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Hong Kong

2015-09-18T03:16:26Z

KParker: Grammar

{{Country
|name =香港 ''Xiānggǎng Hong Kong''
|map =Hong kong pol98.jpg
|flag =674uygjh.png
|arms =Hong Kong Emblem.png
|capital =
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|government =Special Administrative Region
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|language = Cantonese, English
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|area =426.4 sq. miles
|pop =6.92 million
|pop-basis =2007
|gdp =$188.8 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$27,600
|currency =Hong Kong dollar
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'''Hong Kong''' ([[Traditional Chinese]] and [[Simplified Chinese]]: 香港; [[Hanyu Pinyin]]: Xiānggǎng; [[Jyutping]]: Hoeng1 Gong2) is a [[Special Administrative Region]] of [[China]], situated at the mouth of the [[Pearl River]] in southern China, opposite the former Portuguese possession of [[Macau]]. It consists of Hong Kong, Lamma, Lantau and various smaller islands, and [[Kowloon]] and the [[New Territories]] on the Chinese mainland. The name Hong Kong means ''fragrant harbour''.

From the 1840s to 1997, it was a British colony and the main business base for the [[British Empire]] in East Asia. It is now part of Communist China, with a somewhat separate status. There is a free press but no democracy and no real elections; all major government decisions are made by the government of China.

The population of Hong Kong is about 7 million people. The largest urban areas are Kowloon (With a population about 2 million), Central, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin. Property prices in Hong Kong's Central District are the second most expensive in the world, after those of central [[Tokyo]].

==People==
[[File:New Year Fair 2009 Hong Kong.jpg|right|210px]]
Hong Kong's population has increased steadily over the past decade, reaching about 6.92 million in 2007. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, with an overall density of some 6,250 people per square kilometer. Cantonese, the official Chinese language in Hong Kong, is spoken by most of the population. English, also an official language, is widely understood, being spoken by more than one-third of the population. Every major religion is practiced freely in Hong Kong. All children are required by law to be in full-time education between the ages of 6 and 15. Preschool education for most children begins at age 3. Primary school begins normally at the age of 6 and lasts for 6 years. At about age 12, children progress to a 3-year course of junior secondary education. Most stay on for a 2-year senior secondary course, while others join full-time vocational training. More than 90% of children complete upper secondary education or equivalent vocational education.
*Population (mid-2007): 6.92 million.
*Population growth rate (2006): 0.6%.
*Ethnic groups: Chinese 95%; other 5%.
*Religions: About 43% participate in some form of religious practice. Christian, about 9.6%.
*Languages: Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese) and English are official.
*Education: Literacy--97.1% (98.7% male, 95.4% female).
*Health (2006): Infant mortality rate--1.8/1,000. Life expectancy--82.6 yrs. (overall); 79.5 yrs. males, 85.6 yrs. females.
*Work force (2007): 3.65 million. Wholesale, retail, and import/export trades and restaurants and hotels--28.8%; finance, insurance, real estate, and business services--13.8%; manufacturing--4.3%.

====The arts====
Hong Kong has the world's third largest film industry after [[Bollywood]] and [[Hollywood]]. Most films are produced in the [[Cantonese]] language, although a few Hong Kong stars, such as [[Jackie Chan]] are known internationally.

==Government and Political Conditions==

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) is headed by Chief Executive Donald Tsang, who first took office in 2005 and whose current term ends in 2012. The Election Committee that votes on the Chief Executive (CE) is made up of approximately 800 Hong Kong residents from four constituency groups: commercial, industrial, and financial interests; professionals; labor, social services, and religious interests; and the legislature, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the P.R.C. National People's Congress.
[[File:Government House Hong Kong.jpg|thumb|left|360px|Government House.]]
In December 2006, pro-democracy Civic Party legislator Alan Leong garnered 134 nominations from the Election Committee, enabling Leong to challenge incumbent CE Tsang's bid for a new five-year term in 2007. Tsang, with solid support from the pro-government and pro-business sectors, won the March 25, 2007 Election Committee vote with 649 of the 795 votes. Leong garnered 123 votes.

In July 2002, the Hong Kong Government implemented the Principal Officials Accountability System, which was designed to make the government more responsive to public concerns. Twelve political appointees, directly responsible to the Chief Executive, run the 12 policy bureaus. Three other senior civil service positions--the Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary, and Justice Secretary--are also filled by political appointments.

While Hong Kong remains a free and open society where human rights are respected, courts are independent, and there is well-established respect for the rule of law, residents are limited in their ability to change their government, and the legislature is limited in its power to affect government policies. The September 12, 2004 Legislative Council (Legco) elections were seen as generally free, open, and widely contested, although Hong Kong groups have alleged voter intimidation, manipulation, or pressure in connection with them.

In December 2005 the Legco rejected a Hong Kong Government-proposed package of incremental reforms to the mechanisms for choosing the CE in 2007 and forming the Legco in 2008. In July 2007, the Hong Kong Government's Commission on Strategic Development issued a Green Paper on Constitutional Development, which set out a myriad of options to reform the CE and Legco electoral mechanisms, with the "ultimate aim" of universal suffrage as prescribed by the Basic Law.

On December 12, 2007, Chief Executive Donald Tsang submitted a report on the Green Paper to the central government. The report said more than half of local people wanted universal suffrage by 2012, but 2017 might be a more realistic date. In December 2007, the P.R.C. National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued a decision on Hong Kong's constitutional development which, while ruling out universal suffrage in 2012, appears to open the way for Hong Kong to achieve full universal suffrage for the CE in 2017, and full universal suffrage for Legco sometime thereafter. Any amendments to the Basic Law will require approval by the CE, at least two-thirds of Legco, and then the NPCSC.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Chief Executive--Donald Tsang
*Chief Secretary for Administration--Henry Tang
*Financial Secretary--John Tsang
*Secretary for Justice--Wong Yan Lung, SC
*Secretary for Education--Michael Suen
*Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development--Frederick Ma
*Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs--Stephen Lam
*Secretary for Security--Ambrose Lee
*Secretary for Food and Health--York Chow
*Secretary for the Civil Service--Denise Yue
*Secretary for Home Affairs--Tsang Tak-sing
*Secretary for Labour and Welfare--Matthew Cheung
*Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury--K C Chan
*Secretary for Development--Carrie Lam
*Secretary for the Environment--Edward Yau
*Secretary for Transport and Housing--Eva Cheng

===Foreign Relations===
Hong Kong's foreign relations and defense are the responsibility of China. Hong Kong is an independent customs territory and economic entity separate from the rest of China and is able to enter into international agreements on its own behalf in commercial and economic matters. Hong Kong, independently of China, participates as a full member of numerous international economic organizations including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
[[Image:Hongkong.jpg|center|thumb|950px|The Hong Kong skyline.]]

==Economy==
[[File:Hong Kong Trade Development.JPG|thumb|240px|left|Trade Development Council.]]
Hong Kong is one of the world's most open and dynamic economies. Hong Kong per capita GDP is comparable to other developed countries. Real GDP expanded by 6.8% in 2006 year-on-year, driven by thriving exports, vibrant inbound tourism and strong consumer spending. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused the Hong Kong economy to shrink during the first half of 2003, and property prices had fallen 66% from their late 1997 peak, but have since rebounded by about 84% from that lower base. The unemployment rate declined to 3.6% in September-November 2007, the lowest level since mid-1998. The surplus for fiscal year 2007-08 was $7.5 billion or 4.0% of GDP, attributed to the robust economy, increased corporate profits and salaries, the buoyant stock market, and a stable property market.

Hong Kong enjoys a number of economic strengths, including accumulated public and private wealth from decades of unprecedented growth, a sound banking system, virtually no public debt, a strong legal system, and an able and rigorously enforced anti-corruption regime. The need for economic restructuring poses difficult challenges and choices for the government. Hong Kong is endeavoring to improve its attractiveness as a commercial and trading center, especially after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), and continues to refine its financial architecture. The government is deepening its economic interaction with the Pearl River Delta in an effort to maintain Hong Kong's position as a gateway to China. These efforts include the conclusion of a free trade agreement with China, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), which applies zero tariffs to all Hong Kong-origin goods and preferential treatment in 27 service sectors. Hong Kong, along with the Macau SAR, is also participating in a new pan-Pearl River Delta trade block with nine Chinese provinces, which aims to lower trade barriers among members, standardize regulations, and improve infrastructure. U.S. companies have a generally favorable view of Hong Kong's business environment, including its legal system and the free flow of information, low taxation, and infrastructure. The American Chamber of Commerce's annual business confidence survey, released in December 2007, showed 99% of respondents had a "good" or "satisfactory" outlook for 2008. Survey results indicated a positive economic outlook through 2010.

On the international front, Hong Kong is a separate and active member of the WTO and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, where it is an articulate and effective champion of free markets and the reduction of trade barriers. Hong Kong residents across the political spectrum supported China's accession to the WTO, believing this would open new opportunities on the mainland for local firms and stabilize relations between Hong Kong's two most important trade and investment partners, the United States and China.
*GDP (2006): $188.8 billion.
*GDP real growth rate (2006): 6.8%.
*Per capita GDP (2006): $27,600.
*Natural resources: Outstanding deepwater harbor.
*Industry: Types--textiles, clothing, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks.
*Trade: Exports--$315.5 billion: clothing, electronics, textiles, watches and clocks, office machinery. Imports--$333.3 billion: consumer goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuels.

==History==
[[Image:Old Flag of Hong Kong.png|right|200px|thumb|British Crown Colony flag, in use until 1997]]

When British merchants were forced out of Canton in the 1820s, they began to use Hong Kong harbor for anchorage and storage depots. Hong Kong, with a population of 3600 villagers and 2000 fishermen, came under British control by the Convention of Chuenpi, a treaty with China in 1841, as part of the British conquest during the opium wars British foreign minister Lord Palmerston contemptuously dismissed the place as "a barren island with hardly a house upon it." Its prized harbor was used only by fishermen, pirates, and opium smugglers. However, it soon became a key and Royal Navy coaling station.

By the Treaty of the Bogue (Humen) in 1843, Chinese merchants based in the mainland were allowed free access to Hong Kong for trading purposes. By 1851 the population reached 32,000 (95% Chinese), The Second Anglo-Chinese War (1856-58) resulted in another British victory and led to the secession of the Kowloon Peninsula. Under a convention signed in Peking in 1898, the New Territories — comprising the area north of Kowloon up to the Shum Chun (Shenzhen) River and 235 islands--was leased for 99 years, primarily to forestall French or Russian occupation.

===Business===
In the 19th century the British colony was chiefly a naval base and as an entrepôt for trade with the mainland. An international busineess community grew up; Warren Delano, Jr., grandfather of President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]], worked in Hong Kong in the 1860s as a partner in the American trading firm of Russell and Company. Jardine Matheson, founded in 1832, was a British partnership that did marketing for correspondent merchants in Britain, India, and parts of south-east Asia. It became active in finance, insurance, and shipping, but its most profitable commodity was opium, which was sold, illegally, in Canton and along the coast of China. In 1843 it moved its headquarters to Hong Kong, signalling the new base for British merchants, who dominated the international trade of south China. They sent teas and silks to Europe, and imported coal, machinery, metals, wines, and liquors. In 2007 Jardine Matheson had revenues of US$ 32 billion, and is the largest employer in HKSAR after the government.<ref> See [http://www.jardines.com/profile/history.html Jardine's History]</ref>
[[File:HK-1850.jpg|thumb|left|280px|The city in 1850.]]
Shortages of arable land, fresh water, forest and mineral resources, and skilled labor appeared to be insuperable barriers to the development of industry. However, Chinese businessmen by the 1880s were creating a distinct cultural-historical role for the colony. They contributed to China's nation-building effort by providing financing and imports China could not secure on its own. Their success made Hong Kong a valued member of the British Empire. By 1900, the colonial government appreciated the Chinese businessmen as more than profit-bound sojourners, but as allies in the struggle for order and stability, not just in Hong Kong and in south China, but in the British empire in Asia. Nationalism does not inevitably pit colonized against colonizers, for Chinese nationalism did not drive the Chinese merchants and intellectuals into opposition; the ideal of a powerful, modern China united them with the British, for both parties realized a strong, modern China meant a commercially vibrant China.

The Chinese nationalists played a major role in service to the Qing dynasty and the succeeding Republican governments, in leading the 1911 revolution and becoming a strategic a haven for Chinese refugees. Hong Kong's philanthropic and relief works, and the commercial and industrial activities of the entrepreneurs were role models for South China. The Chinese business community in Hong Kong, resembled the British business communities there and in Shanghai, which was larger and commercially more important before 1948. Both British and Chinese businessmen were dedicated to opening markets in China, to the point at which Hong Kong Chinese were in a sense both colonized and colonizers. Both groups benefited from their connections in the British Empire, and both were dependent on its power. Members of both societies saw themselves as permanent residents rather than as expatriates or sojourners, but they also continued to send money home to support philanthropic causes and, when necessary, to assist national war efforts. Both British and Chinese could have a number of identities: British or Chinese, imperial, national, and local. Both communities based their local identities on self-images of industriousness, entrepreneurship, and public spirit. London refused demands by British residents for self-government, arguing that saying the 98% Chinese majority would be subject to the control of a small European minority.<ref>John Carroll, "Colonialism, Nationalism, and Difference: Reassessing the Role of Hong Kong in Modern Chinese History." ''Chinese Historical Review'' 2006 13(1): 92-104. Issn: 1547-402x </ref>
[[File:HongKongMap.jpg|right|180px]]
Modernization proceeded rapidly, with the Hong Kong and China Gas Company starting in 1861, the Peak Tram in 1885, the Hongkong Electric Company in 1889, China Light and Power in 1903, the electric tramways in 1904 and the Kowloon-Canton Railway, in 1910. Successive reclamations began in 1851 — notably one completed in 1904 in Central District which produced Chater Road, Connaught Road and Des Voeux Road; and another in Wan Chai between 1921 and 1929.

A representative leader was Sir Kai Ho Kai, (1859-1914), barrister, physician, reformist, revolutionary and essayist. His grandfather was a Protestant printer in Malacca (Malaysia); his father was educated at the Anglo-Chinese College in Malacca and became a Protestant minister in Hong Kong as well as a rich real estate entrepreneur. Ho Kai was one of the first Chinese physicians to be professionally trained in Britain (at Aberdeen University), becoming a central figure in the history of Western medicine in China. His public service on Hong Kong's appointed Legislative Council from 1890 to 1914, his role in helping to found the Tung Wah Hospital, Alice Memorial Hospital, the Hong Kong College of Medicine and the Po Leung Kuk orphanage; he wrote numerous essays on governmental reform.<ref>G. H. Choa, ''The Life and Times of Sir Kai Ho Kai: A Prominent Figure in Nineteenth-Century Hong Kong.'' (2nd ed. 2000) </ref>

===Education and religion===
[[File:Buddhistic Statues Hong Kong.jpg|thumb|340px|Buddhistic Statues.]]
Schooling was not compulsory but the colonial government began annual cash grants in 1847 to schools for the Chinese; there was never any effort to impose English. In 1873, the annual grants were extended to voluntary schools operated by Christian missionaries. College of Medicine for the Chinese, opened in 1887 with [[Sun Yat Sen]] as one of its first two students; it became the University of Hong Kong in 1911 and built arts, engineering and medical faculties. However, throughout the 20th century higher education opportunities were limited.

