Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Stoning

2010-08-17T00:14:29Z

GilliamJF:

'''Stoning''' or '''lapidation''' is a form of [[capital punishment]] that was in use in the ancient [[Middle East]] and discussed in the [[Bible]] under the law presented in the [[Torah]]. Stonings are still occasionally carried out in some [[Islam]]ic countries; it is legally sanctioned in [[Afghanistan]], [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sudan]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], the [[Indonesia]]n province of [[Aceh]] and parts of northern [[Nigeria]].<ref>FOX News: [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gGQsZlvPii4J:www.foxnews.com/world/2009/09/14/new-indonesia-law-punishes-adulterers-homosexuals/+%22New+Indonesia+Law+Punishes+Adulterers+and+Homosexuals%22&cd=1&hl=es&ct=clnk&gl=ar New Indonesia Law Punishes Adulterers and Homosexuals] (September 14, 2009)</ref>

In the [[New Testament]], [[Jesus]] showed a different way when the [[Pharisees]] brought him a woman that should have been stoned under the law, but Jesus responded "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." When her accusers left, Jesus would not condemn her either and told her "Sin no more" (however, the provenance of this passage is disputed - see [[Disputed Biblical Translations]]).

In [[Iran]], stoning is used for men and women convicted of [[adultery]].<ref>FOX News: [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/10/iran-says-death-stoning-sentence-woman-convicted-adultery-review/ Iran says death by stoning sentence for woman convicted of adultery under review] (July 10, 2010)</ref> In [[Somalia]], even 13-year-old girls who have been raped can be accused of adultery and stoned.<ref>FOX News: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,445962,00.html Amnesty International Denounces Stoning Death of 13-Year-Old Somali Girl] (November 2, 2008)</ref> The [[Kurds]] of northern [[Iraq]] use stoning to carry out the barbaric practice of [[honor killing]].<ref>FOX News: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,270111,00.html Video Surfaces Showing Kurdish Girl Stoned to Death for Relationship With Iraqi Sunni Boy] (May 4, 2007)</ref> Of course, the [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] and [[Pakistan]]i [[Taliban]] also use this method of execution for cases of adultery.<ref>FOX News: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345088,00.html Taliban Militants Reportedly Stone to Death Pakistani Couple Who Committed Adultery] (April 2, 2008)</ref> In the predominantly Muslim [[Indonesia]]n province of [[Aceh]], the provincial parliament unanimously adopted stoning as the maximum pensalty for adultery in 2009.<ref>FOX News: [http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gGQsZlvPii4J:www.foxnews.com/world/2009/09/14/new-indonesia-law-punishes-adulterers-homosexuals/+%22New+Indonesia+Law+Punishes+Adulterers+and+Homosexuals%22&cd=1&hl=es&ct=clnk&gl=ar New Indonesia Law Punishes Adulterers and Homosexuals] (September 14, 2009)</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Barbaric practices]]

Leviticus

2010-08-17T00:13:51Z

GilliamJF: link

'''Leviticus''' [Hebrew: '''ויקרא'''] is the third book of the [[Old Testament]], part of the [[Pentateuch]], the most important part of the [[Bible]] in [[Judaism]]. The book is [[chiastic]]ally structured.

Many Christian and Jewish conservatives believe that [[Moses]] is the sole author of the Pentateuch and that he was inspired directly by God to write text to write the Pentateuch in the space of a month, that month being the first of the second year after the [[Hebrew]] exodus from [[Egypt]].

Most of Leviticus is filled with laws and codes, many of which are ritualistically followed by [[Orthodox Judaism]]. Much of [[Christianity]], but not all, sees the law structure as being superceded by the sacrifice of [[Jesus Christ]]. Pauline teaching is that we were first under grace for salvation and the law, such as it is in Leviticus and recorded in other Old Testament books, is to show us the standard that we would have to uphold if there was no grace - a standard from which we would fall short.

