Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Ant

2010-08-15T10:09:56Z

MarcoT2: Added a link to Aesop

'''Ants''' are social [[insects]] that live in highly organized colonies that include workers, drones, and [[queen]]s. Considered a highly successful insect, ants have colonized all parts of the world except for [[Greenland]], [[Antarctica]] and [[Iceland]]. Ants are classified part of the ''Hymenoptera'' family of species with [[bee]]s and [[wasp]]s and this similarity is evident in their similar social structure. There are over 12,000 known species of ants in the world [http://atbi.biosci.ohio-state.edu:210/hymenoptera/tsa.sppcount?the_taxon=Formicidae].

== Colony Organization ==

Highly organized, ant colonies are coordinated by the release of [[pheromones]] - chemical signals passed between individuals that allow information to be passed around the colony. Pheremones can be used for such diverse purposes as: marking trails, identifying which task group an ant belongs to, triggering alarms, and even spreading confusion among invading colonies.

Most ant colonies have male and female ants in highly specialised roles, such as queen, worker, etc. Some species of ant do not have any males at all, and reproduce asexually<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7998931.stm BBC News: Ants]</ref>.

== Relationship with People ==

While commonly seen as pests, ants actually have many benefits for human agriculture including pest control, and aerating soil, and even collecting seeds for farmers. They also regarded as food by many cultures - ant larvae known as ''escamoles'' in parts of Mexico are regarded as a kind of [[caviar]], and can sell for as much as $80 per kilo [http://cornellcollege.edu/biology/insects2005/9richardisaac/e%20is%20for%20escamoles.htm]. Remarkably, in some parts of the world Army Ants are even used as rudimentary sutures, their powerful jaws clamping wounds together to assist healing [http://www.ewma.org/pdf/fall04/Historical_Aspects.pdf].

== Intelligent Design ==

Creation scientists see the complex social behavior of ants to be evidence for an [[intelligent design]]er. <ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/insects.html Incredible insects of the rain forest]</ref>

== Ants in Fiction and the Bible ==

Ants have often been cited in [[pagan]] [[parable]]s as well as [[secular]] stories for their hard work. For example, in [[Aesop]]'s fable about the ant and the grasshopper. They are also mentioned in the Bible:
<blockquote>
''Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.'' [[Proverbs]] 6:6-8 (KJV)
</blockquote>
Observe that the Bible gets the gender of worker ants correctly whereas Aesop's ant character was originally personified using the incorrect masculine pronouns.

[[Category: Insects]]

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

==External Links==
*[http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/hymenoptera.html Hymenoptera: ants, bees and wasps]

Anton Bruckner

2010-08-15T10:04:48Z

MarcoT2: Just a stub; feel free to expand.

'''Joseph Anton Bruckner''' (1824-1896) was an Austrian composer. He is mostly known for his symphonies, masses, and motets.

Talk:Counterexamples to the Bible

2010-08-12T01:50:17Z

MarcoT2: /* Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain */

== No counterexamples to the Bible? ==

Doesn't this become tautological if you are unwilling to consider counterexamples? [[User:TylerGD|TylerGD]] 10:17, 11 August 2010 (EDT)
:The "counterexamples" you posted were repeatedly brought up over the years by atheists, agnostics, and the generally dimwitted over the course of thousands of years; and these "counterexamples" were repeatedly proven wrong. That's "Proven" with a capitol "P". [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 10:27, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::Sorry, I must have missed something. Which counterexamples did TylerGD post? If they have all been Proven wrong with a capital P, shouldn't this article address them and state why they are wrong, as with every other counterexample here, instead of just not considering them? --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 11:48, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::The page history contains the edits [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Counterexamples_to_the_Bible&diff=803692&oldid=803632 here]. I found the alleged "counterexamples" to be remarkably trivial and non-substantive. Our entries here are substantive, and will remain so.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 11:59, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::::Ok, I understand this necessity. I agree that only the MAJOR counterexamples should be addressed! Thank you, anyway, for posting the link to the edits. --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 12:01, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::::What should happen is a separate article titled [[Alleged Biblical contradictions]], detailing the passages, what liberals have against them, and why the contradictions don't exist in the first place. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:05, 11 August 2010 (EDT

How about the First Law of Thermodynamics? This states that energy may not be created or destroyed, which contradicts Genesis.
Also, the creation story says that light was created first. Light is not possible without a spacetime manifold, which was not created at that time.
The population of the earth is much too large too soon after the flood. Assuming 8 humans survived the flood, every woman over 15 years old would have to have 50 children to produce a large enough population by the time of the Exodus from Egypt. (Assuming: the flood was in the year 3000 BC, and the Exodus was in 2500 BC). And, even assuming this is possible, it does nothing to address the sudden rise of different races.

: I have an open mind about it. Let's take a look at your arguments:

:: The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy may be transformed from one type to another, and it is all the time. That's what creation presumably was.

:: See [[Counterexamples to Relativity]], which is a far longer list than [[Counterexamples to the Bible]]. Perhaps the goofy "spacetime manifold" never really existed. Are you open-minded about that?

:: I'm surprised by your population argument, because I've seen analysis that says the population levels today are just what one would expect from having just a few people in 3000 BC.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 20:20, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::Now I'm confused. Our critic here is claiming that the First Law (it's a law, mind you) of Thermodynamics states that energy may not be created or destroyed. It contradicts Genesis. Okay...got that. Thermodynamics One contradicts Genesis. But at the same time, how did his big bang theory happen? You can't create or destroy energy, that's what he said. But there had to have been energy created (from nothing, I might add) in order to get a great big bang for his big bang theory, and that's a lot of energy created ''and'' destroyed of which he says can't be created or destroyed. And, while he's defending that little law in science, I'll bet he's ''denying'' Thermodynamics Two because its statements about entropy and energy left to itself seem to contradict evolution. In short, he's stating something came from nothing, leading to things getting better, both of which contradict each of those laws of Thermodynamics.
:::Makes the case for "In the beginning, God created..." even stronger, doesn't it? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 20:33, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::::I'm not claiming that "something came from nothing" in the Big Bang. The sum of the energy contained in the mass of the universe equals the sum of gravitational potential energy in the universe. This is quite an easily calculable conclusion which suggests that the net energy in the universe is zero. So, while I agree with the "came from nothing" statement, I disagree with the "something". If you are going to throw out unscientific phrases, you should say "A net nothing came from nothing". The zero-energy universe is becoming more and more studied, and may well be a plausible explanation for cosmogenesis.

::::This explanation is in contradiction to the Creation story, in which light was created with no negative energy counterpart.

::::A caveat; the zero-energy universe is still in the preliminary phases of study, and may turn out to be false. However, in 20 years, I can guarantee scientists will have a clearer understanding of the beginning of the universe, while theists will respond with "*shrug* God did it".

::::In response to the statement about how "goofy spacetime manifold never existed", are you saying that there is no spacetime currently?

::::Also, I fully support the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and there is no contradiction with regards to evolution; the entropy of the sun is increasing more than entropy due to life on earth is decreasing.

:::::I apologize for not being clear on my population calculations. Please allow me to restate:

:::::Let's assume the following:
:::::Eight people survived the flood (the year 3000 BC).
:::::1,000,000 people lived around the time of the Exodus (a highly conservative number) in the year 2500 BC
:::::To achieve this population, the population needs to increase by 2.5% each year. (4 woman * 1.025^500 ~= 1,000,0000)
:::::Assume the average person lives to 1000, and there are no deaths (which seems like a BIG assumption)
:::::In 900 years, this comes to an average of 50 children (1000 * .025 = 25. Multiply by two, since only woman reproduce and increase population, in practice, to get 50).

:::::That strains credulity a bit.

:::::: You're right, it does. And the mistake is your time estimate for [[Exodus]]. As taught in my class, it is widely accepted that Exodus occurred either in the 1200s or 1400s B.C. See [[World_History_Lecture_One#Egypt]]. A doubling in population every 30 years for a 1000 years would be roughly 2^30, or a billion, far more than is needed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 21:29, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::::::Point taken, Andy, you are indeed correct. The population at the time of the Exodus was within the limits of possibilities assuming a flood. I withdraw my point.

== Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain ==

Sorry to ask this, but the "population" argument brought to mind an old thought which I am sure has been answered many times. I am not saying that it is a "counterexample" to the Bible, mind you, I am just curious as to what the official refutation of this argument is... sorry to bother with such a silly question :) Now, God created Adam and Eve, and then Adam and Eve generated Abel and Cain, two males. So, where did the rest of the human population come from? Thanks for clearing this up for me :) --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 21:35, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:I'm an atheist, but this argument is not very solid. While it is never addressed in the Bible, its possible Adam and Eve had more children. Why this is not addressed, since the Bible loves listing lineages, is anyone's guess...

:: I've never heard anyone claim that the Bible identifies ''everyone'' who ever existed. As the unsigned comment above states, perhaps there were other children, or other miracles.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 21:41, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::: The "Adam and Eve had other children" option would imply that people from the same bloodline, actually brothers and sisters, generated children, which I am sure is not an acceptable option. Perhaps other people were directly created by God to populate the Earth? --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 21:44, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::It has been addressed in the Bible:
:::This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
:::Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
:::And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:
:::And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: '''''and he begat sons and daughters''''':
:::And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. (Genesis 5:1-5) [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 21:45, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::::That option, however, raises other questions, as I said. There must be something we are missing perhaps. --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 21:50, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

Talk:Counterexamples to the Bible

2010-08-12T01:44:40Z

MarcoT2: /* Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain */

Talk:Counterexamples to the Bible

2010-08-12T01:35:43Z

MarcoT2: /* No counterexamples to the Bible? */

== No counterexamples to the Bible? ==

Doesn't this become tautological if you are unwilling to consider counterexamples? [[User:TylerGD|TylerGD]] 10:17, 11 August 2010 (EDT)
:The "counterexamples" you posted were repeatedly brought up over the years by atheists, agnostics, and the generally dimwitted over the course of thousands of years; and these "counterexamples" were repeatedly proven wrong. That's "Proven" with a capitol "P". [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 10:27, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::Sorry, I must have missed something. Which counterexamples did TylerGD post? If they have all been Proven wrong with a capital P, shouldn't this article address them and state why they are wrong, as with every other counterexample here, instead of just not considering them? --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 11:48, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::The page history contains the edits [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Counterexamples_to_the_Bible&diff=803692&oldid=803632 here]. I found the alleged "counterexamples" to be remarkably trivial and non-substantive. Our entries here are substantive, and will remain so.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 11:59, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::::Ok, I understand this necessity. I agree that only the MAJOR counterexamples should be addressed! Thank you, anyway, for posting the link to the edits. --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 12:01, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::::What should happen is a separate article titled [[Alleged Biblical contradictions]], detailing the passages, what liberals have against them, and why the contradictions don't exist in the first place. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 12:05, 11 August 2010 (EDT

How about the First Law of Thermodynamics? This states that energy may not be created or destroyed, which contradicts Genesis.
Also, the creation story says that light was created first. Light is not possible without a spacetime manifold, which was not created at that time.
The population of the earth is much too large too soon after the flood. Assuming 8 humans survived the flood, every woman over 15 years old would have to have 50 children to produce a large enough population by the time of the Exodus from Egypt. (Assuming: the flood was in the year 3000 BC, and the Exodus was in 2500 BC). And, even assuming this is possible, it does nothing to address the sudden rise of different races.

: I have an open mind about it. Let's take a look at your arguments:

:: The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy may be transformed from one type to another, and it is all the time. That's what creation presumably was.

:: See [[Counterexamples to Relativity]], which is a far longer list than [[Counterexamples to the Bible]]. Perhaps the goofy "spacetime manifold" never really existed. Are you open-minded about that?

:: I'm surprised by your population argument, because I've seen analysis that says the population levels today are just what one would expect from having just a few people in 3000 BC.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 20:20, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

:::Now I'm confused. Our critic here is claiming that the First Law (it's a law, mind you) of Thermodynamics states that energy may not be created or destroyed. It contradicts Genesis. Okay...got that. Thermodynamics One contradicts Genesis. But at the same time, how did his big bang theory happen? You can't create or destroy energy, that's what he said. But there had to have been energy created (from nothing, I might add) in order to get a great big bang for his big bang theory, and that's a lot of energy created ''and'' destroyed of which he says can't be created or destroyed. And, while he's defending that little law in science, I'll bet he's ''denying'' Thermodynamics Two because its statements about entropy and energy left to itself seem to contradict evolution. In short, he's stating something came from nothing, leading to things getting better, both of which contradict each of those laws of Thermodynamics.
:::Makes the case for "In the beginning, God created..." even stronger, doesn't it? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 20:33, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

::::I'm not claiming that "something came from nothing" in the Big Bang. The sum of the energy contained in the mass of the universe equals the sum of gravitational potential energy in the universe. This is quite an easily calculable conclusion which suggests that the net energy in the universe is zero. So, while I agree with the "came from nothing" statement, I disagree with the "something". If you are going to throw out unscientific phrases, you should say "A net nothing came from nothing". The zero-energy universe is becoming more and more studied, and may well be a plausible explanation for cosmogenesis.

::::This explanation is in contradiction to the Creation story, in which light was created with no negative energy counterpart.

::::A caveat; the zero-energy universe is still in the preliminary phases of study, and may turn out to be false. However, in 20 years, I can guarantee scientists will have a clearer understanding of the beginning of the universe, while theists will respond with "*shrug* God did it".

::::In response to the statement about how "goofy spacetime manifold never existed", are you saying that there is no spacetime currently?

::::Also, I fully support the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and there is no contradiction with regards to evolution; the entropy of the sun is increasing more than entropy due to life on earth is decreasing.

:::::I apologize for not being clear on my population calculations. Please allow me to restate:

:::::Let's assume the following:
:::::Eight people survived the flood (the year 3000 BC).
:::::1,000,000 people lived around the time of the Exodus (a highly conservative number) in the year 2500 BC
:::::To achieve this population, the population needs to increase by 2.5% each year. (4 woman * 1.025^500 ~= 1,000,0000)
:::::Assume the average person lives to 1000, and there are no deaths (which seems like a BIG assumption)
:::::In 900 years, this comes to an average of 50 children (1000 * .025 = 25. Multiply by two, since only woman reproduce and increase population, in practice, to get 50).

:::::That strains credulity a bit.

:::::: You're right, it does. And the mistake is your time estimate for [[Exodus]]. As taught in my class, it is widely accepted that Exodus occurred either in the 1200s or 1400s B.C. See [[World_History_Lecture_One#Egypt]]. A doubling in population every 30 years for a 1000 years would be roughly 2^30, or a billion, far more than is needed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 21:29, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

== Adam and Eve, Abel and Cain ==

Sorry to ask this, but the "population" argument brought to mind an old thought which I am sure has been answered many times. I am not saying that it is a "counterexample" to the Bible, mind you, I am just curious as to what the official refutation of this argument is... sorry to bother with such a silly question :) Now, God created Adam and Eve, and then Adam and Eve generated Abel and Cain, two males. So, where did the rest of the human population come from? Thanks for clearing this up for me :) --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 21:35, 11 August 2010 (EDT)

Talk:Counterexamples to the Bible

2010-08-11T16:01:47Z

MarcoT2: /* No counterexamples to the Bible? */

Talk:Counterexamples to the Bible

2010-08-11T15:48:37Z

MarcoT2: /* No counterexamples to the Bible? */

Pornography

2010-08-07T19:58:35Z

MarcoT2: Added a "shallow". In other contexts, such as marriage, it's not such an outlandish suggestion to say that it is enjoyable.

{{etymology|[[Greek]] πορνή (''porné'')) a prostitute and γράΦω (''grapho'') I write}}[[Image:Pornography.jpg|200px|right]]
'''Pornography''' is the explicit representation of the human body or sexual activity used for the intent of stimulation.
It usually consists of images depicting the satisfaction of the sort of "unnatural lust" which leads to damnation. ({{Bible ref|book=Jude|chap=1|verses=6-7}}) It destroys the mind as [[gambling]] does and, even worse, '''pornography''' leads to terrible crimes against women and children.<ref>http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1772e.htm</ref> The Greek word πορνεία (''porneía'') appears several times in the [[New Testament]] as a sin that, unless repented of, will prevent one from entering heaven; however, such a word in Ancient Greek mostly referred to [[sexual immorality|illicit sexual relationships]] (such as adultery and incest), prostitution, and also, in a broader sense, idolatry.

* When Christ said "any man who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart," He made it clear that chastity -- and unchastity -- don't begin with what we do, but rather in what we think. And deliberately seeking such stimulation outside a committed marriage, even via the imagination, constitutes a sin against [[chastity]].<ref> [http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0051.html Banishing Unchaste Thoughts]</ref>

Pornographic images have been proliferating at a remarkable rate. What was a $5 million-a-year enterprise merely 25 years ago has boomed to a $7 billion to $10 billion-a-year industry today... the fastest growing sectors of the industry are pornographic DVDs, cable television, and phone sex. Pornography is no longer confined to the seedier sections of town. With the advent of the Internet, it has become readily available to all, including children, and in the privacy of our own homes.<ref>[http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=759 Censorship or Education?]</ref>

==Human psychology==
Dr. [[Jerry Bergman (scientist)|Jerry Bergman]] (Ph.D.) wrote:

:Pornography distorts the natural development of personality. If the early stimulus is pornographic photographs, the [[adolescent]] can be [[conditioning|conditioned]] to become aroused through photographs. Once this pairing is rewarded a number of times, it is likely to become permanent. The result to the individual is that it becomes difficult for the person to seek out relations with appropriate persons.<ref> Jerry Bergman, Ph.D., The Influence of Pornography on Sexual Development: Three Case Histories, IX ''Family Therapy'' 3, 1982, pg. 265. </ref>

==Illusion and addiction==

Pornography provides the illusion of intimacy,<ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-f016.html (Christian Answers)] </ref> but this is a [[satan]]ic trap (see [[sexual addiction]]).

*Pornography consumption is not something that can easily be stopped. Once the appetite for it has developed, it actually increases. In his 1988 study ''Pornography Effects: Empirical and Clinical Evidence'', [[Victor Cline]], then with the [[University of Utah]]'s Department of Psychology noted that studies show pornography is progressive and addictive for many. It often leads to the user acting out his fantasy.
*The Internet is the "crack cocaine" of sexual addiction.<ref>[http://www.soundvision.com/Info/life/porn/pornfacts.asp]</ref>

"People often act in accordance with the images and patterns they find around them,"<ref>At the crux of this issue is whether written pornography might have a causal effect in eroticizing criminal activities. One case that dealt with this issue indirectly is American Booksellers Association v. Hudnut, ... the court conceded that it saw some evidence of a causal relationship between pornography and anti-social behaviors.... People often act in accordance with the images and patterns they find around them. . . . Depictions of subordination tend to perpetuate subordination." 771 F.2d at 328-29.</ref> so looking at pornography is a dangerous practice; although being around a loving Christian family for most of the day, and instead acting in accordance with those images and patterns seems to negate this.

Porn says that happiness is found by having the same experience over and over again with lots of different women; true ''eros'' says that happiness is found by having different experiences over and over again with the same person.<ref>[http://nopornnorthampton.org/2007/05/02/schwyzer-on-porn-pursuit-of-novelty-is-enemy-of-relationship.aspx]</ref>

==Departure from the norm==
Viewing or reading pornography day in and day out has a negative effect. It desensitizes a person, makes him more withdrawn, and makes him view others (of the opposite sex) like objects rather than the people they are.
Although some people have argued that "erotica" is okay, in the history of erotic literature it is rare to find any depiction of normal marital relations.

Cary Tennis wrote:
:And naturally whether you approve of porn in theory or not, its effect will be to displace you. Like crack, it tends to take over, to push out other hungers that tend to nurture the human community by making us dependent on one another. Since we are dependent on each other we must be civil and loving. If we are not dependent on each other then we needn't be civil and loving. We needn't have community and family.<ref>[http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2007/04/11/porn/ (Salon magazine)]</ref>

There is debate whether it is truly moral to be 'civil and loving' purely because it is necessary, as Cary Tennis seems to say here. Other Christians argue that to be 'civil and loving' purely because we are dependent on others is actually immoral and manipulative. These Christians argue that to be self-contained, independent and yet still warm and loving is a greater virtue.

Debbie Nathan wrote:
:Porn is everywhere today, everyone is looking, and the media responds with little more than gloom-and-doom talk about evils like Internet sex addiction, or rah-rah promotion of Brazilian waxing and Jenna Jameson’s fame and fortune. Meanwhile, few know the real history of this explosive media, or the truth about its business practices, working conditions, politics and actual effects on people. [http://debbienathan.com/buy-the-books/ Pornography: A Groundwork Guide.]