The Church Missionary Society of the Church of England promoted work in China after 1844. George Smith (1815–1871) was the first bishop of Hong Kong, 1850-64. Smith handled Anglican pastoral and missionary, and directed St. Paul's Missionary College (now St Paul's Boys' School). He spoke Chinese and conducted both Chinese and English services. Smith set up the first mission to seamen in Hong Kong and was president of the Bible Society in Hong Kong. He ordained the first two Chinese deacons in 1863. The governor appointed Smith as chairman of the education committee in 1852 and of its successor, the board of education, in 1860.<ref>Gillian Bickley, "Smith, George (1815–1871)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' (Sept 2004); online edn, Jan 2008 </ref>

Frederick Stewart (1836–1889), the first head of the government education department was a Scottish Presbyterian educator who helped structure the educational system 1862-1878. Most residents were too poor to educate their children: school attendance among the farming and large transient fishing communities was irregular and Chinese girls generally were not educated. Stewart passionately valued education for individual fulfillment and only secondly for society's needs. He established, developed, and managed both a school and a system, learning and using spoken Cantonese and written Chinese in his work. In 1873 he established a successful grant-in-aid scheme for non-government schools (generally warmly supported by missionaries) and saw a sharp increase in attendance. In 1889 he supported a successful initiative to extend government Western education taught through English to Chinese girls. His work was enthusiastically supported by the governors Sir Richard MacDonnell and Sir Arthur Kennedy, but his work was obstructed by John Pope-Hennessy, governor 1877-1882. Pope-Hennessy, a highly controversial Irish Catholic hostile to Protestants, favored the Chinese over the British, and faulted the English-language achievements of Stewart's Central School pupils and disapproved of the dual curriculum which was the school's unique and particular strength. Although language policy had been a source of controversy at various times during the 1860s and 1870s, it was not until Pope-Hennessy’s raised the issue that conflict over the roles of English and Chinese in the colony's education system came fully into the open.<ref> Kate Lowe and Eugene McLaughlin. "Sir John Pope Hennessy and the 'native race craze': colonial government in Hong Kong, 1877–1882", ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History,'' 20 (1992), 223–47 ·
</ref> In 1883, on the initiative of the Colonial Office, and under a new governor, Sir George Bowen, he was appointed registrar-general and protector of Chinese. In 1887 Stewart was appointed colonial secretary—the head of the permanent civil service—and he occasionally acted as governor. Through his work in setting up a government education system which accommodated the best of two cultures—English and Chinese languages, Western and Chinese curricula, and modern and traditional pedagogies—Stewart made a lasting impact which accelerated the modernization of China. His own educational example, the pedagogical materials he produced, and his graduates all were important. Bilingual and bicultural pupils from the flagship Hong Kong Government Central School for Boys staffed many Hong Kong and imperial institutions; many attended the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, of which Stewart was the first rector. Several won positions of influence in the imperial Chinese or Hong Kong colonial governments; others, admiring Western ideals, became revolutionaries, most notably Sun Yat Sen, the first president of China.<ref> Gillian Bickley, "Stewart, Frederick (1836–1889)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 </ref>

===Great Depression===
In 1932, facing a worldwide [[Great Depression]] and higher tariffs from the United States, the British Commonwealth nations decided at the Imperial Economic Conference to protect industry and agriculture in the Empire by raising tariffs on imports from outside the Empire and encouraging colonial entrepreneurs. Since Hong Kong was a free port with no customs duties on imports or exports, industrialization there was different than in other British colonies, where industry could only be established with the aid of protective tariffs and other government assistance, and where manufactured goods could only be sold in local markets. Hong Kong's industrialization rapidly expanded thanks to the new preference for goods made inside the Empire, and especially to the higher tariffs on Japanese textiles, footwear, and other goods. Chinese entrepreneurs in Hong Kong soon took over from the Japanese as the main competitors of British manufacturers in textiles and rubber footwear. The local and regional market expanded, with 24,000 ocean-going ships clearing the harbor in 1939. The large-scale relocation of industrial enterprises from mainland China began in the late 1930s, and resumed after the war.<ref> Norman Miners, "Industrial Development in the Colonial Empire and the Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa 1932." ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'' 2002 30(2): 53-76. Issn: 0308-6534 </ref>
===Second World War ===
[[File:VC John Robert Osborn Statue Military of Canada Hong Kong.jpg|thumb|Statue, Military of Canada, Hong Kong's Park.]]
London realized it could never defend the isolated colony against [[Japan]], but had to send forces to maintain imperial prestige. Indian and Canadian troops were sent in 1941 but they lacked training, equipment, and ammunition. They served a sacrificial role, with 6500 imprisoned for the duration, while British Commonwealth forces sought a major victory in North Africa. Refugees pured in from the mainland pushing the population well over one million, with extremely crowded conditions. Japan ruled from December, 1941 to September 1945, a time of hyperinflation and food shortages. Upwards of half the population left for the mainland.<ref> Andrew J. Whitfield, ''Hong Kong, Empire and the Anglo-American Alliance at War, 1941-1945.'' (2001) [http://www.questia.com/read/101710900?title=Hong%20Kong%2c%20Empire%20and%20the%20Anglo-American%20Alliance%20at%20War%2c%201941-45 online edition]</ref>

===Social trends===
Open currency markets and a free trade policy in Hong Kong after World War II gave it great economic advantages over Shanghai, whose government-controlled import-export trade could not compete with the British colony. In the late 1940s thousands of businessmen and professionals from Shanghai and other cities fled to Hong Kong top escape the imminent takeover of China by the Communists.

Despite a low birth rate, Hong Kong's population grew rapidly after 1945, as it became a base for entrepeneurs and a haven for refugees from poverty, war and Communism in China. The population tripled from 600,000 in 1945 to 1.8 million in 1948, then grew to 4 million in 1970 and 5.6 million in 1997. Steady growth continues, reaching 6.9 million in 2006.
[[File:TVB newsroom Hong Kong.jpg|left|TVB newsroom, Hong Kong.]]
The colony's strong high school system produced some of the professionals and skilled workers who contributed to rapid economic development after 1945, but they were outnumbered by new arrivals from China. Hong Kong's open and competitive employment system offered an important channel for upward social mobility, which tended to forestall a growth in class consciousness. Graduates joined an English-speaking elite and took pride in its acquaintance with the British culture. This elite was then incorporated by the British Establishment. This integration reduced potential friction between the colonial government and the local elite, who displayed far less antagonism or demands for independence than elites in other colonies. Demands for political participation emerged in the 1970s, as the colonial government vastly expanded its social service commitments. Its policy of "administrative absorption" encompassed more elites from all social strata. Its image was also improved by attempts to be a "government by consultation," while the threat of a takeover by Communist China undercut demands for autonomy. Economic development consistently raised the people's living standards and lowered their demand for political participation. Hong Kong elites were proud of not being affected by the "British disease," the symptoms of which included too much social welfare, militant trade unionism, frequent labour disputes, and a decline in economic competitiveness, as affected Britain itself in the 1970s. Radical ideologies were unattractive to the community and the Maoist factions gained little support. After 1984 both Britain and China promised more democracy, but as of 2008 there still is little of it.<ref> Joseph Y.S. Cheng, "Elections and Political Parties in Hong Kong's Political Development", ''Journal of Contemporary Asia,'' 2001, 31#3 346-374</ref>

===Economic boom===
[[File:Collage Hong Kong.jpg|right|120px]]
In the 1950s, Hong Kong viewed Guangdong on the mainland as its economic past: an underdeveloped hinterland of cottage industries and peasant agriculture. Guangdong, meanwhile, looked on Hong Kong as its political past: a territory oppressed by colonialism. That is, Hong Kong leaders saw Guangdong as socialist, planned, unfree, and poor. Meanwhile the Commuist leaders in Guangdong saw Hong Kong as colonial, exploitative,class stratified, and dehumanizing.<ref> Seth Harter, "'Time Is Moving Forward, but We Are Moving Faster': Racing towards Modernity in Hong Kong and Guangdong, 1945-1962." (2006). </ref>

The colony experienced some of the highest economic growth rates in world history during the last half of the 20th century. In the 1960s its average annual rate of growth was 13.2%, setting a world record. New factories opened, especially textiles and plastics. A major construction boom continued almost non-stop. In the 1960s the port became as a major center for world trade, exceeding all of China by 30%. It became a major international financial center. Low taxation, a strong currency, and a free currency exchange attracted international banks and foreign investment, although uncertainty regarding the 1997 takeover sent some investors to Canada. In the 1970s the growth rate slowed to a very high 8% annually. Per capita income soared, despite the fast growing population, and was the third highest in Asia by 1980, albeit less than half that of Japan.

In 1971 the colonial government made education compulsory and virtually free. Total school enrollment in 1981 was 1,339,000, but included a mere 16,000 full-time higher education students. In 1989 Governor Edward Youde moved to expand and strengthen higher education in response to public demands. He envision the founding of a world class university, an Asian equivalent of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1991 the colony established the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). More expansion took place in the 1990s, resulting in nine major centers of higher education, with enrollment expanded by 50%.<ref>Timothy Man-kong Wong, "From Expansion to Repositioning: Recent Changes in Higher Education in Hong Kong," ''China: An International Journal'' 2#1 March 2004, pp. 150-166 in [[Project Muse]]</ref>By 2006 the most prestigious school, the University of Hong Kong, had 11,600 undergraduates, 7,900 postgraduates, and 2,000 MPhil and PhD students.

===1997===
When Britain turned Hong Kong over to China in 1997 it was the most modern colonial metropolis in the world, where robust entrepreneurship flourished under a British legal system providing a high degree of civil liberties for its citizens, but which had never set up a democratic system. Between 1960 and 1982, Hong Kong showed the staggering average growth rate of 7.0% per year, then held at 6.7% annually to 1992. In 1995, Hong Kong's GDP per person (in parity purchasing power) was the third highest in the world.

In 1997, at the end of the 99 year lease, the whole of the Hong Kong territory was returned to China. A "one country, two systems" model for 50 years was promised by China's leader [[Deng Xiaoping]], and the formula was accepted by Britain. Beijing selected the Basic Law Drafting Committee in 1985, making it clear it placed top priority on the stability and prosperity of the territory and that radical political reforms would be unlikely. Of the 59 members there were 23 members from Hong Kong, most of them prominent businessmen and leading professionals. The interests of the Establishment in Hong Kong apparently were assured, as the Chinese authorities were keen to retain Hong Kong's attractiveness to investors. The Basic Law Drafting Committee favoured an "executive-led" system of government for the future HKSAR with power concentrated in the hands of the Chief Executive, rather than the weak Legislative Council.

[[File:HK Bank of China Tower 2008.jpg|thumb|left|HK Bank of China Tower, 2008.]]
The 1985 elections to the colonial Legislative Council involved representation of different interest groups; there were a mere 70,000 eligible voters, of whom only 25,000 voted.The September 1985 elections to the Legislative Council were based on the electoral college, comprising members of the District Boards, the Urban Council and the Provisional Regional Council, and the functional constituencies.[ 10] Qualified voters therefore only numbered about 70,000 and those who actually voted amounted to about 25,000.

To rule after 1997 China created its first Special Administration Region, and as a result, Hong Kong became largely autonomous with its own government and laws, distinct from that of the rest of the People's Republic. All final decisions, however, were made by the government of China, but the influence was light-handed and "soft" before 2003.<ref>Willy Lam, "Beijing's hand in Hong Kong politics," ''Association for Asian Research'' [http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/2153.html June 14, 2004, online]</ref>
===Democratic issues===
On 1 July 2003, over half a million Hong Kong citizens staged a mass protest against the poor governance of the post-handover SAR government. The grievances of the marchers quickly snowballed into a widely backed movement for democracy, and another large rally was held on 1 July 2004. The landslide support for pro-democratic candidates during the local elections held on 23 November 2003 unnerved Beijing over its possible loss of control over Hong Kong. The government of China quickly shifted from a soft-line approach that talked about virtual autonomy to a hard-line approach, attempting to dampen the local democracy movement. Beijing banned universal suffrage for the elections of a Chief Executive in 2007 and a legislature in 2008. There were five fundamental causes of Hong Kong's broad-based demand for full democracy. First economic uncertainly rose sharply after 1999, as the competitiveness of the Hong Kong economy slipped and the transition to a knowledge economy was hindered by stagnant rates of university attendance. Secondly, the level of economic inequality increased,<ref> Li Zhang, "Economic Growth and Income Inequality in Hong Kong: Trends and Explanations," ''China: An International Journal'' 3#1 March 2005, pp. 74-103 in [[Project Muse]]</ref> along with a sense that cronyism was rampant and getting worse. Thirdly the government deficit has soared, leading to cutbacks in government services; by 2003 the government had spent half the financial reserves left by the British, and sold land assets to cover the deficit. At a deeper level citizens are anxious about their lack of voice in an authoritarian polity.<ref> Yushuo Zheng, "Hong Kong's Democrats Stumble," ''Journal of Democracy'' 16#1 January 2005, pp. 138-152 in [[Project Muse]]</ref> The The fifth fundamental problem was the failure of the new "Principal Officials Accountability System" and the growth of popular distrust towards the non-democratic system. <ref> Ming Sing, "The Legitimacy Problem and Democratic Reform in Hong Kong." ''Journal of Contemporary China'' 2006 15(48): 517-532. Issn: 1067-0564 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]; Christine Loh, and Richard Cullen, "Political Reform in Hong Kong: the Principal Officials Accountability System. The First Year (2002-2003)." ''Journal of Contemporary China'' 2005 14(42): 153-176. Issn: 1067-0564 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

In September 2008, "pandemocrats" as they call themselves, retained the voters’ support during the Legislative Council election. Beijing’s interferences with the elections, though less blatant than those of 2004, unmistakably cast doubt on its sincerity to implement democracy in Hong Kong by 2020. In 2008, Beijing promoted a new wave of pro-Beijing professionals with a stronger and more independent image. The sudden rise and stunning electoral victories of the Social Democrats, who are hallmarked by civil disobedience on behalf of democratic and social reforms, reflect a deepening sense of public despair about the futility of the current political system, and a proliferating radicalism. A decade after the handover of their city to China, Hong Kong’s “pandemocrats” remain able to stand their ground at the ballot box.<ref>Ming Sing, "Hong Kong’s Democrats Hold Their Own," ''Journal of Democracy'', Volume 20, Number 1, January 2009, pp. 98-112 in [[Project MUSE]] </ref>

