Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Nicolas Cage

2012-08-01T23:46:03Z

OscarJ: removing vandalism

'''Nicolas Cage''' (born Nicolas Kim Coppola) is an [[Academy Award]] winning actor, whose films include ''The Family Man'' and ''Bangkok Dangerous''.

==Other Films==
*[[Knowing]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cage, Nicolas}}
[[Category:Actors]]

Cdesign proponentsists

2011-11-30T17:05:58Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 890000 by ELWisty (talk) vandalism

The smear term "'''cdesign proponentsists'''" came into vogue use by evolutionists during and after the [[Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District]] trial in [[Pennsylvania]] over the legitimacy of intelligent design as a science.

A minor piece of the defense (Pro-intelligent design) was a book called [[Of Pandas and People]], a science textbook for middle and high school children. During the trial, previous copies of the book were subpoenaed for review. It was discovered that previous versions of the book had the words "creationist," "creationism" and other similar words and phrases in place of every use of the words "intelligent design" and similar words and phrases in later editions. In a single, isolated case, it was shown that the word "creationists" had been partially replaced with "design proponents," strangely resulting in "cdesign proponentsists".

The presentation of this information was regarded as inherently deceitful, as the litigants failed to mention that the change was made during a long process of adapting areligious elements from creationist sources into the new book, not a mere rebranding. The book's editor, Charles Thaxton<ref>[http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/09/response_to_barbara_forrests_k_4.html ''Response to Barbara Forrest's Kitzmiller Account Part V: Phillip Johnson and Of Pandas and People'', Evolution News & Views]</ref>:
<blockquote>"I wasn’t comfortable with the typical vocabulary that for the most part creationists were using because it didn’t express what I was trying to do. They were wanting to bring God into the discussion, and I was wanting to stay within the empirical domain and do what you can do legitimately there."</blockquote>

[[John E. Jones III]]'s widely condemned verdict was that intelligent design was the same as creationism and that Dover School Board's attempt to allow it to be taught in schools violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.<ref>[http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

[[category:law]]

Cdesign proponentsists

2011-11-30T17:04:47Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 890059 by ELWisty (talk) vandalism

The amusing term "'''cdesign proponentsists'''" came into use by sensible people during and after the [[Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District]] trial in [[Pennsylvania]] over the legitimacy of intelligent design as a science.

A major piece of the defense (Pro-intelligent design) was a book called [[Of Pandas and People]], a science textbook for middle and high school children. During the trial, previous copies of the book were subpoenaed for review. It was discovered that previous versions of the book had the words "creationist," "creationism" and other similar words and phrases in place of every use of the words "intelligent design" and similar words and phrases in later editions. In a single, isolated case, it was shown that the word "creationists" had been partially replaced with "design proponents," wonderfully resulting in "cdesign proponentsists".

The presentation of this information was regarded by cdesign proponentsists as inherently deceitful, as the litigants failed to mention that the change was made during a long process of adapting areligious elements from creationist sources into the new book, as a rebranding exercise. The book's editor, Charles Thaxton<ref>[http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/09/response_to_barbara_forrests_k_4.html ''Response to Barbara Forrest's Kitzmiller Account Part V: Phillip Johnson and Of Pandas and People'', Evolution News & Views]</ref>:
<blockquote>"I wasn’t comfortable with the typical vocabulary that for the most part creationists were using because it didn’t express what I was trying to do. They were wanting to bring God into the discussion, and I was wanting to stay within the empirical domain and do what you can do legitimately there."</blockquote>

[[John E. Jones III]]'s widely applauded verdict was that intelligent design was the same as creationism and that Dover School Board's attempt to allow it to be taught in schools violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment.<ref>[http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/kitzmiller/kitzmiller_342.pdf U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|1}}

[[category:law]]

Great Wall of China

2010-05-15T19:05:43Z

OscarJ: copyedit

[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China. Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]
The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall located in [[China]], constructed in ancient times to act as a barrier against unlawful trespass. It is about 4,000 miles long and at several points it is more than 20 feet tall.

Work on the wall started in 500 BC during the rule of the first Chinese emperor, [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting many older walls which were constructed by individual pre-unified Chinese states to keep out northern barbarians. Most of the work was done during the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>At regular intervals towers were built; they originally functioned purely as watchtowers, but later on they were modified to include [[cannon]]s.<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref>

A long-standing legend holds that the Great Wall of China is the only [[human|man-made]] structure visible from space, or even that it is visible from the [[Moon]]. This legend probably originated with [[Richard Halliburton]]'s 1938 "Second Book of Marvels," which made this claim. In fact, it has been disputed whether it is even visible to the naked eye from low earth orbit. A 2008 article in Scientific American stated that, "The unglamorous truth is that the wall is only visible from low orbit under a specific set of weather and lighting conditions. And many other structures that are less spectacular from an earthly vantage point—desert roads, for example—appear more prominent from an orbital perspective."<ref>[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-chinas-great-wall-visible-from-space Scientific American, ''Is China's Great Wall Visible from Space? Though it stretches for some 4,500 miles, the ancient Chinese fortification is not as visible from orbit as modern desert roads'', by Mara Hvistendahl, February 21, 2008]</ref> In 2005 an [[American]] astronaut (of [[Chinese]] descent) succeeded in [[photograph]]ing the Wall. <ref>BBC News, Shanghai ''Great Wall visible in space photo'', by Francis Markus, 19 April, 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4459311.stm BBC News report of "China Daily" article 4/19/2005]</ref>

There is no truth to the notion that there are ''few'' human structures visible from space; Cecil Adams comments:

<blockquote>

Any number of man-made structures can be seen from space, provided we mean "structure" to mean "anything built." Many of these are things that look like long, straight lines when seen from far off, such as [[highway]]s, [[railroad]]s, [[canal]]s, and of course walls. If the orbit is low enough you can see even more, I have here a photo of [[Cape Canaveral]] taken during the Gemini V flight in which the big Launch Complex 39, used for the Apollo missions, is clearly visible. Another photo of the Nile delta, taken from a height of 100 miles, shows an extensive road network. Gemini V astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad were able to spot, among other things, a special checkerboard pattern that had been laid out in [[Texas]], a rocket-sled test in [[New Mexico]], and the [[aircraft carrier]] that would later pick them up in the Atlantic, along with a destroyer trailing in its wake.<ref>[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_092.html Is the Great Wall of China the only man-made object you can see from space?] Cecil Adams, ''The Straight Dope''</ref>
</blockquote>

As to whether the Wall can be seen from space, Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean says, "The only thing you can see from the Moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white, some blue and patches of yellow, and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible at this scale." <ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html NASA, ''China's Wall Less Great in View from Space'', 05.09.05 ]</ref>

According to NASA director Adnan Lulla, "A lot has been said and written about how visible the wall is. In fact, it is very, very difficult to distinguish the Great Wall of China in astronaut photography, because the materials that were used in the wall are similar in color and texture to the materials of the land surrounding the wall -- the dirt." <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html</ref>

[[Image:Wall China.gif|left]]

The Great Wall was listed as World Heritage by the [[UN]] in 1987.<ref>http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn/en </ref> Although long sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared, it is still one of the more remarkable structures on earth and China's best-known monument.

== References ==
<references/>

== See also ==
*[[Beijing]]
*[[World History Lecture Three]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037891/Great-Wall-of-China Great Wall of China] Encyclopaedia Britannica.

[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Buildings]]
[[Category:Tourist Attractions]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]

Great Wall of China

2010-05-15T19:04:11Z

OscarJ: ref;removing dubious claim

[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China. Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]
The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall located in [[China]], constructed in ancient times to act as a barrier against unlawful trespass. It is about 4,000 miles long and at several points it is more than 20 feet tall.

Work on the wall started in 500 BC during the rule of the first Chinese emperor, [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting many older walls which were constructed by individual pre-unified Chinese states to keep out northern barbarians. Most of the work was done during the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>At regular intervals towers were built; they originally functioned purely as watchtowers, but later on they were modified to include [[cannon]]s.<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref>

A long-standing legend holds that the Great Wall of China is the only [[human|man-made]] structure visible from space, or even that it is visible from the [[Moon]]. This legend probably originated with [[Richard Halliburton]]'s 1938 "Second Book of Marvels," which made this claim. In fact, it has been disputed whether it is even visible to the naked eye from low earth orbit. A 2008 article in Scientific American stated that, "The unglamorous truth is that the wall is only visible from low orbit under a specific set of weather and lighting conditions. And many other structures that are less spectacular from an earthly vantage point—desert roads, for example—appear more prominent from an orbital perspective."<ref>[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-chinas-great-wall-visible-from-space Scientific American, ''Is China's Great Wall Visible from Space? Though it stretches for some 4,500 miles, the ancient Chinese fortification is not as visible from orbit as modern desert roads'', by Mara Hvistendahl, February 21, 2008]</ref> In 2005 an [[American]] astronaut (of [[Chinese]] descent) succeeded in [[photograph]]ing the Wall. <ref>BBC News, Shanghai ''Great Wall visible in space photo'', by Francis Markus, 19 April, 2005 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4459311.stm BBC News report of "China Daily" article 4/19/2005]</ref>

There is no truth to the notion that there are ''few'' human structures visible from space; Cecil Adams comments:

<blockquote>

Any number of man-made structures can be seen from space, provided we mean "structure" to mean "anything built." Many of these are things that look like long, straight lines when seen from far off, such as [[highway]]s, [[railroad]]s, [[canal]]s, and of course walls. If the orbit is low enough you can see even more, I have here a photo of [[Cape Canaveral]] taken during the Gemini V flight in which the big Launch Complex 39, used for the Apollo missions, is clearly visible. Another photo of the Nile delta, taken from a height of 100 miles, shows an extensive road network. Gemini V astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad were able to spot, among other things, a special checkerboard pattern that had been laid out in [[Texas]], a rocket-sled test in [[New Mexico]], and the [[aircraft carrier]] that would later pick them up in the Atlantic, along with a destroyer trailing in its wake.<ref>[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_092.html Is the Great Wall of China the only man-made object you can see from space?] Cecil Adams, ''The Straight Dope''</ref>
</blockquote>

As to whether the Wall can be seen from space, Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean says, "The only thing you can see from the Moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white, some blue and patches of yellow, and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible at this scale." <ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html NASA, ''China's Wall Less Great in View from Space'', 05.09.05 ]</ref>

According to NASA director Adnan Lulla, "A lot has been said and written about how visible the wall is. In fact, it is very, very difficult to distinguish the Great Wall of China in astronaut photography, because the materials that were used in the wall are similar in color and texture to the materials of the land surrounding the wall -- the dirt." <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/workinginspace/great_wall.html</ref>

[[Image:Wall China.gif|left]]

The Great Wall was listed as World Heritage by the [[UN]] in 1987.<ref>http://www.thegreatwall.com.cn</ref> Although long sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared, it is still one of the more remarkable structures on earth and China's best-known monument.

== References ==
<references/>

== See also ==
*[[Beijing]]
*[[World History Lecture Three]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037891/Great-Wall-of-China Great Wall of China] Encyclopaedia Britannica.

[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Buildings]]
[[Category:Tourist Attractions]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]

Catiline

2010-04-07T15:14:13Z

OscarJ: clarifying

'''Catiline''' (108 - 62 BC) was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] politician who tried to overthrow the [[Roman Republic]].
He was stopped however, by [[Cicero]], who was [[consul]] at the time, in 63 BC.
Cicero's famous speech against Catiline forced him to flee the city. A few months later he and his followers were killed by the Roman army.<ref>Sallust, ''The Conspiracy of Catiline''.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Romans]][[Category:Politicians]]

Predator

2010-04-07T12:24:04Z

OscarJ: removing link to parody site

A '''predator''' is an [[animal]] that preys on other animals. Animals that are not predators are called [[herbivore]]s ([[vegetarian]]s) or scavengers. Some common predatory animals include [[bear]]s, [[lion]]s, and [[shark]]s.

Predators can also be interpreted as [[human]]s that bully and push around others.

In [[Job]] 40:15 [[The Bible]] may teach us that all animals were [[herbivore]]s before their expulsion from the [[Garden of Eden]] and there were no predators. Different interpretations of the [[fossil record]] support different points of view.<ref>[http://www.sixdaycreation.com/facts/flood/june99.html] Six Day Creation: Noah's Flood and Dinosaur Extinction </ref>

::"I give every green plant for food" —[[God]], [[Genesis]] 1:30

While commonly interpreted that this means there were no predators in the Garden, it is held by some that this means that all plants were given by God as food; that all plants could be eaten. This interpretation does not preclude the existence of predators.

==References==

<references/>

[[category:zoology]]

Catiline

2010-04-07T12:15:01Z

OscarJ: bolding, wikilinks

'''Catiline''' (108 - 62 BC) was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] politician who tried to overthrow the [[Roman Republic]].
He was stopped however, by [[Cicero]], who was [[consul]] at the time, in 63 BC.
Cicero's famous speech ''De Catilina'' forced him to flee the city. A few months later he and his followers were killed by the Roman army.<ref>Sallust, ''The Conspiracy of Catiline''.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Romans]][[Category:Politicians]]

Catiline

2010-04-07T12:11:57Z

OscarJ: adding cat and citation

Catiline (108 - 62 BC) was a Roman politician who tried to overthrow the Roman Republic.
He was stopped however, by [[Cicero]], who was consul at the time, in 63 BC.
Cicero's famous speech ''De Catilina'' forced him to flee the city. A few months later he and his followers were killed by the Roman army.<ref>Sallust, ''The Conspiracy of Catiline''.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Romans]][[Category:Politicians]]

Trombone

2010-04-07T12:05:12Z

OscarJ: capitalization

[[Image:Trombone.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]
A '''trombone''' is a type of [[musical instrument]] and, along with the [[trumpet]], is a member of the [[brass instrument|brass]] family. Sounds are produced in the same way as a trumpet by vibrating the mouthpiece. Unlike the trumpet which uses a series of hand operated valves to change the pitch, the trombone uses a long slide to vary the note played. This gives the instrument the ability to "slide" between notes and makes for an expressive sound that can be likened to the human voice. Despite the apparent simplicity, tromboning can be difficult to master due to the combination of repetitive arm work and continuous blowing. An experienced tromboner is a popular addition to many bands though and can contribute to an explosive finale.

The trombone is suited to a wide variety of musical styles, including [[jazz]], big band and marching bands. Military bands often contain one or more trombonists.

===History===
The trombone is essentially the same instrument as the late medieval sackbut which had a major role in the royal ceremonial bands of the day. Up until the late baroque period (mid-1700s) it appeared mainly as a vocal/choral accompaniment in masses and operas and rarely in purely instrumental works. With the death of [[Handel]] (1759) it was little used for a generation and when it reappeared, it was as the [[Italian]] “trombone”.

Mozart used it to great effect in his last [[opera]]s and his unfinished [[Requiem]], as did [[Weber]], and with [[Beethoven]] and [[Schubert]] – writing in the early 19th century – it began appearing in [[symphony|symphonic]] works. It found its dramatic niche in the works of [[Hector Berlioz]] and [[Wagner]], and the later Romantics; although later French and Italian composers tended to ignore the bass versions of the instrument, preferring the [[tuba]].

It has always been a major component of folk and village bands, from whence the American and European brass bands derived.

[[Category:Brass Instruments]]

French Horn

2010-04-07T12:03:50Z

OscarJ: sp

The '''horn''' (commonly referred to as '''French horn''') is a [[musical instrument]] in the brass family. It has the longest piping in the brass family, excluding obscure instruments. It also has one of the largest ranges of brass instruments, rivaling that of the [[trumpet]] or [[trombone]].

== Keys ==
Horns generally come in two musical keys:

*Concert F, making the Concert Bb scale an F scale
*Concert Bb, making the Concert Bb scale a C scale

Most modern horns are double horns, in that they are a built as a combination of the two keys. In these horns, an additional valve is used to switch from one horn to the other.

== Range ==
An experienced horn player on an F French Horn can easily play from a Pedal-Tone F (directly below the bottom line of the bass clef) to a high F (far above the top of the treble clef's top line). This gives you an idea of its range.

== External Links ==
* [http://www.hornsociety.org/ International Horn Society]
* [http://www.thefrenchhorn.net/ The French Horn.net]
* [http://www.public.asu.edu/~jqerics/about_articles.htm The 19th-Century Horn: An "online book" on the history and performing techniques of the horn]
* [http://www.british-horn.org/ The British Horn Society]
* [http://www.usd.edu/~mbanks/CONTENT.html A Brief History of the Conn Company (1874-present)*]

[[Category:Brass Instruments]]

Reed instruments

2010-04-07T12:02:16Z

OscarJ: fixing links

[[Clarinet]] (single reed)

[[Great Highland Bagpipe]]

[[Bassoon]] (double reed)

[[Oboe]] (double reed)

[[English Horn]] (double reed)

[[Saxophone]] (single reed)

[[Uilleann pipes]]

[[Category: Wind Instruments]]

Flute

2010-04-07T11:56:56Z

OscarJ: copyedit

[[Image:Flute.jpg|thumb|300px|A Boehm flute]]
A '''flute''' is a [[woodwind]] [[instrument]]. The flutes represent the highest-pitched (soprano) family of the woodwind choir. They can be described as cylindrical bore instrument. Traditionally, flutes were made out of wood, however modern flutes are usually made out of metal. The flute family consists of:

*Flute (or concert flute) in C
*Piccolo in C
*Alto flute in G
*Eb flute
*Bass flute in C

Generally, the flute family extends a range of around three octaves (from middle C to three octaves above middle C). The lower ranges of the flute carry a warm and dark quality, giving these notes a round and uncrisp tone. All flutes require a great amount of air, and opportunities to breathe are usually notated in the music. For the larger and lower register flutes, it is quite hard for even advanced performers to create a standard volume for a concert performance. For this reason, bass flutes are usually heard with [[amplification|electronic amplifiers]]. The high range of the flutes carry a sense of brilliance, with crisp and defined tones.

The most common modern flute is the silver Boehm flute, or "concert flute". Other flutes include:

[[Flageolet]]

[[Pan Pipes]]

[[Recorder]]

[[Tin Whistle]]

[[Alto flute]]

[[Piccolo]]

The flute in its many forms is an extremely ancient instrument that lost popularity in late Roman times, but reappeared in Western art in the 10th/11th centuries. The transverse flute first appeared in the late 17th century and began appearing in orchestras at the French court at the time of [[Jean-Baptiste Lully|Lully]]. The family reached its height of popularity in the high [[Baroque]] period (early to mid 18th century) with [[Bach]], [[Handel]], Telemann, [[Vivaldi]]; [[Jean Rameau|Rameau]] using it as a solo instrument, or scoring it prominently in many works. [[Mozart]] hated it, but wrote chamber and concerto works for it. Its popularity declined during the 19th century, however it enjoyed a great revival in popularity starting just before the turn of the 20th century with many works by French composers such as [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], [[Arthur Honegger|Honegger]], [[Darius Milhaud|Milhaud]] and Ibert using it. It is an integral part of the modern symphony [[orchestra]].

