the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
Irenidae:  fairy-bluebirds
Laniidae:  shrikes
Vireonidae:  vireos
Petroicidae:  Australian robins
Alaudidae: larks
Chloropseidae:  leafbirds
Aegithinidae:  ioras
Picathartidae:  rockfowl
Eupetidae: rail-babbler
Bombycillidae:  waxwings and allies
Ptilogonatidae:  silky flycatchers
Cinclidae:  dippers
Motacillidae:  wagtails and pipits
Prunellidae:  accentor
Melanocharitidae:  berrypeckers and longbills
Paramythiidae:  tit berrypecker and crested berrypeckers
Passeridae:  true sparrows
Estrildidae:  estrildid finches (waxbills, munias, etc.)
Parulidae:  New World warblers
Thraupidae:  tanagers and allies
Peucedramidae:  olive warbler
Fringillidae:  true finches
Cardinalidae: cardinals
Drepanididae:  Hawaiian honeycreepers
Emberizidae:  buntings and American sparrows
Nectariniidae:  sunbirds
Dicaeidae:  flowerpeckers
Mimidae:  mockingbirds and thrashers
Sittidae:  nuthatches
Certhiidae:  treecreepers
Troglodytidae:  wrens
Polioptilidae:  gnatcatchers
Paridae:  tits, chickadees and titmice
Aegithalidae:  long-tailed tits
Hirundinidae:  swallows and martins
Regulidae:  kinglets
Pycnonotidae:  bulbuls
Phylloscopidae: leaf-warblers and allies.
Recently split from Sylviidae.
Sylviidae:  Old World warblers
Hypocoliidae:  Hypocolius
Cisticolidae:  cisticolas and allies
Icteridae:  American blackbirds, New World orioles, grackles and cowbirds.
Zosteropidae:  white-eyes
Timaliidae:  babblers
Muscicapidae:  Old World flycatchers and chats
Turdidae:  thrushes and allies
Sturnidae:  starlings
Oscines Tree of Life web project article July 31, 2006
Pictures of Songbirds
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species.
They are perching birds.
Most of them are small in size, and most can sing very well.
Their main suborder is the Passeri, the songbirds.
Perching.
All passerines have four toes on each foot.
Three of the toes point forwards.
The other toe points backwards.
This means that passerines can easily hold onto trees or rocks.
Because of this, they are also known as perching birds.
A tendon in the rear of the leg makes the foot curl and grip when the bird lands on a branch.
This is more than just a convenience for the birds: it is a tendon locking mechanism so they can sleep without falling off.
All passerine chicks are born in an undeveloped state (altricial): they need parental help.
Their eyes are closed, and they are bald, with little or no down.
They cannot leave the nest, and must be fed by the parents.
The advantage of this is that their brains grow larger during the fledgling stage.
In birds which leave the nest early, their brains depend mainly on material in the egg.
Passerines have significantly large brains compared to body size, and many passerines are comparatively intelligent.
The use of song for communication.
This is the most obvious adaptation.
Almost all passerines have 12 tail feathers.
This is a basal trait, a feature inherited from their past.
It leads biologists to think this large group originally had one common ancestor.
It is thought that the first passerines evolved in the southern continent of Gondwana in the Palaeogene.
This might have taken place around the Upper Palaeocene some 60–55 mya.
The latest opinion on passerine evolution is that that passerines originated on the Australian landmass ∼47 mya.
The early fossil record is poor because the first Passeriformes were on the small side, and their delicate bones did not preserve well.
Two specimens from Queensland, Australia are fossil bone fragments clearly recognizable as passeriform.
They are two species of about 10 and 20 cm in overall length.
This proves that some 55 mya, barely into the early Eocene, early perching birds were recognizably distinct.
It also suggests that the origin of this great order of birds was in the southern continent.
There are three sub-orders: Acanthisitti, Tyranni and Passeri.
There are only two bird species in the sub-order Acanthisitti.
They are known as New Zealand wrens.
The sub-order Tyranni are also known as the suboscines.
Many of these birds are found in tropical areas.
The sub-order Passeri has the most bird species.
They are also known as the oscines.
Suborder Acanthisitti
Acanthisittidae: New Zealand "wrens"
Suborder Tyranni
Infraorder Eurylaimides broadbills and allies
Infraorder Tyrannides - New World suboscines
Suborder Passeri
Basal Passeri – the oldest 'true' song birds.
Atrichornithidae:  scrub-birds
Superfamily Meliphagoidea – mainly insectivores and nectarivores, distribution centered on Australo-Melanesian region extending into surroundings, notably the Pacific.
Superfamily Corvida – a highly diverse group of global distribution, but most plentiful in the Australasian region and surroundings.
The oldest truly globally successful group of passerines, they include among them what may well be the most intelligent and the most spectacular of the order.
Melanocharitidae:  berrypeckers and longbills.
Callaeidae: New Zealand wattlebirds
Stitchbirds
Cnemophilidae: satinbirds
Neosittidae: sittellas
Vireonidae: vireos
Campephagidae: cuckoo-shrikes and trillers
Pachycephalidae: whistlers and allies
Oriolidae: orioles and figbirds
Paramythiidae: tit berrypecker and crested berrypecker.
Artamidae: woodswallows, butcherbirds, currawongs and Australian Magpie
Malaconotidae: puffback shrikes, bush shrikes, tchagras and boubous
Platysteiridae: wattle-eyes
Aegithinidae: ioras
Pityriaseidae: Bornean bristlehead.
