the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
Genus Feresa
Pygmy killer whale Feresa attenuata
Genus Pseudorca
False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens
Genus Globicephala
Long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Genus Peponocephala
Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra
River dolphins
Amazon river dolphin or Boto (Inia geoffrensis)
Chinese river dolphin or Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) (likely to be extinct)
La Plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)
South Asian river dolphin Platanista gangetica
Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor)
Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica)
Toothed whales
Guinea, or the Republic of Guinea (), is an independent nation in Western Africa.
Guinea borders 6 countries: Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone.
The national language is French.
It is a member of the Economic Community of West African States.
Before the Europeans arrived to Africa, Guinea was part of a couple of empires.
In the 1890s, France colonized Guinea.
In 1958, Guinea becomes independent.
Prefectures and regions
Guinea is divided into 8 regions and then divided even further into 33 prefectures.
The capital of Guinea, Conakry, is a special area.
Biggest cities
Conakry (2,000,000)
Labé (700,000)
Kankan (439,017)
Kindia (279,884 )
Nzérékoré (247,855)
Kissidougou (135,900)
Guéckédou (116,541)
Mamou (105,754)
About 89% of people are Muslim, most of them are Sunni.
6.8% of people are Christian, most of them are Catholic.
Notable people from Guinea
Guinea , in the CIA World Factbook
Website of the Guinean governement
1958 establishments
1950s establishments in Africa
Pigs or domestic pigs are mammals in the genus Sus.
Pigs are in the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates.
Related, but outside the genus, are the babirusa and the warthog.
Pigs, like all suids, are native to the Old World.
Baby pigs are called piglets or pups.
Pigs are omnivores and are very social and intelligent animals.
Its ancestor is the common Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa).
The flesh of domestic pigs is eaten as food and is called pork.
The Jewish and Muslim religions, and some Christian denominations, believe eating pork is wrong.
Pig farmers take care that the animals do not get diseases or parasites which might harm humans.
Domestic pigs come in different colours, shapes and sizes.
They are usually pink, but little pigs kept as pets (pot-bellied pigs) are sometimes other colours.
Pigs roll in mud to protect themselves from sunlight.
Many people think that pigs are dirty and smell.
In fact, they roll around in the mud to keep bugs and ticks away from their skin.
This also helps to keep their skin moist and lower their body temperature on hot days.
They are omnivores, which means that they eat both plants and animals.
They are even able to learn how to play video games.
Pigs are commonly used as working animals.
They are used to hunt for truffles, pull carts and sniff out landmines.
Pig races exist.
Pigs need a warm, clean area under a roof to sleep, and they should not be crowded.
They need to be checked for sickness regularly.
Pigs need lots of water.
Over half their body weight is made up of water.
Pigs should be given all the feed they will eat, which is usually four to five pounds a day for adult pigs.
Corn is a good food for pigs, but they should also have protein supplements as well.
Pigs can be found throughout the world living on farms and in the wild, and they are also popular pets.
Pigs are kept and slaughtered for their flesh, pork.
Wheat (Genus: Triticum) is a cereal grain.
People eat it most often in the form of bread.
It is a kind of grass whose fruit is a "head of wheat" with edible seeds.
It was first grown in the Levant, a region of the Near East.
Now it is cultivated worldwide.
World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined.
Globally, wheat is the leading source of vegetable protein in human food.
It has a higher protein content than other major cereals such as maize (corn) or rice.
In terms of total production, it is second to rice as the main human food crop and ahead of maize (maize is used more for animal feeds).
Almost 800,000,000 tonnes are harvested every year.
Wheat was a key factor enabling the emergence of city-based societies at the start of civilization.
It was one of the first crops that could be easily cultivated on a large scale, and its seeds could be stored for long periods in a dry climate.
Wheat helped the growth of city-states in the Fertile Crescent, including the Babylonian, Assyrian and persian empires.
Wheat grain is a staple food used to make flour for leavened, flat and steamed breads, biscuits, cookies, cakes, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, couscous.
It can also be fermented to make ethanol, for alcoholic drinks, or biofuel.
An allergy to wheat (mostly from its gluten) can cause coeliac disease, which makes the sufferer have diarrhoea if they eat any food containing wheat.
The wheat plant has long, slender leaves, stems that are hollow in most types of wheat plants, and heads that have many kinds of flowers, from 20 to 100.
The flowers are grouped together in spikelets.
Each spikelet has two to six flowers.
In most spikelets, two or three of the flowers become fertilized, and this makes them produce the grains used for food.
Cultivated species of wheat
All cultivated wheats have more than one normal diploid set of chromosomes.
The increases in chromosome sets occurs naturally at a low rate.
Because they have more chromosomes, their ears of wheat are larger.
All man did was to select the plants with extra fat ears of wheat when they occurred.
Now a whole range of cultivated wheats are available.
These are just a few:
Common wheat or Bread wheat (T. aestivum) – A hexaploid species that is the most widely cultivated in the world.
Spelt (T. spelta) – Another hexaploid species cultivated in limited quantities.
Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp.
spelta.
Durum (T. durum) – The only tetraploid form of wheat widely used today, and the second most widely cultivated wheat.
