redsoxhaven

coffee

2009-03-24T01:43:00.000-07:00

Coffee is a brewed beverage prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee was first consumed in the ninth century, when it was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia. From there, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century, had reached Azerbaijan, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas.

2008-05-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

Bushey, Hertfordshire, England
Simon John Charles Le Bon (born October 27, 1958) is the lead singer and lyricist of the pop/rock band Duran Duran. He was born in Bushey Maternity Hospital, Hertfordshire.

Duran Duran
In 1984 Le Bon wooed the young fashion model Yasmin Parvaneh after seeing her face in a magazine and phoning her modelling agency to track her down. They married on December 27, 1985 and Yasmin Le Bon has gone on to enjoy a supermodel career of unusual longevity-- more than twenty years. After suffering two miscarriages, the couple had three daughters: Amber Rose Tamara (born August 1989), Saffron Sahara (born September 1991) and Tallulah Pine (born September 1994).

Family
While Duran Duran was on hiatus in 1985, Le Bon drew media attention when his maxi-yacht Drum lost her keel and capsized during the Fastnet race, just off Falmouth, along the southern coast of Cornwall. Before being rescued, Le Bon and other crew members were trapped underwater, inside the hull, for forty minutes. Despite the accident, Le Bon and Drum went on to participate in the 1985-1986 Whitbread Round the World Race, coming in third overall in elapsed time. Le Bon and his partners eventually sold Drum; the events surrounding Drum and the races were chronicled in a 1989 movie entitled Drum - The Journey Of A Lifetime (ASIN 6301334159).
Twenty years after his accident, in 2005, Le Bon made public his desire to race again. During a touring hiatus in August 2005, Le Bon again raced Drum in the Fastnet race, borrowing the vessel from her current owner to participate, and raising funds for the RNLI charity. Unfortunately, Le Bon had to leave the race unfinished, as light winds were slowing Drum (and Drum's competitors), and would have delayed the boat's arrival at Plymouth, interfering with Le Bon's obligation to perform in Japan at a sold-out, 60,000-seat show. [1]

Yachting
Before Duran Duran reunited, Le Bon formed the band Arcadia with fellow Duran Duran members Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor. Arcadia released only one album, the multi-platinum So Red The Rose (1985), and the band never toured.

Arcadia
Following the departures of Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor, Le Bon, Rhodes, and John Taylor continued on as Duran Duran, recording and releasing Notorious (1986) and Big Thing (1988). The group added guitarist Warren Cuccurullo and Sterling Campbell (his only album as a member of the band) and recorded the album Liberty (1990), but the band's success had begun to wane in the late-1980s.
Duran Duran had a resurgence in popularity in 1993 with The Wedding Album. Several months into the intensive concert tour supporting this album, Le Bon suffered from strained vocal cords, and the tour was postponed for six weeks while he recovered.
In 1995, Duran Duran released the covers album Thank You, and Le Bon had the chance to cover some of his favorite artists, (Jim Morrison, Lou Reed, and Elvis Costello), but the album was severely panned by critics from all quarters. That year Le Bon also performed Duran Duran's 1993 hit "Ordinary World" with opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti during a "Children of Bosnia" benefit concert for War Child. Le Bon described the event to Jam! Showbiz thus: "If you're talking about name dropping, he's one of the biggest names you could drop, Pav-The-Man."
When bassist John Taylor left the band in 1997, Le Bon and Rhodes remained as the only two members who had been with Duran Duran from the beginning. The successive two albums with Le Bon, Rhodes, and Cuccurullo, Medazzaland (1997) and Pop Trash (2000) were not commercial successes.
In 2001, Duran Duran's original five members reunited to record a new album, "Astronaut", for Epic Records. "Astronaut" was released worldwide on 11 October 2004. The album was preceded by the single "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise", their first UK Top 10 single for a decade.

Solo excursions

Le Bon attended Birmingham University at the same time as Blancmange lead singer Neil Arthur. This fact came up during a Smash Hits interview of Blancmange done by Chris Heath. According to Arthur, Le Bon recognised his old university classmate immediately upon running into him backstage at a Top Of The Pops taping, and the two met up for a drink and friendly chat.
As a teenager, he was a next-door neighbour to actor Derek Fowlds.
On the Clerks 10th Anniversary DVD, producer Scott Mosier recalls Le Bon singing White Lines to him on his yacht during Clerks.' run at the Cannes Film Festival.

2008-04-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

CKBY is a Canadian radio station, which airs a country music format at 101.1 FM in Smiths Falls and Ottawa, Ontario. The station is owned by Rogers Communications, and uses the brand name Y101.
The station was launched in 1969 as CJET-FM, a sister station to the AM radio station CJET, and changed its callsign to CKUE in the early 1970s.
In 1984, the stations were acquired by CHEZ-FM Inc., the owner of Ottawa's CHEZ. In 1986, CKUE changed its callsign to CHEQ.
In 1993, CHEZ acquired rights to the callsign and format of CFMO, an easy listening station in Ottawa which CHUM Limited had converted to hot adult contemporary CKKL.
In 1999, the CHEZ group of stations were acquired by Rogers Communications. At the end of the year, Rogers converted the station to a modern rock format, using the callsign CIOX and the brand name Xfm. The station's facilities were moved into Ottawa, and in 2001, the CRTC found that by operating CIOX as an Ottawa station, Rogers was in contravention of market concentration rules about the number of radio stations in a single market that can be owned by the same company. As a result, the CRTC ordered Rogers to return the station to Smiths Falls.
On January 9, 2004, the station adopted its current format when Rogers converted the former CKBY in Ottawa to the current CISS. 101.1 became CKBY, and 105.3 became CISS a month later after the format change.

2008-04-29T08:50:00.001-07:00

Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surounding the opening may be made of simple building materials or decorated with ornamentation. The elements of a portal can include the voussoir, tympanum, an ornamented mullion or trumeau between doors, and columns with carvings of saints in the westwork of a church.

2008-04-26T10:36:00.001-07:00

Anton Drexler (13 June 1884 - 24 February 1942) was a German Nazi political leader of the 1920s.

Biography
Born in Munich, Drexler was a machine-fitter before becoming a railway locksmith in Berlin in 1902. He joined the Fatherland Party during World War I. He was a poet and a member of the völkisch agitators who, together with journalist Karl Harrer, founded the German Workers' Party (DAP) in Munich with Gottfried Feder and Dietrich Eckart in 1919. He was also a brewer but did not have much involvement with the Drexler Breweries, one of Bavaria's most popular breweries at the time.
At a meeting of the Party in Munich in September 1919, the main speaker was Gottfried Feder. When he had finished speaking, a member of the audience whose name is lost to history stood up and suggested that Bavaria should break away from Prussia and form a separate nation with Austria. Adolf Hitler).

2008-04-25T10:40:00.001-07:00

International Waffle Day was started in Sweden where it is known as Våffeldagen. It is annually held on March 25.
The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary was once called "Vårfrudagen" (Our Lady's Day) in Swedish. In certain dialects, the word "Vårfrudagen" was pronounced as "Våfferdagen" [1], Over time the word became "Våffeldagen" (Waffle Day), giving rise to the tradition of eating waffles on this day.
Chris Matthewson, mayor of Waltz, Michigan, declared "International Waffle Day" an official holiday of the small village in March of 2006.

2008-04-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

Coordinates: 50°27′32″N, 30°31′5″E
The Besarabsky Market (Ukrainian: Бесарабський ринок, translit.: Besarabs'kyi rynok), also frequently called Besarabka (Ukrainian: Бесарабка) is an indoor market located in the center of Kiev at the south-west end of Khreshchatyk, the main and best known street of the city.
The market was built from 1910-1912 to the design of H. Hay.
The name of the market originates from Bessarabia, a region conquered by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Turkish Wars and now partially located at south-western Ukraine in the Odessa Oblast.
An architectural exteriour window of the market.
View of fruit stands inside the market.

2008-04-23T09:51:00.001-07:00

The Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex)—commonly called by its German or Dutch name, steinbock or by its Latin name Capricorn—is the species of ibex that lives in the European Alps. The Spanish Ibex (Capra pyrenaica) and the Middle Eastern Nubian Ibex (Capra ibex nubiana) are very close relatives of the Alpine Ibex — the Spanish form is generally considered specifically distinct, but the Nubian is usually considered a subspecies of Alpine Ibex.

Habitat
Male specimens commonly grow to a height of about 1 metre (3 feet) and reach a weight of about 100 kg (220 lb). Females are usually only half the size of males. Apart from size, males can also be distinguished by their prominent beard. Older males will tend to grow beards under their chin. Both male and female ibexes have large, backwards-curving horns although those of the male are substantially larger and can grow to an impressive length of up to 1 m. These horns are used to defend themselves from predators such as wolves, lynxes, bears, jackals and foxes. Small kids may also be susceptible to attacks from large predatory birds such as eagles. The Ibex has a brownish grey colouring in the summer which changes during the winter months to a richer, darker brown. It is related to the Nubian and Siberian ibexes.

Breeding habits
The steinbock has for a long time been regarded as a mystical animal; almost all of its body parts and its excrement were sought after as cures for various illnesses and as ingredients for magical potions. As a result of very extensive hunting, the steinbock was almost extinct as early as the beginning 19th century. Thanks to the efforts of a small group of foresters, the last remaining animals in Gran Paradiso were protected in 1816. In 1854, Victor Emmanuel II of Italy placed the animals under his personal custody. Today, after extensive and ongoing reintroduction programs, the population in the wild is estimated at about 30,000.

2008-04-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

William Percival Crozier (1 August 1879 – 16 April 1944) was a British journalist and editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1932, when he succeeded Ted Scott, who had died in a sailing accident, until his death in 1944.
Crozier was born at Stanhope in County Durham on 1 August 1879, the youngest son of Rev. Richard Crozier, a Methodist minister, and his wife, Elizabeth Hallimond. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Trinity College, Oxford, where he gained a first class degree in Classics (1900).
After leaving Oxford he spent a year as a schoolmaster in Knaresborough, before abandoning teaching for journalism, joining first The Times and then the Manchester Guardian in 1903. He made an impression with his critical analysis of the case for tariff reform, and quickly came to the attention of the Guardian's then editor, C. P. Scott, who, recognising Crozier's potential, made him his right-hand man at the paper in charge of news gathering. In 1912 Crozier was made news editor and in 1918 military critic. He also later served as foreign editor. Under Scott, Crozier reorganized the Guardian's foreign news service, increased the use of photographs and maps, encouraged new features and introduced the daily crossword in 1929. He also developed a deep commitment to Zionism and became "the leading advocate in the daily press of a Jewish national home." (Morris)
Crozier was made a member of the Manchester Guardian's board and was appointed editor in April 1932 after the death of Edward Taylor Scott. Crozier's appointment was in part intended to guarantee editorial continuity, and he maintained a close control over the paper, frequently contributing leading articles and editorials. Foreign news had always been Crozier's chief interest and his editorship coincided with the establishment of the National Socialist regime in Germany and the Second World War. Working closely with his friend and sometime German correspondent, F. A. Voigt, Crozier "considered it no less than his duty personally and persistently to expose the Nazis" (Morris) and he pursued this policy with a crusading zeal until the very end. In the late 1930s his health became increasingly frail and he suffered from a perforated ulcer in 1936. In 1943 he was diagnosed with the heart condition which proved ultimately to be fatal.
Crozier died at his Manchester home on 16 April 1944, aged 64.

2008-04-21T08:22:00.001-07:00

For the constitution of the Imperial Russia, see Russian Constitution of 1906
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Russia
The current Constitution of the Russian Federation (Russian: Конститу́ция Росси́йской Федера́ции) was adopted by national referendum on December 12, 1993. It replaced the previous Soviet-era Constitution of April 12, 1978 of Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic following the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993.
Of all registered voters, 58,187,755 people (or 54.8%) participated in the referendum. Of those, 32,937,630 people (54.5%) voted for adoption of the Constitution.

Constitution
President: Vladimir Putin

Presidential Administration
Security Council
Government
- Prime Minister: Mikhail Fradkov
  Cabinet
  Federal Assembly
  - Federation Council
    State Duma
    Judiciary (Russian Constitution)
    - Constitutional Court
      Supreme Court
      Supreme Court of Arbitration
      Public Chamber
      State Council
      Law system
      Political parties Elections in Russia
      - President: 2000 - 2004 - 2008
        Parliamentary: 2003 - 2007
        Central Election Commission
        Subdivisions
        Federal subjects
        Human rights
        Foreign relations Declaration of adoption
        The constitution is divided into two sections.
        
        Structure
        
        Fundamentals of the Constitutional System
        Rights and Liberties of Man and Citizen [1]
        Russian Federation
        President of the Russian Federation
        Federal Assembly
        Government
        Judiciary
        Local Self-Government
        Constitutional Amendments and Revisions See also

2008-04-20T10:35:00.001-07:00

Baron and Feme, in English law, is a phrase used for husband and wife, in relation to each other, who are accounted as one person. Hence, by the old law of evidence, the one party was excluded from giving evidence for or against the other in civil questions, and a relic of this is still preserved in the criminal law.
Baron and Feme, in heraldry, is a term used when the coats-of-arms of a man and his wife are borne per pale in the same escutcheon, the man's being always on the dexter (right) side, and the woman's (or, more precisely, the woman's father's) on the sinister (left). This is the normal way of displaying a married couple's arms together; only when the woman is a heraldic heiress is it not used (in such a case her arms are displayed on her husband's on an inescutcheon of pretence).

2008-04-19T08:16:00.001-07:00

The Homomonument is a memorial in the centre of Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. It commemorates all gay men and lesbians who have been subjected to persecution because of their homosexuality. Opened on September 5, 1987, it takes the form of three large pink triangles made of granite, set into the ground so as to form a larger triangle, on the bank of the Keizersgracht canal, near the historic Westerkerk church.
The Homomonument was designed to "inspire and support lesbians and gays in their struggle against denial, oppression and discrimination." It was built as an initiative in May 1979 of the Dutch gay and lesbian rights movement, with the support of groups in other countries.
The idea of a permanent memorial to gay and lesbian victims of persecution dated from 1970, when gay activists were arrested for attempting to place a lavender wreath at the National War Memorial on Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam. The wreath was removed by police and denounced as a disgrace.
The triangular theme is based on the pink triangle symbol, which was worn by gay men imprisoned in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and was later adopted as a symbol of the gay rights movement. Up to 50,000 gay men died during the Nazi era.
Although the Homomonument is often described as a memorial to the gay victims of Nazi persecution, it is intended to commemorate all gay men and lesbians who have suffered, and continue to suffer, persecution in all countries and in all ages.
It took eight years to raise the necessary 180,000 euros to build the Homomonument. Most of this came from donations from individuals and organisations. The Dutch Parliament donated 50,000 euros, and the city of Amsterdam and the province of North Holland also made contributions.
In 1980 artists were invited to submit designs and a jury was assembled consisting of experts in the fields of art and design. The jury chose a design by Karin Daan, based on the pink triangle. With the triangle on the water as its central point, Daan expanded the design to make her work as monumental as possible without disrupting the surroundings.
As well as the triangle on the canal, which has a set of steps leading to the water where floral wreaths are frequently laid, there is a triangle on land 60cm high and a memorial triangle at street level. The three triangles--each measuring 10 meters (30 feet) on each side-- together form a larger triangle connected on each side by a thin row of pink granite bricks. This larger triangle measures 36 meters on each side.
The alignments of the three points of the larger triangle are symbolic. One points towards the National War Memorial on Dam Square. One points towards the house of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who was deported to her death by the Nazis. The third points towards the headquarters of COC Nederland, the Dutch gay rights group founded in 1946.
(COC originally stood for Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum, or Centre for Culture and Leisure, which was intended as a "cover" name for its real purpose. It is the oldest continuously operating gay and lesbian organisation in the world.)
On the triangle pointing towards the Anne Frank House is engraved a line of poetry by the Dutch Jewish presumedly gay poet Jacob Israël de Haan (1881-1924): Naar Vriendschap Zulk een Mateloos Verlangen ("Such an endless desire for friendship"). The text is from his poem To a Young Fisherman.
A miniature version of the Homomonument can be seen at The Hague's Madurodam park. The scale model was unveiled on October 24, 2006, by Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen and COC chair Frank van Dalen.
Coordinates: 52.374443° N 4.884758° E

2008-04-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Danah Michele Boyd (born Danah Michele Mattas in 1977) is an American academic, researcher, and blogger best known for media appearances where she speaks about social networking sites such as Friendster and MySpace. Since 2003, she and her research have been quoted on the subject of social networking in dozens of different articles in media sources such as NPR,

2008-04-17T08:43:00.001-07:00

Institute of Technology, Tallaght Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Tamhlacht

Institute of Technology, Tallaght (ITT) formerly Regional Technical College, Tallaght, located in Tallaght, County Dublin, Ireland. The institute was established in 1992 the final new Regional Technical College opened in Ireland.
In 2005 the institute adopted the abbreviated title of ITT Dublin, to differentiate it from IT Tralee; this does not change the legal name which continues to be "Institute of Technology, Tallaght" as confirmed in the Institutes of Technology Act 2006.
The institute offers a variety of courses including: Higher Certificates and Bachelors Degrees as well as Postgraduate courses in: accountancy, business, computing, engineering and science among others.
The institute is the hub of the ITnet network.

2008-04-16T09:34:00.001-07:00

This is a list of craters on the Moon. The large majority of these features are impact craters. The crater nomenclature is governed by the International Astronomical Union, and this listing only includes features that are officially recognized by that scientific society.

