. Hobbits live in hillside holes. One of them,Bilbo Baggins, looks for treasures with a group of dwarves . On the way, he meets the twisted, pitiful creature Gollum, from whom he sees a golden ring that makes the holder invisible. One of Tolkien's students persuaded her employer, publisher Allen & Unwind, to look at a draft . The chairman of the firm, Stanley Unwind, thought that the best judge for a Children's book would be his ten-year-old son. The boy earned a shilling for reporting back that the adventure was exciting, and "The Hobbit" was published in 1937. It sold so well that Unwind asked for a continuation. Over a dozen years later, in 1954, Tolkien produced "The Lord of the Rings", a series of books so creative that they hold readers both new and old -- after their publication.

cnn

(CNN) -- Tiger Woods lived up to his star billing at the Turkish Airlines Open with a tournament best 63 Friday to put himself firmly in contention at the halfway stage of the $7 million event. The World No.1 has been followed by sizable and sometimes over enthusiastic galleries in Antalya and was left frustrated by rain delays on the first day. Woods returned early Friday morning to play the final eight holes of this opening round, picking up three birdies before a late bogey left him on two-under 70. But after a short break the 14-time major winner began to justify his appearance fee with stunning iron and approach play. He charged up the leader board to move to 11-under, just one adrift of Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Victor Dubuisson and Justin Walters. "I'm right there; that's the whole idea," he told the European Tour website. "Got two more days of hopefully making a lot of birdies. "We know it's going to take something really low. You're going to have to go 20 plus probably to win this tournament," he added. Stenson, who formed a star studded trio with Woods and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, backed up his first round 64 with a 68, despite playing with an injured wrist. "It's not in a great state. I have inflammation there, and I strained something else yesterday, as well before I teed off. "So it's not in great shape and I'm just hanging in there day by day and hope it keeps together for another couple of days," said the Swede.

wikipedia

North Rhine-Westphalia (, , commonly shortened to NRW) is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf; the largest city is Cologne. Four of Germany's ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the second largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, both formerly parts of Prussia, and the Free State of Lippe. It makes up almost a quarter of the population and a quarter of the economy of Germany. The first written account of the area was by its conqueror, Julius Caesar, the territories west of the Rhine were occupied by the Eburones and east of the Rhine he reported the Ubii (across from Cologne) and the Sugambri to their north. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior. Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the right bank, where the Sugambri neighboured several other tribes including the Tencteri and Usipetes. North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri.

wikipedia

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position, and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a geographic coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who composed his now-lost "Geography" at the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. A century later, Hipparchus of Nicaea improved on this system by determining latitude from stellar measurements rather than solar altitude and determining longitude by timings of lunar eclipses, rather than dead reckoning. In the 1st or 2nd century, Marinus of Tyre compiled an extensive gazetteer and mathematically-plotted world map using coordinates measured east from a prime meridian at the westernmost known land, designated the Fortunate Isles, off the coast of western Africa around the Canary or Cape Verde Islands, and measured north or south of the island of Rhodes off Asia Minor. Ptolemy credited him with the full adoption of longitude and latitude, rather than measuring latitude in terms of the length of the midsummer day.

mctest

Joe's parents are farmers and they have a huge farm with cows, chickens, and ducks. Joe loves the farm and all the things he gets to play around and play on. One day, Joe's father told him not to get near a tractor that was sitting in the field. His father was worried that Joe would climb on it and hurt himself. Joe went out to the field and was feeding the horses and cows. When he was done, he saw the tractor his father told him not to get near. He knew that climbing on the tractor wouldn't hurt anything, so he did. He climbed on to the seat and sat there. Then, he pretended he was his father and pretended that he was driving the tractor. Joe's father saw him playing on the tractor and called for him. Joe heard his father calling for him and got off the tractor really fast. When he did that, he fell off and hurt his arm. Joe was in pain and his father came running to check on him and picked him up and sat him on a bench and asked him why he did that. Joe looked at his father and said, "I wanted to be like you." Joe's father gave him a hug and asked him if he wanted to ride with him on the tractor. Joe did and after he got a bandage on his arm, he and his father rode in the field on the tractor.

cnn

(CNN) -- They share the same surname -- Djokovic -- but for now at least, that is where the similarity ends. Novak is at the pinnacle of his sport and was the center of attention in Dubai after completing in his first victory since winning the Australian Open in January. At 20, Marko is four years younger, and 868 places further down the rankings -- and on Monday he slumped to an opening-round defeat in front of his elder sibling. Djokovic senior was on hand to watch his brother's elimination, at the hands of Russian qualifier Andrey Golubev, but says that Marko can make his mark in the upper echelons of the game. Del Potro too strong for Llodra in Marseille final "He has to face the pressure of having the Djokovic surname," Novak said in quotes carried by AFP. "He's trying to fight with his mind more than with his game. When he is able to focus on that and not on his doubts he can become a world-class player." He admitted it was tough to watch Marko's 6-3 6-2 reverse. "It was difficult for me to sit courtside," he said. "I have not done it too much. "At least when I'm playing I know what's going on. But I was happy my brother got a wild card. He is not at his level yet, but he's getting there." As for Marko, he said there were plenty of positives and negatives to being the brother of the world's No. 1 player.

gutenberg

CHAPTER III. Noah, who is the first seafaring man we read of, begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet. Authors, it is true, are not wanting who affirm that the patriarch had a number of other children. Thus Berosus makes him father of the gigantic Titans; Methodius gives him a son called Jonithus, or Jonicus (who was the first inventor of Johnny cakes); and others have mentioned a son, named Thuiscon, from whom descended the Teutons or Teutonic, or, in other words, the Dutch nation. I regret exceedingly that the nature of my plan will not permit me to gratify the laudable curiosity of my readers, by investigating minutely the history of the great Noah. Indeed, such an undertaking would be attended with more trouble than many people would imagine; for the good old patriarch seems to have been a great traveler in his day, and to have passed under a different name in every country that he visited. The Chaldeans, for instance, give us his story, merely altering his name into Xisuthrus--a trivial alteration, which to an historian skilled in etymologies will appear wholly unimportant. It appears, likewise, that he had exchanged his tarpaulin and quadrant among the Chaldeans for the gorgeous insignia of royalty, and appears as a monarch in their annals. The Egyptians celebrate him under the name of Osiris; the Indians as Menu; the Greek and Roman writers confound him with Ogyges; and the Theban with Deucalion and Saturn. But the Chinese, who deservedly rank among the most extensive and authentic historians, inasmuch as they have known the world much longer than any one else, declare that Noah was no other than Fohi; and what gives this assertion some air of credibility is that it is a fact, admitted by the most enlightened _literati_, that Noah traveled into China, at the time of the building of the Tower of Babel (probably to improve himself in the study of languages), and the learned Dr. Shuckford gives us the additional information that the ark rested on a mountain on the frontiers of China.

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Marco Polo was from Venice, Italy. In 1271, at age 17, Marco went on a trip with his father and uncle to China. Today people often travel to different places around the world. But it was very hard for people from Europe to visit China then. After three and a half years, the Polos reached China on 1275. While he was there, Marco Polo worked for Kublai Khan, the emperor of China. He was able to learn and experience many things that were new to Europeans. In his diary, he wrote, "Kublai Khan's palace is the greatest I've ever seen. The streets of the new capital. Daidu, are so straight and so wide." Paper money also took him by surprise, since it was not yet in use in the West at that time. Homes were heated with "black stones... which burn like wood." These stones were coal, and most of the Europeans knew little about it then. After 17 years in China, Marco and his family finally returned to Venice in 1292. After he returned home, Marco completed a book about his trip, full of facts about his wonderful experiences in China.