==Bibliography==
* DK. ''Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides: Hong Kong'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Eyewitness-Top-10-Travel-Guides/dp/078948434X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912192&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* ''Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-Guide-Hong-Macau-Guides/dp/2067140450/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254795126&sr=1-25 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Hong Kong'' by Beth Reiber, (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Hong-Kong-Complete/dp/0470078332/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912192&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Stone, Andrew. ''Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau City Guide'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Hong-Macau-Guide/dp/1741046653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912192&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Culture Shock! Hong Kong: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette'' by Betty Wei and Elizabeth Li (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Shock-Hong-Kong-Etiquette/dp/0761454829/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254795206&sr=1-43 excerpt and text search]

===History===
* Carroll, John M. '' A Concise History of Hong Kong'' (2007) 270 pages [http://books.google.com/books?id=D37ijXG-FykC&pg=PA87&dq=intitle:A+intitle:history+intitle:of+intitle:Hong+intitle:Kong&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=YSlyseZ_8GY1hdC6pe8pvOSXAg4 excerpt and text search]
* Chiu, Stephen, and Tai-Lok Lui. ''Hong Kong: The Global City'' (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Hong-Kong-Global-Stephen-Chiu/dp/0415220106/ref=sr_1_67?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254795340&sr=1-67 excerpt and text search]
* Fu, Poshek, and David Desser. ''The Cinema of Hong Kong: History, Arts, Identity'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Cinema-Hong-Kong-History-Identity/dp/0521776023/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254795022&sr=1-18 excerpt and text search]
* Ingham, Michael. '' Hong Kong: A Cultural History'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Hong-Kong-Cultural-History-Cityscapes/dp/0195314972/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254795261&sr=1-50 excerpt and text search]
* Tsang, Steve. ''A Modern History of Hong Kong'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Modern-History-Hong-Kong/dp/1845114191/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912427&sr=1-14 excerpt and text search]
* Vickers, Claire. ''Hong Kong - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Hong-Kong-Culture-customs-etiquette/dp/1857333683/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912192&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Welsh, Frank. ''A Borrowed Place: The History of Hong Kong'' (1993), 624pp readable and well-researched history
* Wright, Rachel. ''Living and Working in Hong Kong: The Complete Practical Guide to Expatriate Life in China's Gateway'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Living-Working-Hong-Kong-Expatriate/dp/1845281950/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208912427&sr=1-24 excerpt and text search]

===Primary sources===
* Endacott, G. B., ed. '' An Eastern Entrepot: A Collection of Documents Illustrating the History of Hong Kong'' (1964) 293 pp
* Tsang, Steve. ''Government and Politics: A Documentary History of Hong Kong.'' (1995), 312pp [http://www.questia.com/read/14561367?title=Government%20and%20Politics%3a%20A%20Documentary%20History%20of%20Hong%20Kong online edition]

==See also==
*[[Canton]]

== References ==

<references/>

{| style="width: 100%; background:transparent; border: 2px solid #000099;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="1"
!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
|-
!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| Some content for this article is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
|-
!style=" background-color: #000088; color:white;"|Source:
|style="background-color: none;border-top: 2px solid black"| File available from the {{{1|[[United States Federal Government]] [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2747.htm]}}}.
|}

[[Category:Chinese Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]
[[Category:British Empire]]

Chemtrails

2015-09-17T03:58:12Z

KParker:

The '''Chemtrails''' [[conspiracy theory]] claims that some [[contrails]], visible in the Earth's atmosphere, are biological or chemical agents, sprayed at high altitudes for reasons unknown to the public. There are many versions of the theory that propose different explanations, similar to how [[Urban legend|urban legends]] are spread.

The conspiracy theory, however, has never found any credit in the scientific community, as it is devoid of objective evidence. What advocates of the theory identify as "chemtrails" are normal condensation trails (contrails), which under certain weather conditions take an unusual appearance.

The spread of this conspiracy theory throughout the world, via mass media and especially via the Internet, has led to government agencies receiving thousands of complaints from people who demand explanations for these alleged activities.

Spraying chemicals from a high altitude for people to inhale would also be extremely inefficient. This is one of the reasons why airplanes spraying pesticides on fields fly so low.

The same government agencies and scientists have repeatedly denied the existence of chemical trails.

The [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] has argued that the theory is a hoax, a view which is recognized by many universities, scientific organizations, and the [[mainstream media]]. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (a British regulatory agency) stressed that the "chemical trails" theory is unscientific. A Canadian parliamentary leader said that "chemical trails" is just a popular expression and that there is no evidence supporting their existence. Similar responses were given by various Italian governmental figures as well as by pilots and weather experts. Magazines and programs have established this scientific theory as a hoax.

==Cloud seeding==

The supposed release of chemical trails should not be confused with the technique known as [[cloud seeding]] (cloud insemination), which consists of spreading silver iodide in clouds to encourage rainfall.

[[Category:Science]]

==External links==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48J6F4PLOlU Angel's Hair]

Chemtrails

2015-09-17T03:57:16Z

KParker:

The '''Chemtrails''' [[conspiracy theory]] claims that some [[contrails]], visible in the Earth's atmosphere, are biological or chemical agents, sprayed at high altitudes for reasons unknown to the public. There are many versions of the theory that propose different explanations, similar to how [[Urban legend|urban legends]] are spread.

The conspiracy theory, however, has never found any credit in the scientific community, as it is devoid of objective evidence. What advocates of the theory identify as "chemtrails" are normal condensation trails (contrails), which under certain weather conditions take an unusual appearance.

Spraying chemicals from a high altitude for people to inhale would also be extremely inefficient. This is one of the reasons why airplanes spraying pesticides on fields fly so low.
The spread of this conspiracy theory throughout the world, via mass media and especially via the Internet, has led to government agencies receiving thousands of complaints from people who demand explanations for these alleged activities.

The same government agencies and scientists have repeatedly denied the existence of chemical trails.

The [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] has argued that the theory is a hoax, a view which is recognized by many universities, scientific organizations, and the [[mainstream media]]. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (a British regulatory agency) stressed that the "chemical trails" theory is unscientific. A Canadian parliamentary leader said that "chemical trails" is just a popular expression and that there is no evidence supporting their existence. Similar responses were given by various Italian governmental figures as well as by pilots and weather experts. Magazines and programs have established this scientific theory as a hoax.

==Cloud seeding==

The supposed release of chemical trails should not be confused with the technique known as [[cloud seeding]] (cloud insemination), which consists of spreading silver iodide in clouds to encourage rainfall.

[[Category:Science]]

==External links==

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48J6F4PLOlU Angel's Hair]

Denver International Airport

2015-09-17T03:54:35Z

KParker: Added info about conspiracy theories

'''Denver International Airport''' (DEN) is located in 23 miles northeast of downtown [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]. <ref>[http://www.flydenver.com/diabiz/info/research/facts.asp Fast Facts : Research Center]</ref>

==Airport History==
In February 1991, Denver City Council officially named the city’s new airport terminal for [[Elrey B. Jeppesen]]. The airport opened on February 28, 1995. Denver International Airport is the only major airport to be built in the United States in the last 25 years. <ref>[http://www.flydenver.com/diabiz/info/research/faqs.asp Frequently Asked Questions : Research Center]</ref> <ref>[http://www.flydenver.com/diabiz/info/research/facts.asp Fast Facts : Research Center]</ref>

==Conspiracy Theories==
There are several conspiracy theories relating to the airport, mostly revolving around the fact that the airport looks somewhat like an asymmetrical, five-armed swastika.

==See Also==
*[[List of major U.S. airports]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.flydenver.com/ Official Website]

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

[[Category:Airports]]

Sun

2015-09-17T02:46:49Z

KParker: /* Properties and Characteristics */

{{Planet
|image=Moooghj.jpg
|caption=The Sun. The small blue dot in the upper-right corner is Earth.
|primary=Galaxy
|periapsis=27,600 ly<ref name=Trapp>Trapp, Andrew. "[http://www.geocities.com/dreamer-71/timescales.html Timescales in Open, Flat, and Very Large Closed Universes]." ''From Now Until the End of Time...'' Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=31,800 ly<ref name=apo>Author unknown. "[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=apogalacticon Entry for 'Apogalacticon']." <http://everything2.com/> July 22, 2001. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|semimajor=29,700 ly<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
|eccentricity=0.07<ref name=apo/>
|sidereal=250,000,000 a
|orbitspeed=217 km/s
|inclination=25°
|reference=galactic plane
|siderealday = 25 da<ref name=Goddard>Williams, David R. "[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html Sun Fact Sheet]." ''Goddard Space Flight Center ([[NASA]])'', September 1, 2004. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>
|solarday=27.2753 da<ref name=SunFact>Harvey, Samantha. "[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun&Display=Facts&System=Metric Sun Facts and Figures]." ''[[NASA]]'', April 26, 2007. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref><ref name=note1>This day is actually a synodic day and is the period for the same point on the Sun's equator to appear again directly facing the [[Earth]].</ref>
|mass=1.9891 * 1030 kg (332,848.616 * earth)<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|density=1408 kg/m³<ref name=Goddard/>
|surfacegrav=274.0 m/s² (27.94 ''g'')<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|escapespeed=618.02 km/s<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=SunFact/>
|meanradius=696,000 km<ref name=Goddard/>
|equatorradius=695,500 km<ref name=SunFact/>
|surfacearea=6,087,799,000,000 km² (11,935.176 * earth)<ref name=SunFact/>
|mintemp=4000 K<ref name=Goddard/><ref name=Britannica>"[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110144/Sun Entry for 'Sun']." ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>
|meantemp=5777 K<ref name=SunFact/>
|maxtemp=8000 K<ref name=Britannica/>
|composition=92.1% [[hydrogen]], 7.8% [[helium]]<ref name=SunFact/>
|color=Yellow-orange
|pmdm=3.5 * 1029<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref><ref name=est>Estimated</ref>
|cmdm=4.65 * 1029<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mdt=19000 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=13170 a<ref name=calc/>
}}The '''Sun''', also known by the name '''Sol''' (either from the Greek, ''helios'' or from the [[Latin]] word ''sol'') is a [[Star|yellow dwarf star]] of spectral type G2V. The eight [[planet]]s, including Earth, orbit the sun, as do countless other small objects.<ref name=Britannica/>

== Nomenclature ==
The sun a classified as spectral class G2 V. The "G" means it is a moderately warm yellow star. The "2" means it is in the third hottest group of stars within type "G" (the scale runs from 0 to 9). The "V" is a Roman numeral for 5 and indicates the Sun's size. A size V star is a dwarf, main sequence star. The sun is in the 95th percentile in its class by size and mass of other stars in its immediate region.

== History ==
=== Biblical ===
The [[Bible]] says:{{Bible quote|God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.|book=Genesis|chap=1|verses=16}}

This took place during the fourth [[Days of creation|day]] of Creation Week. More to the point, the sun is a part of God's creation, not a "god" in its own right.

=== Mythological ===
In contrast, virtually every other civilization has regarded the sun as one of many gods, a position that is not hard to understand given it's intended role and it's prominence in the daytime sky. The Egyptians called the sun '''Ra''' or '''Re''', a deity whom, they said, created the world.<ref name=touregypt>Dunn, Jimmy. "[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm Re (Ra) and Re-Horakhty]." <http://www.touregypt.net/>. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The Egyptians also called the sun-disk '''Aten''', and for a brief period (during the reign of [[Pharaoh]] [[Amenhotep IV]] or '''Akhenaten'''), actually worshipped Aten as the one and only god of the universe.<ref name=touregypt2>Dunn, Jimmy. "[http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/aten.htm The Egyptian God Aten Before and After Akhenaten]." <http://www.touregypt.net/>. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> In [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]] the sun was called '''Shamash''', a god who, because he could see everything happening on earth, was also associated with truth and justice.<ref name=MacKenzie>MacKenzie, Donald A. "[http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/mba/mba17.htm Chapter XI: The Golden Age of Babylonia]." ''Myths of Babylonia and Assyria'', IndyPublish.com (ISBN 1421962977), December 30, 2005, pp. 240-259. Accessed March 5, 2008, at <http://www.sacred-texts.com/></ref> The Greeks at first regarded ''Helios'' as a son of heaven and earth but later came to associate the sun with their god of truth, '''Apollo'''. According to the [[Apache Creation Story]], [[Creator]], the One Who Lives Above, created the sun by singing it into existence after he had created the Girl-Without-Parents.<ref>Welker, Glenn. "[http://www.indians.org/welker/creation.htm Apache Creation Story]" <Indians.org>, August 12, 2004. Accessed March 6, 2008.</ref>

The most common theme in all the sun-worship cults is the association of the sun with truth and justice personified. The second most common theme is the regarding of the sun as the creator.

=== Secular ===
According to the [[materialism|materialist]] and [[uniformitarianism|uniformitarian]] view, what eventually became the solar system initially existed as a large, rotating [[cloud]] of [[dust]] and [[gas]], composed of hydrogen and helium produced in the [[Big Bang theory|Big Bang]] as well as small amounts of heavier [[element]]s. Around 4.57 billion years ago, the cloud began to contract, perhaps as a result of a [[shock wave]] from a nearby [[supernova]]. [[Inertia]] caused the rotating cloud to flatten into a disk. Most of the mass concentrated in the middle, and began to heat up. Eventually, the kinetic energy of the hydrogen was sufficient to overcome the [[electromagnetic]] repulsion between the protons, and fusion began. The resulting solar wind helped clear away much of the material which had not coalesced into planets or other orbiting bodies.<ref>"[http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/cosmic_evolution/docs/text/text_plan_1.html Cosmic Evolution, Epoch 4: Planetary Evolution]." ''[http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/cosmic_evolution/docs/splash.html Cosmic Evolution: From Big Bang to Humankind]'', Wright Center, [[Tufts University]]. Accessed March 6, 2008.</ref> The Sun is most likely a third-generation star, meaning it is in the latest generation.

Eventually, in a few billion years the sun will have expended most of it's Hydrogen, causing the outer shell to push outward and cool, turning into a Red giant, and Helium begins to be fused into Carbon. At this stage, Venus and Mercury will have been consumed by the now Red-Giant star, and possibly earth as well. Once the helium has been fused into carbon, there will not be enough heat to continue fusion to even heavier elements (as in larger stars), the core will collapse and the outer shell will be pushed off and form a Planetary Nebula, with a White Dwarf, and eventually a Black Dwarf at it's heart. <ref>http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/teachers/lessons/xray_spectra/background-lifecycles.html</ref>

== Orbital characteristics and galactic relationships ==
The sun orbits the galactic center at a distance less than half the total estimated radius of the [[galaxy]], and in an orbit inclined about 25° from the galactic plane. The eccentricity of the sun's orbit is 0.07, about average in comparison to the eccentricities of the [[planet]]s and [[dwarf planet]]s of the [[solar system]]. At present the sun lies 50 light years north of the galactic plane and is continuing to climb north of it as it approaches [[apsis|perigalacticon]].<ref name=LeDrew>LeDrew, Glenn. "[http://ottawa.rasc.ca/astronotes/1997/an9701p3.html Our Galactic Home]." ''AstroNotes'', 1997. Accessed January 17, 2008.</ref>

==Properties and Characteristics==
The sun accounts for 99.8% of our solar system's total mass. With a mass of 2 x 1030 kg, an atmospheric temperature of about 5800 K, and a [[luminosity]] of 4x1020 megawatts, the sun is by far the most extraordinary object during the day-time sky and of our solar system.
However within our Milky Way [[galaxy]] it is one of probably 100 billion of the same types of stars.