==Legal aspects==
Due to a series of [[liberal]] decisions beginning with the [[Warren Court]], pornography is aggressively sold and distributed - particularly to children, and most especially to young girls, who then grow-up believing that such behavior is appropriate and that shallow sex is enjoyable - in the United States without meaningful law enforcement. It is a $7-10 billion industry that affects and harms 40 million Americans. Pornography destroys relationships and exploits young people.<ref>''National Catholic Register'' p. 8 (Apr. 22, 2007).</ref><ref>http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html</ref> The [[ACLU]] has also opposed any limits on the availability of pornographic content, as well as the [[Child Online Protection Act]], which would have placed restrictions on how accessible pornography would be to minors on the internet.

==References==
<references/>

==See Also==
*[[Anthony Comstock]]
*[[ACLU#Pornography|ACLU]]
*[[Social effects of pornography]]

==External links==
*[http://unitedfamilies.org/default.asp?contentID=34 Guide to Family Issues: The Harms of Pornography] : United Families Intl
*[http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-f016.html How can I tell if I'm getting addicted to sex or pornography?] - ChristianAnswers.Net
*[http://www.soundvision.com/Info/life/porn/getrid.asp Pornography & Islam] : A 12-step guide To Fight Pornography Addiction
*[http://nopornnorthampton.org/ NoPornHampton] - an anti-pornography organization with an extensive, blog-style website
*[http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=759 Censorship or Education? Feminist Views on Pornography]
*[http://www.ldsmag.com//LDSMariageNetwork/090306woman.html What's A Woman To Do? How Pornography Affects Women and What They Can Do], Geoff Steurer, ''Meridian Magazine''
*[http://www.obscenitycrimes.org/news/HowAdultPornographyHarmsChildren.pdf How Adult Pornography Contributes To Sexual Exploitation of Children], by Robert Peters, President of Morality in Media (September 2009)

[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Pornography]]
[[Category:Social Problems]]

Graz

2010-08-05T18:32:59Z

MarcoT2:

'''Graz''' is the second biggest city in [[Austria]], with ca. 253,000 inhabitants.
[[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] is often mentioned in connection with Graz: he was born and raised in the nearby village of [[Thal]], and attended school in Graz for a couple of years. The soccer stadium was named in his honor in 1996, but renamed in 2005.

A famous son of the city is the architect [[Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach]] (1656-1723).

The [[university|Karl-Franzens-Universität]] in Graz was founded in 1585 and attracted some very important scholars who studied or taught there, e.g., [[Johannes Kepler]], [[Ludwig Boltzmann]], [[Walther Nernst]] and [[Erwin Schrödinger]].

[[Category:Austria]][[Category:European Cities and Towns]]

Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Novels

2010-07-26T18:29:00Z

MarcoT2: /* Reasons for listing */

''Animal Farm'' is anti-Communist and ''1984'' is anti-totalitarian; this doesn't make them conservative. [[User:Dadsnagem2|Dadsnagem2]] 11:59, 14 January 2008 (EST)
:''Animal Farm'' is actually anti-Stalinist, but yeah. In fact, ''1984'' is quite liberal. --[[User:MakeTomorrow|MakeTomorrow]] 12:12, 14 January 2008 (EST)
::The two books have many themes in common, including playing up an outside threat to seize or retain power. How is it that one's con and the other's lib?--[[User:Frey|Frey]] 12:25, 29 October 2008 (EDT)
Ok, so this was in an edit, but not on this page, but I want to raise the issue anyway. How is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress not conservative? The statement of TANSTAAFL (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch) is best statement of the bedrock of conservatism I've ever heard.[[User:ArnoldFriend|ArnoldFriend]] 11:27, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

::: In fact, wasn't Orwell a socialist, disillusioned with what the USSR became, as opposed to what he hoped it would be? [[User:ArthurA|ArthurA]] 08:55, 25 March 2009 (EDT)

Ayn Rand's novels may have some conservative themes, but she was an outspoken atheist, and this is reflected in at least some of her work, especially ''Atlas Shrugged''.--[[User:Martib|Martib]] 23:01, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

: Right, her junk shouldn't be on this list.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:04, 30 October 2008 (EDT)

: Oh, and as far as Rand goes, no list of "greatest novels" should include anything as utterly unreadable as ''Atlas Shrugged''! :-) [[User:ArthurA|ArthurA]] 08:55, 25 March 2009 (EDT)

I was just wondering why Lord of the Rings was on the list. Certainly it has some themes that might be derived from Christianity since Tolkien was a devout Christian, but I fail to see how this or any other aspect sets it aside as distinctly 'conservative'. [[User:RobertWDP|RobertWDP]] 13:25, 25 February 2009 (EST)

: Listing ''The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'' as conservative is a stretch. I'd term it libertarian (almost hardcore libertarian, though not as much so as, say, Ayn Rand's works), not conservative. (We all know that libertarians do share a number of viewpoints with conservatives, but also differ on many key beliefs.) If you want to include a Heinlein novel, I'd suggest ''Starship Troopers''. It, like ''Moon'' is somewhat libertarian in its viewpoint, but not as much so, and ''Troopers'' is also unwaveringly pro-military, a good conservative value. Support for the military simply isn't a theme that's even addressed in ''Moon''. (For what its worth, I know several libertarian science fiction fans, including a few absolute raving libertarians, and they generally rank Heinlein up there with Rand as their favorite authors.)

: I agree with RobertWDP that ''Lord of the Rings'' doesn't belong on the list. Great books though they are, I don't think Tolkien had much if any political motivation in writing them. (In fact, as I understand it, his motivation was to create something he felt Great Britain lacked -- a "myth cycle" analogous to the mythology of Greece, Rome, the Norse, Egypt, etc.) And while Tolkien was a Christian, and there are Christian elements in the books, they're not as explicitly Christian as, for instance, CS Lewis' body of work, which is steeped in Christian allegory. If you want to include a work of fantasy, I'd suggest the ''Narnia'' books, though even those I'd find it a bit of a stretch to consider them especially reflective of ''conservative'' Christianity as opposed to Christianity in general. (Disclosure: I've read LotR numerous times. I've only read Narnia once, and that's been a while back.) [[User:ArthurA|ArthurA]] 08:52, 25 March 2009 (EDT)

==Reasons for listing==

As for the "best conservative songs" article, I think that the quality of this article would improve if reasons were added for each item, clearly explaining what makes that particular book "conservative". I agree with some of them, for example, but I have SERIOUS doubts on ''Lord of the Rings''. What makes Tolkien's book CONSERVATIVE? Also, I'm not sure Orwell would have been happy to be considered a right-wing Conservative, as he stated quite clearly that everything he ever wrote, he wrote against totalitarianism, and in favour of democratic socialism. --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 20:52, 25 July 2010 (EDT)

:I'm all for adding reasons, but it seems self-evident that the works of Orwell and Tolkien are conservative.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 23:55, 25 July 2010 (EDT)

::It may be self-evident to those who are well acquainted with those works, but they're not the ones who need to read the article. Shouldn't the entry have information for the benefit of those not already familiar with the writings of the listed authors? [[User:DanielPulido|DanielPulido]] 00:40, 26 July 2010 (EDT)

:::I am well acquainted with those works, having read them several times, but sincerely, Andy, it doesn't strike me as "self-evident" that any of them can be labeled as right-wing conservative. Perhaps if you could put your thoughts into words and point out exactly what they have in common with a right-wing conservative ideology, I will be able to better appreciate, and perhaps even subscribe to, your point of view.
:::I also have doubts on ''The Brothers Karamazov''. Why can it be labeled as conservative? Isn't it almost blasphemous in some parts? It is a very vast, philosophical work which deals with many issues - there's faith, yes, but there's also doubt, folly, lust, hate... arguably Alexei is the best character in the novel, but can we really say that as a work, it promotes conservative, Christian ideas? In all his folly, Ivan's arguments do make sense, sometimes!
:::Thank you in advance if you will take the time to explain to me (and to everyone else who has doubts) your point of view. Everyone has a different brain and a different way of using it, and what seems "self-evident" to someone may seem untrue to someone else. Sharing ideas in a completely relaxed way, without any bias or hostility, is a very good way to progress on the path to truth! --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 14:29, 26 July 2010 (EDT)

Talk:Essay:Greatest Conservative Novels

2010-07-26T00:52:11Z

MarcoT2:

Essay:Greatest Conservative Novels

2010-07-26T00:47:49Z

MarcoT2: Removed Animal farm, as it was listed twice.

Conservative novels exist, and some are immensely influential. Here is our growing list. Please add to it.
#''The Brothers Karamazov'', by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]]
#''Crime and Punishment'', by [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]]
#''The First Circle'', by [[Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn]].
#''The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'', by [[Robert Heinlein]]
#''Starship Troopers'', by [[Robert Heinlein]]
#''Lord of the Rings'' by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
#''The Man Who Was Thursday'', by [[G.K. Chesterton]]
#''Darkness at Noon'', by [[Arthur Koestler]]
#''The Camp of the Saints'', by [[Jean Raspail]]
#''Saving the Queen'' and the other Blackford Oakes novels, by [[William F. Buckley]]
#''State of Fear'' by [[Michael Crichton]]
#''For Whom the Bell Tolls by [[Ernest Hemingway]] U.S. Senator and 2004 presidential candidate John McCain cited this as his favorite novel.
#''The Red Badge of Courage'' by [[Stephen Crane]]
#''The Road'' by Cormac McCarthy - winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
#''The Right Stuff'' by [[Tom Wolfe]]
#''Nuremberg: The Reckoning'' by [[William F. Buckley, Jr]]
#''Gilead'' by [[Marilynne Robinson]]
#''The Naked and the Dead'' by [[Norman Mailer]]
#''No Country for Old Men'' by [[Cormac McCarthy]]
#''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' by [[Tom Wolfe]]
#''Midcentury'' by [[John Dos Passos]]
#''Advise and Consent'' by [[Allen Drury]]
#''American Pastoral'' by [[Philip Roth]] - winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
#''Rainbow Six'' by [[Tom Clancy]]
#''Clear and Present Danger'' by [[Tom Clancy]]
#''Red Storm Rising'' by [[Tom Clancy]]
#''300'' by [[Frank Miller]]
#''The Bridges at Toko-Ri'' by [[James Michener]]
#''Animal Farm'' by [[George Orwell]]
#''1984'' by [[George Orwell]]
#''A Midnight Clear'' by [[William Wharton]]
#''The Thin Red Line'' by [[James Jones]]
#''Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero'' by [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]
#''The Day of the Jackal'' by [[Frederick Forsyth]]
#''Master and Commander'' by [[Patrick O'Brian]]
#''To the White Sea'' by [[James Dickey]]
#''Edge of Danger'' by [[Jack Higgins]]

[[Category:Essays about Conservatism]]

Liberal denial

2010-07-20T20:11:30Z

MarcoT2:

[[Image:Obama messiah.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Cover of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' Magazine, one of many published "halo-effect" photos of Barack Obama; the emphasis is on the claims that he is a "messiah," and is an example of liberal deification of a government official in accordance with line #6.]]
'''Liberal denial''' is the tendency of [[liberals]] to conceal, deny or censor the truth for ideological reasons. A list of the top ''common'' instances of [[liberal denial]] are the following:

# Liberals deny the very real existence of [[fetal pain]] during [[abortion]].
# Liberals deny the very real existence of [[Hell]]. [[Jesus]] talked about Hell more than Heaven.
# Liberals deny how they censor the [[Bible]] from their daily activities, and encourage the censorship for others too.
# Liberals deny that [[Fidel Castro]], who has not been seen in public since his intestinal surgery 3.5 years ago, is likely dead.
# Liberals deny the [[Nobel Prize]] is an award given by liberals to other liberals, and sometimes even granted in an awkward manner designed to punish a critic of liberal falsehoods.<ref>E.g., the granting of the Nobel Prize to an understudy of [[Fred Hoyle]] to punish him.</ref>
# Liberals deny how they deify government officials, similar to how communists deified Stalin and Lenin and still deify Castro.<ref>See, e.g., liberal adulation of [[Ted Kennedy]] despite his paucity of achievements.</ref>
# Liberals deny how fellow travelers engage in [[deceit]], or at least refuse to admit it.
# Liberals deny they are [[liberal]], and that most of the media are [[liberal]].
# Liberals deny that [[Hollywood values]], [[professor values]] and general [[liberal]] values have consequences for those who believe in them, and also for innocent victims.
# Liberals deny that they have censored [[prayer]] in [[public school]].<ref>A [[public school]] student who once "tape recorded a teacher making religious remarks to his students" to complain about it then later objected to a textbook explaining how prayer is censored from [[public school]] schools by court decisions. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=4614012]</ref>
# Liberals deny that a woman significantly reduces her risk of breast cancer by having children rather than [[abortions]]
# Liberals deny that about half of promiscuous people carry sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and those STDs cause infertility<ref>"Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing -- 40 percent had an STD."[http://www.tulsaworld.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?articleID=20080312_1_C12_hUShe15125]</ref>
# Liberals deny that the strident promoters of [[evolution]] generally have weaker credentials than advocates of [[intelligent design]]<ref>See, e.g., [[Richard Sternberg]]</ref>
# Liberals deny that College faculties at nearly every American school are completely dominated by [[liberals]], and have virtually no [[conservatives]]
# Liberals deny that [[Homosexuality]] shortens lifespan for a wide variety of reasons
# Liberals deny that reducing the number of guns, which are primarily defensive weapons, results in an increase in crime
# Liberals deny that the war in [[Iraq]] was needed and also deny that the surge has worked
# Liberals deny that [[Hitler]] and the [[Nazi]] party were in fact [[Liberals]] (anti-Semitism is a well-documented characteristic of [[Liberal Christianity]] as is the [[PETA]]-like Green wing of the Third Reich<ref> [http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/peter.html Fascist Ecology:
The "Green Wing" of the Nazi Party and its Historical Antecedents]</ref>)

More generally, liberals also deny:

# That [[Obama]] ran the dirtiest campaign since Johnson
# That more than 80% of child molesters are pornography addicts
# That people like [[young mass murderers]] who take [[atheistic]] beliefs to their logical conclusions are not "crazy" or "insane", but are true believers.
# That [[young mass murderers]] fit the profile of [[public school]]-trained [[atheism]]
# That the intellectual justification for [[Hitler]]'s attempt to build a master Aryan race was the [[theory of evolution]]
# That [[feminists]] censor discussion about differences between men and women, and boys and girls.
# That [[Lawrence Summers]] was fired as President of [[Harvard]] for making a [[political correctness|politically incorrect]] suggestion about women and [[math]] aptitude
# That [[Socialized_medicine|state run health care]] has lead to Islamic terrorism in Britain, and would do so in the US. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMu6wCqdeyQ ''FOX News analyzes the new terror in state healthcare.''</ref>
# That obesity is a bigger problem than hunger in the Western world
# That a school having virtually no [[conservative]] teachers and many [[atheists]] and [[liberals]] is a [[liberal]] school
# That [[liberals]] attempt to intimidate and ostracize [[conservatives]], particularly in school environments and some occupations.<ref>See [[liberals and friendship]].</ref>
# That [[liberals]] support taxpayer-funded [[abortion]]
# That girls and women in sports have debilitating ACL knee injuries at 3-4 times the rate of men,<ref>''Compare'' [http://www.universityhealthmatters.com/article.php?artid=50] (with an explanation of why there is a big difference) ''with'' [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/health/18knee.html?ex=1204088400&en=3a5abfaa6104ac63&ei=5070&emc=eta1 New York Times] (downplaying the difference and pretending that no one knows why). The New York Times denies overwhelming evidence, including the following:
:"Female athletes, particularly basketball players, are far more likely than their male counterparts to suffer ACL [Anterior Cruciate Ligament] injuries." Stephen Hargis, "Girls have more torn ACLs," Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee), D1 (Feb. 4, 2005). According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the risk of women tearing their ACL is 1 in 100. This number drops significantly to only 1 in 500 for men. See Nikki Usher, "Knee injury takes toll on girls playing soccer five times more likely than males to suffer a torn ACL," Philadelphia Inquirer, A01 (Nov. 29, 2004). "Compared with guys, female athletes run an eight-times-greater risk of tearing the ACL, a fibrous band that connects the shinbone (tibia) to the thighbone (femur). Basketball, soccer and other sports that require cutting moves or jump shots can put athletes at risk." Kathleen Fackelmann, "Girls face higher knee injury risk," USA Today, 15B (Aug. 24, 2004). Timothy Hewett, PhD, the lead researcher on a definitive study at the Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at the University of Cincinnati, says this is "close to a billion-dollar problem in girls and women in the USA. ... Even after girls have recovered from the acute injury, the changes in the joint may set the stage for osteoarthritis of the knee ...." ''Id.'' That obvious suspicion was quickly confirmed: a study subsequently published in Arthritis & Rheumatism demonstrated that "more than half of ... 103 soccer players, who were ages 14 to 28 at the time of the ACL injury, suffered osteoarthritis of the knee at the time of the study -- about 12 years later." Kathleen Fackelmann, "Girls' knee injuries have later consequences," USA Today, 9D (Oct. 7, 2004). "Many of the women, who were about 31 by that time, also said they had pain or some other disability that made it hard to conduct daily activities." ''Id.''</ref> and are vulnerable to other injuries<ref>"Amber Scull ruptured her spleen after she was tackled during a practice drill at Nature Coast Tech in Brooksville 2 1/2 months ago. Had she [not] arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later, doctors told her mother, she might have died." [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/06/news_pf/Sports/Girls_face_dangers_on.shtml]</ref>
# That the numerous premature deaths of [[Hollywood]] stars are the result of [[Hollywood values]]<ref>Liberal [[Wikipedia]] lists numerous [[actor]]s who died of drug overdoses, but will not acknowledge the role played by [[Hollywood values]], for which Wikipedia does not even have an entry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_drug-related_deaths]</ref>
# That [[homeschoolers]] often do better than those who attend [[public school]]
# That [[culture]] affects [[politics]], and people's views and lifestyles
# That successful [[democracy]], both historically and logically, is the result of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]]<ref>[http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/cultural_apologetics/snyder-democracy1.html Calvinism and the Success of Liberal Democracy, by John Snyder]</ref>
# That [[Ronald Reagan]]'s public exhortation, "[[Mikhail Gorbachev|Mr. Gorbachev]], tear down this wall," helped cause the nearly 30-year-old [[Berlin Wall]] later be torn down
# That [[gun control]] increases [[crime]]
# That reducing [[tax rates]] stimulates the [[economy]]
# That choosing [[abortion]] over childbirth increases the risk of [[breast cancer]]
# That the [[mainstream media]] is [[bias]]ed
# That privately-run [[transport]] is more efficient than government-run transport
# That [[universal health care]] is inferior medical care
# That [[Labor union|union]]s interfere with [[employment]] opportunities
# That [[liberal]] leaders engage in shocking wrongdoing, [[Liberal hypocrisy|hypocrisy]], and abuse of power<ref>See, e.g., leading [[liberal]] [[Eliot Spitzer]] and how fellow [[liberals]] downplayed or were silent about his misconduct.</ref>
# That ideas do matter, and can cause great harm, including liberal falsehoods
# That [[Islam]]ic extremism is a threat to the [[Western civilization]]<ref>Leftist [[Sam Harris]] admitted and complained about this liberal denial [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/REPOSITORY/610090301/1028/OPINION02 here].</ref>
# That banning [[same-sex marriage]] is analogous to banning [[polygamy]]
# That aggressive interrogation is often the only way to obtain answers from [[terrorists]]
# That the [[liberal]] ideology is pushed on unsuspecting others, particularly youngsters
# That free trade strengthens global democracies
# That a child in a mother's womb has rights established by the [[Constitution]]
# That a [[vote]] for (yea) or a vote against (nea) is an absolute position
# That you can be held accountable for the statements uttered
# That climate forecasts 50 years from now are as inaccurate as 15 days from now
# That politicians that proclaim 'Change' actually do not break with policies of the past
# That removing [[Saddam Hussein]] from power was a good thing.
# That eating [[meat]] and [[dairy]] is important for physical and mental health.
# That [[marijuana]] use has lasting psychological effects.
# That illegal immigrants contribute to crime and poverty in the towns and cities they occupy.
# That English will cease being the language of the United States in 20 years unless it is protected as the [[official language]] (and that this would be a loss if it happened).
# That President Bush didn't cause Hurricane Katrina.
# That President Clinton was responsible for Rwanda inaction.
# That the Democratic party discriminates against African-Americans.
# That restricting free speech by the [[Fairness Doctrine]] is actually not fair nor democratic.
# That we can drill oil our way out of high gas prices.
# That we can't replace our dependence on oil with green technologies, when in fact we need both oil and green technologies to solve our energy crisis.
# That opposing same-sex [[marriage]] is justified and point to decriminalized interracial marriage bans as proof.
# That they are [[intolerant]] of opposing viewpoints and then try to stifle further discussion.
# That [[socialism]] and liberalism have the same political agenda.
# That [[God]] should have a place in government
# That modern drilling methods result in minimal environmental impact, even if they were implemented in uninhabited lands such as the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]]
# That companies like [[Exxon]] should pay billions of dollars in damages to the general public, ''in addition'' to the money they spend to clean up industrial accidents and to recompense those directly affected
# That [[selective logging]] keeps forests healthier by reducing the risk of wildfire
# That high food prices are not caused by [[ethanol]] production, but rather by the million acres of crop- and pastureland that have been taken out of production in the interest of wildlife conservation.
# That the life of a human is more important than the life of an animal or plant.
# That modern technology can make [[coal]] clean
# That a fence is the most effective and ultimately, the most peaceful way to protect our large border from illegal immigrants trying to get in
# That socially dangerous people exhibit a well-documented pattern of reading habits
# That [[heavy metal]] music is generally anti-Christian and promotes themes such as drugs, sex and [[Satan]] worship.
# The existence of God and Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
# That they make sweeping generalizations about Conservatives.