Craters

Lunar crater locations
List of features on the Moon
List of maria on the Moon
List of mountains on the Moon
List of valleys on the Moon
Planetary nomenclature
Selenography

2008-04-15T09:11:00.001-07:00

Kattegat incident
In 1965 the K-33 was involved in a radiation emergency in the Arctic, involving dehermeticity of fuel elements.

Technical specifications

Varimaa, Jaakko (2007). Sukellusvene sumussa. Revontuli. ISBN 978-952-5170-67-2.
Ilta-Sanomat 4 April 2007

2008-04-14T09:44:00.001-07:00

Paul Brady (born Paul Joseph Brady, 19 May 1947, Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was into a wide variety of music from an early age. During his career he has passed through several major bands and on to a successful solo phase.
Brady began performing as a hotel piano player in Donegal at the age of sixteen before becoming a guitarist, during the 1960s, in two rhythm and blues bands: Rockhouse and the Cult. There followed a stint with The Johnstons as a guitarist and singer that ended in 1974, and a shorter one with Planxty that saw Brady touring extensively but recording no albums. In 1976, Brady recorded an album with Andy Irvine that he now regards as his best. Welcome Here Kind Stranger, released in 1978 was the summation of his interest in Irish music and was followed in 1981 by the appropriately named Hard Station, Brady's engagement with commercial rock. Brady went on to record several other albums and collaborated with Bonnie Raitt and Richard Thompson. In 2006 he collaborated with Cara Dillon on the track "The Streets of Derry" from her album After the Morning. He has also worked with Fiachra Trench.
He performed Gaelic songs as a character in the 2002 Matthew Barney film Cremaster 3.

Solo discography

Welcome Here Kind Stranger (1978)
Hard Station (1981)
True for You (1983)
Back to the Centre (1985)
Full Moon (1986)
Primitive Dance (1987)
Trick or Treat (1991)
Songs & Crazy Dreams (Compilation) (1992)
Spirits Colliding (1995)
Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady (Compilation) (1999)
Oh What a World (2000)
The Liberty Tapes (2002)
Hawana Way (2003)
Say What You Feel (2005)

2008-04-13T08:38:00.001-07:00

Sir Thomas Bouch (IPA: [baʊtʃ]) (25 February 1822 - 30 October 1880) was a railway engineer in Victorian Britain.
He was born in Thursby, Cumbria, England and lived in Edinburgh. He helped develop the caisson and the roll-on/roll-off train ferry. He also built a number of railway bridges, at Belah and Deepdale on an important cross-Pennines route (now defunct, but which survived until the era of Dr Beeching in the 1960s.

Tay Bridge
He designed the first Tay Rail Bridge whilst working for the Edinburgh and Northern Railway. Queen Victoria travelled over it at the official opening in 1878, and she awarded him a knighthood in recognition of his achievement. However, the bridge collapsed on December 28, 1879 when it was hit by strong side winds. A train was travelling over it at a time, and 75 people died, among them Thomas Bouch's son-in-law.
The subsequent public inquiry revealed that the railway company sacrificed safety and durability to save costs. Sloppy working practices such as poor smelting and the re-use of girders dropped into the sea during construction were factors in the bridge's collapse. The inquiry concluded that the bridge was "badly designed, badly built, and badly maintained". All of the high girders section fell during the accident, and analysis of the archives has shown that the design of cast iron columns with integral lugs holding the tie bars was a critical mistake. As the engineer, Thomas Bouch was blamed for its collapse, his assistant Charles Meik, having merely left an impression that he "was aptly named", implying that he had no great influence over the design and construction.

2008-04-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

History
Hamilton is located at 39°23′45″N, 84°33′54″W (39.395806, -84.564920).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.2 km² (22.1 mi²). 56.0 km² (21.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (2.13%) is water.

Geography
As of the census of 2000, there were 60,690 people, 24,188 households, and 15,867 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,084.3/km² (2,808.2/mi²). There were 25,913 housing units at an average density of 463.0/km² (1,199.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.94% White, 7.55% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.46% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.58% of the population.
There were 24,188 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,365, and the median income for a family was $41,936. Males had a median income of $32,646 versus $23,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,493. About 10.6% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.
Hamilton is the 12th largest city in Ohio.

Demographics

1900--23,914
1910--35,279
1920--39,675
1930--52,176
1940--40,592
1950--57,951
1960--72,345
1970--67,865
1980--63,189
1990--61,436
2000--60,690
2003 estimated--60,763
2004 estimated--60,996
2005 estimated--61,943
2006 estimated--62,130 Historical population figures
Hamilton is served by the Hamilton City School district. The district is currently experiencing a $200 million building project that includes eight new elementary schools, a new freshman school, two completely renovated middle schools and an upgraded high school complete with two new gyms, a new media center, six new classrooms and a new cafeteria. Talawanda, Ross, and New Miami School Districts also serve corners of the city.
Miami University has a branch in the city. Miami Hamilton opened in the 1960's and now consists of seven buildings and over 3400 students. Another branch is found in nearby Middletown, Ohio and has about 2,500 students.
Badin High School, a private Catholic school serves the city and surrounding area, as well as several Catholic elementaries.

Trivia

William Allen, born near Hamilton, later United States Congressman
Jim Tracy, Professional Baseball Player and Manager
Scott Walker, singer, songwriter
Roger Troutman, singer, songwriter
Greg Dulli, singer, songwriter
Leroy Bonner, musician
Greg Webster, musician
Greg Stokes, Professional Basketball Player
Kevin Grevey, Professional Basketball Player
Brandon Lampley, College Basketball Player
Mark Lewis, Professional Baseball Player
Joe Nuxhall, Professional Baseball Player
Aaron Cook, Professional Baseball Player
Marty Brennaman, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Radio Broadcaster
Charles Richter, seismologist and creator of the Richter scale
Ray Combs, comedian and second host of Family Feud Gameshow
William Dean Howells, Author
Robert McCloskey, Author
Nan Phelps (1904-1990), American Folk Artist
Sean Holbrook, Cincinnati Politician
Mark Peck, New Zealand Member of Parliament
Mike Mehas, musician, musical director of Mike Mehas Orchestra
Rob Ervin, singer-songwriter, radio host, and published short-story author
John Cleves Symmes, Jr., soldier, philosopher
Steve Vaughn, Award Winning Radio Broadcaster
Patricia Schroeder, Former member of congress and presidential candidate
Steve Morse, guitarist of Dixie Dregs and Deep Purple
Franklin Howard Scobey, Founder of the Sigma Chi Fraternity
Susan Vaughn, contestant on CBS Television's "The Amazing Race 7"
J "the Rod" Dawg, Porn star

2008-04-11T09:40:00.001-07:00

Coordinates: 44°56′24.92″N, 93°11′36.33″W
The University of Saint Thomas (also known as UST or simply St. Thomas) is a coeducational archdiocesan Roman Catholic institution of higher learning based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1885 as a Catholic seminary, it is named after St. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval Catholic theologian and philosopher who is the patron saint of learners in the Roman Catholic Church. Now a university, it currently enrolls more than 11,000 students, making it Minnesota's largest independent college or university.
Father Dennis Dease became the 14th president of the University of St. Thomas on July 1, 1991.

Campuses
The main campus, built on a farm site once considered "far removed from town," is located where St. Paul's stately Summit Avenue meets the Mississippi River. The site was farmed by ex-Fort Snelling soldier William Finn, who received the property as a pension settlement after he accidentally shot himself in the hand while on guard duty.
The western edge of the campus borders the Mississippi Gorge Regional Park. Summit Avenue, which runs through the middle of the campus, is the country's longest span of Victorian homes. This tree-lined avenue includes the Governor's Mansion, F. Scott Fitzgerald's townhome, and James J. Hill's spectacular mansion.
The 78 acre (316,000 m²) St. Paul campus consists of the original 45 acre (182,000 m²) campus, five acres (20,000 m²) of adjacent properties and 28 acres (113,000 m²) of the St. Paul Seminary campus (informally referred to as the "south" campus) that was transferred in a 1987 affiliation between St. Thomas and the seminary. The beautifully landscaped campus has been used as a setting for two motion pictures.
St. Thomas is currently involved in an aggressive expansion project. The fall of 2005 marked the completion of the expedient 15-month construction of a new apartment-style residence hall. Selby Hall now sits on top of a three level underground parking ramp and houses an additional 400 residents. This is part of a larger plan to develop the land south of Summit Avenue. Recently completed is McNeely Hall, a large classroom building for Business that will replace the small, ineffective building of the same name that sits quietly next door. A new residential village, more parking ramps, and general civil engineering all have been negotiated successfully with the surrounding neighborhood. These developments are expected to begin within the next five years.
In addition, the designing of a new student center is currently in the works as the current student center, Murray-Herrick Center, is out of date and incapable of serving students and staff to the fullest extent. The new student center is slated to be placed on an existing parking lot, hold underground parking, and be large enough to contain a new cafeteria, a ballroom, offices, a gathering area, and other facilities that are currently unavailable or inefficient.
The St. Paul campus is home to most undergraduate students.

The Saint Paul campus
In fall 1992, the university opened a permanent, 150,000 square foot (14,000 m²) campus at 1000 LaSalle Ave. The first building, named Terrence Murphy Hall in May 2000, is headquarters to the university's Opus College of Business. Artist Mark Balma created one of the largest frescoes in the United States on the arched ceiling of its atrium. The seven-panel, 1,904 square foot (177 m²) fresco was completed in the summer of 1994 and portrays the seven virtues discussed in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Directly across the street is Opus Hall. The four-story, 100,000 square foot (9,000 m²) building opened in summer 1999 and is home to St. Thomas' School of Education. Connected to Opus Hall is a K-12 magnet school that also opened in 1999.
The University of St. Thomas School of Law began operations in Terrence Murphy Hall in fall 2001; the new School of Law building opened in 2003 and is located on the block south of Terrence Murphy Hall.
Schulze Hall welcomed its first students in September 2005. It is home to the university's Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, which brings together the university's graduate and undergraduate degree programs in entrepreneurship as well as its centers and institutes that provide entrepreneurship-related educational programs and services. It is part of St. Thomas' Opus College of Business, which is headquartered in adjoining Terrence Murphy Hall.

The Minneapolis campus
The Gainey Center is located on 180 acres (728,000 m²) in Owatonna just one hour south of the Twin Cities. The conference center and satellite campus was built around the French Norman-style home of the late Daniel C. Gainey who bequeathed the property to the university upon his death in 1979.

The Gainey Conference Center (Owatonna)
The University of St. Thomas Bernardi Campus is located on the west bank of the Tiber River on Lungotevere delle Armi in Rome, Italy.
Purchased by St. Thomas in November 1999, the Bernardi Campus houses St. Thomas students participating in academic programs and offers guest accommodations for visitors. Situated in the heart of the modern Prati Zone, the campus is near both the center of Rome and Vatican City.
The University of Thomas is the only university in the United States to have a formal affiliation with the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, called the "Angelicum." The university was founded by the Dominicans in the 16th century.

The Bernardi campus (Rome)
Founded in 1885, St. Thomas began as an all-male, Catholic seminary. John Ireland, archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, started the St. Thomas Aquinas seminary, which became a liberal arts college in 1894. A gift from local railroad tycoon James J. Hill provided funds to establish the St. Paul Seminary apart from the college. In 1896, college officials made an artificial lake on campus, Lake Mennith, using water from an underground stream. Located in the lower quadrant, the shallow lake dried up in 1922. The College of St. Thomas became a military-based school for undergraduates in 1906 and awarded its first academic degrees in 1910. Before that, the school gave out two-year diplomas in commercial and classical programs. In 1915, the college and St. Thomas Military Academy for high school students split into two institutions and in 1965 the academy moved to Mendota Heights. The college later dropped its military distinction in 1922.

History

Organization

Father Thomas O'Gorman (1885 – 1887)
Father Edward McSweeney (1887 – 1888)
Father James Keane (1888 – 1892)
Father James Byrne (1892 – 1899)
Father John Dolphin (1899 – 1903)
Father Humphrey Moynihan (1903 – 1921)
Father Thomas Cullen (1921 – 1927)
Father John P. Foley (1927 – 1928)
Father Matthew Schumacher (1928 – 1933)
Father James Moynihan (1933 – 1943)
Father Vincent Flynn (1944 – 1956)
Father James P. Shannon (1956 – 1966)
Monsignor Terrence Murphy (1966 – 1991)
Father Dennis Dease (1991 – Present) Presidents
Each year the university awards almost 2,500 degrees including four different bachelor's degrees (B.A., B.S., B.S.M.E. and B.S.E.E.). There are 88 major fields at the undergraduate level, with 59 minor fields of study and seven pre-professional programs. At the graduate and professional level, the university offers 41 master's degrees, two education specialist, one juris doctor and five doctorates.
The University of St. Thomas is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC), a consortium of five private liberal arts colleges. Other ACTC members are Augsburg, St. Catherine, Hamline and Macalester. This program allows students to take classes at any of the associated universities as long as the class is not offered at their home university.

Academics
The university offers its degree programs through nine divisions:
The College of Arts and Sciences includes undergraduate departments in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, plus a number of interdisciplinary programs. Master's-level programs are offered in Art History, Catholic Studies, English, and Music Education.
The Opus College of Business has seven departments offering graduate and undergraduate curricula in an interdisciplinary setting. The college offers nine degree programs at the graduate level including Evening, Full-time and Executive MBAs and a Master in Business Communication. It is home to a variety of centers offering credit and noncredit seminars and a continuing-education program called the Center for Business Excellence.
The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity offers master's- and doctoral-level degrees oriented to theological study and the practice of ministry. The school also offers a two-year pre-theology program for priesthood candidates who require additional preparation.
The School of Education offers undergraduate courses and curricula for elementary and secondary teacher licensures. Graduate study is offered leading to certificates, master's, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees.
The School of Engineering offers graduate and undergraduate engineering degrees. Located on the St. Paul campus, programs in the college are committed to leadership in engineering and industry, in innovation, and in development of the whole person. They are built upon a firm –foundation of values and global awareness, and embedded in the context of the liberal arts. The college offers bachelor of science degrees in mechanical engineering (B.S.M.E.) and electrical engineering (B.S.E.E.), masters degrees in manufacturing systems engineering (M.M.S.E), manufacturing systems (M.S.M.S.) and technology management (M.S.T.M.) The B.S.M.E. and M.M.S.E. degrees are Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET accredited.
The School of Law was re-opened in 1999 after a 66-year hiatus. The first class of 120 students was accepted in fall 2001.
The School of Social Work offers undergraduate courses and curricula for social work and chemical dependency counseling. The Master of Social Work, offered as a joint degree program with the College of St. Catherine, is designed to provide advanced professional study in social work. Dual-degree programs are offered in cooperation with Luther Seminary, the Department of Theology at the College of St. Catherine, and the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity.
Master's- and doctoral-level degrees are offered in counseling psychology. A certificate in family psychology also is offered.
These programs offer master's-level programs in software engineering.

College of Arts and Sciences
Opus College of Business
Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
School of Education
School of Engineering
School of Law
School of Social Work
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
Graduate Programs in Software Engineering Schools and colleges
Athletics have been important at St. Thomas since the institution first opened in 1885. In the first 20 years, intramural baseball teams were quite popular. The Tommies' school colors -- purple and gray -- evolved from the "Blues" and the "Grays," the top intramural baseball teams in the 1890s.
Varsity intercollegiate sports began in 1904, and St. Thomas celebrated its 100th year of varsity athletics in 2003-2004. (Varsity football didn't play during World War II in 1943, thus the 2004 season was the 100th season of varsity football).[1]
St. Thomas leads the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in NCAA Division III Team Championships won with 10. Their longtime archrival is St. John's University from Collegeville, Minnesota.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in a mid-1990s article that St.Thomas University was considering making a jump to Division I in athletics. Those rumors diminished soon after.

NCAA Division III
The University of St. Thomas is a member of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
The school colors are purple and gray. The team mascot is "Tommie." Athletics
2006
2005
2004
2001
2000
1999
1995
1996
1991
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982

Women's Softball - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Golf - 2nd in the Nation
Men's Lacrosse National Champions
Men's Hockey - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Softball - National Champions
Women's Softball - National Champions
Men's Baseball - National Champions
Men's Baseball - 2nd in the Nation
Men's Hockey - 2nd in the Nation
Men's Baseball - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Outdoor Track - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Cross Country - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Basketball - National Champions
Women's Cross Country - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Cross Country - National Champions
Men's Cross Country - National Champions
Women's Cross Country - National Champions
Men's Indoor Track - National Champions
Women's Cross Country - 2nd in the Nation
Men's Cross Country - National Champions
Women's Cross Country - National Champions
Women's Cross Country - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Outdoor Track - 2nd in the Nation
Women's Cross Country - National Champions Accomplishments
Undergraduate housing is found on the St. Paul Campus. Approximately 2400 residents live in 7 traditional halls, traditional apartment residences, quasi-on-campus apartment residence, 3 university-owned specialty houses, and the undergraduate residence for St. John Vianney Seminary. All traditional halls are single-sex, while apartment residences are single-sex by floor.
Each hall is governed and supported by its own hall council, which is part of a larger student organization called the Residence Hall Association. Hall councils plan activities and events in their own hall and support larger resident-based programming on campus. RHA as a whole deals with resident issues and serves as a liaison between residents and the larger university community.