By mass, it is composed of 72% [[hydrogen]], 26% [[helium]] and 2% trace elements, mostly [[oxygen]], [[carbon]], [[neon]], [[nitrogen]], [[magnesium]], [[iron]], and [[silicon]].<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/sun_worldbook.html World Book Encyclopedia @ NASA]</ref>

Core temperatures reach 15,000,000 K (K = Kelvin) while the sun's surface or ''photosphere'' temperature is 5,800 K. When the photosphere is hit by the heat of the sun the temperature drops to a minimum of 4,000 K. It then continues further until it encounters a thin layer of [[atmosphere]] roughly 10,000 kilometers deep called the ''chromosphere'' and reverses trend to rise to 8,000 K. Even further is another part of the sun's total atmosphere called the ''corona'' that blends in with interplanetary space.

=== Relationship to Earth ===
The sun produces a vast amount of [[energy]], only a tiny fraction of which the Earth receives, yet this small amount powers practically all [[life]] (and [[industry]]) on Earth, either directly or indirectly. It is also the main force controlling Earth's [[climate]] and [[weather]]. [[Plant]]s and other organisms capture the energy of the sun in a process called [[photosynthesis]]. Animals and other [[heterotroph]]s obtain food and energy from consuming plants or from consuming [[animal]]s which have consumed the plants. Only a few microscopic organisms obtain energy directly from chemical reactions.

The tremendous light and heat that the sun releases, and the delicate position that the [[Earth]] occupies in relation to the sun, combine to make the sun an integral part of sustaining life.

[[Human]] civilization, too, is dependent on the sun. Much of humanity's [[industry|industrial]] energy needs are obtained through the combustion of [[fossil fuel]]s, the remains of dead plants and animals. Uneven heating of the atmosphere provides [[wind power]]. Also, the sun evaporates water from lower-lying bodies of water; this then falls as rain and flows back down channels, providing hydroelectric power. On a limited basis, [[solar power]] is directly utilized. [[Geothermal energy]] and [[nuclear energy]] are examples of energy sources to which the Sun does not directly contribute.

=== Energy production and transport ===
The sun produces its energy through [[nuclear fusion]].<ref name=sunspot1>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/research2.html Sunspots: Modern Research, Page 2]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The favored model for energy production relies on tremendous pressures resulting from the Sun's own mass to overcome the natural electrostatic repulsive forces that normally keep hydrogen atoms from coming together and fusing.<ref name=Britannica/>

The model for hydrogen fusion includes these three equations:

<math>{}^0_{-1}\!e + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} \to {}^2_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^0_0\!\nu + \mbox{1.44 MeV}</math>

<math>{}^2_1\!\mbox{H} + {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} \to {}^3_2\!\mbox{He} + \gamma + \mbox{5.49 MeV}</math>

<math>{}^3_2\!\mbox{He} + {}^3_2\!\mbox{He} \to {}^4_2\!\mbox{He}+ {}^1_1\!\mbox{H}+ {}^1_1\!\mbox{H} + \mbox{12.85 MeV}</math>

Here, <math>e</math> represents an electron, H means [[hydrogen]], He means [[helium]], <math>\gamma</math> represents a gamma photon, <math>\nu</math> represents a small, uncharged particle called a [[neutrino]] that is not supposed to have any proper mass, and the energy unit eV, or ''electron volt'', is the product of the charge on a single electron and the standard unit of electromotive force or electromotive potential.

The energy produced varies as the fourth power of the temperature--and at the temperatures thought to prevail in the sun's core, matter exists, not as ordinary matter with atomic nuclei and electrons, but as [[plasma]]--a form of super-hot matter in which atoms are totally denuded of their electrons.

The first equation above is assumed to be the rate-limiting step. The neutrinos produced should have an energy of 0.26 MeV--too little energy to be detectable by current technology. But processes occurring after this step ought to produce higher-energy neutrinos that ''would'' be detectable. Such neutrinos have been detected, but at a flux much smaller than predicted. This indicates that the presumed rates for these subsequent processes are higher than the true rates, or else the neutrinos produced somehow transform to a different type of neutrino that would be unobservable. That in turn would imply that neutrinos ''do'' have rest mass.<ref name=Britannica/>

According to current models, some of this energy is transferred to the surface by convection in the outer 20-30% of the body of the sun.<ref name=sunspot1/> [[Helium]] in this ''convective zone'' rises to or near the surface, releases its heat, and then sinks back to the center. Helium absorbs radiation more readily than does hydrogen, and for that reason the Sun is always getting marginally brighter with the passage of time.<ref name=Britannica/>

The remaining energy is transferred in the gamma photons, which must take a "random walk" to reach the corona of the sun. Current models suggest that the light generated by these processes takes 50 million years to reach the surface.<ref name=sunspot1/>

=== Sunspots ===
The earliest observations of sunspots might have been made in the fourth century BC by the Greeks. Chinese astronomical records dating back to 28 BC include descriptions of changing dark patches on the Sun that might have been sunspots.<ref name=sunspot2>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/history.html Sunspots: History]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>

[[Galileo Galilei]] in 1613 was the first astronomer to study sunspots in any detail. It was a revolutionary observation, and one that clashed greatly with Western man's ideas of the heavens, propounded chiefly by Aristotle, as a perfect, unblemished place.<ref name=sunspot2/><ref name=heavens>[[Paul]] describes a region called the "third heaven" as the actual "heaven" where [[God]] has His throne. See {{Bible ref|book=II_Corinthians|chap=12|verses=2}}. But the Bible was not yet readily available to laymen in Galileo's day, and Western man might naturally confuse God's heaven with the lesser "heaven" that we call "outer space" today.</ref>

An amateur astronomer, Heinrich Schwabe, was the first to note the ''sunspot cycle'' in 1843.<ref name=sunspotcycle>"[http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/research4.html The Sunspot Cycle]." ''The Exploratorium'', 1998. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref> The sunspots are dark on account of their cooler temperature. This in turn is due to strong magenetic fields which allow the transport of heat via convective motion in the sun. At times these sunspots can be 50,000 miles in diameter and appear in two bands, one being north and the other south in the direction of the sun's equator.

Observations have also shown that the number and location of sunspots come and go in a semi-periodic 9.5 to 11-year solar cycles. At the start of this cycle they are about 30 degrees from the equator. Midway through, the cycle of the number of sunspots observed is maximum, usually about 15 degrees from the equator. Near the end of this on average 10.8-year cycle, the sunspots are very near the equator.<ref name=curious>"[http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/sun.php The Sun]." ''Curious about Astronomy? Ask an Astronomer'', Cornell University, October 18, 2007. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref><ref name=Maunder>"[http://home.earthlink.net/~ponderthemaunderf/ Factors Affecting Global Temperature]." ''Ponder the Maunder''. Accessed March 5, 2008.</ref>

=== The solar magnetosphere ===
The magnetosphere oscillates in synchrony with the sunspots in a twenty-two-year cycle. The current amplitude of that cycle is 3.5 * 1029 N-m-T. This amplitude has been decaying since creation, but relatively slowly, with a half-life of 13,170 Julian years. In fact, according to Humphreys<ref name=Humphreys/>, the sun's magnetic field has lost perhaps 25 percent of its strength since creation.

Measurements of the sun's magnetic dipole moment have not been exact enough to demonstrate whether the amplitude of the field's oscillations is constant or decaying. If those oscillations are in fact decaying, then the Sun cannot be a dynamo.<ref name=Humphreys/>

== Problems for uniformitarian theories posed by the sun ==
[[Uniformitarianism|Uniformitarians]] must admit that the sun continues to brighten as it continues to fuse hydrogen into helium. In fact, by uniformitarian estimates, the sun ought to be 40% brighter today than it was when the planets formed and 33% brighter than it was when life first formed (3.8 billion years ago by evolutionary assumptions). The Earth thus ought to be much hotter today than it once was--or rather, the Earth was much colder in the early days in which life has existed than it is today. The fossil record demonstrably does not bear this out.<ref name=Britannica/><ref name=Psarris>Psarris, Spike. ''Our Created Universe''. Seattle Creation Conference, 2007. Video presentation, 55 minutes.</ref> Uniformitarians answer that the Earth's atmosphere might be compensating for this increased brightness. (But these are often the same scientists who insist that industrial and transport-related introduction of [[carbon dioxide]] into Earth's atmosphere threatens to overheat the Earth, with potentially disastrous results.)

Uniformitarians have also had to admit that the sun rotates about 200 times more slowly than the [[nebula hypothesis]] would predict, simply on account of the contraction of the solar mass into its present volume. This violates of the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum. This "angular momentum" problem has been apparent for hundreds of years and remains unresolved to this day.<ref name=Psarris/>

The sun's equatorial plane is inclined 7.25° to the ecliptic. (See [[Earth]].) By the nebula hypothesis, that inclination should be zero. The errant inclination poses an especially acute problem for the orbit of [[Neptune]]. Uniformitarians have speculated that a collision with an even larger object knocked the sun off a true perpendicular to its present inclination--but no scientist has offered a convincing speculation as to what that object might be.<ref name=Psarris/>

Conventional astronomers, [[Carl Sagan]] among them, insist that our star is mediocre and unremarkable. Yet the G-type of star is relatively rare, and furthermore its mass and position in the galaxy lie within very narrow tolerances for the support of life. The sun is also a singular star, not part of a binary--also a rare finding--and is remarkably stable in its energy output. These facts combine to make the sun an unusually hospitable star for a planet to have life on it.<ref name=Psarris/>

Finally, the only reason that uniformitarians can cite for a great age of the sun is the apparent great age of the Earth.<ref name=Britannica/>. Astronomer John Eddy has frankly admitted that the sun itself gives no clue to any such tremendous age, and that the acceptance of a very young age of the sun, like the six-thousand-plus years calculated by [[James Ussher]], might logically follow from a modicum of new evidence:<ref name=Psarris/><ref name=Ussher>Eddy, John. Remarks at a seminar reported in ''Geotimes'', 23:18, September, 1978. Quoted in [[Larry Pierce|Pierce, Larry]], "The Forgotten Archbishop", in [[James Ussher]], ''[[The Annals of the World]]'', [[Larry Pierce]], ed., Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2003 (ISBN 0890513600), pp. 891-2.</ref>{{cquote|There is no evidence based solely on solar observations, Eddy stated, that the Sun is 4.5-5 x 109 years old. "I suspect," he said, "that the sun is 4.5-5 billion years old. However, given some new and unexpected results to the contrary, and some time for frantic recalculation and theoretical readjustment, I suspect that we could live with Bishop [[James Ussher|Ussher]]'s value for the age of the Earth and sun. I don't think we have much in the way of observational evidence in astronomy to conflict with that."}}

== External links ==

*[http://www.solarviews.com/eng/terms.htm Glossary]

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

{{Solarsystem}}
{{Stars}}
[[Category : Solar Energy]]

Moon

2015-09-17T02:44:29Z

KParker:

{{Planet|image=Moon2.jpg
|caption= The Moon in its third quarter phase
|primary=Earth
|periapsis=363,300 km<ref name=moonfact>"[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/moonfact.html Moon Fact Sheet]," [[NASA]], April 19, 2007. Accessed May 3, 2008.</ref>
|apoapsis=405,500 km<ref name=moonfact/>
|semimajor=384,400 km<ref name=moonfact/><ref name=ssdorbit>"[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_elem Planetary Satellite Mean Orbital Parameters]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]]. Accessed March 25, 2008.</ref>
|orbitradius=378,000 km
|eccentricity=0.0549<ref name=moonfact/><ref name=ssdorbit/>
|sidereal=27.3217 da
|synodic=29.530588 da
|orbitspeed=1.023 km/s
|inclination=18.28°<ref name=moonfact/>
|siderealday=27.3217 da<ref name=moonfact/><ref name=ssdorbit/>
|solarday=29.530588 da
|mass=7.35 * 1022 (1.23% earth)<ref name=moonfact/>
|density=3350 kg/m³<ref name=ssdphys>"[http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_phys_par Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters]." [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]]. Accessed March 25, 2008.</ref>
|surfacegrav=1.62 m/s² (0.165 ''g'')<ref name=moonfact/>
|escapespeed=2.38 km/s<ref name=moonfact/>
|meanradius=1737.1 km<ref name=moonfact/><ref name=ssdphys/>
|equatorradius =1738.1 km<ref name=moonfact/>
|polarradius =1736.0 km<ref name=moonfact/>
|surfacearea=37,919,000 km² (7.434% earth)
|mintemp=100 K
|meantemp=250 K
|maxtemp=400 K
|albedo=0.12<ref name=moonfact/>
|pmdm=1.3 * 1015 N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys>Humphreys, D. R. "[http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/21/21_3/21_3.html The Creation of Planetary Magnetic Fields]." ''Creation Research Society Quarterly'' 21(3), December 1984. Accessed April 29, 2008.</ref>
|cmdm=1.73 * 1022 N-m/T<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mdt=364 a<ref name=Humphreys/>
|mhl=252.3 a<ref name=calc>Calculated</ref>
}}A '''moon''' is a body which orbits a [[planet]]. The Earth's Moon (sometimes known as "Luna") is a natural [[satellite]] orbiting Earth at an average distance of about 238,000 miles (380,000 km).

The Moon is unique in the solar system in its large relative size compared with the [[Earth]]. The Moon appears from the Earth to be the same size as the [[sun]], in perfect artistic symmetry, unlike any known other planet-moon system. Moreover, unlike most planets in the [[solar system]], [[Earth]] has only one moon. And the Moon has two more remarkable artistic attributes: (1) it rotates and revolves in a way such that only one side is ever visible to the Earth (due to tidal locking) and (2) its side that faces the Earth is smooth, while the side that remains hidden is jagged. To those on Earth the Moon appears as an artistic disc that goes through phases in which greater or lesser amounts of the side lit by the sun are visible from Earth.

Atheistic science has proposed a number of naturalistic theories to explain the [[Origin of the Moon]], including a second planet colliding with [[Earth]] or even a second moon colliding with the first.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/08/03/earth-once-had-second-moon-astronomers-say/?test=faces</ref> '''''None of these atheistic theories of origin are plausible'''''. The Bible explains that the Moon was created separately on Day Four along with the Sun and stars.