Flutes and piccolos are used in marching bands. According to Meredith Wilson in his 1948 book ''And There I Stood With My Piccolo,'' most band instruments are held in front and can have a "lyre" or music holder attached to them, but nobody has ever devised a workable music holder for a marching flautist.

Flutes have been occasionally been used in rock music, most famously by the band Jethro Tull.

[[Category:Wind Instruments]]

English Horn

2010-04-07T11:54:44Z

OscarJ: sp

The '''English Horn''' (also commonly called the ''Cor Anglais'') is a musical instrument in the double-[[reed]] family. It is the tenor of the [[oboe]] family - in the key of F, a fifth below the oboe - the same as the [[French Horn]].

English Horns were not common in orchestral works until the expanded symphonic [[orchestra]] of [[Richard Wagner]]. In modern times, the instrument's frequency of occurrence in works has remained stagnant, although several famous works feature it prominently, such as the second movement (the ''Largo'') from [[Antonin Dvorak]]'s ninth symphony, ''From the New World.'' It is used where a degree of plaintive stillness is required as in [[Jean Sibelius|Sibelius]]' ''Swan of Tuonela'' or some of the more pastoral passages of [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]], notably ''In the Fen Country'' and in the third movement of his fifth symphony.

[[Category: Wind Instruments]]

Bassoon

2010-04-07T11:53:02Z

OscarJ: sp

[[Image:Bassoons.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Several types of bassoons from different periods]]
The '''bassoon''' is a double reed instrument, like the [[oboe]], but with a lower and reedier tone. Music for the bassoon is mostly written in the bass clef, with most of its notes below Middle C. The range of a bassoon is approximately 3 octaves, ranging from B flat (2 octaves below Middle C) to C (1 octave above Middle C). It is approximately 4' 6" in length.

The '''contrabassoon''', or double bassoon is even larger and lower in [[pitch]]. Its range is exactly one [[octave]] below the bassoon, but is written in the same range, thus making it a [[transposing instrument]]. (See [[Oboe]] family.)

The bassoon, also known as "''fagotto''" in Italian, is a highly versatile and agile instrument despite its large size. Its low notes can "speak" clearly and quickly, making it a good compliment to other bass instruments in [[orchestra|orchestral]] scoring, where it often shares the same part as the [[cello]].

Some famous pieces containing prominent bassoon parts include: "''Peter and the Wolf''", by [[Sergei Prokofiev]] and Paul Dukas' ''Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (which also has solo passages for contrabassoon). [[Concerto]]s have also been written for it, the most famous being by [[Mozart]], but also by [[Carl Maria von Weber]], [[Vivaldi]] (who wrote 37!), Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Franz Danzi. [[Igor Stravinsky]] also opened his famous ballet ''Le Sacre du Printemps'' with an exposed bassoon solo in its highest register, causing it to be mistaken for a [[saxophone]] in its first performance.

Some notable bassoonists include William Waterhouse and Arthur Weisberg.
[[Category:Wind Instruments]]

Clarinet

2010-04-07T11:48:43Z

OscarJ: copyedit

[[Image:Clarinet_1.gif|thumb|A Standard Clarinet.]]
The '''clarinet''' is a [[woodwind]] instrument. It consists of a long cylindrical tube which opens to a bell at the bottom. The mouthpiece holds a single reed made from [[cane]].

The clarinet is an important instrument in both classical music and traditional jazz, although it began to be abandoned in jazz in favor of the [[saxophone]] from the [[swing]] era onwards.

==The Clarinet Family==
Clarinets are [[transposing instrument]]s, and are made in several keys, some of which are quite rare. The most common key is B{{music|b}}. The B{{music|b}} clarinet is about {{cm|60}} long and has a range of three octaves, although it is possible to play higher. A clarinet in the key of A, slightly longer than the B{{music|b}} clarinet and pitched a half-step lower, is often used in orchestral playing. Clarinets are also made in the key of E{{music|b}}, pitched a fourth higher than the common B{{music|b}} clarinet, and even in D, although this instrument has become uncommon.

The bass clarinet, usually pitched in B{{music|b}}, has a tube twice as long as that of a standard clarinet; because of its unwieldy length, it doubles back on itself with the bell pointing upwards at the bottom, and can only be played while sitting down. The clarinet family even includes an enormous contrabass clarinet, pitched in either of two keys: B{{music|b}} or E{{music|b}}, there were some folded all metal contra-bass clarinets that were pitched in F(rare and practically useless). This instrument is most often found in large orchestras, wind ensembles, or concert bands.

==Parts of the Clarinet==
The shafts of the most sought-after clarinets are sculpted from hard, dark, African wood, traditionally grenadilla or M'Pinga. Other models are constructed from South American woods, rosewood or cocbolo. These woods are very hard and hold a high polish well. However, some cheap clarinets are made out of plastic, particularly those used by students learning to play in school. These students are generally encouraged to "move on up" to hardwood once it becomes clear that they are serious about playing.

Some mid-18th-century clarinets were made of metal. In the mid-20th century, it was popular for [[marching bands]] to practice with them but due to poor quality of sound they are rarely used anymore, following the advent of plastic clarinets. The same is true of Contrabass clarinets.

The B{{music|b}} clarinet is made of 7 main parts:
*The '''Mouthpiece''' is where the musician blows to cause the reed to vibrate.
*The '''Reed''' vibrates against the mouthpiece to set up vibrations within the instrument.
*The '''Ligature''' holds the reed in place on the mouthpiece. (European clarinets do not use ligatures, rather the reed is held in place with wound string.)
*The '''Tuning barrel''' is used to make fine adjustments to the tuning of individual instruments to counteract changes in pitch caused by moisture and temperature.
*The '''Upper joint''' contains roughly half of the keys.
*The '''Lower joint''' contains the other half of the keys.
*The '''Bell''' improves the sound and projection of the instrument.

These parts all fit together via greased cork-lined joints. The tuning of the instrument is adjusted by sliding the mouthpiece (or the barrel) toward or away from the body. Generally speaking, it's easier to lip a pitch up rather than down, so in tricky passages, pulling out leads to greater control for longer durations.

==History==
The clarinet was first heard in the late [[Baroque period (music)|Baroque period]], however W.A. [[Mozart]] was the first to feature the instrument in works still known today. His Clarinet Quintet and Clarinet Concerto are two of the most popular works in all music. [[Carl Maria von Weber]], in the early 19th century, was the first to write an extensive body of works for the clarinet, with concertos and a concertina; and various [[Chamber music|chamber]] pieces. The Swedish master, Crusell, at about this time, was writing a number of clarinet works, both orchestral and chamber, that had a lot of popularity but have languished in recent years. Through much of the 19th century the clarinet seemed to vanish as a feature instrument in works still popular, although it was used extensively in wind ensembles; and had become a necessary part of the orchestra.

In 1891 [[Johannes Brahms]] was enraptured by the playing of the clarinetist, Richard Mühlfeld at a concert and came out of retirement to write his Clarinet Trio (Op. 114), Quintet (Op. 115) and the two Clarinet Sonatas (Op. 120). These are ranked with Mozart’s as high points for the instrument.

The 20th century gave us major concertos by the Dane, [[Carl Nielsen]]; the Englishman, Gerald Finzi; and the American [[Aaron Copland]] (a commission from Benny Goodman). Sir Malcolm Arnold, the English composer who died in 2006, wrote numerous works for the clarinet as a solo instrument, as a feature in ensembles and with orchestra. Though classical, they have many [[jazz]] elements in them.

The clarinet’s “party-piece” is the opening “slide” (technically called a [[glissando]]) in [[George Gershwin|Gershwin’s]]
"[[Rhapsody in Blue]]”.

[[Category:Wind Instruments]]

Freedom

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Essay:Conservative Benefits

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{{essay}}

There are significant ''personal'' benefits to [[conservatism]]. It is particularly powerful and useful in combating:

#obesity and other addictions
#anxiety and wasting time
#deceit and bias
#temptation of all kinds

and in encouraging:

#self-improvement and self-reliance
#seeking the truth and standing up for it
#charity

Conservative benefits include all of the following:

# it recognizes that ideas, and particularly political ideas, do have serious ''personal'' consequences<ref>For example, a belief in legalized drugs can lead to drug use and its harm.</ref>
# it recognizes that politics and culture are adversarial and [[deceit|deceitful]], and helps one filter the falsehoods
# it allows one to speak ''and think'' freely without distortion by [[political correctness]]
# it enables one to rise above his ''personal'' likes and dislikes<ref>Often a debate with a [[liberal]] comes down to what he likes and does not like.</ref>
# it recognizes the importance of ''personal'' [[self-defense]], mentally and physically
# it encourages a ''personal'' frugality that doesn't waste other people's money ... or one's own
# it encourages self-restraint that is invaluable in combating addiction, temptation, and obesity
# it encourages self-sufficiency and self-help rather than dependency
# it facilitates genuine ''personal'' charity, with all its spiritual benefits
# it is shared across all religions and cultures
# it facilitates extraordinary insights and epiphanies
# it helps tremendously in raising and educating the next generation, including one's own children
# it appreciates law and order, and the ''personal'' value in adhering to it
# it helps one to realize the potential of every human life
# it reinforces the ideal that if one works hard enough, he can be anything that he wants to be
# it encourages family values, mainly financial and emotional assistance within the family as opposed to a centralized bureaucracy
# it instills a sense of [[pride]] in one's country, which is crucial to becoming a contributing member of its society

Feel free to improve this list.

== References ==

<references/>

== See also ==

*[[Conservative values]]

[[Category:Essays about Conservatism]]

John C. Breckinridge

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OscarJ: capitalization

{{President
|image=Breckinridge.jpg
|office=vice
|seq=14
|term_start=March 4, 1857
|term_end=March 4, 1861
|party=Democratic
|pres=James Buchanan
|pres_dates=
|previous=William R. King
|next=Hannibal Hamlin
|birth_date=January 16, 1821
|birth_place=Lexington, Kentucky
|death_date=May 17, 1875 (aged 54)
|death_place=Lexington, Kentucky
|spouse=Mary Cyrene Burch Breckinridge
|spouse2=
|religion=
}}
'''John C. Brekinridge''' was [[James Buchanan]]'s [[Vice President of the United States of America|Vice President]] from 1857 to 1861. He joined the confederates and served as Secretary of War under [[Jefferson Davis]]. He fled to Cuba and later to England after the South lost. He returned to the United States in 1868 to practice law. <ref> Fandex, Workman Publishing, 2002. </ref>

== References ==

<references/>

{{USVicePresidents}}
[[category:Vice Presidents of the United States|Breckenridge, John C.]]

Henk Tennekes

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OscarJ: references section

'''Henk Tennekes''' is a [[scientist]] who was dismissed as research director of the [[Royal Dutch Meteorological Society]] after questioning the scientific underpinnings of [[global warming]].<ref>http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/11/global_warming_as_pathological.html</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Scientists]]

Jonathan Swift

2010-02-14T14:56:15Z

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[[Image:Jonathan_swift.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Jonathan Swift]]'''Jonathan Swift''' (1667-1745) was an [[England|English]] satirical writer. Born in [[Dublin]] to English parents, he moved to England in 1688 to become secretary to Sir William Temple. He took Anglican holy orders but did not obtain promotion.

His ''Tale of the Tub'' and ''The Battle of the Books'' were both published in 1704. At first he was interested in [[Whigs|Whig]] politics but he became a [[Tory]] in 1710 and proceeded to write powerful tracts such as ''Conduct of the Allies'' (1711). In 1714 he returned to [[Ireland]] as Dean of St. Patrick's and was followed by his devoted female friends Hester Johnson (the Stella of his ''Journal'') and Esther Vanhomrigh (the Vanessa of his poetry).

In Dublin he wrote some of his best and most famous works, including ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1726), ''[[A Modest Proposal]]'' (1929) and the ''Drapier's Letters'' (1724-5). Authorship of his works is sometimes assigned to his professional title of '''Dean Swift'''.

==External links==

*[http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/ Gulliver's Travels: online version]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Jonathan}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category: Anglo-Irish People]]

Mary Wollstonecraft

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'''Mary Wollstonecraft''' (1759-1797) was an [[England|English]] [[philosopher]] and [[feminism|feminist]]. She suggested that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagined a social order founded on reason. Wollstonecraft is best known for ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'' (1792).

The most commonly cited source on Mary Wollstonecraft is Caroline Franklin's ''Mary Wollstonecraft: A Literary Life''. No fan of Wollstonecraft, Caroline lays out the more distasteful events of her life, including premarital sex resulting in a child, opiate addiction and previously undiscovered work as a courtesan to [[William Pitt]]. She held [[Jacobin]] sympathies and publicly renounced her Christian faith whilst in [[Paris]] during the [[French Revolution]]. Franklin also hints at Wollstonecraft's lesbian sympathies, as suggested by her husband [[William Godwin]] following her death from septicemia in 1797 after giving birth to her and Godwin's daughter [[Mary Shelley|Mary]], who went on to marry [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]] and to write the novel ''[[Frankenstein]]''.<ref>http://womenshistory.about.com/od/wollstonecraft/a/wollstonecraft-legacy.htm</ref>

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Wollstonecraft, Mary}}
[[category:women]]
[[Category:Philosophers]]
[[Category:Feminists]]

Jean Paul Marat

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'''Jean Paul Marat''' was a leader of the [[Cordeliers Club]] (a radical group in France) along with [[Georges Danton]]. He was assassinated in 1793 by a young Girondist named [[Charlotte Corday]], who believed that his death would end the [[French Revolution]].

[[File:Rebull La muerte de Marat.jpg]]

''La muerte de Marat'' by [[Santiago Rebull]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marat, Jean Paul}}
[[Category:International Political Figures]]
[[Category:French Revolution]]

Conservatives Versus Liberals

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'''Examples of Conservative thinking versus Liberal thinking.'''

*'''If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn’t buy one.'''
* ''If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.''

*'''If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.'''
* ''If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.''

*'''If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.'''
* ''If a liberal is homosexual, he demands legislated respect.''

*'''If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.'''
* ''A liberal wonders whom is going to take care of him.''

*'''If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.'''
* ''Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.''

*'''If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.'''
* ''A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a non-Christian religion, of course!)''

*'''If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.'''
* ''A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.''

*'''If a conservative disagrees with a liberal, he ignores them and carries on with his life.'''
* ''If a liberal disagrees with a conservative, he will argue.''

(Feel free to add to)

==External links==
*[http://www.publiusforum.com/2009/09/27/whats-the-difference-between-a-conservative-and-a-liberal/ What’s the Difference Between a Conservative and a Liberal?]

[[Category: United States Politics]]
[[Category: Conservapedia]]

Sprite (astronomy)

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'''Sprites''' are massive but weak luminous flashes that appear directly above an active [[thunderstorm]] system and are coincident with cloud-to-ground or intracloud lightning strokes. Their spatial structures range from small single or multiple vertically elongated spots, to spots with faint extrusions above and below, to bright groupings which extend from the cloud tops to altitudes up to about 95 km. Sprites are predominantly red. The brightest region lies in the altitude range 65-75 km, above which there is often a faint red glow or wispy structure that extends to about 90 km.<ref>http://elf.gi.alaska.edu/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Astronomy]]

Backyard

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A '''back yard''' or '''backyard''' is the area behind a home; this article also covers the '''front yard''' in front of the home, with special emphasis on home gardens. Most historical research has focused on ornate [[Garden|gardens]] and landscape architecture, but in recent years more attention has been paid to how ordinary people use the land around their homes.[[File:LA-backyard.jpg|thumb|350px|Upscale backyard in 21st century Los Angeles]]

The term "backyard" in foreign policy discussions refers to neighboring countries that depend on a major country; as "Latin America is the backyard of the United States."

==United States==
The self-provisioning yard of the colonial and Early national eras after 1840 gave way to the urban, utilitarian "outdoor basement" of the late 1800s, with its privy, wood pile or coal chute, clothes line, and piles of junk. By the early 1900s front gardens were being smartened by open, mown lawns that flowed up to foundation plantings close against the house, and soon backyards were improved too. Sewers, regular garbage collection, oil-burning furnaces (replacing wood and coal), and (after 1950) clothes dryers, enabled families to create backyard family rooms, with space for entertaining, leisure, and children's play. Outdoor habitability developed first in California, where people enjoy comfort-zone weather (65–80 degrees Fahrenheit) for most of the year. But that concept has also shaped home grounds throughout the nation. A flag is added for holidays, and at Christmas time many houses string out lights and some create elaborate electrical extravaganzas that draw spectators from across town.<ref> See Christopher Grampp, ''From Yard to Garden: The Domestication of America's Home Grounds'' (2008) for the standard history</ref>

===Native Americans===
Archaeologists and ethnohistorians have long been interested in quantifying potential maize productivity for late-prehistoric and early-historic Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands. Maize (corn) yields obtained by Native Americans using traditional farming techniques in the 19th century can be compared to yields obtained by 19th-century Native Americans using plows and with modern farmers. The mean yield of maize for 19th-century Native American groups who did not use plows was 18.9 bushels/acre. Yields on the order of 10 bu/acre probably are closer to the average prehistoric yields that were available for subsistence purposes. The mean size of gardens cultivated by 19th-century Native American families without plows was .59 acre. <ref> Sissel Schroeder, "Maize Productivity in the Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains of North America." ''American Antiquity'' 1999 64(3): 499-516. 0002-7316 </ref>
===Before 1840===
To keep house in colonial Boston usually involved growing a garden. Almost all houses known to historians in detail prior to 1700 have one or two gardens and space for livestock. English tastes in food and gardening dominated Boston's three horticultural districts. Backyard nursery businesses were common. By the 1770s, the selling of plots for housing reduced the available local propagating stock, and the space in which to grow it, and seed importers became the dominant force shaping Boston's gardens.

[[Thomas Jefferson]] paid great attention to his gardens at Monticello, and wrote about them extensively. Jefferson's visions of landscape architecture were informed by several popular 18th-century guides to landscaping and gardening, by a tour of famous English gardens he undertook in 1786, and by his belief in the importance of agrarian values and the virtuous [[yeoman]] farmer to a healthy republic. Jefferson grew 170 fruit varieties, including apples, peaches, and grapes, in Monticello's two orchards, and cultivated over 330 vegetable varieties in his 1000-foot-long garden terrace. He made his gardens into a botanic laboratory of ornamental and useful plants from around the world.<ref> see [http://www.monticello.org/gardens/index.html Monticello: Gardens and Grounds]</ref>

[[File:Shaker-seeds.jpg|thumb|290px]]The [[Shakers]], a New England Protestant sect, developed the seed industry in their community gardens. By the 1830s they financed their church by selling paper packets of high quality seeds, branded with the Shaker logo, for national distribution.