Student housing
Brady Hall
Cretin Hall
Dowling Hall
Grace Hall
Ireland Hall
John Paul II (JPII) Hall
Murray Hall
The University of St. Thomas offers what they call special interest floors, or floors that are intended to house specific residents. Almost one third of all floors are First Year Experience floors, which consist of only freshmen. This is a nationwide practice that attempts to create a cohesive community by placing students together that will have a similar experience. UST also has a few FYE Weekend Activities floors, a newly created Catholic Women's floor, the Changing Faces of Minnesota floors, the Women in Math & Science floor, and a couple Substance Free floors.

Built in 1967 and named in honor of Archbishop William O. Brady Brady Hall is the largest male residence hall on campus.
Built in 1894, designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert, and named in honor of the first Bishop of St. Paul, Joseph Cretin
Built in 1959 and named in honor of Archbishop Austin Dowling
Built in 1913, designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert, and named in honor of the second Bishop of St. Paul, Thomas Grace
Built in 1912 and named in honor of the first Archbishop of St. Paul and founder of the school, John Ireland
Built in 1978 and named in honor of Pope John Paul II
Built in 1978 as the first female hall on campus and named in honor of Archbishop John Murray Apartment complexes

Common Ground
The Wellness House
Child Development Center Housing
Castel Milano (Catholic Studies Men's House established in Fall 2005, name relating to the house patron Saint Augustine who had his conversion in Milan
Castel Oropa (The Second Catholic Studies Men's House established in Fall 2006, name relating to place where house patron Blessed Pier Giorgo Frassati would literally run to mass every morning) Specialty houses and buildings

St. John Vianney College Seminary (SJV)
Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity (SPS) Film and movies

Larry Bond - Game designer and author
Dottie Cannon - Miss Minnesota USA 2006
Tom Dooher, President, Education Minnesota
Vince Flynn - Author
Jim Oberstar - U.S. Congressman
Will Steger - Polar explorer
John Vachon - Photographer
Ann Winblad - Venture Capitalist
Emily Carlson - Anchor/Reporter
William Easton - Today's Groom Magazine Co-Founder
Jacob Schraufnagel - Today's Groom Magazine Co-Founder
Michael J. Hoffman - CEO, The Toro Company

2008-04-10T08:08:00.001-07:00

Scripting redirects here. For other uses, see script.
Scripting languages (commonly called scripting programming languages or script languages) are computer programming languages that are typically interpreted and can be typed directly from a keyboard. Thus, scripts are often distinguished from programs, because programs are converted permanently into binary executable files (i.e., zeros and ones) before they are run. Scripts remain in their original form and are interpreted command-by-command each time they are run. Scripts were created to shorten the traditional edit-compile-link-run process. The name 'script' is derived from the written script of the performing arts, in which dialogue is set down to be interpreted by actors and actresses--the programs. Early script languages were often called batch languages or job control languages. Scripting languages can also be compiled, but because interpreters are simpler to write than compilers, they are interpreted more often than they are compiled.
The term scripting language is not technical, though embedding and dependence on a larger system are usually criteria. In computer games, scripts extend game logic, tailoring the game engine to particular game data. Scripts also make applications programmable from within, so that repetitive tasks can be quickly automated. Of course, not every scripting system that grows beyond its original design and delegation acquires a new name. Full-blown in-game languages such as UnrealScript exist, and JavaScript is a very influential standard, supported by virtually every browser on the market.

Description

Types of scripting languages

Main article: Shell script Job control languages and shells
With the advent of Graphical user interfaces came a specialized kind of scripting language for controlling a computer. These languages interact with the same graphic windows, menus, buttons, and so on that a system generates. These languages are typically used to automate repetitive actions or configure a standard state. In principle, they could be used to control any application running on a GUI-based computer; but, in practice, the support for such languages depend on the application and operating system. Such languages are also called "macro languages" when control is through keyboard interaction.

AutoHotkey
AutoIt
Expect
Automator GUI Scripting
Many large application programs include an idiomatic scripting language tailored to the needs of the application user. Likewise, many computer game systems use a custom scripting language to express the programmed actions of non-player characters and the game environment. Languages of this sort are designed for a single application; and, while they may superficially resemble a specific general-purpose language (e.g. QuakeC, modeled after C), they have custom features that distinguish them.

Action Code Script
ActionScript
AutoLISP
BlobbieScript[1]
Emacs Lisp
Game Maker Language
HyperTalk
IPTSCRAE
Lingo
LotusScript
MATLAB
MAXScript
Maya Embedded Language
mIRC script
NWscript
QuakeC
UnrealScript
Vim Scripting Language
Visual Basic for Applications
ZZT-oop Application-specific languages
An important type of application-specific scripting language is one used to provide custom functionality to dynamic web pages. Such languages are specialized for web applications and other Internet uses. However, most modern web programming languages are powerful enough for general-purpose programming.

Web programming languages

Active Server Pages
Java Server Pages
ColdFusion
IPTSCRAE
Lasso
MIVA Script
PHP
SMX
XSLT Server-side

JavaScript
JScript
VBScript
Tcl Text processing languages
Some languages, such as Perl, began as scripting languages but were developed into programming languages suitable for broader purposes. Other similar languages -- frequently interpreted, memory-managed, or dynamic -- have been described as "scripting languages" for these similarities, even if they are more commonly used for applications programming. They are usually not called "scripting languages" by their own users.

APL
Boo
Dylan
Ferite
Groovy
Io
Lisp
Lua
MUMPS (M)
newLISP
Nuva
Perl
PHP
Python
Ruby
Scheme
Smalltalk
SuperCard
Tcl (Tool command language)
Revolution General-purpose dynamic languages
A number of languages have been designed for the purpose of replacing application-specific scripting languages by being embeddable in application programs. The application programmer (working in C or another systems language) includes "hooks" where the scripting language can control the application. These languages serve the same purpose as application-specific extension languages but with the advantage of allowing some transfer of skills from application to application.
JavaScript began as and primarily still is a language for scripting inside of web browsers; however, the standardization of the language as ECMAScript has made it popular as a general purpose embeddable language. In particular, the Mozilla implementation SpiderMonkey is embedded in several environments such as the Yahoo! Widget Engine. Other applications embedding ECMAScript implementations include the Adobe products Adobe Flash (ActionScript) and Adobe Acrobat (for scripting pdf files).
Tcl was created as an extension language but has come to be used more frequently as a general purpose language in roles similar to Python, Perl, and Ruby.

Ch (C/C++ interpreter)
ECMAScript a.k.a. DMDScript, JavaScript, JScript
EOS Scripting Language
Falcon
Ferite
GameMonkeyScript
Guile
ICI
Lua
Pawn
Python
RBScript (REALbasic Script)
Squirrel
Tcl
Windows PowerShell
Z-Script Others

List of programming languages
Domain-specific programming language
Macro and preprocessor languages
Web template languages
Ousterhout's dichotomy

2008-04-09T07:58:00.001-07:00

Taglines
Van Wilder is an outgoing, friendly, and extremely popular student who has been at Coolidge College for seven years. For the past three years he has made no effort to graduate, instead spending his time organizing parties and fundraisers, doing charity work, helping other students, and posing for figure drawing classes. But after seven years, with no return on his investment, Van's father decides it is time to cut his losses and stops paying Van's tuition. Instead of leaving, however, Van decides to find some other way to pay his way through the rest of college.
Meanwhile Gwen Pearson, a star reporter for the student newspaper, is asked to do an article on Van. It proves to be so popular that she is asked to write a follow-up article for the front page of the graduation issue. Although that would be a big win, she is rather put off when Van interprets her attempts to schedule interviews as romantic advances — especially because she already has a boyfriend. Gwen's boyfriend, Richard Bagg, happens to be the president of the student union, and the leader of a fraternity. He takes personal offense at Wilder's attempts to steal his girlfriend, and becomes very stressed out at having to deal with this burden on top of preparing for medical school and leading the Delta Iota Kappa (DIK) fraternity. Subsquently, a rivalry develops between the two men.
The rivalry grows as they perform increasingly disgusting pranks on each other. For instance, one scene involves Richard inviting Van over to a dinner with him and Gwen's family to prove a point about Van's lackadaisical attitude towards life (in which Gwen's parents are only pleased by Van's easy-going attitude, and Gwen, increasingly turned off by Richard's stress, only feels that Richard's actions were too under-handed.) In one infamous scene, Van and his friends replace the cream inside some pastries with dog semen and send them to Richard's fraternity, where the frat brothers begin eating and don't realize what it really is until it's too late.
At one point, Richard also sleeps with another woman from a sister sorority, which would be the final straw for Gwen later on. Richard also sets up Van at one of his own parties in which there are some (very) underage drinkers and reports it to the police, which leads to Van being almost expulsed. However, Van proposes an alternative punishment: that the school force him to complete a semester's worth of work in the six days remaining, and then graduate. The committee agrees to this by a three-to-two decision.
Gwen is pleased that Van is taking the initiative to get his life together; also, to get back at Richard's liaison earlier, on the day of an interview with Northwestern Medical School, immediately after a grueling exam, she laces the protein shake he enjoyed that morning with a laxative. Since there are no bathroom breaks allowed during the test, Richard has to hurry through the 2-hour exam in 20 minutes, "dialing down the middle" towards the end and disgusting the other test-takers with flatulence. Afterwards, before he can reach the bathroom, he unexpectedly runs into the medical school interview committee, and ends up defecating into a trash can right in front of them. He is briefly seen again in the film, reading Gwen's article in the school paper in the bathroom (presumably, his medical school dreams are ruined, as he mentions to Van in a deleted scene). Meanwhile, Van Wilder does well on his finals and celebrates his graduation with Gwen.
A side story of the film depicts the saga of Taj, an Indian foreign exchange student who is accepted (out of many "talented" applicants) to be Van's personal assistant. The main reason for his application for this position, Taj explains, is he wants to have sex with an American girl before he goes home. He meets a girl named Naomi, and Van pushes Taj to go for her ("Naomi- that's 'I moan' backwards," Van explains) but Taj accidentally sets himself on fire with massage oil. At the end of a movie, Taj meets another Indian girl, and it seems like they are going to hit it off.

Plot synopsis

Ryan Reynolds as Vance "Van" Wilder Jr.
Tara Reid as Gwendolyn "Gwen" Elizabeth Pearson
Kal Penn as Taj Mahal Badalandabad
Paul Gleason as Professor McDougal
Tim Matheson as Vance Wilder Sr.
Daniel Cosgrove as Richard "Dick" Bagg
Teck Holmes as Hutch
Emily Rutherfurd as Jeannie
Tom Everett Scott as Elliot Grebb (uncredited)
Deon Richmond as "Mini Cochran"
Alex Burns as Gordon Cast
Van Wilder was released by Artisan Entertainment on VHS and DVD on August 20, 2002. The DVD was presented in rated and unrated editions, both editions containing a cropped full-frame transfer, and a widescreen version in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The two-disc set also contained interactive topless menus featuring model Ivana Bozilovic, who is "Naomi" in the film. With each new menu, she would take her shirt off and put another shirt on with different options on it. Bonuses included deleted scenes, outtakes, three Burly Bear TV specials, a Comedy Central: Reel Comedy TV special, "Bouncing Off the Walls" music video performed by Sugarcult, trailers and other promotional material like television ads and poster art.
On November 28, 2006, in a way of promoting the sequel to Van Wilder, National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj, Lions Gate Home Entertainment released a 2-disc special edition DVD with new bonus features including a "Drunken Idiot Kommentary" (featuring three young men who are not actually involved in the film), behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. The re-release did not include the topless menus from the previous set.

DVD release(s)
Featured in the film are songs by The Living End, Jimmy Eat World, Sum 41, Abandoned Pools, Sugarcult, N.E.R.D., American Hi-Fi, Zero 7's Sia Furler, and Swirl 360. Some artists with songs left off of the the soundtrack included Atomic Kitten, Sprung Monkey, Bird 3, Spymob, and Tahiti 80.
Artemis Records released the official soundtrack, though the tracklisting does not exactly match the lineup heard in the movie. It omits the Sugarbomb song "Hello".

Box office totals

National Lampoon
National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj
Johnny Lechner

2008-04-08T08:41:00.001-07:00

In probability and statistics, the log-normal distribution is the probability distribution of any random variable whose logarithm is normally distributed. If Y is a random variable with a normal distribution, then X = exp(Y) has a log-normal distribution; likewise, if X is log-normally distributed, then log(X) is normally distributed.
"Log-normal" is also written "log normal" or "lognormal".
A variable might be modeled as log-normal if it can be thought of as the multiplicative product of many small independent factors. For example the long-term return rate on a stock investment can be considered to be the product of the daily return rates.

Characterization
The log-normal distribution has the probability density function

for

x > 0

, where

μ

and

σ

are the mean and standard deviation of the variable's logarithm (by definition, the variable's logarithm is normally distributed).

Probability density function
" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/2/5/3/253b03515b12e5affd383a2c2f022145.png" /]

Cumulative distribution function

Properties
The expected value is

and the variance is

Equivalent relationships may be written to obtain

μ

and

σ

given the expected value and standard deviation:

Mean and standard deviation
The geometric mean of the log-normal distribution is exp(μ), and the geometric standard deviation is equal to exp(σ).
If a sample of data is determined to come from a log-normally distributed population, the geometric mean and the geometric standard deviation may be used to estimate confidence intervals akin to the way the arithmetic mean and standard deviation are used to estimate confidence intervals for a normally distributed sample of data.
Where geometric mean

μ geo = exp(μ)

and geometric standard deviation

σ geo = exp(σ)

Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation
The first few raw moments are:

Moments
The partial expectation of a random variable

X

with respect to a threshold

k

is defined as

where

f (x)

is the density. For a lognormal density it can be shown that

where

Φ

is the cumulative distribution function of the standard normal. The partial expectation of a lognormal has applications in insurance and in economics (for example it can be used to derive the Black-Scholes formula).

Partial expectation
For determining the maximum likelihood estimators of the log-normal distribution parameters μ and σ, we can use the same procedure as for the normal distribution. To avoid repetition, we observe that

where by we denote the density probability function of the log-normal distribution and by —that of the normal distribution. Therefore, using the same indices to denote distributions, we can write the log-likelihood function thus:
ell_L (mu,sigma | x_1, x_2, dots, x_n)
& = & - sum _k ln x_k + ell_N (mu, sigma | ln x_1, ln x_2, dots, ln x_n) =
& = & operatorname {constant} + ell_N (mu, sigma | ln x_1, ln x_2, dots, ln x_n).
end{matrix}" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/f/a/8/fa858b5f70cb9be6fb357b00952673d6.png" />
Since the first term is constant with regards to μ and σ, both logarithmic likelihood functions, and , reach their maximum with the same μ and σ. Hence, using the formulas for the normal distribution maximum likelihood parameter estimators and the equality above, we deduce that for the log-normal distribution it holds that
widehat sigma^2 = frac {sum_k {left( ln x_k - widehat mu right)^2}} n." src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/9/a/4/9a466f67f656fffc255e00886a8c7e1e.png" />

Related distributions

Robert Brooks, Jon Corson, and J. Donal Wales. "The Pricing of Index Options When the Underlying Assets All Follow a Lognormal Diffusion", in Advances in Futures and Options Research, volume 7, 1994.

2008-04-07T08:48:00.001-07:00

Scone Palace (pronounced skoon) is a Category A listed historic house at Scone, near Perth, Scotland. It was constructed (by recasting a 16th century palace) in 1808 for the Earls of Mansfield by William Atkinson. Built of red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is a classic example of the late Georgian Gothic style.
In the Middle Ages the land was the site of a major Augustinian abbey, Scone Abbey (nothing now remains above ground level), the crowning-place of the Kings of the Scots (on the Stone of Destiny) down to Alexander III.

Scone Abbey
Presently on view in the state rooms of Scone Palace are fine collections of furniture, ceramics, ivories, and clocks. Some of the prized contents of Scone Palace are Rococo chairs by Pierre Bara, and Dresden and Sèvres porcelains. The gardens and grounds are also open to the public. The gardens of Scone feature Moot Hill, the mound was said to have been created by pilgrims each carrying a bootful of soil to the site in a gesture of fealty to the king. A replica of the Stone of Scone sits on Moot Hill, where coronations occurred. Elsewhere in the garden, there is a modern day maze created of hedges.
The grounds of the Palace are the best-known breeding locality in Scotland for Hawfinch. There are fine woodlands on the grounds and policies of Scone Palace, some of the fir trees being at least 250 years old.
A number of peacocks roam the grounds, including several albino males.
The palace annually hosts the Game Conservancy Scottish Fair.

2008-04-06T08:31:00.001-07:00

Curriculum
Established by pioneer Methodists, McKendree is the oldest university in the state and continues to have ties to the United Methodist Church
First called Lebanon Seminary, the school opened in two rented sheds for 72 students in 1828 under Edward Raymond Ames. In 1830, Bishop William McKendree, the first American-born bishop of the Methodist church, permitted the Board of Trustees to change the institution's name to McKendree College. Later Bishop McKendree deeded 480 acres (1.9 km²) of rich land in Shiloh Valley, Illinois, to help support the college.
Reverend Peter Akers, in 1833, was the first president of the newly named college. He was three times president of McKendree College and received its first degree, an honorary Doctorate of Divinity.
In 1835, the College received one of the first charters granted to independent church colleges by the Illinois legislature. The institution still operates under the provisions of a second, more liberal charter obtained in 1839.
McKendree has struggled throughout its history to be financially viable and only in the recent past has it achieved a measure of economic stability.
In 2001, the College embarked on a highly successful capital campaign which raised more than $20 million for the campus including the creation of a Performing Arts Center.

