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Harry Potter

2007-03-09T03:36:19Z

Bastion:

'''Harry Potter''' is the hero of a series of novels written by [[J. K. Rowling]]. Harry is an orphan child who finds that he is a wizard. Potter then goes to Hogwarts, a boarding school for young wizards, and has many adventures there learning magic and using it to fight the forces of the evil Lord Voldemort who killed Potter's parents when he was an infant. Along the way, Potter learns about life and death and grapples with questions of morality and friendship. As of 2007, the series is projected to consist of seven novels, of which six have been published, with the seventh to be released in July of 2007.

The books have been fabulously successful, selling three hundred million copies, and Forbes estimates that they have made Rowling a billionnaire, the first billion-dollar author in history.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/maserati/billionaires2004/cx_jw_0226rowlingbill04.html J. K. Rowling And The Billion-Dollar Empire].</ref> To date, five of them have been adapted for the movies.

The English "public" schools Hogwarts resembles are Protestant institutions; but at Hogwarts, chapel is conspicuously absent. A failure to mention Christianity, combined with the presence of wizardry, have led some to wonder whether Rowling is substituting paganism for Christianity. The books have even been accused of promoting witchcraft.[http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/potter.asp] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/1735623.stm] [http://www.chick.com/catalog/videos/0127.asp] [http://www.cesnur.org/recens/potter_06.htm] Some evangelical Christians have attempted to ban the books in public schools[http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=32&url_subchannel_id=&url_article_id=14074&change_well_id=2].

In 2003, a [[Vatican]] representative said the books "aren't serving as the banner for an anti-Christian theology.... I don't think there's anyone in this room who grew up without fairies, magic, and angels in their imaginary world."<ref>Sink, Mindy (2003), "The Split Verdict on Harry Potter,"
''The New York Times,'' March 8, 2003, p. B6; representative quoted is Rev. Don Peter Fleetwood, who "helped draft a Vatican document on New Age phenomena."</ref>

Harry Potter has inspired hundreds of thousands of children across the globe to learn to love to read. The Harry Potter novels, particularly the later ones, are long. The 870 pages of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," even though printed in large type, contain 255,000 words—about twice as long as ''A Tale of Two Cities.'' The "Lexile" measure of reading level puts the series between 880L and 950L,<ref>For comparison: Charlotte's Web 680L, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 890L, Moby Dick 1200L</ref> comparable to sixth-grade texts<ref>[http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=fa&tabindex=4&tabid=22 The Lexile framework for reading].</ref>

Some expect childrens' literature to present characters that are idealized role models, and to teach simple, explicit life lessons. However, like other classics of children's literature, the world of Harry Potter is one in which adult authority figures are complex, imperfect, and occasionally ludicrous (as they are in ''Alice in Wonderland.'') Harry himself, while basically a "good" person, is sometimes petty-minded, jealous, or just plain mischievous (like Tom Sawyer, or Holden Caulfield). Although the students at Hogwarts take their studies seriously, they are not above cheating or goofing off, and some of their teachers are boring or outright incompetent.

On July 20, 2005, at [[Prime Minister's Questions], the Right Honourable [[Tony Blair]], Prime Minister at the time, joined the [[House of Commons]] in lauding [[J.K. Rowling]] for her contribution to the education of British young minds.

On October 3rd, 2006, [[Georgia]] mom Laura Mallory attempted to get the books banned from schools because they promote witchcraft.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15127464/ Georgia mom seeks ban on Harry Potter]</ref>

==Series titles==
*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (original title as published in England: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
*Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
*Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (announced)

==References==
<references/>

United Nations Security Council

2007-03-09T03:27:47Z

Bastion:

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is an organization within the United Nations that has the job of keeping peace among member nations. One aspect of this group is that they have the authority to order member nations to do as the Council decides. These orders are known as the Nations Security Council Resolutions.

There are fifteen members, five of which are permanent and the rest rotating in two year terms. The permanent members are [[United States]], Russia, France, England and China.

Bernie Sanders

2007-03-09T03:21:22Z

Bastion:

Bernie Sanders is the only socialist in Congress, and in 2006 became the first socialist elected to the U.S. Senate to represent Vermont. Previously, he served in the House of Representatives for eight terms. He usually caucuses with Democrats.

He said this to [[Alan Greenspan]], Chairman of the [[Federal Reserve]], during a Financial Services Committee hearing in 2003: "The country club and the cocktail parties are not real America. You have defended over the years the abolition of the minimum wage and giving huge tax breaks to billionaires. But today you reached a new low, I think, by suggesting that manufacturing in America doesn't matter."

Holocaust

2007-03-08T03:46:45Z

Bastion:

The Holocaust was the genocide of the Jews and others during [[World War II]] by the Nazi government of Germany, which played on widely held anti-Semitic sentiments. In addition to the genocide of six million Jews, many millions of Christians, Gypsies, disabled persons, Gays and Lesbians, Communists and other political opponents were also exterminated.

=== Criticism ===
<HR>
Many notable historians deny that the Holocaust took place, including [[Richard Harwood]], [[Bradley Smith]] and [[David Irving]]. These historians have been persecuted for simply stating their beliefs by the backers of [[Israel]].

Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] claims that is a "myth" designed to protect [[Israel]].[http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/14/iran.israel/]

Even if it did happen, the number of Jews exterminated was far fewer than the six million estimate.[http://hnn.us/articles/1414.html]

Fox News Channel

2007-03-08T02:38:55Z

Bastion:

Fox News was started in 1996 in response to the other cable news channels which all had obvious liberal biases. Because of this, Rupert Murdoch decided to start a real new channel which would tell the truth. Fox News claims to be "Fair & Balanced"<ref>Fair & Balanced[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,27906,00.html]</ref> a claim which it backs up by having shows like [[Hannity & Colmes]]. Fox News has enjoyed success over every other news channel.{{fact}} It has many people on it who work to spread truth such as Sean Hannity. Fox News tries to report the news in an unbiased manner and then allow the viewer to decide. <ref>We Report. You Decide.[http://img83.imageshack.us/my.php?image=foxiu1.jpg]</ref>.

Fox News has dominated the ratings of other cable news shows-many Fox News hosts believe this is because they show both sides of the issues and refuse to "pile on" George W. Bush or the Iraq War despite its popularity among liberal agents in the media. Frequently, Fox News will report on "good news" from Iraq, such as new schools being built and new roads being built-while putting the suicide bombings in context of the broader war on terrorism.

In 2005 the White House selected Tony Snow from Fox News to be the new White House press secretary.<ref>Tony Snow to be Named White House Press Secretary[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,193093,00.html]</ref>

The station has come under vicious and repeated attacks from [[Liberal|Liberals]] since its inception.<ref>Block FNC.[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002220590_foxblocker26.html?syndication=rss]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Turkiye

2007-03-08T02:16:16Z

Bastion:

Turkey is a kind of bird. [[Benjamin Franklin]] thought that the turkey should be the national bird of [[America]], but really the national bird is the [[bald eagle]]. Turkey is a traditional [[thanksgiving]] food. It is usually stuffed. (Some vegetarians do not eat turkey at Thanksiving.)

Turkey is also a country in Europe. It's currently negotiating membership with the [[European Union]]. Turkey is one of the few countries of which the majority of the population is [[Muslim]] that has a clear division between the state and relgion. Turkey is one of the few Islamic countries that is a true democracy.