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3ob0cao74hp5dh4j40cdnayjjm7yhr | SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- The park bench facing Lake Washington is covered with flowers, poems, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes and graffiti.
Fans leave flowers and mementos in honor of Kurt Cobain near his Seattle home.
"I miss your beautiful face and voice," one dedication reads.
"Thank you for inspiring me," says another.
"RIP Kurt."
Fifteen years ago Wednesday, at a house adjacent to the park, Kurt Cobain's dead body was discovered by an electrician.
The Nirvana frontman, 27, had committed suicide, police later ruled, killing himself with a shotgun while high on heroin and pills.
His death ended a battle with hard drugs and added Cobain to a long list of legendary musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, whose careers were cut short by their addictions.
Cobain's ashes were reportedly scattered in a Washington state river and a New York Buddhist temple.
Nirvana band mates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl eventually formed other bands. Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, stayed in the limelight with an acting career and legal problems surrounding her own drug problems. Frances Bean, the couple's daughter, has largely lived outside the public eye.
What was unclear when Cobain died was whether the music Nirvana created would endure or fade away like the grunge craze it helped to inspire.
"At one point I thought, 15 years on, no one would really know who Kurt Cobain was outside of a group of diehard fans," said Jeff Burlingame, a Cobain biographer who grew up with the musician in Aberdeen, Washington, and knew him when he was a teenager who, without a place to sleep, crashed on mutual friends' couches. |
38ymoxr4muzlrnp2tg3l5modz4ew6k | CHAPTER VIII
SHADOW HAMILTON'S CONFESSION
"I simply can't understand it, Phil. Gus Plum was frightened very much, or he would never have offered me a hundred dollars to keep quiet."
Dave and his chum were strolling along the edge of the campus, an hour after the conversation recorded in the last chapter. The boy from the poorhouse had told Phil all that had occurred.
"It is certainly the most mysterious thing I ever heard of, outside of this mystery about Billy Dill," answered Phil. "Plum has been up to something wrong, but just what, remains to be found out."
"And what about Shadow Hamilton?"
"I can't say anything about Shadow. I never thought he would do anything that wasn't right."
"Nor I. What would you advise?"
"Keep quiet and await developments. Something is bound to come to the surface, sooner or later."
"Hello, you fellows, where are you bound?" came in a cry, and looking up they saw a well-known form approaching.
"Ben!" cried Dave, rushing up to the newcomer and shaking hands warmly. "When did you come in? And how are all the folks at Crumville? Did you happen to see Professor Potts and the Wadsworths?"
"One question at a time, please," answered Ben Basswood, as he shook hands with Phil. "Yes, I saw them all, and everybody wants to be remembered to you. Jessie sends her very sweetest regards----"
"Oh, come now, no fooling," interrupted Dave, blushing furiously. "Tell us the plain truth."
"Well, she sent her best regard, anyway. And all the others did the same. The professor is getting along finely. You'd hardly know him now, he looks so hale and hearty. It did him a world of good to go to live with the Wadsworths." |
3un61f00hwpk0n82p3jaqh2wah95r4 | (CNN) -- "Veronica Mars" was canceled after only three seasons in 2007, leaving fans hungry for some kind of closure. While creator Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell have teased the idea of a "Veronica Mars" movie in the years since, that possibility seemed to die when the studio passed on the project.
But fans -- or "Marshmallows" as they're known -- wouldn't let executives keep their beloved characters from them a second time and saved the project by donating more than $5.7 million to a Kickstarter campaign for the film earlier this year, reaching far more than the $2 million Warner Bros. required to make the movie. (Time Warner is the parent company of both Warner Bros. and CNN).
"Veronica Mars" the movie is now in production and will be released in theaters in 2014. Thomas, Bell and the rest of the cast came to Comic-Con to share never-before-seen footage from the film with fans and backers.
In the movie, Veronica returns to her hometown of Neptune, California, for a high school reunion, bringing all the old characters back together. The footage reveals that Veronica is now a lawyer in New York City, outlaw character Weevil (played by Francis Capra) is settled down and married, and Jamie Lee Curtis has a role in the movie.
Bell spoke with CNN at the Samsung Galaxy Experience at Comic-Con, where she admitted how much the role of Veronica Mars means to her personally, what to expect on "House of Lies" season two and that time she and fiancé Dax Shepard were too busy to get married. |
30zx6p7vf8vb3262zf83qjdthwkj2y | Jeremy Shu-How Lin, who was born in California, 1988, world-famous now,is the first Chinese-American professional basketball player with the New York Knicks of NBA.
It hasn't been an easy road for Lin. After high school, Lin sent his resume and a DVD of highlights to all the Ivy League schools, and his dream schools Stanford and UCLA. Harvard and Brown were the only schools that guaranteed him a spot on their basketball teams, but Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.
After graduating from Harvard University, Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft . Lin spent his first season with his hometown the Golden State Warriors. He saw limited minutes with the Warriors, but was cheered in arenas around the country, particularly in cities with large Asian communities, as fans came out in crowds to cheer their homegrown star. In late 2011, Lin spent less than two weeks with the Houston Rockets, moving to the New York Knicks at the very end of the year.
He has made several trips to the NBA's Development League, a minor league for players who show promise but need seasoning before they can compete at the highest level. It appears to have paid off. In February 2012, after keying the Knicks victory over New Jersey, Lin was named the starter for the Utah game, a position he appears to have a hold on in the short term, as Baron Davis, who signed in December to play the position, stays on the disabled list. Lin will likely get stronger the more minutes he plays, and even if Davis returns, spelling the older, recovering player could be productive for Lin: a proven good student who can learn a lot from practicing against a veteran.
Without the services of All-Stars Carmelo and Amare, Lin led New York to a 4-0 record last week. He became the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points and seven assists in each of his first four starts, which generated a global following known as Linsanity. The Associated Press called Lin "the most Surprising story in the NBA". |
3r6byfzzp7cwzgn34e2b1bfx0sbfxw | (CNN) -- Ohio State's former marching band director is speaking out for the first time since the university fired him over the band's overly sexual culture.
Jonathan Waters was fired in July after a university investigation concluded he "should have known about sexual harassment that created a hostile environment."
Waters told CNN affiliate WBNS on Tuesday that he was "absolutely shocked by the one-sidedness of the report," and called his firing a "rush to judgment."
He also said that despite the school's conclusion to the contrary, he was sanitizing the marching band's historically tawdry culture that he first experienced as a sousaphone player in the 1990s.
"That cultural change is also evident in the many, many letters from current and former band members, which attest to Jonathan's efforts and concrete success at moving the band's culture in a positive direction," his attorney, David Axelrod, said Tuesday.
The investigation's report, released July 23, told of bawdy band member nicknames and risqué traditions such as the "midnight ramp," in which band members entered the stadium through a ramp wearing only their underwear.
Axelrod said Waters knew about some of the band's bad behavior, but he said he did "everything he possibly could to end it."
"You know he experienced inappropriate behavior as a rookie band member himself. He was deeply affected by it and that's why as band director he did everything he could to stop anything inappropriate," he said.
The attorney said Waters "left the band with a far improved culture from the one that he inherited," and slammed the report that ousted him. |
34yb12fsqyorj4ku1r6k8fzbv9rgmp | Bill McIntosh and Royce Wedding had been the best friends for 30 years. Now, living alone 12 miles east of the town, Bill earned his living by hunting foxes and rabbits.
"Coming to the football match this afternoon?" Bill McIntosh asked 54-year-old Royce Wedding as they drank beer at the Eureka Hotel. Royce shook his head, "I promised Mom I'd burn off the weeds in one of our fields." "I'll give you a hand," Bill said.
Driving slowly from the southern edge of the field, they worked their way upwind, leaving a line of burning weeds in their wake. Suddenly the fire was on them. Bill pushed open his door only to find himself thrown through the air, the gasoline tank exploded and the car jumped three feet off the ground. When it crashed back down Royce found himself unable to move. Bill lay where he fell. "Royce!" he cried, struggling to his feet and heading for the car. Pulling open the door, he seized Royce's arms through the smoke. "I'm stuck," Royce said. "Get yourself away!" The fire bit at Bill's arms, face and legs, but he said, "I'm not leaving you here." Now Bill pulled as hard as he could. Suddenly he fell backward. Royce was free and out of the car.
"What's the matter with that dog?" said Vicky Wedding, Royce's mom. Shocked by noise behind her, she turned to see Bill leaning against the door.
Six months after the fire, when Royce went out of hospital, he walked into the Eureka Hotel and bought Bill a beer. |
3n1fsuefl5083ulxtx5gg0fewyg4de | CHAPTER X.
Beatrice had not judged amiss when she thought charade-acting an amusement likely to take the fancy of her cousins. The great success of her boot-jack inspired both Frederick and Henrietta with eagerness to imitate it; and nothing was talked of but what was practicable in the way of scenes, words, and decorations. The Sutton Leigh party were to dine at the Hall again on Thursday, and it was resolved that there should be a grand charade, with all the splendour that due preparation could bestow upon it. "It was such an amusement to grandpapa," as Beatrice told Henrietta, "and it occupied Fred so nicely," as she said to her father; both which observations being perfectly true, Mr. Geoffrey Langford was very willing to promote the sport, and to tranquillise his mother respecting the disarrangement of her furniture.
But what should the word be? Every one had predilections of their own--some for comedy, others for tragedy; some for extemporary acting, others for Shakespeare. Beatrice, with her eye for drawing, already grouped her dramatis personae, so as to display Henrietta's picturesque face and figure to the greatest advantage, and had designs of making her and Fred represent Catherine and Henry Seyton, whom, as she said, she had always believed to be exactly like them. Fred was inclined for "another touch at Prince Hal," and devised numerous ways of acting Anonymous, for the sake of "Anon, anon, sir." Henrietta wanted to contrive something in which Queen Bee might appear as an actual fairy bee, and had very pretty visions of making her a beneficent spirit in a little fanciful opera, for which she had written three or four verses, when Fred put an end to it be pronouncing it "nonsense and humbug." |
31n2ww6r9rqkjigpkpvnuvqttzg3fu | Chapter 13: An Abortive Attack.
Three weeks passed. James kept his men steadily at work, and even the scouts allowed that they made great progress. Sometimes they went out in two parties, with an officer and a scout to each, and their pouches filled with blank cartridge. Each would do its best to surprise the other; and, when they met, a mimic fight would take place, the men sheltering behind trees, and firing only when they obtained a glimpse of an adversary.
"I did not think that these pipe-clayed soldiers could have been so spry," Nat said to James. "They have picked up wonderfully, and I wouldn't mind going into an Indian fight with them. They are improving with their muskets. Their shooting yesterday wasn't bad, by no means. In three months' time, they will be as good a lot to handle as any of the companies of scouts."
Besides the daily exercises, the company did scouting work at night, ten men being out, by turns, in the woods bordering the lake. At one o'clock in the morning, on the 19th of March, Nat came into the officers' tent.
"Captain," he said, "get up. There's something afoot."
"What is it, Nat?" James asked, as he threw off his rugs.
"It's the French, at least I don't see who else it can be. It was my turn tonight to go round and look after our sentries. When I came to Jim Bryan, who was stationed just at the edge of the lake, I said to him, 'Anything new, Jim?' and he says, 'Yes; seems to me as I can hear a hammering in the woods.' I listens, and sure enough axes were going. It may be some three miles down. The night is still, and the ice brought the sound. |
3z4xg4zf48rnk1dgw0w5rjybdp88xk | (CNN)The Tiger will be back on the prowl in 2015 -- and that's according to the man himself.
Tiger Woods says it is an "incredible relief" to be over his injury problems and is now concentrating on adding to his 14 major titles next year.
Woods, who turns 39 on December 30, failed to make the cut at the U.S. PGA in August after struggling to retain full fitness following surgery on a pinched nerve in his back earlier in the year.
The U.S. star made a return to action earlier in December at the Hero World Challenge, the tournament he hosts every year at his home course of Isleworth in Florida.
But the former World No.1 was unable to finish after being physically ill during his third round, leaving him joint last.
Writing on his end of year blog, Woods said: "I'm mostly excited about being healthy again. I've struggled for the past year-and-half with my back, and it showed in my results.
"Even though I won five times two years ago, it was hit or miss some weeks and got progressively worse. Now that it feels healthy, strong and stable, it's fun to be able to play with my kids again, to play soccer and run around with them, shoot hoops ... things that I used to do and took for granted.
"For anybody who has ever had a bad back with nerve damage, it's downright debilitating. To not feel that is finally just incredible relief."
Woods, who won the last of his major titles in 2008, will spend the holiday season with his children and partner, Lindsey Vonn. |
3yoh7bii097fbdam5asqt3ahslmvkt | A cat was watching a bird in a tree. The blue bird watched the cat as it tried to use its claws and climb up the tree. The cat reached the right branch and slowly walked towards the bird. The bird flew away and the cat was left stuck on the branch. The cat jumped down from the tall branch and didn't get hurt. He then chased after a chipmunk along the ground. The chipmunk was not faster than the cat, but the chipmunk ran up a tree. The cat tried to run up the tree, but fell back down. Not wanting to go back up a tree, the cat watched the chipmunk from the ground. It went into a hole in the tree and the cat gave up. The cat went under a house's deck to keep cool. It watched for more birds or chipmunks that it could chase after. He saw one chipmunk in the distance, then two three and four. He was ready to chase them. |
3tvrfo09gkfiz8xzqp59wokhyurlxe | To get to the tennis court, Conner Stroud has to push his wheelchair there.
The 15-yea-old from North Carolina, US was born without legs. But when he picks up his racquet and begins to hit a ball, you quickly see that the young man just want to win.
Stroud began playing tennis at age 5 at the small tennis club his parents own. For years, he played against able-bodied players by putting rubber on the stumps of his legs. Though he was a foot (30.48cm) or two shorter than many of the players he played against, he won a number of matches. He became well-known enough that he got to meet Rafael Nadal, his favorite player at the US Open in 2013.
"The most important thing is that he's happy," Nadal told reports about Stroud after that 15-minute meeting. "He's playing tennis... That's a great example of being happy even if life doesn't give you everything."
Stroud started playing wheelchair tennis at 13 and now he is No 1 in the US.
Earlier this summer, he played for the US in the world's biggest junior wheelchair team tennis event --- the World Team Cup. He played six matches and won five of them as the US won the cup for the first time since 2000.
"He is a polite boy , but he will rip your heart out trying to beat you," Jason Harnett, a United States Tennis Association coach, said of Stroud. "You see that attitude in a lot of the best players, whether they are able-bodied or disabled.
Teenage players can often get disappointed and angry. Racquets sometimes get thrown. Players shout at themselves after missed shots. Stroud never does that.