===Frontier===
On the [[American Frontier]] women often bore many children, were responsible for cooking, making clothing, tending orchards and gardens, nursing sick animals, teaching Christian virtues, and keeping households together in unfamiliar and difficult circumstances.
===Slavery===
Slaves were generally allowed to keep their own gardens behind the slave cabins and in recent years historians and archaeologists have explored them to understand black culture under slavery, as well as food habits and types of recreation.<ref> Barbara J. Heath, and Amber Bennett, "'The Little Spots Allow'd Them': The Archaeological Study of African-American Yards." ''Historical Archaeology'' 2000 34(2): 38-55. 0440-9213 </ref>

===19th century===
Hans Jacob Ehlers brought European landscape gardening techniques to the Hudson River Valley in upstate Nw York in the 1840s, introducing ideas that were not yet well known in America.

By the 1850s the move to cities (urbanization) and use of sore-bough goods (the [[Market Revolution]]) led middle-class Americans to abandon the world of cottage industry and separate the workplace from the home. In the suburbs, however, women were cut off from paid employment. Gardening made the suburban home a productive unit. While Americans generally had no need to garden, they were beginning to understand that the economy's periodic downturns could translate into financial ruin and that gardens could always be depended on for profit. Gardening and horticultural societies also offered a sense of belonging and identity, which offset the anonymity of city life in industrial America. Gardening enabled women to participate in commerce, in this case local exchange systems. Novels and advice manuals encouraged middle-class women to exhibit at horticultural societies and sell what they had grown and asserted the acceptability of this income-producing option, an option that hardly rivaled the opportunities available to men.<ref>Glenn Moore, "'A Very Housewifely Ambition': Women Gardeners in Industrialising America." ''Australasian Journal of American Studies'' 2001 20(1): 18-30. 0705-7113 </ref>

Ornamental gardens were promoted by gardening magazines, seed companies, and nurseries as outward signs of community betterment and personal refinement in the mid-19th century. For many people, ornamental plants also had deep, personal meanings. Specific plants and their placement often symbolized important life events, promoted cooperation between families when plants were purchased or exchanged, and elicited a commitment of time and labor from all family members.<ref> Cheryl Lyon-Jenness, "Bergamot Balm and Verbenas: The Public and Private Meaning of Ornamental Plants in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century Midwest". ''Agricultural History'' 1999 73(2): 201-221. 0002-1482 </ref>

From his base in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the late 19th century, George Washington Cable worked to improve the lives of immigrants and the working class through a number of programs, including a gardening contest. The competition, funded by [[Andrew Carnegie]], was intended to encourage the creation of modest personal gardens as a means to promote civic and personal pride among working-class immigrants. Under Cable's close supervision, the contest served to promote the idea of a distinctly American garden as an alternative to Colonial Revival style from 1899 to 1925.

The move from utility to ornamentalism in plant life is shown in the statistics of seed sales: in 1900 families purchased edible and ornamental plants in the ratio of 10:1; by 1970 the proportion had been reversed in favor of ornamentation, with the vegetables purchased at the supermarket.
===20th century===
During the 1890s gardening for children began as a part of Progressive education and flourished rapidly throughout the country for several reasons. Some supporters said that gardening enabled students to study nature closely by working with plants. Others saw gardening as teaching agricultural skills, while advocates in urban areas expected that gardening would direct youthful energies into socially acceptable activities. A few even viewed gardens as projects for civic pride and community work. At the turn of the 20th century, federal support to all states came from the Bureau of Education and the Department of Agriculture. During World War I, school gardens that grew food reached the height of popularity. The "US School Garden Armies," in which school children contributed to wartime food production by keeping gardens, offset wartime food shortages and instilled feelings of patriotism and service in the children. Equally important was that federal intrusion in schools would set a precedent for more intrusions in American education. After the war, school gardens lost popularity among educators, especially as nature study was challenged by systematic elementary science and was moved from schools into other areas, such as summer camps, public parks, and nature preserves.<ref> Sally Kohlstedt, "'A Better Crop of Boys and Girls': The School Gardening Movement, 1890-1920." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 2008 48(1): 58-93</ref>

Many families planted "Liberty Gardens" in their yards and empty lots in the war years.

====Great Depression====
Poverty caused a resurgence of gardening in the Great Depression (1929-41), to supplement family food supplies. Public versions were known as Relief Gardens (1930-39).
====World War II====
The emergence of food rationing in World War II encouraged the formation of "Victory Gardens" in back yards and designated empty lots. By 1943, 20 million gardens produced 8 million tons of food, including 40% of all the vegetable produce that was consumed by families. Victory Gardens, also called "war gardens" or "food gardens for defense", reduced the pressure on the public food supply brought on by large shipments of food to soldiers and Allies. Even more important, these gardens were morale boosters for civilians who demanded a chance to participate in the war effort. Similar victory gardens were planted in World War I.
===Recent decades===
[[File:Gardentools.jpg|thumb|220px|garden tools]] The switch to back yard as the locus of family activity--perhaps with a grill for barbecues--accelerated with the boom in suburban housing after 1945. It mirrored the decline of the front porch with its swing, and was boosted by concrete slab foundations after 1945, so that the living room could flow evenly into an outdoor patio. Gardening is an avocation that beautifies both the front yard and the back yard.

===Ethnic groups===
====Europeans====
[[File:Italian-yard.jpg|thumb|250px|Typical Italian-American yard statues]] Italians lived in cities and often built decorative front yards, and used their backyard to grow fruits and vegetables.

Lithuanian immigrants built a subtle, but still distinguishable, cultural landscape around 1900-40, including distinctive use of flowers and vegetable gardens, perimeter fences, and the general layout of buildings on city lots.<ref> Gerald L. Pocius, "Lithuanian Landscapes in America: Houses, Yards, and Gardens in Scranton, Pennsylvania." ''New York Folklore'' 1996 22(1-4): 49-87. 0361-204x </ref>

====Japanese====
All 100,000 members of the Japanese-American community on the West Coast were placed in ten inland internment camps in 1942. The internees reappropriated their limited space by simulating traditional Japanese gardens with bridges and stone lanterns, using white paper covering in their homes, building altars, and engaging in other traditional Japanese arts and crafts. In this way the Japanese Americans were able to assert their native and personal identities and achieve a sense of ownership and freedom during their incarceration.
====Latino Southwest====
Barrio gardens are important in [[Latino]] culture. Flowers, herbs, trees, and other plants enhance the enclosed patios of Mexican American homes. Within the traditional, patriarchal Latino society, women could make the garden their own private space, providing for and enriching the family table and using herbs for folk medicine. As opportunities for women developed and urban renewal removed courtyard-style houses, barrio gardens evolved to become the yard art of the Southwest.<ref> Suzanne Waldenberger, "Barrio Gardens: The Arrangement of a Woman's Space" ''Western Folklore'' 2000 59(3-4): 232-245. 0043-373x, focused on Tucson, Arizona </ref>
==Canada==
Horticulture supported the creation of a middle-class society in western Canada. Governments, agricultural colleges, scientific and community organizations, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and newspapers all supported the cultivation of vegetables, flowers, and trees to induce European immigration. The federal government established in Manitoba an experimental farm at Brandon in the 1880's and a horticultural research station at Morden in 1915. Although school gardening had been promoted by horticultural societies toward the end of the 19th century and the Federal Agricultural Instruction Act had been passed in 1913, encouragement increased as school gardens were believed to build patriotism and support the war effort during World War I.<ref> Lyle Dick, "The Greening of the West: Horticulture on the Canadian Prairies, 1870-1930." ''Manitoba History'' 1996 (31): 12-17. 0226-5044 </ref>
==Australia==
The 30th annual conference of the Australian Garden History society has the theme ‘Cultivating Australia Felix’. It will be held in Geelong, Victoria, on 16-18 October 2009.

The conference will explore the theme of pastoral expansion in Australia especially the pastoral legacy and the gardens and homesteads built in the area opened to European settlement after the journeys of Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836. The conference will explore the theme in three ways – through artists’ recording of the settled and natural landscape, through oral history, especially by descendants of significant properties, and through on-site visits.
==Britain==
The British aristocracy had always favored very large elaborate gardens for their country estates, tended by a professional staff. By the 19th century the garden had become a source of pride for middle class men as well, andgarden clubs flourished. Craftsmen in the cities could rent small plots for garden use. Sheffield was the first English town to provide small rental gardens for the use of craftsmen and other workers. There were more than 1,500 allotments available to urban residents in the 1780s. The practice spread to most cities and continued into the 21st century.

A new role for women emerged in Victorian Britain: the middle class woman backyard gardener. From the 1840s to the 1880s, gardening books offered pragmatic advice to middle-class women, but after 1880 this practical bent was augmented with an aesthetic consciousness. The advice aimed at the woman gardener actually furthered the vision of the garden as a public realm for women's activity. The later Victorian gardening texts were politically radical and structurally innovative. In the 1850s, the garden was presented not simply as a site of repose and contemplation but as a place where women could both act and experience. While unorthodox female behavior - sweating and debating - were possible in the garden, it was also a place where a woman could wrest control, imposing ideals of aestheticism and order. By 1900, women took garden design away from male architects and hired gardeners and gained a new role in the development of garden aesthetics and a builder of the home as refuge from the hostile commercial world. <ref> Sarah Bilston, "Queens of the Garden: Victorian Women Gardeners and the Rise of the Gardening Advice Text," ''Victorian Literature & Culture'' 2008 36(1): 1-19 </ref>

==France==
The fruit and vegetable garden in France in the 17th and 18th centuries represented a dietary ideal for fine eating for the rich, and a basis for food security for the poor. The vegetable gardens were a privileged space, closely connected with the owner's interests and lifestyle, and as a space of abundance and variety. A space shared by fruit trees and plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers, the garden was not only in good social taste from the peasantry to the nobility, but it also provided the owners with fresh fruit and vegetables all year. This moderate degree of self-sufficiency was a necessity for the majority of the rural population in a society where scarcity of food was widespread.
==See also==
* [[Garden]]

==External links==
[[File:Lawnmower.jpg|thumb|220px]]
* [http://www.gardenhistorysociety.org.au/ Australian Garden History Society]
==Further reading==
* Delehanty, Randolph and Martin, Van Jones. ''Classic Natchez: History, Homes, and Gardens.'' (1996). 164 pp.
* Earle, Alice Morse. ''Old Time Gardens'' (1901), on colonial America
* Emmet, Alan. ''So Fine a Prospect: Historic New England Gardens.'' (1996). 238 pp.
* Grampp, Christopher. ''From Yard to Garden: The Domestication of America's Home Grounds.''(2008) 302pp; the standard scholarly history
* Krase, Jerome. "Polish And Italian Vernacular Landscapes in Brooklyn." ''Polish American Studies'' 1997 54(1): 9-31.
* Lawson, Laura. ''City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America''
* Sarudy, Barbara Wells. ''Gardens and Gardening in the Chesapeake, 1700-1805.'' (1998). 220 pp.
* Turner, Suzanne. ''The Gardens of Louisiana: Places of Work and Wonder.'' (1997). 237 pp.

====references====
<references/>

[[Category:Housing]]

24 (TV series)

2010-01-24T14:19:13Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748387 by Thecancer (Talk)

[[Image:24 Season 5.jpg|right|thumb|290px|The main cast of ''24's'' fifth season.]]
'''''24''''' is a popular award-winning [[Fox]] network television series starring Kiefer Sutherland as a federal agent at the [[Los Angeles]] branch of the fictional CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit). The show is somewhat known for its controversial depiction of torture and for its unique "real-time" concept.

The series follows the adventures of Jack Bauer, an American counter-terrorism agent. Each episode of the series takes place over the course of an hour, with each season covering a 24-hour period of time. Bauer often finds himself embroiled in conflicts with terrorists, mercenaries, corrupt burreaucrats, and businessmen. He readily employs controversial techniques to accomplish his goals, including (but not limited to) torture and murder. Despite this, Bauer is shown to be a loving father, considerate husband, and good friend, giving the series a strong sense of right and wrong amidst a sea of moral gray.

==External Links==
*[http://www.fox.com/24/ Fox's ''24'' official site]
*[http://www.tv.com/show/3866/summary.html 24] on TV.com
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331/ 24] at the Internet Movie Database

[[category:Television Shows]]

New

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748384 by TylerFx (Talk)

'''New''' is of recent origin, [[production]], purchase, etc., having but lately come or been brought into being.

[[Category:Dictionary]]

Food

2010-01-24T14:18:07Z

OscarJ:

'''Food''' is solid or liquid nutrient that is ingested by an organism for energy and nourishment. The leading foods for humans are [[rice]], [[wheat]], [[corn]], [[soybeans]], [[potatoes]], [[sugar]], [[fish]], [[milk]], and [[meat]].
[[Image:Bread and grain.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Several kinds of bread and grain]]

==History==
The '''history of food''' is a cultural study that involves multidisciplinary approaches from economics, sociology and demography, and even literature. Food is not simply planted, harvested, processed, transported, sold, and consumed—rather historians explore the many and complex roles that food plays as nutrient, symbol, and theme in everyday life, in aristocratic and royal circles, and in religious codes. When the food supply fails, disaster strikes. Food is an ideal entry point for the cultural historian seeking to uncover hidden levels of meaning in social relationships. Food plays a vital symbolic role in celebrations and religious ceremonies and is an important marker of social status, gender identity, and ethnic, religious, and national affiliations. Modernization has intensified the importance of food in society. Food production, preparation, marketing, and consumption are intimately connected with modern and postmodern trends such as industrialization, the rise of mass media, economic globalization, multiculturalism and the changing position of women.

==International trade==
The study of the international flow of food has been a staple of the scholarly literature; for example, the spices and aromatics that linked Europe to the Middle East, and Asia. (It is a hoary myth that the spices were used to disguise rancid meat.) In the 19th century Europe, looking for more interesting fats, turned to palms, coconuts, and peanuts imported from their colonial possessions; by the 1960s the newly independent former colonies had to compete with the increasing supplies of soybean oil from the United States. Then after 2006 soybean fields were replanted with corn to produce [[ethanol]], a heavily subsidized substitute for gasoline.

==Europe==
[[Image:Spaghettieaters.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An Italian family eating spaghetti]]
Until the 20th century, the peasants and the poor of Europe ate mostly bread (or pasta), supplemented by vegetables and fish. Meat was reserved for special occasions. English peasants in the medieval period experienced seasonal fluctuation in the availability of food, but extreme scarcity and widespread mortality was rare except for the early fourteenth century, especially during the great famine of 1315-1318. However by 1400 portions of meat, fish, and ale increased; roasting and frying started to replace the traditional cooking technique of boiling; and agricultural prosperity in England ushered in an era of cheap and plentiful food. By the twentieth century, per capita consumption of bread had dropped off precipitously due to social and economic modernization and the availability of a wider choice of foods.
===World War I===
The British blockade cut off regular food shipments to [[Germany]], and hunger grew serious, especially in the "turnip winter" of 1917-1918, when people were reduced to turnips meant for horses. At the end of the war there were severe food shortages and famines in Eastern Europe.<ref> Blunt (1918)</ref>

[[Image:Famine6.jpg|thumb|400px|famine conditions in Europe at end of World War I]]
===World War II===
Severe food shortages were systemic throughout Europe during the war, except in Britain (which had an elaborate rationing system). In Germany memories of the turnip winter of 1917-18 (when people ate turnips because there was so little food) led the government to force occupied countries to ship large supplies of food to Germany. Elsewhere the black market flourished, as farmers secretly sold foods to the cities at prices far higher than allowed.

==Communist systems==
The Communist systems of Eastern Europe and China privileged industrial workers, at the expense of farmers. Major famines took place in the Russian [[Ukraine]] in the 1930s (as the government removed grain from the countryside to force people to move to the cities), and in China (1959-61).

In [[Poland]] after 1945 modernization was accompanied by demands for more meat instead of bread by workers and in time also by the peasants. The new demands on meat production could not be met because of the government's policy of investing in factories, not farms. Increasing the performance of the government was measured by the availability of meat, and the performance was poor. Fearing mass protests, the Communist party did not balance the market by raising prices but instead spent its money on growing subsidies to keep food prices low. Every attempt to raise price caused grumbling; twice (1970, 1976) the government had to reverse the increases. By 1980 the scale of the imbalance of demand and supply led to the introduction of controls of meat and processed meat products, a system that broke down in 1989, when in view of roundtable talks and rumors about anticipated price increases, the farmers simply ceased selling meat. The final solution was introducing market prices in the summer of 1989. The chronic imbalance of supply and demand can be related to the coexistence of a system of trading and distributing food products that from 1948 was state-owned and subjected to the directives of the Communist ideologues and an agricultural sector comprising private farms and reacted to market stimuli.<ref> Jerzy Kochanowski, "'Jestesmy Juz Przyzwyczajeni' Prolegomena Do Spoleczno - Modernizacyjnych Kulis 'Problemu Miesnego' W Prl," ["We've Become Accustomed": Prolegomena to the Social Modernization Background of the "Meat Problem" in the People's Republic of Poland]. ''Przeglad Historyczny'' 2005 96(4): 587-605. Issn: 0033-2186 </ref>
===China===
After [[Mao Zedong]]'s Communists came to power in 1949 in [[China]], they planned to provide industrial regions with a steady food supply, so they began compulsory delivery of agricultural products in 1953. In 1955-56 collectivization was accelerated. Dissatisfied with the achievements of agriculture, the Chinese leadership endeavored to catch up with the most developed countries. This resulted in the "[[Great Leap Forward]]" in 1958, which created large people's communes in the countryside. Home kitchens and utensils were destroyed to force families to eat in communal dining halls. The result was an unparalleled famine; upwards of thirty million died.<ref>Gene Hsin Chang, and Guanzhong James Wen, "Communal Dining and the Chinese Famine of 1958-1961." ''Economic Development and Cultural Change'' 1997 46(1): 1-34. Issn: 0013-0079 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0013-0079%28199710%2946%3A1%3C1%3ACDATCF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1 in JSTOR]] </ref> Mao Zedong finally change methods and by 1965 the level of agricultural production reached that of the years prior to the "great leap," but the country's population had by then increased by another eighty million. The upheavals of the [[Cultural Revolution]] of 1966-76 further damaged agricultural efficiency. The economic reforms initiated by [[Deng Xiaoping]] in 1978 were first introduced in agriculture. The return to family-based agriculture greatly increased peasant productivity.

===Japan===
Japanese farmers as late as the 1950s spent most of their income on rice as their staple diet and on fish and shellfish as subsidiary items. Landowning farmers, with higher incomes, also purchased meat, dairy products, and eggs. By the 1930s both groups had started making small purchases of Western-style "luxury" foods, nontraditional seasonings, and fruits.