Emmer (T. dicoccon) – A tetraploid species, cultivated in ancient times but no longer in widespread use.
Einkorn (T. monococcum) – A diploid species with wild and cultivated variants.
Domesticated at the same time as emmer wheat, but never reached the same importance.
Emmer wheat
Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), or 'hulled wheat', is a type of awned wheat.
It was one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East.
It was widely cultivated in the ancient world, but is now a relict crop in mountainous regions of Europe and Asia.
In the wild, the awns of emmer wheat spikelets help them dig into the soil.
With humidity in the night, the awns of the spikelet become erect and draw together, and in the process push the grain into the soil.
During the day, the humidity drops and the awns slacken back again.
During the course of days and nights, the awns' pumping movements drill the spikelet as much as an inch into the soil.
Einkorn wheat
Einkorn wheat is one of the earliest cultivated forms of wheat, (Triticum monococcum).
Grains of wild einkorn have been found in Paleolithic sites of the Fertile Crescent.
It was first domesticated about 7500 BC (~9000 years ago), in the early Neolithic period.
Evidence from DNA suggests einkorn was domesticated in southeast Turkey, where a number of early farming villages have been found.
Its cultivation decreased in the Bronze Age, and today it is a relic crop that is rarely planted.
It has found a new market as a health food.
It is still used for bulgur (cracked wheat) or as animal feed, in mountainous areas of France, Libya, former Yugoslavia, Turkey and other countries.
It often survives on poor soils where other species of wheat fail.
The Taliban is a large Sunni Islamic fundamentalist militant group operating in Afghanistan.
The group formed the government of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and took military control of most of Afghanistan again in August 2021.
After the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, the Taliban now takes full control of Afghanistan.
In 1994 Taliban started a government in southern Afghanistan called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The first leader of the Taliban was Mullah Mohammed Omar.
The Taliban governed Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.
During this time, its leaders put in place the strictest forms of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world.
Much criticism of the Taliban came from important Muslim scholars.
For example, if a thief was caught stealing something the Taliban would cut off one of his hands so that he does not use it to steal again, no matter what it was that he stole.
Many criminals were put to death quickly and without a fair trial and were executed in public.
Anyone who refused to follow the law was considered a non-Muslim enemy.
Every male had to go to mosque for prayer (except Afghan non-Muslims) during praying times, which is five times per day.
The Taliban became known around the world for their very bad treatment of women and girls, denying them human rights.
They also treated the Shia Muslim (who they consider heretics) and non-Muslim minorities (who are Hindus and Sikhs) very badly.
Every form of art, music and entertainment was strictly banned under their rule, and sculptures, paintings, photos, cameras, televisions, etc.
were destroyed.
The Taliban also did cultural genocide when they destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan in February and March 2001, because they consider the display of human and animal figures a sin.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan.
The Taliban had been giving its ally al-Qaeda a safe base from which to operate.
The United States government said that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda members did the attacks in the U.S. The Taliban asked the U.S. for proof of this before it would arrest them.
The aim of the invasion was to remove the Taliban government from power, destroy al-Qaeda and capture bin Laden.
After losing power in 2001, the Taliban had its headquarters in Pakistan.
In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Doha Agreement that would remove all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May 1, 2021.
President of the United States Joe Biden said that the U.S. exit from Afghanistan would start on May 1, 2021 and end by September 11, 2021, which would be exactly 20 years since the September 11 attacks.
On 15 August 2021, the Taliban captured Kabul and the Afghan government collapsed, with the Taliban taking control of most of Afghanistan.
On 30 August 2021, the Taliban had took full control of the country and ending the War in Afghanistan, after the evacuations from Afghanistan ended.
Deobandi Islamism
Religious nationalism
It is estimated that in 2020 the Taliban had an income of $1.6 billion, mostly from drugs, mining, extortion and taxes, donations (or gifts) and exports.
The Taliban have financed themselves mostly from selling illegal drugs.
A big part of the opium sold worldwide comes from Afghanistan: The Taliban grow the poppies (which are used to make opium).
Another part of their income is racketeering: they offer "protection" in exchange for money.
They also take taxes (in accordance with Islamic law, as they claim) in the areas they control.
Finally, there's financial support in the form of donations, from abroad.
Most of the donations come from countries around the Persian Gulf; many donations also come from Pakistan.
An article in 2021 in the Wall Street Journal said that there is [financing or] "funding from the opium trade and extortion schemes [... for] Taliban operations".
Taliban views on society
In the past, the Taliban had views on society that are stricter than those of many other Islamic countries:
They had the following rules for girls and women:
Starting at age eight, girls and women must not be in contact with men who are not their direct family, or who they are not married with.
Women must not be seen in public, without wearing a burqa, and without being accompanied by a male member of the family.
They must not wear shoes with high heels, so that no man can hear when they walk and be sexually aroused by the sound
They must not speak loudly in public, so that no stranger can hear their voice.
All windows on the ground floor and the first floor of the house must be sealed (or walled in), so that no one can see a woman in her apartment, when he passes by on the street
Taking photographs of women  or making movies showing women is forbidden.
This also applies to showing pictures of women in magazines, books, newspapers or in shops.