Often [[liberal]]s refuse to admit that they are [[liberal]]s, in the hope of appearing more reasonable. [[Hillary Clinton]] refused to admit in a presidential debate in 2007 that she is a [[liberal]]. Similarly, [[Michael Dukakis]] refused for a while to admit that he was a [[liberal]] during the 1988 presidential campaign. Only out of desperation did Dukakis admit that he was a [[liberal]], and even then he admitted only that was a liberal like President [[Harry Truman]], who served 40 years earlier.

Liberals like to bash President Bush as a war monger and cite [[President Clinton]] for his eight years of peace and prosperity. Liberals will deny record low unemployment, more people owning their homes and President Bush going after [[terrorists]] while protecting Americans from further attacks. Liberals will selectively forget that during Clinton's term: the [[Rwanda]] massacre occurred, the bombing of the USS Cole, the war in the [[Balkans]], the two US embassies bombed in [[Africa]], the Kobar tower bombing in Saudi Arabia, the [[Somalia]] conflict, the missile strike against [[Afghanistan]] and the bombing campaign against Iraq. Also, [[liberals]] will deny that Clinton's economic policy ignored a series of high profile companies that eventually collapsed due to fraud: Enron, Tyco, Worldcom and Qwest.

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

== See also ==

*[[ACLU]]
*[[Longest liberal denials]]
{{liberalism}}
[[category:Liberal Traits]]

Liberal denial

2010-07-20T20:11:02Z

MarcoT2: Improved format for internal consistency.

[[Image:Obama messiah.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Cover of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' Magazine, one of many published "halo-effect" photos of Barack Obama; the emphasis is on the claims that he is a "messiah," and is an example of liberal deification of a government official in accordance with line #6.]]
'''Liberal denial''' is the tendency of [[liberals]] to conceal, deny or censor the truth for ideological reasons. A list of the top ''common'' instances of [[liberal denial]] are the following:

# Liberals deny the very real existence of [[fetal pain]] during [[abortion]].
# Liberals deny the very real existence of [[Hell]]. [[Jesus]] talked about Hell more than Heaven.
# Liberals deny how they censor the [[Bible]] from their daily activities, and encourage the censorship for others too.
# Liberals deny that [[Fidel Castro]], who has not been seen in public since his intestinal surgery 3.5 years ago, is likely dead.
# Liberals deny the [[Nobel Prize]] is an award given by liberals to other liberals, and sometimes even granted in an awkward manner designed to punish a critic of liberal falsehoods.<ref>E.g., the granting of the Nobel Prize to an understudy of [[Fred Hoyle]] to punish him.</ref>
# Liberals deny how they deify government officials, similar to how communists deified Stalin and Lenin and still deify Castro.<ref>See, e.g., liberal adulation of [[Ted Kennedy]] despite his paucity of achievements.</ref>
# Liberals deny how fellow travelers engage in [[deceit]], or at least refuse to admit it.
# Liberals deny they are [[liberal]], and that most of the media are [[liberal]].
# [[Hollywood values]], [[professor values]] and general [[liberal]] values have consequences for those who believe in them, and also for innocent victims.
# Liberals deny that they have censored [[prayer]] in [[public school]].<ref>A [[public school]] student who once "tape recorded a teacher making religious remarks to his students" to complain about it then later objected to a textbook explaining how prayer is censored from [[public school]] schools by court decisions. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=4614012]</ref>
# Liberals deny that a woman significantly reduces her risk of breast cancer by having children rather than [[abortions]]
# Liberals deny that about half of promiscuous people carry sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and those STDs cause infertility<ref>"Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing -- 40 percent had an STD."[http://www.tulsaworld.com/lifestyle/article.aspx?articleID=20080312_1_C12_hUShe15125]</ref>
# Liberals deny that the strident promoters of [[evolution]] generally have weaker credentials than advocates of [[intelligent design]]<ref>See, e.g., [[Richard Sternberg]]</ref>
# Liberals deny that College faculties at nearly every American school are completely dominated by [[liberals]], and have virtually no [[conservatives]]
# Liberals deny that [[Homosexuality]] shortens lifespan for a wide variety of reasons
# Liberals deny that reducing the number of guns, which are primarily defensive weapons, results in an increase in crime
# Liberals deny that the war in [[Iraq]] was needed and also deny that the surge has worked
# Liberals deny that [[Hitler]] and the [[Nazi]] party were in fact [[Liberals]] (anti-Semitism is a well-documented characteristic of [[Liberal Christianity]] as is the [[PETA]]-like Green wing of the Third Reich<ref> [http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/germany/sp001630/peter.html Fascist Ecology:
The "Green Wing" of the Nazi Party and its Historical Antecedents]</ref>)

More generally, liberals also deny:

# That [[Obama]] ran the dirtiest campaign since Johnson
# That more than 80% of child molesters are pornography addicts
# That people like [[young mass murderers]] who take [[atheistic]] beliefs to their logical conclusions are not "crazy" or "insane", but are true believers.
# That [[young mass murderers]] fit the profile of [[public school]]-trained [[atheism]]
# That the intellectual justification for [[Hitler]]'s attempt to build a master Aryan race was the [[theory of evolution]]
# That [[feminists]] censor discussion about differences between men and women, and boys and girls.
# That [[Lawrence Summers]] was fired as President of [[Harvard]] for making a [[political correctness|politically incorrect]] suggestion about women and [[math]] aptitude
# That [[Socialized_medicine|state run health care]] has lead to Islamic terrorism in Britain, and would do so in the US. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMu6wCqdeyQ ''FOX News analyzes the new terror in state healthcare.''</ref>
# That obesity is a bigger problem than hunger in the Western world
# That a school having virtually no [[conservative]] teachers and many [[atheists]] and [[liberals]] is a [[liberal]] school
# That [[liberals]] attempt to intimidate and ostracize [[conservatives]], particularly in school environments and some occupations.<ref>See [[liberals and friendship]].</ref>
# That [[liberals]] support taxpayer-funded [[abortion]]
# That girls and women in sports have debilitating ACL knee injuries at 3-4 times the rate of men,<ref>''Compare'' [http://www.universityhealthmatters.com/article.php?artid=50] (with an explanation of why there is a big difference) ''with'' [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/health/18knee.html?ex=1204088400&en=3a5abfaa6104ac63&ei=5070&emc=eta1 New York Times] (downplaying the difference and pretending that no one knows why). The New York Times denies overwhelming evidence, including the following:
:"Female athletes, particularly basketball players, are far more likely than their male counterparts to suffer ACL [Anterior Cruciate Ligament] injuries." Stephen Hargis, "Girls have more torn ACLs," Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee), D1 (Feb. 4, 2005). According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the risk of women tearing their ACL is 1 in 100. This number drops significantly to only 1 in 500 for men. See Nikki Usher, "Knee injury takes toll on girls playing soccer five times more likely than males to suffer a torn ACL," Philadelphia Inquirer, A01 (Nov. 29, 2004). "Compared with guys, female athletes run an eight-times-greater risk of tearing the ACL, a fibrous band that connects the shinbone (tibia) to the thighbone (femur). Basketball, soccer and other sports that require cutting moves or jump shots can put athletes at risk." Kathleen Fackelmann, "Girls face higher knee injury risk," USA Today, 15B (Aug. 24, 2004). Timothy Hewett, PhD, the lead researcher on a definitive study at the Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center at the University of Cincinnati, says this is "close to a billion-dollar problem in girls and women in the USA. ... Even after girls have recovered from the acute injury, the changes in the joint may set the stage for osteoarthritis of the knee ...." ''Id.'' That obvious suspicion was quickly confirmed: a study subsequently published in Arthritis & Rheumatism demonstrated that "more than half of ... 103 soccer players, who were ages 14 to 28 at the time of the ACL injury, suffered osteoarthritis of the knee at the time of the study -- about 12 years later." Kathleen Fackelmann, "Girls' knee injuries have later consequences," USA Today, 9D (Oct. 7, 2004). "Many of the women, who were about 31 by that time, also said they had pain or some other disability that made it hard to conduct daily activities." ''Id.''</ref> and are vulnerable to other injuries<ref>"Amber Scull ruptured her spleen after she was tackled during a practice drill at Nature Coast Tech in Brooksville 2 1/2 months ago. Had she [not] arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later, doctors told her mother, she might have died." [http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/06/news_pf/Sports/Girls_face_dangers_on.shtml]</ref>
# That the numerous premature deaths of [[Hollywood]] stars are the result of [[Hollywood values]]<ref>Liberal [[Wikipedia]] lists numerous [[actor]]s who died of drug overdoses, but will not acknowledge the role played by [[Hollywood values]], for which Wikipedia does not even have an entry. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_drug-related_deaths]</ref>
# That [[homeschoolers]] often do better than those who attend [[public school]]
# That [[culture]] affects [[politics]], and people's views and lifestyles
# That successful [[democracy]], both historically and logically, is the result of [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Christianity]]<ref>[http://www.apologetics.com/default.jsp?bodycontent=/articles/cultural_apologetics/snyder-democracy1.html Calvinism and the Success of Liberal Democracy, by John Snyder]</ref>
# That [[Ronald Reagan]]'s public exhortation, "[[Mikhail Gorbachev|Mr. Gorbachev]], tear down this wall," helped cause the nearly 30-year-old [[Berlin Wall]] later be torn down
# That [[gun control]] increases [[crime]]
# That reducing [[tax rates]] stimulates the [[economy]]
# That choosing [[abortion]] over childbirth increases the risk of [[breast cancer]]
# That the [[mainstream media]] is [[bias]]ed
# That privately-run [[transport]] is more efficient than government-run transport
# That [[universal health care]] is inferior medical care
# That [[Labor union|union]]s interfere with [[employment]] opportunities
# That [[liberal]] leaders engage in shocking wrongdoing, [[Liberal hypocrisy|hypocrisy]], and abuse of power<ref>See, e.g., leading [[liberal]] [[Eliot Spitzer]] and how fellow [[liberals]] downplayed or were silent about his misconduct.</ref>
# That ideas do matter, and can cause great harm, including liberal falsehoods
# That [[Islam]]ic extremism is a threat to the [[Western civilization]]<ref>Leftist [[Sam Harris]] admitted and complained about this liberal denial [http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/REPOSITORY/610090301/1028/OPINION02 here].</ref>
# That banning [[same-sex marriage]] is analogous to banning [[polygamy]]
# That aggressive interrogation is often the only way to obtain answers from [[terrorists]]
# That the [[liberal]] ideology is pushed on unsuspecting others, particularly youngsters
# That free trade strengthens global democracies
# That a child in a mother's womb has rights established by the [[Constitution]]
# That a [[vote]] for (yea) or a vote against (nea) is an absolute position
# That you can be held accountable for the statements uttered
# That climate forecasts 50 years from now are as inaccurate as 15 days from now
# That politicians that proclaim 'Change' actually do not break with policies of the past
# That removing [[Saddam Hussein]] from power was a good thing.
# That eating [[meat]] and [[dairy]] is important for physical and mental health.
# That [[marijuana]] use has lasting psychological effects.
# That illegal immigrants contribute to crime and poverty in the towns and cities they occupy.
# That English will cease being the language of the United States in 20 years unless it is protected as the [[official language]] (and that this would be a loss if it happened).
# That President Bush didn't cause Hurricane Katrina.
# That President Clinton was responsible for Rwanda inaction.
# That the Democratic party discriminates against African-Americans.
# That restricting free speech by the [[Fairness Doctrine]] is actually not fair nor democratic.
# That we can drill oil our way out of high gas prices.
# That we can't replace our dependence on oil with green technologies, when in fact we need both oil and green technologies to solve our energy crisis.
# That opposing same-sex [[marriage]] is justified and point to decriminalized interracial marriage bans as proof.
# That they are [[intolerant]] of opposing viewpoints and then try to stifle further discussion.
# That [[socialism]] and liberalism have the same political agenda.
# That [[God]] should have a place in government
# That modern drilling methods result in minimal environmental impact, even if they were implemented in uninhabited lands such as the [[Arctic National Wildlife Refuge]]
# That companies like [[Exxon]] should pay billions of dollars in damages to the general public, ''in addition'' to the money they spend to clean up industrial accidents and to recompense those directly affected
# That [[selective logging]] keeps forests healthier by reducing the risk of wildfire
# That high food prices are not caused by [[ethanol]] production, but rather by the million acres of crop- and pastureland that have been taken out of production in the interest of wildlife conservation.
# That the life of a human is more important than the life of an animal or plant.
# That modern technology can make [[coal]] clean
# That a fence is the most effective and ultimately, the most peaceful way to protect our large border from illegal immigrants trying to get in
# That socially dangerous people exhibit a well-documented pattern of reading habits
# That [[heavy metal]] music is generally anti-Christian and promotes themes such as drugs, sex and [[Satan]] worship.
# The existence of God and Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
# That they make sweeping generalizations about Conservatives.

Often [[liberal]]s refuse to admit that they are [[liberal]]s, in the hope of appearing more reasonable. [[Hillary Clinton]] refused to admit in a presidential debate in 2007 that she is a [[liberal]]. Similarly, [[Michael Dukakis]] refused for a while to admit that he was a [[liberal]] during the 1988 presidential campaign. Only out of desperation did Dukakis admit that he was a [[liberal]], and even then he admitted only that was a liberal like President [[Harry Truman]], who served 40 years earlier.

Liberals like to bash President Bush as a war monger and cite [[President Clinton]] for his eight years of peace and prosperity. Liberals will deny record low unemployment, more people owning their homes and President Bush going after [[terrorists]] while protecting Americans from further attacks. Liberals will selectively forget that during Clinton's term: the [[Rwanda]] massacre occurred, the bombing of the USS Cole, the war in the [[Balkans]], the two US embassies bombed in [[Africa]], the Kobar tower bombing in Saudi Arabia, the [[Somalia]] conflict, the missile strike against [[Afghanistan]] and the bombing campaign against Iraq. Also, [[liberals]] will deny that Clinton's economic policy ignored a series of high profile companies that eventually collapsed due to fraud: Enron, Tyco, Worldcom and Qwest.

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

== See also ==

*[[ACLU]]
*[[Longest liberal denials]]
{{liberalism}}
[[category:Liberal Traits]]

Flag of the United States of America

2010-07-20T19:40:25Z

MarcoT2:

[[image:USflag.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The flag of the United States]]
The '''American flag''', often affectionately known as "Old Glory" or the "Stars and Stripes", consists of a blue field with 50 white stars on it (one for each [[state]]), with the remainder being thirteen stripes (7 red and 6 white), in memory of the original thirteen states.

Since the stars reflect the number of states in the US, the flag has changed as the number of states has changed. Originally, the flag (as produced by [[Betsy Ross]]) contained thirteen stars arranged in a circle. The current fifty stars are arranged in five rows of six stars alternating with four rows of five stars.

It is displayed at all [[Federal]] buildings, and many homes and businesses also proudly display it.

== Flag Code ==
The '''United States Flag Code''' (title 4, chapter 1 of the [[United States Code]]) is a [[law]] which describes the official appearance of the Flag of the United States and how it should be handled. The US Flag Code is purely descriptive, and does not include any provisions for enforcement outside of the [[District of Columbia]].

In addition, the US Flag Code codifies the [[Pledge of Allegiance]].

===Appearance of the Flag===
Section one and two describe the official appearance of the US flag. Section one of the Code describes the flag as "thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white," with a [[union (flag)|union]] of "forty-eight stars, white in a blue field." The code, which was passed before the [[1959]] incorporation of [[Alaska]] and [[Hawaii]] as the 49th and 50th states, also makes provisions for updating the flag in section two, adding new stars for new states on the following [[fourth of July]].

===Handling the Flag===
Section three describes how not to handle the flag, and sections five through nine describe how to handle, display, store, and respect the flag.

====Defacement and Misuse of the Flag====
Section 3 describes how the US flag should not be handled, misused, or defaced.

While the bulk of the code is purely descriptive, violating section 3 within the [[District of Columbia]] carries a penalty of "a fine not exceeding $100 or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days, or both, in the discretion of the court." There is much controversy concerning misuse and abuse of the US flag, and violation of this law is seldom prosecuted.

===Pledge of Allegiance===
Section four describes the [[Pledge of Allegiance]], both codifying its text and describing proper conduct during the Pledge of Allegiance. People in military uniform should silently [[salute]] the flag, while other people should remove any non-religious headgear, and face the flag with their right hand over their heart.

== Flag desecration ==

The '''Flag of the United States''' has sometimes been used in symbolic defacement, often in protest of the policies of the [[United States Government]], both within the country and abroad.

In 1862, during the Union army's occupation of New Orleans in the American Civil War, the military governor, Benjamin Franklin Butler, sentenced William B. Mumford to death for removing an American flag. Today, defacing a flag is an act of protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, as established in [[Texas v. Johnson]], 491 U.S. 397 (1989), and reaffirmed in [[U.S. v. Eichman]], 496 U.S. 310 (1990).

After these decisions, several "flag burning" amendments to the Constitution have been proposed. Any amendment to the US Constitution must first be passed by Congress and be ratified by a 75% majority, 38 of the 50 states. On June 22, 2005, a flag burning amendment was passed by the House with the needed two thirds majority. On June 27, 2006, the most recent attempt to pass a ban on flag burning was rejected by the Senate in a close vote of 66 in favor, 34 opposed, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to send the amendment to be voted on by the states.<ref>[[Boston Globe]] [http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/06/28/flag_burning_amendment_fails_by_a_vote/ ''Flag-burning amendment fails by a vote'']</ref>.

The [[United States Flag Code]] lists many guidelines for the use and display of the flag, many of which are largely ignored. For example :
"No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform".
The flag "should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper".
Flags are even used sometimes as carpeting, violating such guidelines as not allowing the flag to touch the ground, not displaying it in a horizontal position, and not displaying it in a manner which is likely to allow it to get soiled.

The ritualized burning of the American flag is described in the [[United States Flag Code]] as an appropriate way to dispose of a damaged or soiled flag. Flags are burned in respectful retirement ceremonies by the [[American Legion]], [[Boy Scouts]], The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]], and the Sons of the American Legion.