==The Moon as God's creation==

The Earth's moon has several striking characteristics. To many Christians, these characteristics appear as "clues" or "hints" left by God for men to discover. <ref>http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/gem-projects/hm/0102-1-phase/CALENDARS.htm</ref>

===Size of its disc===

The Moon appears to have approximately the same size as the [[Sun]] when viewed from Earth. This creates a unique symmetry and phenomenal [[solar eclipse|solar eclipses]].
The Moon is just far enough away from the Earth to appear the same size of the Sun. In precise terms, the ratio of the apparent diameter of the Moon to that of the Sun is on average 0.97<ref>http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/35/astrodesign.html</ref> with a variation (due almost entirely to the [[orbital eccentricity|eccentricity]] of the Moon's orbit) of roughly ±0.05<ref>http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/moon_ap_per.html</ref>.

Of the known satellites in the [[Solar System]], only three others exhibit the phenomenon of being close in apparent size to the Sun when viewed from their parent planet. These are [[Saturn]]'s moons Prometheus and Epimetheus (with average diameter ratios of 1.03 and 0.95) and [[Uranus]]'s Cordelia (1.08)<ref>http://www.creationresearch.org/crsq/articles/35/astrodesign.html</ref>. Given the figure of approximately 170 known planetary satellites in the Solar System (though the figure regularly increases with new discoveries), this gives as an [[Probability|empirical probability]] for the phenomenon of 4/170 or 2.4%, which is not inconsistent with the theoretical figure.

It should be noted, however, that by virtue of the planets' distance form the Sun, these eclipses would appear very small in the sky, and would be nothing like as spectacular as a total solar eclipse on Earth.

===Rotation and revolution===

The Moon presents the same side to [[Earth]] at all times. That means that the rotation of the Earth offsets the separate effects of lunar revolution. Physical explanations rely on [[tidal locking]], asserting that tidal forces on Earth caused a bulge on the Moon, thereby creating a drag on the rotation of the Moon until the same side always faced the Earth.<ref> The same theory suggested that the planet [[Mercury]] had a similar locked rotation due to gravitational forces from the sun, such that the same side of Mercury always faces the sun. In fact, that is false. [[Mercury]]'s tidal locking is incomplete and it does not always present the same face to the sun.</ref> In fact, current tidal forces exerted by the [[Earth]] on the Moon cannot account fully for its bulge or egg shape.<ref>"[http://physics.fortlewis.edu/Astronomy/astronomy%20today/CHAISSON/AT308/HTML/AT30803.HTM Chapter 8, Section 3: The Rotation of the Moon]," "Astronomy Today", Department of Physics, Fort Lewis College, Durango, [[Colorado|CO]]. Accessed February 18, 2008</ref>

===Lunar origin theories===

The current scientific consensus is that the Moon originated from a collision early in Earth's history which created an orbiting ring of debris from the [[iron]]-poor surface of the planet which eventually coalesced into the moon.<ref>http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=2198</ref>

Biblical history records the Moon being created on the fourth day of [[creation week]], along with the Sun:

{{Bible quote|And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.|book=Genesis|chap=1|verses=14-19|version=KJV}}

===Rate of recession===

The Moon currently recedes from the Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year<ref>NASA [http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/ApolloLaser.html Measuring the Moon's Distance], LPI Bulletin, No. 72, August, 1994.</ref>, and is believed by [[atheist]]ic scientists to be 4.6 billion years old,<ref>NASA, [http://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-15-2.html Apollo Expeditions to the Moon], Chapter 15.2.</ref> The Moon could never have been closer than about 11,000 miles or it would have been broken up by tidal forces.<ref name="js">Sarfati, Jonathan, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/764/ The moon: the light that rules the night], ''Creation'' 20(4):36–39, September 1998.</ref> If the rate of recession stayed constant at 3.8 cm per year, it would take 9.6 billion years for the lunar distance to migrate from 11,000 miles to the present distance of about 240,000 miles. However these assumptions are very inaccurate as the rate of recession would definitely not be constant over the past 4 billion years. 

===Impact craters===
Astronomers assume that crater impacts are a reliable indicator of the age of a celestial body. True to the form and principles of [[uniformitarianism]] (as applied to [[astronomy]] rather than to [[geology]]), any such estimation relies upon uniform constants and weather/erosion trends. Recent research into crater impacts on the moon suggests that many of the assumptions previously made are unwarranted. Bonnie Buratti of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has asserted that space weathering "takes place very rapidly on the Moon."<ref>David, Leonard. "[http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/lunar_impact_021214.html Lunar Crash of 1953: Impact Crater Identified]." <http://www.space.com>, December 14, 2002. Accessed January 16, 2008.</ref> Peter Brown of the University of Western Ontario insists that there is no absolute criteria for the dating of craters.<ref>Hecht, Jeff. "[http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3242 New crater revives Moon mystery]." <http://www.newscientist.com>, January 11, 2003. Accessed January 16, 2008.</ref>

===Creationist models===
Danny Faulkner of the [[Institute for Creation Research]] has observed that many of the lunar maria contain ''ghost craters'', or craters that the lava flow that produced the maria seem to have filled only partially. In the [[deep time]] scale required by [[uniformitarianism]], the ghost craters are the result of impacts that occurred as much as half a gigayear before the crust-fracturing impacts that caused the lava flows.<ref name=Henderson>Henderson, Thomas H. "[http://www.hal-pc.org/~tom/HeavyCratering.html Do heavily cratered planets and moons demand an old age for the solar system]?" ''Tom Henderson's Creation Resources'', July 25, 2003. Accessed March 25, 2008.</ref> This is not a reasonable assumption, because any impact strong enough to crack the crust should have obliterated any craters previously extant. Faulkner thus concludes that the impacts that formed the ghost craters, and those that let loose the lava flows that formed the maria, occurred within days of one another<ref name=Faulkner1>Faulkner, Danny. "[http://www.icr.org/research/index/researchp_df_r01/ The Current State of Creation Astronomy]." ''Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Creationism,'' Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, pp. 201–216, August 3-8, 1998. Hosted at ''[[Institute for Creation Research]].'' Accessed March 25, 2008.</ref> and were probably part of at least one system-wide catastrophe involving a narrow stream of meteoroids and/or comets that delivered a concentrated bombardment of the Earth and Moon in a short interval.<ref name=Faulkner2>Faulkner, Danny. "[http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/1637 A Biblically-based cratering theory]." ''Technical Journal'' (now ''Journal of Creation''), 13(1):100-104, April 1999.</ref>

Faulkner assumes that this system-wide catastrophe occurred during the year of the [[Great Flood]]. But in 1984, Russell Humphreys, then at the Sandia National Laboratories, developed evidence suggesting different dates entirely. Specifically, the [[Project Apollo]] exploration teams brought back many samples of [[basalt]] (an [[igneous rock]]) and [[brecchia]] (pulverized meteor-impact remains). Geologists analyzed both types of samples and found evidence that each type of rock had once been in a magnetic field far more powerful than that which the Moon has today. Using his model for the creation and decay of magnetic fields<ref name=Humphreys/>, Humphreys determined that the basalt had been laid down about 370 years after creation, and the brecchia had been laid down 1840 years after creation, or about 190 years after the Flood.<ref name=Humphreys2>Humphreys reasoned that the higher the magnetic dipole moment of the samples, the earlier in lunar history they were formed.</ref> These findings clearly suggest that the Moon, and presumably all other bodies in the solar system, have been subject to two separate system-wide bombardments, one occurring in the second or third generation after the [[fall of man]] and the other occurring well after the Flood.

==Tides==

The gravitational force of the Moon causes the ocean [[tides]]; these tidal forces have other effects as well. These tidal forces have the effect of creating resistance which slows down the rotation of both objects. In the case of the Earth, the result is that the Earth's rotation slows on the order of one millisecond per century. The Moon's rotation is locked in to its period of revolution, and the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth.

==The "dark" or far side==

The phrase "the ''dark'' side of the Moon" is inaccurate because the Moon does rotate relative to the Sun, with the same period as its period of revolution, once every 29 days. Our view of the Moon from the Earth always shows the same side of the Moon, with the same markings and features. When the Moon is full, the entire side that faces us is experiencing lunar "day" and is lit by the Sun. Two weeks later, when the Moon is new, the side that faces us is experiencing solar "night" and is unlit (and virtually invisible).

The far side of the moon is far more heavily cratered than the near, and the predominant type of cratering is consistent with brecchia-forming meteor impact. This would suggest that the far side suffered its bombardment in the latter of the two catastrophes that Humphreys suggests that the Moon has suffered.

Due to a slight "wobble" in the lunar motion called ''libration,'' we actually see a little bit more than half of the Moon's surface; sometimes it is turned a bit one way and sometimes the other. However, nobody had any idea of what the far side of the Moon looked like until 1959, when a Soviet satellite photographed it and relayed pictures back.
==Earthshine==
[[image:oldmooninnew.jpg|200px|right|thumb|The "old Moon in the new Moon's arms"]]
In the old Scottish ballad ''Sir Patrick Spens''<ref>Child, Francis James (1860), ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads,'' [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch058.htm No. 58]; the ballad is thought to refer to an actual event of the year A.D. 1290.</ref>, a sailor cautions:

:"I saw the new moon late yestreen
::With the old moon in her arm;
:And if we go to sea, master,
::I fear we'll come to harm."

The effect known as "the old Moon in the new Moon's arms" can often be seen when the Moon is a narrow [[crescent]]. Within the intensely bright crescent, a dim and mysterious view of the entire circular moon is seen. The effect is also known as ''earthshine'' because it is light from the Sun reflected off the Earth to the Moon and back that lights up the darker portion of the Moon. The bright crescent is lit by the Sun and is in full daylight. The rest of the Moon is not lit by the Sun; but an [[astronaut]] standing in this area would see a "full Earth" dominating the nighttime sky, lighting it up by its earthshine. The brightness of Earthshine, and hence the visibility of the old Moon in the new Moon's arms, varies. When the Earth is covered with clouds, or when there is a lot of snow-pack on the side of the Earth facing the Moon, the Earth is a white and bright and the Earthshine is intense. When the Earth looks like a "big, blue marble," it is less intense.

==Lunar calendars==

Throughout history, many calendar systems have been based on the phases of the moon.

The months of the [[Islam|Muslim]] [[calendar]] are determined by observations of the [[hilal]], the moment at which the thin crescent moon first becomes visible. This marks the start of a month. Traditionally, and today in [[Pakistan]] and [[Jordan]], hilal is determined by actual observation and can be affected by weather and other factors. When following the traditional method, it is not actually possible to be certain precisely when future months will begin. In most Muslim countries, actual observation has been replaced by [[astronomy|astronomical]] rules.

== Magnetism Mystery ==

Rocks on the Moon are magnetized, yet there is no magnetic field there today. In one new proposal, researchers at the University of California have suggested that the moon's solid-rock middle layer, called its mantle, stirs up its liquid iron core. The researchers believe this happens because the moon's core and its mantle rotate around slightly different axes, and the boundary between them is not quite spherical.

The strength of this stirring is determined by the angle between the core and the mantle, and the distance between the Earth and the moon, because the tidal forces from the Earth causes the moon's mantle to rotate differently than the core.

This model would explain why the moon no longer has a magnetic field. Since the angle between the mantle and the core has narrowed over time, while the distance between the moon and the Earth has widened, this has caused the tidal forces to steadily decrease. While these forces used to be enough to generate a dynamo inside the moon, they aren't anymore.
<ref>http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2011/1109/Have-scientists-finally-solved-the-mystery-of-the-magnetic-moon</ref>

==The Moon in culture==

"The Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms" is the title of a poem by [[Ella Wheeler Wilcox]], in which she interprets the effect as the New Moon wishing that her lost love, the Old Moon, be in her arms one last time; Venus grants the wish, and:

:Swift thro' the vapors and the golden mist— 
::The Full Moon's shadowy shape shone on the night, 
:The New Moon reached out clasping arms and kissed 
::Her phantom lover in the whole world's sight. 

== Other moons ==
[[Image:Many_Moons.jpg|250px|left]]
While the Moon of [[Earth]] is the best-known satellite of any [[planet]], other planets in our solar system also have moons. Earth has the least number of moons (one), while [[Jupiter]] has sixty-two. The first extraterrestrial moons to be discovered were the four Galilean moons ([[Io]], [[Europa (moon)|Europa]], [[Ganymede]], and [[Callisto]]. Next to these, Earth's Moon is one of the largest, but Jupiter and [[Saturn]] have moons in orbit about them that might qualify as planets if they orbited the [[Sun]] instead.

=== Sizes of moons ===
Most moons in the solar system are no larger than typical asteroids. They are of irregular shape, have light and variable surface gravities, and are often unstable in their orbits. [[Phobos]] and [[Deimos]], the moons of [[Mars]], fall into this category.

Earth's own moon is an example of a [[dwarf planet]]-sized moon. These moons are so large that their own self-gravity forces them to collapse into spheres or spheroids. Some of them, like [[Ganymede]] and [[Titan (moon)|Titan]], are larger even than the planet [[Mercury]]. Earth's moon was, of course, known to the ancients, but the remaining dwarf-planet-sized moons were generally the first to be discovered in orbit around any given primary. [[Galileo Galilei]] discovered the first four of these in orbit about [[Jupiter]] early in the seventeenth century; [[Christiaan Huygens]] then discovered Titan of [[Saturn]] later in that same century.

== Symbolic importance in Islam ==
The crescent moon is an internationally recognized symbol of [[Islam]]. It appears on the flags of several Islamic nations. It also forms part of the official emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. <ref>http://islam.about.com/od/history/a/crescent_moon.htm</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Origin of the Moon]]
== External links ==

*[http://www.solarviews.com/eng/terms.htm Glossary]
==Further reading==
* Donna Henes. ''The Moon Watcher's Companion: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Moon, and More'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Watchers-Companion-Everything-Wanted/dp/1569244669/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241592218&sr=1-11 excerpt and text search]
* David Schrunk et al. ''The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Settlement'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Resources-Development-Settlement-Exploration/dp/0387360557/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241592379&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]
* Seymour Simon, ''The Moon'' (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Seymour-Simon/dp/0689835639/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241592218&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

== Notes and References ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Solarsystem}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Moon]]

Zichri

2015-09-17T02:36:43Z

KParker:

'''Zichri''' ([[Hebrew]] '''זִכְרִֽי''', remembrance) was a [[Kohath]]ite clan leader and a brother of [[Korah]] and [[Nepheg]]. The [[Bible|Holy Bible]] gives him no other distinction.

== Reference ==
* {{Bible ref|book=Exodus|chap=6|verses=21}}

== See also ==
* [[Israel]]

{{nb Levi}}
[[Category:Old Testament]]
[[Category:Biblical Persons]]

Wall Street

2015-09-17T02:27:35Z

KParker: /* Politics */

[[Image:panic29.gif|right|thumb|Wall Street during the stock market crash of 1929]]

'''Wall Street''' is a famous road across southern [[Manhattan]] which is the physical and figurative heart of the New York City financial district. The term "Wall Street" can also refer figuratively to the collective set of commercial banks, brokerages, insurance and investment companies with a nationwide scope, even though they are not located on that particular street. It stands in contrast to the figurative concept of [[Main Street]], which refers to locally owned small businesses in smaller cities and towns.