Prionopidae: helmetshrikes and woodshrikes
Vangidae: vangas
Dicruridae: drongos
Monarchidae: monarch flycatchers
Rhipiduridae: fantails
Paradisaeidae: birds of paradise
Corcoracidae: white-winged chough and apostlebird
Laniidae: shrikes
Corvidae: crows, ravens and jays
Corvoidea (?)
Passeri
Ptilonorhynchoidea: bowerbirds and Australian treecreepers
Logrunners and pseudo-babblers
Petroicidae: Australian robins
Rockfowl, rock-jumpers and rail-babblers
Regulidae: kinglets
Hyliotas
Irenidae: fairy-bluebirds
Chloropseidae: leafbirds
Infraorder Passerida
Superfamily Sylvioidea – mostly insectivores, distribution centered on the Indo-Pacific region.
Few occur in the Australian region and fewer still in the Americas.
Usually sleek and drab birds, few have pronounced sexual dimorphism.
Aegithalidae: long-tailed tits or bushtits
Cettiidae: ground-warblers and allies
Megaluridae: grass-warblers and allies
"Bernieridae": Malagasy warblers.
A new family.
Acrocephalidae: marsh- and tree-warblers
Pycnonotidae: bulbuls
Cisticolidae: cisticolas and allies
Sylviidae: "true warblers" and parrotbills.
Zosteropidae: white-eyes
Timaliidae: (Old World) babblers.
Sylvioidea (?)
Superfamily Muscicapoidea – mostly insectivores, near-global distribution centered on Old World tropics.
One family endemic to Americas.
Nearly absent (except introductions) from the Australian region.
Usually rather stocky for their size, most are quite dark and dull though Sturnidae are commonly iridescent and/or colorful.
Sexual dimorphism often absent, sometimes pronounced.
Cinclidae: dippers
Muscicapidae: Old World flycatchers and chats.
Turdidae: thrushes and allies.
Buphagidae: oxpeckers.
Formerly usually included in Sturnidae.
Sturnidae: starlings and possibly Philippine creepers.
Mimidae: mockingbirds and thrashers
Superfamily Certhioidea - wrens and allies
Tichodromadidae: wallcreepers
Salpornithidae: spotted creeper
Troglodytidae: wrens
Polioptilidae: gnatcatchers
Superfamily Passeroidea – mostly herbivores including many seed-eaters, near-global distribution centered on Palearctic and Americas.
Includes the Nine-primaried oscines (probably a subclade).
A very high proportion of colorful and highly sexually dimorphic forms.
Passeridae: true sparrows
Prunellidae: accentors
Motacillidae: wagtails and pipits
Urocynchramidae Przewalski's finch
Ploceidae: weavers
Viduidae: indigobirds and whydahs
Nine-primaried oscines:
Peucedramidae: olive warbler
Fringillidae: true finches and Hawaiian honeycreepers
Icteridae: grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles
Parulidae: New World warblers
Thraupidae: tanagers and allies
Emberizidae: buntings and American sparrows
Coerebidae: bananaquit
Passerida: (?)
Panurus: bearded reedling ("bearded "tit")
Paroidea: titmice and allies
Paridae: tits, chickadees and titmice
Remizidae: penduline tits
Stenostiridae: stenostirids ("flycatcher-tits")
"Bombycilloidea" waxwings and allies
Bombycillidae: waxwings
Dulidae: palmchat
Ptilogonatidae: silky flycatchers
Hypocoliidae: Hypocolius
Mohoidae
"Dicaeoidea" sunbirds and flowerpeckers
Nectariniidae: sunbirds
Dicaeidae: flowerpeckers
Promeropidae: sugarbirds
The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is a pheasant-sized songbird.
It is an Australian endemic species, about 100cm long.
It has brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs.
It is the longest and third heaviest of all songbirds.
A lyrebird is a ground-dwelling Australian bird.
There are two species in the genus Menura.
They live in forests, especially rainforests, of eastern Australia, and they were introduced to Tasmania in the 19th century.
They are found in two National Forest areas of Victoria, New South Wales and southeast Queensland.
Mating system
They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment.
Since they live on the ground in fairly dense undergrowth, sound is used by the males to attract attention.
When a female arrives, the visual display comes into action.
It is a typical "female choice" mating system, where males defend a mating territory, and sing and display to get a mate.
Sound mimicry
The lyrebird's mimicked calls are learned from the local environment, including other birds.
It takes young birds about a year to perfect their mimicked repertoire.
The female lyrebirds of both species are also mimics, and will sing on occasion but the females do so with less skill than the males.
A lyrebird classic is their imitation of human sounds in the forest such as car alarms, camera shutters and forest logging with chain-saws.
The breeding cycle of the lyrebirds is long, and lyrebirds are long-lived birds.
They can live up to thirty years.
They also start breeding later in life than other passerine birds.
Female Superb Lyrebirds start breeding at the age of five or six, and males at the age of six to eight.
Males defend territories from other males.
These territories may contain the breeding places of up to eight females.
In a male's territory, he makes or uses display platforms.
The females each build an untidy nest, usually low to the ground in a moist gully, where each lays a single egg.
She is the sole parent who incubates the egg over 50 days until it hatches, and she is also the sole carer of the lyrebird chick.