There are two main sections in Leviticus:

== Summary of Leviticus 1-16 ==
Is the priestly code and many of its rules and regulations. Among these regulations:

=== Offerings: Leviticus 1-7 ===
* Burnt Offerings (Leviticus 1)
* Offerings of meat (Leviticus 2)
* Peace Offerings (Leviticus 3)
* Offerings for sin (Leviticus 4)
* Offerings for trespass (Leviticus 5)
* Instructions for Priests regarding offerings (Leviticus 6-7)

=== Sacrificial Stories 8-10 ===
* [[Aaron]] and his sons are made into priests (Leviticus 8)
* Aaron's sons "offered strange fire before the Lord" and are burnt to death for their sins by God directly. (Leviticus 9-10)

=== More Laws 11-16 ===
* Which animals are clean and which are unclean. (Leviticus 11)
* How to purify a woman rendered unclean from child birth. (Leviticus 12)
* Laws of [[leprosy]] and lepers as well as laws of mildew. (Leviticus 13-14)
* Laws regarding on the rendering clean of issues of bodily fluids from men and women and how to become clean. (Leviticus 15)
* On [[atonement]] and the description of the [[scapegoat]]. (Leviticus 16)

== Holiness Code: Leviticus 17-26 ==
{{See also|Leviticus 18}}
This is a very clear and concise expression of laws and holiness. It is not thought that Leviticus 27 is part of this concision of laws.
* Prohibition on the consumption of blood and of anything that has died naturally, also subjects idolatry and proper sacrifice of animals (Leviticus 17)
* Prohibition of incest, and of relations with the wife of a neighbor. (Leviticus 18)
* Prohibition of looking upon a woman while she is menstruating. (Leviticus 18)
* Prohibition of sacrifice of humans (Leviticus 18)
* Prohibition of [[homosexuality]] and [[bestiality]] (Leviticus 18)
* Many laws and admonitions: Keep the Sabbath, help the poor, do not steal or lie or cheat, be kind to the blind and dumb, don't be a gossip, love thy neighbor, don't let cows interbreed, don't used mixed seeds, do not wear two types of fabric at once, relations with slave women, do not eat fruit from trees for four years, no magic, no astrology, guidelines for haircuts and shaving, no tattoos, respect elders, treat strangers kindly, be fair. (All Leviticus 19)
* Punishments: All who sacrifice their children will be put to death, all who do not respect their parents will be put to death, both of those who adulterer shall be put to death, those who have relations with their fathers wife or son's wife shall be put to death, those who engage in sodomy shall be put to death, those who engage in relations with their mother in law will incur burning death upon man, wife and mother, those who engage in bestiality will be put to death along with the animal, do not look at naked or have relations with your sister, uncle's wife or brother's wife, witches and wizards should be [[stoning|stoned]]. (Leviticus 20)
* Priestly codes: Priests must marry virgins, cannot shave their heads, daughters will be burnt alive if they are "whores," no lame or dwarven or blemished or handicapped priests. (Leviticus 21)
* Holy food: No unclean man shall eat of the holy food, nor shall strangers, slaves or servants unless the priest owns them. If the Priest's daughter marries a stranger she shall not eat the holy food. Your sacrifices to the Lord may not be deformed. (Leviticus 22)
* Keep the Sabbath, make festivals and make offerings to God. Save some of your harvest for the poor. God will destroy you if you violate the Sabbath. (Leviticus 23)
* Altar of incense (Leviticus 24)
* A blasphemer is put to death. All blasphemers shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24)
* Murderers shall be put to death. Those who kill beasts shall have their own beasts killed. "Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again." (Leviticus 24)
* Laws regarding the Sabbath and the Jubilee year, and laws regarding slavery. (Leviticus 25)
* Those who follow God's commandments shall be rewarded. They shall be prosperous and blessed with good weather and respected by God. Those who dispute God's commandments will be punished. Their crops will fail and be eaten by enemies, they will be killed by enemies, their children will be eaten by wild animals, there will be pestilence, then they will eat their own children. (Leviticus 26)
* Also there is Leviticus 27. It concerns the commutation vows and sets the price for each human being. It is not a part of the Holiness code, though.

== Significant Passages ==
There are many very important passages in Leviticus:

=== Aaron and his Sons ===
* 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
* 10:2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
* 10:3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.
* 10:4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
* 10:5 So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said.
* 10:6 And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

=== Important Laws of Leviticus 18 ===
* 18:10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
* 18:11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
* 18:12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.
* 18:13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
* 18:14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
* 18:15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
* 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
* 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
* 18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
* 18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
* 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.
* 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
* 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
* 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.