==Politics==
Today there is sometimes a political tension between the interests of Wall Street and Main Street. For example, Main Street was reluctant to support the $700 billion bailout authorized by Congress in the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]].

Historically, populists, agrarians and liberals have been quite hostile to Wall Street, as typified by [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[William Jennings Bryan]]. Under President [[Bill Clinton]] leading Wall Street financiers played a major role in shaping economic policies, especially Robert Rubin, his Treasury Secretary.

==History==
In the 1600s Dutch settlers built a wall in [[Manhattan]] to guard against Indians and pirates. A nearby path became a commercial center because the path joined the East River on one side with the Hudson River on the other. Soon merchants built shops and warehouses along the path, and then a city hall and church were constructed. [[New York]] City became national capitol from 1785 until 1790. Federal Hall, where [[George Washington]] was inaugurated, was located on Wall Street.

In March, 1792, 24 leading merchants met at Corre's Hotel to launch a securities (stock) business in order to win business back from auctioneers, and on May 17, 1792, they signed the Buttonwood Agreement requiring them to trade securities only among themselves and avoid the auctioneers. This became the New York Stock Exchange, later built at 11 Wall Street.
[[Image:Wall Street.jpg|left|240px]]
{{Clear}}

== See also ==
*[[Main Street]]
*[[Populism]]
*[[Stock market]]

[[File:Dow1925-2009.jpg|400px|thumb|Dow Jones index since 1925, in constant 2009 dollars; it covers 30 industrials on the New York Stock Exchange ]]

==Further reading==
*Chernow, Ron. ''The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance'', (2001) ISBN 0-8021-3829-2
* Fraser, Steve. ''Every Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life'' (2005)
* Fraser, Steve. ''Wall Street: America's Dream Palace'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Americas-Palace-America/dp/0300117558/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222528504&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]
* Geisst; Charles R. ''Wall Street: A History from Its Beginnings to the Fall of Enron.'' Oxford University Press. 2004. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104746636 online edition]
* Moody, John. ''The Masters of Capital: A Chronicle of Wall Street'' Yale University Press, (1921) [http://www.archive.org/details/mastersofcapitaljohn00moodiala online edition]
* Morris, Charles R. ''The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and J. P. Morgan Invented the American Supereconomy'' (2005) ISBN 978-0805081343
* Perkins, Edwin J. ''Wall Street to Main Street: Charles Merrill and Middle-class Investors'' (1999)
* Sobel, Robert. ''Inside Wall Street: Continuity & Change in the Financial District'' (1977)

[[category:United States History]]
[[category:Business]]

Theophobia

2015-09-17T02:19:43Z

KParker:

[[File:Damned souls going to hell.jpg|thumbnail|360px|right|Last Judgment by Johann Georg Unruhe - Damned souls going to [[Hell]].]]
'''Theophobia''' is a fear of religion or God/gods. A portion of [[atheism|atheists]]/[[agnosticism|agnostics]] fear God and the existence of [[hell]] plays a role in this matter (see: [[Atheism and Hell]]).

For example, the journalist and [[ex-atheists|ex-atheist]] [[Peter Hitchens]], who is the brother of the late atheist [[Christopher Hitchens]], said upon seeing an art exhibit of [[Michelangelo]]'s painting ''The Last Judgment'' he came to the realization that he might be judged which startled him.<ref>[http://vimeo.com/10354237 Interview of Peter Hitchens] - Video at Vimeo</ref> This started a train of thought within Peter Hichens that eventually led him to become a [[Christian]].<ref>[http://vimeo.com/10354237 Interview of Peter Hitchens] - Video at Vimeo</ref>

Many communist leaders, such as [[Joseph Stalin]] and [[Mao Zedong]], oppressed all religions in their countries, and as such may have been theophobics.

For more information, please see: [[Atheism and Hell]].

== New Atheists and accusations of Islamophobia ==

The [[New Atheism|New Atheists]] [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Sam Harris]] and the late [[Christopher Hitchens]] have received multiple accusations of engaging in [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] behavior.<ref>
*[http://www.salon.com/2013/03/30/dawkins_harris_hitchens_new_atheists_flirt_with_islamophobia/ Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens: New Atheists flirt with Islamophobia] by Nathan Lean, ''Salon'', March 30, 2013
*[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/03/sam-harris-muslim-animus Sam Harris, the New Atheists, and anti-Muslim animus] by Glenn Greenwald, ''The Guardian'', April 3, 2013</ref> On the other hand, defenders of atheist criticisms of [[Islam]]/Muslims indicated that New Atheists should be able to criticize Islam without being accused of Islamophobia.<ref>[http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2013/04/new-atheism-should-be-able-criticise-islam-without-being-accused-islamophobia New Atheism should be able to criticise Islam without being accused of Islamophobia] by Andrew Zak Williams, ''New Statesman'', Published 19 April, 2013</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Pascal's wager]]
*[[Atheophobia]] (Fear and/or hatred of atheism/atheists)

==References==
<references/>

[[Category: Psychology]]

First past the post system

2015-09-17T01:46:28Z

KParker: Grammar

'''First past the post''' (FPTP) voting, also known as ''single member district plurality'' (SMDP), is an electoral system in which voters cast a single vote for a candidate in a single district, with the winner being the candidate who gains more votes than any other candidate. FPTP is one of the oldest and simplest electoral systems and is common in countries which adopted the [[Westminster system]] of government.

==Advantages of First Past the Post==
Advocates of FPTP note that it often leads to the dominance of two large parties (this empirical observation is known as ''Duverger's Law'') and that a two party system has certain advantages:
*It usually leads to a stable [[majority government]].
*Unpopular governments can be completed rejected by relatively small changes in voting behaviour.
*It is difficult for extremist parties to gain significant representation in the legislature.
*Those elected need to have regard to local issues in order to be reelected.

==Disadvantages of First Past the Post==
The most serious criticism of FPTP is that it often leads to disproportionate results, an extreme example of which was the 2001 election in [[British Columbia]] in which the Liberal Party gained 57% of the vote but won all but two of the 79 seats in the legislative assembly. As a consequence various types of [[Proportional Representation|proportional representation]] have become common in democracies. Critics claim other disadvantages of FPTP:
*Voters in closely fought districts get more attention from the parties than those in 'safe seats'.
*It is possible for a whole region to be completely unrepresented by a major party, for example the Conservative Party won no seats at all in Scotland in the 1997 [[United Kingdom]] General Election.
*It is particularly vulnerable to certain types of tactical manipulation, such as ''compromising'' (when a voter thinks their preferred candidate has no chance of winning they may vote for a less preferred candidate so that their vote has a chance of affecting the outcome) and ''vote splitting'' (where two similar candidates share the votes that either would have got alone, allowing a less popular candidate to top the poll).
*Smaller parties can only get representation if they concentrate their support in particular areas, so encouraging nationalist or separatist parties such as the [[Scottish National Party]] and [[Bloc Québécois]].

[[Category:Election Terms]]

Sweden

2015-09-17T01:42:15Z

KParker: Updated outdated information

{{Country
|name =''Konungariket Sverige''
|map =Sweden rel96.jpg
|map2 =Sweden location.png
|flag =Flag of Sweden.png
|arms =Arms of Sweden.png
|capital =Stockholm
|capital-raw =
|government =Constitutional monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Swedish
|king =Carl XVI Gustaf
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Stefan Löfven
|pm-raw =
|area =173,732 sq mi
|pop =9,142,8174 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$291 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$32,200 (2006)
|currency =Swedish krona
|idd =
|tld =
}}
'''Sweden''' is a country in [[Scandinavia]]. The capital city is [[Stockholm]], which is also the largest city. Sweden has approximately 9 million inhabitants, with an area of 173,750 square miles (450,000 square kilometers).

Sweden is a constitutional [[monarchy]] and a parliamentary [[democracy]]. The prime minister of Sweden is [[Fredrik Reinfeldt]], leader of the Moderates. The Swedish parliament has 349 seats. [[Carl XVI Gustaf]] is the current king.

==People==
Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies. The country counts at least 17,000 Sami among its population. About one-fifth of Sweden's population are immigrants or have at least one foreign-born parent. The largest immigrant groups are from Finland, Iraq, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Norway, Denmark, and Poland. This reflects Nordic immigration, earlier periods of labor immigration, and later decades of refugee and family immigration.

Swedish is a Germanic language related to Danish and Norwegian but different in pronunciation and [[orthography]]. English is by far the leading foreign language, particularly among students and those under age 50.

Sweden has an extensive child-care system that guarantees a place for all young children from 2-6 years old in a public day-care facility. From ages 7-16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school. After completing the ninth grade, 90% attend upper secondary school for either academic or technical education.

Swedes benefit from an extensive social welfare system, which provides for childcare and maternity and paternity leave, a ceiling on health care costs, old-age pensions, and sick leave among other benefits. Parents are entitled to a total of 480 days' paid leave between birth and the child's eighth birthday, with 60 of those days reserved specifically for the father.
*Population (November 2007): 9,179,731.
*Annual population growth rate (2007): 0.76%.
*Ethnic groups: Indigenous Swedes, ethnic Finns, ethnic Sami.
*Immigrants: Total: 491,996 (20% of total population); Finns, Iraqis, ex-Yugoslavia nationals, Iranians, Norwegians, Danes, Greeks, and Turks.
*Religions: Lutheran (87%), Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim.
*Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--99%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate (2006)--2.80/1,000. Life expectancy--men 78.70 years, women 82.94 years.
*Work force (4.82 million, 2007 est.): Services--70.7%; industry--28.2%; agriculture--1.1%. Unemployment (2007)--5.2%.
*Public holidays (2008): January 1 (New Year's Day); January 6 (Epiphany); March 21 (Good Friday); March 22 (Easter); March 23 (Easter Sunday); March 24 (Easter Monday); May 1 (May Day and Ascension Day); May 11 (Whit Sunday); June 6 (National Day); June 21 (Midsummer Holiday); November 1 (All Saints' Day); December 25 (Christmas); December 26 (Boxing Day).

The eve of a holiday is as important--or more so--than the holiday itself. Most Swedes have the day off, including those working in the civil service, banks, public transport, hospitals, shops, and the media. Others have at least a half-day. This applies especially to Midsummer's Eve, All Saints' Day Eve, and Christmas Eve. The eve of May Day is called Valborg Eve or St Walpurgis. When a holiday falls on a Thursday many Swedes have the following Friday off in addition. When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday it is not taken on the following Monday.

==== Religion and Sweden ====

Sweden is the most atheistic country in the world and the website adherents.com reports that 46 - 85% of Swedes are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)]</ref> Sweden also has the 3rd highest rate of belief in evolution as far as [[Western World]] nations (see: [[Evolutionary belief and bestiality]]).<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/21329204.html Photo: Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds]</ref>

===== Christianity in Sweden =====

[[File:Sweden Orberga church Vadstena.jpg|thumb|300px|Orberga church Vadstena.]]
80% of the inhabitants belong to the Evangelical [[Lutheran Church]] of Sweden named The Swedish Church (Svenska kyrkan in Swedish). The number is so high because children born to members of the church automatically become lifelong members. This church is somewhat unique because it has decided to agree to perform a blessing ceremony for [[homosexuality|homosexuals]] engaging in registered partnership (full marriage for same sex couples is a matter of debate in Sweden). This Church is considered a [[liberal]] Church and does not protest against [[abortion]]s, [[divorce]], and other conservative issues. About 5% of the Swedish population belong to "conservative" Christian churches.
Regardless of the church membership polls suggest that 46-85% of Swedes to be either agnostics, atheists or non-believers of gods.<ref>http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html</ref>

In the 1960s the government decided to reduce education about Christianity in [[public school]]s.

In 2000, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the government were separated. Before that, all children were born members of the church, except those whose parents took an active decision against it and both left the church. Even if a child were not christened, he or she became a member for life, having to pay a small tax to the church.

In 2005 a Swedish Pentecostal preacher, [[Ake Green|Åke Green]], was charged with, and found guilty of hate speech, when preaching Biblical teachings regarding homosexuality. He was imprisoned for one month, but then acquitted by the High Court and the Supreme Court.

==Abortion in Sweden==
Sweden provides taxpayer-subsidized, no-questions-asked [[abortion]]s during the first 18 weeks of [[pregnancy]]. During the following four weeks, [[women]] are required to get special permission for abortions. Swedish politicians are currently discussing whether foreign women should be allowed to have an late term abortion in Sweden, and it is possible that the parliament will vote in favor of that proposition.

==Government==
[[File:Gripsholm Castle Mariefred Sweden.jpg|thumb|280px|left|Gripsholm Castle.]]
Popular government in Sweden rests upon ancient tradition. The Swedish parliament (Riksdag) stems from tribal courts (Ting) and the election of kings in the Viking age. It became a permanent institution in the 15th century. Sweden's government is a limited constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Executive authority is vested in the cabinet, which consists of a prime minister and 22 ministers who run the government departments. The present Alliance for Sweden government, led by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, came to power in September 2006. King Carl XVI Gustaf (Bernadotte) ascended to the throne on September 15, 1973. His authority is formal, symbolic, and representational. The unicameral Riksdag has 349 members, popularly elected every 4 years, and is in session generally from September through mid-June.

Sweden has three levels of government: national, regional, and local. In addition, there is the European level which has acquired increasing importance following Sweden's entry into the EU. At parliamentary elections and municipal and county council elections held every four years, voters elect those who are to decide how Sweden is governed and administered.

Sweden is divided into 18 counties (lan), 18 county councils (landsting), 290 municipalities (kommuner), and 2 semi-independent regions. Each county (lan) is headed by a governor, who is appointed by the central government. The counties coordinate administration with national political goals for the county. The county council (landsting) is a regional government that is popularly elected with particular responsibility for health and medical care. The municipalities are local governments that deal with issues such as education, public transportation and social welfare. Elected municipal councils are headed by executive committees roughly analogous to the boards of commissioners found in some U.S. cities.

Swedish law, drawing on Germanic and Roman law, is neither as codified as in France and other countries influenced by the Napoleonic Code, nor as dependent on judicial practice and precedents as in the United States. Legislative and judicial institutions include, in addition to the Riksdag, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Labor Court, the Law Council, District Courts and Courts of Appeal, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the parliamentary ombudsmen and the Chancellor of Justice who oversee the application of laws with particular attention to abuses of authority.

At the national level, the Swedish people are represented by the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) which has legislative powers. Proposals for new laws are presented by the government which also implements decisions taken by the Riksdag. The government is assisted in its work by the government offices, comprising a number of ministries, and some 300 central government agencies and public administrations.