The Albert's lyrebird (Menura alberti) is a pheasant-sized songbird, about 90 cm long, with brown upper body feathers and rich chestnut below.
It is very similar with the superb lyrebird in its habits.
This bird also mimics other species sounds.
It is sometimes called the "Prince Albert Lyrebird" or the "Northern Lyrebird".
Named after Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, they are smaller than the Superb Lyrebirds.
Albert's lyrebirds are only found in a small area of rainforest in the Lamington National Park near the border of Queensland and New South Wales.
There are about 3,500 birds known to exist.
There are reports of the birds in the Blackall Range, but this has not been proved.
Known groups of birds live on Tamborine Mountain, Scenic Rim and the Nightcap Range.
They eat small insects which they scratch up from the ground.
They are a shy bird which will run or fly away if disturbed.
During the breeding season in winter, from May to August, the male bird performs displays of song and dance to attract the females.
The songs are copied from other birds and forest sounds.
The songs can last up to four hours, with some individual songs lasting up to one hour.
During his dance, the male bird raises his tail feathers up and over his body.
The feathers form a lyre shape which is why they were given the name "lyrebird".
Internet Bird Collection  with videos of Albert's lyrebirds
The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" that were inside the suborder Passeri.
The term is now not used in taxonomy because it is paraphyletic.
Passerida is one of two "parvorders" in the suborder Passeri.
Piciformes are order of birds contain about 67 living genera with a little over 400 species, of which the Picidae (woodpeckers and relatives) make up about half.
Amost all live in woods (arboreal).
Nearly all Piciformes have parrot-like zygodactyl feet—two toes forward and two back, an arrangement that has obvious advantages for birds that spend much of their time on tree trunks.
The jacamars aside, Piciformes do not have down feathers at any age, only true feathers.
They range in size from the rufous piculet at 8 centimetres in length, and weighing 7 grams, to the toco toucan, at 63 centimetres long, and weighing 680 grams.
All nest in cavities (holes) and have altricial young, meaning they have to look after their chicks for quite a long time.
Suborder Galbuli
Family Galbulidae – jacamars (18 species)
Family Bucconidae – puffbirds, nunbirds and nunlets (some 30 species)
Suborder Pici
Infraorder Ramphastides
Family Megalaimidae – Asian barbets (about 25 species, recently split from Capitonidae)
Family Lybiidae – African barbets (about 40 species, recently split from Capitonidae)
Family Capitonidae – American barbets (about 15 species)
Family Semnornithidae – toucan-barbets (2 species, recently split from Capitonidae)
Family Ramphastidae – toucans (about 40 species)
Infraorder Picides
Family Indicatoridae – honeyguides (17 species)
Family Picidae – woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks (over 200 species)
La Silla Observatory is an observatory in Chile with eighteen telescopes that study the stars.
The observatory is one of the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere.
La Silla is a 2,400 meter high mountain that is found in the far southern part of the Atacama Desert.
It can be found about 160 kilometers north of La Serena, 27 kilometers south of the Las Campanas Observatory, and about 100 kilometers north of the Cerro Tololo Observatory.
Official ESO - La Silla webpage
Astronomical observatories in Chile
Asteroid discoverers
The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO) is found in Ukraine and is an observatory.
It studies the stars and has found a total of 12 minor planets to date:
CrAO's website
Freema Agyeman (born Frema Agyeman on 20 March 1979) is an English actress.
She is of Ghanaian and Iranian descent.
She is known by a lot of people for playing Martha Jones on the television series Doctor Who and also in its spin-off series Torchwood.
Black British actors
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer.
With record sales of over seven million in the United States, she is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum (Under Construction).
Elliot has released six studio albums.
Her seventh album is called Block Party.
She has Graves' disease.
Supa Dupa Fly (1997)
Da Real World (1999)
Miss E... So Addictive (2001)
Under Construction (2002)
This Is Not a Test! (
The Cookbook (2005)
Respect M.E. (2006) (greatest hits)
People from Portsmouth, Virginia
It has an ancient historical centre, derived from the time in which it was the Etruscans' port, near the area of Populonia.
In the Middle Ages, it was an important port of Pisa's Republic.
Still today Piombino is one of biggest port in Italy, and is one of the most used port for to go in the Elba Island, (with the port of Livorno).
Piombino outside the down town has a very big industrial area.
Cathedral of Sant'Antimo (c. 1377), built by the Augustinians and originally dedicated to St. Michael.
The Rivellino (Walls Tower-Gate), the most ancient monument in the city (1212).
The Chiesa della Misericordia (early 13th century).
Inside this church there is a rare 15th century crucifix.
The Cassero Pisano a castel, built under Cosimo I de' Medici the castel was used as military jail until 1959.
The Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), mostly a modern reconstruction of the ancient Palazzo degli Anziani (1435).
In the Musters Hall, with portraits of the Princes of Piombino.
Chapel of St. Anne, a noteworthy Renaissance work by Guardi.
The Cisterna di Cittadella (Citadel's Cistern), also by Guardi.
On the sides are the portraits of Jacopo III Appiani and his son and wife, later damaged by order of Cesare Borgia.
Casa delle Bifore (1280).
The Natural Province Reserve Padule Orti Bottagone, created in 1998.
Piombino has schools, churches, banks, parks and squares.
In the locality of Punta Falcone there is an astronomical observatory, built in 1976.