" I just try to stay positive," Stroud said. "After every point, I try to say I'm going to win the next point, or the next game, or the next game, or the whole match.
" There's always room to be positive . You can always win another time." |
3j4q2z4uty3e158m8phjbr54ysmwqm | Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of earth. When China is in autumn, it's spring in Australia. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai. The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well. Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in western Australia, and went to a wild flowers exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path. Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After a short drive from the town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep everywhere. |
37c0gnlmhf3mihpbclyvdyzsshgd6m | Sandra Bullock turned 51 last month. But because she looks exactly the same as she did inMiss Congeniality, a movie filmed back in the 20thcentury, everyone calls her "ageless." Bullock is just one of a number of stars in their 40s and 50s who've had birthdays recently but have not gotten older, unlike the rest of us in their age group. Take Halle Berry. One website put a photo of her 20 years ago next to one of the newly 49-year-old Berry and dared us to choose which was which. "This Is What 49 Looks Like," it said. Seriously, if that's what 49 looks like, I must be 71.
However, even a generation ago, famous faces evolved. Look at a picture of Grace Kelly at age 52 in the early 1980s. She looks like a beautiful middle-aged woman. Today she'd look old for her age.
The goal now is to prevent aging while you are still young, using all the magical nonsurgical options medicine has to offer. Eventually these techniques will become less expensive, and ordinary people my daughter's age will have them. Already anti-aging is starting to be considered maintenance, like coloring your hair. My friends and I find ourselves openly debating techniques that we used to make fun of. Does fat-freezing work? How much time do you have to spend in the gym to keep the body of a 35-year-old after 50? It's all so exhausting. But members of the next generation have it tougher. They'll have to ask themselves whether they want to spend their youth trying not to get old. I've already seen "Sexy at 70" headlines. Will everyone be expected to go to their graves looking hot?
I also have to wonder what else we are slowing along with age. How do you move on if you're working so hard to stay the same? And besides, if you've known the ache of watching a daughter pack up for college, you know you can't stop the clock. |
3r3yrb5grf39mlc0ot5w3352a93au3 | Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan located within the federal Islamabad Capital Territory. With a population of two million, it is the 10th largest city of Pakistan, while the larger Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the third largest in Pakistan with a population exceeding five million. The city is the political seat of Pakistan and is administered by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation, supported by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the northeastern part of the country, between Rawalpindi District and the Margalla Hills National Park to the north. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the Margalla Pass acting as the gateway between the two regions.
Islamabad was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. The city's master-plan divides the city into eight zones, including administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational sectors, industrial sectors, commercial areas, and rural and green areas. The city is known for the presence of several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and Shakarparian Park. The city is home to several landmarks, including the Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in South Asia and the fourth largest in the world. Other landmarks include the Pakistan's National Monument and Democracy Square. |
3b4yi393v9wx746qgown92hka4mss5 | (CNN) -- Five blasts went off in the Nigerian city of Jos Friday night as residents were celebrating Christmas Eve, leaving 31 dead, a regional government official said.
Choji Gyang, a special adviser to the governor of Nigeria's Plateau state, said two bombs went off in the Angwa Rukuba area of Jos. Within five to 20 minutes, three more blasts happened in the area of Kabong, he said.
"We have a lot of casualties and are struggling to cope," Gyang said.
Hassan John, a Jos resident and journalist with the media department of the Anglican Diocese of Jos, had just come out of church about 7 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) when he heard the sound of the first explosion. He rushed to the site, which he described as a beer parlor frequented by locals.
"By the time I got there, there were women crying, people screaming. It was all chaos, people were screaming, blood everywhere."
"I counted eight corpses all over, seven in the building," John said. He added that a second blast went off within a couple of minutes after the first one. "We cannot say if there are more bodies under the rubble because it was dark," John said.
Gyang, who is special adviser on religious affairs to the governor, said it was unclear who set off the blasts or whether they were related.
"It was Christmas Eve, lots of activities was going on. People were still preparing for Christmas, lots of people were coming into town. A blast went off, those around the area -- some were killed, some injured and the houses and cars caught fire," Gyang said. He said he received reports of "a lot of dead bodies." |
3v26sbztbder9sei68k31obqlbjzza | Europe PubMed Central (Europe PMC) is an on-line database that offers free access to a large and growing collection of biomedical research literature. It was known as UK PubMed Central until 1 November 2012. The Europe PMC project was originally launched in 2007 as the first 'mirror' site to PMC, which aims to provide international preservation of the open and free-access biomedical and life sciences literature. It forms part of a network of PMC International (PMCI) repositories that includes PubMed Central Canada. Europe PMC is not an exact "mirror" of the PMC database but has developed some different features. On February 15, 2013, "CiteXplore" was subsumed under Europe PubMed Central.
The resource is managed and developed by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), on behalf of an alliance of 27 biomedical and life sciences research funders, led by the Wellcome Trust. The Europe PMC funders group requires that articles describing the results of biomedical and life sciences research they have supported be made freely available in Europe PMC within 6 months of publication to maximise the impact of the work that they fund.
Europe PMC provides free access to more than 3.7 million full-text biomedical and life sciences research articles and over 31 million citations. Europe PMC contains some citation information and includes text-mining based marked up text that links to external molecular and medical datasets. The Grant Lookup facility allows users to search for information on over 56,700 grants awarded by the Europe PMC funders. |
3qiyre09y3h0x7frv90he7k5x6d1nw | CHAPTER XXV
A CLUE
There was a touch of frost in the still air and the light was fading. A yellow glow lingered in the southwest beyond Criffell's sloping shoulder, which ran up against it, tinged a deep violet. Masses of soft, gray cloud floated above the mountain's summit; but the sky was clear overhead, and a thin new moon grew brighter in the east This was why the murmur of the sea came out of the distance in a muffled roar, for the tides run fast when the moon is young.
Elsie, walking homeward, vacantly noticed how bright the crescent gleamed above the dusky firs, as she entered the gloom of a straggling wood at the foot of the hill on which Appleyard was built. She had been out all the afternoon and now she shrank from going home, for she felt that a shadow rested upon the house. Dick had returned from a cruise with Andrew, looking dejected and unwell; and she was glad that Whitney had taken both away again, on his motorcycle, because Dick had lately had fits of moody restlessness when he was at home. Still, she missed them badly, for her mother was silent and preoccupied; and when Andrew was away, she found it hard to banish the troubles that seemed to be gathering round. They were worse for being very vaguely defined, but she felt convinced that something sinister was going on.
As she thought of Andrew, her face grew gentle and she smiled. She knew his worth and his limitations, and loved him for both. He had his suspicions, too, and would follow where they led. Andrew was not the man to shirk a painful duty, but she could not openly help him yet. That might come, and in the meanwhile she would at least put no obstacle in his way. Still, if her fears were justified, the situation was daunting and she might need all her courage. |
37u1utwh9vm3n5r4n1qd21cndl1r8c | CHAPTER XXV.
MR. FURNIVAL AGAIN AT HIS CHAMBERS.
The Christmas doings at The Cleeve were not very gay. There was no visitor there, except Lady Mason, and it was known that she was in trouble. It must not, however, be supposed that she constantly bewailed herself while there, or made her friends miserable by a succession of hysterical tears. By no means. She made an effort to be serene, and the effort was successful--as such efforts usually are. On the morning of Christmas-day they duly attended church, and Lady Mason was seen by all Hamworth sitting in The Cleeve pew. In no way could the baronet's friendship have been shown more plainly than in this, nor could a more significant mark of intimacy have been given;--all which Sir Peregrine well understood. The people of Hamworth had chosen to talk scandal about Lady Mason, but he at any rate would show how little attention he paid to the falsehoods that there were circulated. So he stood by her at the pew door as she entered, with as much deference as though she had been a duchess; and the people of Hamworth, looking on, wondered which would be right, Mr. Dockwrath or Sir Peregrine.
After dinner Sir Peregrine gave a toast. "Lady Mason, we will drink the health of the absent boys. God bless them! I hope they are enjoying themselves."
"God bless them!" said Mrs. Orme, putting her handkerchief to her eyes.
"God bless them both!" said Lady Mason, also putting her handkerchief to her eyes. Then the ladies left the room, and that was the extent of their special festivity. "Robert," said Sir Peregrine immediately afterwards to his butler, "let them have what port wine they want in the servants' hall--within measure." |
337rc3ow052qvjs4qa4r83nwis3vln | The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network.
Headquartered in New York City, UNDP advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. The status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator is the third highest-ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General.
To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programmes. The UNDP Human Development Report Office also publishes an annual Human Development Report (since 1990) to measure and analyse developmental progress. In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports.
UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Currently, the UNDP is one of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. |
3oxv7eaxleqo0pnejwsj0pdg15u63m | OK, I admit it: emoticons are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some people, such as a Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, however, _ the use of emoticons as "infantile just like the people who use them". He believes that words themselves should be enough. "If you're funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent from the comment that goes before the emoticons," he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. "Men don't use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all," he said, "Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there's an emoticon gene."
It's an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed "to seek out representations of humanity". He believes that they are popular not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they bring in something beyond language. They satisfy our needs to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow right. Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I'd rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this. I don't regard any of my friends as lazy or immature. It's just a question of individuality. |
3ekvh9qmey4y0g6apjmsnligb7x2d2 | CHAPTER XXVIII.
TELL IT NOT IN OATH.
As they sat silent in that little sitting-room after supper, a double knock at the door suddenly announced the arrival of a telegram for Ernest. He opened it with trembling lingers. It was from Lancaster:--'Come down to the office at once. Schurz has been sentenced to a year's imprisonment, and we want a leader about him for to-morrow.' The telegram roused Ernest at once from his stupefied lethargy. Here was a chance at last of doing something for Max Schurz and for the cause of freedom! Here was a chance of waking up all England to a sense of the horrible crime it had just committed through the voice of its duly accredited judicial mouthpiece! The country was trembling on the brink of an abyss, and he, Ernest Le Breton, might just be in time to save it. The Home Secretary must be compelled by the unanimous clamour of thirty millions of free working people to redress the gross injustice of the law in sending Max Sohurz, the greatest, noblest, and purest-minded of mankind, to a common felon's prison! Nothing else on earth could have moved Ernest, jaded and dispirited as he was at that moment, to the painful exertion of writing a newspaper leader after the day's fatigues and excitements, except the thought that by doing so he might not only blot out this national disgrace, as he considered it, but might also help to release the martyr of the people's rights from his incredible, unspeakable punishment. Flushed and feverish though he was, he rose straight up from the table, handed the telegram to Edie without a word, and started off alone to hail a hansom cab and drive down immediately to the office. Arthur Berkeley, fearful of what might happen to him in his present excited state, stole out after him quietly, and followed him unperceived in another hansom at a little distance. |
3o7l7bfshep737ycahi4gj7i1qliez | The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), also known as the Agriculture Department, is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, agriculture, forestry, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and internationally.
Approximately 80% of the USDA's $140 billion budget goes to the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) program. The largest component of the FNS budget is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp program), which is the cornerstone of USDA's nutrition assistance.
After the resignation of Tom Vilsack on January 13, 2017, the Secretary of Agriculture is Sonny Perdue.
Many of the programs concerned with the distribution of food and nutrition to people of America and providing nourishment as well as nutrition education to those in need are run and operated under the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. Activities in this program include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides healthy food to over 40 million low-income and homeless people each month. USDA is a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, where it is committed to working with other agencies to ensure these mainstream benefits are accessed by those experiencing homelessness. |
3ix2egzr7bjs7mnne5n4rrl1toarjv | Imagine you are in a jumping contest. Animals and insects can also enter this contest. But they might just leave humans in the dust!
The first event is the long jump. The human athlete is Mike Powell. In 1991, he jumped nearly 30 feet, which is the world record for the long jump. That is about five times his own height.
His competitor in the long-jump contest is a frog named "Rosie the Ribbiter." Rosie set the world record for frogs in 1986 by jumping more than 21 feet. Her record has never been broken by any other frog. Compared to Mike Powell, Rosie's jump is not that amazing. But wait! Rosie is only about 10 inches long when her legs are stretched to their full length. She can jump more than 25 times her size. Rosie, the frog, wins the long-jump event.
The next event is the high jump. Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder, can jump a bar 8 feet high. That is about as high as the ceiling in most homes.
Looking around for someone to challenge his record, Javier might need a magnifying glass . The next _ is a tiny insect called the spittlebug .
The spittlebug can jump 28 inches into the air. It is only a quarter-inch long, less than the width of a pencil. If the spittlebug were the same size as Javier, it would be able to jump 600 feet into the air. That is like a human jumping over a building 55 stories high!
Though the humans lose the "jumping contest," their competitors would probably agree that Mike and Javier are still pretty excellent athletes. If only Rosie and the spittlebug could speak! |
37qw5d2zrgmfokrh2qqisbhjzl98s2 | A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthparts adapted to rasping or grinding. Horses and other herbivores have wide flat teeth that are adapted to grinding grass, tree bark, and other tough plant material.
A large percentage of herbivores have mutualistic gut flora that help them digest plant matter, which is more difficult to digest than animal prey. This gut flora is made up of cellulose-digesting protozoans or bacteria living in the herbivores' intestines.
Herbivore is the anglicized form of a modern Latin coinage, "herbivora," cited in Charles Lyell's 1830 "Principles of Geology." Richard Owen employed the anglicized term in an 1854 work on fossil teeth and skeletons. "Herbivora" is derived from the Latin "herba" meaning a small plant or herb, and "vora," from "vorare," to eat or devour.
Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in general are known as primary consumers. "Herbivory" usually refers to animals eating plants; fungi, bacteria and protists that feed on living plants are usually termed plant pathogens (plant diseases), and microbes that feed on dead plants are saprotrophs. Flowering plants that obtain nutrition from other living plants are usually termed parasitic plants. There is, however, no single exclusive and definitive ecological classification of consumption patterns; each textbook has its own variations on the theme. |
34s6n1k2zvjldixkllnnt2wnaa7lhw | The Kuomintang of China ( or , KMT; also spelled as Guomindang , GMD by its pinyin transliteration; often translated as the Nationalist Party of China or Chinese Nationalist Party) is a major political party in the Republic of China (ROC). It is currently the largest opposition party in the country.