==United States and Canada==
===South===
The South was pig country. The animals were easy to take care of--they fed themselves on mast in the forest, and came when called. Hogs could be herded and walked to distant markets, providing income for farmers from remote areas. Pork, ham and bacon--fried and covered with molasses--became popular in colonial days for all classes, including slaves and the rural poor. Hog-calling and hog-butchering became a ritual, as did the cooking and eating of barbecued pork. While pork's importance has diminished in the South, the continued popularity of barbecue and barbecue restaurants remains high.<ref>Michael D. Thompson, "'Everything but the Squeal': Pork as Culture in Eastern North Carolina." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 2005 82(4): 464-498. Issn: 0029-2494 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]] </ref>

===Ethnic foods===
Immigrants from Europe 1840-1910 all had experienced hunger in their countries of origin. Irish, Italians, and Eastern European Jews looked at America as a place where food was abundant and available to all. The prospect of improving their limited, sometimes meager, diets was a major "pull" factor in their decision to emigrate to America. The new land fully delivered on that promise: Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants enjoyed a better, richer, more varied diet in the United States than they ever did in the past. The abundant availability of food significantly shaped subjective and collective identities. On the one hand, it helped redefine immigrants into free consumers in a single democratic market. In this perspective, the abundance of food that immigrants encountered in America function as a shaping element in a common American culture. On the other, these dietary revolutions made the construction of private and public ethnic rituals possible and thus played an important role in the parallel processes of “ethnicization” of immigrant groups.<ref> Diner (2001) p. 229</ref>

Diner (2001) shows that Italian immigrants created a symbolically lush Italo-American food culture based on their memories of crushing poverty and landlord exploitation in peasant Italy, while the Irish, whose ethnic memory linked [[Irish Famine|colonialist starvation]] to collective identity, did nearly the opposite, eating because they must but refusing to elevate food to any sort of iconic status (such symbolization was reserved for hunger).

While sharing with other immigrants the deep impress of American material abundance, a conspicuous feature of which was a variety of protein-rich meals, eastern European Jews differed on account of the dense religious significance that centuries of halakic existence had imparted to their foodways. Diner (2001) depicts the sanctification of food in the shtetl, based on scriptural and rabbinic sanctions for eating well. Jewish political activism sometimes centered on food; witness the famous kosher meat protests of the turn of the century and labor struggles within the Jewish food industry. By 1929 waiters' unions controlled roughly eight hundred restaurants in New York City. When bakers, poultry handlers, and other food-industry employees went on strike, consumers overwhelmingly sided with the workers. Conflicts emerged between "experts" such as nutritionists and social workers and immigrant housewives, who were criticized for their unenlightened cookery. Immigrant Jewish women flocked to cooking classes, demonstrating their anxieties and aspirations about food and its Jewish and American meanings.<ref> Diner (2001) pp 209, 216</ref>

Pizza caught on late and slowly in the United States. The first restaurant appeared in Lower Manhattan in 1905, but the popularity of pizza did not take off until the 1940s. With many changes from the old Italian recipes and interest in the market of returning GI's, by the mid-1950s, pizza was suddenly in fashion. It became a staple in school lunch menus in the 1960s, and with home delivery the cheap, easy-to-eat meal soon became the favorite food of millions of Americans, regardless of ethnicity.<ref> Hanna Miller, "American Pie." ''American Heritage'' 2006 57(2): 30-34, 36, 38. Issn: 0002-8738 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]</ref>

Ethnic entrepreneurs--such as the Swedish immigrant Carl Swanson of TV dinner fame and the Italian immigrant Hector Boiardi who morphed into Chef Boyardee--developed national brands that, lacking any clear ethnic markers. Businessmen whose products had no clear ethnic identity (Fleischmann's margarine) or who themselves had no connection to the ethnicity of the food they purveyed (such as the German immigrant William Gebhardt who developed a brand of Mexican foods) played key roles in the spread of ethnic foods to grocery stores consumers nationwide. The separation of ethnicity from entrepreneurship found its most influential expression in the fast foods of the late twentieth century--with Ray Kroc's Czech ancestry having no visible impact on the nature of McDonald's Egg McMuffin. <ref> Gabaccia (1998)</ref>
===1945-1975===
The coming of television into homes starting around 1950s changed dining habits, leading to more informal lifestyles. Families started eating in front of the television set, so dining moved out of the kitchen and dining room. Changes came in food preparation and new cooking and dining equipment. Women's magazines instructed housewives on the best setting and introduced new products, such as vinyl furniture, frozen dinners, tray tables, and plastic dishes.
==Historiography==
In the late 20th century with the growth of cultural studies and the new social history, the history of food began attracting more scholarly attention. Two book series appeared, Food in American History series by Greenwood Press, and Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History series by Columbia U. Press.

==Basic further reading==
* Achaya, K. T. ''A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Indian-Oxford-Collection/dp/019565868X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220975&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Ashkenazi, Michael and Jacob, Jeanne. ''Food Culture in Japan.'' 2003. 207 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Culture-Japan-around-World/dp/0313324387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220890&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Civitello, Linda. ''Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Cuisine-Culture-History-Food-People/dp/0471741728/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238903206&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Davidson, Alan, et al, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' (2nd Ed 2006), 907 pages with 2,650 entries covering the world's foods, seasoning, cuisine, cooking methods, chefs, historical developments, and myths. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Food-Alan-Davidson/dp/0192115790/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198221064&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Federico, Giovanni. ''Feeding the World: An Economic History of World Agriculture, 1800-2000.'' (2005). 388 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-World-Agriculture-1800-2000-Princeton/dp/069112051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211288&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. ''Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.'' Free Press, 2002. 258 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Near-Thousand-Tables-History-Food/dp/0743227409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211234&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ferguson, Priscilla Parkhurst. ''Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine.'' 2004. 258 pp.
* Freedman, Paul. ';'Food: The History of Taste'' (California Studies in Food and Culture) (2007)
* Gabaccia, Donna. ''We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans'' Harvard University Press, (1998). 278 pages. [http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-What-Eat-Americans/dp/0674001907/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Grew, Raymond. ''Food in Global History'' 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99923753 online edition]
* Kiple, Kenneth F. and Ornelas, Kriemhild C., ed. ''The Cambridge World History of Food.'' 2 vol. (2000). 1958 pp. The most complete world history; especially strong on issues of nutrition and health [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-World-History-Food-Set/dp/0521402166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America'' (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Plenty-History-America-California/dp/0520234405/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Oddy, Derek J. ''From Plain Fare to Fusion Food: British Diet from the 1890s to the 1990s.'' 2003. 269 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110618022 online edition]
* Pilcher, Jeffrey. ''Food In World History'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-World-History-Themes/dp/0415311462/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Ogle. Maureen. ''Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0156033593/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Scholliers, Peter. ''Food, Drink and Identity: Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe since the Middle Ages'' Berg, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102257111 online edition]
* Simoons, Frederick J. ''Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry'' (1990) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-China-Cultural-Historical-Inquiry/dp/084938804X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ed. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America'' (2004), 2 vol, 1584 pages [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195154371/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Spencer, Colin. ''British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History.'' 2003. 416 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/British-Food-Extraordinary-Traditions-Perspectives/dp/0231131100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211454&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. ''A History of Food.'' Basil Blackwell, 1992. 801 pp.; popular history from perspective of a French chef
* Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. ''Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. 341 pp.

==Advanced bibliography==
===Surveys===
* Davidson, Alan, et al, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' (2nd Ed 2006), 907 pages with 2,650 entries covering the world's foods, seasoning, cuisine, cooking methods, chefs, historical developments, and myths. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Food-Alan-Davidson/dp/0192115790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198221064&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
*Freedman, Paul, ed. ''Food: The History of Taste'' (2007), essays by scholars
* Grew, Raymond. ''Food in Global History'' Westview Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99923753 online edition]
* Kiple, Kenneth F. and Ornelas, Kriemhild C., ed. ''The Cambridge World History of Food.'' 2 vol. Cambridge U. Press, 2000. 1958 pp. The most complete world history; especially strong on issues of nutrition and health [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-World-History-Food-Set/dp/0521402166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. ''Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.'' Free Press, 2002. 258 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Near-Thousand-Tables-History-Food/dp/0743227409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211234&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Flandrin, Jean-Louis, and Massimo Montanari, eds. ''Food. A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present'' (1999), 40 essays on Europe by French scholars
* Pilcher, Jeffrey. ''Food In World History'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-World-History-Themes/dp/0415311462/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Root, Waverley. ''Food, An Authoritative and Visual History and Dictionary of the Foods of the World.'' Simon and Schuster, 1980. 602 pp. ISBN 0-671-22589-8
* Super, John C. "Food and History" ''Journal of Social History'' 36.1 (2002) 165-178, review essay; in [[Project Muse]]
* Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. ''A History of Food.'' Basil Blackwell, 1992. 801 pp.; popular history from perspective of a French chef
===Policy issues ===
* Belasco, Warren and Scranton, Philip, ed. ''Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies.'' Routledge, 2002. 288 pp.
* Bonanno, Alessandro et al., ed. ''From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food.'' U. Press of Kansas, 1994. 294 pp.
* Cathie, John. ''The Political Economy of Food Aid.'' (1982). 200 pp.
* Chetley, Andrew. ''The Politics of Baby Foods: Successful Challenges to an International Marketing Strategy.'' (1986). 189 pp.
* Cook, Guy. ''Genetically Modified Language: The Discourse of Arguments for GM Crops and Food'' (2004) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108292984 online edition]
* Evans, Lloyd T. ''Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and Population Growth.'' Cambridge University Press (1998).
* Federico, Giovanni. ''Feeding the World: An Economic History of World Agriculture, 1800-2000.'' Princeton U. Press, 2005. 388 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-World-Agriculture-1800-2000-Princeton/dp/069112051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211288&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Fletcher, Nichola. ''Charlemagne's Tablecloth: A Piquant History of Feasting.'' St. Martin's, 2005. 256 pp.
* Fussell, Betty. ''The Story of Corn.'' U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 356 pp.
* Kurlansky, Mark. ''Salt: A World History'' (2003)
* Long, Lucy M., ed. ''Culinary Tourism.'' U. Press of Kentucky, 2004. 306 pp.
* Paarlberg, Robert L. ''Food Trade and Foreign Policy: India, the Soviet Union, and the United States.'' Cornell U. Press, 1985. 266 pp.
* Shaw, Gareth; Curth, Louise; and Alexander, Andrew. "Selling Self-service and the Supermarket: the Americanisation of Food Retailing in Britain, 1945-60." ''Business History'' 2004 46(4): 568-582. Issn: 0007-6791 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Toke, Dave. ''The Politics of GM Food: A Comparative Study of the UK, USA, and EU'' (2004) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108006302 online edition]
* Shaw, D. John. ''The UN World Food Programme and the Development of Food Aid'' Palgrave, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101704164 online edition]
* Sen, Amartya. ''Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation'' Oxford University Press, 1982 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=85190755 online edition]
* Wilson, C. Anne. ''Waste Not, Want Not: Food Preservation from Early Times to the Present Day'' Edinburgh University Press, 1991 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103265157 online edition]

===Ancient and medieval===
[[Image:Ancient-food.jpg|thumb|280px]]
* Alcock, Joan P. ''Food in the Ancient World'' (Food through History) (2005)
* Bober. Phyllis Pray. ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine. Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'' (1999)
* Carlin, Martha, and Joel T. Rosenthal (eds.) ''Food and Eating in Medieval Europe'' (1998).
* Garnsey, Peter. ''Food and Society in Classical Antiquity'' Cambridge University Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=105389125 online edition]

===Europe===

* Burnett, John. ''England Eats Out: A Social History of Eating Out in England from 1830 to the Present.'' (2004). 363 pp.
* Ferguson, Priscilla Parkhurst. ''Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine.'' U. of Chicago Press, 2004. 258 pp.
* Glants, Musya and Toomre, Joyce, eds. ''Food in Russian History and Culture.'' Indiana U. Press, 1997. 304 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0253332524/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Greenspoon, Leonard J. and Simkins, Ronald A., ed.; Shapiro, Gerald. ''Food and Judaism.'' Creighton U. Press, 2005. 345 pp.
* Kaplan, Steven. ''Good Bread Is Back: A Contemporary History of French Bread, the Way It Is Made, and the People Who Make It'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Good-Bread-Back-Contemporary-History/dp/0822338335/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190219793&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Kaplan, Steven. ''The Bakers of Paris and the Bread Question, 1700-1775'' (1996), 758pp [http://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Paris-Bread-Question-1700-1775/dp/0822317060/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190219793&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Oddy, Derek J. ''From Plain Fare to Fusion Food: British Diet from the 1890s to the 1990s.'' Rochester, N.Y.: Boydell & Brewer, 2003. 269 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110618022 online edition]
* Rebora, Giovanni. ''Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Food in Europe. '' Columbia U. Press, 2001. 196 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Fork-Giovanni-Rebora/dp/0231121504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211379&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Scholliers, Peter. ''Food, Drink and Identity: Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe since the Middle Ages'' Berg, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102257111 online edition]
* Spencer, Colin. ''British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History.'' Columbia U. Press, 2003. 416 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/British-Food-Extraordinary-Traditions-Perspectives/dp/0231131100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211454&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]* * Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. ''Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. 341 pp.
* Zuckerman, Larry. ''The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World.'' Faber & Faber, 1998. 304 pp.
===Asia===
* Achaya, K. T. ''A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Indian-Oxford-Collection/dp/019565868X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220975&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Achaya, K. T. ''Indian Food: A Historical Companion.'' Oxford U. Press, 1994. 322 pp.
* Anderson, E. N. ''The Food of China'' Yale U. Press, 1988. 263 pp.
* Ashkenazi, Michael and Jacob, Jeanne. ''Food Culture in Japan.'' 2003. 207 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Culture-Japan-around-World/dp/0313324387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220890&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Cwiertka, Katarzyna and Walraven, Boudewijn, ed. ''Asian Food: The Global and the Local.'' Richmond, England: Curzon, 2002. 190 pp.
* Farquhar, Judith. ''Appetites: Food and Sex in Postsocialist China.'' Duke U. Press, 2002. 341 pp.
* Simoons, Frederick J. ''Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry'' (1990) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-China-Cultural-Historical-Inquiry/dp/084938804X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
===Latin America===
* Abarca, Meredith E. ''Voices in the Kitchen: Views of Food and the World from Working-class Mexican and Mexican American Women'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Kitchen-Working-class-Borderlands-Tradition/dp/1585445312/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Dunmire, William W. ''Gardens of New Spain: How Mediterranean Plants and Foods Changed America.'' (2004). 375 pp. [http://books.google.com/books?id=mXEdlEicPJYC&pg=PP1&dq=intitle:Gardens+intitle:of+intitle:New+intitle:Spain+intitle:How+intitle:Mediterranean&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=vYbSIAg4fFRLqU19zGKsoqL03p8 text search and preview]
* Ochoa, Enrique C. ''Feeding Mexico: The Political Uses of Food Since 1910.'' Scholarly Resources, 2000. 267 pp.
* Super, John C. and Wright, Thomas C., eds. ''Food, Politics, and Society in Latin America.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1985. 261 pp.
===United States and Canada===
[[Image:Burger-Lansbury.jpg|thumb|260px|Actress Angela Lansbury 1954]]
* Abarca, Meredith E. ''Voices in the Kitchen: Views of Food and the World from Working-class Mexican and Mexican American Women'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Kitchen-Working-class-Borderlands-Tradition/dp/1585445312/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Arnold, Eleanor, ed. ''Feeding Our Families: Memories of Hoosier Homemakers.'' (Memories of Hoosier Homemakers series.) Indianapolis: Indiana Extension Homemakers Assoc., 1983. 153 pp.
* Audet, Bernard. ''Se Nourrir au Quotidien en Nouvelle-France'' [Everyday eating habits in New France]. Quebec: Editions GID, 2001. 367 pp.
* Bentley, Amy. ''Eating for Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity.'' U. of Illinois Press, 1998. 238
* Bentley, Amy. “Booming Baby Food: Infant Food and Feeding in Post–World War II America,” ''Michigan Historical Review'' 32 (Fall 2006), 63–87.
* Blunt, Katharine, et al. eds. ''Food Guide for War Service at Home,'' (1918) food situation in U.S. and Europe. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14055/14055-h/14055-h.htm online edition]
* Charlton, Mark W. ''The Making of Canadian Food Aid Policy.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1992. 242 pp.
* Cinotto, Simone. "Leonard Covello, the Covello Papers, and the History of Eating Habits among Italian Immigrants in New York." ''Journal of American History'' 2004 91(2): 497-521. Issn: 0021-8723 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] and [[Ebsco]]
* Denker, Joel. ''The World on a Plate: A Tour through the History of America's Ethnic Cuisine.'' Westview, 2003. 196 pp.
* Diner, Hasia R. ''Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration.'' Harvard U. Press, 2001. 292 pp.
* Gabaccia, Donna. ''We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans'' Harvard University Press, (1998). 278 pages. [http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-What-Eat-Americans/dp/0674001907/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Goodwin, Lorine Swainston. ''The Pure Food, Drink, and Drug Crusaders, 1879-1914.'' McFarland, 1999. 352 pp.
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America'' (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Plenty-History-America-California/dp/0520234405/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet'' (1988). [http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Table-Transformation-American-California/dp/0520234391/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* McFeely, Mary Drake. ''Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?: American Women and the Kitchen in the Twentieth Century'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Can-She-Bake-Cherry-Pie/dp/155849250X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190255140&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* McLean, Alice L. ''Cooking in America, 1840–1945.'' (Greenwood, 2006. xxx, 194 pp. isbn 0-313-33574-5.)
* McWilliams, James E. ''A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America.'' (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History series.) Columbia U. Press, 2005. 386 pp.
* Ogle. Maureen. ''Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0156033593/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Oliver, Sandra L. ''Food in Colonial and Federal America.'' Greenwood, 2005. 230 pp. (Food in American History series.)
* Parkin, Katherine J. ''Food Is Love: Food Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 296 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Love-Advertising-Gender-America/dp/0812239296/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207555&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ed. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America'' (2004), 2 vol, 1584 pages [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195154371/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Smith, Andrew F. ''The Turkey: An American Story.'' (University of Illinois Press, 2006. xxii, 224 pp. isbn 978-0-252-03163-2.) [http://www.amazon.com/Turkey-AMERICAN-STORY-Food/dp/0252031636/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207586&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

[[Image:Pork chop.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Uncooked pork chops]]

* Smith, Andrew F. ''Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea.'' U. of Illinois Press, 2002. 234 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Peanuts-Illustrious-History-Goober-Food/dp/0252073282/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207621&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ''Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment.'' Smithsonian Inst. Press, 2001. 242 pp.
* Stavely, Keith W. F. and Fitzgerald, Kathleen. ''America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking.'' U. of North Carolina Press, 2004. 396 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Founding-Food-England-Cooking/dp/0807828947/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207651&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Williams, Susan. ''Food in the United States, 1820s–1890.'' (Greenwood, 2006. xvi, 240 pp. isbn 0-313-33245-2.)
* Witt, Doris. ''Black Hunger: Soul Food and America.'' U. of Minnesota Press, 2004. 292 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=89532005 online edition]
[[Image:Pampano.jpg|thumb|A pampano dish]]

==See also==
* [[Bread]]
* [[Breakfast cereals]]
* [[Fast food]]
* [[Green Revolution]]
* [[Hamburger]]
* [[Irish Potato Famine]], 1840s
* [[Subcontinental Cuisine in the UK]]
* [[Mexican cuisine]]
* [[Pasta]]
* [[Pork]]
====notes====
<references/>

[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Agriculture]]
[[Category:Economic History]]

Food

2010-01-24T14:16:48Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748309 by EndlessSilence (Talk)

'''Food''' is solid or liquid nutrient that is ingested by an organism for energy and nourishment. The leading foods for humans are [[rice]], [[wheat]], [[corn]], [[soybeans]], [[potatoes]], [[sugar]], [[fish]], [[milk]], and [[meat]].
[[Image:Bread and grain.jpg|right|320px|thumb|Several kinds of bread and grain]]

Corrected by anon

==International trade==
The study of the international flow of food has been a staple of the scholarly literature; for example, the spices and aromatics that linked Europe to the Middle East, and Asia. (It is a hoary myth that the spices were used to disguise rancid meat.) In the 19th century Europe, looking for more interesting fats, turned to palms, coconuts, and peanuts imported from their colonial possessions; by the 1960s the newly independent former colonies had to compete with the increasing supplies of soybean oil from the United States. Then after 2006 soybean fields were replanted with corn to produce [[ethanol]], a heavily subsidized substitute for gasoline.