Comuni near Piombino
Flémalle, Belgium
Official website of the Commune of Piombino
Caraş-Severin (; Serbian: Караш Северин, Karaš Severin, ; , Bulgarian: Караш-Северин, Karash-Severin) is a county (judeţ) of Romania, in historical region Banat.
The capital of Caraş-Severin County is Reşiţa.
Caraş-Severin County has an area of 8,514 km².
It is the third biggest county in Romania, after Timiş and Suceava counties.
The Danube enters Romania in Caraş-Severin County.
Caransebeş
Anina
Băile Herculane
Bocşa
Moldova Nouă
Oraviţa
Oţelu Roşu
Agadici
The Gold Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: Medaglia d'oro al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia.
During World War I, the medal was awarded to military personnel for exceptional valor in the face of the enemy.
After the World War II, the medal was gave to the cities that fought fascism and nazism during the war.
Military of Italy
1793 establishments
The Silver Medal of Military Valor (Italian language: Medaglia d'Argento al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal established in 1833 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia.
During World War I, the medal was awarded to military personnel for exceptional valor in combat.
Like the Gold Medal and the Bronze Medal, the Silver Medal was given also to citizens who fought against nazism and fascism during  World War II.
For each subsequent act of valor, the recipient was awarded a bar in the corresponding class.
As the Gold medal and the Silver Medal, after the World War II, the Bronze Medal was gave to the cities that fought against the nazism and the fascism during the war.
Reşiţa (German: Reschitz, Hungarian: Resicabánya, Krashovani: Решица or Rešica, Czech: Rešice) is a city in the western part of Romania.
It is the capital of Caraş-Severin County, in the Banat region.
About 84,000 people live in Reşiţa as of the year 2004.
Orbetello is a town and commune in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy.
It is about  south of Grosseto, on a lagoon, which is an important Natural Reserve.
Orbetello  was an ancient Etruscan village, which in 280 BC went under the control of the Romans, who had founded their colony of Cosa.
In the Middle Ages it was controlled by the Aldobrandeschi family, who held it until the 14th century, when it was bought by the city of Orvieto.
After some years, Orbetello was captured by the Sienese Republic.
In the mid-16th century it was part of the Spanish puppet State of Presides, becoming its capital.
Later it was under the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and, from the late 19th century, the new Kingdom of Italy.
The city walls (5th century BC).
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, built over an Etruscan-Roman temple and half re-built in 1375.
The Spanish Forte delle Saline, in the frazione of Albinia.
Remains of the Roman city of Cosa in the frazione of Ansedonia.
Ruins of the Monastery of Sant'Angelo.
Pontedera is a small Italian industrial town in Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Pisa.
Pontedera is the headquarters of the Piaggio company,from the 1930s one of most important Italian manufacturers motor vehicles such as the Vespa and the Ape.
Piaggio was a subsidiary of FIAT.
Today the owner of Piaggio is Roberto Colaninno.
Important places and monuments in Pontedera
Il Duomo (The Dome of the city)
The Church of Santa Lucia
The Church of Santissimo Crocifisso
The Cimitero of Misericordia
The Church of Santa Maria Madre della Chiesa
The Church of Misericordia
The Church of San Giuseppe al Ponte
The Church of San Giuseppe
The Church of Madonna dei Braccini
The Church of Cappuccini
The Church of Sacro Cuore ai Villaggi
The Church of Madonna di Ripaia
The Church of San Lorenzo e San Bartolomeo
The Church of San Martino (destroyed)
The Church of San Michele di Travalda (destroyed)
The Church of San Tommaso (destroyed)
The Church of San Lorenzo di Rapida (destroyed)
The Church of Santa Margherita di Tavella (destroyed)
The Church of San Sebastiano (destroyed)
The Church of Stimmate di San Francesco (destroyed)
Palazzo Stefanelli
Palazzo Pretorio
Palazzo Paoletti Zeppini
Palazzo Bellincioni
Palazzo Pitschen
Palazzo Ciompi
"Fiera Naturamica", Festival about agriculture (April)
"ExproModel&Show"  (October)
"Fiera di San Luca", Since 1471 (October) ;
"Festa del commercio", Since 2004 (September); since 2007 the festivals joined the "Notte Bianca";
"Shopping sotto le stelle", in evening shops are still open (July)
"Palio della balestra", about the Pace di Pescia since 2001 (September);
"Fiera dei fischi e delle campanelle", in the  frazione of La Rotta, (August), since 1907.
"Qui rido io", Festival about humorism, (June), since 2003;
"Sete sois sete lunas", Internation Festival of Pop Music, (July) since 1992;
"Aperitivi in musica", on Cavour's Square, (all year), since 2001.
"Mangia...longa",Festival about loca food, (June), since 2005;
"BavieraFest", Italian version of Oktoberfest, (June), since 2006.
Khombole - Senegal
Fourchambault - France
Serrara Fontana (Province of Naples) - Italy
The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the Arno River flows till Subbiano, in the Italian region Tuscany.
It is one of the four valleys in which the Province of Arezzo is divided.
The valley's biggest comuni are all in the Arno valley: among these the biggest are Bibbiena and Poppi, while Capolona, Castel Focognano, Castel San Niccolò, Pratovecchio, Stia, Subbiano are more or less smaller.
The villages on the neighbouring hills and mountains are much smaller.
These are Chitignano, Chiusi della Verna, Montemignaio, Ortignano-Raggiolo and Talla.