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Why does most of the world travel on the right side today? Theories differ, but there's no doubt that Napoleon was a major influence. The French had used the right since at least the late 18th century. Some say that before the French Revolution, noblemen drove their carriages on the left, forcing the peasants to the right. Regardless of the origin, Napoleon brought right-hand traffic to the nations he conquered, including Russia, Switzerland and Germany. Hitler, in turn, ordered right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia and Austria in the 1930s. Nations that escaped right-hand control, like Great Britain, followed their left-hand tradition. The U.S. has not always been a nation of right-hand rivers; earlier in its history, carriage and horse traffic traveled on the left, as it did in England. But by the late 1700s, people driving large wagons pulled by several pairs of horses began promoting a shift to the right. A driver would sit on the rear left horse in order to wave his whip with his right hand; to see opposite traffic clearly, they traveled on the right. One of the final moves to firmly standardize traffic directions in the U.S. occurred in the 20th century, when Henry Ford decided to mass-produce his cars with controls on the left (one reason, stated in 1908; the convenience for passengers exiting directly onto the edge, especially... if there is a lady to be considered). Once these rules were set, many countries eventually adjusted to the right-hand standard, including Canada in the 1920s, Sweden in 1967 and Burma in 1970. The U.K. and former colonies such as Australia and India are among the western world's few remaining holdouts. Several Asian countries, including Japan, use the left as well -- thought many places use both right-hand-drive and left-hand-drive cars.

cnn

Pretoria, South Africa (CNN) -- An emotional Oscar Pistorius apologized Monday to the family of Reeva Steenkamp, the girlfriend he killed on Valentine's Day last year, saying he woke up thinking of them and praying for them every day. "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize -- to Mr. and Mrs. Steenkamp, to Reeva's family -- to those who are here today who knew her," Pistorius said as he took the stand for the first time at his murder trial. "I can't imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I have caused you and your family. ... I can promise you that when she went to bed that night, she felt loved," he said, his voice breaking as if he was fighting back tears. It was the first time he has spoken in public about Steenkamp's death, which he says was an accident. He pleaded not guilty to murder when the high-profile trial opened last month. Steenkamp's mother, June, sat stony-faced in court as South Africa's onetime Olympic golden boy choked out his statement. Judge Thokozile Masipa also betrayed no emotion as Pistorius spoke but did once ask him to talk louder, saying she could hardly hear him. Monday was the first day of the defense phase of the trial, following three weeks of prosecution in March. Pistorius, who says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder in his house in the dark, testified that he has been suffering nightmares since the killing and wakes up smelling blood.

cnn

Louisville, Kentucky (CNN) -- I'll Have Another cut loose on the home stretch to run down Bodemeister and earn the first Kentucky Derby wins for his rider and trainer Saturday. I'll Have Another, with a finish of 2:01:83, earned nearly $1.5 million of the $2.2 million purse. That's quite a payoff for a horse that was purchased last year for the modest sum of $35,000. Jockey Mario Gutierrez, making his Derby debut, called I'll Have Another a steady competitor. "They didn't believe (I'll Have Another) could have made it this far," Gutierrez said. "But even if they wanted me to pick (any horse in the field), I would have stayed with him." The winner had 15-1 odds; Bodemeister was at 4-1, according to the Derby website. Dullahan, with 12-1 odds, also made a late run and finished third. I'll Have Another defeated Bodemeister by more than one length at the 1¼-mile classic, attended by a record Churchill Downs crowd. The 138th running was marked by a couple of other Derby firsts: It was the first victory for trainer Doug O'Neill and the first win from the No. 19 post position with a full field. O'Neill called Gutierrez "the man" for his own performance. "He was just so confident," O'Neill told NBC. "We had such a brilliant race." Bob Baffert, a Derby stalwart and the trainer of Bodemeister, said he was "really proud of the way" his horse ran. "He just came up a little tired," Baffert told NBC afterward. Having won all three races he's participated in this year, O'Neill said he was excited for the next leg of the Triple Crown -- the 137th edition of the Preakness, set for May 19 in Baltimore. "Maryland, here we come," he said.

wikipedia

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its 3rd session on 10 December 1948 as Resolution 217 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the then 58 members of the United Nations, 48 voted in favor, none against, eight abstained, and two didn't vote. The Declaration consists of thirty articles affirming an individual's rights which, although not legally binding in themselves, have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, economic transfers, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and other laws. The Declaration was the first step in the process of formulating the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966, and came into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified them. Some legal scholars have argued that because States have constantly invoked the Declaration over more than 50 years, it has become binding as a part of customary international law. However, in the United States, the Supreme Court in "Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain" (2004), concluded that the Declaration "does not of its own force impose obligations as a matter of international law." Courts of other countries have also concluded that the Declaration is not in itself part of domestic law.

wikipedia

With an estimated population of 1,381,069 as of July 1, 2014, San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest in California. It is part of the San Diego–Tijuana conurbation, the second-largest transborder agglomeration between the US and a bordering country after Detroit–Windsor, with a population of 4,922,723 people. San Diego is the birthplace of California and is known for its mild year-round climate, natural deep-water harbor, extensive beaches, long association with the United States Navy and recent emergence as a healthcare and biotechnology development center. Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego was the first site visited by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. Upon landing in San Diego Bay in 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the entire area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California 200 years later. The Presidio and Mission San Diego de Alcalá, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly-independent Mexico, which reformed as the First Mexican Republic two years later. In 1850, it became part of the United States following the Mexican–American War and the admission of California to the union.

gutenberg

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIRST. Now turn the Psalms of David ower, And lilt wi' holy clangor; Of double verse come gie us four, And skirl up the Bangor. Burns. The next was the important day, when, according to the forms and ritual of the Scottish Kirk, Reuben Butler was to be ordained minister of Knocktarlitie, by the Presbytery of ------. And so eager were the whole party, that all, excepting Mrs. Dutton, the destined Cowslip of Inverary, were stirring at an early hour. Their host, whose appetite was as quick and keen as his temper, was not long in summoning them to a substantial breakfast, where there were at least a dozen of different preparations of milk, plenty of cold meat, scores boiled and roasted eggs, a huge cag of butter, half-a-firkin herrings boiled and broiled, fresh and salt, and tea and coffee for them that liked it, which, as their landlord assured them, with a nod and a wink, pointing, at the same time, to a little cutter which seemed dodging under the lee of the island, cost them little beside the fetching ashore. "Is the contraband trade permitted here so openly?" said Butler. "I should think it very unfavourable to the people's morals." "The Duke, Mr. Putler, has gien nae orders concerning the putting of it down," said the magistrate, and seemed to think that he had said all that was necessary to justify his connivance. Butler was a man of prudence, and aware that real good can only be obtained by remonstrance when remonstrance is well-timed; so for the present he said nothing more on the subject.

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Today, roller-skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, no one had any ideas of roller-skating. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. He liked to make things and play the violin in his free time. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer. One day Merlin was invited to a party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make an amazing entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought everyone at the party would show much interest if he could skate into the room. Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was proud of his invention and dreamed of arrived at the party on wheels while playing the violin. On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. The mirror fell down, breaking into pieces. Merlin's idea was so good that nobody forgot his special entrance for a long time. But could he find out a way to stop his roller skates?

gutenberg

CHAPTER IX.—THE MAD ELEPHANT. From Middletown the circus went to Dover, and then to Grasscannon. At each of these places a big business was done, and at every performance Leo did better. The young gymnast became a great favorite with all but two people in the “Greatest Show on Earth.” These two people were Jack Snipper, who remained as overbearing as ever, and Jack Broxton, the fellow discharged for intoxication. Broxton had been following up the circus ever since his discharge, in the vain hope of being reinstated. But the rules in the “Greatest Show on Earth” are very strict, and no intoxication is allowed. After leaving Grasscannon, the circus struck up through New York State, and at the end of the week arrived at Buffalo. It was while at this place that Broxton tried to play a dangerous trick upon Leo. He met the young gymnast on the street one night after the performance. He was under the influence of liquor at the time, and in his pocket he carried what is known by the boys as a giant torpedo. As Leo turned a corner he threw the torpedo at Leo’s feet. Luckily the torpedo failed to explode. Had it gone off the young gymnast would have been sadly crippled. “You rascal!” cried Leo, and he made for Broxton and landed him in the gutter. Some of the other performers then came up. “What’s the row, Leo?” “Look what Broxton threw at me,” he replied, and handed the torpedo around for inspection.