==Europe==
[[Image:Spaghettieaters.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An Italian family eating spaghetti]]
Until the 20th century, the peasants and the poor of Europe ate mostly bread (or pasta), supplemented by vegetables and fish. Meat was reserved for special occasions. English peasants in the medieval period experienced seasonal fluctuation in the availability of food, but extreme scarcity and widespread mortality was rare except for the early fourteenth century, especially during the great famine of 1315-1318. However by 1400 portions of meat, fish, and ale increased; roasting and frying started to replace the traditional cooking technique of boiling; and agricultural prosperity in England ushered in an era of cheap and plentiful food. By the twentieth century, per capita consumption of bread had dropped off precipitously due to social and economic modernization and the availability of a wider choice of foods.
===World War I===
Corrected by anon

===World War II===
Severe food shortages were systemic throughout Europe during the war, except in Britain (which had an elaborate rationing system). In Germany memories of the turnip winter of 1917-18 (when people ate turnips because there was so little food) led the government to force occupied countries to ship large supplies of food to Germany. Elsewhere the black market flourished, as farmers secretly sold foods to the cities at prices far higher than allowed.

==Communist systems==
The Communist systems of Eastern Europe and China privileged industrial workers, at the expense of farmers. Major famines took place in the Russian [[Ukraine]] in the 1930s (as the government removed grain from the countryside to force people to move to the cities), and in China (1959-61).

In [[Poland]] after 1945 modernization was accompanied by demands for more meat instead of bread by workers and in time also by the peasants. The new demands on meat production could not be met because of the government's policy of investing in factories, not farms. Increasing the performance of the government was measured by the availability of meat, and the performance was poor. Fearing mass protests, the Communist party did not balance the market by raising prices but instead spent its money on growing subsidies to keep food prices low. Every attempt to raise price caused grumbling; twice (1970, 1976) the government had to reverse the increases. By 1980 the scale of the imbalance of demand and supply led to the introduction of controls of meat and processed meat products, a system that broke down in 1989, when in view of roundtable talks and rumors about anticipated price increases, the farmers simply ceased selling meat. The final solution was introducing market prices in the summer of 1989. The chronic imbalance of supply and demand can be related to the coexistence of a system of trading and distributing food products that from 1948 was state-owned and subjected to the directives of the Communist ideologues and an agricultural sector comprising private farms and reacted to market stimuli.<ref> Jerzy Kochanowski, "'Jestesmy Juz Przyzwyczajeni' Prolegomena Do Spoleczno - Modernizacyjnych Kulis 'Problemu Miesnego' W Prl," ["We've Become Accustomed": Prolegomena to the Social Modernization Background of the "Meat Problem" in the People's Republic of Poland]. ''Przeglad Historyczny'' 2005 96(4): 587-605. Issn: 0033-2186 </ref>
===China===
Corrected by anon

===Japan===
Japanese farmers as late as the 1950s spent most of their income on rice as their staple diet and on fish and shellfish as subsidiary items. Landowning farmers, with higher incomes, also purchased meat, dairy products, and eggs. By the 1930s both groups had started making small purchases of Western-style "luxury" foods, nontraditional seasonings, and fruits.

Corrected by anon

==Historiography==
In the late 20th century with the growth of cultural studies and the new social history, the history of food began attracting more scholarly attention. Two book series appeared, Food in American History series by Greenwood Press, and Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History series by Columbia U. Press.

==Basic further reading==
* Achaya, K. T. ''A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Indian-Oxford-Collection/dp/019565868X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220975&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Ashkenazi, Michael and Jacob, Jeanne. ''Food Culture in Japan.'' 2003. 207 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Culture-Japan-around-World/dp/0313324387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220890&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Civitello, Linda. ''Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Cuisine-Culture-History-Food-People/dp/0471741728/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238903206&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
* Davidson, Alan, et al, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' (2nd Ed 2006), 907 pages with 2,650 entries covering the world's foods, seasoning, cuisine, cooking methods, chefs, historical developments, and myths. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Food-Alan-Davidson/dp/0192115790/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198221064&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Federico, Giovanni. ''Feeding the World: An Economic History of World Agriculture, 1800-2000.'' (2005). 388 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-World-Agriculture-1800-2000-Princeton/dp/069112051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211288&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. ''Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.'' Free Press, 2002. 258 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Near-Thousand-Tables-History-Food/dp/0743227409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211234&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Ferguson, Priscilla Parkhurst. ''Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine.'' 2004. 258 pp.
* Freedman, Paul. ';'Food: The History of Taste'' (California Studies in Food and Culture) (2007)
* Gabaccia, Donna. ''We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans'' Harvard University Press, (1998). 278 pages. [http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-What-Eat-Americans/dp/0674001907/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Grew, Raymond. ''Food in Global History'' 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99923753 online edition]
* Kiple, Kenneth F. and Ornelas, Kriemhild C., ed. ''The Cambridge World History of Food.'' 2 vol. (2000). 1958 pp. The most complete world history; especially strong on issues of nutrition and health [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-World-History-Food-Set/dp/0521402166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America'' (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Plenty-History-America-California/dp/0520234405/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Oddy, Derek J. ''From Plain Fare to Fusion Food: British Diet from the 1890s to the 1990s.'' 2003. 269 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110618022 online edition]
* Pilcher, Jeffrey. ''Food In World History'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-World-History-Themes/dp/0415311462/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Ogle. Maureen. ''Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0156033593/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Scholliers, Peter. ''Food, Drink and Identity: Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe since the Middle Ages'' Berg, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102257111 online edition]
* Simoons, Frederick J. ''Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry'' (1990) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-China-Cultural-Historical-Inquiry/dp/084938804X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ed. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America'' (2004), 2 vol, 1584 pages [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195154371/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Spencer, Colin. ''British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History.'' 2003. 416 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/British-Food-Extraordinary-Traditions-Perspectives/dp/0231131100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211454&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. ''A History of Food.'' Basil Blackwell, 1992. 801 pp.; popular history from perspective of a French chef
* Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. ''Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. 341 pp.

==Advanced bibliography==
===Surveys===
* Davidson, Alan, et al, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' (2nd Ed 2006), 907 pages with 2,650 entries covering the world's foods, seasoning, cuisine, cooking methods, chefs, historical developments, and myths. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Food-Alan-Davidson/dp/0192115790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198221064&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
*Freedman, Paul, ed. ''Food: The History of Taste'' (2007), essays by scholars
* Grew, Raymond. ''Food in Global History'' Westview Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99923753 online edition]
* Kiple, Kenneth F. and Ornelas, Kriemhild C., ed. ''The Cambridge World History of Food.'' 2 vol. Cambridge U. Press, 2000. 1958 pp. The most complete world history; especially strong on issues of nutrition and health [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-World-History-Food-Set/dp/0521402166/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220806&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Fernández-Armesto, Felipe. ''Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food.'' Free Press, 2002. 258 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Near-Thousand-Tables-History-Food/dp/0743227409/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211234&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Flandrin, Jean-Louis, and Massimo Montanari, eds. ''Food. A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present'' (1999), 40 essays on Europe by French scholars
* Pilcher, Jeffrey. ''Food In World History'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-World-History-Themes/dp/0415311462/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Root, Waverley. ''Food, An Authoritative and Visual History and Dictionary of the Foods of the World.'' Simon and Schuster, 1980. 602 pp. ISBN 0-671-22589-8
* Super, John C. "Food and History" ''Journal of Social History'' 36.1 (2002) 165-178, review essay; in [[Project Muse]]
* Toussaint-Samat, Maguelonne. ''A History of Food.'' Basil Blackwell, 1992. 801 pp.; popular history from perspective of a French chef
===Policy issues ===
* Belasco, Warren and Scranton, Philip, ed. ''Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies.'' Routledge, 2002. 288 pp.
* Bonanno, Alessandro et al., ed. ''From Columbus to ConAgra: The Globalization of Agriculture and Food.'' U. Press of Kansas, 1994. 294 pp.
* Cathie, John. ''The Political Economy of Food Aid.'' (1982). 200 pp.
* Chetley, Andrew. ''The Politics of Baby Foods: Successful Challenges to an International Marketing Strategy.'' (1986). 189 pp.
* Cook, Guy. ''Genetically Modified Language: The Discourse of Arguments for GM Crops and Food'' (2004) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108292984 online edition]
* Evans, Lloyd T. ''Feeding the Ten Billion: Plants and Population Growth.'' Cambridge University Press (1998).
* Federico, Giovanni. ''Feeding the World: An Economic History of World Agriculture, 1800-2000.'' Princeton U. Press, 2005. 388 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-World-Agriculture-1800-2000-Princeton/dp/069112051X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211288&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Fletcher, Nichola. ''Charlemagne's Tablecloth: A Piquant History of Feasting.'' St. Martin's, 2005. 256 pp.
* Fussell, Betty. ''The Story of Corn.'' U. of New Mexico Press, 2004. 356 pp.
* Kurlansky, Mark. ''Salt: A World History'' (2003)
* Long, Lucy M., ed. ''Culinary Tourism.'' U. Press of Kentucky, 2004. 306 pp.
* Paarlberg, Robert L. ''Food Trade and Foreign Policy: India, the Soviet Union, and the United States.'' Cornell U. Press, 1985. 266 pp.
* Shaw, Gareth; Curth, Louise; and Alexander, Andrew. "Selling Self-service and the Supermarket: the Americanisation of Food Retailing in Britain, 1945-60." ''Business History'' 2004 46(4): 568-582. Issn: 0007-6791 Fulltext: [[Ebsco]]
* Toke, Dave. ''The Politics of GM Food: A Comparative Study of the UK, USA, and EU'' (2004) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108006302 online edition]
* Shaw, D. John. ''The UN World Food Programme and the Development of Food Aid'' Palgrave, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101704164 online edition]
* Sen, Amartya. ''Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation'' Oxford University Press, 1982 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=85190755 online edition]
* Wilson, C. Anne. ''Waste Not, Want Not: Food Preservation from Early Times to the Present Day'' Edinburgh University Press, 1991 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103265157 online edition]

===Ancient and medieval===
[[Image:Ancient-food.jpg|thumb|280px]]
* Alcock, Joan P. ''Food in the Ancient World'' (Food through History) (2005)
* Bober. Phyllis Pray. ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine. Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'' (1999)
* Carlin, Martha, and Joel T. Rosenthal (eds.) ''Food and Eating in Medieval Europe'' (1998).
* Garnsey, Peter. ''Food and Society in Classical Antiquity'' Cambridge University Press, 1999 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=105389125 online edition]

===Europe===

* Burnett, John. ''England Eats Out: A Social History of Eating Out in England from 1830 to the Present.'' (2004). 363 pp.
* Ferguson, Priscilla Parkhurst. ''Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine.'' U. of Chicago Press, 2004. 258 pp.
* Glants, Musya and Toomre, Joyce, eds. ''Food in Russian History and Culture.'' Indiana U. Press, 1997. 304 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0253332524/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Greenspoon, Leonard J. and Simkins, Ronald A., ed.; Shapiro, Gerald. ''Food and Judaism.'' Creighton U. Press, 2005. 345 pp.
* Kaplan, Steven. ''Good Bread Is Back: A Contemporary History of French Bread, the Way It Is Made, and the People Who Make It'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Good-Bread-Back-Contemporary-History/dp/0822338335/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190219793&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Kaplan, Steven. ''The Bakers of Paris and the Bread Question, 1700-1775'' (1996), 758pp [http://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Paris-Bread-Question-1700-1775/dp/0822317060/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190219793&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Oddy, Derek J. ''From Plain Fare to Fusion Food: British Diet from the 1890s to the 1990s.'' Rochester, N.Y.: Boydell & Brewer, 2003. 269 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110618022 online edition]
* Rebora, Giovanni. ''Culture of the Fork: A Brief History of Food in Europe. '' Columbia U. Press, 2001. 196 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Culture-Fork-Giovanni-Rebora/dp/0231121504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211379&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Scholliers, Peter. ''Food, Drink and Identity: Cooking, Eating and Drinking in Europe since the Middle Ages'' Berg, 2001 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=102257111 online edition]
* Spencer, Colin. ''British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History.'' Columbia U. Press, 2003. 416 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/British-Food-Extraordinary-Traditions-Perspectives/dp/0231131100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198211454&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]* * Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. ''Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. 341 pp.
* Zuckerman, Larry. ''The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World.'' Faber & Faber, 1998. 304 pp.
===Asia===
* Achaya, K. T. ''A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Historical-Dictionary-Indian-Oxford-Collection/dp/019565868X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220975&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Achaya, K. T. ''Indian Food: A Historical Companion.'' Oxford U. Press, 1994. 322 pp.
* Anderson, E. N. ''The Food of China'' Yale U. Press, 1988. 263 pp.
* Ashkenazi, Michael and Jacob, Jeanne. ''Food Culture in Japan.'' 2003. 207 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Culture-Japan-around-World/dp/0313324387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198220890&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Cwiertka, Katarzyna and Walraven, Boudewijn, ed. ''Asian Food: The Global and the Local.'' Richmond, England: Curzon, 2002. 190 pp.
* Farquhar, Judith. ''Appetites: Food and Sex in Postsocialist China.'' Duke U. Press, 2002. 341 pp.
* Simoons, Frederick J. ''Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry'' (1990) [http://www.amazon.com/Food-China-Cultural-Historical-Inquiry/dp/084938804X/ref=sr_1_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207982&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
===Latin America===
* Abarca, Meredith E. ''Voices in the Kitchen: Views of Food and the World from Working-class Mexican and Mexican American Women'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Kitchen-Working-class-Borderlands-Tradition/dp/1585445312/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Dunmire, William W. ''Gardens of New Spain: How Mediterranean Plants and Foods Changed America.'' (2004). 375 pp. [http://books.google.com/books?id=mXEdlEicPJYC&pg=PP1&dq=intitle:Gardens+intitle:of+intitle:New+intitle:Spain+intitle:How+intitle:Mediterranean&num=30&as_brr=0&sig=vYbSIAg4fFRLqU19zGKsoqL03p8 text search and preview]
* Ochoa, Enrique C. ''Feeding Mexico: The Political Uses of Food Since 1910.'' Scholarly Resources, 2000. 267 pp.
* Super, John C. and Wright, Thomas C., eds. ''Food, Politics, and Society in Latin America.'' U. of Nebraska Press, 1985. 261 pp.
===United States and Canada===
[[Image:Burger-Lansbury.jpg|thumb|260px|Actress Angela Lansbury 1954]]
* Abarca, Meredith E. ''Voices in the Kitchen: Views of Food and the World from Working-class Mexican and Mexican American Women'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Kitchen-Working-class-Borderlands-Tradition/dp/1585445312/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Arnold, Eleanor, ed. ''Feeding Our Families: Memories of Hoosier Homemakers.'' (Memories of Hoosier Homemakers series.) Indianapolis: Indiana Extension Homemakers Assoc., 1983. 153 pp.
* Audet, Bernard. ''Se Nourrir au Quotidien en Nouvelle-France'' [Everyday eating habits in New France]. Quebec: Editions GID, 2001. 367 pp.
* Bentley, Amy. ''Eating for Victory: Food Rationing and the Politics of Domesticity.'' U. of Illinois Press, 1998. 238
* Bentley, Amy. “Booming Baby Food: Infant Food and Feeding in Post–World War II America,” ''Michigan Historical Review'' 32 (Fall 2006), 63–87.
* Blunt, Katharine, et al. eds. ''Food Guide for War Service at Home,'' (1918) food situation in U.S. and Europe. [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14055/14055-h/14055-h.htm online edition]
* Charlton, Mark W. ''The Making of Canadian Food Aid Policy.'' McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1992. 242 pp.
* Cinotto, Simone. "Leonard Covello, the Covello Papers, and the History of Eating Habits among Italian Immigrants in New York." ''Journal of American History'' 2004 91(2): 497-521. Issn: 0021-8723 Fulltext: [[History Cooperative]] and [[Ebsco]]
* Denker, Joel. ''The World on a Plate: A Tour through the History of America's Ethnic Cuisine.'' Westview, 2003. 196 pp.
* Diner, Hasia R. ''Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration.'' Harvard U. Press, 2001. 292 pp.
* Gabaccia, Donna. ''We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans'' Harvard University Press, (1998). 278 pages. [http://www.amazon.com/We-Are-What-Eat-Americans/dp/0674001907/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207685&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Goodwin, Lorine Swainston. ''The Pure Food, Drink, and Drug Crusaders, 1879-1914.'' McFarland, 1999. 352 pp.
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America'' (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Plenty-History-America-California/dp/0520234405/ref=sr_1_5/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* Levenstein, Harvey. ''Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet'' (1988). [http://www.amazon.com/Revolution-Table-Transformation-American-California/dp/0520234391/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207452&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* McFeely, Mary Drake. ''Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?: American Women and the Kitchen in the Twentieth Century'' (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Can-She-Bake-Cherry-Pie/dp/155849250X/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190255140&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* McLean, Alice L. ''Cooking in America, 1840–1945.'' (Greenwood, 2006. xxx, 194 pp. isbn 0-313-33574-5.)
* McWilliams, James E. ''A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America.'' (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History series.) Columbia U. Press, 2005. 386 pp.
* Ogle. Maureen. ''Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0156033593/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search]
* Oliver, Sandra L. ''Food in Colonial and Federal America.'' Greenwood, 2005. 230 pp. (Food in American History series.)
* Parkin, Katherine J. ''Food Is Love: Food Advertising and Gender Roles in Modern America.'' U. of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 296 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Food-Love-Advertising-Gender-America/dp/0812239296/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207555&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ed. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America'' (2004), 2 vol, 1584 pages [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0195154371/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and text search from Amazon.com]
* Smith, Andrew F. ''The Turkey: An American Story.'' (University of Illinois Press, 2006. xxii, 224 pp. isbn 978-0-252-03163-2.) [http://www.amazon.com/Turkey-AMERICAN-STORY-Food/dp/0252031636/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207586&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]