=== Important Laws of Leviticus 19 ===
* 19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
* 19:11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
* 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
* 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
* 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the LORD.
* 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
* 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
* 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
* 19:26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
* 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
* 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
* 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
* 19:35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.

=== Punishments of Leviticus 20 ===
* 20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
* 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
* 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
* 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
* 20:12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
* 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
* 20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
* 20:16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
* 20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
* 20:18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
* 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

=== Codes of Justice in Leviticus 24 ===
* 24:16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone * him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
* 24:17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
* 24:18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
* 24:19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
* 24:20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
* 24:21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

{{Old Testament Books}}

== See also ==

*[[Philosophy]]
*[[Jewish philosophy]]
*[[Leviticus (Translated)]]

[[Category:Old Testament Books| 3]]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2010-02-08T10:55:47Z

GilliamJF: cat

The '''Rock and Roll Hall of Fame''' is a museum containing exhibits, films and artifacts dedicated to the history of [[rock and roll]]. It is located in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]].

== See also ==

*[[Elvis Presley]]
*[[The Beach Boys]]
*[[The Beatles]]
*[[Stevie Wonder]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.rockhall.com Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]

[[Category:Museums]]
[[Category:Ohio]]
[[Category:Rock & Roll]]

Creation Museum

2009-11-16T03:33:23Z

GilliamJF: cat

[[Image:CMpix1.JPG|thumb|300px|The front of the Creation Museum while under construction in 2005.]]
The '''Creation Museum''' is a 60,000 square foot [[museum]]<ref name="creationmuseum" /><ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14122311/ Museum Brings Creationism to Life], MSNBC, says "50,000 square-foot-museum"</ref> designed to promote a [[Young Earth Creationism|Young-Earth Creationist]] view of history with state of the art displays and presentations. It cost 27 million dollars to construct and is located in Petersburg, [[Kentucky]], just outside of [[Cincinnati]]; a location chosen due to having almost two thirds of the [[United States]] population within a 650-[[mile]] distance.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070520/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticsreligion_070520222942 Dinosaurs frolic with Adam and Eve at creationism museum]</ref> It opened its doors to the public on May 28, 2007, exceeding expectations by receiving 4,000 visitors on the first day. Membership to the museum, which includes annual passes, now exceeds 10,260<ref>Answers update, volume 14, issue 8, August 2007, pg. 3</ref>.

The Creation Museum presents a "walk through history"<ref name="creationmuseum">[http://creationmuseum.org Creation Museum]</ref> with a basis on a straightforward reading of the [[Bible]], particularly the early chapters of [[Genesis]].
The exhibits are designed, for "[a] fully engaging, sensory experience,"<ref name="creationmuseum" /> to illustrate [[Earth]]'s history and origin from a [[Young Earth Creationist]] perspective. The enterprise is supported by [[Ken Ham]], founder of [[Answers in Genesis]].

On its opening, the ''New York Times'' gave it a page one review which commented:
{{cquote|Whether you are willing to grant the premises of this museum almost becomes irrelevant as you are drawn into its mixture of spectacle and narrative. Its 60,000 square feet of exhibits are often stunningly designed by Patrick Marsh, who, like the entire museum staff, declares adherence to the ministry's views; he evidently also knows the lure of secular sensations, since he designed the "Jaws" and "King Kong" attractions at [[Universal Studios]] in [[Florida]].... The Creation Museum offers an alternate world that has its fascinations, even for a skeptic wary of the effect of so many unanswered assertions. He leaves feeling a bit like Adam emerging from Eden, all the world before him, freshly amazed at its strangeness and extravagant peculiarities.<ref>Rothstein, Edward (2007) "Museum Review: Adam and Eve in the Land of the Dinosaurs," ''The New York Times,'' May 24, 2007, p. 1; also [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/arts/24crea.html?_r=1&ex=1180670400&en=5856f2432a6c1&oref=slogin online].</ref>}}

==Controversy==
There has been much controversy since the Kentucky-based Creation Museum was announced. Lawrence Krauss (a physicist and astronomer<ref>[http://www.phys.cwru.edu/faculty/index.php?krauss Lawrence Krauss, Faculty Page]</ref>) stated that the museum is both a "fraud" and "hypocritical" because it "...repeatedly misrepresents the process and results of [[science]] and distorts the scientific record. Yet in every case it takes advantage of the technical wizardry of science to get its point across, with a series of dazzling [[animatronic]] displays and explanations"<ref> Kraus, L, 2007 quoted in "Museum of Misinformation", New Scientist, May 26th 2007, p24</ref>