Flying an American flag upside down is not necessarily disrespectful. The practice has its origin in a military distress signal; displaying a flag in this manner is "a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property", it has been used by extension to make a statement about distress in civic, political, or other areas.
----
{| border="1" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="700" style="margin-left:5px"
|align="center" colspan="5"|
|-
!colspan="5" align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: blue no-repeat scroll top left;"|History of the flag of the United States
|-
|-
| [[Image:13 star flag.PNG|125px]]
| [[Image:15 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:20 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:21 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:23 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| June 14, 1777 to May 1, 1795
| May 1, 1795 to July 3, 1818
| July 4, 1818 to July 3, 1819
| July 4, 1819 to July 3, 1820
| July 4, 1820 to July 3, 1822
|-
| [[Image:24 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:25 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:26 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:27 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:28 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| July 4, 1822 to July 3, 1836
| July 4, 1836 to July 3, 1837
| July 4, 1837 to July 3, 1845
| July 4, 1845 to July 3, 1846
| July 4, 1846 to July 3, 1847
|-
| [[Image:29 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:30 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:31 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:32 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:33 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| July 4, 1847 to July 3, 1848
| July 4, 1848 to July 3, 1851
| July 4, 1851 to July 3, 1858
| July 4, 1858 to July 3, 1859
| July 4, 1859 to July 3, 1861
|-
| [[Image:34 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:35 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:36 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:37 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:38 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| July 4, 1861 to July 3, 1863
| July 4, 1863 to July 3, 1865
| July 4, 1865 to July 3, 1867
| July 4, 1867 to July 3, 1877
| July 4, 1877 to July 3, 1890
|-
| [[Image:43 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:44 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:45 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:46 star flag.png|125px]]
| [[Image:48 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| July 4, 1890 t0 July 3, 1891
| July 4, 1891 to July 3, 1896
| July 4, 1896 to July 3, 1908
| July 4, 1908 to July 3, 1912
| July 4, 1912 to July 3, 1959
|-
| [[Image:50 star flag.png|125px]]
|-
| July 4, 1960 to present
|}

==See also==
[[American historical flags]]

==External links==
*[http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title4/chapter1_.html The text of Title 4 of the United States Code, Chapter 1] hosted by the [[Government Printing Office]]'s GPO Access
*[http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html USHistory.org] on handling and treatment of the US Flag

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category: National Flags]]

Trent

2010-07-20T18:18:57Z

MarcoT2:

For the [[English]] river see [[River Trent]]

'''Trent''' (in Italian ''Trento'') is a city in [[Italy]] (in the [[South Tyrol]], until 1918 part of [[Austria]]) that is the site of the famous ''[[Council of Trent|general council]]'' which was held in response to the Protestant [[Reformation]]. The city is noted for public baths, fed by underground hot springs, used since [[Roman]] times.

[[Category:Italian Cities and Towns]]

Bologna

2010-07-20T17:55:01Z

MarcoT2:

'''Bologna''', capital of the province of [[Emilia-Romagna]], is a historic city of northern [[Italy]], noted for its medieval architecture - in particular, the defensive towers erected by prominent local families - and as a centre of gastronomy (''[[Ragù alla bolognese|ragù]]'', known outside Italy as ''bolognese sauce'' is a local speciality, as is the ''mortadella'' sausage). The University of Bologna, founded in AD 1088, is the oldest in the western world. Bologna was also noted for left-wing politics: between 1945 and 1999 the city was ruled by communists and socialists. In 1980 a terrorist bomb killed 86 people at the city's main railroad station.

[[Category:Italian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Urban History]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]

Milan

2010-07-20T17:53:52Z

MarcoT2:

'''Milan''' (in italian ''Milano'') is a large industrial and commercial city in northern [[Italy]]. It is also the center of the Italian fashion industry.
[[Category:Italian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:Urban History]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]

Turin

2010-07-20T17:53:01Z

MarcoT2: Just a stub; will expand. Feel free to improve!

'''Turin''' (in Italian ''Torino'') is an important city and a major business and industrial center in [[Piedmont]], a region of Northwestern [[Italy]]. Its population is about 909,700 inhabitants. From 1861 to 1865, it was the first capital of Italy.

The [[Shroud of Turin]] is kept in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, and attracts many pilgrims every year.

Shroud of Turin

2010-07-20T17:48:23Z

MarcoT2: Added a wiki link to Turin, an important city in Northern Italy.

[[image:Shroud of Turin face.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Negative image of the face of the Shroud; the photographic qualities of the Shroud were unknown until 1898.]]
The '''Shroud of Turin''' (in Italian, ''la Sacra Sindone'') is a long cloth presently kept in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in [[Turin]], Italy, which contains the image of a [[crucifixion|crucified]] man<ref>[http://www.shroud.com/]</ref>, with many believing it to be the actual burial cloth of [[Jesus Christ]].

There is overwhelming forensic evidence on the Shroud indicating that it is the image of man who was both scourged and crucified, yet (as described in the Bible) without the breaking of the victim's leg as commonly done as part of the punishment.<ref name="Forensics">http://www.shroudstory.com/forensics.htm</ref> The bloodstains on the Shroud were formed before the image was made. The image is scientifically precise in a way unknown to any medieval forgers: the thumbs are not visible because the nails were through the wrist, not through the hands as mistakenly thought until the 20th century.<ref name="Forensics"/>

Scientists have devoted years of work in analyzing the Shroud. Several of these scientists who have studied the Shroud converted to [[Christianity]] as a result.<ref>[http://www.shroud.com/mrinobnf.pdf]</ref>

==Description==
The Shroud is about 14 feet 3 inches long by 3 feet 7 inches wide, consisting of a single piece of fine linen cloth made from fibers of the flax plant (''Linum usitatisismum''), and woven in a 3-over-1 herringbone twill<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3624753.stm]</ref>. Centered on the cloth is the front and back images of a man who is pictured as if in a burial repose; the man's estimated height is somewhere between 5'8" to 6'1"<ref>[http://www.shroudofturin4journalists.com/Details/howtall2.htm]</ref>. He is rather powerfully-built, with classical eastern Mediterranean features. The images of the feet are at both ends of the cloth, indicating that if it was a burial linen the body was placed on one end with the other end bought over the head to cover the body. On either side of the image is a series of triangular patches, covering much of the damage from a fire which took place in 1532.

The image of the body shows a man who had died a violent death. Upon both front and back are dumbbell-shaped markings; approximately 140 such marks were applied upon the back, chest, and legs. Roman soldiers involved in "scourging" as a form of punishment for offenders employed a whip called a "[[flagrum]]"<ref>[http://www.shroudofturin4journalists.com/terms/flagrum.htm]</ref>, which was studded with either bone or lead knobs, and when used it tore into flesh and muscle.

The wrists and feet bear large bloodstains consistent with historical descriptions of [[crucifixion]]. The feet themselves are placed one on top of the other within the image; both front and dorsal images display a single large bloodstain, indicating one nail was driven through both feet upon the cross. The left wrist likewise displays a large bloodstain; however, the left hand covers the right, preventing a view of the wound there. Blood flows are present on both lower arms, displayed to flow in a direction as if the victim was hanging on a cross. A single large bloodstain is also present on the right side of the chest - nearly-obliterated by the 1532 burn damage - and appears to have been mixed with a clear liquid from the body. Blood stains are also present about the scalp, and the marks of a severe beating are evident upon the face.

==History==
Historians and authors of written works on the Shroud have generally divided its history into two periods of time: a first period, from the time of the Resurrection ca. 33 A.D. to the fall of Constantinople in 1204; and the second period from 1349 to present. The first version is based on largely on circumstantial evidence.

===First Period: A.D. 33 to 1204===
====Gospels====
The ''Gospel of John'' contains the first description of what is today regarded as the Shroud of Turin (the "linen clothes"), and the "napkin", a small head wrap which may be a relic known as the Sudarium of Oviedo, Spain. <ref>http://www.shroud.com/guscin.htm</ref>
:''The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.''
:''Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.''
:''Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.''
:''So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.''
:''And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.''
:''Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,''
:''And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.''
:''Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.''
:''For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (Gospel of John, Ch. 20 1-9; King James Version)''

====Bardesane of Edessa====
The earliest possible extra-Biblical reference to the Shroud is found in a second century poem by Bardesane of Edessa. Called the "Hymn of the Pearl", it was embedded within the non-canonical ''Acts of Thomas'', and tells the story of a boy - apparently the figure in the poem - to retrieve a pearl from Egypt. He describes the "mirror of myself" embedded in his robe in some detail similar to the Shroud:
:''"And because I remembered not its fashion / for in my childhood I had left it in my father's house, / on a sudden, when I received it, / the garment seemed to me to become like a mirror of myself. / I saw it all in all, / and I to received all in it, / for we were two in distinction / and yet gain one in one likeness. / And the treasurers too, / who brought it to me, I saw in like manner / to be two (and yet) one likeness, for one sign of the king was written on them (both), / of the hands of him who restored to me through them / my trust and my wealth"'' <ref>[http://www.gnosis.org/library/hymnpearl.htm]</ref>

====Image of Edessa/Mandylion====
According to [[Eusebius]], King Abgar of Edessa was afflicted of an illness, and hearing of the miracles of Jesus as a healer he sent a letter to Him, asking if He would come to his aid. Jesus responded that He could not come, but would send his disciple Thaddeus, who comes and heals him <ref>http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vi.xiii.html</ref>; according to variants of this story King Abgar is left with the cloth image of Jesus, beginning with the ''Doctrine of Addai'' (ca. 400 A.D.) in which a court painter created an image of the Lord and "brought with him to Abgar the king, his master. And when Abgar the king saw the likeness, he received it with great joy, and placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses." <ref>http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/addai_2_text.htm</ref>. Artistic works of this relic - called either the "Image of Edessa" or the "[[Mandylion]]" - generally have it portrayed as the face of Christ upon a towel or kerchief.

The Mandylion would surface again around 525 when Edessa was flooded by the Daisan River. Workmen repairing one of the city's gates discovered a niche with the cloth inside; the mandylion was declared to be ''Acheiropoietos'' (Greek: Αχειροποίητος), "not made by hands", meaning that it was a miraculous image created supernaturally and not by man. The Mandylion stayed in Edessa as a means of protection for the city from harm until forcibly taken to [[Constantinople]] in 944, where it was received with great fanfare by Emperor Romanus I. Placed within the church of Saint Mary of Blachernae, it stayed there as a Christian relic until disappearing in the sack of the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. One of the knights who participated in the sacking of Constantinople, Robert de Clari, left a detailed letter of what he observed at the time, and he referred to this relic as being more than a facial image:
:''"But among the rest, there was also another of the minsters, which was called the Church of my Lady Saint Mary of Blachernae, within which was the shroud wherein Our Lord was wrapped. And on every Friday that shroud did raise itself upright, so that the form of Our Lord could clearly be seen. And none knows - neither Greek nor Frank - what became of that shroud when the city was taken."''<ref>http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/clari4.htm</ref>

== Ownership History ==

The Shroud was owned and maintained by families in [[Italy]] for centuries and given only in the late 20th century to the [[Roman Catholic Church]], which has never taken a position for or against its authenticity.

== Dating the Shroud ==

Raymond N. Rogers, a retired [[chemist]] from the [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] in [[New Mexico]], studied the Shroud and declared, "The chemistry says it was a real shroud, the blood spots on it are real blood, and the technology that was used to make that piece of cloth was exactly what Pliny the Elder reported from his time," about A.D. 70. "It's a shroud from the right time, but you're never going to find out (through science) if it was used on a person named [[Jesus]]," Rogers said.<ref>http://bibleprobe.com/</ref>

In 1988, [[carbon dating]] of a small snippet of the Shroud was performed, and the results suggested that the Shroud originated between A.D. 1238 and 1430. However, a peer-reviewed scientific paper later demonstrated the invalidity of those results, suggesting instead that the Shroud is between 1,300 and 3,000 years old.<ref>Rogers, Raymond N., "Studies on the radiocarbon sample from the Shroud of Turin". Thermochimica Acta, Volume 425 Issue 1–2, pp. 189-194 (Jan. 20, 2005)[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6THV-4DTBVHC-1&_user=10&_handle=B-WA-A-W-WE-MsSAYWA-UUA-AAUYYDZUYC-AAUZVCZYYC-YZEWAVVVC-WE-U&_fmt=full&_coverDate=01%2F20%2F2005&_rdoc=26&_orig=browse&_srch=%23toc%235292%232005%23995749998%23553672!&_cdi=5292&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=3d89246a5d4144616be7657f0d83b6cf]</ref> <ref>Mark Antonacci "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence"</ref> The sample for the 1988 analysis had actually been taken from cloth woven into the Shroud during the [[Middle Ages]], thereby giving a false result.<ref>[http://www.shroudcentersocal.com/]</ref> Moreover, "the 12th Century Hungarian 'Pray Manuscript' come to depict Jesus being wrapped in the shroud - with authentic herringbone pattern and burn marks - 100 years before carbon-dating says the material originated."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3624753.stm]</ref>

The defect in the carbon dating was that the samples were "uniquely coated with a yellow–brown [[plant]] gum containing dye lakes. [[Pyrolysis-mass-spectrometry]] results from the sample area coupled with microscopic and microchemical observations prove that the radiocarbon sample was not part of the original cloth of the Shroud of Turin." Instead, [e]stimates of the kinetics constants for the loss of vanillin from lignin indicate a much older age for the cloth than the radiocarbon analyses."<ref>[http://bibleprobe.com/]</ref>

== The Lamb ==
According to a paper by Dr. Petrus Soons scientific research of some of the photographs of the shroud show an oval object under the beard of the image. After much research three cursive letters were identified and translated from the Hebrew. The meaning of the translation was, "The Lamb," a name in which Jesus was referred to in the New Testament.<ref>Dr. Soons Paper [http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache%3ACtDFWbA8AfIJ%3Awww.ohioshroudconference.com%2Fpapers%2Fp24.pdf+THE+SHROUD+OF+TURIN%2C+THE+HOLOGRAPHIC+EXPERIENCE+By+DR.+PETRUS+SOONS&hl=en&gl=us]</ref> This finding now makes the person on the shroud exclusively identified with Christ.

== Critics ==
Over the centuries there have been critics and doubters of the Shroud being the authentic burial cloth of Jesus. One of the earliest unbelievers was Pierre d'Arcis, Bishop of Troyes who wrote a scathing letter to the pope in 1389 claiming that the Shroud was a "cunning" painting and that the artist had been discovered.<ref>The Shroud, Ian Wilson, 2010, page 102.</ref> Another critic was scientist Walter McCrone who insisted that it was a painting despite all the evidence against it being a painting.

== Replication ==
Luigi Garlaschelli, professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, announced that he had made a full size reproduction of the Shroud of Turin using only medieval technologies on October 5th, 2009. Garlaschelli placed a linen sheet over a volunteer and then rubbed it with an acidic pigment. The shroud was then aged in an oven before being washed to remove the pigment. He then added blood stains, scorches and water stains to replicate the original. The image on the reproduction would closely match that of the Turin Shroud with differences explained as the result of natural fading over the centuries. <ref>Italian scientist reproduces Shroud of Turin [http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5943HL20091005]</ref> But according to noted sindonologist Giulio Fanti, "the image in discussion does not match the main fundamental properties of the Shroud image, in particular at thread and fiber level but also at macroscopic level."<ref>[http://www.acheiropoietos.info/abstracts/talks-image_formation.html]</ref> Further criticism of Garlaschelli's replica has come from shroud scholars Peter Soons <ref>[http://shroudofturin.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/why-the-italian-fake-does-not-reproduce-the-shroud-of-turin/]</ref> and Thibault Heimburger.<ref>[http://www.shroud.com/pdfs/thibault-lg.pdf]</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
*[http://www.shroud.com/pdfs/guscin3.pdf Sermon of Gregory Referendarius, Archdeacon of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, August, 944]
*[http://www.shroudstory.com/shroud-of-turin-picture-01.htm Amazing Details about the Shroud]

[[Category:Christianity]]

Credit for inventions

2010-07-20T16:34:59Z

MarcoT2:

'''Credit for inventions''' often goes to "the last link in the chain",<ref> 'During this time of "independent" invention, it was often the last link in the chain that got credit.' [http://www.livescience.com/history/090804-american-innovation-history.html]</ref> but rarely has anyone invented anything all by himself. As Newton said, "If I have seen further … it is by standing on the [[shoulders of giants]]." [http://alumnimag.lipscomb.edu/archive.asp?SID=150&ca_key=36&co_key=13277]

==References==
<references/>

Credit for inventions

2010-07-20T16:34:34Z

MarcoT2:

Mary Shelley

2010-07-20T16:32:35Z

MarcoT2:

'''Mary Shelley''' (née Godwin) (30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851), daughter of [[William Godwin]] and [[Mary Wollstonecraft]] and wife of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], was a British writer. She is best known for her novel ''[[Frankenstein]]'', which marked the beginning of two entire genres of fiction, horror and [[science fiction]]. Shelley authored the classic novel when she was nineteen years old.

She also authored the little known ''Nights Breeze'' which was published posthumously in 1856. It was much less of a science fiction novel than ''Frankenstein'', but it had a similar theme: the evils that result when scientists ignore moral considerations in their experiments.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shelley, Mary}}
[[Category:Authors]]

Frankenstein

2010-07-20T16:30:47Z

MarcoT2:

[[Image:Frankenstein3.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]
'''''Frankenstein''''' is a [[gothic]] [[science-fiction]] novel written by [[Mary Shelley]] and first published in 1818. It describes the life and actions of Victor Frankenstein, a medical student who succeeds in animating a [[corpse]] sewn together from various body parts. The creature is at first friendly, but after it is treated harshly it becomes bitter and resolves to kill its master. After Frankenstein dies of pneumonia, the creature commits [[suicide]]. [[Bram Stoker]] cited the novel as a major influence on his novel ''[[Dracula]]''.

The book was the basis of dramatic [[Frankenstein (1931 film)|film]] in 1931, and the creature has generally been made more prominent than its creator. In pop culture, the word ''Frankenstein'' is most frequently used to refer to the monster rather than the man who gave it life, much to the displeasure of purists and pedants. A movie title like "[[Abbott and Costello]] Meet Frankenstein" or "Bride of Frankenstein" obviously refer to the monster.

[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Science fiction]]
[[Category:Horror]]

The Bethroted

2010-07-20T16:23:15Z

MarcoT2: Just a stub; will expand.

'''The Bethroted''' (''I Promessi Sposi''), written by [[Alessandro Manzoni]] between 1821 and 1827, is a historical novel set in 17th century Northern Italy. It is considered one of the major works of Italian literature.

Alessandro Manzoni

2010-07-20T16:21:18Z

MarcoT2: Just a stub; will expand.

'''Alessandro Manzoni''' (1785-1873) was an Italian novelist, poet and playwright. He is most famous for his novel [[The Bethroted]] (''I Promessi Sposi''), which is considered one of the major works of Italian literature.

King Victor Emmanuel II

2010-07-20T16:12:07Z

MarcoT2:

'''King Vittorio Emanuele II''' (in English, ''Victor Emmanuel II'', 1820-1878) was a king of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia, and, from 1861, the first King of Italy. He led a revolution in northern Italy in the nineteenth century that helped unify the nation of [[Italy]]. He was assisted by his Prime Minister Count Cavour.

[[Category:Italy]]

Siena

2010-07-20T16:07:12Z

MarcoT2: Just a stub; will expand.

'''Siena''' is a city in the region of [[Tuscany]], in [[Italy]].
A very ancient city, it is best known for its [[Palio di Siena|Palio]] and for its medieval city center.

Catherine of Siena

2010-07-20T16:04:53Z

MarcoT2:

[[Image:St-Catherine.jpg|right|250px|thumb| St. Catherine of Siena]]

'''St Catherine of Siena''' born in [[Siena]], Italy (b. 1347, died 1379). She lived at the time of the [[Crusades]], the [[Great Schism]], civil wars and the [[Black Death]]. Catherine was a [[virgin]], not a [[nun]] but a layperson of Third Orders who was devoted to the religious Dominicans. Her growing reputation as a worker of [[miracle]]s, caused the public and [[Pope]]s to turn to Catherine in all kinds of difficulties. Catherine is best known for urging [[Pope Gregory XI]] to return to Rome. [[Christ]] was her interest, her life and her passion. Catherine became the first woman [[Doctor of the Church]] also called the Doctor of Unity.

==Early life==
Catherine was the youngest of 25 siblings born to father Giacomo di Benincasa and mother Lapa. As a child, Catherine was so merry that the family gave her the pet name of Euphrosyne, which is Greek for Joy and also the name of an early Christian saint. <ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/CATSIENA.HTM SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA VIRGIN] EWTN</ref> At age six, she had the first of many visions that may have determined her vocation. She had a vision of [[Christ]] seated in glory with the Apostles [[Peter]], [[Paul]], and [[John]]. A year later the little girl made a secret vow to give her whole life to God. Prayer and solitude with Christ was her passion. At age sixteen, she was permitted to enter the sisters of Penance of St Dominic. Later in life, her visions led her to receive the [[stigmata]].

==Papal Reforms==
Seeking unity and reconciliation for God's sake, she wrote deliberately and boldly to those in authority. For 74 years, Popes resided in Avignon, France. Pope Gregory XI lived in Avignon, [[France]] for fear of being poisoned. Catherine pleaded with the Supreme Pontiff to return his residency to [[Rome]], thanks to Catherine he did.

Pope Gregory was succeeded by [[Pope Urban VI]]. The [[Great Schism]] between Pope Urban and [[anti-pope]]s prompted more letters urging unity. In 1378, she went to Rome and wrote letters to state and Church leaders in defense of Pope Urban's sole right to the papal throne. She rebuked three [[Italian]] cardinals who were supporting the anti-pope, writing to them, "what made you do this? You are flowers who shed no perfume, but stench that makes the whole world reek." <ref>[http://www.domcentral.org/trad/stcather.htm St. Catherine of Siena]</ref>

The [[Queen]] of [[Naples]], Giovanna, was accused of murdering her husband and supported the anti-pope. St. Catherine wrote, "You know that you do ill, but like a sick and passionate woman, you let yourself be guided by your passions." Catherine risked death by sending such words to the authorities but she was not afraid, filled with love from Christ.