[[Image:Pork chop.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Uncooked pork chops]]

* Smith, Andrew F. ''Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea.'' U. of Illinois Press, 2002. 234 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Peanuts-Illustrious-History-Goober-Food/dp/0252073282/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207621&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Smith, Andrew F. ''Pure Ketchup: A History of America's National Condiment.'' Smithsonian Inst. Press, 2001. 242 pp.
* Stavely, Keith W. F. and Fitzgerald, Kathleen. ''America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking.'' U. of North Carolina Press, 2004. 396 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Founding-Food-England-Cooking/dp/0807828947/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190207651&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Williams, Susan. ''Food in the United States, 1820s–1890.'' (Greenwood, 2006. xvi, 240 pp. isbn 0-313-33245-2.)
* Witt, Doris. ''Black Hunger: Soul Food and America.'' U. of Minnesota Press, 2004. 292 pp. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=89532005 online edition]
[[Image:Pampano.jpg|thumb|A pampano dish]]

==See also==
* [[Bread]]
* [[Breakfast cereals]]
* [[Fast food]]
* [[Green Revolution]]
* [[Hamburger]]
* [[Irish Potato Famine]], 1840s
* [[Subcontinental Cuisine in the UK]]
* [[Mexican cuisine]]
* [[Pasta]]
* [[Pork]]
====notes====
<references/>

[[Category:Food and Drink]]
[[Category:Agriculture]]
[[Category:Economic History]]

Japan

2010-01-24T14:16:01Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748339 by Nusrat (Talk)

{{Country
|name =''日本国 Nippon-koku''
|map =Japan rel96.jpg
|map2 =Japan location.png
|flag =Flag of Japan.png
|arms =Imperial Seal of Japan.jpg
|capital =Tokyo
|capital-raw =
|government =Parliamentary democracy; Constitutional Monarchy
|government-raw =
|language =Japanese
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =Emperor [[Akihito]]
|president =
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =Yukio Hatoyama
|area =377,832 sq. miles
|pop =127,433,494
|pop-basis =2007
|gdp =$4.2 trillion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$33,100
|currency =Yen
|idd =
|tld =
}}

'''Japan''' (日本国, Nihon-koku in Japanese) is a nation that consists of a group of islands off the eastern coast of [[Asia]]. Its capital, [[Tokyo]], is the largest metropolitan area in the world. Japan is divided into a total of 47 [[prefecture]]s.
<ref>Demographia - 50 Largest World Metropolitan Areas Ranked:
2000 Estimates,[http://www.demographia.com/db-world-metro2000.htm] </ref>

In the the August 2009 national elections, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suffered a massive defeat as voters blamed it for the poor economy, numerous corruption scandals and Prime Minister [[Taro Aso]]'s uninspiring leadership. The LDP has ruled Japan for nearly all of the last 50 years and is generally conservative, but it lost two-thirds of its seats.

The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept the nation, winning 302 of the 480 seats in the powerful lower house, compared to only 112 seats before.

Prime minister and DPJ leader [[Yukio Hatoyama]] is part of the establishment. The son of a former foreign minister and grandson of a former prime minister, he quit the LDP in 1993. Friends of the U.S. fear that he will try to distance Japan somewhat from its closest ally, the United States.

The DPJ has promised massive spending programs will cost 16.8 trillion yen ($177 billion) annually when they are fully operational in 2013. That is a huge burden for a country that has a large and rapidly growing fiscal deficit caused by stimulus packages and bailouts that never seem to work. Japan's national debt has soared to nearly 190% of its annual GDP (gross domestic product). The nation was ranked #4 in the world in per capita income in 1989, just before its slump began; it is now down to #14. China, with ten times as many people, has almost the same total GDP and will soon surpass Japan.

 
==Geography==
[[Image:Cherry Blossom Japan.jpg|thumb|280px|Cherry Blossoms and Mt. Fuji.]]
The islands of Japan are scattered between 24ºN and 45ºN latitude (roughly 1,800 miles, or [[Florida]] to [[Maine]]). As a result, the climate varies greatly. Japan extends along the eastern or Pacific coast of Asia. The four main islands, running from north to south, are [[Hokkaido]], [[Honshu]] (or the mainland), [[Shikoku]], and [[Kyushu]]. [[Okinawa]] Island is about 380 miles south-west of Kyushu. About 3,000 smaller islands are included in the archipelago. In total land area, Japan is slightly smaller than California. About 73% of the country is mountainous, with a chain running through each of the main islands. Japan's highest mountain is the world famous [[Mount Fuji]] (or ''Fuji-san'') at 12,385 feet. Since so little flat area exists, many hills and mountainsides are cultivated all the way to the summits. As Japan is situated in a volcanic zone along the Pacific depth, frequent low intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes occur several times a century. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts.

Temperature extremes are less pronounced than in the United States, but the climate varies considerably. Sapporo, on the northernmost main island, has warm summers and long, cold winters with heavy snowfall. Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe, in central and western parts of the largest island of Honshu, experience relatively mild winters with little or no snowfall and hot, humid summers. Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu, has a climate similar to that of Charleston, South Carolina, with mild winters and wet summers. Okinawa is subtropical.

The cherry blossom (Sakura) is Japan's unofficial national flower. It has been celebrated for many centuries and takes a very prominent position in [[Mono no aware|Japanese culture]]. <ref>[http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html Cherry Blossom]</ref>

==People==
===Demography===
Japan's population, currently some 127 million, has experienced a phenomenal growth rate during the past 100 years as a result of scientific, industrial, and sociological changes, but this has ended because of falling birth rates and a lack of immigration. In 2005, Japan's population declined for the first time, two years earlier than predicted. High sanitary and health standards and a diet of fish and rice produce a life expectancy exceeding that of the United States.
===Decline===
Japan's population peaked in 2006; the following year saw the second consecutive decline, with an official population of 127,053,471. The [[birth rate]] has now increased from 2006's record low, but this has been offset by an all-time-high in the [[death rate]]. 51% of the population are female, and over-65s now make up 21% of the country.<ref>''[[Japan Times]]'': '[http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20070803a2.html Population shrinks again despite increase in births]'. 3rd August 2007; "Japan's changing demography: Cloud, or silver linings?" ''Economist'' (Jul 26th 2007) at [http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9539825].</ref>

In 1947 the proportion of Japanese over 65 was around 5% of the population, well below that in Britain, France or America. Today the elderly account for one-fifth of the population, and average lifespans have grown remarkably. Life expectancy today is 82, up from a little over 50 in 1947.

The baby boom came in 1947-1949, when 2.7m children a year were born. In 2007 the baby-boom generation began to retire (60 is the mandatory retirement age at most companies). Japan's birth rate fell below the replacement rate of 2.1 in the early 1970s. It slid to a low of 1.26 in 2005. In 2005 the population began to fall in absolute terms, despite increasing life expectancy. It is now shrinking at a pace unprecedented for any nation in peacetime. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research estimates a total population of 95m by 2050, compared to 127m in 2007, with the elderly accounting by then for two-fifths of the total.<ref> "Japan's changing demography: Cloud, or silver linings?" ''Economist'' (Jul 26th 2007) at [http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9539825].</ref>

===Policies===
The DPJ, elected in a landslide in 2009, has promised an ambitious social-spending plan that includes a child allowance of $3,300 a year. It is designed to encourage more births as a solution to Japan's declining population and rising average population age, as well as being a stimulus to spending to get the economy out of its long slump.

===Cities===
Japan is an urban society with only about 4% of the labor force engaged in agriculture. Many farmers supplement their income with part-time jobs in nearby towns and cities. About 80 million of the urban population is heavily concentrated on the Pacific shore of Honshu and in northern Kyushu. Major population centers include: Metropolitan Tokyo with approximately 12.5 million; Yokohama with 3.6 million; Osaka with 2.6 million; Nagoya with 2.2 million; Sapporo with 1.9 million; Kyoto and Kobe with 1.5 million each; Kawasaki and Fukuoka with 1.4 million each, and Saitama with 1.2 million. Japan faces the same problems that confront urban industrialized societies throughout the world: overcrowded cities, congested roads, air pollution, and rising juvenile delinquency.
*Population (2007 est.): 127.5 million.
*Population growth rate (2007 est.): -0.088%.
*Ethnic groups: Japanese; Korean (0.5%).
*Religions: Shinto and Buddhist; Christian (about 0.7%).
*Language: Japanese.
*Education: Literacy--99%.
*Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--2.8/1,000. Life expectancy--males 78 yrs., females 85 yrs.
*Work force (67 million, 2003): services--42%; trade, manufacturing, mining, and construction--46%; agriculture, forestry, fisheries--5%; government--3%.

====Religion====
[[Image:Nara.jpg|thumb|Great Buddha at Nara]]
Historically Japanese government has shifted between no official religion, [[Shinto|Shintō]], and [[Buddhism]].<ref name="WebJapanFactSheet">[http://web-japan.org/factsheet/ Web Japan Fact Sheet], sponsored by the [http://www.mofa.go.jp/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan]</ref> Modern Japan has no state religion.<ref>Article 20 of the [[Current Constitution of Japan (Full Text)|Japanese Constitution]] erects a legal barrier between political and religious entities.</ref>

Shintoism and Buddhism are Japan's two principal religions. Shintoism is founded on myths and legends emanating from the early animistic worship of natural phenomena. Since it was unconcerned with problems of afterlife which dominate Buddhist thought, and since Buddhism easily accommodated itself to local faiths, the two religions comfortably coexisted, and Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples often became administratively linked. Today many Japanese are adherents of both faiths. From the 16th to the 19th century Shintoism flourished.

Adopted by the leaders of the Meiji restoration, Shintoism received state support and was cultivated as a spur to patriotic and nationalistic feelings. Following World War II, state support was discontinued, and the emperor disavowed divinity. Today Shintoism plays a more peripheral role in the life of the Japanese people. The numerous shrines are visited regularly by a few believers and, if they are historically famous or known for natural beauty, by many sightseers. Many marriages are held in the shrines, and children are brought there after birth and on certain anniversary dates; special shrine days are celebrated for certain occasions, and numerous festivals are held throughout the year. Many homes have "god shelves" where offerings can be made to Shinto deities.

Buddhism first came to Japan in the 6th century and for the next 10 centuries exerted profound influence on its intellectual, artistic, social, and political life. Most funerals are conducted by Buddhist priests, and many Japanese visit family graves and Buddhist temples to pay respects to ancestors.

Confucianism arrived with the first great wave of Chinese influence into Japan between the 6th and 9th centuries. Overshadowed by Buddhism, it survived as an organized philosophy into the late 19th century and remains today as an important influence on Japanese thought and values.

Christianity, first introduced into Japan in 1549, was virtually stamped out by the government a century later; it was reintroduced in the late 1800s and has spread slowly. Today Christianity has an estimated 3 million adherents throughout Japan.

Beyond the three traditional religions, many Japanese today are turning to a great variety of popular religious movements normally lumped together under the name "new religions." These religions draw on the concept of Shinto, Buddhism, and folk superstition and have developed in part to meet the social needs of elements of the population. The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership is reportedly in the tens of millions.

Japan has also spawned its share of [[cults]], including the exceptionally lethal but fortunately short-lived [[Aum Shinrikyo]] movement of the early 1990's, which in 1994 became the first non-state organization to kill people with [[nerve gas]].

====Art====
[[Image:Birds Japanese painting.jpg|right|180px|Birds, Japanese painting]]
[[Image:Hokusai Sea Wave Kanagawa.jpg|right|180px|Behind the Great Wave off Kanagawa]]
Japanese art comes from prehistoric times. It has been influenced by [[Chinese]] art and Zen Buddhism, as well as by Western art. Painting (絵画) is one of the oldest Japanese art, and the most popular one. Main Painting Schools are: Suibokuga, Kanō, Rimpa, Tosa-ha, Nanga and Shijo.

Japanese interpretations and painters may be studied in the following periods:

* Ancient Japan
* [[Nara]] period
* Heian and [[Kamakura]] periods
* Muromachi period
: Josetsu (如拙) (1405 – 1423), the father of Japanese ink painting.
* Azuchi-Momoyama period
: Kanō Eitoku (狩野永徳) (1543 - 1590), prominent patriarch of the Kanō School.
* Edo period
: Tawaraya Sōtatsu (俵屋宗達) (c. 1600s), co-founder of the Rimpa School.
: [[Katsushika Hokusai]] (葛飾北斎) (1760 — 1849), Ukiyo-e (浮世絵) genre painter and printmaker. "Behind the Great Wave at Kanagawa" (c.1829) is one of the most renowned Japanese paintings.
* Meiji period
* Taisho period
* Showa period
: Ogura Yuki (小倉遊亀) (1895 - 2000), traditional female painter.
* Contemporary period
: Shinoda Toko (篠田桃紅) (b. 1913), female painter, sumi (ink) paintings and prints.
{{Clear}}

==Government and Political Conditions==
Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. There is universal adult suffrage with a secret ballot for all elective offices. Sovereignty, previously embodied in the emperor, is vested in the Japanese people, and the Emperor is defined as the symbol of the state.

Japan's Government is a parliamentary democracy, with a House of Representatives and a House of Councillors. Executive power is vested in a cabinet composed of a prime minister and ministers of state, all of whom must be civilians. The prime minister must be a member of the [[National Diet|Diet]] and is designated by his colleagues. The prime minister has the power to appoint and remove ministers, a majority of whom must be Diet members. The judiciary is independent.

The five major political parties represented in the National Diet are the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the New Clean Government Party (Komeito), the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Japan's judicial system, drawn from customary law, civil law, and Anglo-American common law, consists of several levels of courts, with the Supreme Court as the final judicial authority. The Japanese constitution includes a bill of rights similar to the U.S. Bill of Rights, and the Supreme Court has the right of judicial review. Japanese courts do not use a jury system, and there are no administrative courts or claims courts. Because of the judicial system's basis, court decisions are made in accordance with legal statutes. Only Supreme Court decisions have any direct effect on later interpretation of the law.

Japan does not have a federal system, and its 47 prefectures are not sovereign entities in the sense that U.S. states are. Most depend on the central government for subsidies. Governors of prefectures, mayors of municipalities, and prefectural and municipal assembly members are popularly elected to 4-year terms.

====Recent Political Developments====
The post-World War II years saw tremendous economic growth in Japan, with the political system dominated by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). That total domination lasted until the Diet lower house elections in July 1993, in which the LDP failed for the first time to win a majority. The LDP returned to power in 1994, with majorities in both houses of the Diet. In elections in July 2007, the LDP lost its majority in the upper house, with the DPJ now holding the largest number of seats but with no party possessing a clear majority. Currently, the LDP maintains a majority in the lower house.

Shinzo Abe was elected Prime Minister in a Diet vote in September 2006. Abe was the first prime minister to be born after World War II and the youngest prime minister since the war. However, Abe resigned abruptly on September 12, 2007, not long after the LDP lost control of the upper house in the July 2007 elections in which the LDP's handing of domestic issues was a leading issue. Yasuo Fukuda of the LDP was elected Prime Minister by the Diet on September 25, 2007 to replace Abe. Fukuda, whose father served as Prime Minister in the late 1970s, is known as a moderate and for his experience building consensus behind the scenes.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Head of State--Emperor Akihito
*Prime Minister (Head of Government)--Taro Aso
*Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura
*Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa
*Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada,
*Minister of Foreign Affairs Hirofumi Nakasone
*Permanent Representative to the UN Kenzo Oshima

===Foreign Relations===
Japan is the world's second-largest economy and a major economic power both in Asia and globally. Japan has diplomatic relations with nearly all independent nations and has been an active member of the United Nations since 1956. Japanese foreign policy has aimed to promote peace and prosperity for the Japanese people by working closely with the West and supporting the United Nations.

In recent years, the Japanese public has shown a substantially greater awareness of security issues and increasing support for the Self Defense Forces. This is in part due to the Self Defense Forces' success in disaster relief efforts at home, and its participation in peacekeeping operations such as in Cambodia in the early 1990s and Iraq in 2005-2006. However, there are still significant political and psychological constraints on strengthening Japan's security profile. Although a military role for Japan in international affairs is highly constrained by its constitution and government policy, Japanese cooperation with the United States through the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty has been important to the peace and stability of East Asia. Currently, there are domestic discussions about possible reinterpretation or revision of Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Prime Minister Abe made revising or reinterpreting the Japanese constitution a priority of his administration. All postwar Japanese governments have relied on a close relationship with the United States as the foundation of their foreign policy and have depended on the Mutual Security Treaty for strategic protection.

While maintaining its relationship with the United States, Japan has diversified and expanded its ties with other nations. Good relations with its neighbors continue to be of vital interest. After the signing of a peace and friendship treaty with China in 1978, ties between the two countries developed rapidly. Japan extended significant economic assistance to the Chinese in various modernization projects and supported Chinese membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Japan's economic assistance to China is now declining. In recent years, however, Chinese exploitation of gas fields in the East China Sea has raised Japanese concerns given disagreement over the demarcation of their maritime boundary. Prime Minister Abe's October 2006 visits to Beijing and Seoul helped improve relations with China and South Korea that had been strained following Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. At the same time, Japan maintains economic and cultural but not diplomatic relations with Taiwan, with which a strong bilateral trade relationship thrives.

Japanese officials believe the February 25, 2008 inauguration of Republic of Korea President Lee Myung-bak marks a "new era" in Japan-South Korea relations, as Tokyo and Seoul look to develop "future-oriented" ties while avoiding contentious historical differences. Those historical differences include territorial disputes involving the Liancourt Rocks, use of Korean females as "Comfort Women" during World War II, and historical and ethnic animosities that continue to complicate Japan's political relations with South Korea despite growing economic and cultural ties.

A surprise visit by Prime Minister Koizumi to Pyongyang, North Korea on September 17, 2002, resulted in renewed discussions on contentious bilateral issues--especially that of abductions to North Korea of Japanese citizens--and Japan's agreement to resume normalization talks in the near future. In October 2002, five abductees returned to Japan, but soon after negotiations reached a stalemate over the fate of abductees' families in North Korea. Japan's economic and commercial ties with North Korea plummeted following Kim Jong-il's 2002 admission that D.P.R.K. agents abducted Japanese citizens. Japan strongly supported the United States in its efforts to encourage Pyongyang to abide by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In 2006, Japan responded to North Korea's July missile launches and October nuclear test by imposing sanctions and working with the United Nations Security Council. The U.S., Japan, and South Korea closely coordinate and consult trilaterally on policy toward North Korea, and Japan participates in the Six-Party Talks to end North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions. Tokyo, however, refuses to provide assistance called for under the February 13, 2007 Six-Party Talks agreement until North Korea takes satisfactory steps to resolve the abduction issue.