The predecessor of the KMT, the Revolutionary Alliance (Tongmenghui), was one of the major advocates of the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a republic. The KMT was founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. Sun was the provisional president but he did not have military power and ceded the first presidency to the military leader Yuan Shikai. After Yuan's death, China was divided by warlords, while the KMT was able to control only part of the south. Later led by Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT formed the National Revolutionary Army and succeeded in its Northern Expedition to unify much of China in 1928. It was the ruling party in mainland China from 1928 until its retreat to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Chinese Civil War, and despite losing its territory, the KMT held onto China's UN seat (with considerable international support) until 1971. In Taiwan, the KMT continued as the single ruling party until the reforms in the late 1970s through the 1990s loosened its grip on power. Since 1987, the Republic of China is no longer a single-party state; however, the KMT remains one of the main political parties. The KMT is currently the main opposition party in the Legislative Yuan. |
35ldd5557a4wlqgdrirz67r42w9mkb | CHAPTER VI. CLIMENE
Diligent search among the many scenarios of the improvisers which have survived their day, has failed to bring to light the scenario of "Les Fourberies de Scaramouche," upon which we are told the fortunes of the Binet troupe came to be soundly established. They played it for the first time at Maure in the following week, with Andre-Louis--who was known by now as Scaramouche to all the company, and to the public alike--in the title-role. If he had acquitted himself well as Figaro-Scaramouche, he excelled himself in the new piece, the scenario of which would appear to be very much the better of the two.
After Maure came Pipriac, where four performances were given, two of each of the scenarios that now formed the backbone of the Binet repertoire. In both Scaramouche, who was beginning to find himself, materially improved his performances. So smoothly now did the two pieces run that Scaramouche actually suggested to Binet that after Fougeray, which they were to visit in the following week, they should tempt fortune in a real theatre in the important town of Redon. The notion terrified Binet at first, but coming to think of it, and his ambition being fanned by Andre-Louis, he ended by allowing himself to succumb to the temptation.
It seemed to Andre-Louis in those days that he had found his real metier, and not only was he beginning to like it, but actually to look forward to a career as actor-author that might indeed lead him in the end to that Mecca of all comedians, the Comedie Francaise. And there were other possibilities. From the writing of skeleton scenarios for improvisers, he might presently pass to writing plays of dialogue, plays in the proper sense of the word, after the manner of Chenier, Eglantine, and Beaumarchais. |
3kyqyyshyv7c7nvfchkpuyljdnzdoc | The University of Wisconsin–Madison (also known as University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, or regionally as UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded when Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848, UW–Madison is the official state university of Wisconsin, and the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It was the first public university established in Wisconsin and remains the oldest and largest public university in the state. It became a land-grant institution in 1866. The main campus includes four National Historic Landmarks.
UW–Madison is organized into 20 schools and colleges, which enrolled 29,536 undergraduate and 13,802 graduate students, and granted 6,902 bachelor's, 2,134 master's and 1,506 doctorate degrees in 2014–2015. The University employs over 21,600 faculty and staff. Its comprehensive academic program offers 136 undergraduate majors, along with 148 master's degree programs and 120 doctoral programs.
The UW is one of America's Public Ivy universities, which refers to top public universities in the United States capable of providing a collegiate experience comparable with the Ivy League. UW–Madison is also categorized as a Doctoral University with the Highest Research Activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. In 2012, it had research expenditures of more than $1.1 billion, the third highest among universities in the country. Wisconsin is a founding member of the Association of American Universities. |
3lo69w1su3d7dm291f5582kmv1eglu | It has been used for thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers (which are strong in tension) embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, or it is defined more broadly to include the same type of tissue elsewhere such as in the roots of trees or shrubs.[citation needed] In a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots. Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber.
The Earth contains about 434 billion cubic meters of growing stock forest, 47% of which is commercial. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been of intense interest as a source of renewable energy. In 1991, approximately 3.5 cubic kilometers of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building construction. |
37wlf8u1wpquwnvl42kihbuibj6k6k | Once upon a time there lived two friends in a small village. Jay and Victor had been friends since they were little children. Now they were studying in a school which was far away from their village. They had to cross a river, climb hills and go through sandy areas on their way to school. One rainy day, the two friends went to school as usual. They were chatting while walking. Perhaps they were discussing something important, but the two had different opinions, which led to a big argument. Things got so bad that Jay suddenly hit Victor. Then Victor looked at his friend and wrote in the sand, " Today, my best friend hit me." They both continued walking without saying anything . Later, they reached a river. Victor was not a good swimmer. By accident, he fell into the river and was going to be carried away by the water. Jay saw this and jumped into the river at once. With difficulty he pulled victor out of the river when Victor became safe, he wrote on a stone, "Today, my friend saved my life." Jay, who was watching all this, asked,"So way did you write it in the sand when I hit you, and why did you write on a stone when I saved your life?" Victor replied, " we should soon forget the wrong done by our friends as words in sand get _ easily, but if they do something good for us, we should always remember their kindness, just as words in stones are kept forever." Then the two friends walked on as if nothing had happened. |
3c6fju71tqtai3a34zjc6pn9drfyus | Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer. Mourners gathered outside his house in Palo Alto, California, and Apple stores around the world.
Steve Jobs made technology fun. As tech leaders, they're really happy if they have one hit in their life. Steve Jobs has the Apple II, the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad and Pixar.
Steve Jobs was a college dropout. He was adopted by a machinist and his wife, an accountant. They supported his early interest in electronics. He and his friend Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer--now just called Apple--in 1976. They stayed at the company until 1985. That year, Steve Wozniak returned to college and Steve Jobs left in a dispute with the chief executive.
Mr. Jobs then formed his own company, called NeXT Computer. He rejoined Apple in 1997 after it bought NeXT, He helped remake Apple from a business that was in bad shape then to one of the most valuable companies in the world today. However, Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple's chief executive in August, 2011 because of his health. He died a day after the company released a new iPhone version that met with limited excitement. Steve left behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.
President Obama said in a statement: by building one of the planet's most successful companies from his garage, Steve Jobs showed the spirit of American ingenuity . By making computers personal and putting the Internet in our pockets, he made the information revolution not only accessible but intuitive and fun.
The fact that he was able to redesign American commerce top to bottom and across is really astonishing. He probably will be considered an industrial giant on the scale of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, so one of the greatest of all time. Steve Jobs not only revolutionized technology, he also revolutionized American business. Steve Jobs was remembered as a " great visionary and leader" and a marketing genius. |
3amw0rghod23ezytgbb7f3231nwpn4 | Chinese political philosophy dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period, specifically with Confucius in the 6th century BC. Chinese political philosophy was developed as a response to the social and political breakdown of the country characteristic of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period. The major philosophies during the period, Confucianism, Legalism, Mohism, Agrarianism and Taoism, each had a political aspect to their philosophical schools. Philosophers such as Confucius, Mencius, and Mozi, focused on political unity and political stability as the basis of their political philosophies. Confucianism advocated a hierarchical, meritocratic government based on empathy, loyalty, and interpersonal relationships. Legalism advocated a highly authoritarian government based on draconian punishments and laws. Mohism advocated a communal, decentralized government centered on frugality and ascetism. The Agrarians advocated a peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism. Taoism advocated a proto-anarchism. Legalism was the dominant political philosophy of the Qin Dynasty, but was replaced by State Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. Prior to China's adoption of communism, State Confucianism remained the dominant political philosophy of China up to the 20th century. |
3dip6yhapcsee1mz1v6d3ud4xh58ef | It is easy for us to tell who our family members are, but do plants recognize their own family? Some do, scientists say, according to a report by Science News in early 2010. Guillermo P. Murphy and Susan Dudley are two plant scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. They did a few experiments with Jewelweeds, a kind of flower that grows in wet, shady spots. They found that the flowers seem to know their own flower family. In their experiments, Murphy and Dudley planted jewelweeds in pots with either _ or strangers. When jewelweeds were planted in pots with strangers, the plants started to grow more leaves than if they had been planted alone. This response suggests that plants are competing with strangers for sunlight, since a plant with more leaves can receive more light and make more food. Jewelweeds usually grow in the shade, where sunlight is not enough. When jewelweed seedlings were planted with siblings, they grew a few more branches than they usually would if they were alone - but they did not start growing lots of extra leaves. This behavior suggests the plants are more likely to share resources, rather than compete. According to the Science News report, Jewelweeds are not the first plants that plant scientists have studied for family recognition. In 2007, Dudley and her team studied the Great Lakes sea rocket, a plant that grows on the beach - where it may be hard to get fresh water. In that experiment, the scientists found that when sea rockets were planted with siblings, they tolerated each other. But when they were planted with strangers, the sea rockets reacted by working extra hard to grow lots of roots. Dudley says this just because sea rockets, on the beach, get plenty of sun but struggle for water - so when they're threatened, they compete for water. Jewelweeds have plenty of water but have to compete for sunshine, so they grow more leaves. |
3unh76focs5r5v5uvxsqff6f0f5my1 | CHAPTER XV.
COASTING.
The current was now losing its power, and Godfrey, dipping his hand into the water and then putting it to his lips, found that it was distinctly brackish, and congratulated himself upon having laid in a stock of water when he did. After Luka had slept for six hours, Godfrey roused him.
"Now, Luka, you must take my place and steer; move very carefully else we shall capsize her. That is it. Now, if there is any change you lean forward and touch me; I shall wake in a moment. If the sail should shift over to the other side all you have got to do is to shift this sheet to its fastening on that side. With this light wind jibing does not matter at all, but if the wind freshens wake me at once."
For a quarter of an hour Godfrey watched to see that Luka steered steadily, then he worked himself down in the cockpit and closed his eyes. It did not seem to him that he had been asleep long when Luka touched him.
"I would not have woke you," Luka said; "but the land seems going right away from us."
Godfrey sat up. "So it is, Luka! I should not be surprised if that is the extreme northern point. Of course it may be only a deep bay, but at any rate we must see." He looked at his watch, "Why, I have been asleep nearly seven hours. Now, Luka, you had better haul the boat alongside, and see about cooking. We forgot to try those onions yesterday. Cut one up small and put it in the pan with the meat. By the by, you had better tie a piece of cord to those four bears' hams, and let them tow overboard for two or three hours. The water must be quite salt now, and when you take them out we will rub a little fresh salt into them. They ought to keep well then." |
3tmfv4nep8e8v18qmv0jp0k451k8w2 | Buenos Aires ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the South American continent's southeastern coast. "Buenos aires" can be translated as "fair winds" or "good airs", but the first one was the meaning intended by the founders in the 16th century, by the use of the original name "Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre". The Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas, with a population of around 17 million.
The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Province's capital; rather, it is an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores; both are now neighborhoods of the city. The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a chief of government (i.e. mayor) in 1996; previously, the mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic. |
3jnqlm5ft4mhysu220kg6yqllro2lu | A Prontor-Compur connection (also known as a PC connector, PC terminal, or PC socket) is a standard 3.5 mm (1/8") electrical connector (as defined in ISO 519) used in photography to synchronize the shutter to the flash.
""Prontor"" has its origins in the Italian word "pronto", meaning "ready" (and was a leaf shutter made by ). ""Compur"" is derived from the word "compound" (the """" was a long-lived series of leaf shutters made by ).
The term is derived from brands of widely marketed photographic leaf shutters manufactured from the early 1950s by two distinct, but now defunct German companies. (which made the "Prontor-S" and "Prontor SV" models, amongst others) and (the "Synchro-Compur" model, successor to the "Compound" model).
Both companies' brands, "Prontor" (from 1953) and "Compur" (from 1951), shared a common 1/8"-inch coaxial connector for shutter/flash synchronization. This convergence of design is not as coincidental as it might first appear, owing to the fact that the Zeiss organisation held a significant shareholding in both of these companies prior to the introduction of the shared connector. By the 1950s, Gauthier were manufacturing up to 10,000 "Prontor" shutters daily.
The Gauthier company's essence lives on as , which is a wholly owned subsidiary of . The Deckel company went bankrupt in 1994. |
3ftyuglfsulqzdpx72oqlslsvfw5da | Hellen Keller was born in 1880 in the USA. When she was about 19 months old, she got very ill. After many weeks, the doctor told her parents, "Your daughter is better, but now she can't see and she can't hear." Her mother and her father were very sad. After a few years , things got worse. There was no way for Helen to speak to other people. She heard nothing. She didn't understand anything. Then one day a teacher came. Her name was Anne Sullivan. She lived with Helen and her family. The teacher helped Helen learn words. Helen was a very bright child and soon she learned to spell her first word. When she was older, she went to college . Helen was a very old woman when she died. The world remembers her today as a brave and wonderful person. She was blind and deaf, but she found a way to see and hear. It helped many people in the world. |
3f1567xtnw53p9vefe7rx7xt13d9qa | How to react to Iran's new smiley-faced president, Hassan Rouhani?
Smile back, but don't stop squeezing Iran with sanctions.
Rouhani has offered a series of positive gestures since taking office in early August. He has released some political prisoners. He sent New Year's greetings to Jews in Iran and around the world. He took a phone call from the president of the United States.
Does any of this portend real change in Iran?
The case for skepticism is strong. None of the regime has changed in any way. Iran continues to make mischief through the region, most horrifically by supporting the brutal actions of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. As far as anyone can tell, Iran pursues nuclear weapons as determinedly as ever.
Rouhani himself is no liberal and no Democrat. An early supporter of the Ayatollah Khomeini, Rouhani held senior positions in the Iranian state during the regime's most vicious period of international terrorism, the early 1990s - the years in which Iranian-backed terrorists carried out assassinations in Berlin and Paris and carried out two terrible bombings of Jewish targets in Buenos Aires, killing 114 people and wounding nearly a thousand more.
As Iran's chief nuclear negotiator in the 2000s, Rouhani nimbly evaded international efforts to achieve a peaceful end to the country's drive for weapons of mass death.
More fundamentally, the president of Iran does not govern the country's national security system. The military and the secret police answer to the supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khameini, who has very emphatic geopolitical ideas of his own. Compared with all that, a cheerful tweet and a few words of condemnation of Nazi crimes don't seem much of an offset. |
3o7l7bfshep737ycahi4gj7i1qneix | Piedmont ( ; , ; Piedmontese, Occitan and ; ) is a region in northwest Italy, one of the 20 regions of the country. It borders France, Aosta Valley region, Switzerland, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Liguria regions. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres (9,808 sq mi) and a population of 4 396 293 (31-7-2016). The capital of Piedmont is Turin.
The name Piedmont comes from medieval Latin Pedemontium or Pedemontis, i.e., "ad pedem montium", meaning “at the foot of the mountains” (the Alps) attested in documents of the end of the 12th century.
Other towns of Piedmont with more than 20,000 inhabitants sorted by population :
Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including Monviso, where the Po rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders with France (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Switzerland (Ticino and Valais) and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Aosta Valley and for a very small fragment with Emilia Romagna. The geography of Piedmont is 43.3% mountainous, along with extensive areas of hills (30.3%) and plains (26.4%).
Piedmont is the second largest of Italy's 20 regions, after Sicily. It is broadly coincident with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po, which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy’s largest river. The Po collects all the waters provided within the semicircle of mountains (Alps and Apennines) which surround the region on three sides. |
31q0u3wydpfbumn4f2jsiayfy4b17f | Tunis (CNN)Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi confirmed that a third person took part in last week's Bardo museum terror attack in an interview Sunday with French TV Station iTele.