The Casentino is mentioned in the song "Ich hab in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen", from the Italieniches Liederbuch by Hugo Wolf.
official web site Valle del Casentino
Colle di Val d'Elsa or Colle Val d'Elsa is a town and comune in Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Siena.
It has a population of c. 20,000 inhabitants (2005).
Its name in Italian means "Hill of Elsa Valley", where "Elsa" is the name of the river which crosses it.
Today, Colle di Val d'Elsa is internationally renowned for the production of crystal glassware and art, largely produced in the industrial lower town.
The area was settled by man from at least the 4th millennium BC,.
In 1269 it was the seat of a famous battle during the wars of Guelphs and Ghibellines and in 1479 it was attacked by Neapolitan soldiers.
From the 14th century it was under the control of the city of  Florence and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the unification of Italy in 1860.
In the 20th century it became an important industrial town.
During World War II it was bombed by Allied aircraft.
The oldest part of the town is the "colle alta", the higher part, with a well preserved medieval center.
The city is also famous as the birthplace of sculptor and architect Arnolfo di Cambio.
Official tourist information website
The British Rail Class 140 was the prototype of the Pacer diesel multiple unit.
Much of the bodywork was constructed using Leyland National bus components, with the exception of the cabs, in 1980.
They were created because then British Rail had a large shortage of trains so rather than spending lots of money on expensive proper trains, they invented the Pacer.
British Leyland at the time had a surplus in the production of bus bodies so the idea was to weld the bus body from an old bus on to a freight waggon chassis.
The result of this was that pacers have notoriously poor suspension and are noisier around corners due to flanging (the squeaky noise that you'll sometimes hear when travelling by train).
This makes them non-ideal passenger trains so they are now being replaced (or have been replaced in the case of the class 141) by new trains.
Rosignano Marittimo is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany.
It is about 80 km southwest of Florence and about 20 km southeast of Livorno.
As of 31 December 2004, it had 31,516 people.
It has an area of 120.3 km².
The comune of Rosignano Marittimo contains the frazioni of:  Castiglioncello, Rosignano Solvay, Vada, Castelnuovo della Misericordia, Gabbro, and Nibbiaia.
Rosignano Marittimo borders the following comuni: Castellina Marittima, Cecina, Collesalvetti, Livorno, Orciano Pisano, Santa Luce.
www.comune.rosignano.livorno.it
James Henry Hammond (November 15, 1807 – November 13, 1864) was from South Carolina.
He served as a United States Representative from 1835 to 1836, Governor of South Carolina from 1842 to 1844, and United States Senator from 1857 to 1860.
He was also a slave owner; his plantation is in Redcliffe Park in South Carolina.
The stables at Redcliffe Park were either built by him or his son.
Santa Croce sull'Arno is an Italian town in the province of Pisa, Tuscany.
About 13,400 people lived there as of 2005.
The city is famous for the tanning industries.
In 16.92 square kilometres there are about 400 factories and laboratories.
The British Rail Class 142 is a class of Pacer diesel multiple units used in the United Kingdom.
96 units were built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987.
They were a development of the earlier Class 141 which were introduced in 1984.
Functional illiteracy means that a person is not able to read, write, and do math well in regular life.
Someone who is fully illiterate can not read, write, or do math at all.
Such people have perhaps never learnt how to read or write; perhaps they did not need to.
A person who is functionally illiterate is different - at some point in their lives, these people were taught reading and writing skills.
For different reasons, adults who are functionally illiterate try to avoid writing and reading as much as possible.
That way, a person who is functionally illiterate may be able to write their name, but it is very difficult for them to write more than a few sentences.
These people have trouble functioning in modern society: when they are confronted with printed materials they  cannot perform simple tasks such as filling out a form, understanding a contract, following written instructions, reading a newspaper article, traffic signs, consulting a dictionary, or understanding a bus schedule.
Links with poverty and crime
The people who are functionally illiterate often have other problems as well: Other people may bully them, they may have higher health risks, and stress.
Because they cannot get good jobs, they often earn little money.
How common it is
Business magazine estimates that 15 million functionally illiterate adults had a job in the United States at the start of the 21st century.
The American Council of Life Insurers reported that 75% of the Fortune 500 companies provide some level of training to help their workers overcome this situation.
All over the U.S 30 million - 14% of adults - are unable to perform simple and everyday literacy activities.
This report sees three parameters: prose, document, and quantitative literacy.
There are four levels for each parameter: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient.
For prose literacy, for example, a below basic level of literacy means that a person can look at a short piece of text to get a small piece of uncomplicated information.
Similarly, a person who is "below basic" in quantitative literacy might be able to add two numbers.
In the US, 14% of adults are  at the "below basic" level for prose literacy; 12% are at the "below  basic" level for document literacy; and 22% are at that level for quantitative literacy.
Only 13% of the population is proficient in these three areas.
In the terms of the study, "proficient" means these people are able to compare viewpoints in two editorials.
They can interpret a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity.
They can also compute and compare the cost per ounce of food items.
In the UK, according to the Daily Telegraph (14 June 2006) "one in six British adults lacks the literacy skills of an 11-year-old".
The UK government's Department for Education reported in 2006 that 47 percent of school children left school at age 16 without having achieved a basic level in functional maths, and 42 percent fail to achieve a basic level of functional English.
Every year 100,000 pupils leave school functionally illiterate in the  UK.
Research findings
Sociological research has demonstrated that countries with lower levels of functional illiteracy among their adult populations tend to be those with the highest levels of scientific literacy among the lower stratum of young people nearing the end of their formal academic studies.