Greg Neyman, of [[Answers In Creation]], expressed concern about non-[[Christian]] museum visitors. "They will see the museum, and recognize its faulty science, and will be turned away from the church. This will increase the already widening gap between the unchurched and the churched. ... [[Atheist]]ic people and organizations are increasingly attacking the [[church]], because they perceive that the findings of modern science cannot be reconciled with the [[Bible]]."<ref>Answers in Creation - Creation Museum Media Mania, March 30, 2007[http://www.answersincreation.org/rebuttal/aig/daily/2007/20070330_creation_museum.htm]</ref>

Ken Ham debated the issues raised against the Museum on The FOX News Channel’s TV program The O’Reilly Factor on 28th May.<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/05/28/museum-news-oreilly Ken Ham on The O’Reilly Factor]</ref>

Even prior to its opening it was visited by comedian and known [[atheist]] [[Bill Maher]] who came with a film crew shooting a documentary on religion<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55209 Creation Museum's 1st visitor? Bill Maher] worldnetdaily.com April 16, 2007 </ref>

==Other Creation Museums==
*The [[Creation Evidence Museum]] in Glen Rose, [[Texas]], was established in 1984. According to its web site, the museum presents "scientific evidence for creation and design by a personal Creator", and "makes a unique contribution, demonstrating that man and dinosaur lived contemporaneously".<ref>Creation Evidence Museum[http://www.creationevidence.org/]</ref>

*[[Dinosaur Adventure Land]] in Pensacola, Florida, a "theme park" consisting of a discovery center and museum, was established in 2001. Its founder, minister [[Kent Hovind]], said "There are a lot of creationists that are really smart and debate the intellectuals, but the kids are bored after five minutes. You're missing 98 percent of the population if you only go the intellectual route." The site has no rides. Demonstrations include the Nerve-Wracking Ball, a bowling ball suspended from a rope. Visitors are challenged to stand at a specific location, while a park guide carefully launches the ball from another specific location, and demonstrate their "faith in God's laws"—in this case, that a swinging object will never come back higher than the point from which it took off—by standing without moving or flinching as the ball comes close to their face.<ref>Goodenough, Abby (2004), "Darwin-Free Fun For Creationists", ''The New York Times,'' May 1, 2004, p. 7</ref>

*A much more modest creation museum, the [[Big Valley Creation Science Museum]], is scheduled to open on June 5, 2007<ref>[http://www.bvcsm.com/ Big Valley Creation Science Museum], museum website</ref> in Big Valley, [[Canada]].<ref>[http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKN2547663920070529 Canada's first museum of creation opens in Alberta], Reuters, May 29, 2007</ref> It includes displays on "[[Fossil]]s and the [[Great Flood|Flood]]," a set of [[England|English]] scrolls tracing the family of [[King Henry VI]] back to the [[Garden of Eden]], and illustrations of humans and dinosaurs coexisting. Big Valley is a small [[village]] located about 270 miles north of [[Alberta]]. The region is an historically important dinosaur fossil collecting area, where the "great Canadian dinosaur rush" occurred in the early 1900s<ref>[http://www.travelforkids.com/Funtodo/Alberta/dinoasaurvalley.htm Dinosaur Valley], Travel for Kids website</ref>, popular for [[school]] field trips and tourists interested in fossils; the area also includes the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology and Dinosaur Provincial Park.

*The [[Institute for Creation Research]] in Santee, [[California]] (near San Diego) has a small "Museum of Creation and Earth History" which has been operating since 1975 with an upgrade around 1992.<ref>[[John Morris|Morris, John]], [http://www.icr.org/article/3345/] ''Acts & Facts'', June 2007.</ref><ref>[[Henry Morris|Morris, Henry]], [http://www.icr.org/article/795/ ICR and The Word Of God] ''Back to Genesis'', December 1995.</ref>

==External links==

*[http://www.creationwiki.org/Creation_museum A list of over twenty museums about Creation.]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Kentucky]]
[[Category:Museums]]
[[Category:Young Earth Creationism]]

Creation Museum

2009-11-16T03:30:43Z

GilliamJF: sp

London Tower Bridge

2008-04-16T14:54:59Z

GilliamJF:

[[Image:Tower bridge London.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Tower Bridge in London.]]
'''London Tower Bridge''' was built in the 19th Century. The [[bridge]] spans the [[River Thames]] over the [[Pool of London]].