"There were for certain three terrorists," Essebsi said. "There is one on the run. He will not get far."
Previously two suspects had been identified -- Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaou -- though it wasn't immediately clear if they were the pair killed at the museum by Tunisian security forces.
He said Yassine was "known to the security services, he was flagged and monitored," but not known or being followed for anything special.
Authorities have arrested nine people in connection with the attack, including four directly linked to it, according to Essebsi.
The development came a day after the bodies of four Italian tourists slain in the attack arrived back in Italy, an official with the Tunis Crisis Center told CNN, but 14 victims' remains still lie in the morgue.
Most of the 23 victims were foreigners, making the process of identification more complicated. Nineteen of them were tourists who'd been on two cruise ships that docked in Tunis.
French, Spanish, Italian, British, Japanese, Russian and Colombian citizens are among those to have been formally identified so far.
The bodies of the Italians were met in Rome by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who paid his respects to the victims and their families in a brief ceremony.
Eleven people who were injured in the attack remained in the hospital in Tunisia on Saturday, the official at the Tunis Crisis Center said. |
3e4gguz1t8r6emckh08fryd6wqrk2f | The Z notation is a formal specification language used for describing and modelling computing systems. It is targeted at the clear specification of computer programs and computer-based systems in general.
In 1974, Jean-Raymond Abrial published "Data Semantics". He used a notation that would later be taught in the University of Grenoble until the end of the 1980s. While at EDF (Électricité de France), Abrial wrote internal notes on Z. The Z notation is used in the 1980 book "Méthodes de programmation".
Z was originally proposed by Abrial in 1977 with the help of Steve Schuman and Bertrand Meyer. It was developed further at the Programming Research Group at Oxford University, where Abrial worked in the early 1980s, having arrived at Oxford in September 1979.
Abrial has said that Z is so named "Because it is the ultimate language!" although the name "Zermelo" is also associated with the Z notation through its use of Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory.
Z is based on the standard mathematical notation used in axiomatic set theory, lambda calculus, and first-order predicate logic. All expressions in Z notation are typed, thereby avoiding some of the paradoxes of naive set theory. Z contains a standardized catalogue (called the "mathematical toolkit") of commonly used mathematical functions and predicates, defined using Z itself. |
3hpzf4ivnmtew9t3i8yccj135lxcy8 | Jack and Mike are on holiday in France. Mike loves visiting old buildings. Jack likes, too. In the village Jack and Mike see a beautiful old church, but when they come into the church, some people are there. They don't know what the people are doing. "Oh! Just sit quietly, and do like the others!" Mike says. Because they don't really know French, so they stand, kneel, and sit to follow other people. Then the priest says something. The man next to Jack and Mike stands up. "We should stand up, too!" Jack whispers to Mike. So, Jack and Mike stand up with the man. Suddenly, all the people smile! After that, Jack and Mike walk to the priest. "What's so funny?" Jack asks in English. With a smile on his face the priest says, "Boys, there is a new baby born, we ask the father to stand up." Mike smiles and says, "We should understand what people do before we do like them. " |
3j2uybxqqlcsjxoh09a0yrf9ysq605 | Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on laptop computers at school. He explains the idea to them this way. "I mean, it's just like a regular textbook, except it's got it all online."
Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent of schools, said, "The world's changing. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening." Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he said.
A student named Melanie Reuter said, "I don't have to carry a textbook around, so that's nice."
But another student said, "I don't like it because the Internet sometimes doesn't work."
Students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax Country do not have a computer or online access at home. Public libraries in the country have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouse supported by the country. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He said, "My family only has one computer; my sister and I both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It's good."
Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks. |
3c44yunsi1pusn7grhx4jyq9mhppdc | CHAPTER XXV
MUMPS IS TAUGHT A LESSON
The cadets stared blankly at each other. Only two of them were undressed; the others had all of their clothing on.
It was time for the head assistant to go the rounds, to see that all was right for the night. Should he be allowed to enter the dormitory he would certainly "smell a mouse," and perhaps knock all of their plans for a feast in the head.
"Off with your clothing, all of you!" whispered Tom. "I'll manage this affair. Pretend to be asleep."
"But, Tom, it's my fault--" began Dick, when his younger brother cut him short.
"Into the bed--I'll be all right, Dick."
Satisfied that Tom had some plan in his head for smoothing matters over, the other boys disrobed with marvelous rapidity and crept into their beds. While this was going on the knocking an the door continued.
"Boys, open the door!" said George Strong. "Open the door, do you hear?"
"Answer him!" whispered Tom to Larry, whose bed was nearest him. "Pretend you have just awoke," and he flung himself on the floor, with one of a pair of big rubber boots in each hand.
"Oh--er--Mr. Strong, is that you?"
"Yes, open the door."
"Why--er--is it locked?
"Yes."
At once Larry tumbled from his bed, unlocked the door and stood there rubbing his eyes. "Excuse me, Sir, for not hearing you before."
"I want to know what the meaning is of the noise in here?" said George Strong severely, as he gazed around the dimly lit apartment, for the lamp was turned low. "You boys are--gracious me! What's this?" |
3tvrfo09gkfiz8xzqp59wokhys4lxn | Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve a practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. Daylighting (using windows, skylights, or light shelves) is sometimes used as the main source of light during daytime in buildings. This can save energy in place of using artificial lighting, which represents a major component of energy consumption in buildings. Proper lighting can enhance task performance, improve the appearance of an area, or have positive psychological effects on occupants.
Indoor lighting is usually accomplished using light fixtures, and is a key part of interior design. Lighting can also be an intrinsic component of landscape projects.
Forms of lighting include alcove lighting, which like most other uplighting is indirect. This is often done with fluorescent lighting (first available at the 1939 World's Fair) or rope light, occasionally with neon lighting, and recently with LED strip lighting. It is a form of backlighting. |
33nf62tlxj26kiasole7qfznywdkjs | When the film opens, the Oakland A's have just lost a game to the New York Yankees. And they're about to lose three of their best players to richer teams. Beane is sad, because he doesn't have enough money to compete with the big teams. But then he meets Peter Brand, a young Yale graduate and statistics expert.
Brand introduces Beane to sabermetrics---a controversial system for measuring how good a baseball player is. It applies computer-generated( )statistical analysis to work out a player's ability. It's completely different from the more traditional methods of talent spotting that all the other teams are using. With sabermetrics, Beane begins buying players other teams aren't interested in. And he manages to build a winning team with very little money.
Monayball is based on a true story, but characters have combined, dates have been changed and some events have been invented all for dramatic effect. For example, Peter Brand, Beane's assistant, never existed. However, he is largely based on Beane's former assistant Paul DePodesta. Though there are these changes, critics think that Brad Pitt's portrayal of Beane is _
One journalist wrote, " Pitt imitates Beane's gestures and speech patterns."
Beane's use of sabermetrics changed baseball. Now many teams rely on the method. But this form of complex computer-generated statistical analysis is used in business too. And these days, many businesses use sabermetrics to help plan their business strategies.
But Moneyballisn't just about facts and figures. Billy Beane himself was once a major-league baseball player. At the start of his career people expected big things from him. But he didn't achieve what is expected of him and in 1990 he retired with an average record. This past failure always returns to his mind, and the film is also about whether Beane will finally achieve success in his life.
The critics love Moneyball. One called it " the most soulful of baseball movies", another described it as a " home run". And most agree it's on track for some major awards. |
3ekvh9qmey4y0g6apjmsnligb7h2dm | (CNN) -- Robert Zimmerman Jr., the brother of the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, apologized for his controversial and offensive tweets.
In one, Zimmerman juxtaposed a photograph of Martin with one of 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins, one of two teenagers charged with killing a baby in Georgia.
Both Elkins and Martin appear to be flipping off the camera.
"A picture speaks a thousand words. Any questions?" the tweet reads.
In another tweet, Zimmerman writes: "Lib media shld ask if what these2 black teens did 2 a woman&baby is the reason ppl think blacks mightB risky."
Speaking on CNN's Piers Morgan Live on Wednesday night, he apologized for the messages, saying they weren't the "right thing to do."
"I realize those were controversial and offensive and I did publicly apologize for them," he said. "I'm a human being. I'm being upfront about what I did. I made a mistake ... Unfortunately (it) may not have helped George."
5 things to know about the case
His brother, George Zimmerman, has been charged with second-degree murder. Zimmerman acknowledged shooting Martin but said it was in self-defense. Attorneys for Martin's family have accused Zimmerman of racially profiling Martin and shooting him "in cold blood."
Robert Zimmerman Jr. said he was trying to make a larger point in his tweets about the "media and their honesty in portraying the person who encountered my brother February 26, 2012.
Letters to Zimmerman show split opinions
"We've been led to believe that it's a junior-high-school-aged person because of the pictures," he said, referring to Martin. |
3zv9h2yqqd7mu42kae5nyjctozkw3t | On Saturday Patrick woke up with a little shock, knowing that this was a special day. For a moment he couldn't think exactly why, and then, with an excited flutter of his stomach, he remembered. At ten o'clock today he was going to find out the final result of the programme called Super Brain. He got dressed more carefully than usual, went downstairs and turned on the TV. Quickly he switched channels. Cartoons, cartoons, advertisements, man talking, snow, snow... and still nothing at all on Channel 8. "Patrick, turn it off, darling, if you're going to watch." Judith walked past with the newspaper under her arm and her eyes half closed. She headed for the kitchen. Patrick turned off the TV and followed. "What's for breakfast, Mum?" "We will see," Judith said in a low voice, turning on the electric kettle . She looked sleepily at him and smiled. "You look nice, darling," She said. "You're all ready. But we can't go till eight-thirty at the earliest, you know. Nothing will be open till then." Patrick's stomach seemed to feel a little sick. "We aren't going out, are we?" He asked. Judith began to make the tea. "Don't say you've forgotten!" she said, "I promised you, last Saturday. Your new trainers, remember?" "Oh--oh, but I can't go out this morning, Mum. There's something I've got to watch on TV. At ten o'clock. I've got to! My trainers will be all right for another week." Patrick said with excitement, looking quite worried. Judith faced him, hands on hips, "Patrick," she said with great dislike, "it's all organized." |
38f71oa9gtwl54ozq702quzzurpfmh | Starting in the coal mines, by the mid-19th century elevators were operated with steam power and were used for moving goods in bulk in mines and factories. These steam driven devices were soon being applied to a diverse set of purposes - in 1823, two architects working in London, Burton and Hormer, built and operated a novel tourist attraction, which they called the "ascending room". It elevated paying customers to a considerable height in the center of London, allowing them a magnificent panoramic view of downtown.
The hydraulic crane was invented by Sir William Armstrong in 1846, primarily for use at the Tyneside docks for loading cargo. These quickly supplanted the earlier steam driven elevators: exploiting Pascal's law, they provided a much greater force. A water pump supplied a variable level of water pressure to a plunger encased inside a vertical cylinder, allowing the level of the platform (carrying a heavy load) to be raised and lowered. Counterweights and balances were also used to increase the lifting power of the apparatus. |
31lm9edvols7sovvly6ni7grsugnj4 | Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Gary Coleman's ex-wife sold "death photos" of the former child actor in "ongoing desperate attempts" to profit from his death, according to the person Coleman named as executor of his estate.
The photographs, taken inside the hospital where Coleman died last month, will be published this week in Globe magazine, according to a publicist for the magazine.
"We bought the photos," said Samantha Trenk, a spokeswoman for Globe parent company American Media.
The magazine would not disclose how much it paid or who sold the images.
Coleman divorced Shannon Price in 2008, but they were living together in Santaquin, Utah, when he suffered a fall at home last month and died two days later of a brain hemorrhage in a Provo, Utah, hospital.
"Knowing Gary, as well as anyone could have, I assure his closest family, friends and fans that his disdain for this behavior would be unquestionable and paramount to any foregoing profession of 'love' for Shannon that might have ever poured from his lips," Dion Mial said in an e-mail to CNN.
Price, 24, did not deny Mial's accusation, but she did say in a statement from her publicist that she needed money because she had helped Mial pay for a lawyer.
"Dion, who claims to be a good friend of Gary, would know that Gary's only wishes were to make sure that Shannon would be OK after he was gone," Price's statement said. "So if Dion was a good friend he would be assisting Shannon, not taking all her money, to pay for his attorney and then use it to take everything from her." |
373erpl3yo8mlpjsqz18tx8aryort3 | CHAPTER XXVII
THE SILVER CLASP
It was about eleven o'clock on a hot morning and Kenwardine, who had adopted native customs, was leisurely getting his breakfast in the patio. Two or three letters lay among the fruit and wine, but he did not mean to open them yet. He was something of a sybarite and the letters might blunt his enjoyment of the well-served meal. Clare, who had not eaten much, sat opposite, watching him. His pose as he leaned back with a wineglass in his hand was negligently graceful, and his white clothes, drawn in at the waist by a black silk sash, showed his well-knit figure. There were touches of gray in his hair and wrinkles round his eyes, but in spite of this he had a look of careless youth. Clare, however, thought she noticed a hint of preoccupation that she knew and disliked.
Presently Kenwardine picked out an envelope with a British stamp from among the rest and turned it over before inserting a knife behind the flap, which yielded easily, as if the gum had lost its strength. Then he took out the letter and smiled with ironical amusement. If it had been read by any unauthorized person before it reached him, the reader would have been much misled, but it told him what he wanted to know. There was one word an Englishman or American would not have used, though a Teuton might have done so, but Kenwardine thought a Spaniard would not notice this, even if he knew English well. The other letters were not important, and he glanced at his daughter. |
34s9dkfk73pxndqu7y7qsuvf51mync | Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as "historical nationality". The territory is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville. Its capital is the city of Seville (Spanish: "Sevilla").
Andalusia is in the south of the Iberian peninsula, in south-western Europe, immediately south of the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha; west of the autonomous community of Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; east of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean; and north of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. The small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, separated by the Intrabaetic Basin. In the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spain's Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, while Lower Andalusia is in the Baetic Depression of the valley of the Guadalquivir. |
3ojsz2atdswai4ongpl4l0bwahj750 | CHAPTER XXIV
The voyage is doomed to disaster and death. I know Mr. Pike, now, and if ever he discovers the identity of Mr. Mellaire, murder will be done. Mr. Mellaire is not Mr. Mellaire. He is not from Georgia. He is from Virginia. His name is Waltham--Sidney Waltham. He is one of the Walthams of Virginia, a black sheep, true, but a Waltham. Of this I am convinced, just as utterly as I am convinced that Mr. Pike will kill him if he learns who he is.