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They can be seen more frequently than ever before on college campuses, wearing thick-rimmed glasses while listening to indie music. One might find them playing unusual musical instruments, shopping at second-hand stores or expressing themselves in other unique ways. They call themselves hipsters. Being "hip" used to mean following the latest fashion. But gradually the word has evolved into a synonym for "cool". Hipsters value independent thinking, progressive politics, an appreciation of creativity and intelligence. Hipsters take pains and pride in not being mainstream. However, their culture has become quite trendy. This irony is central to their culture and offers an interesting paradox. "I do take things in the mainstream with a grain of salt," says Ben Polson, a college student at Brown University in the US. Polson describes himself as a hipster and says he often questions what determines popularity, especially regarding music.When lesser-known bands become popular they often lose their former fan base in exchange for a new one. There is a famous hipster saying that goes: I used to like that band before it got popular. According to Polson, bands' music changes when they go mainstream. They become "less experimental, doing things just to save popularity and fans. The original elements that we were drawn to slowly _ for the sake of popularity." Many young adults have started to view hipsters' outlook as cool and are adopting their counterculture mindset themselves. This has led to specialized brands, stores and music for the hipster position. Ironically, some such stores, including clothing labels Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, have gained mainstream popularity. This has seemingly diluted the anti-mainstream culture. "A lot of people that are self-defined hipsters aren't really hipsters, they're just trying to conform to the non-conformist to seem cooler," says Amanda Leopold, a college student from Oberlin College, US. Although Leopold has many unconventional tastes and seems quite individualist, she refuses to classify herself as a hipster. There is a conflict among hipsters about the very definition of the label. To some, to be a hipster is to be free from cultural constraints. To others, it means wearing a certain style and listening to a specific style of music. The former constantly strives for uniqueness, while the latter strives not to be mainstream. And yet, the movement is gaining mainstream popularity. "It's kind of the trend these days; _ " says Leopold. "There have been hipsters since the seventies. It's only become popular recently." Hipsters reject materialism and laugh at mainstream culture. But are they really beyond material comforts? Do they have any ideas of their own if they despise mainstream so much? Christy Wampole, an associate professor of literature at Princeton University, US, is not so sure. She says the hipster is a contradiction in himself and an easy target of mockery . Writing in The New York Times, Wampole paints a less appreciative picture of a typical hipster. "The hipster is a scholar of social forms, a student of cool. He studies continuously, searching for what has yet to be found by the mainstream. He is a walking citation ; his clothes refer to much more than themselves. He tries to negotiate the age-old problem of individuality, not with concepts, but with material things."

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Although Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world , you will be surprised that there are still some free activities in Tokyo. Free temples ( ) There are many temples in Tokyo.The most famous one is Meiji Jingu.This is the most important temple in Tokyo. If you visit it , you can know more about Japanese history .Of course , it's free. Free museums If you go to Kanto Earthquake Museum , you can see the exhibitions and the memorial for the people who died in the 1923 earthquake _ Free parks There are two famous parks in Japan. They are Yoyogi Park and Ueno Park .Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo .It is now a great place to see street performers.Ueno Park is popular with many Japanses people and foreign visitors. Free snacks Janpanese food is delicious and healthy . You can try different kinds of snacks , before spending money on them. You don't need to pay for them when you try them. ,, . (1,5)

wikipedia

Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is named after the Christian saint, Monica. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on three sides by the city of Los Angeles – Pacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the northeast, Sawtelle on the east, Mar Vista on the southeast, and Venice on the south. Santa Monica is well known for its affluent single-family neighborhoods but also has many neighborhoods consisting primarily of condominiums and apartments. Over two-thirds of Santa Monica's residents are renters. The Census Bureau population for Santa Monica in 2010 was 89,736. Santa Monica was long inhabited by the Tongva people. Santa Monica was called Kecheek in the Tongva language. The first non-indigenous group to set foot in the area was the party of explorer Gaspar de Portolà, who camped near the present day intersection of Barrington and Ohio Avenues on August 3, 1769. There are two different versions of the naming of the city. One says that it was named in honor of the feast day of Saint Monica (mother of Saint Augustine), but her feast day is actually May 4. Another version says that it was named by Juan Crespí on account of a pair of springs, the Kuruvungna Springs (Serra Springs), that were reminiscent of the tears that Saint Monica shed over her son's early impiety.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IV. AT MEUDON Later in the week he received a visit from Le Chapelier just before noon. "I have news for you, Andre. Your godfather is at Meudon. He arrived there two days ago. Had you heard?" "But no. How should I hear? Why is he at Meudon?" He was conscious of a faint excitement, which he could hardly have explained. "I don't know. There have been fresh disturbances in Brittany. It may be due to that." "And so he has come for shelter to his brother?" asked Andre-Louis. "To his brother's house, yes; but not to his brother. Where do you live at all, Andre? Do you never hear any of the news? Etienne de Gavrillac emigrated years ago. He was of the household of M. d'Artois, and he crossed the frontier with him. By now, no doubt, he is in Germany with him, conspiring against France. For that is what the emigres are doing. That Austrian woman at the Tuileries will end by destroying the monarchy." "Yes, yes," said Andre-Louis impatiently. Politics interested him not at all this morning. "But about Gavrillac?" "Why, haven't I told you that Gavrillac is at Meudon, installed in the house his brother has left? Dieu de Dieu! Don't I speak French or don't you understand the language? I believe that Rabouillet, his intendant, is in charge of Gavrillac. I have brought you the news the moment I received it. I thought you would probably wish to go out to Meudon." "Of course. I will go at once--that is, as soon as I can. I can't to-day, nor yet to-morrow. I am too busy here." He waved a hand towards the inner room, whence proceeded the click-click of blades, the quick moving of feet, and the voice of the instructor, Le Duc.

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Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor of the apartment building. For years, he had always been planning to paint a work of art, but had never yet begun it. He earned a little money by serving as a model to artists who could not pay for a professional model. He was a fierce, little, old man who protected the two young women in the studio apartment above him. Sue found Behrman in his room. In one area was a blank canvas that had been waiting twenty-five years for the first line of paint. Sue told him about Johnsy and how she feared that her friend would float away like a leaf on the old ivy vine climbing hopelessly up the outside block wall. Old Behrman was angered at such an idea. "Are there people in the world with the foolishness to die because leaves drop off a vine? Why do you let that silly business come in her brain?" "She is very sick and weak," said Sue, "and the disease has left her mind full of strange ideas." "This is not any place in which one so good as Miss Johnsy shall lie sick," yelled Behrman. "Some day I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away." Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to cover the window. She and Behrman went into the other room. They looked out a window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other without speaking. A cold rain was falling, mixed with snow. The next morning, Sue awoke after an hour's sleep. She found Johnsy with wide-open eyes staring at the covered window. "Pull up the shade; I want to see," she ordered, quietly. Sue obeyed. After the beating rain and fierce wind that blew through the night, there yet stood against the wall one ivy leaf. It was the last one on the vine. It was still dark green at the center. But its edges were color1ed with the yellow. It hung bravely from the branch about seven meters above the ground. "It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fail during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today and I shall die at the same time." "Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down toward the bed. "Think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?" But Johnsy did not answer. The next morning, when it was light, Johnsy demanded that the window shade be raised. The ivy leaf was still there. Johnsy lay for a long time, looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was preparing chicken soup. "I've been a bad girl," said Johnsy. "Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how bad I was. It is wrong to want to die. You may bring me a little soup now." An hour later she said: "someday I hope to paint the Bay of Naples." Later in the day, the doctor came, and Sue talked to him in the hallway. "Even chances. With good care, you'll win," said the doctor. "And now I must see another case I have in your building. Behrman, whose name is some kind of an artist, I believe, has Pneumonia , too. He is an old, weak man and his case is severe. There is no hope for him, but he goes to the hospital today to ease his pain." The next day, the doctor said to Sue:" She's out of danger. You won. Nutrition and care now - that's all." Later that day, Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, and put one arm around her. "I have something to tell you, white mouse," she said, "Mister Behrman died of pneumonia today in the hospital. He was sick only two days. They found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were completely wet and icy cold. They could not imagine where he had been on such a terrible night. "And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been moved from its place. And art supplies and a painting board with green and yellow color1s mixed on it. "Look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder why it never moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it is Behrman's masterpiece - he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell."