Civil war broke out between the Holy See and [[Florence]]. Nearly all of the [[Papal states]] rose in insurrection. The Pope sent Catherine on a mission to secure neutrality and to make peace. Although unsuccessful, she made a profound impression. Catherine was regularly consulted by the papal legates about the affairs of the Church.

Catherine worked tirelessly for the Crusade against the Turks.

==Black Plague==
The plague known as the [[Black Death]] was spreading throughout [[Europe]]. Catherine and her helpers worked incessantly to relieve the suffering. Nearly a third of the population had died. She tirelessly worked to comfort those stricken, preparing them for death and even burying people with her own hands. Catherine nursed patients to recovery and her wonderful words of joy healed, which brought about many conversions. Among those who owed their recovery directly to Catherine were Raymund of Capua, Matthew Cenni, Father Santi, and Father Bartholomew, all of whom contracted the disease through tending others.

==Books==
The works of St. Catherine of Siena rank among the classics of the Italian language, written in the beautiful Tuscan vernacular. <ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03447a.htm St. Catherine of Siena] Catholic Encyclopedia</ref> Her writings consist of nearly 400 letters and a series of prayers. Her most famous writings, the Treatise on Divine Providence also known as the Dialogue. Also, her smaller work called the Treatise on Consummate Perfection.

St. Catherine died at age 33. Eighty-one years after her death, she was [[canonized]] by [[Pope Pius II]]. [[Pope Paul VI]] made her a [[Doctor of the Church]] October 4, 1970. [[Pope John Paul II]] marked the 25th anniversary of being a Church Doctor by honoring her "impassioned liveliness" and "freedom of initiative." St. Catherine is the patroness Saint of [[Italy]].

==External Links==
[http://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20001020_caterina_en.html The Dialogue LXXV]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Saints]]

Malaysia

2010-07-20T15:57:08Z

MarcoT2: Updated Prime Minister.

{{Country
|name =''Persekutuan Tanah Melayu''
|map =Malaysia rel98.jpg
|map2 =Malaysia location.png
|flag =Flag of Malaysia.png
|arms =Arms of Malaysia.png
|capital =Kuala Lumpur
|capital-raw =
|government =Federal Constitutional Monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Malay
|king =Mizan Zainal Abidin
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Najib Tun Razak
|pm-raw =
|area =127,355 sq mi
|pop =27,356,000 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$313.2 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$12,800
|currency =Ringgit
|idd =
|tld =
}}
'''Malaysia''' is a predominantly Muslim country in south-east [[Asia]], a [[federation]] of thirteen [[state]]s, nine of which have hereditary [[sultans]] instead of [[governor]]s. Its capital is [[Kuala Lumpur]].

==Geography==
Malaysia is divided in two areas separated by the South China Sea: peninsular Malaysia, located on the end of the Malay Peninsula and sharing a border with Thailand; and East Malaysia, occupying the northern third of the island of [[Borneo]], with which it shares with [[Indonesia]] and [[Brunei]].

==People==
Malaysia's multi-racial society contains many ethnic groups. Malays comprise a majority of just over 50%. By constitutional definition, all Malays are Muslim. About a quarter of the population is ethnic Chinese, a group which historically played an important role in trade and business. Malaysians of Indian descent comprise about 7% of the population and include Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians. Non-Malay indigenous groups combine to make up approximately 11% of the population.

Population density is highest in peninsular Malaysia, home to some 20 million of the country's 27 million inhabitants. The remaining 7 million live on the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo in the large but less densely-populated states of Sabah and Sarawak. More than half of Sarawak's residents and about two-thirds of Sabah's are from indigenous groups.
*Population (2006): 26.9 million.
*Annual growth rate: 1.8%.
*Ethnic groups: Malay 50.2%, Chinese 24.5%, indigenous 11.0%, Indian 7.2%, non-Malaysian citizens 5.9%, others 1.2%.
*Religions: [[Islam]] (60.4%), [[Buddhism]] (19.2%), [[Christianity]] (9.1%), Hinduism (6.3%), Confucianism (2.6%), tribal/folk (0.8%), other (0.4%), none/unknown (1.2%).
*Languages: Bahasa Melayu (official), Chinese (various dialects), English, Tamil, indigenous.
*Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--98.5% (primary), 82% (secondary). Literacy--93.5%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate (2005)--5.1 /1,000. Life expectancy (2005)--female 76.2 yrs., male 71.8 yrs.
*Work force (10.55 million, 2005): Services--51%; industry--36% (manufacturing--28.4%, mining and construction--7.6%); agriculture--13%.

==Government==
Malaysia is a constitutional [[monarchy]], nominally headed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, customarily referred to as the king. Kings are elected for 5-year terms from among the nine sultans of the peninsular Malaysian states. The king also is the leader of the Islamic faith in Malaysia.

Executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister; the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of parliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament. The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of parliament and is responsible to that body.

The bicameral parliament consists of the Senate (Dewan Negara) and the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat). All 70 Senate members sit for 3-year terms, which are normally extended for an additional 3 years; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, and 44 are appointed by the king. Representatives of the House are elected from single-member districts by universal adult suffrage. The 219 members of the House of Representatives are elected to parliamentary terms lasting up to 5 years. Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures.

The Malaysian legal system is based on [[English]] [[common law]]. The Federal Court reviews decisions referred from the Court of Appeal; it has original jurisdiction in constitutional matters and in disputes between states or between the federal government and a state. Peninsular Malaysia and the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak each have a high court.

The [[federal]] government has authority over external affairs, defense, internal security, justice (except civil law cases among Malays or other Muslims and other indigenous peoples, adjudicated under Islamic and traditional law), federal citizenship, finance, commerce, industry, communications, transportation, and other matters.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Prime Minister--Datuk Seri Utama Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi
*Foreign Minister--Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar
*Ambassador to the U.S.--Datin Paduka Rajmah Hussein
*Ambassador to the UN--Datuk Hamidon bin Ali

===Political Conditions===
[[Image:King street Georgetown Malaysa.jpg|thumb|250px|Georgetown (Penang).]]
Malaysia's predominant political party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has held power in coalition with other parties since independence in 1957. The UMNO coalition's share of the vote declined in national elections held in May 1969, after which riots broke out in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere, mainly between Malays and ethnic Chinese. Several hundred people were killed or injured. The government declared a state of emergency and suspended all parliamentary activities.

In the years that followed, Malaysia undertook several initiatives that became integral parts of its socioeconomic model. The New Economic Policy (NEP), launched in 1971, contained a series of affirmative action policies designed to benefit Malays and certain indigenous groups (together known as bumiputera or "sons of the soil"). The Constitution was amended to limit dissent against the specially-protected and sensitive portions of the Constitution pertaining to the social contract. The government identified intercommunal harmony as one of its official goals. The previous alliance of communally based parties was replaced with a broader coalition--the Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front. The BN won large majorities in the 1974 federal and state elections.

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister between 1981 and 2003, leading UMNO and BN to successive election victories. Mahathir emphasized economic development during his tenure, in particular the export sector, as well as large scale infrastructure projects. Mahathir attributed the success of the Asian tiger economies to the "Asian values" of its people, which he believed were superior to those of the West. Mahathir sharply criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF), international financiers such as George Soros, and Western governments during the sharp economic and financial crisis that affected Asia in 1997-8, and denied that the downturn was due to the failures of corruption and "crony capitalism."

The end of Mahathir's tenure was marred by a falling out with his deputy and presumed successor, Anwar Ibrahim. In September 1998, Mahathir dismissed Anwar and accused him of immoral and corrupt conduct. Although Anwar was convicted on both charges in 1999 and 2000, the trials were viewed as seriously flawed. Malaysia's Federal Court eventually freed Anwar after overturning his immoral conduct conviction in September 2004.

Mahathir stepped down as prime minister in October 2003 after 22 years in power, and his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was sworn into office. Abdullah called elections and won an overwhelming victory in March 2004, with Barisan Nasional taking 199 of 219 seats in the lower house of parliament. UMNO itself won 110 seats. The Islamic opposition party (PAS), which had made electoral inroads in 1999, was reduced to six seats in parliament and lost control of the state of Terengganu. The left of center Democratic Action Party (DAP), with predominately urban ethnic Chinese support, won 12 seats in parliament, and party chairman Lim Kit Siang became Leader of the Opposition in parliament.

Since taking office, Abdullah, an Islamic scholar, has promoted the concept of "Islam Hadhari" or "civilizational Islam," emphasizing the importance of education, social harmony, and economic progress. His relationship with Mahathir eventually soured, and the former prime minister now expresses regret at supporting Abdullah to be his successor. Under the terms of the constitution the government must next call elections no later than May 2009.

===Foreign Relations===
Regional cooperation is a cornerstone of Malaysia's foreign policy. It was a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and served as the group's chair most recently in 2005-2006. It hosted the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit in December 2005, as well as the ASEAN Ministerial and the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2006.

Malaysia is an active member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and the United Nations. It is the current chair of the OIC and has also chaired the NAM. Malaysia hosted the APEC Leaders' Meeting in 1998.

Malaysia is a frequent contributor to UN and other peacekeeping missions, including recent deployments to East Timor, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, and Lebanon.

==Economy==
[[Image:Petronas.jpg|thumb|200px|Petronas Twin Towers.]]
Since it became independent, Malaysia's economic record has been one of Asia's best. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 6.5% per year from 1957 to 2005. Performance peaked in the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, as the economy experienced sustained rapid growth averaging almost 8% annually. High levels of foreign and domestic investment played a significant role as the economy diversified and modernized. Once heavily dependent on primary products such as rubber and tin, Malaysia today is a middle-income country with a multi-sector economy based on services and manufacturing. Malaysia is one of the world's largest exporters of semiconductor devices, electrical goods, and information and communication technology (ICT) products.
*Nominal GDP: $130.8 billion.
*Annual real GDP growth rate: 7.1% (2004); 5.2% (2005).
*Per capita (GDP) income: $5,042.
*Natural resources: petroleum, liquefied natural gas (LNG), tin, minerals.
*Agricultural products: palm oil, rubber, timber, cocoa, rice, tropical fruit, fish, coconut.
*Industry: Types--electronics, electrical products, chemicals, food and beverages, metal and machine products, apparel.
*Trade: Merchandise exports--$145.0 billion: electronics, electrical products, palm oil, petroleum, liquid natural gas, apparel, timber and logs, plywood and veneer, natural rubber. Major markets--U.S. 18.8%, Singapore 15.0%, Japan 10.1%. *Merchandise imports--$118.0 billion: machinery, chemicals, manufactured goods, fuels, and lubricants. Major suppliers--Japan 16.1%, U.S. 14.6%, Singapore 11.2%.

The government has taken an active role in guiding the nation's economic development. Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP), first established in 1971, sought to eradicate poverty and to enhance the economic standing of ethnic Malays and other indigenous peoples (collectively known as "bumiputeras"). One NEP goal was to expand the share of corporate equity owned by ethnic Malays. In June 1991, after the NEP expired, the government unveiled its National Development Policy, which contained many of the NEP's goals. In April 2001, the government released a new plan, the "National Vision Policy," to guide development over the period 2001-2010. The National Vision Policy targets education for budget increases and seeks to refocus the economy toward higher-technology production. The stated goal is for Malaysia to be a fully developed economy by 2020.

The Malaysian economy went into sharp recession in 1997-1998 during the Asian financial crisis, which affected countries throughout the region, including South Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. Malaysia's GDP contracted by more than 7% in 1998. Malaysia narrowly avoided a return to recession in 2001 when its economy was negatively impacted by the bursting of the dot-com bubble (which hurt the ICT sector) and slow growth or recession in many of its important export markets.

In July 2005, the government removed the 7-year old peg linking the ringgit's value to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of RM 3.8/U.S.$1.0. The dollar peg was replaced by a managed float against an undisclosed basket of currencies. The new exchange rate policy was designed to keep the ringgit more broadly stable and to avoid uncertain currency swings which could harm exports.

==History==
[[Image:Acheen St. Mosque, Malaysa.jpg|thumb|280px|Acheen St. Mosque.]]
The early Buddhist Malay kingdom of Srivijaya, based at what is now Palembang, Sumatra, dominated much of the Malay peninsula from the 9th to the 13th centuries AD. The powerful Hindu kingdom of Majapahit, based on Java, gained control of the Malay peninsula in the 14th century. Conversion of the Malays to Islam, beginning in the early 14th century, accelerated with the rise of the state of Malacca under the rule of a Muslim prince in the 15th century. Malacca was a major regional commercial center, where Chinese, Arab, Malay, and Indian merchants traded precious goods.

Drawn by this rich trade, a Portuguese fleet conquered Malacca in 1511, marking the beginning of European expansion in Southeast Asia. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese from Malacca in 1641. The British obtained the island of Penang in 1786 and temporarily controlled Malacca with Dutch acquiescence from 1795 to 1818 to prevent it from falling to the French during the Napoleonic war. The British gained lasting possession of Malacca from the Dutch in 1824, through the Anglo-Dutch treaty, in exchange for territory on the island of Sumatra in what is today Indonesia.

In 1826, the British settlements of Malacca, Penang, and Singapore were combined to form the Colony of the Straits Settlements. From these strongholds, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the British established protectorates over the Malay sultanates on the peninsula. During their rule the British developed large-scale rubber and tin production and established a system of public administration. British control was interrupted by World War II and the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1945.

Popular sentiment for independence swelled during and after the war. The territories of peninsular Malaysia joined together to form the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and eventually negotiated independence from the British in 1957. Tunku Abdul Rahman became the first prime minister. In 1963 the British colonies of Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah joined the Federation, which was renamed Malaysia. Singapore's membership was short-lived, however; it left in 1965 and became an independent republic.

Neighboring Indonesia objected to the formation of Malaysia and began a program of economic, political, diplomatic, and military "confrontation" against the new country in 1963, which ended only after the fall of Indonesia's President Sukarno in 1966. Internally, local communists, nearly all Chinese, carried out a long, bitter insurgency both before and after independence, prompting the imposition of a state of emergency from 1948 to 1960. Small bands of guerrillas remained in bases along the rugged border with southern Thailand, occasionally entering northern Malaysia. These guerrillas finally signed a peace accord with the Malaysian Government in December 1989. A separate, small-scale communist insurgency that began in the mid-1960s in Sarawak also ended with the signing of a peace accord in October 1990.

==External link==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6703155.stm Malaysia rejects Christian appeal], BBC News, 30 May 2007.

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}
Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2777.htm]

[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]

Aerosol

2010-07-20T15:54:02Z

MarcoT2:

'''Aerosol''' is a [[suspension]] of particles of liquid or solid in a gas. <ref> [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/glossary.php3?mode=all NASA Earth Observatory glossary] </ref>

==Climate change==

*small droplets or particles suspended in the atmosphere, typically containing [[sulfur]] ("natural aerosols"), or
*a product that relies on a pressurized gas to propel substances out of a container ("man-made aerosols").

=== Natural Aerosols ===

Aerosols are emitted naturally (e.g., in volcanic eruptions) and as the result of human activities (e.g., by burning fossil fuels). There is no connection between particulate aerosols and pressurized products also called aerosols (see below).

=== Man-made Aerosols ===

Consumer aerosol products in the US have not used ozone-depleting substances (ODS) since the late 1970s because of voluntary switching followed by federal regulation. The Clean Air Act and EPA regulations further restricted the use of ODS for non-consumer products. All consumer products, and most other aerosol products, now use propellants that do not deplete the [[ozone layer]], such as hydrocarbons and compressed gases.
[[category:environment]]

==Notes==
<references/>

John Damascene

2010-07-20T15:50:00Z

MarcoT2: All of my sources state that the year of birth is 675 or 676. What is the source for saying he was born in 646? Or was it just a typo?

[[Image:johndamascene.jpg|thumb|right|St. John Damascene]]
'''Saint John Damascene''' (b. circa 675, died 749) was a Syrian [[Christian]] that lived under
[[Muslim]] rule all of his life. St. John wrote the first comprehensive compilation of
Christian theology. John defended the Church’s understanding for the veneration of
images and he was known as a fierce opposer of [[iconoclast]]s. John was dedicated to a
life of prayer who guarded the Church's faith and traditions zealously. He had an
extraordinary devotion to the Mary, Mother of God. In 1890, [[Pope Leo XIII]] proclaimed
John Damascene [[Doctor of the Church]].

==Early Life==
Nothing is known of John's mother. Born in [[Damascus]], John was baptized
immediately on his birth. <ref>[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=66
St. John of Damascus] Catholic Online</ref> He lived at the time when Syria fell into
the hands of the Arabs. John's father was a faithful Christian, a wealthy man of
honorable rank that commanded the respect of the Arab conqueror, and were employed
in judicial offices of trust and dignity as an administrator of Christian law to the
Christian subjects of the Sultan. John's father was devoted to the redemption of
Christian slaves. Saracen pirates swept the Mediterranean and brought in Christian
captives from all quarters. An [[Italian]] monk named Cosmas had the misfortune to
fall into the hands of Saracens. The father of John, thought he would make a valuable
tutor for his son. Thanks to John's father, his life was spared by the Saracen
governor and placed his son under his guidance.
<ref>[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=66 St. John of Damascus]
Catholic Online</ref> Under the tutelage of Cosmas, John made such rapid progress
that he soon equalled Diophantus in algebra and Euclid in geometry. Equal progress
was made in music, astronomy, and theology. On the death of his father, John
Damascene was given a government position, chief councillor of Damascus.

==Icon Edict==
In 726, Leo the Isaurian of the Eastern Church, issued his first edict against the
veneration of images. John oppose the Byzantine monarch and he also stirred the
people to resistance. In 730, a more stringent edict on icons was enforced. John
Damascene replied with even greater vigour than before. He wrote a letter to the
Byzantine emperor and warned to beware of the consequences of this unlawful action,
which stoked the anger of the emperor. The Sultan received a forged letter of John,
sent from emperor Leo, writing the crime of betraying the city of Damascus. The
Sultan ordered the authors hand to be severed at the wrist. The sentence was
executed, but through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin, the amputated hand was
miraculously restored. John Damascene heard the calling to a higher life, resigned
his official government position and went to the monastery of St. Sabas, eight miles
southeast of [[Jerusalem]]. After a probationary period, John V, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, made him a priest. In 754, the successor of Leo, Constantine Copronymus,
reconfirmed the principles of the Iconoclasts and cursed by name those who had
opposed them. John was singled out as he was called a "cursed favourer of Saracens",
a "traitorous worshipper of images", a "wronger of Jesus Christ", a "teacher of
impiety", and a "bad interpreter of the Scriptures". At the emperor's command, his
name was written "Manzer" (a bastard).
<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08459b.htm St. John Damascene] Catholic
Encyclopedia</ref> But the Seventh General Council of Nicea (787) made ample amends
for the insults of his enemies and he was surnamed Chrysorrhoas (golden stream).

==Great Works==
John is regarded as the first Scholastic, and his "De fide orthodoxa" as the first
work of Scholasticism. The most important and best known of all his works is called
"Fountain of Wisdom." It is said that this book is to Eastern schools what the Summa
of Aquinas became to the West. The "Fountain of Wisdom" is divided into three parts,
namely, "Philosophical Chapters", "Concerning Heresy", and "An Exact Exposition of
the Orthodox Faith." It is largely a summary of the Categories of Aristotle. The
purpose to give his readers only such philosophical knowledge as was necessary for
understanding. It is a record of the technical terminology used by the Greek Fathers,
not only against the heretics, but also in the exposition of the Faith for the
benefit of Christians. The first book of "The Orthodox Faith" treats of the essence
and existence of God, the Divine nature, and the Trinity. The second books' chapters
were devoted to Islam, Iconoclasm, Aposchitae and lists eighty heresies. He added
twenty heresies that had sprung up since his time. In treating of Islam, he
assails the immoral practices of [[Mohammad]] and the corrupt teachings inserted in
the [[Koran]]. "Concerning the Orthodox Faith", the third book of the "Fountain of
Wisdom", is the most important of John Damascene's writings and one of the most
notable works of [[Christianity]]. The collection of a single work, collected the
theological opinions of the ancient writers scattered through many volumes, and of
systematizing them in a logical whole in the modern day eighth century.
Under the general title of "Homilies" he wrote fourteen discourses. These sermons
concern Transfiguration, Assumption, Nativity, Epiphany, and Pentecost, Epistles to
the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians and others. The most famous of the
"canons" is that on Easter, which contains the liturgical hymns used by the Greek
Church in its Sunday services. John adapted choral music to the purposes of the Liturgy.