Let me tell how I have discovered all this. It was last night, shortly before midnight, when I came up on the poop to enjoy a whiff of the south- east trades in which we are now bowling along, close-hauled in order to weather Cape San Roque. Mr. Pike had the watch, and I paced up and down with him while he told me old pages of his life. He has often done this, when not "sea-grouched," and often he has mentioned with pride--yes, with reverence--a master with whom he sailed five years. "Old Captain Somers," he called him--"the finest, squarest, noblest man I ever sailed under, sir."
Well, last night our talk turned on lugubrious subjects, and Mr. Pike, wicked old man that he is, descanted on the wickedness of the world and on the wickedness of the man who had murdered Captain Somers.
"He was an old man, over seventy years old," Mr. Pike went on. "And they say he'd got a touch of palsy--I hadn't seen him for years. You see, I'd had to clear out from the coast because of trouble. And that devil of a second mate caught him in bed late at night and beat him to death. It was terrible. They told me about it. Right in San Francisco, on board the _Jason Harrison_, it happened, eleven years ago. |
3wev0ko0omsr5fn8jy1ye3vk90ssdp | (CNN) -- Climate skeptics are indicative of societies in decay.
So said Mohamed Nasheed, president of the Maldives.
Speaking at CNN's Earth's Frontiers debate in Seoul, Nasheed said he was looking for a greater urgency from countries and business across the world in dealing with the problems caused by climate change.
Rather than a slow decay, Nasheed's own nation is faced with a rapid extinction caused by a rise in sea-levels, according to many climate scientists.
Joined at the debate by filmmaker and environmentalist James Cameron, Puma's CEO Jochen Zeitz, and Changhua Wu of The Climate Group, Nasheed noted what was at stake when talking about future energy sources.
"I think it's going to be very difficult for the Maldives to survive if business goes as usual," he said. "I think it's time especially for big emitter countries to find alternatives and move forward. If not, it's not just going to be the Maldives, it's going to be all of us."
Instead of revisiting the divisions that flared between countries at the Copenhagen climate summit in December, Nasheed struck a more inclusive tone on how countries can work together to create a carbon-neutral future.
"I don't think this is an issue of developed and developing countries. Given the opportunities, (developing countries) would have done the same.
"But of course industrialized countries have more capabilities and more means, and there are people who are in trouble. If they want to lend a hand, that's the decent thing to do."
Zeitz took a stand for businesses taking the initiative in promoting renewable energy by saying that business cannot wait for government action. |
3vnl7uk1xfjpizejz41ec8uro2rftu | Vivi Mac, an amazing artist from France, can use nearly any kind of food to create detailed celebrity portraits .Although she has yet to _ her short-lived work of arts in a proper art gallery, Vivi Mac has already made a name for herself online.
We've seen some amazing food artists in the past, but none are quite like this one .Karen Eland is a master coffee painter, Elisabetta Rogai uses wine as her medium ,Kelly McCollam uses food colouring to recreat classic paintings, but the self-taught Vivi Mac can take anything from chewing gum to milk and turn it into a fantastic portrait When working with liquids, Mac uses a simple plastic straw and her hands to guide the unusual .mediums around a plastic plate which acts as a painting. Just how she manages to capture the finest facial features is still a mistery to me, and I've seen videos of her doing it many times,
Vivi Mac has never attended art school. She only used online resources like blogs and facebook to learn the basics of drawing and painting. She started out working with pens and paper, but soon realized drawing wasn't just creative enough for her. She got into speed painting and body painting, posting videos of her works on You Tube, but it wasn't until she began experimenting with different kinds of foods that her art got serious coverage. Photos and videos of her eatable celebrity portraits, like Bruce Lee in milk Ice Cube in crushed ice or Amy Winehouse in wine, became popular on the French inter-webs and changed Vivi Mac into an online celebrity. |
33jkghpfycuxtw1govjfyz88wvfnmq | A 13-year-old boy traveled to Washington, D.C. to raise money for homeless kids. Zach Bonner was pretty tired. Instead of going to camp last summer, Zach decided to walk 668 miles from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. He hoped more people would help homeless kids. His journey to help others began six years ago. Zach walked from his home in Tampa to Tallahassee. Then, in 2008, Zach Bonner went on a 270-mile walk from Tallahassee to Atlanta. In 2010, he did it again, from Tampa to Los Angeles. Last summer, Zach traveled 12 miles every day on foot. Along the way, he collected more than 1000 letters about homeless children. He hoped to give the letters to President Obama. Zach says he wants his walk to make a difference. More than 1 million children in the U.S. have nowhere to live. During his journey, Zach spent 24 hours with some homeless children so he could learn the difficulties they face. When Zach walked the last mile of his long journey, more than 500 supporters, including 300 homeless kids, joined Zach. They went with him down the National Mall. "It was a long walk," Zach says, "but it was meaningful." Although the journey is difficult and tiring, Zach won't give up. "When homeless kids get tired of being homeless, they don't get to stop. So why should I stop when I get tired of walking?" |
3tu5zicbrd13b4c4am1dxb2ihswq8t | During the years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, structural engineers have been trying hard to solve a question that would otherwise have been completely unthinkable: Can building be designed to stand catastrophic blasts by terrorists?
Soon after the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, structural engineers from the University at Buffalo and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) traveled to ground zero as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation. They spent two days beginning the task of formulating ideas about how to design such structures and to search for clues on how to do so in buildings that were damaged, but still are standing.
"Our objective in visiting ground zero was to go and look at the buildings surrounding the World Trade Center, those buildings that are still standing, but that sustained damage," said M. Bruneau, Ph.D. "Our immediate hope is that we can develop a better understanding as to why those buildings remain standing, while our long-term goal is to see whether earthquake engineering technologies can be married to existing technologies to achieve enhanced performance of buildings in the event of terrorist attacks," he added.
Photographs taken by the investigators demonstrate the monumental damage to the World Trade Center towers and buildings nearby. One building a block away from the towers remains standing, but was badly damaged. "This building is many meters away from the World Trade Center and yet we see a column there that used to be part of that building," explained A. Whittaker, Ph.D. "The column became a missile that shot across the road, through the window and through the floor."
The visit to the area also brought some surprises, according to the engineers. For example, the floor framing system in one of the buildings was quite strong , allowing floors that were pierced by tons of falling debris to survive. "Good framing systems may provide a simple, but reliable strategy for blast resistance," he added. Other strategies may include providing alternate paths for gravity loads in the event that a load-bearing column fails. "We also need a better understanding of the mechanism of collapse," said A. Whittaker. "We need to find out what causes a building to collapse and how you can predict it."
A. Reinhorn, Ph.D. noted that "earthquake shaking has led to the collapse of buildings in the past. Solutions developed for earthquake-resistant design may apply to blast engineering and terrorist-resistant design. Part of our mission now is to transfer these solutions and to develop new ones where none exist at present." |
3gm6g9zbknxvo960lr5r7ye0l6stma | (CNN) -- Karim Benzema shrugged off his club troubles and a violent challenge to give France a 1-0 win over 10-man Brazil in Wednesday's prestige friendly in Paris.
The Real Madrid striker netted the only goal from close range nine minutes into the second half of the rematch of the 1998 World Cup final at the same venue -- which France won 3-0.
He was lucky to escape serious injury five minutes before the break when Brazil midfielder Hernanes was sent off for kicking him in the chest.
Benzema has struggled to show his true form in Spain since his $48 million move in 2009, but was a constant threat after the red card and should have added more to his new tally of 12 international goals.
However, his 54th-minute strike proved enough, set up by winger Jeremy Menez's burst down the right and subsequent teasing low cross.
Menez was lucky to stay on the pitch after a bad tackle from behind on Brazil defender David Luiz, whose new English club Chelsea will be relieved he escaped injury.
It was France's fifth consecutive win under coach Laurent Blanc, who has revived the team's fortunes after last year's first-round exit at the World Cup in South Africa.
Brazil coach Mano Menezes suffered a second successive defeat following November's loss to Argentina.
Also on Wednesday, two of the world's best footballers went head-to-head in neutral Switzerland, and once again Lionel Messi came out on top as Argentina snatched a last-gasp 2-1 friendly win over Portugal. |
3amw0rghod23ezytgbb7f3230lypn1 | (CNN) -- When Jupp Heynckes made his debut in the Bundesliga as a player back in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German soccer league.
Now as coach of the country's most successful team, he has reached a significant milestone in what will be his final season in charge.
On Saturday the 67-year-old became only the second man to rack up 1,000 Bundesliga appearances as both player and coach as Bayern took another step towards a 23rd national title with a 6-1 thrashing of Werder Bremen in front of 71,000 fans at Allianz Arena.
It was Heynckes' 631st Bundesliga game as a head coach, coming 48 years after he played his first match for hometown club Borussia Monchengladbach on the day that Bayern made a Bundesliga bow against city rival 1860 Munich.
"It's an imposing total," said Heynckes, who is behind only former Greece coach Otto Rehgal's 1,033 Bundesliga matches -- 201 of which were as a player.
Heynckes is on course for a treble of trophies, with Bayern poised to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League after the 3-1 midweek win at Arsenal, having suffered an agonizing penalty shootout defeat by Chelsea in last season's title match despite home advantage.
He rested six key players ahead of Wednesday's German Cup clash with two-time defending Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, but still had too much firepower as Bremen had a man sent off at 2-0 down and never recovered.
Mario Gomez netted twice in the second half to reach his 100th goal in a red shirt, having earlier forced Czech international Gebre Selassie into diverting a cross into his own net. |
3lotdfnya7zhagidu96pzs1qstzwfl | Alaska (i/əˈlæskə/) is a U.S. state situated in the northwest extremity of the Americas. The Canadian administrative divisions of British Columbia and Yukon border the state to the east while Russia has a maritime border with the state to the west across the Bering Strait. To the north are the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, the southern parts of the Arctic Ocean. To the south and southwest is the Pacific Ocean. Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area, the 3rd least populous and the least densely populated of the 50 United States. Approximately half of Alaska's residents (the total estimated at 738,432 by the Census Bureau in 2015) live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. Alaska's economy is dominated by the fishing, natural gas, and oil industries, resources which it has in abundance. Military bases and tourism are also a significant part of the economy.
Alaska is the northernmost and westernmost state in the United States and has the most easterly longitude in the United States because the Aleutian Islands extend into the eastern hemisphere. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles (800 km) of British Columbia (Canada) separates Alaska from Washington. It is technically part of the continental U.S., but is sometimes not included in colloquial use; Alaska is not part of the contiguous U.S., often called "the Lower 48". The capital city, Juneau, is situated on the mainland of the North American continent but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. |
340ugxu9dy1te9fyzowszqjfvievux | CHAPTER XXIV.
Next day, sure enough, the cablegram didn't come. This was an immense disaster; for Tracy couldn't go into the presence without that ticket, although it wasn't going to possess any value as evidence. But if the failure of the cablegram on that first day may be called an immense disaster, where is the dictionary that can turn out a phrase sizeable enough to describe the tenth day's failure? Of course every day that the cablegram didn't come made Tracy all of twenty-four hours' more ashamed of himself than he was the day before, and made Sally fully twenty-four hours more certain than ever that he not only hadn't any father anywhere, but hadn't even a confederate--and so it followed that he was a double-dyed humbug and couldn't be otherwise.
These were hard days for Barrow and the art firm. All these had their hands full, trying to comfort Tracy. Barrow's task was particularly hard, because he was made a confidant in full, and therefore had to humor Tracy's delusion that he had a father, and that the father was an earl, and that he was going to send a cablegram. Barrow early gave up the idea of trying to convince Tracy that he hadn't any father, because this had such a bad effect on the patient, and worked up his temper to such an alarming degree. He had tried, as an experiment, letting Tracy think he had a father; the result was so good that he went further, with proper caution, and tried letting him think his father was an earl; this wrought so well, that he grew bold, and tried letting him think he had two fathers, if he wanted to, but he didn't want to, so Barrow withdrew one of them and substituted letting him think he was going to get a cablegram--which Barrow judged he wouldn't, and was right; but Barrow worked the cablegram daily for all it was worth, and it was the one thing that kept Tracy alive; that was Barrow's opinion. |
3pw9opu9pqk48lqy9q2xmjh7nid21c | (CNN) -- Logan Stevenson's role as best man at his parents' wedding Saturday came just in time.
Logan, a 2-year-old terminally ill boy whose parents moved up their ceremony so he could witness it, died Monday night at his home in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, with family at his side, Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner John Ackerman said Tuesday.
The child died of complications from the genetic disorder Fanconi anemia, Ackerman said.
On Monday, Logan's parents, Christine Swidorsky and Sean Stevenson, held him for long periods after it became apparent that his death was near, his mother wrote on Facebook.
"At 8:18 my son took his last breath in my arms," the mother, now known as Christine Swidorsky-Stevenson, wrote Monday night. "Im so sad upset and im in disbelief he is with angels and he's in no more pain. no more sickness no more hospitals."
The parents had put off their wedding for two years, hoping that Logan's health would improve.
The wedding was set for July 2014, but after being told that Logan had just weeks to live due to leukemia brought on by the Fanconi anemia, his parents moved their wedding to Saturday.
"Under the circumstances of what the doctors told us, we just decided to go ahead and do it while he is still with us," Stevenson told CNN Pittsburgh affiliate KDKA.
On Saturday, Logan, dressed in a tan suit and an orange shirt matching his mom's bouquet, looked on as his parents exchanged vows in a backyard ceremony. Swidorsky carried her son down the aisle, and his grandmother then cradled him in her arms, his favorite brown teddy bear by his side. |
33m4ia01qg1t26scv925i0tg4s4xrg | NEW YORK (CNN) -- After spending nearly 28 years in an irreversible coma, heiress and socialite Martha "Sunny" von Bulow died Saturday in a New York nursing home, according to a family statement. She was 76.
Sunny von Bulow is pictured during her 1957 wedding to Prince Alfred von Auersperg.
Von Bulow was subject of one of the nation's most sensational criminal cases during the 1980s.
Her husband, Claus, was accused of trying to kill her with an overdose of insulin, which prosecutors alleged sent her into the coma.
He was convicted of making two attempts on her life, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. He was acquitted in a second trial.
His retrial in 1985 received national attention.
"We were blessed to have an extraordinarily loving and caring mother," said the statement from Von Bulow's three children -- Annie Laurie "Ala" Isham, Alexander von Auersperg and Cosima Pavoncelli -- released by a spokeswoman. "She was especially devoted to her many friends and family members."
Martha von Bulow was born Martha Sharp Crawford into a wealthy family. She inherited a fortune conservatively estimated at $75 million, according to an article on the von Bulow case posted on truTV.com's Crime Library Web site.
In her early years, she drew comparisons to actress Grace Kelly.
She became known as Princess von Auersperg with her first marriage, to Prince Alfred von Auersperg of Austria. That marriage produced two children: Alexander and Annie Laurie.