===Principal Government Officials===
[[File:King Carl XVI Gustaf Sweden.jpg|thumb|King Carl XVI Gustaf.]]
*Head of State--King Carl XVI Gustaf
*Prime Minister (Head of Government)--Stefan Löfven
*Minister for Finance--Anders Borg
*Minister for the Environment--Andreas Carlgren
*Minister for Justice--Beatrice Ask
*Minister for Foreign Affairs--Carl Bildt
*Minister for EU Affairs--Cecilia Malmstrom
*Minister for Social Security--Cristina Husmark Pehrsson
*Minister for Agriculture--Eskil Erlandsson
*Minister for International Development Co-operation--Gunilla Carlsson
*Minister for Health and Social Affairs--Goran Hagglund
*Minister for Higher Education and Research--Lars Leijonborg
*Minister for Education--Jan Bjorklund
*Minister for Culture--Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth
*Minister for Elderly Care and Public Health--Maria Larsson
*Minister for Local Government and Financial Markets--Mats Odell
*Minister for Enterprise and Energy--Maud Olofsson
*Minister for Defense--Sten Tolgfors
*Minister for Integration and Gender Equality--Nyamko Sabuni
*Minister for Trade--Ewa Bjorling
*Minister for Employment--Sven Otto Littorin
*Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy--Tobias Billstrom
*Minister for Infrastructure--Asa Torstensson
*Ambassador to the United Nations--Anders Liden

===Political Conditions===
Ordinary general elections to the Swedish parliament are held every fourth year on the third Sunday in September. County council and municipal council elections take place at the same time. The last elections were held on September 14, 2014. There is a barrier rule intended to prevent very small parties from gaining representation in the parliament. A party must thus receive at least 4% of the votes in the entire country or 12% in a single electoral district to qualify for any seats.

Elections to the Riksdag were held on September 17, 2006. The Alliance for Sweden (a coalition of four center-right parties--the Moderate Party, the Liberal Party, the Christian Democrat, and the Center Party) won 178 of the 349 seats, securing Moderate Fredrik Reinfeldt the position of Prime Minister. The 2006 election results for Sweden's major parties were as follows: the Social Democratic Party (34.99%; 130 seats), the Moderate Party (26.23%; 97 seats), the Center Party (7.88%; 29 seats), the Liberal Party (7.54%; 28 seats), the Christian Democrats (6.59%; 24 seats), the Left Party (5.85%; 22 seats), and the Green Party (5.24%; 19 seats).
[[File:Estocolmo The Royal Official Castle.jpg|thumb|left|380px|The Royal Official Castle, [[Stockholm]].]]
The Social Democratic Party has a base of blue-collar workers and public sector employees. It derives much of its power from strong links with the National Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), which represents blue-collar workers. The party program combines a commitment to social welfare programs and government direction of the economy. The Social Democratic Party has led the government for 65 of the 76 years since 1932; the 2006 election ended its most recent term of 12 consecutive years in office.

The Moderate Party emphasizes personal freedom, free enterprise, and reduction of the public-sector growth rate, while still supporting most of the social benefits introduced since the 1930s. The party also supports a strong defense and Sweden's membership in the European Union (EU). Its voter base is urban business people and professionals, but the party also attracts young voters, main-street shop owners, and, to some extent, blue-collar workers. Moderate Party Leader Reinfeldt followed an election strategy of remodeling his party as "New Moderates," moving away from the party's right-wing, upper-class roots to appeal to a large middle ground of voters, and successfully winning over many who had until then supported the SDP, as well as others who had previously voted for the smaller, non-socialist parties. Reinfeldt was instrumental in uniting the previously divided four parties of the center-right opposition. The Alliance offered alternative policies focusing on job creation that persuaded the voters.

The Center Party maintains close ties to rural Sweden. The main priorities of the party include providing a sound economic climate for business and job creation, climate change and environmental concerns (including nuclear power), and health and welfare issues.

The Left Party, formerly the Communist Party, focuses on feminist issues, employment in the public sector, and the environment. It opposes privatization, cuts in public expenditure, Swedish participation in NATO activities, and EU membership. Its voter base consists mainly of young people, public sector employees, feminists, journalists, and former social democrats.

The Christian Democrat Party is conservative and value-oriented. Its voter base is primarily among members of conservative churches and rural populations. Christian Democrats seek government support for families and better ethical practices to improve care for the elderly.

The Liberal Party's platform is "social responsibility without socialism," which includes a commitment to a free-market economy combined with comprehensive Swedish social welfare programs. Foreign aid, education and women's equality also are popular issues. The Liberal Party base is mainly centered in educated middle-class voters.

The Green Party is a leftist environmentalist party that attracts young people. The Greens support a phasing-out of nuclear energy in Sweden and hope to replace it with alternative, environmentally friendly energy sources.

The next Swedish election for parliament is scheduled to be held in 2010. In 2009 Sweden will vote for its representatives to the European Parliament.

===Foreign Relations===
Swedish foreign policy is based on the premise that national security is best served by staying free of alliances in peacetime in order to remain neutral in the event of war. In 2002, Sweden revised its security doctrine. The new security doctrine still states that "Sweden pursues a policy of non-participation in military alliances," but permits cooperation in response to threats against peace and security. The Swedish Government devotes particular attention to issues of disarmament, arms control, and nuclear nonproliferation and has contributed importantly to UN and other international peacekeeping efforts, including the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in the Balkans (KFOR). Sweden also contributes to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and assumed leadership of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Mazar e-Sharif in March 2006.

Sweden participates actively in the United Nations and its specialized and related agencies, including the World Bank, World Trade Organization (WTO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (USESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), and others including as a member of the Security Council in 1997-98. In January 1995, Sweden became a full member of the European Union after a referendum in late 1994 indicated that 52.3% of participants wanted to join. Sweden became a member in part due to its increasing isolation outside the economic framework of the Maastricht Treaty. Sweden is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace (PFP) and participates in numerous international peacekeeping operations under UN auspices. Sweden also cooperates closely with its Nordic neighbors, formally in economic and social matters through the Nordic Council of Ministers and informally in political matters through direct consultation.

Swedish governments do not consider that nonalignment precludes taking outspoken positions in international affairs. Government leaders have favored [[national liberation movement]]s that enjoy broad support among developing world countries, with notable attention to Africa. During the Cold War, Sweden was suspicious of the superpowers, which it saw as making decisions affecting small countries without always consulting those countries. With the end of the Cold War, that suspicion has lessened somewhat, although Sweden still chooses to remain nonaligned.

== Economy ==
[[File:Sweden Slottsteater chateau theatre.jpg|thumb|270px|Drottningholm, Slottsteater (chateau theatre).]]
Sweden is a highly industrialized country. Agriculture, once accounting for nearly all of Sweden's economy, now employs less than 2% of the labor force. Extensive forests, rich iron ore deposits, and hydroelectric power are the natural resources which, through the application of technology and efficient organization, have enabled Sweden to become a leading producing and exporting nation.

The Swedish economic picture has brightened significantly since the severe recession in the early 1990s. Growth has been strong in recent years, with an annual average GDP growth rate of 2.5% for the period 2000-2004 and 2.7% in 2005. The inflation rate was low in 2006, with an annual average inflation rate of about 1.5%, but unemployment remains a stubborn problem. The inflation rate rose to 3.5% in December 2007. The unemployment rate held steady in recent years at about 5% and in 2005 reached 7.8%. Unemployment in 2007 reached 5.2%. Since the mid-1990s, Sweden's export sector has grown significantly as the information technology (IT) industry, telecommunications, and services have overtaken traditional industries such as steel, paper, and pulp. The overall current-account surplus has traditionally been much smaller than the merchandise trade balance, as Sweden has generally run a deficit on trade in services, net income flows, and unrequited transfers. However, since 2003 this has not been the case, as the services balance swung into surplus in 2003 and improved further in 2004 and 2005. In addition, the income account also swung from deficit into surplus in 2003, before slipping back to register small deficits in 2004 and 2005. Although the transfers balance remained in deficit, mainly as a result of Sweden's contributions to the EU budget, the overall current-account surplus was larger than the trade surplus in 2003-05. Most categories of services exports produced an improvement over this period, but the biggest contribution came from business services exports, followed by transportation and royalties and license fees.

During 2005 real GDP rose by 2.5%, 3.4% in 2006, and 2.9% (est.) in 2007. The government budget improved dramatically from a record deficit of more than 12% of GDP in 1993 to a surplus of 0.9% of GDP in 2006. The new, strict budget process with spending ceilings set by parliament, and a constitutional change to an independent Central Bank, have greatly improved policy credibility. This can be seen in the long-term interest rate margin versus the Euro, which is negligible. From the perspective of longer-term fiscal sustainability, the long-awaited reform of old-age pensions entered into force in 1999. This entails a far more robust system vis-à-vis adverse demographic and economic trends, which should keep the ratio of total pension disbursements to the aggregate wage bill close to 20% in the decades ahead. Taken together, both fiscal consolidation and pension reform have brought public finances back on a sustainable footing. Gross public debt, which jumped from 43% of GDP in 1990 to 78% in 1994, stabilized around the middle of the 1990s and has been decreasing in recent years. In 2007 public debt was about 35.6% of GDP. These figures show excellent improvement of the Swedish economy since the crisis of the early 1990s.

Eighty percent of the Swedish labor force is unionized. For most unions there is a counterpart employers' organization for businesses. The unions and employer organizations are independent of both the government and political parties, although the largest federation of unions, the National Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), always has maintained close links to the largest political party, the Social Democrats. There is no fixed minimum wage by legislation. Instead, wages are set by collective bargaining.
*GDP (2007, purchasing power parity): $308.9 billion. GDP (2007, official exchange rate): $384.1 billion.
*Annual growth rate (3rd quarter 2007): 2.5%.
*Per capita income (2006, purchasing power parity): $33,897.
*Inflation rate (December 2007): 2.2%.
*Natural resources: Forests, hydroelectric power, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber.
*Agriculture (2006, 2.2% of GDP): Products--dairy products, meat, grains (barley, wheat), sugar beets, potatoes, wood. Arable land--6 million acres.
*Industry (2006, 38% of GDP): Types--machinery/metal products (iron and steel), electrical equipment, aircraft, paper products, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods.
*Services (2006, 59.8% of GDP): Types--telecommunications, computer equipment, biotech.
*Trade: Exports (2006)--$148.8 billion. Types--machinery, transport equipment, motor vehicles, wood products, paper, pulp, chemicals, iron and steel products, and manufactured goods. Major trading partners, exports (2007)--Germany 9.9%, U.S. 9.3%, Norway 9.1%, U.K. 7.2%, EU total 59.7%. *Imports (2006)--$127.3 billion. Types--machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel, foodstuffs, clothing. Major trading partners, imports (2007)--Germany 18.6%, Denmark 8.9%, Norway 8.5%, U.K. 6.9%, Netherlands 6.1%, Finland 6.0%, France 4.9%.

==History==
[[File:Lund Sweden.jpg|thumb|Church Altar in Lund.]]
See [[History of Sweden]]
{{Clear}}
==Some Notable Swedes==
[[File:Idunn and Bragi by Blommer 1846.jpg|thumb|323px|Idunn and Bragi by Nils Blommer, 1846.]]
* [[Alfred Nobel]], inventor of dynamite; founded the [[Nobel Prize]]
* [[Anders Celsius]], inventor of the world standard [[Celsius scale]].
* Carl von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus) inventor of the modern system of classifying all lifeforms.
* Greta Garbo, actress
* ABBA - 1970's rock group comprised of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog. The forth member, Anni-Frid Lyngstad is from Norway.
* Dag Hammarskjöld, UN leader
* Astrid Lindgren
* Fredrik Ljungberg
* Henrik Larsson
* Stellan Skarsgård
* Saint Bridgid
* Lars Magnus Ericsson
* Gustavus Adolphus (king, founder of Gothenburg etc, died 1632 in the Thirty Years War)
* Björn Borg, tennis player
* Olof Palme, prime minister
* Ingemar Bergman, actress
* Roxette
* Jussi Bjoeling
* Laurentius Petri, archbishop and reformer
* Lewi Pethrus (1884–1974), founder of the Swedish Pentecostal movement
* Olaus Petri, reformer
* Nathan Söderblom, archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
* Erik Trolle, bishop and statesman
* Kettil Karlsson Vasa, bishop and statesman
* [[Saint Bridget of Sweden|Saint Birgitta]] (1303–1373), patron saint of Europe
* Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), writer, mystic and philosopher
* Peter Stormare, actor
* [[Victoria of Sweden]]

== Sweden and domestic violence ==

[[File:Sweden location.png|thumbnail|280px|right|In Sweden, 81 percent of women said they had been harassed at some point after the age of 15 - compared to the EU average of 55 percent.<ref>[http://www.thelocal.se/20140305/sweden-out-top-in-eu-domestic-violence-league Sweden stands out in domestic violence study] Published: 05 Mar 2014 08:3</ref> See: [[Sweden and domestic violence]] ]]

See also: [[Sweden and domestic violence]] and [[Irreligion and domestic violence]]

In March of 2014, the [[Sweden|Swedish]] news website ''The Local'' published an article entitled ''Sweden stands out in domestic violence study'' which declared:
{{cquote|A new EU review of violence against women has revealed that one in three [[Europe]]an women has been assaulted, and one in twenty has been raped, with the Scandinavian countries at the top of the league tables.

In the Scandinavian countries, in contrast, around half of the women reported physical or sexual violence, which researchers at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights said could have several explanations...

In Sweden, 81 percent of women said they had been harassed at some point after the age of 15 - compared to the EU average of 55 percent. After Sweden, which had the highest rate, [[Denmark]], [[France]], the Netherland and [[Finland]] all saw rates above 70 percent. The EU member state with the lowest rate - 24 percent - was Bulgaria.<ref>[http://www.thelocal.se/20140305/sweden-out-top-in-eu-domestic-violence-league Sweden stands out in domestic violence study] Published: 05 Mar 2014 08:3</ref>}}

== Sexual immoraiity and Sweden ==
[[File:Flag of Sweden.png|thumbnail|280px|right|Sweden is the most atheistic country in the world.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)]</ref> In recent years Sweden appears to have faced a growing problem with [[bestiality]].<ref>[http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/1950/50/5050406 ''Bestiality on the Rise in Sexually Libertine Sweden'']</ref><ref>[http://pub.nettavisen.no/nettavisen/english/article177749.ece Swedes have more and more animal sex]</ref> ]]

''See also:'' [[Sexual immorality and Sweden]] and [[Bestiality and Sweden]]

On May 5, 2011 the Swedish news website ''The Local'' reported in an article entitled ''Swedish women hit harder by [[STD]] rise'':
{{cquote|[[Gonorrhea|Gonorrhoea]] and [[syphilis]] are making a comeback in Sweden, with the number of reported cases among young women soaring by nearly 60 percent in 2010.

According to new statistics from the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control (Smittskyddsinstitutet), there was a 38 percent rise in reported cases of the two diseases among Swedes in general.

Worst hit, however, are young women between 15 and 24, where the number of cases increased by 57 percent.<ref>http://www.thelocal.se/33616/20110506/ ''Swedish women hit harder by [[STD]] rise'']</ref>}}

=== Libertine Sweden ===

''See also:'' [[Bestiality and Sweden]]

[[Bestiality]] is the act of engaging in sexual relations with an animal.