This also applies to the own home.
Placenames that contain the word "woman" must be changed (That way a "women's garden" became a "spring garden")
Women are forbidden from using the balcony or garden of the place where they live
Women must not have access (or be featured in) radio, tv, media.
They must not be allowed to attend public assemblies or meetings.
Women can get education until they reach puberty; afterwards, they should get married, and care for their children
Several Taliban and al-Qaeda commanders ran a network of human trafficking.
They abducted girls and women from  ethnic minorities  and sold them into sex slavery in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Time magazine writes: "The Taliban often argued that the restrictions they placed on women were actually a way of [worshipping] and protecting the opposite sex.
The behavior of the Taliban during the six years they expanded their rule in Afghanistan made a mockery of that claim."
The targets for human trafficking were mostly women from non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan.
Some women preferred to commit suicide rather than become slaves.. During one Taliban and al-Qaeda offensive in 1999 in the Shomali Plains alone, more than 600 women were kidnapped.
Arab and Pakistani al-Qaeda militants, with local Taliban forces, forced them into trucks and buses.
Time magazine writes: "The trail of the missing Shomali women leads to Jalalabad, not far from the Pakistan border.
There, according to eyewitnesses, the women were penned up inside Sar Shahi camp in the desert.
The more desirable among them were selected and taken away.
Some were trucked to Peshawar with the apparent complicity of Pakistani border guards.
Others were taken to Khost, where bin Laden had several training camps."
Officials from relief agencies say, the trail of many of the vanished women leads to Pakistan where they were sold to brothels or into private households to be kept as slaves.
Not all Taliban commanders took part in human trafficking.
Many were opposed to the practice.
Nuruludah, a Taliban commander, is quoted as saying that in the Shomali Plains, he and ten of his men freed some women who were being abducted by Pakistani members of al-Qaeda.
In Jalalabad, local Taliban commanders freed women that were being held by Arab members of al-Qaeda in a camp.
Taliban violence against civilians
In their attacks, the Taliban also target civilians in Afghanistan.
According to a report by the United Nations, the Taliban were responsible for over 76% of civilian casualties in 2009.
In 2010, the Taliban were again reponsible for over three quarters of the civilian casualties.
Civilians are targets of Taliban attacks twice as often as forces of the Afghan government, or troops of ISAF.
In 2011, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIGRC) said that Taliban fighters targeting civilians was a "war crime".
Religious leaders condemned the attacks on civilans, saying they were against Islamic ethics.
Also in 2011, human rights organisations pressed the International Criminal Court in Den Haag, to start investigations whether the Taliban committed war crimes.
Human rights abuses
When they took control of the country, the Taliban promised an amesty to the fighters and officials of the former goverment.
At the end of 2021, a few months after the Taliban taking control, Human Rights Watch, and other organisations have documented summary executions of these people.
The United States, the European Union, and several other countries have therefore told the Taliban that they should keep the promise they gave.
Russia has had meetings with Taliban regularly, over the last years (since August 2021).
Russia's ambassador (Dmitrij Zjirnov) had a meeting - in Afghanistan - with representatives from Taliban on 18 August 2021.
On 23 August 2021 the chief of CIA met with a member of the [ middle managment] of Taliban (Abdul Ghani Baradar); the CIA chief is the highest ranking member of Biden administration to have met with Taliban.
Norway has had contact with Taliban as far back as 2007.
For several years (as of 2021) Norwegian diplomats have been in contact with Taliban, at the (peace talks or) peace process in Doha (Qatar); as of 2021's fourth quarter, Norway still has diplomats at the peace talks in Doha.
Relationship with militant groups (outside Afghanistan)
Tehrik-i-Taliban
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan operates in northwestern Pakistan and is sometimes called the Pakistani Taliban, but they are a separate group.
Before the beginning of Tehrik-i-Taliban some of its (later) leaders and fighters were part of the 8,000 Pakistani militants fighting in the War in Afghanistan (1996–2001) and the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) against the United Islamic Front and NATO forces.
Most of them come from the Pakistani side of the Af-Pak border regions.
After the fall of the Afghan Taliban in late 2001 most Pakistani militants including members of today's TTP escaped (home) to Pakistan.
Peace talks
At the peace talks in Doha, there is little or no progress (as of 2021's third quarter).
Leader (or Supreme Commander)
Hibatullah Akhundzada (since 2016)
Panjshir resistance
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan - Sometimes called Pakistani Taliban.
Unrelated group in Pakistan.
The IMF Acts Against the Taliban (Aug. 18, 2021).
WSJ.com
Other weblinks
Afghanistan: A journey through Taliban country - a half hour documentary, by France 24, Published 11.6.2021
Screw can also be a slang word for sexual intercourse.
A screw is a sharp piece of threaded metal similar to a nail.
Unlike a nail, a screw has spiral grooves down its spike.
A screw is pressed down against wood and turned with a screwdriver.
Turning the screw to the right makes it go into the wood.
The grooves cut into the wood.
This prevents the screw from falling out, as a nail might.
Turning the screw to the left pulls it out of the wood.
There are also machine screws and self-tapping screws.
Machine screws are bolts which have screw threads.