The von Bulows married in 1966 and had a daughter, Cosima. |
39rp059mehtvsncjl5e6748eerrbmk | London (CNN) -- He steered Great Britain through the perils of World War II and is recognized as one of the most important statesmen of the 20th century.
But away from the world of politics, Winston Churchill was also an avid painter, drawn to scenes of stately homes in the UK, picturesque fields in France and vibrant Moroccan landscapes.
Though he always saw himself as an amateur, he was quick to spot talent in others.
Now, for the first time, paintings of Marrakech in Morocco by Churchill are being shown alongside those of Moroccan artist Hassan el Glaoui, who throughout his life credited Churchill with convincing his father -- the Pasha of Marrakech -- to let him pursue his dream of becoming a painter.
"The Pasha of Marrakesh was quite a fearful character and had great influence politically and great wealth, and the idea that his son was going to be a painter clearly wouldn't have come naturally to him," said Daniel Robbins, curator of the exhibition "Meetings in Marrakech" at Leighton House Museum in London.
In 1943, the Pasha showed the visiting Churchill some paintings by his son and asked for his opinion.
Churchill approved and the young Hassan was subsequently allowed to train as a painter in Paris.
"There weren't many people that the Pasha would listen to but if Churchill said it was alright to be painter, he could accommodate that desire," said Robbins.
Hassan El Glaoui's career took off and he has since exhibited his work in Europe and the US, as well as in Morocco. |
3ejjqnku9r5wggsxq5kjfe5mgzrhr7 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin (CNN) -- During the course of his long run for the presidency, Mitt Romney has consistently presented himself to voters as a "turnaround" artist, or as his supporters have taken to calling him recently, a "Mr. Fix-It."
In making his closing argument to voters that he should have that chance to take his government tool belt to Washington, Romney has vowed to "bring people together," to govern as president.
"I've got be able to reach across the aisle and get good Democrats and good Republicans to work together," the former Massachusetts governor told a crowd in Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday.
If Obama wins a second term ...
"My legislature was about 85% Democrat and it was not lost on me that to get anything done at all, and even to have my veto upheld, I had to have people across the aisle I could work with," he continued.
Romney's critics insist the Republican candidate's bipartisan overtures are in need of a serious reality check. They look no farther than his statement to last February's gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
"I fought long odds in a deep blue state. But I was a severely conservative Republican governor," Romney told the conference.
Romney defends his 'severely conservative' record
The words "severely" and "conservative" are no longer part of Romney pitch with the campaign in the home stretch. Asked how Romney's promises of bipartisanship align with what quickly became a YouTube moment at CPAC last winter, a senior campaign adviser argued the two claims are not mutually exclusive. |
3hutx6f6vunp4dxzfs08yfufg0ro23 | CHAPTER III
Philip was not very fond of taking walks with his father, since he found that in nine cases out of ten they afforded opportunities for inculcation of facts of the driest description with reference to estate management, or to the narration by his parent of little histories of which his conduct upon some recent occasion would adorn the moral. On this particular occasion the prospect was particularly unpleasant, for his father would, he was well aware, overflow with awful politeness, indeed, after the scene of the morning, it could not be otherwise. Oh, how much rather would he have spent that lovely afternoon with Maria Lee! Dear Maria, he would go and see her again the very next day.
When he arrived, some ten minutes after time in the antler-hung hall of the Abbey House, he found his father standing, watch in hand, exactly under the big clock, as though he was determined to make a note by double entry of every passing second.
"When I asked you to walk with me this afternoon, Philip, I, if my memory does not deceive me, was careful to say that I had no wish to interfere with any prior engagement. I was aware how little interest, compared to your cousin George, you take in the estate, and I had no wish to impose an uncongenial task. But, as you kindly volunteered to accompany me, I regret that you did not find it convenient to be punctual to the time you fixed. I have now waited for you for seventeen minutes, and let me tell you that at my time of life I cannot afford to lose seventeen minutes. May I ask what has delayed you?" |
34s6n1k2zvjldixkllnnt2wna2nlhw | Infrared radiation is used in industrial, scientific, and medical applications. Night-vision devices using active near-infrared illumination allow people or animals to be observed without the observer being detected. Infrared astronomy uses sensor-equipped telescopes to penetrate dusty regions of space, such as molecular clouds; detect objects such as planets, and to view highly red-shifted objects from the early days of the universe. Infrared thermal-imaging cameras are used to detect heat loss in insulated systems, to observe changing blood flow in the skin, and to detect overheating of electrical apparatus.
The onset of infrared is defined (according to different standards) at various values typically between 700 nm and 800 nm, but the boundary between visible and infrared light is not precisely defined. The human eye is markedly less sensitive to light above 700 nm wavelength, so longer wavelengths make insignificant contributions to scenes illuminated by common light sources. However, particularly intense near-IR light (e.g., from IR lasers, IR LED sources, or from bright daylight with the visible light removed by colored gels) can be detected up to approximately 780 nm, and will be perceived as red light. Sources providing wavelengths as long as 1050 nm can be seen as a dull red glow in intense sources, causing some difficulty in near-IR illumination of scenes in the dark (usually this practical problem is solved by indirect illumination). Leaves are particularly bright in the near IR, and if all visible light leaks from around an IR-filter are blocked, and the eye is given a moment to adjust to the extremely dim image coming through a visually opaque IR-passing photographic filter, it is possible to see the Wood effect that consists of IR-glowing foliage. |
36zn444ytrytfyb14vl0lv1w5wnoid | CHAPTER III
IN THE LOW COUNTRY
Master Lirriper had stood apart while the boys were conversing with Francis Vere.
"What do you think, Master Lirriper?" Geoffrey exclaimed as they joined him. "We have asked Mr. Vere to take us with him as pages to the war in the Low Country, and though he said we were not to be hopeful about his reply, I do think he will take us. We are to go round to Westminster at one o'clock to see him again. What do you think of that?"
"I don't know what to think, Master Geoffrey. It takes me all by surprise, and I don't know how I stand in the matter. You see, your father gave you into my charge, and what could I say to him if I went back empty handed?"
"But, you see, it is with Francis Vere," Geoffrey said. "If it had been with anyone else it would be different. But the Veres are his patrons, and he looks upon the earl, and Mr. Francis and his brothers, almost as he does on us; and, you know, he has already consented to our entering the army some day. Besides, he can't blame you; because, of course, Mr. Vere will write to him himself and say that he has taken us, and so you can't be blamed in the matter. My father would know well enough that you could not withstand the wishes of one of the Veres, who are lords of Hedingham and all the country round." |
3ranct1zvfhe5vhsu75syep8sqebun | The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.
The USPTO is "unique among federal agencies because it operates solely on fees collected by its users, and not on taxpayer dollars". Its "operating structure is like a business in that it receives requests for services—applications for patents and trademark registrations—and charges fees projected to cover the cost of performing the services [it] provide[s]".
The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington, Virginia. The offices under Patents and the Chief Information Officer that remained just outside the southern end of Crystal City completed moving to Randolph Square, a brand-new building in Shirlington Village, on April 27, 2009.
The last head of the USPTO was Michelle K. Lee. She took up her new role on January 13, 2014, initially in a temporary Deputy role. On March 13, she formally took office as Director after being nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She formerly served as the Director of the USPTO's Silicon Valley satellite office. She resigned effective June 6, 2017. |
39l1g8wvwqrtt3mhdqg25tmzt0m315 | CHAPTER VIII
THE ROVER BOYS IN NEW YORK
The more the Rover boys talked about the treasure hunt the more enthusiastic they became, until, as Tom expressed it, they were "simply boiling over with enthusiasm."
"It will be a grand thing for the Stanhopes and the Lanings if we do locate that treasure," said Sam. "Mr. Laning has some money, but I know he'd like more, so he wouldn't have to farm quite so hard."
"And Dick wants to get all he can for Dora, I'm certain of that," said Tom, with a merry glance at his elder brother.
"How about you getting the Laning share for Nellie's benefit?" retorted Dick, his face growing red. "I reckon the boot is as long as the shoe."
As the Rovers had plenty of money it was an easy matter to arrange for the expenses of the trip. Mrs. Stanhope wanted to pay a share, but Anderson Rover said she had better wait until the treasure was found.
Inside of three, days word was received from all those who had been asked to participate in the search. Mr. Laning said that he could not leave his farm very well, but that his wife and two daughters would go. Mrs. Stanhope and Dora said they would pack immediately. Fred Garrison was visiting Hans Mueller and the two sent a telegram as follows:
"You couldn't hold us back if you tried. Where shall we meet you?"
"That's like Fred," said Dick. "I am awfully glad he is to be with us --and glad Hans will come, too." |
37u1utwh9vm3n5r4n1qd21cnc818r2 | (CNN) -- Today is the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a champion for freedom, civil rights and justice.
I was blessed to be with him the last weekend before his death. I remember the trauma he felt as a result of his opposition to the war in Vietnam.
Before going to Memphis, King had the Rev. Ralph Abernathy call for a staff meeting in his church study on a Saturday morning. His close aides came. King complained that he had felt the pain of "a migraine headache for four days." He said, "Maybe I've done as much as I could. We've come from the back of the bus, gotten the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act..." One of us -- Andy Young -- asked him not to talk that way. King responded, "Don't say peace when there is no peace."
Many of his supporters had turned against him because of his position on the war in Vietnam, but King felt he had to do what was right. He contended, "There are those who want me to confine my morality to the war on poverty and overlook the war in Vietnam. However, the bombs in Vietnam ultimately explode at home because of poverty." He contemplated fasting until he was near the point of death, anticipating that "those who disagree with me would come to my bedside and we could reconcile."
But then he shook off his pessimism and declared, "Let's turn a minus into a plus, like we did before. Let's make this nation deal forthrightly with the issue of poverty." |
3snlul3wo4nqi434lkumchld3f7ulx | I am very hungry. I look for my mother.
When is dinner? I ask.
Dinner is at six, my mother says.
What can we eat? I ask.
We can pick food from our garden, she says. I help her pick corn, beans, and peas.
The corn is yellow and white. The beans are small and brown. The peas are green and round.
I put the beans in a basket. I put the peas in a bowl. Mother brings the corn. We go inside.
I have dirty hands. I wash my hands with soap and water. The water is warm. My hands are now clean.
Mother lets me stir the beans. I fill a pot with water. Mother puts the corn into the pot. She puts the pot on the stove. The water boils.
Mary is my sister. Mary puts four plates on the table. Each plate is blue.
We each eat two pieces of meat. I eat more corn than Mary. Mary eats more beans than our mother.
What did you learn today? Mary asks.
I can spell ten new words, I say.
Mary can only spell two words. |
3d8you6s9ek8zj0xygokny3gda46u3 | One day Tom was playing with his younger brother Paul beside the well near their home. Suddenly Tom fell down the well. Paul was frightened. Their parents were not at home. Their father was working in the factory and their mother was helping a neighbor. Tom called his younger brother, Paul. Paul looked at the bottom of the well and saw his brother standing in the water of the well. Tom was five feet tall and the water was only three feet deep. Paul was glad to see his brother safe in the well. Then he ran home and brought a long rope. He was only six and not very strong, so he could not pull Tom out. He was thinking hard and finally had a good idea. He tied one end of the rope to a tree and threw the other end to his brother in the well. Then Tom climbed up the rope and got out of the well. He thanked his brother first and went home to exchange his wet clothes. |
3wz36bjev3gz5i23u2fiti369antbq | The Romance languages (sometimes called the Romanic languages, Latin languages, or Neo-Latin languages) are the modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin between the sixth and ninth centuries and that thus form a branch of the Italic languages within the Indo-European language family.
Today, around 800 million people are native speakers worldwide, mainly in Europe, Africa and the Americas, but also elsewhere. Additionally, the major Romance languages have many non-native speakers and are in widespread use as lingua francas. This is especially the case for French, which is in widespread use throughout Central and West Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Maghreb.
The five most widely spoken Romance languages by number of native speakers are Spanish (470 million), Portuguese (250 million), French (150 million), Italian (60 million), and Romanian (25 million).
Because of the difficulty of imposing boundaries on a continuum, various counts of the modern Romance languages are given; for example, Dalby lists 23 based on mutual intelligibility. The following, more extensive list, includes 35 current, living languages, and one recently extinct language, Dalmatian:
Romance languages are the continuation of Vulgar Latin, the popular and colloquial sociolect of Latin spoken by soldiers, settlers, and merchants of the Roman Empire, as distinguished from the classical form of the language spoken by the Roman upper classes, the form in which the language was generally written. Between 350 BC and 150 AD, the expansion of the Empire, together with its administrative and educational policies, made Latin the dominant native language in continental Western Europe. Latin also exerted a strong influence in southeastern Britain, the Roman province of Africa, western Germany, Pannonia and the Balkans north of the Jireček Line. |
36wlnqg78zaxgzk647qnuw356x3bef | (CNN) -- Andrea Pirlo played a starring role against his former club AC Milan to keep Italian champion Juventus in touch with the Serie A leaders Sunday.
The veteran midfielder scored a free-kick and hit the bar with another, allowing Giorgio Chiellini to volley what would be the decisive goal for a 3-1 lead.
AC Milan, down to 10 men by that stage after defender Philippe Mexes was sent off for protesting his initial booking, reduced the deficit through Sulley Muntari's second of the match at the end.
It left Juve in third place on goal difference behind Napoli, which also remained unbeaten following a 4-0 win at home to Livorno.
Both clubs trail Roma by two points, following the capital club's Saturday win at Inter Milan.
Former Inter midfielder Muntari gave Milan the lead inside 30 seconds, but Pirlo -- who spent a decade at the San Siro -- equalized after 15 minutes with a set-piece that goalkeeper Christian Abbiati could only deflect into the net.
Substitute Sebastian Giovinco put Juve ahead in the 69th minute from Arturo Vidal's pass, soon after his arrival on the pitch, and then Mexes' moment of madness was to prove vital for Milan as Chiellini immediately capitalized.
The defeat left the seven-time European champion languishing in 12th place, some 13 points adrift of Roma.
Napoli, like Juve, has six wins and a draw from seven matches, continuing new coach Rafael Benitez's fine start.
Former Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain was again missing due to injury, but the Neapolitans had too much firepower for Livorno. |
3t111ihz5eq31aaestwr2x7yxsp9rr | (CNN) -- Was there ever any doubt?
When it mattered most, the man which this Brazilian team's quest may depend on, delivered once again.
Neymar, the face of this World Cup, scored his fourth goal in three games to book his country a date with destiny and Chile in Belo Horizonte on Saturday.
The 22-year-old, for so long hailed as the savior of Brazilian football, has not disappointed at a time where the likes of Portugal's World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo have flattered to deceive.