In November 0f 2008, the [[UK]] newspaper ''The Times'' reported:
{{cquote|Sweden, one of the world's most sexually tolerant societies, is in the throes of a strange, emotionally charged debate about the last taboo: bestiality.

The unmasking this week of an animal sex network by the Stockholm newspaper Expressen has again highlighted the issue. Members of parliament are urging a tightening of the laws (bestiality was decriminalised along with homosexuality in 1944) but the government is resisting the pressure...

Sweden has had a pioneering approach towards sex, at least since the 1960s when critically acclaimed films such as I am Curious Yellow depicted the society's free-wheeling attitudes. The country was one of the first to shed the stigma of single motherhood and, while Swedes talk less about sexual matters nowadays than 30 years ago, they are still pushing back the boundaries... Legal limits are set mainly on the commercial exploitation of sex: thus, while prostitution is technically legal, customers are seen as offenders who exploit and abuse women. Cameras have been set up near the entrances of brothels and clients leaving the premises can be fined on the spot.

But bestiality and the whole seedy sub-culture surrounding it is straining Swedish tolerance to bursting point. Religious Swedes say it violates a fundamental taboo: a passage from Leviticus 18 states: “And you shall not lie with any beast and defile yourself with it, neither shall any woman give herself a beast to lie with it: it is a perversion." In the [[Middle Ages]], men were typically burned to death for having sex with animals. Most countries nowadays either outlaw the practice entirely (most states in the US) or prosecute penetrative sex with animals (Britain). Sweden, though, has not taken a religion-based stance. Rather, it seems to accept the idea that sex with animals can be in some way consensual. If it causes injury to the animal it can be prosecuted, although in practice only two out of the 115 cases registered have ever been investigated.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5140576.ece Sweden urged to ban animals sex after newspaper expose on bestiality - The Times - November 12, 2008]</ref>}}

For more information please see: [[Bestiality and Sweden]]

== See also ==

*[[Atheistic Sweden and rape]]

==Further reading==
* ''Sweden'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by DK Publishing (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Sweden-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Publishing/dp/0756609135/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241584198&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Frommer's Sweden'' ed. by Danforth Prince (2009) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Sweden-Complete-Danforth-Prince/dp/0470432144/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241584198&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* '' Lonely Planet Sweden'' ed. by Carolyn Bain and Graeme Cornwallis (2003) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Sweden-Carolyn-Bain/dp/1740592271/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241584640&sr=1-25 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Rough Guide to Sweden'' ed. by James Proctor and Neil Roland (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-Sweden-Travel-Guides/dp/1843536854/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241584198&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
*---
* Hancock, M. Donald ''Politics in Europe: An Introduction to the Politics of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Politics-Europe-Introduction-Kingdom-Germany/dp/1933116455/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241584640&sr=1-27 excerpt and text search]

==External links==
*[http://www.sweden.se SWEDEN.SE]
*[http://www.svenskakyrkan.se Svenska Kyrkan]
*http://www.lo.se
*http://www.moderaterna.se
*http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=913&a=324428
*http://www.gluefox.com
* http://www.livetsord.se/default.aspx?idStructure=918
* http://www.skattebetalarna.se
* http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/History/MacKinder/mackinder.html
* http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-NWE-Norway/index.html
* [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2880.htm source for much of this article; not copyright]

==References==
<references />

{{European Union}}

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Countries]]
[[Category:Sweden]]
[[Category:European History]]
[[Category:Welfare State]]
[[Category:Socialism]]

Secular Talk

2015-09-15T20:41:50Z

KParker: Changed "Progressive taxation" with "High Taxation"

'''Secular Talk''' is an left leaning online news show on [[YouTube]], hosted by Kyle Kulinski. The focus of the show is modern American politics from a largely [[liberal]] and [[secular]] perspective. Kulinski is a [[New Atheism|New Atheist]]/[[agnosticism|agnostic]] and admires [[Richard Dawkins]], but he does not always agree with fellow New Atheists on particular points.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As67_rhvTVY&utm_content=bufferc3b1d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer New Atheists Vs Progressives]</ref> Like many agnostics/atheists, Kyle Kulinski engages in public profanity (see: [[Atheism and profanity]]).<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As67_rhvTVY&utm_content=bufferc3b1d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer New Atheists Vs Progressives]</ref>

==History==

Kulinski currently resides in New York. He started Secular Talk show in 2008. He is part of The Young Turks network.

==Format==

The show consists of short videos of a few minutes, which he usually cuts from longer speeches made by conservative politicians and journalists, and he provides rebuttals from a [[Militant atheism|militant atheistic]] and [[secular]] extremist perspective.

==Political/ideological views of Kyle Kulinski ==

* He supports the naturalistic theory of [[evolution]] and argues for exclusive teaching of evolution in public schools.
* He rejects the [[Biblical scientific foreknowledge|scientific foreknowledge of the Bible]].
* He rejects [[Jesus Christ]] as the Lord and Son of [[God]].
* He is pro [[abortion]], but makes an exception for late term abortions which he disagrees with.
* He has indicated that pro-abortion socialist [[Bernie Sanders]] is the best Democrat 2016 presidential candidate.
* He accepts the [[global warming]] and supports actions to solve it.
* He is generally pro-[[feminism]], but is against third-wave feminism.
* He is socialistic and admires social democratic Scandinavian countries.
* He is pro-homosexual marriage.
* He is pro government funded sex reassignment surgery of prisoners.
* He wants all election candidates to receive government funds and wants to ban private and corporate campaign contributions.
* He is a proponent of [[Obamacare]]
* He support a single-payer government funded health-care system and supports free college for all.
* He believes in high taxation of wealthy individuals and corporations.
* He is a critic of [[Islam]].
* He is a critic of [[Israel]].

== Opposition to Christianity==

He frequently criticizes [[Christian]] journalists, public figures and politicians.

== Kyle Kulinski's refusal to engage in an atheism vs. Christianity debate ==

In 2015, the [[New Atheism|new atheist]] Kyle Kulinski was offered an [[atheism vs. Christianity]] debate and he refused to accept the debate offer (see: [[Essay: New Atheist Kyle Kulinski defeated]]).

== See also ==

*[[Essay: Debate challenge to atheist Kyle Kulinski]]

==External links ==

* [https://www.youtube.com/user/SecularTalk Secular Talk on YouTube]
* [http://seculartalkradio.com/ Secular Talk official website]
* [http://twitter.com/KyleKulinski Kyle Kulinski on Twitter]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category: Secular Talk]]
[[Category: Atheism]]

Empire of Liberty

2015-09-15T20:39:41Z

KParker: /* Leftist bashing of "Empire" */

The '''Empire of Liberty''' as conceived by [[Thomas Jefferson]] refers to America's role of spreading freedom throughout the world.

America was founded, settled and fashioned by the [[British Empire]], but then broke away in the [[American Revolution]], declaring independence in 1776 in the name of [[republicanism]].

[[Thomas Jefferson]] saw America's mission as creating a global "Empire of Liberty" -- that is promoting freedom and liberty around the globe by example, by expansion, and by intervention. Major exponents included [[Abraham Lincoln]] (in the Gettysburg Address (1863), [[Woodrow Wilson]] and "[[Wilsonianism]]", and [[George W. Bush]] in the drive for liberty and democracy around the world.

In [[American diplomatic history]] the Empire of Liberty has meant opposition to [[tyranny]] and [[totalitarianism]], especially in the [[Spanish American War]] (1898), [[World War I]], [[World War II]], the [[Cold War]] and the [[War on terrorism]].[[File:Judge-2-6-1897.jpg|thumb|370px|[[Columbia]] (the American people) reaches out to help oppressed Cuba in 1897 while Uncle Sam (the US Government) is blind. ''Judge'' magazine, Feb. 6, 1897]]

The somewhat derogatory term '''American Empire''', meaning the [[United States]] and territories which it controls or influences, is often used to criticize the global influence of the United States and its political principles by implying that America has been engaged in a self-centered type of [[Imperialism]]. This is based off of the assumption that imperialism, or even a hypothetical scenario where the US controlled the world, is bad.

==Monroe Doctrine==
The [[Monroe Doctrine]] was designed to make the New World safe for liberty and [[republicanism]] and block the further expansion of European imperialism. The Doctrine was articulated in 1820 by President [[James Monroe]] and was designed by his Secretary of State [[John Quincy Adams]] (two foremost conservatives). It put the western hemisphere off limits to European expansion. It was used to stop the threatened takeover of Mexico by France (1860s) and Imperial Germany (see [[Zimmerman Telegram]] 1917). After 1960 the Doctrine was used to fight the spread of Communism from its base in Casto's [[Cuba]]. [[Ronald Reagan]], for example, made it a high priority to [[rollback]] Communism in [[Nicaragua]], [[Grenada]].

==Conservative Internationalism==
Conservative Henry Nau has argued that '''conservative internationalism''' is the foreign policy of [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[James K. Polk]], [[Harry Truman]], and [[Ronald Reagan]]. They did more to expand freedom abroad through the assertive use of military force than any others.<ref> At home, Abraham Lincoln was even more aggressive in expanding freedom by the forceful abolition of slavery.</ref>. They expanded freedom on behalf of self-government, local or national, not on behalf of central or international government, as liberal internationalists advocate, and they used force to seize related opportunities to spread freedom, not to maintain the status quo, as realists recommend.

Bacevich (2004) argues that America has been committed to building an empire by design, not accident. He argues that the recent foreign policy has accepted an American mission as the guardian of history, responsible for changing the world by making it more open and more integrated. American global leadership means maintaining preeminence in the world's strategically significant regions, together with permanent global military supremacy.

President Barack Obama in his 2009 Nobel Prize Address specifically rejected the liberal nonviolence policies of [[Martin Luther King]], and proclaimed America has a duty to lead the fight against evil in the world, starting with the [[Afghanistan War]]. His conservative arguments stunned his liberal supporters.
==Jefferson==
Jefferson used this phrase as early as 1780 as he sought to create an American Empire dedicated to liberty; it would block the growth of the British Empire, which he hated and feared:
:"We shall divert through our own Country a branch of commerce which the European States have thought worthy of the most important struggles and sacrifices, and in the event of peace [ending the American Revolution]...we shall form to the American union a barrier against the dangerous extension of the British Province of Canada and add to the '''Empire of liberty''' an extensive and fertile Country thereby converting dangerous Enemies into valuable friends." - Jefferson to George Rogers Clark, 25 December 1780<ref> See [http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Empire_of_liberty online source] </ref>

A few weeks after leaving the White House in 1809 he told his successor James Madison:
:"we should then have only to include the North [Canada] in our confederacy...and we should have such an empire for liberty as she has never surveyed since the creation: & I am persuaded no constitution was ever before so well calculated as ours for extensive empire & self government." - Jefferson to James Madison, 27 April 1809

==Other dimensions==
Economic dimensions include the spread of American management, as for example in the [[Marshall Plan]] in the 1940s. Poor management was a major factor in the slow recovery of Europe after World War II, and American management principles were often implemented as an essential part of Marshall Plan aid. The American School of Management was set up in Paris specifically to propagate these principles.

Cultural dimensions of the American Empire include the spread of American music and movies--and even more important the spread of Christian values by missionaries.

==Leftist and Secular bashing of "Empire"==

Anti-American forces in the Third World often capitalized on local hatred of oppressive empires by using the label ''American Empire'' in a negative sense. On the far left in the U.S. it is also a hostile theme, as represented by [[Noam Chomsky]] and [[Chalmers Johnson]]. Their argument is that America represents the evils of capitalism and religion and should be stopped from influencing the people of the world.

==See also==
* [[American foreign policy]]
* [[Cold War]]
* [[Human rights]]
* [[Ronald Reagan]]
* [[George W. Bush]]
* [[Rollback]]
* [[Wilsonianism]]

==Further reading==
* Bacevich, Andrew J. ''American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomacy'' (2004) by a conservative political scientist [http://www.amazon.com/American-Empire-Realities-Consequences-Diplomacy/dp/0674013751/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261651762&sr=1-19 excerpt and text search]
* Ferguson, Niall. ''Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire'' (2005), by an eminent conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Colossus-Rise-Fall-American-Empire/dp/0143034790/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261651620&sr=1-8 except and text search]
* Gordon, John Steele . ''Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power'' (2005) by a conservative popular historian [http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Wealth-History-American-Economic/dp/0060505125/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261651762&sr=1-16 excerpt and text search]
* Kagan, Robert. ''Dangerous Nation: America's Place in the World from Its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the Twentieth Century'' (2006), by a conservative
* Nau, Henry R. "Conservative Internationalism," ''Policy Review'' #150. 2008. pp 3+. by a conservative[http://www.questia.com/read/5028853766?title=Conservative%20Internationalism online at [[Questia]]]
* Tucker, Robert W., and David C. Hendrickson. ''Empire of Liberty: The Statecraft of Thomas Jefferson'' (1990).
* Wood, Gordon. ''Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815'' (2009) by conservative historian [http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Liberty-History-Republic-1789-1815/dp/0195039149/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261651934&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
====references====
<references/>
[[Category:United States Political Terms]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Missionaries]]

Violence

2015-09-15T20:37:48Z

KParker: Added information about atheism and violence

'''Violence''' is [[physical]] [[force]] applied for unethical reasons such as [[aggression]], [[abuse]] or [[exploitation]]. Its ethical opposite is [[self-defense]] or defense of another.

Virtually all moral codes forbid violence.

Most countries have laws against violence, although some [[government]]s habitually employ violence against their own citizenry. [[International law|International legislation]] on [[human rights]] is meant to prevent this, but has proved difficult to enforce in practice.

Atheists believe that there is nothing inherently immoral about violence, as there would be no God to judge it.

*Excessive violence is associated with other forms of [[social pathology]]. [http://www.familyresearchinst.org/FRI_EduPamphlet4.html]

==Violence as a Sin==
In [[Christian]] thought, violence can include any [[sin]] that is malicious, but does not use the human intellect. As well as direct physical violence, [[Dante's Inferno]] categorizes [[tyrant|tyranny]], [[suicide]], [[self-harm]], [[blasphemy]], [[usury]] and [[homosexuality]] as forms of violence. The last three are considered the most serious forms, as the violence is directed against [[God]] or [[nature]].

==See Also==
* [[Unalienable rights|Unalienable right]] to [[Self-defense]] via [[firearms]]: [[Second Amendment]]
* [[Murder and homosexuality]]
* [[Alternatives to Violence Project]]
* [[Gun free zone]]

'''Atheism and violence: '''

*[[Atheism and mass murder]]

*[[Militant atheism]]

*[[Atheism and rape]]

*[[Atheism and sadism]]

{{DivineComedy}}
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Sin]]
[[Category:Liberal Traits]]
[[Category:Gangs]]
[[Category : Pitta]]
[[Category : Pitta Emotions]]
[[Category : Pitta Diseases]]
[[Category : Psychology]]
[[Category : Ayurvedic Psychology]]
[[Category : Professor Values]]