The threads matched with nuts with female threads.
Screw threads are measured either in millimeters or in numbers.
They are used in furniture, doors, appliances, etc.
Screwing and screws
Screwing is the neatest way of holding together two materials.
If no glue is involved, then the screwing can be dismantled.
Countersunk: First you drill a pilot hole into the wood.
Then you can widen out the top by using a countersink drill bit.
The head is flat on the top.
Raised head: Has a slightly domed head, raised above the surface.
Round head: Domed head above surface, broader than underneath.
Use the right size screwdriver for the screw head.
A screwdriver that is too slim can damage the slot, too wide can tear the materials.
Screw threads in both wood and metal can become stripped, resulting in loss of holding power, and can also be difficult to remove.
Bolt (fastener)
Tajikistan is a country in Central Asia.
It was previously part of the Soviet Union.
Tajikistan is a republic.
The capital city is Dushanbe.
The official language is Tajik,which is a dialect of Farsi (Persian).
Tajikistan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the CIS.
Tajikistan is eighth in size of CIS countries.
Tajikistan is one of the new countries in South-central Asia.
It is west of China, north of Afghanistan and Pakistan, that is separated by a narrow 14 km strip of Tajik claimed land known as the Wakhan Corridor in the Pamirs, east of Uzbekistan and south of Kyrgyzstan.
Its total area is only about .
It is slightly smaller than Wisconsin, USA.
Tajikistan’s borders total to  long.
Almost all of the country (85 percent) is mountainous with river valleys running across, however high altitude mountains of Pomir are in the eastern part of the country, (which is the west end of the Himalayas).
The climate there is semiarid to polar.
The mountains cover an area of about .
There are other countries within the mountain range.
The mountains are between  high.
Karakul lake is located within a  meteorite crater, which would have formed about 25 million years ago, or less than 5 million years ago.
The land that is now Tajikistan has been lived in since 4,000 BC.
It has been under the rule of various empires throughout history, mostly the Persian Empires.
In 1868, Tajikistan became a Russian Colony.
It later became a part of the Soviet Union.
On 9 September 1991, after long periods of mass protests against the Soviet Government, the Parliament of Tajikistan declared independence from Soviet Union, and held the first presidential elections.
Rahmon Nabiev, who ran the country during Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s, become its president.
He was unable to bring any much-needed reforms to the country, and so there were protests in the capital city, Dushanbe.
The government responded by organizing a pro-government demonstration, mainly made of old Communist Party members and people from the southeast of the country brought to the city.
Anti-government protests did not stop, so the government gave weapons to the pro-government demonstrator.
Then the Opposition armed themselves.
After this bloody civil war broke out.
In which all of the new democratic parties, political organizations, and movements together with the political Islamic movements created an alliance, opposing the old communist government and southerners.
"...  The greatest obstacle to improving the economy is resistance to reform.
From the President down to the policeman on the street, the government is characterized by cronyism and corruption.
Emomali Rahmon and his family control the country's major businesses, including the largest bank, and they play hardball to protect their business interests, no matter the cost to the economy writ large...  The government has limited opposition party operations and rejected electoral law reforms for the February 28, 2010, parliamentary elections.
The Embassy does not expect the elections to be free and fair.
There has been almost no coverage of opposition political parties by state media, and most of the population is unaware of the purpose of the elections..."
Poopak NikTalab.
Sarve Samarghand (Cedar of Samarkand), continuous interpretation of Rudaki's poems ,Tehran 2020, Faradid Publications {Introduction}
1991 establishments in Asia
Fear is a feeling or an emotion.
When a person has fear, they are afraid or scared.
A person who fears something does not want it to happen.
The fear response comes from sensing danger.
It leads to the fight-or-flight response.
In extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) there may be a freeze response or paralysis.
In humans and animals, fear is adjusted by cognition and learning.
Thus fear is rational or appropriate, or it is irrational or inappropriate.
An irrational fear is called a phobia.
Fear is the body's way of protecting itself from doing things that may be dangerous.
For example, if one has a fear of jumping off a cliff, he/she will not do it.
This saves one from death.
In this case, fear is a good thing but in others, it can be bad.
An example of fear being bad is if it stops one from doing something important, like going to see a doctor.
Methods of controlling phobias include facing the fear over and over so the effect of the phobia becomes less until it stops being a phobia.
There is only a small set of basic or innate emotions and fear is one of them.
The fear response helps survival by triggering appropriate behavioral responses.
It has been preserved throughout evolution.
The tongue is the fleshy muscle inside the mouth.
A tongue lets us taste because the top of the tongue is made mostly of taste buds.
It also helps the process of mastication by mixing food with saliva.
It is very flexible, so it also helps us eat and talk.
The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body.
Tongue rolling
Some people can roll their tongue into a tube.
The reason why some people are able to and some are not is because of genetic inheritance, meaning that it is based on whether their parents are able to do it.
Many schools use tongue rolling as an example of a genetic trait.
kk:Тіл
Titanium is a very strong metal that is used in special applications.
The most common isotope has 26 neutrons.
Titanium was discovered in 1791 by William Gregor.
It is chemical element number 22 on the periodic table.