This correspondence suggests that a contributing factor to a society's level of civic literacy is the capacity of schools to ensure students attain the functional literacy required to comprehend the basic texts and documents associated with competent citizenship.
The British Rail Class 143 is a diesel multiple unit, part of the Pacer family of trains introduced between 1985 & 1986.
The coaches are based on an Alexander bus body mounted on a chassis from a freight or Goods truck.
Twenty-five units were built, numbered 143001-025 but later re-numbered 143601 - 143625.
The British Rail Class 144 "Pacer" diesel multiple units (DMUs) were built by BREL Derby from 1986-1987.
A total of 23 units were built, replacing many of the earlier First-generation "Heritage" DMUs.
The British Rail Class 150 "Sprinter" diesel multiple units (DMUs) were built by BREL from 1984-87.
A total of 137 units were built in three main subclasses, replacing many of the earlier first-generation "Heritage" DMUs.
1984 in the United Kingdom
In the early 1990s, British Rail took the decision that running 2-car trains on rural routes was inefficient, and identified the need for single-carriage trains.
Initially consideration was given to splitting the Met-Cam Class 156 units to form class 152 units, however due to various problems with the Class 155 units, the decision was taken to split these units instead.
The British Rail Class 155 "Super-Sprinter" is a diesel multiple unit.
These DMUs were built by British Leyland at Workington (using Leyland National bus components) between 1987 and 1988 as part of British Rail's replacement of its ageing diesel fleet which were First-Generation.
The British Rail Class 156 "Super-Sprinter" is a diesel multiple unit (DMU).
A hundred and fourteen of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell (now owned by Alstom) at their Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham.
They were built to replace elderly First Generation "Heritage" DMUs and locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
Class 157 was the designation applied to a range of Diesel multiple unit trains of the Sprinter family planned for regional use, in particular for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive.
As well as the class number, British Rail reserved carriage numbers in the 526xx and 576xx series for these units.
As the Privatisation of British Rail began, this project became unviable as resources were concentrated on the privatisation process, leading to the famous 1064-day 'drought' of new train orders.
By the time this period was over, plans had moved on and Stratchclyde ended up receiving a batch of Class 170 units.
British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) train.
They were built to replace old DMUs and locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
Class 159 trains are almost the same as Class 158s.
They work many non-electrified services such as Exeter St David's To London Waterloo.
They were among the last new trains in the UK to be built with the old toilet system which emptied directly onto the track.
BREL also built 20 carriages to 1m gauge for export to Thailand in 1990/1.
The British Rail Class 159, known as "South Western Turbo" by Network SouthEast (but in reality a member of the Sprinter family), is a diesel multiple unit, built from 1989-93 by BREL at Derby Works.
The British Rail Class 165 "Network Turbo" diesel multiple units (DMUs) is a diesel multiple unit that were built by BREL at York Works from 1990–1992.
These units are suburban trains, with an express version appearing later in the form of the Class 166 "Network Express Turbo" units.
The Class 165 belongs to the Networker families of trains.
The British Rail Class 166 "Network Express Turbo" diesel multiple units (also known as just "Thames Turbos"  ) were built by ABB at York Works from 1992-93.
These units are the express version of the Class 165 "Network Turbo" units.
They have a top speed of 90mph (suitable for mainline use), are carpeted throughout and have air-conditioning (the 165s lack the latter two features and it should be noted the 166 is similar to the Class 158 in terms of what it offers).
The Class 168 Clubman is a diesel multiple-unit (DMU) train used by Chiltern Railways for InterCity services between London and the Midlands.
They were built in several batches from 1997 onwards.
The first batch of units was classified 168/0 under TOPS and bore a large resemblance, both visually and in terms of electrical design, to the Class 165 units previously built by BREL at York.
This is because they were based on plans originally drawn up by Network SouthEast and thus can be considered to be Networker Turbos.
Subsequent builds, classified 168/1 and 168/2, were given the newer style cab and a new design of wiring and thus are part of the Turbostar family of trains.
Adtranz multiple units
The Class 170 "Turbostar" is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) built by Bombardier Transportation (previously ADtranz) at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works, England.
This has become the most popular type of DMU built since the privatisation of Britain's railways, with 122 units built.
Bombardier multiple units
The Class 171 "Turbostar" is a type of DMU operated by Southern.
The Class 171 is identical to the Class 170, except for the replacement of the BSI coupler with a Dellner coupler.
This provision was made in order to allow emergency joining with Class 377 DC third-rail electric units.
The Class 172 is a  diesel multiple unit (DMU) of the Turbostar family similar to the Class 168, Class 170 and Class 171.
Future British rail vehicles
The Class 175 Coradia is a model of diesel multiple unit passenger train used in the United Kingdom.
They were built from 1999–2001 by Alstom at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
The fleet is currently based at Chester Depot.
The fleet is used in North Wales on services from Holyhead, South Wales, normally going south or up to the North Wales Coast.
Many also operate round the Manchester area.
The British Rail Class 180 Adelante is a class of 14 diesel-hydraulic multiple-unit passenger trains built by Alstom at Washwood Heath in 2000/01 for First Great Western (FGW).
They are part of the Coradia 1000 family, along with the Class 175.
After recurring technical problems with the trains, FGW handed them all back to leasing company Angel Trains in 2008/09.