Japan's relations with Russia are hampered by the two sides' inability to resolve their territorial dispute over the islands that make up the Northern Territories (Southern Kuriles) seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The stalemate over territorial issues has prevented conclusion of a peace treaty formally ending the war between Japan and Russia. The United States supports Japan on the Northern Territories issue and recognizes Japanese sovereignty over the islands. Russian Coast Guard boats sometimes seize Japanese fishing vessels operating in waters surrounding the disputed area. In August 2006, a Russian patrol shot at a Japanese fishing vessel, claiming the vessel was in Russian waters, killing one crewmember and taking three seamen into custody. In October 2007, Russia raised objections to U.S.-Japan cooperation on missile defense, and in February 2008, Tokyo protested the incursion into Japanese airspace of a Russian bomber. Despite the lack of progress in resolving the Northern Territories and other disputes, however, Japan and Russia continue to develop other aspects of the overall relationship, including two large, multi-billion dollar oil-natural gas consortium projects on Sakhalin Island.

Japan has pursued a more active foreign policy in recent years, recognizing the responsibility that accompanies its economic strength. It has expanded ties with the Middle East, which provides most of its oil, and has been the second-largest assistance donor (behind the U.S.) to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2006, Japan's Ground Self Defense Force completed a successful two-year mission in Iraq, and the Diet extended the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law which allowed for Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force refueling activities in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Indian Ocean. On July 10, 2007 the Japanese Government decided to extend the Air Self-Defense Force's (ASDF) airlift support mission in Iraq to July 31, 2008. Under the Iraq Special Measures Law a wing of the ASDF's C-130 transport planes, based in Kuwait, will continue to carry personnel and supplies for the U.S.-led multinational forces and the United Nations in Iraq. The law has been extended to July 31, 2009 and will be voted on again in 2008.

Japan increasingly is active in Africa and Latin America--recently concluding negotiations with Mexico and Chile on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)--and has extended significant support to development projects in both regions. A Japanese-conceived peace plan became the foundation for nationwide elections in Cambodia in 1998. Japan's economic engagement with its neighbors is increasing, as evidenced by the conclusion of an EPA with Singapore and the Philippines, and its ongoing negotiations for EPAs with Thailand and Malaysia.

In May 2007, just prior to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Prime Minister Abe announced an initiative to address greenhouse gas emissions and seek to mitigate the impact of energy consumption on climate. At the January 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Fukuda reiterated his commitment to this plan. As host of the G8 Summit in July 2008, Japan will focus on four themes: environment and climate change, development and Africa, the world economy, and political issues including non-proliferation.

===Relations with the United States===
The U.S.-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of U.S. security interests in Asia and is fundamental to regional stability and prosperity. Despite the changes in the post-Cold War strategic landscape, the U.S.-Japan alliance continues to be based on shared vital interests and values. These include stability in the Asia-Pacific region, the preservation and promotion of political and economic freedoms, support for human rights and democratic institutions, and securing of prosperity for the people of both countries and the international community as a whole.

Japan provides bases and financial and material support to U.S. forward-deployed forces, which are essential for maintaining stability in the region. Under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, Japan hosts a carrier battle group, the III Marine Expeditionary Force, the 5th Air Force, and elements of the Army's I Corps. The United States currently maintains approximately 50,000 troops in Japan, about half of whom are stationed in Okinawa.

Over the past decade the alliance has been strengthened through revised Defense Guidelines, which expand Japan's noncombatant role in a regional contingency, the renewal of our agreement on Host Nation Support of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, and an ongoing process called the Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI). The DPRI redefines roles, missions, and capabilities of alliance forces and outlines key realignment and transformation initiatives, including reducing the number of troops stationed in Okinawa, enhancing interoperability and communication between our respective commands, and broadening our cooperation in the area of ballistic missile defense.

Implementation of these agreements will strengthen our capabilities and make our alliance more sustainable. After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Japan has participated significantly with the global war on terrorism by providing major logistical support for U.S. and coalition forces in the Indian Ocean.

Because of the two countries' combined economic and technological impact on the world, the U.S.-Japan relationship has become global in scope. The United States and Japan cooperate on a broad range of global issues, including development assistance, combating communicable disease such as the spread of HIV/AIDS and avian influenza, and protecting the environment and natural resources. Both countries also collaborate in science and technology in such areas as mapping the human genome, research on aging, and international space exploration. As one of Asia's most successful democracies and its largest economy, Japan contributes irreplaceable political, financial, and moral support to U.S.-Japan diplomatic efforts. The United States consults closely with Japan and the Republic of Korea on policy regarding North Korea. In Southeast Asia, U.S.-Japan cooperation is vital for stability and for political and economic reform. Outside Asia, Japanese political and financial support has substantially strengthened the U.S. position on a variety of global geopolitical problems, including the Gulf, Middle East peace efforts, and the Balkans. Japan is an indispensable partner on UN reform and the second largest contributor to the UN budget. Japan broadly supports the United States on nonproliferation and nuclear issues. The U.S. supports Japan's aspiration to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

==Economy==
Japan's industrialized, free market economy is the second-largest in the world. Its economy is highly efficient and competitive in areas linked to international trade, but productivity is far lower in protected areas such as agriculture, distribution, and services. After achieving one of the highest economic growth rates in the world from the 1960s through the 1980s, the Japanese economy slowed dramatically in the early 1990s, when the "bubble economy" collapsed, marked by plummeting stock and real estate prices. Together with the impact of the worldwide [[recession of 2008]], Japan's status as a global economic power is slipping fast, with China poised to supplant Japan as the world' second-largest economy by 2010 or 2011.

Japan's reservoir of industrial leadership and technicians, well-educated and industrious work force, high savings and investment rates, and intensive promotion of industrial development and foreign trade produced a mature industrial economy. Japan has few natural resources, and trade helps it earn the foreign exchange needed to purchase raw materials for its economy.

Japan's long-term economic prospects are considered good, and it has largely recovered from its worst period of economic stagnation since World War II. Real GDP in Japan grew at an average of roughly 1% yearly in the 1990s, compared to growth in the 1980s of about 4% per year. The Japanese economy is now in its longest postwar expansion after more than a decade of stagnation. Real growth in 2006 was 2.2% and was 1.9% in 2007.
*GDP (2007 est.): $5.103 trillion (official exchange rate); $4.34 trillion (PPP).
*Real growth rate (2007 est.): 1.9%.
*Per capita GDP (2007 est. PPP): $33,800.
*Natural resources: Fish and few mineral resources.
*Agriculture: Products--rice, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, silk.
*Industry: Types--machinery and equipment, metals and metal products, textiles, autos, chemicals, electrical and electronic equipment.

====Agriculture, Energy, and Minerals====
Only 15% of Japan's land is arable. The agricultural economy is highly subsidized and protected. With per hectare crop yields among the highest in the world, Japan maintains an overall agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 40% on fewer than 5.6 million cultivated hectares (14 million acres). Japan normally produces a slight surplus of rice but imports large quantities of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans, primarily from the United States. Japan is the largest market for U.S. agricultural exports.

Given its heavy dependence on imported energy, Japan has aimed to diversify its sources and maintain high levels of energy efficiency. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has reduced dependence on petroleum as a source of energy from more than 75% in 1973 to about 52% in 2000. Other important energy sources are coal, liquefied natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower. Today Japan enjoys one of the most energy-efficient developed economies in the world.

Deposits of gold, magnesium, and silver meet current industrial demands, but Japan is dependent on foreign sources for many of the minerals essential to modern industry. Iron ore, coke, copper, and bauxite must be imported, as must many forest products.

====Labor====
Japan's labor force consists of some 66.07 million workers, 40% of whom are women. Labor union membership was estimated to be about 10 million in 2006.

====U.S./Japanese Economic Relations====
U.S. economic policy toward Japan is aimed at increasing access to Japan's markets and two-way investment, stimulating domestic demand-led economic growth, promoting economic restructuring, improving the climate for U.S. investors, and raising the standard of living in both the United States and Japan. The U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship--based on enormous flows of trade, investment, and finance--is strong, mature, and increasingly interdependent. Further, it is firmly rooted in the shared interest and responsibility of the United States and Japan to promote global growth, open markets, and a vital world trading system. In addition to bilateral economic ties, the U.S. and Japan cooperate closely in multilateral fora such as the WTO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and regionally in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

Japan is a major market for many U.S. products, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, films and music, commercial aircraft, nonferrous metals, plastics, and medical and scientific supplies. Japan also is the largest foreign market for U.S. agricultural products, with total agricultural exports valued at $10.1 billion in 2007, a 20% increase over the $8.39 billion in agricultural exports recorded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2006. Revenues from Japanese tourism to the United States reached nearly $13 billion in 2005.

Trade between the United States and Japan remained strong in 2006. Total trade grew about 0.2% year-on-year. U.S. exports to Japan reached $62.7 billion in 2007, up from $59.6 billion in 2006. U.S. imports from Japan totaled $145.5 billion in 2007 ($148.1 billion in 2006).

U.S. foreign direct investment in Japan reached $91.8 billion in 2006, up from $79.3 billion in 2005, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. New U.S. investment was especially significant in financial services, Internet services, and software, generating new export opportunities for U.S. firms and employment for U.S. workers.

==History==
see [[History of Japan]]
====20th century====
The Showa Period (1926-89), under Emperor [[Hirohito]], was an era of incredible change from traditional villages to modern cities, from a great empire and early success in [[World War II|World War II]] to utter ruin and surrender. In 1931 seized Japan [[Manchuria]], and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of [[History of China|China]]. The U.S. vehemently protested and insisted that Japan pull back, but it refused, so the U.S. stopped shipping it oil. Japan responded by attacking the U.S. at [[Pearl Harbor]] in December 1941, and soon conquered much of East and Southeast Asia. In a series of spectacular naval battles, such as the [[Battle of Midway]] (June 1942), Japan lost control of the Pacific and was subject to massive air raids culminating in nuclear attacks on [[Hiroshima]] and Nagasaki.

Japan, in utter ruins, was occupied by the U.S. until 1951, as Emperor Hirohito led a regime that Americanized the nation, modernized and liberalized its economy and polity, and become an economic superpower, staunch American ally, and a democracy that gave up all its empire and its military power. The emperor stepped down from his traditional godly status but remains the powerful symbol of national identity and unity. Political power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally.

====Current Status====
Japan's modern economy has many world leading industries and companies, being driven by exports and a mastery of high technology. However, in the 1990s, the economy underwent a major slowdown in part because of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s. Japan has a huge government debt, which exceeds the Gross Domestic product (176% of GDP) and also faces the challenge of a low birth rate, low immigration and an aging of the population which will further increase the debts. [[China]] also is becoming a larger economy and a bigger international trading partner than Japan.

== See Also ==
*[[World War II]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Matthew Perry]]
*[[Nikko]]
*[[Ainu]]
*[[Aomori]]
*[[Geisha]]
*[[Japanese painting]]
*[[Gallery of Japanese Painting]]
*[[Japanese dates]]
*[[Japanese numerical system]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.japan-guide.com/ Traveling and living.] Japan - Guide.
==Basic Further reading==
see also [[Bibliography of Japan]]
===References===
* Huffman, James L., ed. ''Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.'' (1998). 316 pp.
* Itasaka, Gen, ed. ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' 9 vols. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1983. with beautiful pictures
* Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of Japan: Japanese History and Culture, from Abacus to Zori.'' (1991). 410 pp.
* Stockwin, J. A. A. ''Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan.'' (2003). 291pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=107546295# online edition]

===Guides===
* DK, '' Japan'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Japan-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Publishing/dp/0756628768/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190467544&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Reiber, Beth, and Janie Spencer. ''Frommer's Japan'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Japan-Complete-Beth-Reiber/dp/0471763918/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190467544&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
* Rowthorn, Chris et al. ''Lonely Planet Japan'' (2005) [http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Planet-Japan-Chris-Rowthorn/dp/1740599241/ref=pd_bbs_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190467544&sr=8-3 excerpt and text search]
===History===
* Allinson, Gary D. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Japanese History.'' (1999). 259 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Guide-Modern-Japanese-History/dp/0231111444/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190394878&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Allinson, Gary D. ''Japan's Postwar History.'' (2nd ed 2004). 208 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Japans-Postwar-History-Second-Allinson/dp/0801489121/ref=sr_1_3/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190394878&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
* Gordon, Andrew. ''A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present'' (2003) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=103548936 online edition]; also [http://www.amazon.com/Modern-History-Japan-Tokugawa-Present/dp/0195110617/ref=sr_1_1/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190394957&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Hane, Mikiso. ''Modern Japan: A Historical Survey'' (2nd ed 1992), 474pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=57239340 online edition]
* Perez, Louis G. ''The History of Japan'' (1998) 244pp [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=93932879 online edition]

==References==
<references/>

[[Image:Arbol japon.jpg|right|Japanese landscape]]

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!colspan=2 style="width: 100%; text-align: center; background-color: #000088; color: white; "|'''Copyright Details'''
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!style="background-color: #000088; color:white;"|License:
|style=" background-color: none;"| Some content for this article is in the [[Public Domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
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[[Category:Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese History]]
[[Category:Asian Countries]]

User:OscarJ

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I mostly try to help by improving articles and reverting vandalism when I have time.

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Galileo Galilei

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748307 by Nusrat (Talk)

[[Image:Galileo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|'''Galileo Galilei''' Subterman's portrait, circa 1640]]

'''Galileo Galilei''' (1564-1642), often referred to simply as '''Galileo''', was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[physicist]] and [[astronomer]] who improved the [[telescope]], contributed to the field of [[mechanical]] [[physics]], proposed the [[heliocentrism|heliocentric]] model of [[Copernicus]] as the accurate universal model, and later in life had a famous dispute with the [[Catholic Church]] in which they labeled him a [[heretic]]. The backdrop was the [[Reformation]]. Despite the Church being in a divided state, on this issue the [[Catholic Church]] spoke for all of Christianity. [[Protestant]]s [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Calvin]] had also both disputed the [[heliocentric]] model<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=JcMCmBnpHGsC&pg=PA155&dq=Galileo+Catholic+Priest&as_brr=3&ei=6BFJSZ2rD5qEkgSgzfSwAg#PPA155,M1 ''The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief''], Francis S. Collins, Simon and Schuster, 2006, ISBN 0743286391, 9780743286398, 294 pages, p. 155</ref>.

Galileo first came to prominence when, in 1604, he demonstrated that a [[supernova]] was further away from the earth than the [[moon]]. At the time that was shocking as it was not expected within the earth-centered framework that existed at that time. It was also around this time that he invented a geometric and military compass. Galileo sought a patron, and made overtures to the Cosimo family, but had to supplement his income by selling his compass to students along with a handbook on how to use it. He also invented a primitive [[thermometer]] and a [[barometer]].

== His telescope and astronomical discoveries ==

In June or July of 1609, five years after his initial discovery, Galileo heard about the telescope, which had been invented in [[Netherlands|Holland]]. Without knowing the technical details of the construction of the device, he was able to create one for himself. Over time he continued to upgrade it. He found mountains on the Moon, viewed the phases of [[Venus]], and discovered four satellites around [[Jupiter]] as well as locating [[sunspots]].

In 1610 [[Galileo]] used the newly invented [[telescope]] to observe [[Jupiter]] and discovered four smaller bodies revolving around it.

[[NASA]] scientist Ron Baalke wrote
{{cquote| Galileo first observed the moons of Jupiter on January 7, 1610 through a homemade telescope. He originally thought he saw three stars near Jupiter, strung out in a line through the planet. The next evening, these stars seemed to have moved the wrong way, which caught his attention. Galileo continued to observe the stars and Jupiter for the next week. On January 13, a fourth star appeared. After a few weeks, Galileo had observed that the four stars never left the vicinity of Jupiter and appeared to be carried along with the planet, and that they changed their position with respect to each other and Jupiter. Finally, Galileo determined that what he was observing were not stars, but planetary bodies that were in orbit around Jupiter. [http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ganymede/discovery.html]}}

He published his finding in a paper titled "The Starry Messenger" which he dedicated to Grand Duke Cosimo II. His discoveries and publication led him to be appointed as Grand Duke court mathematician, a position he had coveted.

== The city fathers of Florence and the new bell ==

As Galileo became more well known, he was commissioned by the city father's of [[Florence]] to find a way to cast a new bell for the town. The local artisans had been unsuccessful, as the wooden mold for the bell's inner surface kept rising when molten metal was poured between it and the mold for the outer surface. Using [[Archimedes]] as his guide, Galileo explained that bodies must be heavier than the volume of liquid they displace or they will float to the surface. This view went against [[Aristotle]] who had claimed that objects floated when they "pierced" the skin of a liquid and escaped from it. Based on what Galileo told them, the Florence bell-casters succeeded in their task by increasing the pressure on the inner mold. Since Galileo had also recently shown that Aristotle was wrong about falling objects, he was walking on sensitive ground.<ref>''Christian History'', Issue 76, "Galileo and the Powers Above"</ref>

== Advocacy of the Copernican system and conflict with Church authorities ==

Until the sixteenth century, the prevailing view was that the [[Sun]], Moon, [[star]]s and [[planet]]s circled the [[Earth]] (the [[geocentrism|geocentric]] system, based on the second century work of [[Ptolemy]]). Puzzled astronomers noticed that [[Mars]], [[Jupiter]] and [[Saturn]] sometimes seemed to move backwards, but their motions were well within the predictions of Ptolemy's theory. The moon was considered to have more freedom of movement.

A Polish astronomer, Nicolaus [[Copernicus]] (1473-1543), published a model of the solar system ''De Revolutionibus'' in 1543, in which the earth and other planets circled the sun. The Catholic Church endorsed the book. The book’s preface (which was not written by Copernicus) argued that astronomical models have merit if they correctly predict observations, even if the underlying hypotheses cannot be proved.<ref>[http://webexhibits.org/calendars/year-text-Copernicus.html ''On the Revolutions'' - English translation.]</ref> The scientific evidence was inconclusive.