Its symbol is Ti.
It has 22 electrons and 22 protons.
Its name comes from the name of the strong Greek gods called titans.
Titanium can combine with other chemicals to make different materials.
When titanium mixes with oxygen from the air, it forms titanium dioxide (TiO2), or titania, which forms a shell around the metal and prevents chemicals from damaging it.
Titanium dioxide is a white pigment that is often used to make things less transparent, brighter, or rougher - because it does not react with chemicals inside the human body, it is safe to use in foods and other applications, like toothpaste.
Titanium alloys are used in aerospace engineering to make very strong and light parts of aeroplanes.
These alloys can replace steel because they are almost as strong as steel but much lighter.
They are also much stronger than aluminium alloys, but only a little heavier, meaning that titanium parts can be thinner and lighter, while still withstanding the same forces.
It does not corrode in most conditions, even when exposed to sea water or chlorine.
However, it can burn at high temperatures, and like many metal powders, titanium dust is extremely flammable.
Hebrew is a Semitic language.
It was first spoken in Israel.
Many Jewish people also speak Hebrew, as Hebrew is part of Judaism.
It was spoken by Israelites a long time ago, during the time of the Bible.
After Judah was conquered by Babylonia, the Jews were taken captive (prisoner) to Babylon and started speaking Aramaic.
Hebrew was no longer used much in daily life, but it was still known by Jews who studied halakha.
In the 20th century, many Jews decided to make Hebrew into a spoken language again.
It became the language of the new country of Israel in 1948.
People in Israel came from many places and decided to learn Hebrew, the language of their common ancestors, so that they could all speak one language.
However, Modern Hebrew is quite different from Biblical Hebrew, with a simpler grammar and many loanwords from other languages, especially English.
Hebrew is a Semitic language, like Arabic, a similar language.
Hebrew words are made by combining a root with a pattern.
In Israeli Hebrew, some words are translated from European languages like English, French, German, and Russian.
Many words from the Old Testament were given new meanings in Israeli Hebrew.
People learning Hebrew need to study the grammar first so that they can read correctly without vowels.
In Israeli Hebrew, there is no verb "to be" in the present tense only in the future and the past tenses.
In Biblical Hebrew, there are no tenses but only two aspects: imperfect and perfect.
The imperfect is something like the future and the present tenses.
The perfect is something like the past tense.
Mishnaic Hebrew was spoken as well as Judeo-Aramaic at the time of Jesus and at the time of the Bar-Kokhba revolt (2nd century AD) until the Byzantine Empire of Justinian (6th century AD).
The Hebrew alphabet has been adapted to write Yiddish, another Jewish language.
However, Yiddish is different from Hebrew because Yiddish comes from a mix of German, Hebrew, and other languages.
The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters.
Five of them change when they are at the end of a word.
Hebrew is read and written from right to left.
The first three letters, aleph, beth and gimel, are also used in mathematics in the context of transfinite numbers.
The Hebrew alphabet is an abjad and so only the consonants are written, and readers must supply the vowels.
Since that can be difficult, the vowels can be marked as dots called “nikkud” or “tnuah” (plural ”nikkud” signs and “tnuot” respectively.)
In Modern Hebrew, some letters can denote vowels, which are called matres lectionis (mothers of the reading) since they greatly help reading.
Vav (or Waw) can make the 'oo' sound (/u/ in IPA) like in food.
Yodh (or Yud) can make the 'ee' sound (/i/ in IPA) like in feed.
Saint Joan of Arc or The Maid of Orléans (Jeanne d'Arc, c.1412 – 30 May 1431) is a national heroine of France.
She is also a Catholic saint.
She was a peasant girl born in the east of France.
Joan said that she had visions from God.
In these visions, she said that God told her to take back her home, which was then under English rule late in the Hundred Years' War.
Many quick military victories made her famous.
In 1430, soldiers of Burgundy captured her and gave her to her English enemies.
Joan of Arc has remained an important figure in Western civilization.
Famous writers like Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, Mark Twain, and Voltaire wrote about her.
She appears in video games, television, movies, songs, and dances.
Visions of Joan of Arc
When Joan of Arc was put on trial, she said no to the customary courtroom rules about a witness's oath.
She said she would not answer every question about her visions.
She complained that the normal witness oath would not be right because she had an oath that she had given to the king.
It is not known how much the record which reports this has been changed by dishonest court officials or her possible lies to protect state secrets.
Some historians simply say that her belief in her duty was more important than where the visions came from.
Most people say that she was healthy and that she was not crazy.
Recently, people have tried to explain her visions through things like epilepsy, migraine, tuberculosis, and schizophrenia.
None of these guesses have been greatly supported.
This is because, even though seeing visions can be through different diseases, other facts of Joan's life do not agree with these ideas.
Two experts who studied a teberculoma hypothesis in the medical journal Neuropsychobiology said: "It is difficult to draw final conclusions, but it would seem unlikely that widespread tuberculosis, a serious disease, was present in this 'patient' whose life-style and activities would surely have been impossible had such a serious disease been present."
Ralph Hoffman, professor of psychology at Yale University, points out that visions, like "hearing voices" are not always signs of mental illness.