wikipedia

In Canada, the term "football" may refer to Canadian football and American football collectively, or to either sport specifically, depending on context. The two sports have shared origins and are closely related but have significant differences. In particular, Canadian football has 12 players on the field per team rather than 11; the field is roughly 10 yards wider, and 10 yards longer between end-zones that are themselves 10 yards deeper; and a team has only three downs to gain 10 yards, which results in less offensive rushing than in the American game. In the Canadian game all players on the defending team, when a down begins, must be at least 1 yard from the line of scrimmage. (The American game has a similar "neutral zone" but it is only the length of the football.) Canadian football is also played at the high school, junior, collegiate, and semi-professional levels: the Canadian Junior Football League, formed May 8, 1974, and Quebec Junior Football League are leagues for players aged 18–22, many post-secondary institutions compete in Canadian Interuniversity Sport for the Vanier Cup, and senior leagues such as the Alberta Football League have grown in popularity in recent years. Great achievements in Canadian football are enshrined in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

race

I'm flying high today after hearing the news that Bamboo People is a top ten book on the Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011 list from the American Library Association. Here are the top ten titles with annotations by YALSA librarians: *Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship Breaker. Little, Brown, and Co. Nailer is a light crew cleaner tearing up old hulks of ships, living day to day, until a rich girl and her gleaming ship run ashore in a storm on the beach and his life gets more dangerous. *Donnelley, Jennifer. Revolution. Random House Children's Books/Delacorte. Haunted by the death of her brother, Andi is taken to Paris by her separated father where an encounter with a mysterious diary may bring her back from the edge. *Marchetta, Melina. Finnikin of the Rock. Candlewick. Finnikin and his fellow exiles from Lumatere wish to return to their cursed homeland. Finnikin must go on an epic journey with a dumb beginner named Evanjalin to return home. *Matson, Morgan. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. Simon & Schuster. Amy and Roger must both learn to deal with loss while on a road trip across the country which doesn't go as expected. *McBride, Lish. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. Macmillan Children's Book Group/Henry Holt. When Sam discovers he is a necromancer he must learn to control his power in order to defeat a powerful and corrupt opponent and save his friends. *Mulligan, Andy. Trash. David Fickling Books. Three garbage-picker boys find an item of great value to a corrupt politician on their rounds, setting off a tense hunt to see who will win. *Perkins, Mitali. Bamboo People. Chiko, a Burmese soldier and Tu Reh, a Kerenni refugee meet on opposite sides of war and each must learn what it means to be a man of his people. *Reinhardt, Dana. The Things a Brother Knows. Random House Children's Books/Wendy Lamb. Boaz is back and cheered as the hometown hero, but he is not at all the same. Can his younger brother Levi help him truly make his way home? *Saenz, Benjamin. Last Night I Sang to the Monster. Cinco Puntos Press, 2009. Weeks in therapy go by and 18-year-old Zach is still unable to remember the monstrous events that left him alone and haunted by nightmares. *Sedgwick, Marcus. Revolver. Roaring Brook Press. Sig is alone with his father's body when the lawless man his father had managed to escape appears out of the icy wilderness

cnn

Ferguson, Missouri (CNN) -- As the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson calmed Friday after nights of protests over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen, the question remains: Where's the police officer who pulled the trigger? Officer Darren Wilson, 28, shot Michael Brown on August 9. The shooting sparked days of violent protests in Ferguson as residents demanded his arrest. Separate federal and local investigations are under way, and Wilson -- who has received death threats -- has disappeared from public view. Governor orders drawdown of National Guard in Ferguson Here's what is known about his whereabouts. Where is he now? Few outside Wilson's family and authorities know for sure. Wilson owns a house in a modest neighborhood about 20 miles from Ferguson. He bought the house shortly after he was divorced last year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. But several neighbors have told CNN that Wilson left home before his name was released last week. What are his neighbors saying about his whereabouts? Not much. Most have shunned reporters' requests for interviews, and some put signs in their yards shooing away journalists. "We don't know anything ... Pray for Peace," one read, according to the Post-Dispatch. "We have 2 children. Do not knock!! No comment," another family wrote. Any trails on social media? The newspaper reported that Wilson deactivated his social media accounts before his name went public. The only social media presence for him now is from supporters, who have set up Facebook pages to support and raise money for him.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIX When Felix and Nedda reached Tod's cottage, the three little Trysts, whose activity could never be quite called play, were all the living creatures about the house. "Where is Mrs. Freeland, Biddy?" "We don't know; a man came, and she went." "And Miss Sheila?" "She went out in the mornin'. And Mr. Freeland's gone." Susie added: "The dog's gone, too." "Then help me to get some tea." "Yes." With the assistance of the mother-child, and the hindrance of Susie and Billy, Nedda made and laid tea, with an anxious heart. The absence of her aunt, who so seldom went outside the cottage, fields, and orchard, disturbed her; and, while Felix refreshed himself, she fluttered several times on varying pretexts to the wicket gate. At her third visit, from the direction of the church, she saw figures coming on the road--dark figures carrying something, followed by others walking alongside. What sun there had been had quite given in to heavy clouds; the light was dull, the elm-trees dark; and not till they were within two hundred yards could Nedda make out that these were figures of policemen. Then, alongside that which they were carrying, she saw her aunt's blue dress. WHAT were they carrying like that? She dashed down the steps, and stopped. No! If it were HE they would bring him in! She rushed back again, distracted. She could see now a form stretched on a hurdle. It WAS he! "Dad! Quick!" Felix came, startled at that cry, to find his little daughter on the path wringing her hands and flying back to the wicket gate. They were close now. She saw them begin to mount the steps, those behind raising their arms so that the hurdle should be level. Derek lay on his back, with head and forehead swathed in wet blue linen, torn from his mother's skirt; and the rest of his face very white. He lay quite still, his clothes covered with mud. Terrified, Nedda plucked at Kirsteen's sleeve.

wikipedia

A pub /pʌb/, or public house is, despite its name, a private house, but is called a public house because it is licensed to sell alcohol to the general public. It is a drinking establishment in Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Denmark and New England. In many places, especially in villages, a pub can be the focal point of the community. The writings of Samuel Pepys describe the pub as the heart of England. The history of pubs can be traced back to Roman taverns, through the Anglo-Saxon alehouse to the development of the modern tied house system in the 19th century. Historically, pubs have been socially and culturally distinct from cafés, bars and German beer halls. Most pubs offer a range of beers, wines, spirits, and soft drinks and snacks. Traditionally the windows of town pubs were of smoked or frosted glass to obscure the clientele from the street but from the 1990s onwards, there has been a move towards clear glass, in keeping with brighter interiors.

mctest

Joe was a young boy who was excited for his first day of school. He jumped out of bed with a big smile on his face, ready for school. He looked in the mirror as he put on his white shirt and blue jeans, and ran down the stairs to get breakfast. His breakfast was waffles with syrup and eggs. His favorite breakfasts are pancakes and cereal, but the waffles were good. After eating all his food, he grabbed his lunch and ran out the door towards the yellow school bus. He arrived at the bus stop and waited for the bus. The bus was running late, but then he finally saw the bus pull up to the bus stop. He did not want to wait one more second so he talked to the bus driver and then took his seat on the bus. He then took a good look out the window and watched as the bus began driving him to the first day of school he had been waiting for. Finally, the bus came to a stop. The children all ran off the bus towards the elementary school. Joe did not see many other second grade students so he walked to the doors alone. Once he entered the school, he saw many of his friends from third grade and began talking to them. Then the bell rang and Joe's first day of school began.

race

Tiger Mom, You've been criticized a lot since your book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, came out. One problem is that some people don't get your humor. They think you're serious about all things and Lulu and I are suffering a lot from such a strict mother. That is not true. But for real, it's not their fault. No outsider can know what our family is really like. They don't hear us laughing over each other's jokes. They don't see us eating our hamburgers with fried rice. They don't know how much fun we have when the six of us dogs included squeeze into one bed and argue about what movies to download from Netflix. I admit it: Having you as a mother was no tea party. There were some play dates I wish I'd gone to and some piano camps I wish I'd got away from. But now that I'm 18 and about to leave the tiger den , I'm glad you and Daddy raised me the way you did. A lot of people have accused you of producing robot kids who can't think for themselves. Well, I came to the opposite conclusion: your strict parenting made me more independent . Everybody's talking about the birthday cards we once made for you, which you refused to take because they weren't good enough. Funny how some people believe that Lulu and I will feel hurt for life. But let's face it: It took me 30 second; I didn't put my heart into it. That's why, when you rejected it, I didn't feel hurt at all. There's one more thing: I have come to understand what it really means to live a meaningful life to the fullest. To me, it's about knowing that you've tried your best, body and mind. You feel _ when the piano piece you've practiced for days and hours finally comes to life beneath your fingertips. You feel _ when you do something on your own that you never thought you could. And for that, Tiger Mom, thank you. Yours, Sophia