History of the University
Tailgate Party, 2005

Homecoming Queen & mascot "Bogey," 2005

Christmas Tree, Piper Academic Center, 2005

April: Spring Fling
September: Tailgate party - picnic, fest, and game kicks off the football season
October: Homecoming - parade, fest, and football game
December: Christmas tree lighting - eggnog, Christmas carols, and Christmas tree illumination
ifexist count: 0/500

ifexist count: 0/500

ifexist count: 0/500
Facilities
McKendree University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Its teams are called the Bearcats. In football, which returned to the campus in 1996, the Bearcats play in the Midwest League of the Mid-States Football Association, an NAIA affiliate. In other sports, the Bearcats are members of the American Midwest Conference. The Bearcats participate at the intercollegiate level in 11 men's sports and 9 women's sports:
Men's sports
Women's sports
McKendree's men's basketball coach, Harry Statham, currently holds the all-time record for wins at a four year institution, with 915 victories at the beginning of the 2005-6 season

Baseball
Basketball
Bowling
Cross Country
Football
Golf
Hockey
Soccer
Tennis
Track and Field
Wrestling
Basketball
Bowling
Cross Country
Golf
Soccer
Softball
Tennis
Track and Field
Volleyball

2008-04-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

Early life
He and his wife Flavil had one son, Mark Boyd. He has two granchildren, Heather and Alan Boyd. The latter was named after him.
Alan S. Boyd retired to Florida and later moved to Edmonds, Washington.

Public service
When the Richard M. Nixon administration took power, Boyd left the government and became the president of the Illinois Central Railroad, a position he held from 1969 to 1972. and the president of Airbus Industries. In 1979 he became the chairman of Warner Blue & Mahan, a Washington D.C. based consulting firm working on new technology ventures.

2008-04-04T08:27:00.001-07:00

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Decided 2003-11-18
Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 (Mass. 2003), was a landmark state appellate court case dealing with same-sex marriage rights in Massachusetts.

Ruling
Because of the unusual nature of the 180-day period, and the requirement that the legislature rectify the situation (rather than the court issuing a specific order), some in the legislature advocated responding to Goodridge by creating a system of civil unions, like those in Vermont, but there was disagreement on whether this solution would satisfy the court's mandate. The legislature responded to this lack of clear direction by taking the rare step of asking the Court to clarify its ruling. On February 4, 2004, the four-justice majority of the court responded to the request for clarification. Stating that "the history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal," the court's statement said that nothing short of equal marriage rights would be constitutional. Civil unions would, according to the court, create an "unconstitutional, inferior, and discriminatory status for same-sex couples."

Reaction outside Massachusetts
Two of the original plaintiffs in the case, the couple that the the case is named after and cited by, Julie and Hillary Goodridge, subsequently amicably separated in July 2006, according to their spokesperson.

2008-04-03T08:11:00.001-07:00

Northsound 1 is a is an Independent Local Radio station commercial local radio station serving Aberdeen and the north east of Scotland. It is part of the Big City Network. Northsound 1 mainly plays Chart Music and as it's slogan describes, "All The Hits".

History
Current presenters on Northsound 1 include:

Greig Easton
John Mellis
John Milne
Andy James
Craig McDonald
Fiona Hardie
Jenny Laing
Craig Milne
Jeff Diack
Chris Thomson Presnters/DJ's
Northsound News currently has 4 broadcasting journalists at present with Sarah Campbell as Head of News. David Ridd is currently head of sport at Northsound. News and sport bulletins are broadcast at regular intervals throughout daytime, with a Live@Five main news programme at drivetime.

2008-04-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved. Protection is not an endorsement of the current version (protection log). Please discuss changes on the talk page or request unprotection. You may use {{editprotected}} on the talk page to ask for an administrator to make an edit for you.
Pro-pedophile activism or Pro-paedophile activism (Commonwealth usage) encompasses pro-pedophile organizations and activists that argue for certain changes of criminal laws and cultural response concerning pedophiles. The obverse movement is anti-pedophile activism. Goals of pro-pedophile activism often include social acceptance of adults' romantic love and sexual attraction to children, social acceptance of sexual activity between adults and children, and changes in institutions of concern to pedophiles, such as changing age of consent laws or mental illness classifications.
Ashford, L. (2002). The Human Face of Pedophilia
Bleibtreu-Ehrenberg, G. (1988). The Paedophile Impulse: Toward the Development of an Aetiology of Child-Adult Sexual Contacts from an Ethological and Ethnological Viewpoint
Brongersma, E. (1990). Boy-Lovers and Their Influence on Boys. Journal of Homosexuality 20 - 1/2, 1990.
CLogo Team (2003). Pedophiles
Dallam, S. J. (2002), "Science or Propaganda? An examination of Rind, Tromovitch and Bauserman (1998)". Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. 9(3/4), 109-134.
De Young M. (1988). "The indignant page: techniques of neutralization in the publications of pedophile organizations." Child Abuse & Neglect, 12 (4), 583-591.
De Young, M. (1989). "The world according to NAMBLA: Accounting for deviance". Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 16, 111-126.
Eichewald, Kurt (2006). "From Their Own Online World, Pedophiles Extend Their Reach" By Kurt Eichenwald, New York Times, August 21, 2006. "From Their Own Online World, Pedophiles Extend Their Reach"
Eberstadt, Mary (2001) "Pedophilia Chic" Reconsidered: The taboo against sex with children continues to erode." Weekly Standard January 1/January 8, 2001/Vol 6, Number 16. [4]
Fagan P.J., Wise T.N., et al. (2002). "Pedophilia". JAMA. 2002;288:2458-2465.
Finkelhor, D. (1984) Child Sexual Abuse, Free Press, 1984 ISBN 0-02-910020-8
Gieles F.E.J. (1998). I didn't know how to deal with it. IPCE.
Gieles F.E.J. (2004). Ethics and Intimacy in intergenerational relationships. IPCE.
Hohmann, Joachim S. ed. (1982). Pädophilie heute ("Pedophila today", in German). Foerster Verlag, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
Leopardi, Angelo ed. (1988). Der pädosexuelle Komplex ("On the topic of pedosexuality", in German). Foerster Verlag, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
Lilienfeld, Scott O. (2002). When worlds collide: Social science, politics, and the Rind et al. (1998) child sexual abuse meta-analysis. American Psychologist. 57(3), Mar 2002, 176-188.
O'Keefe, Mark. (2002) "Controversial Studies Push Change in Society's View of Pedophilia," [5].
Moser C., Kleinplatz P. (2003). DSM-IV-TR and the Paraphilias: An Argument for Removal
Nelson J.A. (1989). "Intergenerational Sexual Contact: A Continuum Model of Participants and Experiences". Journal of Sex Education & Therapy, Vol. 15, No.1, 1989, pp.3-12.
O'Carroll T. (1980). Paedophilia: The Radical Case. Peter Owen, London.
Protestantse Stichting voor Verantwoorde Gezinsvorming, (1981). Pedophilia. PSVG, The Netherlands.
Paiderastia. A Boylove Code of Ethics. Paiderastia.
Rossman P. (1976) Sexual Experience Between Men and Boys: Exploring the Pederast Underground. Association Press, New York.
Schuijer, J. (1990). "Tolerance at arm's length: The Dutch experience." Journal of Homosexuality, 20, 199-229.
Spieker, B.; Steutel, J. (1997). Paedophilia, Sexual Desire and Perversity. Journal of Moral Education, 09/01/1997.
Trembley, Pierre. (2002) "Social interactions among paedophiles." [6]
Underwager R., Wakefield H. (1997). Special Problems with Sexual Abuse Cases. Coping with psychiatric and psychological testimony, Supplement to the Fifth Edition (Out of Print) (pp. 136-147). Los Angeles, CA: Law and Psychology Press.
Vereniging MARTIJN (2004). What we Stand for. Vereniging MARTIJN.
Debate Guide - "Arguments and counter arguments for the sexual emancipation of minors and minor attracted adults"
Puellula - An activist's personal site
Paedophilia - The Radical Case - Book by Tom O'Carroll
Age Taboo - "The place for young guys who like younger guys"
Clogo - A series of pro activist projects
"Boylove: Semantically Correct?"
Operation: Shutdown Puellula - Campaign which lobbies other websites to delist and unlink Puellula.org
Corporate Sex Offenders

2008-04-01T09:29:00.001-07:00

Branch Brook Park is a county park of Essex County, New Jersey in the United States, located in the North Ward of Newark, between the neighborhoods of Forest Hill and Roseville. At 360 acres (1.5 km²), Branch Brook Park is the largest public park in the city of Newark. The park is noted for its 2,700 cherry trees, collectively called Cherryblossomland, as well as its spectacular Cherry Blossom Festival each April.
The park was formally created in 1895, making it the nation's first county park, by the newly-created Essex County Parks Commission. The area had formally served as an Army training ground during the American Civil War. At the time, the northern portion of the area had been a marsh known as Old Blue Jay Swamp. In 1898, a public appropriation financied the conversion of the swamp into a landscaped lake. The initial park was only 60 acres (0.2 km²) in size but grew in the 1920s through private donations from prominent Newark families, such as the Ballantines, eventually reaching the city limit with Belleville and becoming one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The Morris Canal originally ran on the park's west side, until its old bed was turned into the Newark City Subway, providing access to the park from Downtown Newark.
The first designs of the park, based largely on romantic garden themes, were proposed in 1895 and 1898, after the Parks Commission hired several architectural firms to plan the park. In 1900, the commission hired the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted to redesign the park. The result was the park's current naturalistic look and feel, with acres of meadows and forests, in a manner similar to Olmsted's earlier designs of Central Park and Prospect Park.
The famous cherry trees were the result of a 1927 gift from Caroline Bamberger Fuld, sister of department store magnate Louis Bamberger and widow of the store's vice president. The Cherry Blossom Festival attracts approximately 10,000 visitors each April.
During World War II, the park's grounds served a tent city for recruits, as well as a landing strip for airplanes of the United States Postal Service.
The neighborhood on the east side of the park, Forest Hill, is Newark's most affluent. Also on the east side of the park is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Basilica, one of the largest cathedrals in the United States.
It has been placed on both the New Jersey (1980) and National (1981) Registers of Historic Places.
Branch Brook Park is currently in the midst of $25 million, ten-year, restoration program. In 2004, the Park Avenue bridge was repaired, as were the ballfields in the center of the park.

2008-03-28T09:44:00.001-07:00

Cruachan may refer to:
Cruachan, Ireland, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Connacht in Ireland
Cruachan (band), an Irish Celtic metal band
Ben Cruachan, a Scottish mountain

2008-03-27T09:44:00.001-07:00

The Musqueam Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and is the only Indian band whose reserve lies within the boundaries of the City of Vancouver.
Their traditional language, now nearly extinct, is h-un-q-uh-mi-n-uhm, a subdialect of the Salishan language Halkomelem, and they are closely related to neighbouring peoples of the lower Fraser River. The nearby Kwantlen and Katzie peoples just upriver share the same Hun'qumi'num' dialect, while the upriver Sto:lo people speak another dialect, Halq'əméyləm. The Straits Salish peoples of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands of the southern Gulf of Georgia speak another dialect, Hul'q̱'umi'num.
The Musqueam are the oldest-known residents of Vancouver. Located near their main residential area is the Musqueam midden, a thousands-year old deposit of shells and other household debris. Formerly there was a second residential area near the current one, Mahlie. The area of the Musqueam Reserve is the closest Hudson's Bay Company explorer Simon Fraser made it to the Strait of Georgia; he was driven back by hostile Musqueam who had had bad experiences with white men on ships just previously. The chief Whattlekainum warned Fraser of an impending attack which is said saved his life.
Though today limited to the Fraser River banks of the city, their territory also once included Burrard Inlet until they were displaced

Notes

2008-03-26T09:50:00.001-07:00

John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was an officer in the United States Army. Pershing is the only person, while still alive, to rise to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army—General of the Armies—equivalent only to the posthumous rank of George Washington. Pershing led the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and was regarded as a mentor by the generation of American generals who led the United States Army in Europe during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George S. Patton.

West Point years
Pershing reported for active duty on September 30, 1886, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard, New Mexico. While serving in the 6th Cavalry, Pershing participated in several Indian campaigns and was cited for bravery for actions against the Apache.
Between 1887 and 1890, Pershing served with the 6th Cavalry at various postings in California, Arizona, and North Dakota. He also became an expert marksman and, in 1891, was rated second in pistol and fifth in rifle out of all soldiers in the U.S. Army.
On December 9, 1890, Pershing and the 6th Cavalry arrived at Sioux City, Iowa where Pershing played a role in suppressing the last uprisings of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians. A year later, he was assigned as an instructor of military tactics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Pershing would hold this posting until 1895, but was not promoted, remaining as a second lieutenant at the age of 35 years old.
While in Nebraska, Pershing also attended law school and graduated in 1893. Additionally, he formed a drill company, Company A, in 1891 that won the Omaha Cup. In 1893, Company A became a fraternal organization, changing its name to the Varsity Rifles. The group changed its name for the last time in 1894, renaming itself the Pershing Rifles in honor of its founder.
On October 1, 1895, Pershing was promoted to first lieutenant and took command of a unit within the United States Army's 10th Cavalry Regiment (one of the original Buffalo Soldier regiments), which was composed of African-American soldiers under white officers. From Fort Assinniboine in north central Montana, he commanded an expedition to the south and southwest that rounded up and deported a large number of Cree Indians to Canada. Though, like the most of the nation at the time, he was unsympathetic to Native Americans, Pershing was an outspoken advocate of the value of African American soldiers in the U.S. military.
In 1897, Pershing became an instructor at West Point, where he joined the tactical staff. While at West Point, cadets upset over Pershing's harsh treatment and high standards took to calling him "Nigger Jack" as a reference to his service with the 10th Cavalry. This was softened to "Black Jack" by reporters covering Pershing during World War I.

Early career
Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, First Lieutenant Pershing (now 38 years old) was offered a brevet rank and was commissioned a Major of Volunteers on August 26, 1898. He fought with distinction at Kettle and San Juan Hill in Cuba and was cited for gallantry. In 1919, he was awarded the Silver Citation Star for these actions and, in 1932, the award was upgraded to the Silver Star Medal.
In March 1899, after suffering from malaria and spending a sick furlough in the United States, Pershing was put in charge of the Office of Customs and Insular Affairs which oversaw occupation forces in territories gained in the Spanish-American War, to include Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
When the Philippine-American War broke out, Pershing was ordered to Manila and reported for duty on August 17, 1899. He was assigned to the Department of Mindanao and Jolo and commanded efforts to suppress the Philippine resistance. On November 27, 1900, Pershing was appointed Adjutant General of his department and served in this posting until March 1, 1901. He was cited for bravery for actions on the Cagayan River while attempting to destroy a Philippine stronghold at Macajambo.
In the spring of 1901, Pershing's brevet commission was revoked and he was recommissioned as a captain in the Regular Army. He served with the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment in the Philippines, continuing actions against the Philippine resistance. He later joined the U.S. 15th Cavalry Regiment where he served as an intelligence officer, participating in actions against the Moros, where he was cited for bravery at Lake Lanao. In June 1901, he also briefly served as Commander of Camp Vicars, Philippines, after the previous camp commander had been promoted to brigadier general.

Spanish and Philippine-American wars
In June 1903, Pershing was ordered to return to the United States. He was forty-three years old and still a captain in the U.S. Army. President Theodore Roosevelt petitioned the Army General Staff to promote Pershing to colonel, but Pershing's superiors declined the notion and also would not consider a promotion to lieutenant colonel or even major. This angered Roosevelt, but since the President could only promote army officers in the General ranks, his hands were tied.
In 1904, Pershing was assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Southwest Army Division stationed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In October 1904, he attended the Army War College and then was ordered to Washington, DC for "general duties unassigned".
Since Theodore Roosevelt could not yet promote Pershing, he petitioned the United States Congress to authorize a diplomatic posting and Pershing was stationed as military attaché in Tokyo in 1905. Also, in 1905, Pershing married the daughter of powerful U.S. Senator Francis E. Warren, a Wyoming Republican. The union greatly helped his military career.
After serving as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War, Pershing returned to the United States in the fall of 1905. In a move that shocked the army establishment, President Roosevelt convinced Congress to authorize the appointment of Pershing as a brigadier general, skipping three ranks and more than 835 officers senior to him. This promotion outraged several high ranking Army officers who would state, for the rest of their careers, that Pershing's appointment was the result of political connections and not military abilities (his father-in-law was chair of the U.S. Military Appropriations Committee).
In 1908, Pershing briefly served as a U.S. military observer in the Balkans, an assignment which was based out of Paris. Upon returning the United States, at the end of 1909, Pershing was assigned once again to the Philippines, an assignment which he served until 1912. While in the Philippines, he served as Commander of Fort McKinley, near Manila, and also was the governor of the Moro Province. The last of Pershing's four children was born in the Philippines and it was during this time that he became an Episcopalian.

Rise to general
In January 1914, Pershing was assigned to command the Army 8th Brigade in Fort Bliss, Texas, responsible for security along the U.S.-Mexico border. In March 1915, under the command of General Frederick Funston, Pershing led the 8th Brigade on the failed 1916–17 Punitive Expedition into Mexico in search of the revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. General Pershing was assigned a 1915 Dodge Brothers touring car, serial number 3066. During this time, George S. Patton served as one of Pershing's aides.
After a year at Fort Bliss, Pershing decided to bring his family there. The arrangements were almost complete, when on the morning of August 27, 1915, he received a telegram telling him of a tragic fire in the Presidio of San Francisco, where a lacquered floor blaze had rapidly spread, resulting in the smoke inhalation deaths of his wife and three young daughters. Only his six-year-old son Warren was saved. Many who knew Pershing said he never recovered from the deaths. After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son, Warren, and his sister Mae, and resumed his duties of commanding officer.