He says that her religious inspiration was possibly a reason.
However, he does not say any other reasons.
Joan was tried by a French inquisitorial tribunal under English control.
The Church said Joan should be killed for wearing men's clothes even after being warned not to.
Joan agreed to wear women's clothes.
She wore male clothes again.
This might have been to protect herself from being attacked.
It could also have been, as Jean Massieu said, because her dress had been stolen and she was left with nothing else to wear.
She was burned on a stake on 30 May 1431, at age 19.
After she died, the English showed people her burnt body so no one could say she had escaped alive.
Then they burned the body two times again to turn it into ashes.
They put what was left of her in the Seine.
The executioner, Geoffroy Therage, later said that he "...greatly feared to be damned."
International Joan of Arc Centre
Joan of Arc- Maid of Heaven
1410s births
1431 deaths
James Charles Kopp (born August 2, 1954) is an American criminal.
He was found guilty in 2005 for shooting Dr. Barnett Slepian to death in 1988.
Kopp said the reason he shot the doctor was that he was against the abortions that the doctor did.
Murder of Slepian
On October 23, 1998, Slepian, his wife, and their four children came home from synagogue (Jewish church).
Kopp waited outside the home with a rifle.
He shot Slepian in the back through a window while Slepian was in the kitchen.
Slepian's wife and son Andrew were standing in the same room with him.
American terrorists
Criminals from California
People from Pasadena, California
Millet is a type of grain that is eaten.
There are many types of millet.
Millets are of good nutritional value.
Millets also have high fiber content, and poor digestibility of nutrients.
This limits their value in nutrition and makes them rather less acceptable to consumers.
The Flowers of Romance, an early punk rock group formed in 1976
The Flowers of Romance (album) by Public Image Ltd
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game character.
He is a 15-year old blue hedgehog who can run at the speed of sound.
By curling into a ball and spinning quickly, he can do a helpful "Spin Attack" which he uses to defeat the villains and save the day.
He has been in many games made by the company Sega, but also in television series, books and comics (published in America by Archie Comics).
He has many friends, including Miles "Tails" Prower, a two-tailed fox that can fly by spinning his tails very quickly or Knuckles the Echidna (who is strong, and has been in Sonic games since Sonic the Hedgehog 3).
With them, he fights against his arch nemesis Doctor Eggman, an evil scientist attempting to conquer the world.
Sonic's appearances
In games
Sonic is the mascot of Sega, which created it in the early 1990s.
At first, Sega wanted Doctor Eggman to be their mascot, and a good guy.
But, the people in Sega liked the new idea of making a blue hedgehog as the mascot.
Doctor Eggman settled as the bad guy instead.
Sonic’s franchise has grown, and more characters are displayed in games.
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic X-treme (cancelled game)
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Adventure DX
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
Sonic Advance 2
Sonic Advance 3
Shadow the Hedgehog (Game)
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Black Knight
Mario & Sonic At The Winter Olympic Games
Mario & Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games
Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal
Sonic Forces
In cartoons
In most of the cartoons from the 1990s his voice was provided by Jaleel White (who was best known at the time for his role as Steve Urkel on the television show "Family Matters") and in later cartoons his voice was provided by Jason Griffith.
Sonic also stars in his latest cartoon from Japan.
It is called Sonic X, although Sonic X has ended.
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)
Sonic Underground
In comic books
Archie Comics in America has been making comics with Sonic as the main character.
He is also shown with famous characters like Knuckles and Tails, but with also a few new ones.
Some of the characters are not in any Sonic games, but some are in a very old cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM, made by DiC in 1993.
Miles "Tails" Prower: Tails is an eight year old fox.
He has two tails that he can spin like a propeller, allowing him to fly.
He has been a friend to Sonic for a long time.
He also sees him as a mentor, someone who trains him and treats him as a brother.
He is also very skilled with machinery (mainly aircraft.)
He was first shown in the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
He can also turn Super using the Super Emerald,which Sonic and Knuckles uses to turn Hyper.
Personality: Tails is a very friendly and humble fox.
Though he lacks confidence, he is always quite capable around Sonic and often helps him out.
For a long time Tails seemed happy with just being a sidekick, but in Sonic Adventure he wanted to be more independent.
Tails has a few weaknesses; he lacks confidence, is very afraid of lightning and ghosts, and also he has a tendency to talk too much, which causes him to accidentally blab out secrets or plans lots of times.
Amy Rose: Amy is a tomboyish 12 year old pink hedgehog.
She is in love with Sonic and she wants to marry him, but so far, Sonic has not accepted this offer.
She has a large Piko-Piko hammer for fighting with bad guys.
She was first shown in Sonic CD.
Personality: Amy was once presented as being kind and sweet (and slightly naive.)
In more recent games she has become more violent and aggressive.
However, she is extremely protective of her friends, and if a bad guy tries to hurt them, she will use all her skill to defeat the bad guy.
Despite her violent tendencies, Amy has a very good heart, she never gives up, and she is the most optimistic and cheery character of the franchise.
She really cares about her friends, and helps them reach their goals.
Traditionally she wore a  green shirt and a orange skirt.
This changed to a red dress in sonic adventure.