gutenberg

CHAPTER III. TWO QUARRELS. Three days later the shooting party assembled. Several gentlemen came to stay at the house, while Ronald Mervyn and his party, of course, put up at Mervyn Hall. The shooting was very successful, and the party were well pleased with their visit. Reginald Carne was quiet and courteous to his guests, generally accompanying them through the day, though he did not himself carry a gun. After the first day's shooting there was a dinner party at Mervyn Hall, and the following evening there was one at The Hold. Lieutenant Gulston enjoyed himself more than any one else, though he was one of the least successful of the sportsmen, missing easy shots in a most unaccountable manner, and seeming to take but moderate interest in the shooting. He had, very shortly after arriving at the house, come to the conclusion that the doctor was altogether mistaken, and that Reginald Carne showed no signs whatever of being in any way different from other men. "The doctor is so accustomed to us sailors," he said to himself, "that if a man is quiet and studious he begins to fancy directly there must be something queer about him. That is always the way with doctors who make madness a special study. They suspect every one they come across of being out of their mind. I shouldn't be at all surprised if he doesn't fancy I am cracked myself. The idea is perfectly absurd. I watched Carne closely at dinner, and no one could have been more pleasant and gentlemanly than he was. I expect Mackenzie must have heard a word let drop about this old story, and of course if he did he would set down Carne at once as being insane. Well, thank goodness, that's off my mind; it's been worrying me horribly for the last few days. I have been a fool to trouble myself so about Mackenzie's croakings, but now I will not think anything more about it."

gutenberg

CHAPTER VIII "I don't think I shall marry you, after all," Maggie announced that evening, as she stood looking at herself in one of the gilded mirrors with which the drawing-room at Belgrave Square was adorned. "Why not?" Nigel asked, with polite anxiety. "You are exhibiting symptoms of infidelity," she declared. "Your flirtation with Naida this afternoon was most pronounced, and you went out of your way to ask her to dine to-night." "I like that!" Nigel complained. "Supposing it were true, I should simply be obeying orders. It was you who incited me to devote myself to her." "The sacrifices we women make for the good of our country," Maggie sighed. "However, you needn't have taken me quite so literally. Do you admire her very much, Nigel?" He smiled. His manner, however, was not altogether free from self-consciousness. "Of course I do," he admitted. "She's a perfectly wonderful person, isn't she? Let's get out of this Victorian environment," he added, looking around the huge apartment with its formal arrangement of furniture and its atmosphere of prim but faded elegance. "We'll go into the smaller room and tell Brookes to bring us some cocktails and cigarettes. Chalmers won't expect to be received formally, and Mademoiselle Karetsky will appreciate the cosmopolitan note of our welcome." "We do look a little too domestic, don't we?" Maggie replied, as she passed through the portière which Nigel was holding up. "I'm not at all sure that I ought to come and play hostess like this, without an aunt or anything. I must think of my reputation. I may decide to marry Mr. Chalmers, and Americans are very particular about that sort of thing."

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXXV. THE RETURN. And now the glorious artist, ere he yet Had reached the Lemnian Isle, limping, returned; With aching heart he sought his home. _Odyssey_--COWPER. How were they to get the slumbering maiden home? That was the next question. Loveday advised carrying her direct to her old prison, where she would wake without alarm; but Sir Amyas shuddered at the notion, and Betty said she _could_ not take her again into a house of Lady Belamour's. The watermen, who were enthusiastic in the cause, which they understood as that of one young sweetheart rescued by the other, declared that they would carry the sweet lady between them on the cushions of their boat, laid on stretchers; and as they knew of a land-place near the _Royal York_, with no need of crossing any great thoroughfare, Betty thought this the best chance of taking her sister home without a shock. The boat from Woolwich had shot London Bridge immediately after them, and stopped at the stairs nearest that where they landed; and just as Sir Amyas, with an exclamation of annoyance at his unserviceable arm, had resigned Aurelia to be lifted on to her temporary litter, a hand was laid on his shoulder, a voice said "Amyas, what means this?" and he found himself face to face with a small, keen-visaged, pale man, with thick grizzled brows overhanging searching dark grey eyes, shaded by a great Spanish hat. "Sir! oh sir, is it you?" he cried, breathlessly; "now all will be well!"

race

Researches at Johns Hopkins University's. Applied Physics laboratory ( APL) in Laurel , Maryland have designed a new human-like robot, Its name is Robo Sally. The machine can be controlled from a distance and can he used to do work that is dangerous for human beings. Roho Sally has two long arms with human-like hands. She can use her fingers to pick up small objects .examine them in detail and do most things that human hands can do Each finger contains a tiny motor capable of squeezing 20 pounds of pinch foree ,.enough to defuse a bomb under the direction of an operator. She sits on a metal base with wheels that let her move around. turn in tight spaces and climb over small objects, . Mike McLoughlin is the main investigator for the Applied Physics Laboratory's Prosthetics Program. "The purpose of that program is to develop prosthetic arms that have all the capability of your natural arms .and you do all the complex motions that we can do with the natural arm- with the robot. " It was a difficult job. Mr. McLoughlin says the device had to have many small motors to. have the ability to do what a human hand does; It also needs to have human-like strength. The thumb was especially difficult because it permits the hand .to hold objects. And everything had. to fit into a space about the size of a human hand. The next problem .he says .was to figure out how to control the artificial hand. " So we had to figure out how to make the connection between the brain and this arm. For search-and-rescue duties.Roho Sally will be operated by a human being using a wire- less machine that is far from the robot. The operator will also wear special gloves and glasses. The glasses permit the operator to see the robot's hands .even though they are far away. Mr. McLoughlin says this kind of robots could be used in what he calls "dull , dirty or dan- gerous" situations where fine human finger movements are required. He says the technology is not ready for everyday application .but he predicts that within five years we will see some won- derful improvements.

wikipedia

Communications in Somalia encompasses the communications services and capacity of Somalia. Telecommunications, internet, radio, print, television and postal services in the nation are largely concentrated in the private sector. Several of the telecom firms have begun expanding their activities abroad. The Federal government operates two official radio and television networks, which exist alongside a number of private and foreign stations. Print media in the country is also progressively giving way to news radio stations and online portals, as internet connectivity and access increases. Additionally, the national postal service is slated to be officially relaunched in 2013 after a long absence. In 2012, a National Communications Act was also approved by Cabinet members, which lays the foundation for the establishment of a National Communications regulator in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. After the start of the civil war, various new telecommunications companies began to spring up in the country and competed to provide missing infrastructure. Somalia now offers some of the most technologically advanced and competitively priced telecommunications and internet services in the world. Funded by Somali entrepreneurs and backed by expertise from China, Korea and Europe, these nascent telecommunications firms offer affordable mobile phone and internet services that are not available in many other parts of the continent. Customers can conduct money transfers (such as through the popular Dahabshiil) and other banking activities via mobile phones, as well as easily gain wireless Internet access.

race

I'm Larry. I'm really good at selling things. I also love helping people. But I'm not so good at solving problems. I think I'd like to be a salesman or detective . I'm Anita. I really like doing things with my hands. I also enjoy working with wood. I don't enjoy working in the same place every day, and I hate being in noisy places. I think I'd like to be a factory worker or a carpenter . I'm Jill. I'm good at explaining things and I really like children. I can't stand working long hours. I think I'd like to be a doctor or a teacher. I'm Maria. I'm really interested in meeting people, and I enjoy wearing different clothes every day. I'm not so good at organizing my time and I can't stand computers. I am going to be a model. I'm Jim. I enjoy helping people, but I can't stand working nights and weekends. I want to be a nurse or a social worker.

mctest

Hailey stood in her kitchen. She was looking for ideas of what to make for dinner. She could make pasta, soup, chili, or steak. She opened the refrigerator and took out a cartoon of juice. She sat down at the table and tried to write a list of ingredients she would need. She finally thought she would make chili for dinner. She took a sip of her juice and she saw she had all the ingredients she needed except meat. Hailey saw she was losing daylight. This made her want to take her car to the store in order to buy the meat. It would be faster than walking. She quickly went to the back of the store where she knew the meat was stored and took her find to the cashier. When she made her way back into the lot she ran into her friend, Beth, and invited Beth to come to her house for dinner. When they both returned to her home they cooked dinner together and had a wonderful evening.