Pancho Villa, personal tragedy and the Mexican Revolution
The start of World War I caused President Woodrow Wilson to consider mobilizing an army to join the fight. Frederick Funston, Pershing's superior in Mexico, was being considered for the top billet as the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) when he died suddenly from a heart attack in the early summer of 1917. Following America's entrance into the war, Wilson named Pershing to command, a post which he retained until 1918. Pershing, who was a major general, was promoted to full general (the first since Philip Sheridan in 1888) in the National Army, and was made responsible for the organization, training, and supply of a combined professional and draft Army and National Guard force that eventually grew from 27,000 inexperienced men to two armies (a third was forming as the war ended) totalling over two million soldiers.
During this time, George C. Marshall served as one of Pershing's assistants, and Douglas MacArthur served in turn as chief of staff of, then as a brigade commander in, and then for the final month of the war, commander of the 42nd "Rainbow" Division. Pershing's initial chief of staff was James Harbord, who would work as Pershing's closest assistant through the years and remain extremely loyal to Pershing.
Token American forces deployed at the end of 1917, with an enormous tonic effect on Allied morale, and in early 1918, entire divisions were beginning to serve on the front lines alongside French troops. Pershing insisted that the AEF fight as units under American command rather than being split up by battalions to augment British and French regiments and brigades (although the U.S. 27th and 30th divisions, loaned during the desperate days of spring 1918, fought with the British/Australian/Canadian Fourth Army until the end of the war, taking part in the breach of the Hindenburg Line in October).
American forces first saw serious action during the summer of 1918, contributing eight large divisions, alongside 24 French ones, at the Second Battle of the Marne. Along with the Fourth Army's victory at Amiens, the Franco-American victory at the Second Battle of the Marne marked the turning point of the war on the Western Front.
By the autumn, the U.S. First Army had been formed, at first under Pershing's direct command and then, when the Second Army under Robert Bullard was added, under that of Hunter Liggett. After a quick victory at Saint-Mihiel, east of Verdun, some of the more bullish AEF commanders had hoped to push on eastwards to Metz, but this did not fit in with the plans of the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Foch, for three simultaneous offensives into the "bulge" of the Western Front (the other two being the Fourth Army's breach of the Hindenburg Line and an Anglo-Belgian offensive, led by Plumer's Second Army, in Flanders). Instead, the AEF was required to redeploy and, aided by French tanks, launched a major offensive northwards in very difficult terrain at Meuse-Argonne. Initially enjoying numerical odds of eight to one, this offensive eventually engaged 35 or 40 of the 190 or so German divisions on the Western Front, although to put this in perspective, around half the German divisions were engaged on the BEF sector at the time.
When he arrived in Europe, Pershing had openly scorned the slow trench warfare of the previous three years on the Western Front, believing that American soldiers' skill with the rifle would enable them to avoid costly and senseless fighting over a small area of no man's land. This was regarded as unrealistic by British and French generals, and (privately) by a number of American generals such as Army Chief of Staff Tasker H. Bliss and Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett. The AEF had done well in the relatively open warfare of the Second Battle of the Marne, but the eventual U.S. casualty rates against German defensive positions in the Argonne (120,000 U.S. casualties in six weeks, against 35 or 40 German divisions) were not noticeably better than those of the Franco-British offensive on the Somme two years earlier (600,000 casualties in five and a half months, versus 50 or so German divisions). More ground was gained, but then the German Army was in worse shape than in previous years.
Some writers (e.g., David Trask (1993)) have speculated that Pershing's frustration at the slow progress through the Argonne was the cause of two incidents which then ensued. Firstly, he ordered the U.S. First Army to take "the honor" of recapturing Sedan, site of the French defeat in 1870; the ensuing confusion (an order was issued that "boundaries were not to be considered binding") exposed U.S. troops to danger not only from the French on their left, but even from one another, as the 1st Division tacked westward by night across the path of the 42nd (accounts differ as to whether Douglas MacArthur was really mistaken for a German officer and arrested). Liggett, who had been away from headquarters the previous day, had to sort out the mess and implement the instructions from Supreme Commander Marshal Foch, allowing the French to recapture the city; he later recorded that this was the only time during the war in which he lost his temper.
Secondly, Pershing sent an unsolicited letter to the Allied Supreme War Council, demanding that the Germans not be given an armistice and that instead, the Allies should push on and obtain an unconditional surrender. Although in later years, many, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, felt that Pershing had had a point, at the time, this was a breach of political authority. Pershing narrowly escaped a serious reprimand from Wilson's aide, Colonel House, and later apologized.
At the time of the Armistice, another U.S.-French offensive was due to start on 14 November, thrusting towards Metz and into Lorraine, to take place simultaneously with further BEF advances through Belgium.
In his memoirs, Pershing claimed that the U.S. breakout from the Argonne at the start of November was the decisive event leading to the German acceptance of an armistice, because it made untenable the Antwerp-Meuse line. This is probably an exaggeration; the outbreak of civil unrest and naval mutiny in Germany, the collapse of Bulgaria, Turkey and particularly Austria-Hungary following Allied victories in Salonika, Syria and Italy, and the Allied victories on the Western Front were among a series of events in the autumn of 1918 which made it clear that Allied victory was inevitable, and diplomatic inquiries about an armistice had been going on throughout October. President Wilson was keen to tie matters up before the mid-term elections, and the other Allies did not have the strength to defeat Germany without U.S. help, so had little choice but to follow Wilson's lead.
By the end of the war, U.S. troop strength in Europe (1.8 million or more) was slightly greater than that of the BEF (1.7m). French strength (three Army Groups, totalling 2.5m) was still greater, but much of it was deployed in quiet sectors such as Alsace, and after horrendous casualties and mutiny earlier in the war, France was only able or willing to undertake major offensives in conjunction with U.S. troops. Combatant strength was approximately 60% of these ration strengths in each case. Although the war ended before U.S. front-line strength vastly outstripped that of the other Western Allies as would happen in 1944-5, the threat of ever-greater U.S. commitment was another factor driving the German leadership to ask for an armistice.
American successes were largely credited to Pershing, and he became the most celebrated American leader of the war. Critics, however, would claim that Pershing commanded from far behind the lines and was critical of commanders who personally led troops into battle. This critique would become a sore point with Douglas MacArthur, who saw Pershing as a desk soldier, and the relationship between the two men deteriorated by the end of the war. Similar criticism of senior commanders by the younger generation of officers (the future generals of World War II) was made in the British and other armies, but in fairness to Pershing it should be noted that, although it was not uncommon for brigade commanders to serve near the front and even be killed, the state of communications in World War I made it more practical for senior generals to command from the rear.

World War I
In 1919, in recognition of his distinguished service during World War I, the U.S. Congress authorized the President to promote Pershing to General of the Armies of the United States, the highest rank possible for any member of the United States armed forces and was created especially for him and one that only he held at the time (Lieutenant General George Washington was posthumously promoted to this rank by President Gerald Ford in 1976). Pershing was authorized to create his insignia for the new rank, and chose to wear four gold stars for the rest of his career, which separated him from the four (temporary) silver stars worn by Army Chiefs of Staff, and even the five star General of the Army insignia worn by Marshall, Eisenhower, MacArthur, and H. 'Hap' Arnold in World War II (Pershing outranked them all).
There was a movement to make Pershing President of the United States in 1920, but he refused to actively campaign. In a newspaper article, he said that he "wouldn't decline to serve" if the people wanted him and this made front page headlines. Though Pershing was a Republican, many of his party's leaders considered him too closely tied to the policies of the Democratic Party's President Wilson. The Republican nomination went to Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio, who won the 1920 presidential election.
In 1921, Pershing became Chief of Staff of the United States Army, serving at this posting for three years. He created the Pershing Map, a proposed national network of military and civilian highways. The Interstate Highway System instituted in 1956 bears considerable resemblance to the Pershing map. In 1924, then sixty four years old, Pershing retired from active military service, yet continued to be listed on the active duty rolls as part of his commission as General of the Armies.
On November 1, 1921 Pershing was in Kansas City to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty Memorial that was being constructed there. Also present that day were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium, Admiral David Beatty of Great Britain, Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France and General Armando Diaz of Italy. One of the main speakers was Vice President Calvin Coolidge of the United States. In 1935, bas-reliefs of Pershing, Jacques, Foch and Diaz by sculptor Walker Hancock were added to the memorial.
During the 1930s, Pershing maintained a private life, but was made famous by his memoirs, My Experiences in the World War, which were awarded the 1932 Pulitzer Prize for history.
In 1940, Pershing was an outspoken advocate of aid for the United Kingdom during World War II. In 1944, with the creation of the new five star rank General of the Army, Pershing was acknowledged as the highest ranking officer of the United States military. When asked if this made Pershing a six star General, the then Secretary of War (Henry L. Stimson) commented that it did not, since Pershing never wore more than four stars but that Pershing was still to be considered senior to the present five star generals of World War II.
During World War II, Pershing was visited by Free French leader General de Gaulle, who, when Pershing asked after the health of his old friend, Marshal Petain (now heading the pro-German Vichy regime), replied tactfully that as far as he knew, the marshal was quite well.
On July 15, 1948, he died at the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. (his home after 1944). Pershing is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, near the gravesites of the soldiers he commanded in Europe, after a state funeral.

Later career

Summary of service
As there was no official insignia, General Pershing wore four gold stars.

Dates of rank

1882: Cadet, United States Military Academy
1886: Troop L, Sixth Cavalry
1891: Professor of Tactics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
1895: Commanding Officer, 10th Cavalry Regiment
1897: Instructor, United States Military Academy, West Point
1898: Major of Volunteer Forces, Cuban Campaign, Spanish-American War
1899: Officer-in-Charge, Office of Customs and Insular Affairs
1900: Adjutant General, Department of Mindanao and Jolo, Philippines
1901: Battalion Officer, 1st Cavalry and Intelligence Officer, 15th Cavalry (Philippines)
1902: Officer-in-Charge, Camp Vicars, Philippines
1904: Assistant Chief of Staff, Southwest Army Division, Oklahoma
1905: Military attaché, U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, Japan
1908: Military Advisor to American Embassy, France
1909: Commander of Fort McKinley, Manila, and governor of Moro Province
1914: Brigade Commander, 8th Army Brigade
1916: Commanding General, Mexican Punitive Expedition
1917: Commanding General for the formation of the National Army
1918: Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, Europe
1921: Chief of Staff of the United States Army
1924: Retired from active military service
1925: Chief Commissioner assigned by the United States in the arbitration case for the provinces of Tacna and Arica between Peru and Chile. Assignment history

Awards and decorations
In 1932, seven years after Pershing's retirement from active service, his silver citation star was upgraded to the Silver Star Medal and he became eligible for the Purple Heart. In 1941, he was retroactively awarded the Army of Occupation of Germany Medal for service in Germany following the close of World War I.

Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal (with 15 battle clasps)
Indian Campaign Medal
Spanish Campaign Medal (with Silver Citation Star)
Army of Cuban Occupation Medal
Philippine Campaign Medal
Mexican Service Medal United States decorations

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (Britain)
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (France)
Military Medal (France)
Croix de Guerre with Palm (France)
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Virtuti Militari (Poland)
Order of the White Lion (1st Class with Sword) (Czechoslovakia)
Czechoslovakian War Cross
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Jade (China)
Order of the Golden Grain (1st Class) (China)
Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Savoy (Italy)
Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (Italy)
Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)
Medaille Obilitch (Montenegro)
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Danilo I (Montenegro)
Medal of La Solidaridad (1st Class) (Panama)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (Peru)
Order of Michael the Brave (1st Class) (Romania)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Liberator (Venezuela)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Karageorge with Swords (Serbia) International awards

Congressional Gold Medal of Honor
Thanks of the United States Congress
Special Medal of the Committee of the city of Buenos Aires Other honors

Warren Pershing, John J. Pershing's son, served in the Second World War as an advisor to Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall and ended the war as a (full) colonel. He was father to two sons, Richard W. Pershing and John Warren Pershing III.
General Pershing's grandson, 2nd Lieutenant Richard W. Pershing, was killed in action on the 17 February 1968 whilst serving in the 502nd Infantry during the Vietnam War.

2008-03-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman family that rose to eminence in the waning days of the Roman Empire.

2008-03-24T10:00:00.001-07:00

Liberty International REIT (LSE: LII) is UK property investment and insurance company. Formerly a plc, it switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company developed into a leading firm in life insurance and pension funds in the 1980s. It later diversified its activities into property investment and has now abandoned its life insurance and pension fund businesses.
The company has property investments of £6.2 billion through its two principal subsidiaries: Capital Shopping Centres and Capital & Counties. The Capital Shopping Centres subsidiary owns the Braehead in Glasgow and the MetroCentre in Gateshead and a number of other UK shopping centres. The Capital & Counties subsidiary invests in both residential and commercial real estate in the UK and also in California in cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Liberty International was founded by Sir Donald Gordon, who previously headed up the Liberty Life Group in South Africa.

2008-03-23T08:08:00.001-07:00

Willenhall is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England.
Willenhall is in the south-east of the city adjacent to the suburbs of Binley, Ernesford Grange and Whitley. It covers the area bounded by the Rugby to Coventry railway line, the River Sowe and the city's boundary with Warwickshire.
For general election purposes it is part of the Coventry South Constituency and for local elections it forms part of the Binley and Willenhall ward on Coventry City Council.
Willenhall was originally a small village that was absorbed into the city as it expanded. During the Second world war the Chace National Service Hostel was built in the area to accommodate the influx of munitions workers to the City. After the war the estate became established with the building of a large number of council houses. The area today remains mainly residential though to the south-east there is 9 hectars of woodland called Willenhall Wood which has been designated a nature reserve.
Willenhall is now the location of the Chace Avenue police station which is the home of the M2 operational command unit of the West Midlands Police that covers most of the south and south-eastern areas of Coventry.

Schools
Willenhall was the site of a major air crash when at 9:52 a.m. on 21 December 1994 an aircraft approaching Coventry Airport, in poor visibility, crashed in to Willenhall Wood, killing all five crew on board. The aircraft was a Boeing 737 that was owned and operated by Air Algerie but leased by Phoenix Aviation to undertake a number of live veal calf export flights from the airport.
A brass plaque remembering the event is now located in Middle Ride, close to the crash scene, which was erected on the crash's 10th anniversary by the Willenhall Wood Residents Association.

2008-03-22T09:46:00.001-07:00

New Hall
New Hall is a women-only college in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1954, at a time when Cambridge had the lowest proportion of women undergraduates of any university in the UK and when only two other colleges (Girton and Newnham) could admit women students.

Alumnae

Jocelyn Bell Burnell, CBE, now Research Professor, University of Oxford, formerly researcher in the university radio astronomy group who discovered the first four pulsars
Barbara Stocking, Director of Oxfam
Dr Julia King, CBE, Vice-Chancellor, University of Aston, Birmingham
Joanna MacGregor, concert pianist
Tilda Swinton, actress
Sue Perkins, comedian
Lisa Burke, TV weather presenter
Claudia Winkleman
Mishal Husain, BBC World News Anchor

2008-03-21T10:11:00.001-07:00

G4techTV Canada is a Canadian English language category 1 digital cable specialty channel co-owned by Rogers Media and G4 Media [1]. Its programming is devoted to the technology genre including computers, internet, video games and more.

History
As a category 1 television service, it is mandatory for all digital cable and direct broadcast satellite providers in Canada to carry the channel that have the capacity to do so.
G4techTV Canada is also broadcasted internationally in the Barbados market. The government-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation in Barbados switched from providing the American-based feed, in favour of the Canadian-based feed for its cable television network known as Multi-Choice TV.

Distribution
Although G4techTV Canada airs a large amount of G4 shows such as Attack of the Show!, Cinematech, X-Play and more; its schedule largely differs from its American counterpart due to the fact that G4 has shifted towards a male orientated programming direction with less of an emphasis on gaming and technology and more on male general interests.
G4techTV Canada was the final home to Call for Help with Leo Laporte. The taping location was moved to the Rogers Media studios in Toronto, Canada after the show was cancelled in the United States as a result of the merger. In early 2007, Call for Help Production was outsourced to Greedy Productions in Vancouver, Canada and the show was renamed The Lab with Leo Laporte.
Until 2006, the station was not allowed to by its license to broadcast dramatic programming. This changed in September 2006, and G4techTV can now send a limited amount of drama, such as anime.

Logos

G4
TechTV

2008-03-20T08:23:00.001-07:00

Charles John "Chuck" Klosterman (born June 5, 1972, in Breckenridge, Minnesota) is an American pop-culture journalist, critic, humorist, and essayist. He was raised on a farm near Wyndmere, North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1994. After college he was a journalist in Fargo, North Dakota and later an arts critic for the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio, before moving to New York City in 2002.
Klosterman was a senior writer for Spin and had a column titled "My Back Pages," formerly "Rant and Roll Over" and "### Words from Chuck Klosterman." In early March 2006, it was reported that Klosterman left or was fired after the magazine was sold and editor-in-chief Sia Michel was replaced, along with many other staffers. He still regularly contributes as a featured columnist to Esquire and has written for GQ, The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, and The Washington Post.
Klosterman participated in an e-mail exchange on ESPN's Page2 with writer Bill Simmons in August 2004. In September 2005, Simmons interviewed him in his "Curious Guy" segment. Though initially recognized for his rock writing, Klosterman has written extensively about sports and began contributing articles to Page2 on November 8, 2005. The ESPN site featured his week-long blog from Super Bowl XL in February 2006, as well as a weekend-long blog covering his experience at the NCAA basketball Final Four in 2007.