==Death==
Little is known of John's death. It is believed he died in [[Jerusalem]]. His eloquent defense of images has earned him the title of "The Doctor of Christian Art." He is also known as the last great Father of the Eastern Church.

==Quotes==
"The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God,'But
as many as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of God....' Let
us carefully observe the manner of life of all the apostles, martyrs, ascetics and
just men who announced the coming of the Lord. And let us emulate their faith,
charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so
that we may also share their crowns of glory."

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Saints]]

Three Kingdoms

2010-07-20T15:46:19Z

MarcoT2:

The '''Three Kingdoms''' -- Wei, Shu, and Wu-- were the regional governments which ruled [[China]] after the [[Han dynasty|Han Empire]] fell. They reigned from circa 190 to 280 AD.

The traditional term ''kingdom'' is misleading in one case. The state of Wei was founded as a [[Constitution|Constitutional]] democracy, by refugees from the competing kingdoms of Shu and Wu. Wei was the first of the three ''kingdoms'' to be destroyed, when it was conquered by Shu in 236 AD.

Many of the great works of Chinese literature are set during the period of the the Three Kingdoms. One of these, the [[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]], is considered to be one of the four great novels in Chinese literary history. It is known and well-beloved by all literate Chinese.

The first dynasty to completely reunite China after this period was the [[Sui Dynasty]].

[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]
[[Category:Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]

Diazepam

2010-07-20T15:45:07Z

MarcoT2:

'''Diazepam''' (marketed under the tradename '''Valium''') is a derivative of the [[benzodiazepine]] class of minor tranquilizers and possesses the five therapeutic benzodiazepine properties; working as an [[anxiolytic]], [[sedative]]/[[hypnotic]], [[anticonvulsant]], [[muscle relaxant]], and [[amnestic]] agent<ref>[http://health.yahoo.com/topic/anxiety/medications/drug/healthwise/d00148a1 "Diazepam" on Yahoo! Health]</ref>. All benzodiazepines share some commonalities. These include their mode of action, indications, potential side-effects, and the physical and psychological dependence that may develop after extended use. Benzodiazepines like Diazepam have been shown to produce various withdrawal effects if the drug is discontinued rapidly and without gradual reduction in dosage.

===Pharmacology===

Diazepam is a [[central nervous system]] depressant. It accomplishes this by augmenting the effect of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) by binding to its endogenous [[ionotropic receptor]] (The GABAA receptor) at a location distinct from GABA itself.<ref>[http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100000757.html NetDoctor]</ref> <ref>[http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/133/3/239 British Journal of Psychiatry]</ref> This ultimately results in the hyperpolarization of the neuron by increasing its inward chloride conductance, raising the threshold of stimulation, and making it more difficult for the cell to produce excitatory action potentials.

===Uses<ref>[http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/diazepam_ids.htm RXList]</ref>===

*'''Anxiolytic:''' Diazepam is one of the oldest benzodiazepines and has/is often prescribed by a medical doctor (usually a psychiatrist) for the maintenance of diurnal anxiety caused by day to day stressful situations that produce ephemeral agitation, or for people suffering from socially detrimental anxiety attacks in [[panic disorder]].
*'''Amnestic:''' It is also useful for ameliorating the anxiety in individuals before undergoing unpleasant medical procedures such as endoscopies, colonoscopies, and dental work. Benzodiazepines are efficient amnestics and are therefore desirable in this context as well. The intravenous form of the drug is used for these cases.
*'''Sedative or hypnotic:''' Diazepam has been shown to be an effective treatment for short-term [[insomnia]], associated with or without anxiety. However, prolonged treatment for insomnia may become less efficacious as the patient develops tolerance to the drug.
*'''Anticonvulsant:''' Diazepam, along with [[Lorazepam]], are usually first choice drugs for the cessation of [[seizures]] in patients suffering from [[epilepsy]].
*'''Muscle Relaxant:''' Diazepam may be prescribed to relieve chronic or acute [[muscle spasms]] due to its relaxant effects.
*'''Alcohol Withdrawal:''' Benzodiazepines such as diazepam have been demonstrated as effective in mitigating the symptoms of an individual undergoing withdrawal from [[alcohol]] abuse.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category: Drugs]]

Honolulu

2010-07-20T15:43:16Z

MarcoT2: Fixed a typo.

'''Honolulu''' is the capital city of [[Hawaii]], and also its largest city. It is the birthplace of [[Barack Hussein Obama]].<ref>http://www.politifact.com/media/img/graphics/birthCertObama.jpg</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Aloha]]

== Sources ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:United States Cities and Towns]]
[[Category:US State Capitals]]
[[Category:Hawaii]]

Margin of Error

2010-07-20T15:42:02Z

MarcoT2:

A '''margin of error''' is the percentage by which any estimate, such as a [[poll]], is likely to be off. The most common is +/-3%. In most polls, the sample size of the [[poll]] is the largest contributing factor to the margin of error.

[[Category:United States Government]]

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

2010-07-20T15:40:12Z

MarcoT2:

[[Image:Pico Della Mirandola.jpg|thumb|Copy of an unknown original, Uffizi, Gioviana Collection, ca. 1491.]]
'''Giovanni Pico della Mirandola''' (1463-1494) was an [[Italian]] [[polymath]]. He is considered the most influential [[The Renaissance|Renaissance]] Neo-Platonist. Pico also is one of the first thinkers to consider the capacity of ''freedom'' to be hallmark of being human. He developed a [[philosophy]] known as ''syncretism''.

''In 1486 Pico drew up a list of nine hundred true theses (or propositions), using various [[Greek]], [[Arabic]], [[Hebrew]], and [[Roman]] thinkers who summarized his views. He invited scholars from all over Europe to come to Rome, where he would defend his positions against all challengers. '' [http://www.whitworth.edu/Core/Classes/CO250/Italy/Data/fr_pico.htm]

::: ''I have read in the records of the Arabians, reverend Fathers, that Abdala the Saracen, when questioned as to what on this stage of the world, as it were, could be seen most worthy of wonder, replied: "There is nothing to be seen more wonderful than man." In agreement with this opinion is the saying of Hermes Trismegistus: "A great miracle, Asclepius, is man."'' [http://www.whitworth.edu/Core/Classes/CO250/Readings/pico.htm Oration on the Dignity of Man]

::: ''[[Human]] vocation is a mystical vocation that has to be realized following a three stage way, which comprehends necessarily moral transformation, intellectual research and final perfection in the identity with the [[absolute reality]]. This paradigm is universal, because it can be retraced in every tradition.'' ([[Ibidem]])

== Books ==
* Heptaplus.
* Oration on the Dignity of Man.
* Conclusiones philosophicae, cabalisticae et theologicae.
* Apologia J. Pici Mirandolani, Concordiae comitis.
* Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem.
* De ente et uno.
* Aureae ad familiares epistolae (letters)

== See also ==

*[[Florence]]
*[[Leon Battista Alberti]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10352a.htm Giovanni Pico della Mirandola] Catholic Encyclopedia.
*[http://www.authorama.com/renaissance-3.html The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni}}
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Renaissance]]

Petr Sykora

2010-07-20T15:36:45Z

MarcoT2: Czechoslovakia does not exist anymore.

'''Petr Sykora''' is a right winger for the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]]. He has spent 12 seasons (as of the 2008-2009 season) in the [[National Hockey League]]. He hails from Plzen, in the [[Czech Republic]].<ref>http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8460465&service=page</ref>

==Early Years==
Sykora was drafted by the [[New Jersey Devils]] in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft (18th overall). He spent the majority of this first season with the Devils, and only played 5 games with their minor league affiliate, the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League {AHL}. He scored 18 goals and 24 assists (42 points) this season for the Devils. He had the best season of his career in 2000-2001, when he scored 35 goals and 46 assists (81 points). Sykora was traded after the 2001-2002 season to the [[Anaheim Ducks]] for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tvordovsky.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00E2DC1F31F934A35754C0A9649C8B63</ref>

==Anaheim and After==
Sykora spent three seasons with Anaheim before being traded to the [[New York Rangers]] midway through the 2005-2006 season. After not being resigned by New York, he was signed by the [[Edmonton Oilers]] for one season. He then signed a rwo year [[free agent]] contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he remains.

==Achievements==
Sykora scored his first career hat trick (three goals in a game) in 2008, after having the distinction of having the longest streak of two-goal games (44 games) without scoring a third.<ref>http://www.faniq.com/blog/Petr-Sykora-and-Pascal-Dupuis-BOTH-Earn-Their-First-Career-NHL-Hat-Trick-as-Pens-Obliterate-Islanders-92-Blog-15975</ref>
==Notes==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykora, Petr}}
[[Category:NHL Players]]

Talk:Essay:Best New Conservative Words

2010-07-20T15:35:03Z

MarcoT2: About the research method of the new words

'''[[/archive1 | Archive 1 ]]''' 
'''[[/archive2|Archive 2 ]]'''
----

==Mother Nature==
In the New Liberal Terms section, I put the term Mother Nature in the list. Is it right?--[[User:Willminator|Willminator]] 18:40, 22 April 2010 (EDT)

I won't argue whether or not Mother nature is a liberal term on the grounds that I think the distinction between conservative and liberal words is dubious at best, however it is most certainly not a new word. The idea of mother nature is as old as the ancient greeks or older. --[[User:BenjaminS|Ben]] [[User Talk:BenjaminS|Talk]] 18:46, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

:That's a clever way to dispose of a vexing question.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 18:56, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

Well I don't want to waste your time by arguing the point Mr. Schlafly. If you want to put the term back in feel free. --[[User:BenjaminS|Ben]] [[User Talk:BenjaminS|Talk]] 19:24, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

How is it dubious? Also, I haven’t heard of any writings or speeches where the term Mother Nature was used hundreds of years ago. Show me at least one speech or writing where the term was used. Liberals use it to discredit Father God’s role in creation. They think that it was nature, not God, who made us. To Liberals, nature is their goddess. Funny how Wikipedia’s article on Mother Nature denies the atheistic, evolutionary and environmental implications of the term.--[[User:Willminator|Willminator]] 19:55, 22 April 2010 (EDT)

:Look up "Gaia" or "Terra Mater" - "Mother Nature" or "Mother Earth" has been around thousands of years. [[User:PaulBurnett|PaulBurnett]] 22:23, 16 June 2010 (EDT)

::The idea of personifying all of nature as a woman surely predates the liberalism of 20th century and early 21st century America. But the way in which the natural world came into existence, specifically the planet Earth which supports all life known to exist, is unknown to science: speculation is not "science" unless expressed as a theory to which a counterexample could conceivably be found (see [[falsifiability]]).

::Those scientists who deny God's role in [[Creation]] are committing the same intellectual offense they accuse [[intelligent design]] theorists of. It is also not "science" to comment on metaphysical ideas, unless we grant that the scientific method can be applied to matters beyond [[physical science]].

::The trick which liberals are playing with their anti-conservative words is to pretend that they are talking about one thing, while they are actually talking about another. This is literally the oldest trick in [[Bible|the book]]; recall that the serpent tempting Eve told her, "You will not die" yet Jesus explained later on many occasions that "life" and "death" correspond to being able or unable to love God. So eating the forbidden fruit did indeed cause Eve's death. (See verses like, "You have the name of being alive, but you are dead" in Revelations and, "Let the dead bury their own dead" in Luke 9)

::We need precise definitions of words, to prevent being tricked and fooled by deceivers with a hidden agenda. The so-called "[[peace movement]]", for example, never wanted [[peace]] but simply the victory of America's anti-[[democracy|democratic]] enemies. The "save the earth" movement is not at all concerned with preserving the environment for the well-being of human beings: it's an excuse to increase centralized control over resources, in a way which will destroy prosperity, hurting the world's poor more than any one else.

::Now it's a matter of personal belief for me that God has a feminine aspect; my church specifically teaches that the [[Holy Spirit]] is feminine, and that God is a being whose harmonized masculinity and femininity are reflected in men and women (see Gen. 1:27) but I won't preach here. The issue is the relationship between Nature and human beings.

::Liberals claim that science has proved [[Evolution]] without providing any evidence for it, let alone discussing a means by which the theory might be falsified (thus providing a highly prominent example of [[pseudoscience]]). Then they misuse this idea to hint that science has also discovered the source of the physical world ([[Big Bang]] theory) and the [[origin of life]]. Of course, when pressed, they must concede that the Theory of Evolution does not tell us how life came into being. But high school biology textbooks write about life as if it simply "evolved" from inorganic chemicals. This, by the way, is a great example of how New Liberal Words are misused to trick people. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] [[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]] 07:10, 6 July 2010 (EDT)

:::That's a fascinating analysis, Ed. Thank you for sharing it. I appreciate the suggestion that the [[Holy Spirit]] is feminine. Usually groups of people, like nations or large audiences, are considered to be more feminine than masculine in nature.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 10:13, 6 July 2010 (EDT)

== "Bully pulpit" ==

How about "bully pulpit"? When Teddy Roosevelt coined this, "bully" meant something like "excellent" rather than overbearing.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 19:47, 22 May 2010 (EDT)

I guess it's kind of like the word gay. At first gay meant happy and now it means something else.--[[User:Willminator|Willminator]] 19:55, 22 April 2010 (EDT)

==Definition==

I think this article needs a clear definition of what is meant by "conservative words." As I was reading it, I found it unclear as to whether it's about words invented by Conservatives or words representing Conservative values. I gather it's the latter, but I had to look in the talk page to find that. Either way, the introduction to the article isn't very clear and I'm reluctant to write a definition since I'm not sure I'm on the same page as the contributors. Would someone care to do that? [[User:EMorris|EMorris]] 13:49, 2 June 2010 (EDT)

== 33 million sites turn up in a Google search for "anti-Christian" - Wrong! ==

For the term "anti-Christian" the article claims "thirty-three million sites turn up in a Google search."

Where did this number come from? Go to Google and type in "anti-Christian" (in quotes) and you get 945,000 hits. Type in "anti-Christian" (NOT in quotes - which is totally sloppy Googling) and you get 7,590,000 hits. Where did the "thirty-three million" come from? [[User:PaulBurnett|PaulBurnett]] 22:11, 16 June 2010 (EDT)

: That's an interesting observation, Paul. The number of Google links retrieved for the search "anti-Christian" has fallen substantially. That begs the question of why.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 22:18, 16 June 2010 (EDT)

== Adding Obama Portmanteaus ==

I've noticed the list does not have any of the Obama portmanteaus, like [[Obamanation]], [[Obamunism]], etc. Shouldn't these terms be added? They are great for described the unfortunate turn this country is taking. [[User:JonS|JonS]] 17:13, 27 June 2010 (EDT)

== Underdog ==

Conservative term imho. Seeker of greatness against the odds. Cinderella story. David (underdog) slays Goliath. The meek (underdog) shall inherit the Earth. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 03:09, 10 July 2010 (EDT)

: I agree that "underdog" is a conservative term, and I will promote it now. Thanks for mentioning this.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 08:42, 10 July 2010 (EDT)

== Excellent scholarship ==

In the face of such well founded scholarship, Liberals will never manage to disprove the remarkable growth pattern illustrating the doubling per century of Conservative words. Nevertheless, perhaps the essay could be improved slightly by adding that Conservative words are words that express a Conservative concept or words that are used significantly more often by conservatives than Liberals. [[User:AmandaBunting|AmandaBunting]] 17:20, 14 July 2010 (EDT)

: Not sure what confusion you're trying to clear up here. Conservatives words express insights that are conservative. These words are freely available to liberals and conservatives alike, though liberals may indeed irrationally try (in a fool's errand) to avoid using them.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:34, 15 July 2010 (EDT)

== Maggie Thatcher ==

Great article. How about some of Margaret Thatcher's great new conservative terms:
* U-turn: What liberal politicians do all the time
* There is no alternative: Liberals pretend that they have an alternative to conservative values
* Oxygen of publicity: What liberals want to give to terrorists
* Fight to win: What conservatives should do!
[[User:BenjyB|BenjyB]] 19:03, 14 July 2010 (EDT)
:Get this! Adding those four terms takes the total for the 20th century to 160 - we're getting very close to a perfect geometric progression. [[User:BenjyB|BenjyB]] 19:07, 14 July 2010 (EDT)

:: Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not sure the above terms meet the high quality level of the entries. Perhaps because "Maggie" was actually not very conservative by American standards? She seemed fine with nationalized health care, for example.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:29, 15 July 2010 (EDT)

== Possibility ==

''quack'', coined 1638, to refer to charlatans deceiving others with pseudoscience. Used extensively today to describe the favorite "medicines" of new-age liberals. [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 20:40, 14 July 2010 (EDT)

: Interesting and informative suggestion. However, the term strikes me as name-calling rather than insightful. I'm not sure its use would be consistent with our rules!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:26, 15 July 2010 (EDT)

== Kiss of Death ==

The term "Kiss of Death" clearly originated earlier than 1943, as the article would suggest, as there was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_Death_%281916_film%29 a 1916 film by that name]. In fact, I'm not convinced this was the origin of the term, which has probably been in use since Judas' betrayal. [[User:DanieleGiusto|DanieleGiusto]] 22:01, 14 July 2010 (EDT)

: Your link to Wikipedia is broken, and the movie was probably a literal rather than figurative use of the word. Merriam-Webster gives a date of 1943.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 00:24, 15 July 2010 (EDT)

::Fixed the link; thanks for the heads-up. [[User:DanieleGiusto|DanieleGiusto]] 13:38, 16 July 2010 (EDT)
-

== Possibility for 1800's: Carpetbagger ==

While the term originally related specifically to northern politicians interjecting themselves into the politics of the Reconstruction-era south, it has since come to be used for political opportunists in a more general sense. Since this sort of behavior is common among Democrats (Hillary Clinton, anyone?) I'd argue that the term has value as a conservative word. --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 12:52, 19 July 2010 (EDT)

: "Carpetbagger" is a fascinating suggestion. [[Hillary Clinton]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy]] were modern senatorial examples. Perhaps there are other modern examples also.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 16:45, 19 July 2010 (EDT)

:::Well...hmm. There's John Garamendi, the former lieutenant governor of California, who ran for election to the House in a district where he didn't live. His defense, as I recall, was "Well, I don't live there, but my front yard's in the district." (It wasn't.) --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 17:26, 19 July 2010 (EDT)

== Research method ==

I just wanted to point out that actively looking for words to fit the geometric rate of growth, from a scientific point of view, is a biased method of research. You will ALWAYS find words in a 1-2-4-8 geometric growth rate, if that's what you actively look for. A more neutral research method would be to ***randomly*** (I can't stress it enough, it MUST be random) pick up, say, 1000 words created after 1600, and see if they match that growth rate.

This method CAN lead to a scientific result, mind you, but only after ALL words created after 1600 have been taken into account, whether they match the growth rate or not. Feel free to refute my reasoning if I made a logical flaw in it, and if you think that actively choosing words to fit a 1-2-4-8 growth rate has scientific validity, please explain me why I am wrong. Thank you! --[[User:MarcoT2|MarcoT2]] 11:35, 20 July 2010 (EDT)

Curve

2010-07-20T13:07:54Z

MarcoT2:

A '''curve''' is a [[math]]ematical object defined as a one-dimensional, continuous mapping from one interval of [[real number]]s to another.

[[Category:Mathematics]]

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

2010-07-20T13:05:47Z

MarcoT2:

{{Country
|name =''Союз Советских Социалистических Республик Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik''
|map =Soviet union rel 1986.jpg
|flag =600px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png
|arms =Arms of the Soviet Union.png
|capital =Moscow
|government =Communist
|language =Russian (de facto)
|president =Ivan Silayev (last, 1991)
|area =8,649,538 sq. mi. (1991)
|pop =293,047,571 (1991)
|pop-basis =
}}
The '''Soviet Union''' (Russian: Советский Союз, ''Sovyetskiy Soyuz''), formally the '''Union of Soviet Socialist Republics''' (or '''USSR''') (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, ''Soyuz Sovietskykh Sotsialisticheskykh Respublik'', abbreviated ''СССР'') existed 1917-1991, then broke into 15 separate countries, most notably [[Russia]]. It was the most powerful established [[socialist]] states in history, coming to power under [[Lenin]] in 1918 and killing millions of its peasants to establish a ruthless Communist dictatorship under [[Joseph Stalin]] in the 1930s. After cooperating with the USSR (1939-41), the Nazi Germans under [[Adolf Hitler]] invaded in a war to the death. The USSR defeated the Nazis in [[World War II]] (1941-45), and took control of most of Eastern Europe, turning formerly independent countries into Communist satellites. It was the primary antagonist of the United States during the [[Cold War]] (1947-1989); it then collapsed because of American pressure and its own internal economic and social failures. At its height the USSR covered one-sixth of the earth's land area, stretching from eastern Europe across north Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

==Geography==
Located in the middle and northern latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the Soviet Union's 22.4 million square kilometers included one-sixth of the earth's usable land area. Its western portion, more than half of all Europe, made up 25% of its area; this, however, was where 72% of the people lived and where most industrial and agricultural activities were concentrated. The latgest region was the lightly populated Siberia, a land between the Urals and the Pacific that for centuries was infamous as a place of exile, a land of endless expanses of snow and frigid temperatures.