Knuckles the Echidna: Knuckles is a 16 year old echidna.
He may be the strongest of all of the characters and has two sharp claws on each fist he uses to fight with bad guys.
Most of the time, he takes care of a very special gemstone called the Master Emerald on Angel Island, a floating island in the sky.
He was first shown in the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
He can also turn Super using the Chaos Emeralds, and Hyper using the Super Emeralds, which Sonic also uses to turn Hyper.
Personality: In the games, Knuckles is independent, headstrong, devoted to his duty and is very trusting (this leads to him being tricked by Eggman a lot).
He is very serious and usually likes to be by himself, but can be relied upon to help out whenever the planet is in danger.
Knuckles is extremely stubborn and is often described as a loner.
Because of his flaws, he and Sonic do not always get along, but are still allies.
Cream the Rabbit: Cream is a 6 year old rabbit who can fly with her ears.
She also has a friend, a baby chao named Cheese.
She was first shown in Sonic Advance 2 for Game Boy Advance.
She is a very close friend to Amy.
Personality: Cream is polite, follows manners, and does what she is told.
She is brave as well, usually not afraid to go out on an adventure.
However, she is a bit naive.
Cream spends most of her time outdoors.
There, she likes to play with her friends, or collect flowers.
She loves adventures and exploring.
Indoors, she likes watching TV.
Her favorite food is ice cream.
She does not like violence.
However, she will fight to protect the people she cares about.
Shadow the Hedgehog: Shadow is a cloned hedgehog with super speed like Sonic's.
He is actually immortal due to scientific experimentation, but he has the appearance of a 15 year old hedgehog.
He is also known as Project Shadow and "The Ultimate Life Form".
He is often mistaken for Sonic, although they have some differences between them.
Shadow has red and black quills and they are more spiky then Sonic's (resembling Sonic's super form).
Shadow was created by Dr Gerald Robotnik (Dr Eggman's grandfather), for the intent of creating peace on earth, on the Space Colony ARK.
His creation, however, was enabled by the blood of Black Doom, the leader of an alien race called the Black Arms.
His goals were different than Dr Gerald, as he wanted Shadow to collect the Chaos Emeralds for him so the Black Arms could rule Earth.
After his creation, Shadow spent some time with Maria (Gerald's granddaughter and Shadow's first friend) who taught him about humanity, true friendship and how to be kind to others.
But the G.U.N. (Guardian Units of Nations) thought he would be a threat to humanity.
As a result, they eliminated everything related to the project, including the staff and Maria, who was in the process of saving Shadow.
He was sent from the ARK in an escape capsule, but was captured by G.U.N. and was kept frozen (like Fry from Futurama) at their base at Prison Island.
The death of Maria made Dr Gerald go mad, altering Shadow's memory while he was still frozen to manipulate him into trying to destroy Earth.
With help from Sonic and his friends, he was able to regain his memory and his purpose to save the earth, and stopped Dr Gerald's plan to crash the ARK into the planet.
This led to Shadow falling from space and getting amnesia, only remembering Maria's death.
He went to find his memory, which lead to him defeating Black Doom and the Black Arms.
He has made a commitment to live his life without the burden of his past.
He took an offer from the present Commander of G.U.N. to work with them as an agent, but he still works on his own terms.
Shadow has unique abilities to use the Chaos Emeralds in ways Sonic and friends have never shown to be able to.
One of these is Chaos Control, the ability to warp and manipulate Time and Space with a Chaos Emerald's power.
Shadow's first appearance was in 'Sonic Adventure 2'.
Personality: Shadow is of Sonic's most pronounced rivals, but at the same time, is one of his friends.
Originally an enemy, he is more like an antihero nowadays.
Shadow's personality is very different from Sonic's, being very serious and somewhat cocky.
He originally had an obsession for finding out the truth about his past, but now since he has found it, he is willing to live a normal life...as normal a life can be for Shadow, that is.
He can also turn Super using the Emerald.
Rouge the Bat: Rouge is a female majestic bat.
She works for the Government Agency called G.U.N. Her hobbies include treasure-hunting and collect rare gems, including the Chaos Emeralds.
Her powers include flying with her wings and doing powerful kicks with her feet.
She is often with Shadow (being his only true "friend") and likes to "tease" Knuckles (Sonic X makes this out to me more of a romantic relationship than the games do.)
Rouge's first appearance was in 'Sonic Adventure 2'
Personality: Rouge was originally self-centered, but over time, she has learned to show concern for others (especially her friends Shadow and E-123 Omega, one of Eggman's robots who rebelled).
She is not above using her looks to get what she wants.
Cosmo: Cosmo is a female child of a plant-like alien species whose homeworld was destroyed by the villainous Metarex.
She is an friend of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, and many see that her primary purpose in the series is that of a love interest for Tails.
This is because the two characters are of the same age for one another.
She is only in Sonic X.
Doctor Eggman: Doctor Eggman is a smart scientist.
He likes to make an army of robots to take over the world, but Sonic and his friends always keep making him fail.
He was first shown in Sonic the Hedgehog.
In early U.S. releases of the games, he was called Doctor Robotnik.
He is called Doctor Eggman because his body is shaped like an egg.