Books

2008-03-19T09:50:00.001-07:00

Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born October 25, 1957 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American voice actress. She is best known for providing the voice of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum on the animated television show The Simpsons. She also provides the voice of Chuckie Finster on All Grown Up! instead of Christine Cavanaugh. A graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School, Cartwright attended Ohio University before transferring to UCLA where she earned a degree in theatre.

Awards
Cartwright actively supports many nonprofit organizations that help children, including Famous Fone Friends, Make-a-Wish Foundation, The Way To Happiness Foundation and World Literacy Crusade. She is co-founder of "Happy House", a non-profit organization dedicated to building better families. She is a member of Women in Film, ASIFA , Women in Animation and The Chouinard Foundation. Recently, Cartwright has become a contributor to ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive Project.
In 2005 , an incorrect news story circulated that Cartwright had entered politics and been elected mayor of Northridge, California. In fact, Cartwright had been honored with the ceremonial title of "Honorary Mayor" by the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. Northridge is a neighborhood of Los Angeles and has no office of mayor.[1]
She is a member of the Church of Scientology,

2008-03-18T10:00:00.001-07:00

The Victoria Philharmonic Choir is an important auditioned symphonic choir choral with 85 voices based in Victoria British Columbia. It complements the nationally known Victoria Symphony and Pacific Opera Victoria.

Projects

2007/2008 Season
6 November: University of Victoria and 11 November 2006 Port Theatre, Nanaimo. Requiem by Karl Jenkins. Canadian Premiere performance
5, 7 & 8 April McPherson Playhouse Victoria. Samson by GF Handel
This performance was set in 1964 Palestine drawing inspiration from theKing David Hotel bombing [2] This setting which turned out to be very contoversial brought the choir to prominence in National [3] and International media [4] , [5] because although no words of the original oratorio were changed, Samson was cast as a suicide bomber rather than using his brute strength to destroy the temple of his enemies. The artistic director wished people to think about what motivates suicide bombing today in comparison to samson's wish to destoy the Phillistine Temple. See also: [6] Most of those that saw the performance were touched by the performance, some of those who did not including Rex Murphy of the Globe and Mail were critical of updating timeless masterpieces in this way.
13,14 May Royal Theatre, Victoria. Choral Fantasy (Beethoven) , Ave verum corpus[7] (Mozart) with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra

2008-03-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

In astronomy and physical cosmology, the metallicity of an object is the proportion of its matter made up of chemical elements other than hydrogen and helium. (This terminology is used differently to the usual meaning of the word 'metal', since on the grandest of scales the universe is overwhelmingly composed of hydrogen and helium, astronomers label all the heavier elements "metal"). as subsequent generations of stars were born they became more metal-enriched, as the gaseous clouds from which they formed received the metal-rich dust manufactured by previous generations. As those stars died, they returned metal-enriched material to the interstellar medium via planetary nebulae and supernovae, enriching the nebulae out of which the newer stars formed ever further. These youngest stars, including the Sun, therefore have the highest metal content, and are known as Population I stars.
Across the Milky Way, metallicity is higher in the galactic centre and decreases as one moves outwards. The gradient in metallicity is attributed to the density of stars in the galactic centre: there are more stars in the centre of the galaxy and so, over time, more metals have been returned to the interstellar medium and incorporated into new stars. By a similar mechanism, larger galaxies tend to have a higher metallicity than their smaller counterparts. In the case of the Magellanic Clouds, two small irregular galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud has a metallicity of about forty per cent of the Milky Way, while the Small Magellanic Cloud has a metallicity of about ten per cent of the Milky Way.

Calculation
Population I or metal-rich stars are those young stars whose metallicity is highest. The Earth's Sun is an example of a metal-rich star. These are common in the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy.
Generally, the youngest stars, the extreme Population I, are found farther in and intermediate Population I stars are farther out, etc. The Sun is considered an intermediate Population I star. Population I stars have regular elliptical orbits of the galactic centre, with a low relative velocity. The high metallicity of Population I stars makes them more likely to possess planetary systems than the other two populations, since planets, particularly terrestrial planets, are formed by the accretion of metals.
Between the intermediate populations I and II comes the intermediary disc population.

Population I stars
Population II or metal-poor stars are those with relatively little metal. The idea of a relatively small amount must be kept in perspective as even metal-rich astronomical objects contain low quantities of any element other than hydrogen or helium; metals constitute only a tiny percentage of the overall chemical makeup of the universe, even 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang. However, metal-poor objects are even more primitive. These objects formed during an earlier time of the universe. They are common in the bulge near to the centre of the galaxy, the intermediate Population II; and also, in the galactic halo, the halo Population II, which is older and thus more metal-poor. Globular clusters also contain high numbers of Population II stars. It is believed that Population II stars created all the other elements in the periodic table, except the more unstable ones.
Scientists have targeted these oldest stars in several different surveys, including the HK objective-prism survey of Timothy C. Beers et al. and the Hamburg-ESO survey of Norbert Christlieb et al., originally started for faint quasars. Thus far, they have uncovered and studied in detail about ten very metal-poor stars (as CS22892-052, CS31082-001, BD +17° 3248) and two of the oldest stars known to date: HE0107-5240 and HE1327- 2326.

2008-03-16T09:27:00.001-07:00

The keffiyeh (Arabic: كوفية, kūfīyä; plural: كوفيات, kūfīyāt) is also known as a shmagh, shemagh or yashmag (شماغ, šmāġ), a ghutra (غترة, ġuträ) or a hatta (حطّة, ḥaṭṭä), and is a traditional headdress of Arab men, made of a square of cloth ("scarf"), usually cotton, folded and wrapped in various styles around the head. It is commonly found in arid climate areas to provide protection from direct sun exposure, as well as for occasional use in protecting the mouth and eyes from blown dust and sand.
Local variations exist. Many Palestinian keffiyeh are a mix of cotton and wool, which lets them dry quickly and keep the wearer's head warm. The keffiyeh is usually folded in half, into a triangle, and the fold is worn across the forehead. Often, the keffiyeh is held in place by a rope circlet, called an agal (Arabic: عقال, ʿiqāl). Some wearers wrap the keffiyeh into a turban, while others wear it loosely draped around the back and shoulders. Sometimes a skullcap is worn underneath the keffiyeh, and, in the past, it has also been wrapped around the rim of the fez. The keffiyeh is almost always of white cotton cloth, but many have a checkered pattern in red or black stitched into them. The plain, white keffiyeh is most popular in the Gulf states, almost excluding any other style in Kuwait and Bahrain. The black-and-white keffiyeh is most popular in the Levant. The red-and-white keffiyeh is worn throughout these regions, but is most strongly associated with Jordan, where is it known as shmagh mhadab. The Jordan keffiyeh has cotton-made decorative strings on the sides. It is believed that the bigger those strings the more value it has and the higher a person's status is. It has been used by Bedouins through out the centuries and was used as a symbol for honor and tribal identification.
Keffiyeh is often spelled kaffiyah, keffiya, kaffiya, kufiya or some other variation. There is little basis for considering any one of these more correct than the others, as the varied spellings simply show different understandings of the pronunciation in Arabic, which differs from region to region, as well as different methods of transliteration from the Arabic alphabet to the Latin alphabet. The name keffiyeh is purported to come from the name of the city Kufa (Arabic: الكوفة, al-kūfä) or from the word for the palm of the hand (الكف, al-kef) (the other meaning of the word is "napkin" (held in hands).
The keffiyeh, especially the all-white version, can also be called a ghutra (غترة, ġuträ), particularly in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain (where the skullcap is confusingly called keffiyeh), but is also known in some areas a shmagh (شماغ, šmāġ) or a hatta (حطّة, ḥaṭṭä).

Palestinian national symbol
The British Colonel T. E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia), probably the best-known Western wearer of the keffiyeh, wore a plain white one with agal during his involvement in the Arab Revolt in World War I. This image of Lawrence was later popularized by the film epic about him, Lawrence of Arabia, in which he was played by Peter O'Toole.
Possibly due to the view of Arabs as part of the allies of World War I, the 1920s "silent-film" era of American cinema saw studios take to Orientalist themes of the "exotic" Middle East, and keffiyehs became a standard part of the theatrical wardrobe. These films and their male leads (as with The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik, starring heart-throb actor Rudolph Valentino) typically had Western actors in the role of an Arab, often wearing the keffiyeh with the agal.
In current times, in the music video for the Nine Inch Nails single "Survivalism," Trent Reznor can be seen wearing a shemagh around his neck, though the use of the shemagh in the video is appropriated in part to represent the Art is Resistance movement in the band's promotional alternate reality game for its album Year Zero.

Westerners in keffiyeh
Increased sympathy and activism by certain Westerners toward Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in the years of the Oslo Peace Accords and Second Intifada have led to the wearing of keffiyehs as a sign of their solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people. For example, the slang "keffiyeh kinderlach" refers to young left-wing Jews, particularly college students, who sport a keffiyeh around the neck as a political/fashion statement. This term may have first appeared in print in an article by Bradley Burston in which he writes of "the suburban-exile kaffiyeh kinderlach of Berkeley, more Palestinian by far than the Palestinians" in their criticism of Israel.
While Western protesters wear differing styles and shades of keffiyeh, the most prominent is the black-and-white keffiyeh. This is typically worn around the neck like a neckerchief, simply knotted in the front with the fabric allowed to drape over the back. Other popular styles include rectangular-shaped scarves with the basic black-and-white pattern in the body, with the ends knitted in the form of the Palestinian flag. Since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, these rectangular scarves have increasingly appeared with a combination of the Palestinian flag and Al-Aqsa Mosque printed on the ends of the fabric.

Symbol of solidarity
For some years, the wearing of the keffiyeh has been almost ubiquitous amongst British soldiers, who now, almost exclusively, refer to them as shemaghs. Their use by some units and formations of the military and police forces of the former British Empire and subsequent Commonwealth dates back to before the Second World War. Because of its utility it was adopted by the Palestine Police Force, the Trans Jordan Frontier Force, the Sudan Defence Force, the Arab Legion, the Libyan Arab Force, the Long Range Desert Group, the Special Air Service and Popski's Private Army, amongst others, who wore them while operating in North Africa. After the war, their use by the Army continued with the keffiyeh being worn in both desert and temperate environments in theatres such as Dhofar. Since the beginning of the War on Terror, these keffiyeh, usually cotton and in military olive drab or khaki with black stitching, have been adopted by US troops as well. Their practicality in an arid environment, as in Iraq, explains their constant popularity with soldiers. Soldiers often wear the keffiyeh folded in half into a triangle and wrapped around the face, with the halfway point being placed over the mouth and nose, sometimes coupled with goggles, to keep sand out of the face.

2008-03-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh shake hands at the Presidential residence in Djibouti
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (Somali: Ismaaciil Cumar Geelle. Arabic: اسماعيل عُمر جليه) (born November 27, 1947 in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia) is the second president of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999.

Elected president in April, 1999

(French) Bernard Borrel
(English) Bernard Borrel
Heads of State of Djibouti
Politics of Djibouti
Radio France Internationale (RFI)'s censored interview about judge Bernard Borrel's 1995 suspicious death

2008-03-14T10:31:00.001-07:00

The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania is the oldest continuously-existing literary society in the United States and the oldest student group at Penn. Founded in 1813, its goal is "to promote the learning of its members and to increase the academic prestige of the University." Philomathean is derived from the Greek philomath, which means "a lover of learning." The motto of the Philomathean Society is sic itur ad astra (Latin for "thus we proceed to the stars").
The society is governed by a Cabinet of eight officers: the Moderator, First Censor, Second Censor, Scriba, Recorder, Treasurer, Librarian and Archivist. The first four are attired in full academic gown at all society meetings, which are held eight times per semester on the top floor of College Hall. Philo also has regular afternoon teas with professors and sponsors other academic events such as lecture series.
Traditionally, the Society emphasized the arts of rhetoric, oratory, and writing. Its three-step membership process retains vestiges of this emphasis, but its modern members' activities extend to a broad range of academic and artistic pursuits.
"Philo," as members affectionately refer to the Society, is credited with helping to found entire academic departments, including American History, Comparative Literature, and History of Science, and many campus groups and publications, including the Daily Pennsylvanian and the Mask and Wig Club.
The Society has published several books, including, most recently, The Philomathean Society Anthology of Poetry in Honor of Daniel Hoffman — Hoffman, a former professor at the university and a distinguished poet in his own right, had brought many renowned poets and authors, including John Updike, Seamus Heaney, Joyce Carol Oates, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko, to read in the Philomathean Halls.
In 1858, the Society published the first complete English translation of the Rosetta Stone. The work was performed solely by three undergraduate members, Charles R Hale, S Huntington Jones, and Henry Morton. The translation quickly sold out two editions, and was internationally hailed as a monumental work of scholarship. In 1988, the British Museum bestowed the honor of including the Philomathean Rosetta Stone Report in its select bibliography of the most important works ever published on the Rosetta Stone. The Philomathean Society maintains a full-scale cast of the stone in its meeting room.
Every year, Philo brings a public annual oration to the University, given by a prominent figure in the arts and sciences. Recent orations have been given by Arthur Miller (2004) [1] and Salman Rushdie (2003) [2].
Prominent Philomatheans include founder of the Wharton School for Business Joseph Wharton, statesman Robert J. Walker, US Senator and CSA diplomat James M. Mason, US Attorney General Henry Dilworth Gilpin, seminal science fiction author Alfred Bester, founder of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Eli K. Price, and philosopher Hilary Putnam.

2008-03-13T10:04:00.001-07:00

Pendleton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population is 14,390. Its county seat is Falmouth.

Geography

Kenton County (northwest)
Campbell County (north)
Clermont County, Ohio (northeast, across the Ohio River)
Bracken County (east)
Harrison County (south)
Grant County (west) Adjacent counties
The County was named after Edmund Pendleton (1721-1803), a longtime member of the Virginia House of Burgesses (1752-74), the Continental Congress and chief justice of Virginia. [1]
During the American Civil War, the county sent men to both armies. A Union Army recruiting camp was established in Falmouth in September 1861. Two Confederate recruiters were captured and executed by the Union Army in the Peach Grove area of northern Pendleton County. In July 1862 a number of county citizens were rounded up by Union troops during a crackdown against suspected Confederate sympathizers. In June 1863 a number of women were arrested at Demossville because they were believed to be potential spies dangerous to the Federal government. Falmouth was the site of a small skirmish on September 18, 1862, between twenty-eight Confederates and eleven Home Guardsmen.
The city of Butler was established around 1852 when the Kentucky Central Railroad was built through the area. The city was named for William O. Butler, U.S. congressman from the area (1839-43), when it was incorporated on February 1, 1868.

Demographics
Pendleton County High School, just north of Falmouth, is the public high school. It currently is home to fewer than 1000 students. The mascot for PCHS is the wildcat, and the school colors are red, black and white, which are featured on all athletic uniforms. Ron Livingood is the school's principal. The high school is currently undergoing construction, with the additions including an auditorium to seat 450 people, several classrooms, a second gym, and a media center.
Other schools in the county are Sharp Middle School, located between Falmouth and Butler, Northern Elementary in Butler, and Southern Elementary in Falmouth.

Education
Pendleton County is home to Kincaid Regional Theatre. Their performances take place at the Falmouth School Center (Old Middle School) in Falmouth, KY. This season's performance was "The Music Man".

Cities and towns
Fryer House, an 1811 stone house, home of the Pendleton County Historical Society

2008-03-12T09:11:00.001-07:00

History Byzantine Empire Crusades Ecumenical council Baptism of Kiev Great Schism By region Eastern Orthodox history Ukraine Christian history Asia Eastern Christian history Traditions Oriental Orthodoxy Coptic Orthodox Church Armenian Apostolic Church Syriac Christianity Assyrian Church of the East Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches Liturgy and Worship Sign of the cross Divine Liturgy Iconography Asceticism Omophorion Theology Hesychasm - Icon Apophaticism - Filioque clause Miaphysitism - Monophysitism Nestorianism - Theosis - Theoria Phronema - Philokalia Praxis - Theotokos Hypostasis - Ousia Essence-Energies distinction Hesychasm (Greek ἡσυχασμός hesychasmos, from ἡσυχία hesychia, "stillness, rest, quiet, silence") is an eremitic tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and some other Eastern Churches of the Byzantine Rite, practised (Gk: ἡσυχάζω hesychazo: "to keep stillness") by the Hesychast (Gr. Ἡσυχαστής hesychastes).
Based on Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", Hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order to achieve an experiential knowledge of God.