wikipedia

The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a members of the National League (NL) Central division; the team plays its home baseball games at Wrigley Field. The Cubs are also one of two active major league teams based in Chicago; the other is the Chicago White Sox, who are a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is currently owned by Thomas S. Ricketts, son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. The team played its first games in 1876 as a founding member of the National League (NL), eventually becoming known officially as the Chicago Cubs for the 1903 season. Officially, the Cubs are tied for the distinction of being the oldest currently active U.S. professional sports club, along with the Atlanta Braves, which also began play in the NL in 1876 as the Boston Red Stockings (Major League Baseball does not officially recognize the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players as a major league.)

gutenberg

CHAPTER V. IN LOWER EGYPT. "I am going on a journey," Ameres said to his son a few days after the return from the farm. "I shall take you with me, Chebron, for I am going to view the progress of a fresh canal that is being made on our estate in Goshen. The officer who is superintending it has doubts whether, when the sluices are opened, it will altogether fulfill its purpose, and I fear that some mistake must have been made in the levels. I have already taught you the theory of the work; it is well that you should gain some practical experience in it; for there is no more useful or honorable profession than that of carrying out works by which the floods of the Nile are conveyed to the thirsty soil." "Thank you, father. I should like it greatly," Chebron replied in a tone of delight, for he had never before been far south of Thebes. "And may Amuba go with us?" "Yes; I was thinking of taking him," the high priest said. "Jethro can also go, for I take a retinue with me. Did I consult my own pleasure I would far rather travel without this state and ceremony; but as a functionary of state I must conform to the customs. And, indeed, even in Goshen it is as well always to travel in some sort of state. The people there are of a different race to ourselves. Although they have dwelt a long time in the land and conform to its customs, still they are notoriously a stubborn and obstinate people, and there is more trouble in getting the public works executed there than in any other part of the country."

cnn

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- A South African white supremacist group has retracted its statement vowing to avenge the killing of its leader, Eugene Terreblanche, a spokesman for the group said Monday. "The statement was made by an emotional member of our organization," said Pieter Steyn, a spokesman for the neo-Nazi Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, also called the Afrikaner Resistance Movement or AWB. "The person has been reprimanded. We want a homeland where we can govern ourselves, and violence is not going to do our cause any good." Terreblanche was killed Saturday following an apparent dispute over wages with workers on his farm, according to South African police. Two of his farm workers ages 21 and 16 are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday after turning themselves in, police said. Police said the 69-year-old was bludgeoned and stabbed to death with clubs and a machete in an attack at his farm near the town of Ventersdorp in South Africa's North West Province. Steyn told CNN he is pleased with the work of the South African police, who said there would be a heavy police presence at Tuesday's court appearance. The AWB has blamed the killing on the singing of a controversial apartheid-era song, "Shoot the Farmer." The ruling African National Congress party's youth leader, Julius Malema, had sung the song in recent weeks until a court ruling barred him from doing so. Steyn called on South African President Jacob Zuma to act to ease tensions. "He needs to address Julius Malema urgently," Steyn said. "We are finding it difficult to keep our members calm under the current circumstances. If farm murders continue, we cannot guarantee that our members will continue refraining from retaliating."

cnn

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) -- Floodwaters inundated Iowa City and the University of Iowa arts campus on Sunday despite what one official called a "Herculean effort" to hold back the water with sandbags. Residents surround Lt. Tobey Harrison at a Cedar Rapids checkpoint as they wait to see their homes Sunday. "We've had the [National Guard] working next to prisoner inmates, sandbagging," said David Jackson, the university's facilities manager. "Students, faculty and staff, leaders of the university, the president of the university -- out sandbagging." Some 500 to 600 homes were ordered to evacuate and others faced a voluntary evacuation order through the morning, said Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey. The Iowa River in Iowa City crested at 31.5 feet and was expected to remain at that level until Monday, city and state officials said Sunday. Classes at the university have been suspended until next Sunday, according to its Web site. "All of our theaters, our music building, Clapp Recital Hall, our fine arts building [the] new Art Building West designed by Stephen Holl, has taken on significant water as well," said Sally Mason, president of the university. "Fortunately we were able to save all the art," she said. The art was placed in crates shipped out of state last week. "We anticipated the worst a week ago." At least 8 feet of water rushed through the campus, officials said. Among the school's 30,000 students, Ann Barber told CNN she has been sandbagging for nearly seven days. "It's very hard to watch the devastation of our university," she said.

wikipedia

Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Fall of France, Adolf Hitler, the German Führer and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, hoped the British government would seek a peace agreement and he reluctantly considered invasion only as a last resort if all other options failed. As a precondition, he specified the achievement of both air and naval superiority over the English Channel and the proposed landing sites, but the German forces did not achieve this at any point during the war and both the German High Command and Hitler himself had serious doubts about the prospects for success. A large number of barges were gathered together on the Channel coast, but, with air losses increasing, Hitler postponed Sea Lion indefinitely on 17 September 1940 and it was never put into action. Adolf Hitler hoped for a negotiated peace with the UK, and made no preparations for amphibious assault on Britain until the Fall of France. At the time, the only forces with experience of or modern equipment for such landings were the Japanese, at the Battle of Wuhan in 1938.

cnn

(CNN) -- A line of angry protesters waving signs and wearing scows formed a ring around the front entrance of the Daily News' headquarters. They took turns at the bullhorn accusing the paper of everything from libel to genocide. They didn't bring a list of demands; they weren't looking to negotiate. They had one goal: to shut the paper down forever. "We're going to march until the walls come down," one shouted. Employees who would normally head out the revolving door to one of the lunch trucks along Broad street developed a taste for cafeteria food that day. Not Chuck Stone. Stone, senior editor of the newspaper they had pledged to kill, walked out the front entrance and met their scows with a broad smile. Picketers committed to the complete destruction of the Daily News returned his smile or nodded in recognition as they passed him. A few even shook his hand. I'll never forget that scene. It was, at once, improbable yet typical of a man who was as comfortable in the salons of power as he was in the embrace of the disadvantaged. Chuck was the last man you'd pick out of a lineup of guys suspected of aiding and abetting dangerous felons. In his horn-rimmed glasses, hand-tied, silk bowties and graying crew cut, he looked like a grown-up version of the nerds that tough guys used to beat up to burnish their reps. But fugitives who were wanted for vicious assaults and heinous crimes would call Chuck before they called their lawyers. In a town where some cops were known to administer curbside justice, surrendering to Chuck Stone was a way to keep from having their faces rearranged on the way to jail. At least 75 fugitives did just that over Stone's 19-year career.

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The longest-serving lawmaker in U.S. congressional history, a legendary Motown artist, and the matriarch of a renowned political family will be among this year's recipients of the nation's highest civilian honor, the White House announced Monday. Rep. John Dingell, Stevie Wonder and Ethel Kennedy are three of the nineteen Americans who Obama will bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom upon later this month. Dingell has served nearly 60 years in Congress representing a district outside Detroit. He'll retire at the end of this session. Wonder has won 25 Grammys and an Oscar for his fusion of soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. And Kennedy, who is the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, became an activist for human rights and the environment after her husband's death. Other honorees this year include Meryl Streep, the prolific actress known for holding the most Oscar nominations of any actor in history. She stars this winter in "Into the Woods," the musical composed by Stephen Sondheim, to whom Obama will also award the Medal of Freedom on November 24. Tom Brokaw, the former "NBC Nightly News" anchor, will be honored as well, alongside actress Marlo Thomas, golfer Charles Sifford and author Isabel Allende. The other medalists are scientist Mildred Dresselhaus; Native American activist Suzan Harjo; former Reps. Abner Mikva of Illinois and Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii; and economist Robert Solow. Five awards will be delivered posthumously: to "Freedom Summer" civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner; to the well-known choreographer Alvin Ailey, who founded the namesake dance company; and to Rep. Edward Roybal, the founder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

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One of my friends Fred did very 1ittle work when he was a student. He spent more time drinking in bars than working in the library. Once, we had to take an important exam. The exam had a hundred questions. To each question, we had to write "Right" or "Wrong". The night before the exam, Fred was watching TV and drinking. He usua1ly worried a lot the night before the exam. But on that night he looked quite relaxed. He told me what he would do." It's very easy," he said to me, "There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty right answers to pass the exam. I'll bring a coin with me and throw it to decide answers. I' m sure I'll get half the questions right in this way. "During the exam, Fred sat down and really threw the coin for half an hour when he was writing down his answers. Then he 1eft half an hour before the others. The next day he saw the teacher on the playground. "Good morning, Mr. Wu," he said, "Have you checked the papers? Have I passed?" The teacher 1ooked at him and smiled, "Ah, it's you, Fred. One moment, please." Then he put his hand into his pocket and took out a coin. He threw it into the air, caught it in his hand and looked at it , "I'm very sorry, Fred. You _ ."