While Lionel Messi has rescued Argentina, Neymar's 35th goal in 52 international appearances gives an insight into how crucial his role is likely to be in the next few weeks should Brazil go all the way.
His two goals and further strikes from the much maligned Fred and substitute Fernandinho ensured Brazil claimed a 4-1 win over Cameroon and secured top spot in Group A.
Mexico, which defeated Croatia 3-1, took second place and will now face the Netherlands in Fortaleza on Sunday.
But the night belonged to Neymar -- the man who scored the 100th goal of this tournament in his country's 100th match World Cup match.
Brazil will need its talisman to provide his magic once again when it meets Chile, a team which it knocked out of the tournament four years ago in South Africa.
Jorge Sampaoli's men will represent a far more difficult proposition than a Cameroon side which briefly threatened to cause embarrassment by drawing level at 1-1.
But Neymar, having already netted the opener, then took charge by scoring his side's second and guiding Brazil home. |
3e337gfol98x1m5udslkluob045gn3 | Vinton Gray Cerf ForMemRS, (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-inventor Bob Kahn. His contributions have been acknowledged and lauded, repeatedly, with honorary degrees and awards that include the National Medal of Technology, the Turing Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Marconi Prize and membership in the National Academy of Engineering.
In the early days, Cerf was a manager for the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funding various groups to develop TCP/IP technology. When the Internet began to transition to a commercial opportunity during the late 1980s, Cerf moved to MCI where he was instrumental in the development of the first commercial email system (MCI Mail) connected to the Internet.
Cerf was instrumental in the funding and formation of ICANN from the start. He waited a year before stepping forward to join the ICANN Board, and eventually became chairman. He was elected as the president of the Association for Computing Machinery in May 2012, and in August 2013 he joined the Council on CyberSecurity's Board of Advisors.
Cerf is active in many organizations that are working to help the Internet deliver humanitarian value in our world today. He is supportive of innovative projects that are experimenting with new approaches to global problems, including the digital divide, the gender gap, and the changing nature of jobs. Cerf is also known for his style, typically appearing in a three-piece suit—a rarity in an industry known for its casual dress norms. |
31jlpphs2uuepvtijsedhpz7m5ho3m | He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life graces our greeting cards and day-timers.
Fifty years after his death, his shock of white hair and hanging moustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton ,Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
Around the world , universities and academies are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time ,light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.
Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more changes in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunications, lasers, televisions and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world.
He escaped Hitler's Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism and racial prejudice. His FBI file ran 1,400 pages.
His letters expose a disorderly personal life - married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy. |
3p59jyt76lk5h527b9m7sp02f862t1 | CHAPTER V.
PLANS FOR THE SQUIRREL.
As soon as Phonny had told Stuyvesant about his squirrel and had lifted up the lid of the trap a little, so as to allow him to peep in and see, he said that he was going in to show the squirrel to the people in the house, and especially to Malleville. He accordingly hurried away with the box under his arm. Stuyvesant went back toward the barn.
Phonny hastened along to the house. From the yard he went into a shed through a great door. He walked along the platform in the shed, and at the end of the platform he went up three steps, to a door leading into the back kitchen. He passed through this back kitchen into the front kitchen, hurrying forward as he went, and leaving all the doors open.
Dorothy was at work at a table ironing.
"Dorothy," said Phonny, "I've got a squirrel--a beautiful squirrel. If I had time I would stop and show him to you."
"I wish you had time to shut the doors," said Dorothy.
"In a minute," said Phonny, "I am coming back in a minute, and then I will."
So saying Phonny went into a sort of hall or entry which passed through the house, and which had doors in it leading to the principal rooms. There was a staircase here. Phonny supposed that Malleville was up in his mother's chamber. So he stood at the foot of the stairs and began to call her with a loud voice. |
33nf62tlxj26kiasole7qfznywvkja | (Reuters)--- A Michigan man credited his dog with saving his life by chewing off his diseased big toe as he lay passed out in a drunken stupor Jerry Douthett, 48, who woke up on a Saturday night in late July in his Rockford, Michigan home to find his Jack Russell Terrier, Kiko, had _ his right big toe. "The dog always lies with me on the bed", said Douthett. "That night, I woke up and looked down at my foot, and it was wet. When I looked, it was blood and there was the dog looking at me with a blood moustache." Douthett's wife, Rosee, rushed him to a hospital where doctors found he was suffering from Type 2 diabetes. His toe was badly infected and surgeons amputated the remainder of the toe. Douthett's wife, a registered nurse, had been urging him for weeks to have his infected toe examined by a doctor. On the night Kiko ate his toe, Douthett said he had been out with his wife and drank about six or seven beers and a pair of giant margaritas--big enough to put goldfish in. "I was self-medicating at this point," he said. "The moral of the story is that the dog saved my life, because otherwise I would never have gone to see a doctor." The couple said they were amazed that Kiko appeared to know Douthett had an infection that needed treatment. "He kind of chewed off the infected part and stopped at the good bone," said Rosee. "We joked that we shouldn't have had to pay the co-pay because he did half the job by chewing off half of the toe." |
33iztu6j81153lspay2a8aycqwgsxw | The Åland Islands or Åland is an archipelago at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It is autonomous, demilitarised and is the only monolingually Swedish-speaking region in Finland. It is the smallest region of Finland, constituting 0.49% of its land area and 0.50% of its population.
Åland comprises Fasta Åland on which 90% of the population resides and a further 6,500 skerries and islands to its east. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Sweden by of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden.
Åland's autonomous status means that those provincial powers normally exercised by representatives of the central Finnish government are largely exercised by its own government.
The autonomous status of the islands was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the Åland crisis. It was reaffirmed within the treaty admitting Finland to the European Union. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defence Forces. The islands were granted extensive autonomy by the Parliament of Finland in the Act on the Autonomy of Åland of 1920, which was later replaced by new legislation by the same name in 1951 and 1991. Åland remains exclusively Swedish-speaking by this act. |
3v26sbztbder9sei68k31obql1bzzi | Unlike in Westminster style legislatures or as with the Senate Majority Leader, the House Majority Leader's duties and prominence vary depending upon the style and power of the Speaker of the House. Typically, the Speaker does not participate in debate and rarely votes on the floor. In some cases, Majority Leaders have been more influential than the Speaker; notably Tom DeLay who was more prominent than Speaker Dennis Hastert. In addition, Speaker Newt Gingrich delegated to Dick Armey an unprecedented level of authority over scheduling legislation on the House floor.
The current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, of the United States House of Representatives serves as floor leader of the opposition party, and is the counterpart to the Majority Leader. Unlike the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader is on the ballot for Speaker of the House during the convening of the Congress. If the Minority Leader's party takes control of the House, and the party officers are all re-elected to their seats, the Minority Leader is usually the party's top choice for Speaker for the next Congress, while the Minority Whip is typically in line to become Majority Leader. The Minority Leader usually meets with the Majority Leader and the Speaker to discuss agreements on controversial issues. |
3hmvi3qicjsu96j52b9svnic2371y3 | C++ (pronounced "cee plus plus" ) is a general-purpose programming language. It has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing facilities for low-level memory manipulation.
It was designed with a bias toward system programming and embedded, resource-constrained and large systems, with performance, efficiency and flexibility of use as its design highlights. C++ has also been found useful in many other contexts, with key strengths being software infrastructure and resource-constrained applications, including desktop applications, servers (e.g. e-commerce, web search or SQL servers), and performance-critical applications (e.g. telephone switches or space probes). C++ is a compiled language, with implementations of it available on many platforms. Many vendors provide C++ compilers, including the Free Software Foundation, Microsoft, Intel, and IBM.
C++ is standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), with the latest standard version ratified and published by ISO in December 2014 as "ISO/IEC 14882:2014" (informally known as C++14). The C++ programming language was initially standardized in 1998 as "ISO/IEC 14882:1998", which was then amended by the C++03, "ISO/IEC 14882:2003", standard. The current C++14 standard supersedes these and C++11, with new features and an enlarged standard library. Before the initial standardization in 1998, C++ was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs since 1979, as an extension of the C language as he wanted an efficient and flexible language similar to C, which also provided high-level features for program organization. The C++17 standard is due in July 2017, with the draft largely implemented by some compilers already, and C++20 is the next planned standard thereafter. |
3k4j6m3cxetqh3b54ogfzo4b0owgaq | CHAPTER VII
COLLEGE DAYS
Sam and Grace sat in a corner of the piazza for the best part of half an hour, and during that time the girl told of her various doings at Hope and about the news from home, and Sam related what had occurred at Brill, omitting, however, to tell how Tom had sent Spud and Stanley into the old well hole. There was a good deal of nonsense added to the conversation, and it must be admitted that Sam held Grace's hand as much as she would permit. They also spoke about the wedding of Dick and Dora, and of the good times they had enjoyed on that occasion.
Tom and Nellie took a stroll through a little park opposite the hotel. What they talked about none of the others knew at the time, but Nellie came back looking very sober and thoughtful, so that her sister wondered if Tom had really and truly proposed to her. Tom was whistling softly to himself, as if to keep up his courage.
"Well, I guess it is time to start on the return, if you young ladies have got to be in by ten," said Dick, at last. "Even as it is I haven't allowed any time for punctures or breakdowns."
"Perish the thoughts of such happenings!" cried Grace.
"We've had our blow-out where I like it best--at the hotel," added Sam, and this joke caused a smile.
As before, Dick drove the car, with Dora beside him, and the others in the tonneau. He had all his lights lit, making the roadway almost as bright as day. Once out of town, the oldest Rover put on speed until they were flying along grandly. |
308q0pevb8dq8b7v262io567au6i9s | CHAPTER IV
IDA'S FIRST ASCENT
The party had spent another day or two beside the lake when, one drowsy afternoon, Kinnaird, who sat on the hot, white shingle by the water's edge, with a pair of glasses in his hand, sent for Weston. Miss Kinnaird and Ida Stirling were seated among the boulders not far away.
"I understand that the river bends around the range, and the crest of the first rise seems no great height," he said. "There is evidently--a bench I think you call it--before you come to the snow, and the ascent should be practicable for a lady. Take these glasses and look at it."
Weston, who took the glasses, swept them along the hillside across the lake. It rose very steeply from the water's edge, but the slope was uniform, and as a good deal of it consisted apparently of lightly-covered rock and gravel the pines were thinner, and there was less undergrowth than usual. Far above him the smooth ascent broke off abruptly, and, though he could not see beyond the edge, there certainly appeared to be a plateau between it and the farther wall of rock and snow.
"I think one could get up so far without very much trouble, sir," he said.
"That," replied Kinnaird, "is how it strikes me. My daughter is rather a good mountaineer, and Miss Stirling is just as anxious to make the ascent. I may say that we have had some experience in Switzerland, not to mention the hills among the English lakes. Do you know anything about climbing?" |
3f0bg9b9mpn8ksy7rrq1wx9p5dty7v | Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (/ˈaɪzənˌhaʊ.ər/ EYE-zən-HOW-ər; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American politician and general who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first Supreme Commander of NATO.
Eisenhower's main goals in office were to keep pressure on the Soviet Union and reduce federal deficits. In the first year of his presidency, he threatened the use of nuclear weapons in an effort to conclude the Korean War; his New Look policy of nuclear deterrence prioritized inexpensive nuclear weapons while reducing funding for conventional military forces. He ordered coups in Iran and Guatemala. Eisenhower refused to give major aid to help France in Vietnam. He gave strong financial support to the new nation of South Vietnam. Congress agreed to his request in 1955 for the Formosa Resolution, which obliged the U.S. to militarily support the pro-Western Republic of China in Taiwan and continue the isolation of the People's Republic of China. |
31ibvunm9sz4vri84z1tdqiclwufvf | Turkish (), also referred to as Istanbul Turkish, is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 10–15 million native speakers in Southeast Europe (mostly in East and Western Thrace) and 60–65 million native speakers in Western Asia (mostly in Anatolia). Outside of Turkey, significant smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia. Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official EU language, even though Turkey is not a member state.
To the west, the influence of Ottoman Turkish—the variety of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire—spread as the Ottoman Empire expanded. In 1928, as one of Atatürk's Reforms in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was replaced with a Latin alphabet.
The distinctive characteristics of the Turkish language are vowel harmony and extensive agglutination. The basic word order of Turkish is subject–object–verb. Turkish has no noun classes or grammatical gender. The language has a strong T–V distinction and usage of honorifics. Turkish uses second-person pronouns that distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, age, courtesy or familiarity toward the addressee. The plural second-person pronoun and verb forms are used referring to a single person out of respect. |
3d4ch1lgeatcck10ci2f3ttrvheg9y | CHAPTER XIII: THE FRENCH CONVOY
A report having arrived at the camp of the Count of Cifuentes that the peasants around Saragossa had risen in insurrection, Jack thought that he should be doing more good by discovering the truth of the rumor, and by keeping the earl informed of the state of things in the enemy's rear, than by remaining with the count. He hesitated whether he should take his two orderlies with him, but as they were well mounted he decided that they should accompany him, as they would add to his authority, and would, in case of need, enable him the better to assume the position of an officer riding in advance of a considerable force.
After a hearty adieu from the Count of Cifuentes, he started soon after daybreak. After riding for some hours, just as he reached the top of a rise, up which he had walked his horse, one of the orderlies, who were riding a few paces behind him, rode up.
"I think, Captain Stilwell," he said, "I hear the sound of firing. Brown thinks he hears it too."
Jack reined in his horse.
"I hear nothing," he said, after a pause of a minute.
"I don't hear it now, sir," the man said. "I think it came down on a puff of wind.. If you wait a minute or two I think you will hear it."
Jack waited another two minutes, and then was about to resume his journey, when suddenly a faint sound came upon the wind. |
3t111ihz5eq31aaestwr2x7yxrb9rb | An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably "Lithocarpus" (stone oaks), as well as in those of unrelated species such as "Grevillea robusta" (silky oaks) and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus "Quercus" is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, while Mexico has 160 species of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species.
Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobate margins in many species; some have serrated leaves or entire leaf with smooth margins. Also, the acorns contain tannic acid, as do the leaves, which helps to guard from fungi and insects. Many deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead leaves until spring. In spring, a single oak tree produces both male flowers (in the form of catkins) and small female flowers. The fruit is a nut called an acorn or oak nut borne in a cup-like structure known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed (rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature, depending on their species. The live oaks are distinguished for being evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group and instead are dispersed across the genus. |
30h4udglt2ixwhdt4aw72od3wafpmn | When I was young,I liked to play jokes on people I knew, especially on my parents and friends. One day my mother was cooking and I was playing with my younger brother Tony. Suddenly I ran to my mother and said: "Tony fell from the open window!" She was very worried and ran out of the kitchen. Then I said: "Don't worry, I'm just joking." My mother shouted at me, "If you do it again, I'll hit you." Another day I went swimming with my friends in the sea. I wanted to play a joke on them. In the beginning I swam fast and I called out "Help!". All my friends came to help me. However, they found that I was joking. But half an hour later I wasn't joking. I was so fast, soon I got tired and couldn't swim on in water. I tried my best to call my friends for help, but this time nobody came to help me. In the end they found I was telling the truth. They came and saved my life. They took me to the hospital. This is the best lesson in my life. From then on I haven't joked on anyone. |
3qemnnsb2xz5mh3gvv3njczonycd79 | McDonald's is an American hamburger and fast food restaurant chain. It was founded in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand, using production line principles. The first McDonald's franchise using the arches logo opened in Phoenix, Arizona in 1953. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955 and subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers. Based in Oak Brook, Illinois, McDonald's confirmed plans to move its global headquarters to Chicago by early 2018.
Today, McDonald's is one of the world's largest restaurant chains, serving approximately 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries across approximately 36,900 outlets as of 2016. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes and after facing criticism for the unhealthy nature of their food, the company has expanded its menu to include salads, fish, smoothies, and fruit. A McDonald's restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. According to a BBC report published in 2012, McDonald's is the world's second largest private employer (behind Walmart with 1.9 million employees), 1.5 million of whom work for franchises. |
3k2755hg5s3i1aimde1z74c5lghfdp | Should universities focus on training workers for the next decade or curing diseases for the next century? A group of governors, educators, and CEOs weighed in on the best way universities can prepare for the future. They debated how the U.S. can take the responsibility for research while still preparing students for real jobs. Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said that the first thing she thinks about as governor is educating Oklahoma students and strengthening the workforce. So she's carrying out a program called "America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow's Jobs" that aims to "reorganize our education system with the current needs of our employers". The state governor added that this new educational approach doesn't just benefit students and companies, but also improves the state economy. "We've been able to attract new companies to our state because of what we're doing with our universities, because our students are a pipeline for the workforce," she said. "General Electric Company (one of the world's biggest companies) is coming to Oklahoma." Other group members were more focused on the long-term goals of a research university. Amy Gutmann pointed out that "basic research is the foundation for everything else that happens at a university. And if we don't do it, nobody else will." "And if nobody does that research, we'll pay the price in health care bills," argued Vagelos, who is a former CEO of Merck & Co., Inc, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. "The jobs of universities are basic research, which is what is needed for attacks on disease," he said. "There has been a reduction in coronary heart disease by 60% in the last forty years because of this research, and that reduces health care costs." James Hunt, former North Carolina governor, argued for a happy medium. Effective communication, he said, would help the public see that the research conducted at universities actually serves a practical purpose. Eli Broad, founder of the Broad Foundations, agreed. "We have to show the public what research has achieved," he said. "We have to show how it actually goes from basic research to something they can understand." |
3ioen3p9s7jsqm9zwse0cwyj3tq16f | (CNN) -- The United States breached international law by executing a Mexican national without having granted him consular access, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday.
Navi Pillay, in a statement, said she deeply regrets the execution of Humberto Leal Garcia, after a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court denied him a stay of execution Thursday night.
"The execution of Mr. Leal Garcia places the U.S. in breach of international law," said Pillay, who is on an official mission in Mexico. "What the state of Texas has done in this case is imputable in law to the U.S. and engages the United States' international responsibility."
Pillay said Leal was not granted consular access, which -- as a foreign national -- was his right under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The denial of access raises concerns about whether Leal got a fair trial, Pillay said.
Leal, who was convicted for the 1994 rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl, was executed Thursday evening by lethal injection in Texas.
Federal officials, including the Obama administration, had tried to persuade Texas Gov. Rick Perry to delay the execution. "The secretary herself is quite disappointed in the outcome in this case," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Neuland about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"The U.S. government sought a stay of Leal's execution in order to give the Congress time to act on the Consular Notification Compliance Act, which would have provided Leal the judicial review required by international law." |
3b837j3ldowl6p6d1zwijscopa6rs0 | Darren Wilson was just one of 53 officers in a small-town police department until his encounter with an 18-year-old August 9 on a street in Ferguson, Missouri.
"He was a gentle, quiet man," Police Chief Thomas Jackson said Friday, referring to Wilson. "He was a distinguished officer. He was a gentleman. ... He is, he has been, an excellent officer."
Authorities, citing death threats, had until Friday refused to release Wilson's name after he fatally shot Michael Brown.
A resident of the St. Louis area, Wilson, 28, has been staying at a secure location since the shooting.
It was not known whether Wilson -- an officer for six years, including four in Ferguson -- had been placed on modified assignment. Jackson told reporters the officer had faced no disciplinary action during his time on the job.
Wilson lives in a neighborhood of modest homes about 20 miles from Ferguson. Neighbors, who seemed angry and worried about the sudden attention on their quiet community, were reluctant to talk about Wilson. Several said the officer left his home days ago.
Brown was African-American; Wilson is white.
One of Wilson's friends, Jake Shepard, said he couldn't imagine the officer killing somebody.
"I can say -- without speaking to Darren, without even having heard his statements -- that, at that moment in time, he was scared for his life," Shepard said.
"I am 100% positive of that because I could never imagine him even in that situation -- taking someone's life, let alone taking someone's life with malicious intent. He's just the last person on Earth that you would think to do something like that. It's just shocking. |
3kopy89hm820ok2l3fm89tilni9j3e | Secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries (the attainment of such is termed secularity). One manifestation of secularism is asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, or, in a state declared to be neutral on matters of belief, from the imposition by government of religion or religious practices upon its people. Another manifestation of secularism is the view that public activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be uninfluenced by religious beliefs or practices.
Secularism draws its intellectual roots from Greek and Roman philosophers such as Epicurus and Marcus Aurelius; from Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Denis Diderot, Voltaire, Baruch Spinoza, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine; and from more recent freethinkers and atheists such as Robert Ingersoll, Bertrand Russell, and Christopher Hitchens.
The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely. In European laicism, it has been argued that secularism is a movement toward modernization, and away from traditional religious values (also known as secularization). This type of secularism, on a social or philosophical level, has often occurred while maintaining an official state church or other state support of religion. In the United States, some argue that state secularism has served to a greater extent to protect religion and the religious from governmental interference, while secularism on a social level is less prevalent. |
3hl8hngx4516yk551ywxl8tftpn9fa | (CNN) -- A California bounty hunter says he will sue Casey Anthony and her defense attorney Jose Baez for misleading him when he helped search for her young daughter Caylee.
Leonard Padilla said he is seeking $200,000.
Padilla said Anthony's attorney allowed him to fly to Florida in 2008 and help search for Anthony's then-missing 2-year-old daughter.
Anthony left jail Sunday after being acquitted of murder charges in connection with the death of her daughter.
Padilla says when he heard Baez's opening statement during Anthony's murder trial he felt conned.
"It turns out she knew where the child was all along," Padilla said. "They misled me, and it is definitely fraud."
At one point during the highly-publicized search for Caylee, Padilla offered a $25,000 reward for the girl's return.
He also says he spent $50,000 to bond out Anthony when she was initially jailed. He said he also brought in people to help provide security.
He said he talked to Anthony on many occasions during that time and that she never said she knew where Caylee was.
"She told me the babysitter stole the baby," Padilla said. "They were both feeding us that line. And now we know it was never true. We lost a lot of money."
Padilla says it may take a few weeks to get his lawsuit together.
Johnny Griffin, a California legal expert, told CNN affiliate KCRA that Padilla's lawsuit may have legal merit. But he may need to do some work to prove his case, Griffin said. |
3634bbtx0ouz9ly85s2ay1sidrkif1 | The "Dragon Ball" manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Akira Toriyama. The series takes place in a fictional universe, the same as Toriyama's previous series "Dr. Slump", and follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through adulthood as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven orbs known as the Dragon Balls that are used to summon a wish-granting dragon. During the course of the story, he encounters allies such as Bulma, Kuririn, and Trunks, rivals such as Tenshinhan, Piccolo, and Vegeta, and enemies such as Freeza, Cell, and Majin Boo. The manga's anime and film adaptations feature some original characters not created by Toriyama but by the animation staff.
While many of the characters are humans with superhuman strength and/or supernatural abilities, the cast also includes anthropomorphic animals and extraterrestrial lifeforms. The series also includes depictions of the afterlife, where several characters are gods that govern the universe, and parallel universes as well.
Akira Toriyama initially based most of the characters on those of the Chinese novel "Journey to the West", Goku being Sun Wukong, Bulma as Xuanzang, Oolong as Zhu Bajie and Yamcha being Sha Wujing, and redeveloped one of his earlier one-shot manga series, "Dragon Boy". To be creative with the character, Toriyama stated in 1995 that he designed Goku not as a monkey like the "Journey to the West" character, but as a human-looking boy with a monkey's tail to give him a distinguishing feature. However, in 2003 he elaborated saying he added the tail because his editor told him without it Goku had no distinguishing features, even though this was probably a joke, he went ahead and did it. Toriyama later stated that the tail was a pain to draw, hence why he had it get cut off early on, and that he never thought of making Goku an alien until Vegeta appeared. |
3fprzhyepy79ff2fk40rchtfiu5v3e | Madrasa (Arabic: مدرسة, madrasah, pl. مدارس, madāris, Turkish: Medrese) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious (of any religion). The word is variously transliterated madrasah, madarasaa, medresa, madrassa, madraza, medrese, etc. In the West, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the Islamic religion, though this may not be the only subject studied. Not all students in madaris are Muslims; there is also a modern curriculum.
The word madrasah derives from the triconsonantal Semitic root د-ر-س D-R-S 'to learn, study', through the wazn (form/stem) مفعل(ة); mafʻal(ah), meaning "a place where something is done". Therefore, madrasah literally means "a place where learning and studying take place". The word is also present as a loanword with the same innocuous meaning in many Arabic-influenced languages, such as: Urdu, Bengali, Hindi, Persian, Turkish, Azeri, Kurdish, Indonesian, Malay and Bosnian / Croatian. In the Arabic language, the word مدرسة madrasah simply means the same as school does in the English language, whether that is private, public or parochial school, as well as for any primary or secondary school whether Muslim, non-Muslim, or secular. Unlike the use of the word school in British English, the word madrasah more closely resembles the term school in American English, in that it can refer to a university-level or post-graduate school as well as to a primary or secondary school. For example, in the Ottoman Empire during the Early Modern Period, madaris had lower schools and specialised schools where the students became known as danişmends. The usual Arabic word for a university, however, is جامعة (jāmiʻah). The Hebrew cognate midrasha also connotes the meaning of a place of learning; the related term midrash literally refers to study or learning, but has acquired mystical and religious connotations. |
30lb5cdzncau778s2e7bvp8435hz01 | (CNN) -- Pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, embroiled in a bitter divorce with his wife, Linda, told Rolling Stone magazine he can "totally understand" O.J. Simpson, the former football great found liable for the deaths of his wife and another man.
Linda and Hulk Hogan enjoy happier times at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards in New York in 2006.
"I could have turned everything into a crime scene like O.J., cutting everybody's throat," Hogan said in the interview for a feature that will run in Friday's edition of the magazine.
"You live half a mile from the 20,000-square-foot home you can't go to anymore, you're driving through downtown Clearwater [Florida] and see a 19-year-old boy driving your Escalade, and you know that a 19-year-old boy is sleeping in your bed, with your wife ...
"I totally understand O.J. I get it," Hogan said.
A spokeswoman for Rolling Stone magazine confirmed the quote to CNN. Watch report on Hogan's statements »
It has been widely reported that Linda Hogan, 49, is dating a younger man. She filed for divorce in 2007 after nearly 25 years of marriage.
Simpson was found not guilty of murder in the 1994 stabbing deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, but was found liable for their deaths by a civil court jury.
Simpson later was found guilty in a Las Vegas, Nevada, armed robbery case and sentenced in December to up to 33 years in prison.
A spokesman for Linda Hogan said Wednesday that the statement amounts to a death threat and that her attorney is "weighing all options necessary to protect his client." |
3va45ew49nnifsf3wo0utwkaok7o1w | Every culture has a recognized point when a child becomes an adult, when rules must be followed and tests passed.
In China, although teenagers can get their ID cards at 16, many only see themselves as an adult when they are 18. In the US, where everyone drives, the main step to the freedom of adult life is learning to drive. At 16, American teens take their driving test. When they have their license, they drive into the grown-up world.
"Nobody wants to ride the cheese bus to school," said Eleanor Fulham, 17. She brought the pressure back to memory, especially from kids from wealthier families. "It's like you're not cool if you don't have a car," she said.
According to recent research, 41% of 16 to 19-year-olds in the US own cars, up from 23% in 1985. Although, most of these cars are bought by parents, some teens get part-time jobs to help pay.
Not all families can afford cars for their children. In cities with subways and limited parking, some teenagers don't want them. But in rich suburban areas without subways, and where bicycles are more for fun than transportation, it is strange for a teenager not to have a car.
But police say 16-year-olds have almost three times more accidents than 18 and 19-year-olds. This has made many parents pause before letting their kids drive.
Julie Sussman, of Virginia, decided that her son Chad, 15, will wait until he is 17 to apply for his learner's permit.
Chad said he has accepted his parents' decision, although it has caused some teasing from his friends. "They say that I am unlucky," he said, "But I'd rather be alive than driving, and I don't really trust my friends on the road, either."
In China, as more families get cars, more 18-year-olds learn to drive. Will this become a big step to becoming an adult? |
31q0u3wydpfbumn4f2jsiayfy5d71p | People all over the world write to Big Ben. They even send birthday presents. Big Ben is not a person. It's a clock. Big Ben is the great clock hanging up in a tower of the parliament building. The people of London like to see Big Ben's four friendly faces. They like to hear the bell striking on the hour. Bong! Bong! Bong! Big Ben's story started in 1834. In that year the old parliament building was burned down. Its clock tower fell to the ground. There had to be a new building and a new clock. Plans were made. They called for a "King of Clock, the biggest and the best in the world". So the clock had to be big. And it had to keep very good time. In two years the big clock was made. Five more years went by before the clock tower was last finished. Then the four bells for the chimes were brought into the tower. And at last the big hour bell was put in place. It rang out for the first time on July 11, 1859. This great bell had to have a name. A meeting of parliament was called to pick one. "This clock is the king of clocks," one man said. "Let's call the bell the Queen of Bells." "Then why not Victoria?" said another (Victoria was the British queen at that time). The talk about names went on and on. Then Benjamin Hall got up to speak. He was a big man. By this time they were all tired. Someone shouted, "Why not call it Big Ben and be done with it?" Everybody laughed, and the meeting was over. But it was called Big Ben from then on. Not just the bell but the whole clock. |
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