After a period in store, they were leased to Hull Trains and Grand Central, while the remaining five units returned to service with FGW.
The latter five have since moved to Grand Central, whilst the four Hull Trains units have been transferred to East Midlands Railway.
The Class 185 (branded by its operators as the Pennine Class 185) is a diesel multiple-unit passenger train built by Siemens Transportation Systems in Germany for the British train operating company First TransPennine Express.
The British Rail Class 201 (or 6S) six-car diesel-electric multiple units (DEMUs) were built in 1957–1958 at Eastleigh railway works and Ashford railway works.
They were built for use on the London to Hastings line.
Several tunnels along the route had restricted clearance, meaning that these units were built with a narrow body profile.
The British Rail Class 202 (or 6L) diesel-electric multiple units were built from 1957 to 1958 at Eastleigh railway works and Ashford railway works.
Several tunnels along the route had restricted clearance, so these units were built with a narrow body profile.
The Class 203 was the final version of the Hastings narrow-bodied diesel multiple unit train.
It was originally  classified 6B. They were delivered in 1958.
Their unit numbers were 1031–1037.
They differed from class 202 by having a buffet car.
The British Rail Class 204 diesel multiple units were two-car versions of the Class 205 '3H' units.
They were classified as 2H under the old system.
Their unit numbers were in the range 1119-1122.
Due to a generous disposal policy by Porterbrook Leasing, nearly all of the final units in service were preserved.
The only unit not preserved was no.
205012, which had poor bodywork and donated its engine to the only surviving unrefurbished Class 207 unit.
205001 - East Kent Railway (2-car unit)
205008 - (DTCsoL 60820) Preserved by the Hastings Diesels Group at St Leonards-on-Sea, on loan to the Lavender Line (Can operate with unit 205033)
205009 - Eden Valley Railway (3-car unit)
205018 - (DTCsoL 60828 from 205029) Lavender Line (2-car unit)
205023 - (DTCsoL 60822) and TSO 60669 (from 205024) at Swindon and Cricklade Railway.
TSO 60669 will be stripped for spares to restore DTCsoL 60822 and then scrapped.
DMBS 60122 at Lavender Line)
205025 - Mid-Hants Railway (2-car unit)
205027 - (DMBSO 60145) Stored at St Leonards Depot with DMBSO 60149
205028 - Dartmoor Railway (3-car unit)
205031 - (DMBSO 60149) Stored at St Leonards Depot with DMBSO 60145
205032 - Dartmoor Railway (3-car unit)
205033 - (TSO 60678 at Cold Norton, DMBS 60151 and DTCsoL 60832 at Lavender Line)(60151 can operate with DTCsoL 60820)
205205 - Epping Ongar Railway (2-car unit)
The British Rail Class 206 or 3R was a type of diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) first created in 1964.
They were re-formed from Class 201 and Class 416 vehicles for use on Reading-Redhill-Tonbridge (North Downs Line) services.
Six three-car sets were created, numbered 1201–1206.
They were nicknamed 'Tadpole' units because of the contrast between the wide-bodied 416 'head' and the narrow-bodied 206 'tail'.
The British Rail Class 207 (or 3D) diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh railway works in 1962.
The British Rail Class 210 was a type of diesel-electric multiple unit built in the late 1970s.
The class was intended to be a modern train to replace the ageing types in use on the Southern Region of British Railways but the prototypes built did not manage to secure production for the class and they were withdrawn in the 1980s.
Christopher Flavin is the President of the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization focused on natural resource and environmental issues, based in Washington, DC.
He is also a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy] and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, the Climate Institute, and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
His research and writing focus is international energy and climate policy.
Flavin has participated in several notable international conferences, including the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the Climate Change Conference in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997.
He has testified before national and state legislatures and meets frequently with government and international leaders.
Power Surge: Guide to the Coming Energy Revolution, W.W. Norton, 1994.
Rising Sun, Gathering Winds: Policies to Stabilize the Climate and Strengthen Economies, Worldwatch Paper 138, November 1997.
Regular contributions to State of the World, Vital Signs and World Watch.
Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap , 2008.
The Class 220 Voyager is a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for the British train operating company Virgin Trains, but are now operated by CrossCountry.
They are air-conditioned throughout, with powered doors and a top speed of .
They were introduced to replace the thirty-year-old High Speed Train and Class 47 fleets.
The trains were built between 2000 and 2001 and the first train entered service on 5 June 2001.
The Class 221 SuperVoyager is a train currently used by Virgin Trains and CrossCountry in the United Kingdom.
They were built by Bombardier Transportation between 2000 and 2002 for the British train operating companies Virgin CrossCountry and Virgin West Coast.
The first Class 221 SuperVoyager entered traffic between Birmingham and Brighton on 12 April 2002.
The Class 221 SuperVoyagers are similar to the Class 220 Voyager units, but they are built with a tilting mechanism offering up to six degrees of tilt to allow faster speeds on curved tracks.
They have a maximum speed of .
Tilting trains
Lester R. Brown (born March 28, 1934) is an environmental analyst who has authored and co-authored over fifty books.
His books have been translated into more than forty languages.
He is the founder of the Worldwatch Institute and founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute.
Brown has authored or coauthored 50 books.
One of the world's most widely published authors, his books have appeared in some 40 languages.
Among his earlier books are Man, Land and Food, World Without Borders, and Building a Sustainable Society.