[[Category:Bridges]]
[[Category:England]]

River Thames

2008-04-16T14:54:08Z

GilliamJF: cat

[[Image:Thames_Oxford.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The ''Thames'' in Oxfordshire]]
[[Image:Thames_London.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The ''Thames'' in central London]]
The [[River Thames]] is, at 215 miles (346 km) from source to sea, the longest river that runs wholly in [[England]] (the [[Severn]], which rises in [[Wales]], is longer)<ref>''Whittaker's Almanack 2001'' p108</ref>. It rises near Cricklade in [[Gloucestershire]] and runs through [[Oxford]], [[Reading]], [[Windsor]] and [[London]] before entering the [[North Sea]]. The river is tidal as far as Teddington Lock, in west [[London]]. A number of [[canals]] were built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries connecting the Thames to the inland waterways system; most notable are the Kennett & Avon Canal, connecting the Thames to Bristol and the west coast, and the Grand Junction Canal (since 1929 the [[Grand Union Canal]]) which runs from London to [[Northamptonshire]] and links London to the canal system of the Midlands and northern England.

[[London]]'s location was determined by the presence of a safe crossing-point of the river, and the role of the Thames as a gateway for trade enabled the capital to grow and to become Britain's largest port. Extensive docks were excavated along the Thames to the east of London in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The river also served as a highway for trade until the development of railways in the nineteenth century.

The River Thames also has strong associations with the English, later British, Royal Family. Many significant royal homes are or were situated by the river, and monarchs would travel between them by lavishly-decorated barges. These include (west to east) Windsor Castle (still a royal residence), Hampton Court Palace, Richmond Palace, Kew Palace, Whitehall Palace (the [[Palace of Westminster]]), the Tower of London, and Greenwich.

Commercial river traffic is now largely confined to container traffic using the extensive docks at [[Tilbury]] in [[Essex]]; the docks in [[London]] have been filled in or are used for leisure and housing. Leisure craft form the majority of the boats that ply the river (but this was true a century or more ago: see, for example, the works of [[Jerome K. Jerome]]).

The river above Teddington Lock is governed by the Environment Agency<ref>http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/navigation/747415/150319/?version=1&lang=_e</ref>; from Teddington Lock to the sea by the Port of London Authority<ref>http://www.portoflondon.co.uk/</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

==Sources==
Jonathan Schneer, ''The Thames: England's River'' (London 2005) is a readable account that attempts to describe the significance of the Thames in English history.

[[Category:England]]
[[Category:Rivers]]

Jasper Johns

2007-10-11T22:51:57Z

GilliamJF:

'''Jasper Johns''' is an icon of American Art.

Born and raised in Allendale, [[South Carolina]], Jasper Johns grew up wanting to be an artist. "In the place where I was a child, there were no artists and there was no art, so I really didn't know what that meant," recounts Johns. "I think I thought it meant that I would be in a situation different from the one that I was in." He studied briefly at the University of South Carolina before moving to New York in the early fifties.

The [[modern art]] community was searching for new ideas to succeed the pure emotionality of the Abstract Expressionists. Johns' paintings of targets, maps, invited both the wrath and praise of critics. Johns' early work combined a serious concern for the craft of painting with an everyday, almost absurd, subject matter. The meaning of the painting could be found in the painting process itself. It was a new experience for gallery goers to find paintings solely of such things as flags and numbers. The simplicity and familiarity of the subject matter piqued viewer interest in both Johns' motivation and his process.

It was through painting that Johns found his own process for trying to understand logic.

Jasper Johns is one of the most expensive living artists.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johns, Jasper }}
[[Category:Artists]]

Norway

2007-09-27T02:08:44Z

GilliamJF: fact

[[Image:Norwayflag.gif|thumbnail|right|100px|The Norwegian flag.]]

'''Norway''' is a country in [[Scandinavia]].