Extending for over 60,000 kilometers, the Soviet border was the world's longest national frontier, sharing a common border with twelve countries, six on each continent. In Asia, its neighbors were the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (North Korea), [[China]], [[Mongolia]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Iran]], and [[Turkey]]; in [[Europe]], it bordered [[Romania]], [[Hungary]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Poland]], [[Norway]], and [[Finland]].

Approximately two-thirds of the frontier was bounded by water, forming the longest and, owing to its proximity to the North Pole, probably the most useless coastline of any country. Apart from Murmansk, which receives the warm currents of the Gulf Stream, the northern coast is locked in ice much of the year. The search for a warm water port was a central theme throughout Russian history.

A dozen seas, part of the water systems of three oceans--the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific--washed over Soviet shores.
*Size: Approximately 22,402,200 square kilometers (land area 22, 272,000 square kilometers); slightly less than 2.5 times size of United States.
*Location: Occupies eastern portion of European continent and northern portion of Asian continent. Most of country north of 50° north latitude.
*Topography: Vast steppe with low hills west of Ural Mountains; extensive coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; deserts in Central Asia; mountains along southern boundaries.
*Climate: Generally temperate to Arctic continental. Winters vary from short and cold along Black Sea to long and frigid in Siberia. Summers vary from hot in southern deserts to cool along Arctic coast. Weather usually harsh and unpredictable. Generally dry with more than half of country receiving fewer than forty centimeters of rainfall per year, most of Soviet Central Asia northeastern Siberia receiving only half that amount.
*Land Boundaries: 19,933 kilometers total: Afghanistan 2,384 kilometers' China 7,520 kilometers; Czechoslovakia 98 kilometers; Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) 17 kilometers; Finland 1,313 kilometers, Hungary 135 kilometers; Iran 1,690 kilometers; Mongolia 3,441 kilometers; Norway 196 kilometers; Poland 1,215 kilometers; Romania 1,307 kilometers; and Turkey 617 kilometers.
*Water Boundaries: 42,777 kilometers washed by oceanic systems of Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific.
*Land Use: 11 percent of land arable; 16 percent meadows and pasture; 41 percent forest and woodland; and 32 percent other, including tundra.
*Natural Resources: Oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, timber, gold, manganese, lead, zinc, nickel, mercury, potash, phosphates, and most strategic minerals.

===Administrative-Political-Territorial Divisions===
The USSR was divided into fifteen union republics - the largest administrative and political units - officially known as Soviet republics or union republics. Theoretically they were independent countries; in practice they were controlled by the Kremlin. Nationality, size of the population, and location were the determinants for republic status. By far the largest and most important was the Russian Republic, containing about 51% of the population. In 1989 Russians made up over 51% of the Soviet population and were politically, economically and culturally the dominant nationality, there are more than 100 other nationality groups that make up Soviet society. Fourteen other major nationalities also have their own republics: in the European part are the [[Lithuania]]n, [[Latvia]]n, [[Estonia]]n, [[Belorussia]]n, [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]], and [[Moldavia]]n republics; the [[Georgia]]n, Azerbaydzhan, and [[Armenian]] republics occupy the Caucasus; and Soviet Central Asia is home to the Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kirgiz, and Tadzhik republics.

The Soviet republics were subdivided into administrative subdivisions called autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, autonomous okruga, kraia, or most often oblasts. These subdivisions made the country easier to manage and some served to recognize additional nationalities.

==People==
The official Soviet census of 1989 listed over 100 nationalities in the Soviet Union. Each had its own history, culture, and language. Each possessed its own sense of national identity and national consciousness. The position of each nationality in the Soviet Union depended to a large degree on its size, the percentage of the people using the national language as their first language, the degree of its integration into the Soviet society, and its territorial-administrative status. This position was also dependent on each nationality's share of membership in the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU), the number of students in higher institutions, the number of scientific workers, and the urbanization of each nationality.

The various nationalities differed greatly in size. On the one hand, the Russians, who constituted about 50.8 percent of the population, numbered about 145 million in 1989. On the other hand, half of the nationalities listed in the census together accounted for only 0.5 percent of the total population, most of them having fewer than 100,000 people. Twenty-two nationalities had more than 1 million people each. Fifteen of the major nationalities had their own union republics, which together comprised the federation known as the Soviet Union.

The nationalities having union republic status commanded more political and economic power than other nationalities and found it easier to maintain their own language and culture. In 1989 some nationalities formed an overwhelming majority within their own republics; one nationality (the Kazakhs), however, lacked even a majority. In addition to the fifteen union republics, individual nationalities had their own territorial units, such as autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts, and autonomous okruga. The remaining nationalities did not have territorial units of their own and in most cases only constituted minorities in the Russian Republic.

The nationalities that have had a significant political and economic impact on the Soviet Union include the fifteen nationalities that have their own union republics and the non-union republic nationalities that numbered at least 1 million people in 1989. They are the Slavic nationalities, the Baltic nationalities, the nationalities of the Caucasus, the Central Asian nationalities, and a few other nationalities.
*Population: 293,047,571 (1991 estimate). Average annual growth rate 0.9 percent. Density twelve persons per square kilometer; 75 percent of people lived west of Ural Mountains.
*Nationalities: 51 percent of population Russian, 15 percent Ukrainian, 6 percent Uzbek, nearly 4 percent Belorussian, and 24 percent about 100 other nationalities.
*Religions: Religious worship was authorized by Constitution, but Marxism-Leninism, the official ideology, was militantly atheistic. Reliable statistics are unavailable, but about 18 percent was Russian Orthodox; 17 percent Muslim; and nearly 7 percent Roman Catholic, Protestant, Armenian Orthodox, Georgian Orthodox, and Jewish combined. Officially, most of remainder was atheist.
*Languages: Russian was the official language. Over 200 other languages and dialects were spoken, often as the primary tongue; 18 languages were spoken by groups of more than 1 million each. About 75 percent of people spoke Slavic languages.
*Education: Highly centralized school system with standardized curriculum. Attendance was compulsory through eleventh grade. Strong emphasis on training for vocations selected by central authorities. Indoctrination in Marxist-Leninist ideology at all levels. Science and technology emphasized at secondary level and above. As of 1979 census, official literacy rate 99.8 percent for persons between nine and forty-nine years old. Over 5.3 million studied at universities and institutes, nearly 50 percent part time. All education free, and in many cases students received stipends.
*Health and Welfare: Medical care by government health institutions; free, but of poor quality for general public despite having the highest number of physicians and hospital beds per capita in world. Welfare and pension programs provided, albeit marginally, for substantial segments of population.

===Population===
Seven official censuses have been taken in the Soviet Union (1920, 1926, 1939, 1959, 1970, 1979, and 1989). Both the quality and the quantity of the data have varied: in 1972 seven volumes totaling 3,238 pages were published on the 1970 census. In contrast, the results of the 1979 census were published more than five years later in a single volume of 366 pages.

According to the census of 1989, on the day of the census, January 12, the population of the Soviet Union was estimated to be 286,717,000. This figure maintained the country's long-standing position as the world's third most populous country after China and India. In the intercensal period (1979-88), the population of the Soviet Union grew from 262.4 million to 286.7 million, a 9 percent increase.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the Soviet Union experienced declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, a trend toward smaller nuclear families, and increasing mobility and urbanization. Major problems associated with such factors as migration, tension among nationality groups, uneven fertility rates, and high infant and adult mortality became increasingly acute, and various social programs and incentives were introduced to deal with them.

===Religion===
Over one-third of the people in the Soviet Union, an officially atheistic state, professed religious belief. Christianity and Islam had the most believers. Christians belonged to various churches: Orthodox, which had the largest number of followers; Catholic; and Baptist and various other Protestant sects. The majority of the Islamic faithful were Sunni. Judaism also had many followers. Other religions, which were practiced by a relatively small number of believers, included Buddhism, Lamaism, and shamanism, a religion based on primitive spiritualism.

The role of religion in the daily lives of Soviet citizens varied greatly. Because Islamic religious tenets and social values of Muslims are closely interrelated, religion appeared to have a greater influence on Muslims than on either Christians or other believers. Two-thirds of the Soviet population, however, had no religious beliefs. About half the people, including members of the CPSU and high-level government officials, professed atheism. For the majority of Soviet citizens, therefore, religion seemed irrelevant.

==Government==
:''Main article: [[Soviet Union government]]''
The Soviet Union administered the country's economy and society through decisions made by the leading political institution in the country, the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU).

In the late 1980s, the government appeared to have many characteristics in common with Western, democratic political systems. For instance, a constitution established all organs of government and granted to citizens a series of political and civic rights. A legislative body, the Congress of People's Deputies, and its standing legislature, the Supreme Soviet, represented the principle of popular sovereignty. The Supreme Soviet, which had an elected chairman who functioned as head of state, oversaw the Council of Ministers, which acted as the executive branch of the government. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, whose selection was approved by the legislative branch, functioned as head of government. A constitutionally based judicial branch of government included a court system, headed by the Supreme Court, which was responsible for overseeing the observance of Soviet law by government bodies. According to the Constitution of 1977, the government had a federal structure, permitting the republics some authority over policy implementation and offering the national minorities the appearance of participation in the management of their own affairs.

In practice, however, the government differed markedly from Western systems. In the late 1980s, the CPSU performed many functions that governments of other countries usually perform. For example, the party decided on the policy alternatives that the government ultimately implemented. The government merely ratified the party's decisions to lend them an aura of legitimacy. The CPSU used a variety of mechanisms to ensure that the government adhered to its policies. The party, using its nomenklatura authority, placed its loyalists in leadership positions throughout the government, where they were subject to the norms of [[democratic centralism]]. Party bodies closely monitored the actions of government ministries, agencies, and legislative organs.

The content of the Soviet Constitution differed in many ways from typical Western constitutions. It generally described existing political relationships, as determined by the CPSU, rather than prescribing an ideal set of political relationships. The Constitution was long and detailed, giving technical specifications for individual organs of government. The Constitution included political statements, such as foreign policy goals, and provided a theoretical definition of the state within the ideological framework of Marxism-Leninism. The CPSU could radically change the constitution or remake it completely, as it has done several times in the past.

The Council of Ministers acted as the executive body of the government. Its most important duties lay in the administration of the economy. The council was thoroughly under the control of the CPSU, and its chairman - the prime minister - was always a member of the Politburo. The council, which in 1989 included more than 100 members, is too large and unwieldy to act as a unified executive body. The council's Presidium, made up of the leading economic administrators and led by the chairman, exercised dominant power within the Council of Ministers.

According to the Constitution, as amended in 1988, the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union was the Congress of People's Deputies, which convened for the first time in May 1989. The main tasks of the congress were the election of the standing legislature, the Supreme Soviet, and the election of the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, who acted as head of state. Theoretically, the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet wielded enormous legislative power. In practice, however, the Congress of People's Deputies met only a few days in 1989 to approve decisions made by the party, the Council of Ministers, and its own Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, and the Council of Ministers had substantial authority to enact laws, decrees, resolutions, and orders binding on the population. The Congress of People's Deputies had the authority to ratify these decisions.

The government lacked an independent judiciary. The Supreme Court supervised the lower courts and applied the law, as established by the Constitution or as interpreted by the Supreme Soviet. The Constitutional Oversight Committee reviewed the constitutionality of laws and acts. The Soviet Union lacked an [[Adversary proceeding|adversary court procedure]]. Under Soviet law, which derived from Roman law, a procurator worked together with a judge and a defense attorney to ensure that civil and criminal trials uncovered the truth of the case, rather than protecting individual rights.

The Soviet Union was a federal state made up of fifteen republics joined together in a theoretically voluntary union. In turn, a series of territorial units made up the republics. The republics also contained jurisdictions intended to protect the interests of national minorities. The republics had their own constitutions, which, along with the all-union Constitution, provide the theoretical division of power in the Soviet Union. In 1989, however, the CPSU and the central government retained all significant authority, setting policies that were executed by republic, provincial (''oblast'', ''krai'', and autonomous subdivisions), and district (''raion'') governments.

==History==
:''Main article: [[Soviet Union (history)]]''
===Lenin===
The Soviet Union was established in December 1922 by the leaders of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) on territory generally corresponding to that of the old Russian Empire. A spontaneous popular uprising in Petrograd overthrew the imperial government in March 1917, leading to the formation of the Provisional Government, which intended to establish democracy in Russia. At the same time, to ensure the rights of the working class, workers' councils (''soviets'') sprang up across the country. The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir I. Lenin, agitated for socialist revolution in the soviets and on the streets, and they seized power from the Provisional Government in November 1917. Only after the ensuing Civil War (1918-21) and foreign intervention was the new communist government secure.

From its first years, government in the Soviet Union was based on the one-party rule of the Communists, as the Bolsheviks called themselves beginning March 1918. After unsuccessfully attempting to centralize the economy during the Civil War, the Soviet government permitted some private enterprise to coexist with nationalized industry in the 1920s. Debate over the future of the economy provided the background for Soviet leaders to contend for power in the years after Lenin's death in 1924. By gradually consolidating influence and isolating his rivals within the party, Joseph V. Stalin became the sole leader of the Soviet Union by the end of the 1920s.
===Stalin===
In 1928 Stalin introduced the First Five-Year Plan for building a socialist economy. In industry, the state assumed control over all existing enterprises and undertook an intensive program of industrialization; in agriculture, the state appropriated the peasants' property to establish collective farms. These sweeping economic innovations produced widespread misery, and millions of peasants perished during forced collectivization. Social upheaval continued in the mid-1930s when Stalin began a purge of the party; out of this purge grew a campaign of terror that led to the execution or imprisonment of untold millions of people from all walks of life. Yet despite this turmoil, the Soviet Union developed a powerful industrial economy in the years before World War II.
===World War II===
Stalin tried to divide up Eastern Europe with Germany by concluding the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with Adolf Hitler in 1939. The USSR took over the Baltics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and the eastern half of Poland, while going to war with [Finland]]. Communists across the world ended their diatribes against fascism, while Stalin provided the German war machine with supplies of oil and grain. Europe was not big enough for two dictators, so in June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The U.S. and Britain formed an alliance with Stalin to fight the Nazis, and poured in [[Lend Lease]] aid. After many humiliating defeats and the loss of three mission soldiers, the Red Army finally stopped the Nazi offensive at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-43 and then overran much of eastern Europe before Germany surrendered in 1945. Although severely ravaged in the war, the Soviet Union emerged from the conflict as one of the world's great powers.
===Cold War===
During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded its economy, using resourcs stripped from defeated Germany. The Red Army imposed Communist political control over postwar Eastern Europe, except for Yugoslavia and Albania. The active Soviet foreign policy helped bring about the [[Cold War]], starting about 1947, which turned its wartime allies, Britain and the United States, into foes. Within the Soviet Union, repressive measures continued in force; Stalin apparently was about to launch a new purge when he died in 1953.
===Khrushchev===
see [[Nikita Khrushchev]]

After three years of a join leadership, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] seized power, denounced Stalin's use of terror and effectively reduced repressive controls over party and society. Khrushchev's reforms in agriculture and administration, however, were generally unproductive, and foreign policy toward China and the United States suffered reverses. Khrushchev's colleagues in the leadership removed him from power in 1964.
===Brezhnev ===
Following the ouster of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued, which lasted until Leonid I. Brezhnev established himself in the early 1970s as the preeminent figure in Soviet political life. Brezhnev presided over a period of détente with the West while at the same time building up Soviet military strength; the arms buildup contributed to the demise of [[détente]] in the late 1970s. Also contributing to the end of détente was the [[Soviet-Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in December 1979.

After some experimentation with economic reforms in the mid-1960s, the Soviet leadership reverted to established means of economic management. Industry showed slow but steady gains during the 1970s, while agricultural development continued to lag. In contrast to the revolutionary spirit that accompanied the birth of the Soviet Union, the prevailing mood of the Soviet leadership at the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982 was one of cautious conservatism and aversion to change. Brezhnev was succeeded by former KGB head Yuri Andropov.
===Reagan challenge===
Friction with the west continued in the 1980's, especially with the United States and its new president, [[Ronald Reagan]], who saw the Soviet Union for what it was and branded it an "evil empire," partially in response to the Afghanistan occupation. Reagan negotiated with West Germany to provide sites for the basing of Pershing II medium-range ballistic missiles, which was bitterly opposed by Moscow. A short period of confrontation existed between the two superpowers during the period of late-1983 through 1984, beginning with the tragic Soviet attack on a commercial airliner, [[Korean Airlines Flight 007]], over international waters near Sakhalin Island on September 1, 1983, and killing 269 civilians, including a sitting U.S. Congressman, [[Larry McDonald]]; this was followed by events within a military exercise known as [[Able Archer]], in which a falling satellite was mistaken for an incoming ICBM and almost triggered a major war. Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], a space-based missile defense system critics derisively dubbed "Star Wars" as well as his expansion of the United States military, also prompted a new, expensive arms race.

Andropov and his successor, Konstantin Chernenko, kept the communist system under Brezhnev intact, but upon Chernenko's death [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became party chairman.
===Gorbachev and the end of Communism===
see [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]

A reformer, he introduced a series of economic and political reforms known as ''[[glasnost]]'' ("openess") and ''[[perestroika]]'' ("restructuring"), which began to creak open the doors of the Soviet's closed system. A failed attempt to reign in the three [[Baltic States]] in 1989 led to a domino-effect of Warsaw Pact countries abandoning communism; a coup attempt against Gorbachev in 1991 by hard-liners trying to keep their tattering empire ended within days. The USSR was formally dissolved on Christmas day 1991 by [[Boris Yeltsin]], freeing many from its tyranny. The main successor state to the Soviet Union is [[Russia]]; the effort to form a "Commonwealth of Independent States" went nowhere, and the 15 republics of the USSR are now independent states.