Gregory Palamas: defender of Hesychasm

The Philokalia. (Four volumes published, one awaited.)
The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St John of Sinai.
The Ascetical Homilies of St Isaac the Syrian.
Works of St Symeon the New Theologian.
Coenobitical Institutions and Conferences of St John Cassian.
The Way of the Pilgrim.
St Silouan the Athonite. (Contains an introduction by Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), immediate disciple of St Silouan, together with the meditations of St Silouan (1866 – 1938).)
Works of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) (1896 – 1993).
Elder Joseph the Hesychast. (Life of a very influential Hesychast on Mt Athos who died in 1959.)
Monastic Wisdom. The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
Wounded by Love. The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios. (Reminiscences and reflections of Elder Porphyrios (1906 – 1991) of Mt Athos.)
Works by Elder Paisios (1924 – 1994) of Mount Athos. (A very well-known Athonite Elder and Hesychast.)
Elder Ephraim of Katounakia. Translated by Tessy Vassiliadou-Christodoulou. (Life and teachings of Elder Ephraim (1912–1998) of Katounakia, Mt Athos, a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.)
Hieromonachos Charalampos Dionusiates, O didaskalos tes noeras proseuches (Hieromonk Charalambos of the Monastery of Dionysiou, The Teacher of Mental Prayer). (Life and teachings of Elder Charalambos (1910–2001), sometime Abbot of the Monastery of Dionysiou, Mt Athos, and a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. In Greek, available in English.)
Works of Archimandrite Aimilianos (1934 – ) of the Monastery of Simonos Petra, Mt Athos, especially Volumes I and II.
Counsels from the Holy Mountain. Selected from the Lessons and Homilies of Elder Ephraim. (Archimandrite Ephraim of the Monastery of St Anthony, Florence, Arizona. Formerly Abbot of the Monastery of Philotheou on Mt Athos, and a disciple of Elder Joseph the Hesychast. Not to be confused with Elder Ephraim of Katounakia.)
Paths to the Heart: Sufism and the Christian East - edited by James Cutsinger

2008-03-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

Muriel Clara Bradbrook (1909–June 11, 1993) was a British literary scholar and authority on Shakespeare. She was Professor of English at the University of Cambridge, and Mistress) and the decision was taken to admit men. She retired in 1976 and became a Life Fellow of Girton College.

Notes

2008-03-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, (25 July 1421 – 29 March 1461) was the son of Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Eleanor Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort.
His maternal uncles included Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury. His maternal aunts included Cecily Neville. Percy was first cousin to (among others) Edward IV of England, Margaret of Burgundy, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England. He was thus closely related to the House of York.
Percy however followed his father in swearing allegiance to the House of Lancaster. On December 30, 1460, Percy is known to have fought on the Lancastrian side at the Battle of Wakefield. He commanded the Lancastrian van at the Battle of Towton, where he was killed.

Marriage and children
He was married to Eleanor Poynings (1422-1480) , daughter of Richard Poynings, Lord Poynings. They had the following children:

Ralph Percy (b. 1440), died young.
Lady Anne Percy (1444-1522), married 1. Sir Thomas Hungerford; 2. Sir Laurence Rainsford; 3. Sir Thomas Vaughn.
Lady Margaret Percy (b. 1447), married Sir William "the younger" Gascoigne.
Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (1449-1489), married Lady Maud Herbert.
Lady Eleanor Percy (b. 1455), married Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr.
Lady Elizabeth Percy (1460-1512), married Henry Scrope, 6th Baron Scrope of Bolton.
Lady Mary Percy, died young.

2008-03-09T09:43:00.001-07:00

Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism which appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on local culture, wilderness adventures, volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Sustainable development needs to have social, economic and environmental needs all together to occur.
Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is in the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for the local communities.

Criteria
Ecotourism, responsible tourism, and sustainable development have become prevalent concepts since the late 1980s, and ecotourism has experienced arguably the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry. The popularity represents a change in tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness, and a desire to explore natural environments.
With its great potential for environmental protection, the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism" in 2002.
==Criticisms

History
To approach an understanding of the problem, a clear definition must delineate what is, and is not, ecotourism. Ideally, ecotourism satisfies several general criteria, including the conservation of biological diversity and cultural, diversity through ecosystem protection, promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity, share of socio-economic benefits with local communities through informed consent and participation, increase in environmental and cultural knowledge, affordability and reduced waste, and minimization of its own environmental impact. The development and success of such large scale, energy intensive, and ecologically unsustainable schemes are a testament to the tremendous profits associated with being labeled as ecotourism.

Definitional problems and greenwashing
Ecotourism is the trend towards the commercialization of tourism throughout the nation. This trend has become one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry growing annual 10-15% worldwide (Kamuaro, 2007). Ecotourism was first introduced in Africa in the 1950's with the legalization of hunting (Kamuaro, 2007). This need for recreational hunting zones lead to the creation of protected areas, national parks, and game reserves. Today these areas have become important revenue-earning venues with the establishment of lodges and tourist campsites. One definition of ecotourism is "the practice of low-impact, educational, ecologically and culturally sensitive travel that benefits local communities and host countries" (Honey, 1999). Many of the ecotourism projects are not meeting these standards. Even if some of the guidelines are being executed, the local communities are still facing other negative impacts. South Africa is one of the countries that are reaping significant economic benefits from ecotourism, but negative effects - including physical displacement of persons, gross violation of fundamental rights, and environmental hazards - far out weigh the medium-term economic benefits (Kamuaro, 2007). A tremendous amount of money is being spent and human resources continue to be used for ecotourism despite the lack of success stories, and even more money is put into public relation campaigns to dilute the effects of the criticism. Ecotourism channels resources away from other projects that could contribute more sustainable and realistic solutions to pressing social and environmental problems. "The money tourism can generate often ties parks and managements to eco-tourism" (Walpole et al. 2001). But there is a tension in this relationship because eco-tourism often causes conflict and changes in land-use rights, fails to deliver promises of community-level benefits, damages environments, and has plenty of other social impacts. Indeed many argue repeatedly that eco-tourism is neither ecologically nor socially beneficial, yet it persists as a strategy for conservation and development (West, 2006). While several studies are being done on ways to improve the ecotourism structure, these examples provide reason that it should just stop all together.
The ecotourism system exercises tremendous financial and political influence. The evidence above shows that at the very least a strong case exists for restraining such activities. Funding could be used for field studies aimed at finding alternative solutions to tourism and the diverse problems Africa faces in result of urbanization, industrialization, and over exploitation of agriculture (Kamuaro, 2007). At the local level ecotourism has become a source of conflict over control of land, resources, and tourism profits. There are many problems with the idea of ecotourism. Environmental, the effects on the local people, and conflicts over profit distribution are only a few of the negative effects of ecotourism. In a perfect world more efforts would be made towards educating tourists of the environmental and social effects of their travels. Very few regulations or laws stand in place as boundaries for the investors in ecotourism. These should be implemented to prohibit the promotion of unsustainable ecotourism projects and materials which project false images of destinations, demeaning local and indigenous cultures.

The Negative Psycho-social Impact of Ecotourism
Ecotourism operations typically fail to live up to conservation ideals. It is often overlooked that ecotourism is a highly consumer-centered activity, and that environmental conservation is only a means to further economic growth.
Environmental Hazards
We already understand that biodiversity and environmentally intact lands form the basis of ecological stability. Unfortunately, industrialization, urbanization, and unsustainable agriculture practices have all had serious effects on the environment. Ecotourism is now also playing a role in this depletion. While the term ecotourism may sound relatively benign, one of its most serious impacts is its consumption of virgin territories (Kamuaro, 2007). These invasions often include deforestation, disruption of ecological life systems and various forms of pollution, all of which contribute to environmental degradation. The number of motor vehicles crossing the park increases as tour drivers search for rare species. The number of roads has disrupted the grass cover which has serious effects on plant and animal species. These areas also have a higher rate of disturbances and invasive species because of all the traffic moving off the beaten path into new undiscovered areas (Kamuaro, 2007). Ecotourism also has an affect on species through the value placed on them. "Certain species have gone from being little known or valued by local people to being highly valued commodities. The commodification of plants may erase their social value and lead to overproduction within protected areas. Local people and their images can also be turned into commodities" (West, 2006). Kamuaro brings up a relatively obvious contradiction, any commercial venture into unspoiled, pristine land with or without the "eco" prefix as a contradiction in terms. To generate revenue you have to have a high number of traffic, tourists, which inevitably means a higher pressure on the environment.

Direct environmental impacts
Most forms of ecotourism are owned by foreign investors and corporations that provide few benefits to local communities. An overwhelming majority of profits are put into the pockets of investors instead of reinvestment into the local economy or environmental protection. The limited numbers of local people who are employed in the economy enter at its lowest level, and are unable to live in tourist areas because of meager wages and a two market system. The presence of affluent ecotourists encourage the development of destructive markets in wildlife souvenirs, such as the sale of coral trinkets on tropical islands and animal products in Asia, contributing to illegal harvesting and poaching from the environment. In Surinam, sea turtle reserves use a large portion of their budget to guard against these activities.
Displacement of People
One of the most powerful examples of communities being moved in order to create a park is the story of the Masai. About 70% of national parks and game reserves in East Africa are on Masai land (Kamuaro, 2007). The first undesirable impact of tourism was that of the extent of land lost from the Masai culture. Local and national governments took advantage of the Masai's ignorance on the situation and robbed them of huge chunks of grazing land, putting to risk their only socioeconomic livelihood. In Kenya the Masai also have not gained any economic benefits. Despite lose of their land, employment favors better educated workers. Further more the investors in this area are not local and have not put profits back into local economy. In some cases game reserves can be created without informing or consulting local people, who come to find out about the situation when an eviction notice is delivered (Kamuaro, 2007). Another source of resentment is the manipulation of the local people by their government. "Eco-tourism works to create simplistic images of local people and their uses and understandings of their surroundings. Through the lens of these simplified images, officials direct policies and projects towards the local people and the local people are blamed if the projects fail" (West, 2006). Clearly tourism as a trade is not empowering the local people who make it rich and satisfying. Instead ecotourism exploits and depletes, particularly in African Masai tribes. It has to be reoriented to serve useful to local communities and to become sustainable (Kamuaro, 2007).
Threats to Indigenous Cultures
Ecotourism often claims that it preserves and "enhances" local cultures. However, evidence shows that with the establishment of protected areas local people have illegally lost their homes, and most often with no compensation (Kamuaro, 2007). What part of pushing people onto marginal lands with harsh climates, poor soils, lack of water, and infested with livestock and disease is "enhancing"? The establishment of parks does nothing but create harsh survival realities and deprives the people of their traditional use of land and natural resources. Ethnic groups are increasingly being seen as a "backdrop" to the scenery and wildlife. The local people struggle for cultural survival and freedom of cultural expression while being "observed" by tourists. Local indigenous people also have strong resentment towards the change, "Tourism has been allowed to develop with virtually no controls. Too many lodges have been built, too much firewood is being used and no limits are being placed on tourism vehicles. They regularly drive off-track and harass the wildlife. Their vehicle tracks crisscross the entire Masai Mara. Inevitably the bush is becoming eroded and degraded" (Kamuaro, 2007).

Local peoples
While governments are typically entrusted with the administration and enforcement of environmental protection, they often lack the commitment or capability to manage ecotourism sites effectively. The regulations for environmental protection may be vaguely defined, costly to implement, hard to enforce, and uncertain in effectiveness. offers another model for economic unsustainability from environmental protection, in ecotourism sites utilized by many companies. Although there is a communal incentive to protect the environment, maximizing the benefits in the long run, a company will conclude that it is in their best interest to utilize the ecotourism site beyond its sustainable level. By increasing the number of ecotourists, for instance, a company gains all the economic benefit while paying only a part of the environmental cost. In the same way, a company recognizes that there is no incentive to actively protect the environment; they bear all the costs, while the benefits are shared by all other companies. The result, again, is mismanagement.
Taken together, the mobility of foreign investment and lack of economic incentive for environmental protection means that ecotourism companies are disposed to establishing themselves in new sites once their existing one is sufficiently degraded.

Mismanagement of ecotourism sites

Guidelines and education for ecotourists
The underdevelopment theory of tourism describes a new form of imperialism by multinational corporations that control ecotourism resources. These corporations finance and profit from the development of large scale ecotourism that causes excessive environmental degradation, loss of traditional culture and way of life, and exploitation of local labor. In Zimbabwe and Nepal's Annapurna region, where underdevelopment is taking place, more than 90 percent of ecotourism revenues are expatriated to the parent countries, and less than 5 percent go into local communities. However, even this form of tourism may require foreign investment for promotion or start up. When such investments are required, it is cruical for communities for find a company or non-governmental organization that reflects the philosophy of ecotourism; sensitive to their concerns and willing to cooperate at the expense of profit.The basic assumption of the multiplier effect is that the economy starts off with unused resources, for example, that many workers are cyclically unemployed and much of industrial capacity is sitting idle or incompletely utilized. By increasing demand in the economy it is then possible to boost production. If the economy was already at full employment, with only structural, frictional, or other supply-side types of unemployment, any attempt to boost demand would only lead to inflation. For various laissez-faire schools of economics which embrace Say's Law and deny the possibility of Keynesian inefficiency and under-employment of resources, therefore, the multiplier concept is irrelevant or wrong-headed.
As an example, consider the government increasing its expenditure on roads by $1 million, without a corresponding increase in taxation. This sum would go to the road builders, who would hire more workers and distribute the money as wages and profits. The households receiving these incomes will save part of the money and spend the rest on consumer goods. These expenditures in turn will generate more jobs, wages, and profits, and so on with the income and spending circulating around the economy.
The multiplier effect arises because of the induced increases in consumer spending which occur due to the increased incomes -- and because of the feedback into increasing business revenues, jobs, and income again. This process does not lead to an economic explosion not only because of the supply-side barriers at potential output (full employment) but because at each "round", the increase in consumer spending is less than the increase in consumer incomes. That is, the marginal propensity to consume (mpc) is less than one, so that each round some extra income goes into saving, leaking out of the cumulative process. Each increase in spending is thus smaller than that of the previous round, preventing an explosion.Ecotourism has to be implemented with care.

2008-03-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

The Lunar outpost will be an inhabited facility on the surface of the Moon which NASA currently plans to construct over the five years between 2019 and 2024. On December 4, 2006, NASA announced the conclusion of its Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture Study. What resulted was a basic plan for a lunar outpost near one of the poles of the Moon, which would permanently house astronauts in six-month shifts, similar to the crew rotation aboard the International Space Station.

Reference architecture
NASA proposes six "Lunar exploration themes" to answer the question "Why should we return to the Moon?"

Human Civilization: Extend human presence to the Moon to enable eventual settlement
Scientific Knowledge: Pursue scientific activities that address fundamental questions about the history of Earth, the solar system and the universe - and about our place in them
Exploration Preparation: Test technologies, systems, flight operations and exploration techniques to reduce the risks and increase the productivity of future missions to Mars and beyond
Global Partnerships: Provide a challenging, shared and peaceful activity that unites nations in pursuit of common objectives
Economic Expansion: Expand Earth's economic sphere, and conduct lunar activities with benefits to life on the home planet
Public Engagement: Use a lively space exploration program to engage the public, encourage students and help develop the high-technology workforce that will be required to address the challenges of tomorrow.

2008-03-07T07:47:00.001-08:00

Definitions
Strictly, a relational database is a collection of relations (frequently called tables). Other items are frequently considered part of the database, as they help to organize and structure the data, in addition to forcing the database to conform to a set of requirements.

Relations or tables

Main article: Constraint Constraints

Main article: data domain Data domain

Main article: Superkey Keys

Main article: Foreign key Foreign keys

Main article: Transition constraint Transition constraints
Other constraints of various different kinds can be created to enforce various kinds of business rules. They can be as simple as "the number of cars an individual owns must be non-negative" or complex patterns like "If the work that an employee performs is 'Hazardous Materials Transport' then that employee's age must be at least 18 years, and the employee's certifications must include 'Hazmat endorsement', and company insurance for that employee must include life insurance."

Other constraints

Main articles: Relvar and View (database) Relvars

Main article: Stored procedure Stored procedures

Main article: Index (database) Relational operations

Main article: Database normalization

2008-03-06T07:41:00.001-08:00

The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland (help·info), IPA: [ˈne:dərlɑnt]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.
The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is technically incorrect, as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces (for more on this and other naming issues see Netherlands (terminology)).
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its windmills, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, dikes, tulips, bicycles, and social tolerance. A liberal democracy, the country is also well-known for its liberal policies toward drugs, prostitution, gay rights, abortion, and euthanasia.
The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations it is a member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. The country is host to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol) at The Hague. It is also one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union, along with Belgium and Luxembourg.

Naming conventions

Main article: Geography of the Netherlands Geography
About half of its surface area is less than 1 metre (3.3 ft) above sea level, and much of it is actually below sea level (see map showing these areas). An extensive range of dikes and dunes protects these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. The highest point, the Vaalserberg, in the south-eastern most point of the country, is 322.7 metres (1,053 ft) above sea level. The Vaalserberg is a foothill of the Ardennes mountains. A substantial part of the Netherlands, for example, all of the province of Flevoland (largely consists of the largest man-made island in the world) and large parts of Holland, have been reclaimed from the sea. These areas are known as polders. This not only explains why The Netherlands is called "A land won from the sea" but has also led to the famous Dutch saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands".

Below sea level
In years past, the Dutch coastline has changed considerably as a result of human intervention and natural disasters. Most notable in terms of land loss are the 1134 storm, which created the archipelago of Zeeland in the south west, and the 1287 storm, which killed 50,000 people and created the Zuiderzee (now dammed in and renamed the IJsselmeer — see below) in the northwest, giving Amsterdam direct access to the sea. The St. Elizabeth flood of 1421 and the mismanagement in its aftermath destroyed a newly reclaimed polder, replacing it with the 72 square kilometres (28 sq mi) Biesbosch tidal floodplains in the south-centre. The most recent parts of Zeeland were flooded during the North Sea Flood of 1953 and 1,836 people were killed, after which the Delta Plan was executed.
The disasters were partially man-made; the people drained relatively high lying swampland for use as farmland. This drainage caused the fertile peat to compress and the ground level to drop, locking the land users in a vicious circle whereby they would lower the water level to compensate for the drop in ground level, causing the underlying peat to compress even more. The vicious circle is unsolvable and remains to this day. Up until the 19th century peat was dug up, dried, and used for fuel, further adding to the problem.
To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. In the first millennium, villages and farmhouses were built on man-made hills called terps. Later, these terps were connected by dikes. In the 12th century, local government agencies called "waterschappen" (English "water bodies") or "hoogheemraadschappen" ("high home councils") started to appear, whose job it was to maintain the water level and to protect a region from floods. (The water bodies are still around today performing the same function.) As the ground level dropped, the dikes by necessity grew and merged into an integrated system. In the 13th century, windmills came into use to pump water out of the areas by now below sea level. The windmills were later used to drain lakes, creating the famous polders. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuiderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 square kilometres (637 sq mi) were reclaimed from the sea.