Eggman Nega: Eggman Nega is one of Dr Eggman's relatives from the future. (
He first appeared in Sonic Rush) There is some confusion as to whether he is from a different Dimension (as stated in the Sonic Rush series) or from the future (stated in Sonic Rivals)
Super Sonic is actually Sonic himself.
As Super Sonic, Sonic is faster and stronger, and he is gold in color.
He becomes Super Sonic only if he finds all seven Chaos Emeralds and, in the old games, gets 50 gold rings.
He was first shown in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Many other characters have a Super form.
For example, Knuckles can become Super Knuckles.
Hyper Sonic: Hyper is like Super Sonic, but he is even more powerful.
His color is always changing.
Hyper Sonic was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles and was not in any other Sonic the Hedgehog games.
Super Sonic becomes Hyper Sonic if he finds the 7 Super Emeralds and fifty gold rings and then double jumps.
Chaos Emeralds: The Chaos Emeralds are 7 stones that have been around for a very long time.
There is very powerful energy in them that has both evil and good power.
As a result, both good guys and bad guys are constantly looking for them.
Sometimes, characters can transform by using their energy.
For example, Sonic becomes Super Sonic.
Super Emeralds: The Super Emeralds are present only in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
These are even more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds.
When Sonic collects them all, he can become Hyper Sonic.
Master Emerald: The Master Emerald is a very special green gem that is much larger than the Chaos Emeralds.
It holds a great power that can even control the Chaos Emeralds.
It is on Angel Island, the floating island where Knuckles lives.
Knuckles guards and protects the gem.
He is also one of the only people able to control its power.
Rings: Also called "power rings" or "magic rings", these are golden rings which contain a special power.
In the games, Sonic will die if he is attacked without rings, but with more rings, he can survive.
Monitors: These items are seen across levels.
They give power-ups when opened, such as shields, rings, or extra lives.
But some can hurt you.
Voice actors
Throughout the years, Sonic has went through several different voice actors.
Jaleel White began voicing the character in the DiC animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, as well as Sonic SatAM and Sonic Underground.
White also reprised the role again in the 2013 Sonic fan film.
Beginning in 1998, Sonic was voiced by Ryan Drummond, starting with Sonic Adventure.
He continued to voice the character for six more years until 2004, his final performance as Sonic was in Sonic Advance 3.
Drummond was replaced by Jason Griffith starting with the anime series, Sonic X, with Griffith voicing Sonic within the games starting with Shadow The Hedgehog in 2005, he voiced the character for four more years until 2009 in Sonic and the Black Knight.
However, his recycled dialogue as Sonic was used in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.
After his departure from the role in 2010, Griffith did continue to voice Sonic in various 4Kids promotions until September 2014, when the Vortexx program came to an end.
Griffith was replaced by Roger Craig Smith, starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors.
Smith announced on his Twitter account on January 29, 2021, that he would no longer voice Sonic, with his departure confirmed by Sega the same day.
On May 26, 2021, Smith announced that he will continue to voice Sonic once again.
Ben Schwartz voiced Sonic in the 2020 feature film, and will reprise his role for the 2022 sequel.
American website
European website
Sonic Channel
Google English translation of Sonic Channel
Fictional characters introduced in 1991
Sonic the Hedgehog characters
Video game characters in movies
For the fictional character, see Sonic the Hedgehog
A hedgehog, also called a hedgepig or furze-pig, is a small mammal.
It has between 5000-7000 spines on its back.
There are hedgehogs in Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand.
When attacked or threatened, it curls up.
Hedgehogs eat insects, snails, frogs and toads, snakes, bird eggs, carrion, mushrooms, berries and melons.
Sometimes, hedgehogs will search for earthworms after rainstorms.
Hedgehogs have long spines, or quills, made of keratin.
They do not come off easily, unlike porcupines, but in baby hedgehogs, the baby quills drop off and are replaced with adult quills.
This is called "quilling".
When they are very stressed or sick, their quills can fall off, too.
Their quills are not poisonous: they are safe for humans to feel and touch, as they are not very sharp, or harmful.
Some people keep hedgehogs as pets.
African pygmy hedgehogs are the most common type that are kept as pets.
They live 2-4 years in captivity.
Hedgehogs are exotic pets, which means they may not be legal to keep as pets in some places.
Hedgehog reference at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Hedgehog Facts
Hedgehog Care and Advice
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi.
It is developed and owned by Square Enix.
Final Fantasy is a series of fantasy and science fantasy role-playing video games (RPGs).
It also includes movies, anime, printed media, and other products.
The first game was published in 1987.
The game was a success.
It had sequels.
The video game has since branched into other Video game genres.
Some of these genres are tactical role-playing, action role-playing, massively multiplayer online role-playing, racing, third-person shooter, fighting, and rhythm.
Most Final Fantasy games are independent stories.
They have different settings and main characters.
Recurring elements include plot themes, character names, and game mechanics.
Plots center on a group of heroes fighting evil and exploring their internal struggles and relationships.
Character names are borrowed from history, languages, and mythologies of many cultures.
The series is a commercial and critical success.
It is Square Enix's best selling video game franchise.