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Cornwall is a ceremonial county in the United Kingdom. It is also a unitary authority area of England, administered by Cornwall Council. The county is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar which forms most of the border between them. Cornwall has a population of and covers an area of . The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall, and only city in the county, is Truro. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The furthest south-western point of the island is Land's End; the southernmost point is Lizard Point. Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish diaspora. It retains a distinct cultural identity that reflects its unique history, and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations. It was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. The Cornish nationalist movement contests the present constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly and powers similar to those in Wales and Scotland. Cornwall has been a unitary authority since the 2009 structural changes to local government in England. In 2014, Cornish people were granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, giving Cornish people recognition as a distinct ethnic group.

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Manchester () is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 530,300 . It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million. Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council. The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of "Mamucium" or "Mancunium", which was established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. It was historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated in the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and linking the city to the sea, to the west. Its fortunes declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, but the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration.

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CHAPTER XXV. LADY SUSANNA IN LONDON. In spite of the caution which he had received from his friend and cousin Mrs. Houghton, Jack De Baron did go to Munster Court during the absence of Lord George, and there did encounter Lady Susanna. And Mrs. Houghton herself, though she had given such excellent advice, accompanied him. She was of course anxious to see Lady Susanna, who had always especially disliked her; and Jack himself was desirous of making the acquaintance of a lady who had been, he was assured, sent up to town on purpose to protect the young wife from his wiles. Both Mrs. Houghton and Jack had become very intimate in Munster Court, and there was nothing strange in their dropping in together even before lunch. Jack was of course introduced to Lady Susanna. The two ladies grimaced at each other, each knowing the other's feeling towards herself. Mary having suspected that Lady Susanna had been sent for in reference to this special friend, determined on being specially gracious to Jack. She had already, since Lady Susanna's arrival, told that lady that she was able to manage her own little affairs. Lady Susanna had said an unfortunate word as to the unnecessary expense of four wax candles when they two were sitting alone in the drawing-room. Lady George had said that it was pretty. Lady Susanna had expostulated gravely, and then Lady George had spoken out. "Dear Susanna, do let me manage my own little affairs." Of course the words had rankled, and of course the love which the ladies bore to each other had not been increased. Lady George was now quite resolved to show dear Susanna that she was not afraid of her duenna.

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CHAPTER XVIII BLAND MAKES A SACRIFICE Sylvia was sitting by the hearth in Ethel West's drawing-room, her neatly shod feet on the fender, her low chair on the fleecy rug, and she made a very dainty and attractive picture. She felt the cold and hated discomfort of any kind, though it was characteristic of her that she generally succeeded in avoiding it. Ethel sat near by, watching her with calmly curious eyes, for Sylvia was looking pensive. Mrs. Lansing was talking to Stephen West on the opposite side of the large room. "How is Edgar getting on?" Sylvia asked. "I suppose you hear from him now and then." Ethel guessed where the question led and responded with blunt directness. "Doesn't George write to you?" "Not often. Herbert has just got a letter, but there was very little information in it; George is not a brilliant correspondent. I thought Edgar might have written by the same mail." "As it happens, he did," said Ethel. "He describes the cold as fierce, and gives some interesting details of his sensations when the warmth first comes back to his half-frozen hands or limbs; then he adds a vivid account of a blizzard that George and he nearly got lost in." "Things of that kind make an impression on a new-comer," Sylvia languidly remarked. "One gets used to them after a while. Did he say anything else?" "There was an enthusiastic description of a girl he has met; he declares she's a paragon. This, of course, is nothing new, but it's a little astonishing that he doesn't seem to contemplate making love to her in his usual haphazard manner. She seems to have inspired him with genuine respect."

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In an ecosystem, predation is a biological interaction where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked). Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation often results in the death of the prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption. Thus predation is often, though not always, carnivory. Other categories of consumption are herbivory (eating parts of plants), fungivory (eating parts of fungi), and detritivory (the consumption of dead organic material (detritus)). All these consumption categories fall under the rubric of consumer-resource systems. It can often be difficult to separate various types of feeding behaviors. For example, some parasitic species prey on a host organism and then lay their eggs on it for their offspring to feed on it while it continues to live in or on its decaying corpse after it has died. The key characteristic of predation however is the predator's direct impact on the prey population. On the other hand, detritivores simply eat dead organic material arising from the decay of dead individuals and have no direct impact on the "donor" organism(s).

cnn

(CNN) -- Like he does every week, Chris Hardwick hosted "Talking Dead" on Sunday night -- but this time, he was coping with a heartbreaking loss. His father, Billy Hardwick, died of an apparent heart attack a day earlier. Chris Hardwick, who hosts the aftershow for AMC's most-watched series, "Walking Dead," said he decided to continue with his duties because it was an appreciated distraction. He said he was grateful that he had a chance to tell his 72-year-old father that he loved him, and encouraged viewers to appreciate their families. Billy Hardwick was a Hall of Fame bowler who also appeared on his son's podcast, nerdist. "My dad was my favorite podcast guest. He was amazingly open and it brought us closer," Chris Hardwick tweeted Saturday. According to the Professional Bowling Association, Billy Hardwick's career took off after "one of the greatest turnarounds in professional bowling history." He went from a rookie in 1962 to winning four titles the next season. After he retired, he opened Billy Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis, Tennessee. People we lost in 2013 CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN. TYRANTS AND PLOTTERS. Leaving Christian and Adams to carry out their philanthropic intentions, we return to Matthew Quintal, whom we left sprawling on the ground in his garden. This garden was situated in one of the little valleys not far from Bounty Bay. Higher up in the same valley stood the hut of McCoy. Towards this hut Quintal, after gathering himself up, wended his way in a state of unenviable sulkiness. His friend McCoy was engaged at the time in smoking his evening pipe, but that pipe did not now seem to render him much comfort, for he growled and puffed in a way that showed he was not soothed by it, the reason being that there was no tobacco in the pipe. That weed,--which many people deem so needful and so precious that one sometimes wonders how the world managed to exist before Sir Walter Raleigh put it to its unnatural use--had at last been exhausted on Pitcairn Island, and the mutineers had to learn to do without it. Some of them said they didn't care, and submitted with a good grace to the inevitable. Others growled and swore and fretted, saying that they knew they couldn't live without it. To their astonishment, and no doubt to their disgust, they did manage to live quite as healthily as before, and with obvious advantage to health and teeth. Two there were, however, namely, Quintal and McCoy, who would not give in, but vowed with their usual violence of language that they would smoke seaweed rather than want their pipes. Like most men of powerful tongue and weak will, they did not fulfil their vows. Seaweed was left to the gulls, but they tried almost every leaf and flower on the island without success. Then they scraped and dried various kinds of bark, and smoked that. Then they tried the fibrous husk of the cocoa-nut, and then the dried and pounded kernel, but all in vain. Smoke, indeed, they produced in huge volumes, but of satisfaction they had none. It was a sad case.

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New York (CNN) -- A self-described "ex-madam" who claims she supplied fellow city comptroller candidate Eliot Spitzer with escorts several years ago is facing charges of illegally distributing prescription drugs, authorities said. Kristin Davis, 38, was arrested on Monday night and charged with selling Adderall, Xanax and other drugs. She's also accused of orchestrating the sale of approximately 180 oxycodone pills for cash. The candidate was released Tuesday on $100,000 bail, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 5. Prosecutors said she will have strict pretrial supervision. "Prescription drug abuse is the fastest-growing drug problem in this country, resulting in more overdose deaths than heroin and cocaine combined, and this office has a zero tolerance policy towards anyone who helps to spread this plague at any level," Preet Bharara, Manhattan U.S. Attorney, said in a statement. Spitzer, Weiner and why New York is talking about sex Davis is charged with four counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count, if convicted. Prosecutors allege that from 2009 through 2011 Davis bought ecstasy pills, Adderall pills and Xanax pills from an FBI cooperating witness at least once a month, paying hundreds of dollars for each purchase. She told the witness she provided these drugs to people at house parties, authorities say. An attorney for Davis was could not be immediately reached for comment. Davis' campaign manager, Andrew Miller, said he was aware of the arrest but couldn't provide any information.