==See Also==
*[[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
*[[Soviet Union government]]
*[[Nazi Germany]]
*[[Korean Airlines Flight 007]]
*[[Soviet Officers of KAL 007 Shootdown]]
*[[KAL 007: Timeline of Interception and Shootdown]]
*[[Anatoly Kornukov]]

==Bibliography==
===Surveys===
* Brzezinski, Zbigniew. ''Grand Failure: The Birth and Death of Communism in the Twentieth Century'' (1990)
* Ingram, Philip. ''Russia and the USSR, 1905-1991'' (1997) [http://www.amazon.com/Russia-1905-1991-Cambridge-History-Programme/dp/0521568676/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232394134&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Keep, John L. H. ''Last of the Empires: A History of the Soviet Union, 1945-1991'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/read/25055927?title=Last%20of%20the%20Empires%3a%20A%20History%20of%20the%20Soviet%20Union%2c%201945-1991 online edition]
* McCauley, Martin. ''The Soviet Union: 1917-1991'' (1993) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=54365219 online edition]
* McCauley, Martin. ''Who's Who in Russia since 1900,'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/103052094?title=Who's%20Who%20in%20Russia%20since%201900 online edition]
* Malia, Martin. ''Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia'' (1995) [http://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Tragedy-History-Socialism-Russia/dp/0684823136/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232396454&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Nove, Alec. ''An Economic History of the USSR 1917-1991'' (3rd ed. 1993)
* Pipes, Richard. ''Communism: A History'' (2003), by a leading conservative
* Suny, Ronald Grigor. ''The Soviet Experiment: Russia, the USSR, and the Successor States.'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24265044# online edition]
===Lenin and Stalin===
* Bullock, Alan. ''Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives'' (1992), a double biography covering each man in separate but parallel chapters
* Lee, Stephen J. ''Stalin and the Soviet Union'' (1999) [http://www.questia.com/read/108215209?title=Stalin%20and%20the%20Soviet%20Union online edition]
* McCauley, Martin. ''Stalin and Stalinism'' (3rd ed 2003), 172pp
* Service, Robert. ''Stalin: A Biography'' (2004), along with Tucker the standard biography
* Service, Robert. ''Lenin: A Biography'' (2002)
* Tucker, Robert C. ''Stalin as Revolutionary, 1879-1929'' (1973); ''Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1929-1941.'' (1990) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103246514 online edition] with Service, a standard biography; [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]
* Ulam, A. B. ''Stalin'' (1973), good older biography; replaced by Tucker and Service
* Wood, Alan. ''Stalin and Stalinism'', (2004), 105pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108863368 online edition]
===Peoples, society, culture===
* Cole, J. P. ''Geography of the Soviet Union'' (1984) [http://www.questia.com/read/7724372?title=Geography%20of%20the%20Soviet%20Union online edition]
* Davis, Nathaniel. ''A Long Walk to Church: A Contemporary History of Russian Orthodoxy'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/30537968?title=A%20Long%20Walk%20to%20Church%3a%20A%20Contemporary%20History%20of%20Russian%20Orthodoxy online edition]
* Denber, Rachel. ''The Soviet Nationality Reader: The Disintegration in Context'' (1992) [http://www.questia.com/read/97474829?title=The%20Soviet%20Nationality%20Reader%3a%20The%20Disintegration%20in%20Context online edition]
* Lane, David. ''Soviet Society under Perestroika'' (1992) [http://www.questia.com/read/103443652?title=Soviet%20Society%20under%20Perestroika online edition]
* Lapidus, Gail Warshofsky. ''Women, Work, and Family in the Soviet Union'' (1982) [http://www.questia.com/read/106056669?title=Women%2c%20Work%2c%20and%20Family%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union online edition]
* Lutz, Wolfgang Lutz, Sergei Scherbov, Andrei Volkov. ''Demographic Trends and Patterns in the Soviet Union before 1991'' (1994) [http://www.questia.com/read/103849492?title=Demographic%20Trends%20and%20Patterns%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union%20before%201991 online edition]
* Wixman, Ronald. ''The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook'' (1984) [http://www.questia.com/read/582240?title=The%20Peoples%20of%20the%20USSR%3a%20An%20Ethnographic%20Handbook online edition]

===1918-1939===
* Daniels, R. V., ed. ''The Stalin Revolution'' (1965)
* Davies, Sarah, and James Harris, eds. ''Stalin: A New History,'' (2006), 310pp, 14 specialized essays by scholars [http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-New-History-Sarah-Davies/dp/0521616530/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201494353&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* De Jonge, Alex. ''Stalin and the Shaping of the Soviet Union'' (1986)
* Fitzpatrick, Sheila, ed. ''Stalinism: New Directions,'' (1999), 396pp excerpts from many scholars on the impact of Stalinism on the people (little on Stalin himself) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=109468478 online edition]
* Hoffmann, David L. ed. ''Stalinism: The Essential Readings,'' (2002) essays by 12 scholars
* Pipes, Richard. ''A Concise History of the Russian Revolution'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-History-Russian-Revolution/dp/0679745440/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232393501&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search], by a leading conservative
* Tucker, Robert. ''Stalinism: Essays in Historical Interpretation'' (1998) [http://www.amazon.com/Stalinism-Historical-Interpretation-Robert-Tucker/dp/0765804832/ref=sr_1_12/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193876953&sr=1-12 excerpt and text search]

===[[Gulag]] and Terror===
* Applebaum, Anne. ''Gulag: A History.'' 2003. 736 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Gulag-History-ANNE-APPLEBAUM/dp/B0007NMYPY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201494284&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Conquest, Robert. ''The Great Terror: A Reassessment'' (1991) [http://www.questia.com/read/79044140?title=The%20Great%20Terror%3a%20A%20Reassessment online edition]
* Pohl, J. Otto. ''Ethnic Cleansing in the USSR, 1937-1949'' (1999) [http://www.questia.com/read/9465022?title=Ethnic%20Cleansing%20in%20the%20USSR%2c%201937-1949 online edition]
* Rosefielde, Steven. "Stalinism in Post-Communist Perspective: New Evidence on Killings, Forced Labour and Economic Growth in the 1930s" ''Europe-Asia Studies,'' Vol. 48, No. 6 (Sep., 1996), pp. 959-987 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0966-8136(199609)48%3A6%3C959%3ASIPPNE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V in JSTOR]

===World War II===
* Brandon, Ray, and Wendy Lower, eds. ''The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization.'' (2008). 378 pp. [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=24078 online review], on the Holocaust
* Broekmeyer, Marius. ''Stalin, the Russians, and Their War, 1941-1945.'' 2004. 315 pp.
* Overy, Richard. ''The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia.'' 2004. 448 pp. focus on 1930-45 [http://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Hitlers-Germany-Stalins-Russia/dp/B000FTCH5W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201494219&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Priestland, David. ''Stalinism and the Politics of Mobilization'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Stalinism-Politics-Mobilization-David-Priestland/dp/0199245134/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201494105&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Roberts, Geoffrey. ''Stalin's Wars: From World War to Cold War, 1939–1953'' (2006).

===Cold War===
* see [[Cold War]]
* Craig, Campbell, and Yuri Smirnov. ''Truman, Stalin, and the Bomb'' (2008)
* Gaddis, John. ''A New History of the Cold War'' (2006)
* Holloway, David. ''Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956'' (1996) [http://www.amazon.com/Stalin-Bomb-Soviet-Atomic-1939-1956/dp/0300066643/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193876689&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Mastny, Vojtech. ''The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The Stalin Years'' (1998) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98422373 online edition] [http://www.historyebook.org/ online at ACLS e-books]
* Zubok, Vladislav M. ''A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Failed-Empire-Soviet-Gorbachev-History/dp/0807859583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232393695&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]
===Khruschev, Gorbachev===
* Brown, Archie. ''The Gorbachev Factor'' (1996) [http://www.questia.com/read/109878423?title=The%20Gorbachev%20Factor online edition]
* Dallin, Alexander, and Gail W. Lapidus. ''The Soviet System: From Crisis to Collapse'' (1995) [http://www.questia.com/read/100838053?title=The%20Soviet%20System%3a%20From%20Crisis%20to%20Collapse online edition]
* Matlock, Jack. ''Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended'' (2005), by leading conservative [http://www.amazon.com/Reagan-Gorbachev-How-Cold-Ended/dp/0812974891/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232393695&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Taubman, William. ''Khrushchev: The Man and His Era'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Khrushchev-Man-His-William-Taubman/dp/0393324842/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232393626&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Zubok, Vladislav M. ''A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Failed-Empire-Soviet-Gorbachev-History/dp/0807859583/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232393695&sr=8-5 excerpt and text search]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sutoc.html Library of Congress detailed country study on the Soviet Union]
*State Defense Committee Decree No. 5859ss [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/l2tartar.html "On the Crimean Tatars"], The Kremlin, May 11, 1944.

[[category:Russian History]]
[[Category:Former Countries]]
[[Category:Warsaw Pact Members]]
[[Category:Communist States]]
[[Category:Cold War]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]

Joseph Wellington Byrns

2010-07-20T12:54:45Z

MarcoT2:

'''Joseph Wellington Byrns''' (1869 - 1936) was the father of Joseph Wellington Byrns, Jr. and a Representative from [[Tennessee]]; born near Cedar Hill, Robertson County, TN, July 20, 1869

* Attended the common schools
* Was graduated from [[Nashville]] High School in 1887 and from the [[law]] department of [[Vanderbilt University]], Nashville, TN, in 1890
* Was admitted to the bar in 1890 and commenced the practice of law in [[Nashville]]
* Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1895-1901
* Member of the Tennessee State Senate in 1901-1903
* Unsuccessful candidate for [[district attorney]] general of Davidson County in 1902
* Elected as a [[Democrat]] to the Sixty-first and to the thirteen succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1909, until his death; chairman, Committee on Appropriations (Seventy-second Congress)
* Majority leader (Seventy-third Congress), [[Speaker of the House of Representatives]] (Seventy-fourth Congress)
* Chairman of the [[Democratic National Congressional Campaign Committee]] 1928-1930
* Was a nominee for reelection to the Seventy-fifth Congress at the time of his death
* Died in [[Washington, D.C.]], on June 4, 1936; funeral services were held in the Hall of the House of Representatives
* Buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Nashville, Tenn.

==References==
*http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrns, Joseph Wellington}}

[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Speakers of the House(US)]]

Acid Rock

2010-07-20T12:27:44Z

MarcoT2:

'''Acid rocks''' are [[igneous rock]]s with over 65% total [[silica]] and over 20% [[quartz]].

==Sources==
*Pellant, Chris. ''The Complete Book of Rocks and Minerals'', p.250, Dorling Kindersley Inc.: New York (1995)

[[category:Igneous Rocks]]

Secular education

2010-07-20T12:23:30Z

MarcoT2: Fixed extra space

Secular education is education that is not concerned with religious precepts or values. Its opposite is religious education.
Public education in countries which practice the [[separation of church and state]] is usually secular.

==Quotes==

The enslavement of his weaker brethren — "the labour of those who do not enjoy, for the enjoyment of those who do not labour" — the degradation of women — the torture of the animal world — these are the steps of the ladder by which man is ascending to his higher civilization. Selfishness is the keynote of all purely secular education. ([[Charles Dodgson]], {{citation needed}})

Take care what you are about, for unless you base all this on religion, you are only making so many clever devils.<ref>Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Philip Henry, Fifth Earl Stanhope, ''Notes of Conversation with the Duke of Wellington'', 1831-1851 (1886)</ref>

To know the laws of the physical world, the properties of their own bodies and minds, the past history of their species, is as much a benefit to the Jew, the Mussulman, the Deist, the Atheist, as to the orthodox churchman; and it is as iniquitous to withhold it from them. Education provided by the public must be education for all, and to be education for all it must be purely secular education.<ref>John Stuart Mill, [http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/education.html Speech on Secular Education], 1849.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Secular education

2010-07-20T12:22:21Z

MarcoT2: Expanded the article. As it was, it consisted only of one unsourced quote.

Secular education is education that is not concerned with religious precepts or values. Its opposite is religious education.
Public education in countries which practice the [[separation of church and state]] is usually secular.

==Quotes==

The enslavement of his weaker brethren — "the labour of those who do not enjoy, for the enjoyment of those who do not labour" — the degradation of women — the torture of the animal world — these are the steps of the ladder by which man is ascending to his higher civilization. Selfishness is the keynote of all purely secular education. ([[Charles Dodgson]], {{citation needed}})

Take care what you are about, for unless you base all this on religion, you are only making so many clever devils.<ref>Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Philip Henry, Fifth Earl Stanhope, ''Notes of Conversation with the Duke of Wellington'', 1831-1851 (1886)</ref>

To know the laws of the physical world, the properties of their own bodies and minds, the past history of their species, is as much a benefit to the Jew, the Mussulman, the Deist, the Atheist, as to the orthodox churchman ; and it is as iniquitous to withhold it from them. Education provided by the public must be education for all, and to be education for all it must be purely secular education.<ref>John Stuart Mill, [http://www.utilitarian.org/texts/education.html Speech on Secular Education], 1849.</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Behavior

2010-07-20T12:02:13Z

MarcoT2:

The '''behavior''' (british spelling ''behaviour'') is the manner in which someone or something behaves or [[act]]s, in response to internal or external stimuli.

[[Category:Sociology]]

Behavior

2010-07-20T12:02:02Z

MarcoT2:

The '''Behavior''' (british spelling ''behaviour'') is the manner in which someone or something behaves or [[act]]s, in response to internal or external stimuli.

[[Category:Sociology]]

H. G. Wells

2010-07-20T11:57:34Z

MarcoT2:

[[Image:430px-H G Wells pre 1922.jpg|right|thumb|H. G. Wells]]
'''H. G. Wells''' (Herbert George Wells, 1866-1946) was a pioneering [[science-fiction]] author, novelist, futurist, and political theorist, best known for his science-fiction works, and in particular ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'', ''[[The Time Machine]]'', and ''[[The Invisible Man]]''.

His novels and stories were written in a period extending roughly from 1895 (''The Time Machine'') to 1940 (''All aboard for Ararat''). Other science-fiction novels that remain popular today include ''The War of the Worlds,'' ''The Invisible Man,'' and ''The Island of Dr. Moreau.'' All have been the subject of motion-picture adaptations, often more than once.

He wrote numerous novels that were not in the science-fiction genre: for example, ''Kipps'' was adapted into the Broadway musical and motion picture ''Half a Sixpence'', and ''Tono-Bungay'' describes a young man's adventures assisting his entrepreneurial uncle in the marketing of a patent medicine.

His relatively obscure 1914 novel, ''The World Set Free,'' is notable for the use of the phrase "atomic bomb" and his description of these devices:

:...nothing could have been more obvious to the people of the earlier twentieth century than the rapidity with which war was becoming impossible. And as certainly they did not see it. They did not see it until the atomic bombs burst in their fumbling hands. Yet the broad facts must have glared upon any intelligent mind. All through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the amount of energy that men were able to command was continually increasing. Applied to warfare that meant that the power to inflict a blow, the power to destroy, was continually increasing. There was no increase whatever in the ability to escape. Every sort of passive defence, armour, fortifications, and so forth, was being outmastered by this tremendous increase on the destructive side. Destruction was becoming so facile that any little body of malcontents could use it; it was revolutionising the problems of police and internal rule. Before the last war began it was a matter of common knowledge that a man could carry about in a handbag an amount of latent energy sufficient to wreck half a city.

His description of how the "atomic bombs" were supposed to work was entirely incorrect. Nevertheless, his formulation of the problem as being one of speeding up the process of natural radioactive decay was intriguing to [[Leo Szilard]], who acknowledged the book as an inspiration for his discovery or invention of the nuclear chain reaction.

Wells' 1919 nonfiction book, ''The Outline of History,'' was an influential best-seller.

In 1936, Alexander Korda produced the movie ''Things to Come,'' based on a screenplay and concepts by H. G. Wells. Wells was involved in the project to an unprecedented extent and given a large measure of control. The title screen, in fact, bills the movie as "H. G. Wells' THINGS TO COME," with "Produced by Alexander Korda" appearing in smaller type. The complex story line culminates with the establishment of a technocracy, with a brave young couple being launched on a journey to the Moon in a Jules-Verne-like "space gun," while an angry crowd, determined to "stop this Progress" converges on the device and tries to destroy it.

His 1938 book ''World Brain'' is a series of essays on how a world organization of scholars might build a "World Encyclopaedia" which
:could spread like a nervous network, a system of mental control about the globe, knitting all the intellectual workers of the world through a common interest and a common medium of expression into a more and more conscious co-operating unity and a growing sense of their own dignity, informing with pressure or propaganda, directing without tyranny.<ref>Wells, H. G. (1938), ''World Brain,'' p. 33; from Books for Libraries Press facsimile edition.</ref>
''World Brain'' in some ways, with hindsight, seems to prefigure the Internet—but with a dignified sense of serious purpose that is quite unlike the Internet. Wells may in some ways have been more prophetic, or at any rate more savvy in his 1899 novella ''A Story of the Days to Come,'' when he wrote:
:This phonographic machine was the size and shape of a Dutch clock, and down the front of it were electric barometric indicators, and an electric clock and calendar, and automatic engagement reminders, and where the clock would have been was the mouth of a trumpet. When it had news the trumpet gobbled like a turkey, "Galloop, galloop," and then brayed out its message as, let us say, a trumpet might bray. It would well Mwres in full, rich, throaty tones about the overnight accidents to the omnibus flying machines that plied around the world, the latest arrivals at the fashionable resorts in Tibet, and of all the great monopolist company meetings of the day before. If Mwres did not like hearing what it said, he had only to touch a stud, and it would choke a little and talk about something else.<ref>Wells, H. G., (1899), "A Story of the Days to Come," from ''Tales of Space and TIme." Quotation is from pp. 193-4 of a Dover reprint edition, "Three Prophetic Novels of H. G. Wells."</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Jules Verne]]

==Notes and references==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Wells, H.G.}}
[[Category:Authors|Wells, H.G.]]

H. G. Wells

2010-07-20T11:56:56Z

MarcoT2: Preliminary fixes, more work needed!

[[Image:430px-H G Wells pre 1922.jpg|right|thumb|H. G. Wells]]
'''H. G. Wells''' (Herbert George Wells, 1866-1946) was a pioneering [[science-fiction]] author, novelist, futurist, and political theorist, best known for his science-fiction works, and in particular ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'', ''The Time Machine'', and ''[[The Invisible Man]]''.

His novels and stories were written in a period extending roughly from 1895 (''[[The Time Machine]]'') to 1940 (''All aboard for Ararat''). Other science-fiction novels that remain popular today include ''The War of the Worlds,'' ''The Invisible Man,'' and ''The Island of Dr. Moreau.'' All have been the subject of motion-picture adaptations, often more than once.

He wrote numerous novels that were not in the science-fiction genre: for example, ''Kipps'' was adapted into the Broadway musical and motion picture ''Half a Sixpence'', and ''Tono-Bungay'' describes a young man's adventures assisting his entrepreneurial uncle in the marketing of a patent medicine.

His relatively obscure 1914 novel, ''The World Set Free,'' is notable for the use of the phrase "atomic bomb" and his description of these devices:

:...nothing could have been more obvious to the people of the earlier twentieth century than the rapidity with which war was becoming impossible. And as certainly they did not see it. They did not see it until the atomic bombs burst in their fumbling hands. Yet the broad facts must have glared upon any intelligent mind. All through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the amount of energy that men were able to command was continually increasing. Applied to warfare that meant that the power to inflict a blow, the power to destroy, was continually increasing. There was no increase whatever in the ability to escape. Every sort of passive defence, armour, fortifications, and so forth, was being outmastered by this tremendous increase on the destructive side. Destruction was becoming so facile that any little body of malcontents could use it; it was revolutionising the problems of police and internal rule. Before the last war began it was a matter of common knowledge that a man could carry about in a handbag an amount of latent energy sufficient to wreck half a city.

His description of how the "atomic bombs" were supposed to work was entirely incorrect. Nevertheless, his formulation of the problem as being one of speeding up the process of natural radioactive decay was intriguing to [[Leo Szilard]], who acknowledged the book as an inspiration for his discovery or invention of the nuclear chain reaction.

Wells' 1919 nonfiction book, ''The Outline of History,'' was an influential best-seller.

In 1936, Alexander Korda produced the movie ''Things to Come,'' based on a screenplay and concepts by H. G. Wells. Wells was involved in the project to an unprecedented extent and given a large measure of control. The title screen, in fact, bills the movie as "H. G. Wells' THINGS TO COME," with "Produced by Alexander Korda" appearing in smaller type. The complex story line culminates with the establishment of a technocracy, with a brave young couple being launched on a journey to the Moon in a Jules-Verne-like "space gun," while an angry crowd, determined to "stop this Progress" converges on the device and tries to destroy it.

His 1938 book ''World Brain'' is a series of essays on how a world organization of scholars might build a "World Encyclopaedia" which
:could spread like a nervous network, a system of mental control about the globe, knitting all the intellectual workers of the world through a common interest and a common medium of expression into a more and more conscious co-operating unity and a growing sense of their own dignity, informing with pressure or propaganda, directing without tyranny.<ref>Wells, H. G. (1938), ''World Brain,'' p. 33; from Books for Libraries Press facsimile edition.</ref>
''World Brain'' in some ways, with hindsight, seems to prefigure the Internet—but with a dignified sense of serious purpose that is quite unlike the Internet. Wells may in some ways have been more prophetic, or at any rate more savvy in his 1899 novella ''A Story of the Days to Come,'' when he wrote:
:This phonographic machine was the size and shape of a Dutch clock, and down the front of it were electric barometric indicators, and an electric clock and calendar, and automatic engagement reminders, and where the clock would have been was the mouth of a trumpet. When it had news the trumpet gobbled like a turkey, "Galloop, galloop," and then brayed out its message as, let us say, a trumpet might bray. It would well Mwres in full, rich, throaty tones about the overnight accidents to the omnibus flying machines that plied around the world, the latest arrivals at the fashionable resorts in Tibet, and of all the great monopolist company meetings of the day before. If Mwres did not like hearing what it said, he had only to touch a stud, and it would choke a little and talk about something else.<ref>Wells, H. G., (1899), "A Story of the Days to Come," from ''Tales of Space and TIme." Quotation is from pp. 193-4 of a Dover reprint edition, "Three Prophetic Novels of H. G. Wells."</ref>

== See also ==

*[[Jules Verne]]

==Notes and references==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Wells, H.G.}}
[[Category:Authors|Wells, H.G.]]

Senderos

2010-07-20T11:52:33Z

MarcoT2: Redirected page to Philippe Senderos

#REDIRECT [[Philippe Senderos]]