His 1995 book Who Will Feed China?
challenged the official view of China’s food prospect, spawning hundreds of conferences and seminars.
In May 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving sustainable development.
In November 2001, he published Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, and his most recent book is World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse (2011).
He is the recipient of many prizes and awards, including 25 honorary degrees, a MacArthur Fellowship, the 1987 United Nations' Environment Prize, the 1989 World Wide Fund for Nature Gold Medal, and the 1994 Blue Planet Prize for his "exceptional contributions to solving global environmental problems."
More recently, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Italy, the Borgström Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, and appointed an honorary professor of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In 1991, the American Humanist Association named Brown the Humanist of the Year.
Earth Policy Institute
Earth Policy Institute  - biography of Lester R. Brown
Lester Brown Interview about The Water Crisis MP3
Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress & a Civilization in Trouble (2003); complete book online (html pages and pdf document)
Lester R. Brown: Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2008); complete book online (html pages and pdf document)
Lester R. Brown: Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (2010); complete book online (html pages and pdf document)
Lester R. Brown: World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse (2011); complete book online (html pages and pdf document)
The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train capable of .
Twenty-seven units have been built by Bombardier Transportation.
The Blue Pullman was a class of luxury train used from 1960 to 1973 by British Railways in the United Kingdom.
As opposed to the previous Pullman Car Company locomotive-hauled carriage trains, and the Brighton Belle electric multiple units, the Blue Pullmans were the first diesel-electric multiple units designed for high-speed Pullman train services incorporating several novel features.
Named after their custom blue livery, the trains were conceived under the railway 1955 Modernisation Plan, to create new luxury first-class diesel express trains, to compete with the motor car and the emerging domestic air travel market.
Although not entirely successful in their own right, the Blue Pullmans demonstrated the possibility of high-speed fixed-formation multiple-unit Inter City train services and inspired the later development of the InterCity 125.
After their withdrawal, none of the units survived into preservation.
Class 252 was the classification allocated to the prototype High Speed Train unit, numbered 252001.
Class 253, Class 254 and Class 255 are classifications allocated to InterCity 125 high speed trains in Great Britain.
Hum Ek Hain is a Pakistani Urdu movie directed by Syed Noor which was released across theaters in Pakistan in November 2004.
It stars Shaan, Saima, Shamyl Khan, Haidar Sultan.
The title was meant to be 786 but the Censor Board Members did not approve of 786 so it was changed to Hum Ek Hain.
Class 313 electric multiple units were built by BREL at York Works from 1976-77, these being the first second-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail.
They were also the first dual-voltage units to be built, capable of drawing power via 25 kV AC overhead, or 750 V DC third-rail, and the first units in Britain to have fully automatic couplers which allowed both physical coupling and also the connection of control electric and air supplies to be carried out without the need to leave the cab.
Class 300 was allocated to a proposed fleet of parcels-carrying electric multiple units, which were to be converted from former Class 307 units.
The movie was released in India too.
It was shot in a village in Pakistan.
2003: Locarno International Film Festival
Best Actress: Kirron Kher
Don Quixote Award - Special Mention: Sabiha Sumar
Golden Leopard (Best Film): Sabiha Sumar
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Sabiha Sumar
Youth Jury Award - Special Mention: Sabiha Sumar
2003: Nantes Three Continents Festival
Audience Award: Sabiha Sumar
Silver Montgolfiere: Sabiha Sumar
2003: Karachi International Film Festival
Special Jurors' Selection Ciepie
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Kirron Kher
Best Screenplay: Paromita Vohra
The British Rail Class 302 (pre-TOPS AM2) was a type of electric multiple unit (EMU) introduced between 1958 - 1960 for outer suburban passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway route.
This class of multiple unit was constructed using the Mark 1 bodyshell and was slam door.
Gbangbatoke is a small town in southern Sierra Leone.
It is in the Moyamba District.
The people of Gbangbatoke are mainly from the Mende ethnic group.
The Mende language is the main language.
They are also known as "Blue Train" units.
They were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde.
At first they were classified as AM3 units before the introduction of the TOPS classification system.
They were the dominant EMU on the Glasgow suburban railway network for over 25 years.
The final units were withdrawn from service in 2002.
The British Rail Class 304 is a type of electric multiple unit.
They were built for suburban use on the first phases of the West Coast Main Line electrification between Crewe and Manchester/Liverpool/Rugby.
They were at first classed as AM4 units and later became Class 304 under the TOPS numbering system.
They could be found in operation over most of the southern West Coast Main Line.
The units conformed to the 1959-design for alternating current (AC) electrical multiple units, and were externally very similar to the Class 305, Class 308 and the 1,200 V direct current (DC) class  Class 504 units.
No units survived preservation, and all units were eventually scrapped.
The British Rail Class 305 was an alternating current (AC) electric multiple unit (EMU).
Under the pre-1973 British Rail numbering system, the class was known as AM5.
When TOPS as introduced, the class became Class 305.
The British Rail Class 306 was a type of electric multiple unit (EMU) introduced in 1949.
It consisted of 92 three-car trains which were used on newly electrified suburban lines between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street.
The British Rail Class 307 electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh Works from 1954-1956.
They were initially classified as AM7 before the introduction of TOPS.
The British Rail Class 309 "Clacton Express" electric multiple units (EMUs) were built by British Rail (BR) York Works from 1962-1963.
They were initially classified as Class AM9 before the introduction of TOPS.