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One of the most famous people born in Warsaw was Maria Skłodowska-Curie, who achieved international recognition for her research on radioactivity and was the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize. Famous musicians include Władysław Szpilman and Frédéric Chopin. Though Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, about 60 km (37 mi) from Warsaw, he moved to the city with his family when he was seven months old. Casimir Pulaski, a Polish general and hero of the American Revolutionary War, was born here in 1745. The Saxon Garden, covering the area of 15.5 ha, was formally a royal garden. There are over 100 different species of trees and the avenues are a place to sit and relax. At the east end of the park, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is situated. In the 19th century the Krasiński Palace Garden was remodelled by Franciszek Szanior. Within the central area of the park one can still find old trees dating from that period: maidenhair tree, black walnut, Turkish hazel and Caucasian wingnut trees. With its benches, flower carpets, a pond with ducks on and a playground for kids, the Krasiński Palace Garden is a popular strolling destination for the Varsovians. The Monument of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is also situated here. The Łazienki Park covers the area of 76 ha. The unique character and history of the park is reflected in its landscape architecture (pavilions, sculptures, bridges, cascades, ponds) and vegetation (domestic and foreign species of trees and bushes). What makes this park different from other green spaces in Warsaw is the presence of peacocks and pheasants, which can be seen here walking around freely, and royal carps in the pond. The Wilanów Palace Park, dates back to the second half of the 17th century. It covers the area of 43 ha. Its central French-styled area corresponds to the ancient, baroque forms of the palace. The eastern section of the park, closest to the Palace, is the two-level garden with a terrace facing the pond. The park around the Królikarnia Palace is situated on the old escarpment of the Vistula. The park has lanes running on a few levels deep into the ravines on both sides of the palace.

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CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. THE VISIBLE MADONNA. The crowd had no sooner passed onward than Romola descended to the street, and hastened to the steps of San Stefano. Cecco had been attracted with the rest towards the Piazza, and she found Baldassarre standing alone against the church-door, with the horn-cup in his hand, waiting for her. There was a striking change in him: the blank, dreamy glance of a half-returned consciousness had given place to a fierceness which, as she advanced and spoke to him, flashed upon her as if she had been its object. It was the glance of caged fury that sees its prey passing safe beyond the bars. Romola started as the glance was turned on her, but her immediate thought was that he had seen Tito. And as she felt the look of hatred grating on her, something like a hope arose that this man might be the criminal, and that her husband might not have been guilty towards him. If she could learn that now, by bringing Tito face to face with him, and have her mind set at rest! "If you will come with me," she said, "I can give you shelter and food until you are quite rested and strong. Will you come?" "Yes," said Baldassarre, "I shall be glad to get my strength. I want to get my strength," he repeated, as if he were muttering to himself, rather than speaking to her. "Come!" she said, inviting him to walk by her side, and taking the way by the Arno towards the Ponte Rubaconte as the more private road.

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When Steve Maxwell graduated from college, he had an engineering degree and a high tech job -- but he couldn't balance his checkbook. "I took one finance class in college but dropped it to go on a ski trip," says the 45-year-old father of three, who lives in Windsor, Colorado. "I actually had to go to my bank and ask them to teach me how to read my statement." One of the biggest obstacles to making money is not understanding it: Thousands of us avoid investing because we just don't get it. But to make money, you must be financially literate. "It bothered me that I didn't understand this stuff," says Steve, "so I read books and magazines about money management and investing, and I asked every financial whiz I knew to explain things to me." He and his wife started applying the lessons: They made a point to _ . They never bought on impulse, always negotiated better deals (on their cars,cable bills, furniture) and stayed in their home long after they went for an expensive vacation. They also put 20 percent of their annual salary into investments. Within ten years, they were millionaires, and people were coming to Steve for advice. "Someone would say, 'I need to refinance my house -- what should I do? 'A lot of times, I wouldn't know the answer, but I'd go to find it and learn something in the process," he says. In 2003, Steve quit his job to become part owner of a company that holds personal finance seminars for employees of corporations like Wal Mart. He also started going to real estate investment seminars, and it's paid off: He now owns $ 30 million worth of investment properties, including apartment complexes, a shopping mall and a quarry. "I was an engineer who never thought this life was possible, but all it truly takes is a little self education," says Steve. "You can do anything once you understand the basics."

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The Sahrawi Republic, officially the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR; ; ""), is a partially recognized state that controls a thin strip of area in the Western Sahara region and claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlou, Western Sahara, a former communist liberation force (modeled after that of Cuba) which has since reformed its ideological and political views. The SADR government controls about 20–25% of the territory it claims. It calls the territories under its control the Liberated Territories or the Free Zone. Morocco controls and administers the rest of the disputed territory and calls these lands its Southern Provinces. The SADR government considers the Moroccan-held territory to be occupied territory, while Morocco considers the much smaller SADR-held territory to be a buffer zone. The claimed capital of the SADR is El-Aaiún, while the temporary capital has been moved from Bir Lehlou to Tifariti. The Sahrawi Republic maintains diplomatic relations with 40 UN states, and is a full member of the African Union. Following the Spanish evacuation of Spanish Sahara, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania signed the Madrid Accords on November 14, 1975, leading to both Morocco and Mauritania moving in to annex the territory of Western Sahara. On 26 February 1976, Spain informed the United Nations that as of that date it had terminated its presence in Western Sahara and relinquished its responsibilities, leaving no Administering Power. Neither Morocco nor Mauritania gained international recognition, and war ensued with the independence-seeking Polisario Front. The United Nations considers the Polisario Front to be the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, and maintains that the people of Western Sahara have a right to "self-determination and independence."

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Department stores today have sections that sell the following: clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys, cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint, and hardware and additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewelry, electronics, stationery, photographic equipment, baby products, and products for pets. Customers check out near the front of the store or, alternatively, at sales counters within each department. Some are part of a retail chain of many stores, while others may be independent retailers. In the 1970s, they came under heavy pressure from discounters. Since 2010, they have come under even heavier pressure from online stores such as Amazon. The origins of the department store lay in the growth of the conspicuous consumer society at the turn of the 19th century. As the Industrial Revolution accelerated economy expansion, the affluent middle-class grew in size and wealth. This urbanized social group, sharing a culture of consumption and changing fashion, was the catalyst for the retail revolution. As rising prosperity and social mobility increased the number of people, especially women (who found they could shop unaccompanied at department stores without damaging their reputation), with disposable income in the late Georgian period, window shopping was transformed into a leisure activity and entrepreneurs, like the potter Josiah Wedgwood, pioneered the use of marketing techniques to influence the prevailing tastes and preferences of society.

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British actor and comedian Rik Mayall died at 56 in London . As one of the leading lights of Britain's comedy scene in the 1980s , he is best known for starring roles in hit TV series Blackadder , The Young Ones , The New Statesman and Bottom . His agent, Kate Benson told CNN Mayall died suddenly ; she did not know the cause of his death. Mayall first found widespread fame in student sitcom "The Young Ones," which ran for two years on the BBC, and was later shown on MTV in the United States. The series focused on the lives of four roommates at "Scumbag College." Writer and comedian Ben Elton told the Press Association Mayall had " changed his life " by asking him to work on The Young Ones . " He always made me cry with laughter , now he's just made me cry . " In the 1990s, Mayall played a role in Bottom , a series about two unemployed flat mates who spend most of their time attacking each other violently with anything that comes to hand . Mayall also branched out into movies , taking the lead role in 1991's Drop Dead Fred , in which he played the imaginary friend of Phoebe Cates , returning years later to cause trouble in the now grown-up Cates' life . Mayall survived a bike accident in 1998; he was unconscious for five days after the crash, on his farm in Devon, southwest England, and developed epilepsy as a result of the severe head injury he suffered in the accident . In an interview several years later, he joked that he "beat Jesus" by coming back from the hell . He said the accident left him more aware of being alive. House star Hugh Laurie, who worked with Mayall on Blackadder, took to Twitter to recount a story about his co-star: "A young girl, stricken with terminal cancer, once asked Rik Mayall for an autograph. He wrote: 'Young Ones are never afraid.'"