The capital is [[Oslo]], and the principal language in [[Norwegian]], though [[Sami]] languages are also spoken in the far north. Norway is one of the few Western European nations not in the [[European Union]] but is a member of the [[Schengen Agreement]] group of countries which permit cross-border travel without passport control.

Norway has had inhabitants since the last [[ice age]] (some 10,000 years ago). There may have been some groups of people living in the coastal regions even earlier. The most famous group of Norwegians are the Vikings (the origin of the name is not certain). They proliferated from the year 800 A.D. to 1100, approximately. Modern Norwegians, such as the mild-mannered [[King Harald V]], are a far cry from the common image of their ancestors, although this image is somewhat skewed by Anglo-Saxon and Irish accounts of raids. Norway has a high proportion of atheists and few explicitly religious citizens, although it has a state church (lutheran).{{fact}}. It also has the second highest [[per capita income]] GDP (PPP) in the world and, according to the UN, some of the best quality of life of any nation on the planet alongside other Scandinavian countries.

A survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit based on measures including military spending and actions and violent crime rates has found that Norway is the most peaceful country in the world.<ref>http://www.ppu.org.uk/newsx/news_013.html</ref>

Norway and [[Switzerland]] are the only countries in Western Europe that do not belong to the [[European Union]].

According to Alexa traffic statistics, Conservapedia enjoys its highest national traffic rank in Norway.[http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?url=conservapedia.com]

=== References ===
<references/>

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:NATO members]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]

Category:Drugs

2007-07-22T12:03:34Z

GilliamJF: +cat

List of Drugs
[[Category:Medicine]]

User:GilliamJF

2007-04-21T05:00:36Z

GilliamJF:

User since March 2006. I'm here to watch the work progress, and to perform minor tasks, what we call at Wikipedia a "Wikignome." I might add that I'm not here for the ''politics'', but rather for the unique experience.

{{special:newpages/30}}

User:GilliamJF

2007-03-16T12:35:13Z

GilliamJF:

User since March 2006. I'm here to watch the work progress, and to perform minor tasks, what we call at Wikipedia a "Wikignome." I might add that I'm not here for the politics, but rather for the unique experience.

Nazi

2007-03-16T12:29:41Z

GilliamJF: fix redlink

The Nazis were a [[fascist]] political party in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. The official name of the party was the '''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei''', or [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (NSDAP). Its most notable leader was [[Adolf Hitler]], known as Der Fuhrer.

The Nazis were anti-abortion, anti-socialist, anti-homosexual, anti-feminist, and highly militaristic. They are considered a [[radical]] movement rooted in a view of the superiority of Germany, and everything German. This view totally disregards the wide support the Nazis gained from some conservatives due to their close agendas.

Specific cultural movements eventually feeding into the rise of the Nazi Party to power included an [[occultism]] movement interested in black magic and Germanic pre-Christian [[pagan]] religion popular in Germany in the decades before [[World War II|WWII]]; and a [[counterculture]] movement of disaffected and alienated youth after [[World War I|WWI]] known as the ''Wandervogel'', which eventually provided much of the recruitment base for the S.S. and S.A., two Nazi Party [[paramilitary]] groups.

Their hatred of the Jews eventually led to the [[Holocaust]].

Nazi

2007-03-16T12:27:48Z

GilliamJF: sp

The Nazis were a [[fascist]] political party in Germany in the first half of the 20th century. The official name of the party was the '''Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei''', or [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] (NSDAP). Its most notable leader was [[Adolf Hitler]], known as Der Fuhrer.

The Nazis were anti-abortion, anti-socialist, anti-homosexual, anti-feminist, and highly militaristic. They are considered a [[radical]] movement rooted in a view of the superiority of Germany, and everything German. This view totally disregards the wide support the Nazis gained from some conservatives due to their close agendas.

Specific cultural movements eventually feeding into the rise of the Nazi Party to power included an [[occultism]] movement interested in black magic and Germanic pre-Christian [[pagan]] religion popular in Germany in the decades before [[WWII]]; and a [[counterculture]] movement of disaffected and alienated youth after [[WWI]] known as the ''Wandervogel'', which eventually provided much of the recruitment base for the S.S. and S.A., two Nazi Party [[paramilitary]] groups.

Their hatred of the Jews eventually led to the [[Holocaust]].