Floods
After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in the Zeeland to once per 10,000 years. (For the rest of the country, the protection-level is once per 4,000 years.) This was achieved by raising 3,000 kilometres (1,864 mi) of outer sea-dikes and 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) of inner, canal, and river dikes to "delta" height, and by closing off the sea estuaries of the Zeeland province. New risk assessments occasionally show problems requiring additional Delta project dike reinforcements. The Delta project is one of the largest construction efforts in human history and is considered by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Because of the high cost of maintaining the polders some have argued that maybe some of the deepest polders should be given up. Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the countries that may suffer most from climatic change. Not only is the rising sea a problem, but also erratic weather patterns may cause the rivers to overflow.

Delta Works
The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). These rivers not only function as a natural barrier, but also as a cultural divide, as is evident in the different dialects spoken north and south of these "Large Rivers" (de Grote Rivieren) and the (former) religious dominance of Catholics in the south and Calvinists in the north. The south-western part of the Netherlands is actually one river delta of these rivers and two arms of the Scheldt (Westerschelde & Oosterschelde).
The predominant wind direction in the Netherlands is south-west, which causes a moderate maritime climate, with cool summers and mild winters.

Rivers
See also: List of national parks of the Netherlands

Nature

Main article: History of the Netherlands History
After gaining formal independence from the Spanish Empire under King Philip IV of Spain, the Dutch grew to become one of the major seafaring and economic powers of the 17th century during the period of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. In the so-called Dutch Golden Age, colonies and trading posts were established all over the globe. (See Dutch colonial empire)
Many economic historians regard the Netherlands as the first thoroughly capitalist country in the world. In early modern Europe it featured the wealthiest trading city (Amsterdam) and the first full-time stock exchange. The inventiveness of the traders led to insurance and retirement funds as well as such less benign phenomena as the boom-bust cycle, the world's first asset-inflation bubble, the tulip mania of 1636–1637, and according to Murray Sayle, the world's first bear raider - Isaac le Maire, who forced prices down by dumping stock and then buying it back at a discount.

Republic
See also: Kingdom of the Netherlands and Monarchy of the Netherlands
After briefly being incorporated in the First French Empire under Napoleon, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815, consisting of the present day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In addition, the king of the Netherlands became hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Belgium rebelled and gained independence in 1830, while the personal union between Luxembourg and the Netherlands was severed in 1890 as a result of ascendancy laws which prevented Queen Wilhelmina from becoming Grand Duchess.
The Netherlands possessed several colonies, most notably the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) and Suriname (the latter was traded with the British for New Amsterdam, now known as New York). These 'colonies' were first administered by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company, both collective private enterprises. Three centuries later these companies got into financial trouble and the territories in which they operated were taken over by the Dutch government (in 1815 and 1791 respectively). Only then did they become official colonies.
During the 19th century, the Netherlands was slow to industrialise compared to neighbouring countries, mainly due to its unique infrastructure of waterways and reliance on wind power.

Kingdom
See also: Battle of the Netherlands and History of the Netherlands (1939-1945)
The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I and intended to do so in World War II. However, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940 in the Western European campaign of the Second World War. The country was quickly overrun and the army main force surrendered on May 14 after the bombing of Rotterdam, although a Dutch and French allied force held the province of Zeeland for a short time after the Dutch surrender. The Kingdom as such continued the war from the colonial empire; the government in exile resided in London.
During the occupation over 100,000 Dutch Jews were rounded up to be transported to Nazi concentration camps in Germany, Poland and Czecho-Slovakia where they were murdered in the Holocaust along with significant numbers of Dutch Roma (Gypsies). Some Dutch e.g. members of Henneicke Column collaborated with Nazi occupiers in hunting down and arresting hiding Jews. Between 8,000 and 9,000 Dutch Jews were rounded up in this manner and consequently deported to German extermination camps and murdered. Several thousand Dutch men also joined the Waffen-SS to form the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands fighting on the Eastern Front. Dutch civilians were often treated brutally. Dutch workers were conscripted for labour in German factories, civilians were killed in reprisal for attacks on German soldiers, and the countryside was plundered for food for German soldiers in the Netherlands and for shipment to Germany.
The Allied 21st Army Group was given the task to conduct military operations to liberate The Netherlands after the breakout from Normandy. British, Canadian, Polish and American soldiers fought on Dutch soil beginning in September 1944. A first thrust, Operation Market Garden north from Belgium to Arnhem, failed. Canadian units fighting to liberate the Scheldt estuary liberated Zealand, and after March 1945 the east of the country but not Holland proper where German forces held out until the surrender of May 6, 1945, in Wageningen at Hotel De Wereld. The disrupted transportation system, caused by German destruction of dikes to slow allied advances, and German confiscation of much food and livestock made the "Hunger Winter" of 1944-1945 one in which malnutrition and starvation were rife among the Dutch population. The country suffered a similar "severe winter" in 1945-46 because of abnormal cold and the slow reconstruction.
After the war, the Dutch economy prospered by leaving behind an era of neutrality and gaining closer ties with neighbouring states. The Netherlands became a member of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) cooperation. Furthermore, the Netherlands was among the twelve founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and among the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, which would later evolve into the European Union.

World War I & II

Main articles: Provinces of the Netherlands and Municipalities in the Netherlands Provinces and municipalities

Main article: Politics of the Netherlands Politics

Main articles: Economy of the Netherlands and List of Dutch companies Agriculture

Main article: Demographics of the Netherlands Demographics

Main article: Religion in the Netherlands Religion
The official language is Dutch, which is spoken by a large majority of the inhabitants, the exception being some groups of immigrants.
Another official language is Frisian, which is spoken in the northern province of Fryslân. Frisian is co-official only in the province of Fryslân, although with a few restrictions. Several dialects of Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch in Dutch) are spoken in much of the north and east and are recognised by the Netherlands as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as well as the Franconian Limburgish language in the South.
There is a tradition of learning foreign languages in the Netherlands: about 85% of the total population have basic knowledge of English, 55–60% of German and 25% of French. Courses in Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Ancient Greek, and Latin are offered in schools as well.

Culture

Main article: Military of the Netherlands

2008-03-05T09:08:00.001-08:00

Drosophila is a genus of small flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "fruit flies" or more appropriately vinegar flies, wine flies, pomace flies, grape flies, and picked fruit-flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. A second, related fly family, the Tephritidae, are also called fruit flies; these feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly. One species of Drosophila in particular, D. melanogaster, has been heavily used in research in genetics and is a common model organism in developmental biology. Indeed, the terms "fruit fly" and "Drosophila" are often used synonymously with D. melanogaster in modern biological literature. The entire genus, however, contains about 1,500 species and is very diverse in appearance, behavior, and breeding habitat. Scientists who do research on Drosophila are often called Drosophilists.

Name
Drosophila are small flies, typically pale yellow to reddish brown to black, with red eyes. Many species, including the noted Hawaiian picture-wings, have distinct black patterns on the wings. The plumose (feathery) arista, bristling of the head and thorax, and wing venation are characters used to diagnose the family. Most are small, about 2–4 millimetres long, but some, especially many of the Hawaiian species, are larger than a house fly.

Morphology

Life cycle and ecology
Drosophila are found all around the world, with more species in the tropical regions. They can be found in deserts, tropical rainforest, cities, swamps, and alpine zones. Some northern species hibernate. Most species breed in various kinds of decaying plant and fungal material, including fruit, bark, slime fluxes, flowers, and mushrooms. A few species have switched to being parasites or predators. Many species can be attracted to baits of fermented bananas or mushrooms, but others are not attracted to any kind of baits. Males may congregate at patches of suitable breeding substrate to compete for the females, or form leks, conducting courtship in an area separate from breeding sites.
Several Drosophila species, including D. melanogaster, D. immigrans, and D. simulans, are closely associated with humans, and are often referred to as domestic species. These and other species (D. subobscura, Zaprionus indianus) have been accidentally introduced around the world by human activities such as fruit transports.

Habitat
Males of this genus are known to have the longest sperm cells of any organism on Earth, including one species, Drosophila bifurca, that have sperm that are 5.8 centimetres long. D. melanogaster sperm cells are a more modest 1.8 millimetres long, although this is still about 300 times as long as a human sperm.
Drosophila vary widely in their reproductive capacity. Those such as D. melanogaster that breed in large, relatively rare resources have ovaries that mature 10–20 eggs at a time, so that they can be laid together on one site. Others that breed in more-abundant but less nutritious substrates, such as leaves, may only lay one egg per day. The eggs have one or more respiratory filaments near the anterior end; the tips of these extend above the surface and allow oxygen to reach the embryo. Larvae feed not on the vegetable matter itself but on the yeasts and microorganisms present on the decaying breeding substrate. Development time varies widely between species (between 7 and more than 60 days) and depends on the environmental factors such as temperature, breeding substrate, and crowding.

Laboratory–cultured animals
Drosophila are prey for many generalist predators such as robber flies. In Hawaii, the introduction of yellowjackets from the mainland United States has led to the decline of many of the large species. The larvae are preyed on by other fly larvae, staphylinid beetles, and ants.

Systematics
Drosophila are extensively used as a model organism in genetics (including population genetics), cell-biology, biochemistry, and especially developmental biology. Therefore, extensive efforts are made to sequence drosphilid genomes. The genomes of the following species have been fully or partially sequenced so far:
The data will be used for many purposes, including evolutionary genome comparisons. D. simulans and D. sechellia are sister species, and provide viable offspring when crossed, while D. melanogaster and D. simulans produce infertile hybrid offspring. The Drosophila genome is often compared with the genomes of more distantly related species such as the honeybee Apis mellifera or the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.
Curated data are available at FlyBase.

Drosophila (Sophophora) melanogaster [1]
Drosophila (Sophophora) simulans [2]
Drosophila (Sophophora) sechellia [3]
Drosophila (Sophophora) yakuba [4]
Drosophila (Sophophora) erecta [5]
Drosophila (Sophophora) ananassae [6]
Drosophila (Sophophora) pseudoobscura [7]
Drosophila (Sophophora) persimilis [8]
Drosophila (Sophophora) willistoni [9]
Drosophila (Drosophila) mojavensis [10]
Drosophila (Drosophila) virilis [11]
Drosophila (Drosophila) grimshawi [12]

2008-03-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

For the video game, see Praetorians (game)
This article is part of the series on:
Military of ancient Rome (Portal) 800 BC–AD 476
The Praetorian Guard (in Latin: praetoriani) consisted of a special force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. Before being used by the emperors, a Roman general's bodyguard, also styled the praetorian guard, was employed, dating at least to the Scipio family — around 275 BC. Constantine I dissolved it in the 4th century.

Early Guard
Following the death of Sejanus, who was sacrificed for the Donativum (imperial gift) promised by Tiberius, the Guards began to play an increasingly ambitious and bloody game in the Empire. With the right amount of money, or at will, they assassinated emperors, bullied their own prefects, or turned on the people of Rome. In 41 Caligula was killed by conspirators from the senatorial class and from the Guard. The Praetorians placed Claudius on the throne, daring the Senate to oppose their decision.
During 69, the Year of the Four Emperors, after the emperor Galba failed to provide a donative for the Praetorians, they transferred their allegiance to Otho and assassinated the emperor. Otho acquiesced to the Praetorians' demands and granted them the right to appoint their own prefects, ensuring their loyalty. After defeating Otho, Vitellius disbanded the guard and established a new one sixteen cohorts strong. Vespasian relied in the war against Vitellius upon the disgruntled cohorts the emperor had dismissed, and reduced the number of cohorts back to nine upon becoming emperor himself. As a further safeguard, he appointed his son, Titus as Praetorian Prefect.
While the Guard had the power to kill off emperors, it had no role in government administration, unlike the personnel of the palace, the Senate, and the bureaucracy. Often after an outrageous act of violence, revenge by the new ruler was forthcoming. In 193, Didius Julianus purchased the Empire from the Guard for a vast sum, when the Guard auctioned it off after killing Pertinax. Later that year Septimius Severus marched into Rome, disbanded the Praetorians and started a new formation from his own Pannonian Legions. Unruly mobs in Rome fought often with the Praetorians in Maximinus Thrax's reign in vicious street battles.
In 271, Aurelian sailed east to destroy the power of Palmyra, Syria, with a force of legionary detachments, Praetorian cohorts, and other cavalry units. The Palmyrans were easily defeated. This led to the orthodox view that Diocletian and his colleagues evolved the sacer comitatus (the field escort of the emperors), which included field units that utilized a selection process and command structure modeled after the old Praetorian cohorts, but was not of uniform composition and was much larger than a Praetorian cohort.

Political role
In 284, Diocletian reduced the status of the Praetorians; they were no longer to be part of palace life, as Diocletian lived in Nicomedia, some 60 miles (100 km) from Byzantium in Asia Minor. Two new corps, the Jovians and Herculians (named after the gods Jove, or Jupiter, and Hercules, associated with the senior and junior emperor), replaced the Praetorians as the personal protectors of the emperors, a practice that remained intact with the tetrarchy. By the time Diocletian retired on May 1, 305, their Castra Praetoria seems to have housed only a minor garrison of Rome.
The final act of the Praetorians in imperial history started in 306, when Maxentius, son of the retired emperor Maximian, was passed over as a successor: the troops took matters into their own hands and elevated him to the position of emperor in Italy on October 28. Caesar Flavius Valerius Severus, following the orders of Galerius, attempted to disband the Guard but only managed to lead the rest of them in revolting and joining Maxentius. When Constantine the Great, launching an invasion of Italy in 312, forced a final confrontation at the Milvian Bridge, the Praetorian cohorts made up most of Maxentius' army. Later in Rome, the victorious Constantine definitively disbanded the Praetorian Guard. The soldiers were sent out to various corners of the Empire, and the Castra Praetoria was demolished. For over 300 years they had served, and the destruction of their fortress was a grand gesture, inaugurating a new age of imperial history and ending that of the Praetorians.

Guard's twilight years
Although its name has become synonymous with intrigue, conspiracy, disloyalty and assassination, it could be argued that for the first two centuries of its existence the Praetorian Guard was, on the whole, a positive force in the Roman state. During this time it mostly removed (or allowed the removal of) cruel, weak, and unpopular emperors while generally supporting just, strong, and popular ones. By protecting these monarchs, thus extending their reigns, and also by keeping the disorders of the mobs of Rome and the intrigues of the Senate in line, the Guard helped give the empire a much needed stability that led to the period known as the Pax Romana.
Only after the reign of Marcus Aurelius, when this period is generally considered to have ended, the guard began to deteriorate into the ruthless, mercenary and meddling force for which it has become infamous. However, during the Severan dynasty and afterwards during the Crisis of the Third Century, the legions, the Senate and the emperorship along with the rest of Roman government were falling into decadence as well.

Legacy of the Guard

Relationships between emperors and their Guard
Although the Praetorians have similarities, they are unlike any of the regular Legions of the Roman Empire. Their nine cohorts (one less than a legion) were larger, the pay and benefits were better, and its military abilities were reliable. They also received gifts of money called Donativum from the emperors. As conceived by Augustus, the Praetorian cohorts totaled around 9,000 men, recruited from the legions of the regular army or drawn from the most deserving youths in Etruria, Umbria, and Latium (three provinces in central Italy). Over time the pool of recruits expanded to Macedonia, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, Lusitania and Illyricum. Vitellius formed a new Guard out of the Germanic legions, while Septimus Severus did the same with the Pannonian legions. He also chose replacements for the units' ranks from throughout the Roman Empire.
Around the time of Augustus (c. 5) each cohort of the Praetorians numbered 1,000 men, increasing to a high-water mark of 1,500 men. As with the normal legions, the body of troops actually ready for service was much smaller. Tacitus reports that the number of cohorts was increased to twelve from nine in 47. In 69 it was briefly increased to sixteen cohorts by Vitellius, but Vespasian quickly reduced it again to nine. than other Roman soldiers in any of the legions, on a system known as sesquiplex stipendum, or by pay-and-a-half. So if the legionnaires received 225 denarii, the guards received 375 per annum. Domitian and Septimius Severus increased the stipendum (payment) to 1,500 denarii per year, distributed in January, May and September. Organization and conditions of service
From its beginnings, the guard usually included a small cavalry detachment, equites singulares augusti, to escort the emperors to important state functions and on military campaigns. It was comprised chiefly of selected, highly trusted provincials, who wore their native dress and carried their own weapons. Trajan expanded this force, opening it up to citizens and made it a permanent part of the Praetorian establishment. Its size was that of an ala quingenaria or about 512 horsemen in 16 turmae (troops). It was commanded by a Tribune, and so was, in effect a 10th Praetorian cohort. Later, Severus would double its size to an ala milliaria, giving it the same strength as the other nine cohorts.[1]

Imperial Horseguard
See the article Praetorian prefect, which also lists the incumbents of the post of Praefectus praetorio and covers the essentially civilian second life of the office, since ca 300, as administrator of a quarter of the empire), and its Germanic continuation

Prefect(s) in command of the Praetorian Guard Modern analogous uses of the term