However, ancient [[Greek]] thought was idolized since it was re-discovered several hundred years before, being viewed almost on par with the [[Bible]] itself. The Ptolemaic system was the prevailing view at the time. Initially it was not the theologians who balked at Galileo's ideas, but rather mathematicians at the University of [[Pisa]] who were so outraged that he challenged Aristotle that they refused to even look through his telescope at the stars. Galileo wrote a privately-circulated pamphlet which argued that the Bible should be interpreted in the light of increasing knowledge, and warning that scientific opinion should not be treated as an article of faith. In this way he matched the great church father [[Saint Augustine]]. Quoting another of the early church fathers Galileo wrote <blockquote>''The intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.''</blockquote>

In 1613 a [[Dominican]] friar, [[Tommaso Caccini]], got a hold of Galileo's writing and preached a sermon against him. A mangled version of Galileo's writing was sent to [[Rome]]. Galileo heard of this and sent the full version. He was not terribly alarmed, knowing that many of the best minds in [[Italy]], including the [[Vatican]]'s mathematicians, were convinced on the heliocentric universe that his works had help to substantiate. Caccini's Dominican superior was so embarrassed that he sent a letter of apology to Galileo.

Caccini wasn't through, however, and gave an unsolicited deposition to the Inquisition about Galileo's views, which largely demonstrated his own ignorance on the subject. Nevertheless, the theologians who were given the case ruled in a manner that was not pleasing to Galileo when it was handed down. Galileo was told by the Inquisition that he must only use Copernican concepts as a hypothesis for the sake of calculation, without claiming that they had been literally proven true. Because Galileo had overstated the scientific case for the heliocentric theory and given some dubious theological arguments, the Inquisition ruling decided that: 1) the immobility of the Sun at the center of the universe was absurd in philosophy and formally heretical, and that 2) the mobility of Earth was absurd in [[philosophy]] and at least erroneous in theology. <ref> [http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/galileo.html ''[[University of Cambridge]], Department of History and Philosophy of Science'' - Galileo Galilei]</ref> The following month the Church’s [[Index of Forbidden Books]] required that nine sentences in Copernicus's book be corrected.

Looking back, it is hard to understand the decision, but in defense of the arbiters of that time, the view through Galileo's telescope was nothing like the quality of telescopes today. To untrained laymen, it would be difficult to know what was being viewed. Also, the concept of stellar parallax, a condition that had to exist if Galileo was right, could not be properly detected at the time. (Parallax is real, but due to the incredibly far distances of the stars in relationship to the earth's movement around the sun, it could not be detected until 1838, over 200 years later.)

== Using the principle of falsifiability to improve the scientific method ==
[[Image:Galileo....jpg|left|120px]]
Galileo tested [[Aristotle]]'s theory that heavy objects fall faster than light ones and found it was a consequence of air resistance, not [[gravity]]. By making careful measurements he found he could use mathematics to measure the acceleration of gravity and predict the movements of [[pendulum]]s and tides.

Galileo got approval from Rome to write his book ''Dialogue on the Tides'', which discussed both the Ptolemaic and Copernican hypotheses, as long as it discussed both systems and did not draw a conclusion that would make the heliocentric world view be viewed as fact instead of theory. Rome changed the title to ''Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems'' and it was published in Florence in 1632. Unfortunately for Galileo, the work was not made to be evenhanded. Indeed, the Ptolemaic character, called 'Simplicius' often stumbled over his own errors and seemed quite foolish. Galileo had moved out of bounds and even his name 'Simplicius' seemed designed to embarrass the Church. The Church felt they had made themselves clear. At a different time, the reaction might have been different, but it was in the middle of the [[30 years war]], the most deadly war in Europe ever fought between Catholics and Protestants, and embarrassing one side could result in the loss in life. Galileo claimed approval by the Church for his entire work, and that was simply false. It would be analogous today to someone speaking in the name of an organization in a way that embarrasses it, and the result is typically the same: the person is promptly fired and, if the harm is serious, often prosecuted. Put another way, Galileo's act was treasonous at a time of war. The Catholic Church felt compelled at a time of crisis to clarify its authority. At no time was there any claim of papal infallibility; this was a matter of misrepresentation of the Church's position.

The Church officials, who felt Galileo had embarrassed them, found that Galileo had erred by advocating in the name of the Church that heliocentrism was scientifically proven. This was not compatible with the Inquisition's 1616 ruling and what Galileo had recently been told. In 1633 Galileo was ordered to stand trial in Rome. Galileo could have left the Church but instead chose to submit voluntarily its authority and decision. According to the terms of his sentence, renounced his [[thesis]] of his [[book]]. At first he was sentenced to life imprisonment, but this was immediately commuted to luxurious house arrest. His book was burned, and the sentence against him was read aloud in public in every university. <ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761557587&pn=3 ''MSN Encarta'' - Galileo (p3)]</ref> Galileo went back to studying motion and mechanics in his private villa. He received the Pope's personal blessing before he died, which is a rare honor.

Galileo's theory of tides that he also promoted was proven to be false.

==''Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences''==

Galileo’s last book, the 1638 work ''Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences'', dealt with motion and mechanics. This work helped inspire [[Isaac Newton]] to create his theory of [[gravity]], which linked Galileo’s mathematics and physics to [[Johannes Kepler|Kepler’s]] laws of planetary movement.

[[Image:Galileobones.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Galileo's drawing of how the dimensions of different-sized bones need to vary to make them equally strong in relation to their function]]
In ''Two New Sciences,'' Galileo revealed a sophisticated understanding of engineering and what now would be called [[dimensional analysis]], the way in which the proportions of an engineering structure need to change as the size of the structure is scaled up. He applied this to [[biology]], explaining why the bones of a large animal need to be thicker in proportion to their size than those of smaller animals.

In an age before stopwatches, Galileo was able to make quantitative observations of uniformly-accelerated motion, using his pulse as a time reference and watching the slow acceleration of objects moving down inclined planes.

This book contains his famous discussion and thought experiment, in which he shows both by logic and by appeal to experiment that light and heavy objects fall at the same speed (contradicting Aristotle). One of his discussants says "But I, Simplicio, who have made the test can assure you that a cannon ball weighing one or two hundred pounds, or even more, will not reach the ground by as much as a span ahead of a musket ball weighing only half a pound, provided both are dropped from a height of 200 cubits."<ref>Crew, Henry and Alfonso de Salvio (1914), ''Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences by Galileo Galilei,'' Northwestern University, 1939 reprint of 1914 Macmillan edition, p. 62</ref>.

Another discussant points out that this result is logical, by positing a large stone that moves at a speed of eight and a smaller one which moves at a speed of four, and showing that this leads to a contradiction if the stones are tied together. Since the smaller stone tends to fall more slowly, it ought to retard the motion of the larger one, so the combination should fall more slowly than the large stone by itself. However, "the two stones when tied together make a stone larger than before," and hence ought to fall more quickly than the large stone by itself.

It is interesting to see how Galileo was able to obtain quantitative results in physics before algebra and calculus were invented. The book uses the methods of geometry, and lays out "proofs" of physical relationships using a style and terminology similar to [[Euclid]]'s Elements.

In 1741, a century after Galileo's death in January 1642, the dispute with the Catholic Church was finally settled officially when the Church under [[Pope Benedict XIV]] bid the [[Holy Office]] grant an imprimatur to the first edition of the Complete Works of Galileo.<ref> [http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0005.html The Galileo Affair]</ref>

Stillman Drake of the [[University of Toronto]] [http://www.utpjournals.com/product/utq/701/galileo46.html] was for the last decades of his life the most original and important scholar to study this seventeenth-century physicist.<ref>[http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/imago/drake.html|The Stillman Drake Collection]</ref>

==Charges of heresy and theological error==
{{QuoteBox|The Holy Tribunal in Galileo's condemnation states: "The proposition that the sun is the center of the world and does not move from its place is absurd and false philosophically and formally heretical, because it is expressly contrary to the Holy Scripture. The proposition that the earth is not the center of the world and immovable, but that it moves, and also with a diurnal motion, is equally absurd and false philosophically, and theologically considered, at least erroneous in faith." <ref>Henderson, Thomas H., [http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/galileo.html What were Galileo's scientific and biblical conflicts with the Church?], quoting Janelle Rohr, editor, Science & Religion--Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press, 1988), p. 24.</ref>}}

==Noteworthy Facts==




*For his promotion of the Copernican view of the Solar System as though it were the Church's position, Galileo was accused by the Catholic Church of disobeying its authority and misrepresenting its position. This was a crime that was sometimes punishable by death, just as treason is so punished today. He was later cleared, but forbidden from publicly misrepresenting the Church's position.<ref name="nasabio"> [http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/galileo.html Galileo Galilei] - NASA bio</ref>.

*Galileo published a book in 1632 restating his belief in Copernicus theory. He was again called before the inquisition, this time being found guilty of publishing a book in the Church's name despite its disapproval. He was confined to house arrest, but never condemned<ref name="nasabio" />.

*The Catholic church admitted that mistakes had been made in 1992. In a speech Pope John Paul II declared the Galileo case closed, but did not admit that the church was wrong on the charge of misrepresenting the Church view at the time he was convicted.<ref>[http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/Biographies/Galileo.html]</ref>

==External Links==
*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/Galileo.shtml   Galileo Galilei - father of modern science according to Einstein]
==Further reading==
* Drake, Stillman. ''Galileo: Pioneer Scientist.'' (1990). 261 pp.
* Drake, Stillman. ''Galileo.'' (1981). 100 pp.
* Fantoli, Annibale. ''Galileo: For Copernicanism and for the Church.'' (1994). 540pp
* Feldhay, Rivka. ''Galileo and the Church: Political Inquisition or Critical Dialogue?'' (1995). 303 pp.
* Finocchiaro, Maurice A., ed. ''The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History.'' (1989). 382 pp. primary sources
* Reston, James. ''Galileo: A Life.'' (1994). 319 pp., popular
* Sharratt, Michael. ''Galileo: Decisive Innovator.'' (1994). 247 pp.

== References ==

<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT: Galileo Galilei}}
[[category:Physicists]]
[[Category:Astronomers]]
[[Category:Italian People]]
[[category:Platonists]]

24 (TV series)

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Chemistry

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'''Chemistry''' (from the Egyptian '''kēme''', meaning "earth") is the study of structure, composition, and properties of matter, as well as the interactions of chemical elements and compounds. Along with [[physics]], chemistry is one of the physical sciences. Chemistry is the modern counterpart to [[alchemy]]. Chemistry be divided into several sub-branches, including:

* [[Organic chemistry]]- The study of chemical compounds consisting primarily of [[carbon]] and [[hydrogen]]
* [[Inorganic chemistry]]- The study of [[inorganic compounds]]
* [[Physical chemistry]]- The application of [[Physics]] to chemical compounds and systems
* [[Analytic chemistry]]- The study of chemical composition
* [[Biochemistry]]- The study of the chemical processes in cells
* [[Supramolecular chemistry]]- The study of non covalent bonding interactions between molecules

Famous chemists include:
* [[Michael Faraday]]
* [[Linus Pauling]]
* [[Alfred Nobel]]

== See Also ==
*[[Chemistry terms]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

American History Homework Twelve Answers - Student Seventeen

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748285 by Anonymizator (Talk)

AmandaS

1. ''' Who were the main protagonists in the "Cold War", and what was the period of this "war"?:''' Our view of the main protagonists in the Cold War was the United States and the antagonist is the Soviet Union. This war lasted from about 1945-1991.

: Correct!

2. '''Identify the two wars that caused over 50,000 American deaths which occurred between 1945 and 1980, and briefly state your view of the American role in those wars. Do you agree with our acceptance of the outcomes?:'''
There are two wars that resulted in the killing of more than 50,000 Americans between 1945 and 1980. The first war was the Korean war which lasted from 1950 to 1953, and approximately 54,000 Americans lost their lives during it. The other would be the Vietnam war, which took place when President Lyndon Johnson was president between 1959-1975. By the end of the Vietnam war, 58,000 soldiers had lost their lives. I think that the Korean War was handled fairly well, but I do not agree with the outcome of the Vietnam War, the US we should have been allowed fight back with the intentions of winning, instead due to a higher authority the US was not allowed to officially win the war and eventually had to resign because of the poor decisions being made by Johnson and Nixon

:Superb, though "withdraw" is a term more appropriate than "resign" there.

3. '''Pick an aspect of the Civil Rights Movement that impressed you most, and explain why.:'''
December 1st, 1955 African American, Rosa Parks sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat at the front of the bus in order to make room for a white person. By doing so Rosa Parks changed history by ending a segregation between the whites and blacks on buses. Rosa Parks really inspires me, she went against the government to fight for hers and other peoples rights. No one should be respected less because of the color of their skin, God made everyone equal and the segregation between the two was just wrong. Rosa Parks showed true courage just by not giving up a seat.

:Excellent analysis.

4. '''President Lyndon Johnson is known best for two things. Pick one and explain why, providing a specific example to support your answer:'''
President Lyndon Johnson became president in 1963 after the assassination of President Kennedy. Johnson was very attention seeking and did whatever it took to become more famous beyond the people of America, that includes starting a war. Apparently wars increase the popularity of a president which was what Johnson was looking for, so he decided to join the war with Vietnam and really had no intentions of officially winning it. The war did not go well President Johnson wanted to keep fighting instead of trying to end the war all together, so he made America drop continuos bombs on Northern Vietnam, which killed millions of people including our own soldiers from the US. In the 1970's the war finally came to an end on terms that caused America to pull out and let North Vietnam fall to the communists.

:Terrific analysis.

5. '''What do you like best about the 80th Congress? Explain.-'''I think the Taft-Hartley Act was one of the best things that happened in the 80th congress. This act established control of labor disputes and gave workers the right to not join the union if unwanted, where as before it was forced.

:Excellent.

6. '''Who do you think was the most important person between 1945 and 1980 in American history, and why?:''' In my point of view their were many very important and influential people throughout this time so its hard to choose only one. But one of my favorites would be Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr is highly respected in the eyes of many, he is known for the speech he delivered in 1963 titled as, "I have a dream". It was an extremely inspiring speech and talked about his dream for a future where blacks and whites among others would coexist harmoniously as equals. He also founded the Southern Christian Leadership conference which had a large role in the American Civil Rights Movement.

:Good analysis with superb detail. Will use as a model! (Note: "there were," not "their were").

7. '''Throughout the 1960s, what was the name used to describe the people in charge of the building pictured here, and describe their approach or ideology, mentioning at least one issue as an example:''' Throughout the 1960's the term that was used was the "Warren Court" which referred to Chief Justice Earl Warren. The Warren Court was an activist court, extending judicial powers into areas where it previously showed restraint. The Warren Court expanded the power of the Supreme Court and invented many new constitutional rights, and it also applied the Bill of Rights against the states even though it was intended to apply only to the Federal Government.

:Superb analysis!

:Terrific work. Perfect, in fact! 70/70.--[[User:Aschlafly|aschlafly]] 22:21, 13 December 2008 (EST)
[[Category:American History Homework Twelve Answers]]

Amos Brown

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748281 by Mlask (Talk)

'''Amos Cleophilus Brown''' (1970-1977) was a [[reverend]] and a member of the [[San Francisco]], [[California]] Board of Supervisors.

==External Links==
*[http://www.pilgrimbaptistchurch.org/Pastors/brown.htm Rev. Amos C. Brown], Pilgrim Baptist Church
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/author/amos-brown/ What Liberals Say - Amos Brown], [[Accuracy In Media]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Amos}}
[[Category:Clergy]]

Freedom

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748236 by Anonce (Talk)

Baptist

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'''Baptists''' are a [[Christian]] denomination. Their largest organization, the [[Southern Baptist Convention]], has 16 million members and is an influential social and political group:<ref>http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/default.asp</ref>
==History==
Historically, '''Baptists''' are descended primarily from the work of [[John Smyth]] (1554-1612) in [[England]]<ref>http://levellers.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/john-smyth-1570-1612-puritan-separatist-baptist-mennonite/</ref> He fled to [[Holland]] due to persecution of the [[Anabaptists]], of which he was part.<ref>http://www.exlibris.org/nonconform/engdis/anabaptists.html</ref> Baptists arrived in the American colonies, and became especially numerous in New England and Virginia. After 1800 the denomination grew rapidly. It split in 1845 over the issue of slavery. Many slaves were Baptists and at the end of the Civil War they withdrew from white churches and set up their own network of Baptists churches.

The Baptist Bible Union was started in 1923 by prominent Fundamentalists including W. B. Riley, pastor of First Baptist Church, Minneapolis, T. T. Shields, Canadian Baptist pastor, and J. Frank Norris, of First Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas. Riley said the Union was founded to give "open, determined opposition to menacing modernism" in the
Northern and Southern Baptist Conventions. The union was of "inspirational character" for those who sought to purge liberalism from Baptist denominations.<ref>Leonard (1987) p. 506</ref>
==Beliefs==
The following acrostic backronym, spelling BAPTIST, represents a useful summary of Baptists' distinguishing beliefs:

* Biblical authority (Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
* Autonomy of the local church (Matt. 18:15–17; 1 Cor. 6:1-3)
* Priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5-9; 1 Timothy 5)
* Two ordinances (believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper) (Acts 2:41–47; 1 Cor. 11:23-32)
* Individual soul liberty (Romans 14:5–12)
* Separation of Church and State (Matthew 22:15–22)
* Two offices of the church (pastor-elder and deacon) (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1–2)

== Baptist Denominations ==
Baptists generally lack a religious hierarchy, tradition, or texts other than the [[Bible]], and they stress [[evangelical]] work.

Baptist denominations include the more [[liberal]] [[American Baptist Churches]], based in northern states, and the much larger [[conservative]] [[Southern Baptist Convention]] (SBC). It is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., and has churches in every state. Since its founding in 1845, the SBC has grown to over 16 million members in more than 42,000 churches in the United States. The SBC sponsors about 5,000 home missionaries serving the United States, Canada, Guam and the Caribbean, as well as another 5,000 foreign missionaries at work in 153 countries.

Most African Americans belong to the National Baptist Convention, with 7.5 million members, or to the smaller but more liberal Progressive National Baptist Convention, with over 2000 churches and a total membership of 2.5 million.

There are numerous smaller bodies, usually with long histories, such as the Calvinistic Baptists, General Baptists, Primitive Baptists, Old Regulars, Two Seeders, Independents, Landmarkeans-named after landmarks of doctrine-, and Seventh Day Baptists.<ref> Leonard (2005)</ref>

In addition many churches are independent; the independent Fundamentalist Baptists tend to be more conservative than either of these groups. Most independent churches were created in reaction to "worldliness, modernism, apostasy and compromise," often by a charismatic leader. They generally maintain a loose confederation of local congregations, promoting and funding independent missionaries and "church-planters, periodicals and Bible schools."<ref> Leonard (1987) p. 507 </ref>

==Beliefs==
They practice adult [[baptism]] which is done by immersion.<ref> In practice children are baptised at the age of 5 to 10; see Strategic Information and Planning Section, ''2001 Annual Church Profile Statistics:
Number of Baptisms by Age Divisions'' (Nashville: LifeWay Christian Resources, April 22, 2002). </ref> With that baptism, the individual acquires authority to determine matters of religion and [[faith]] for himself, or as part of a local congregation of believers. Many Baptists consider the [[Bible]] to be inerrant and the literal word of God. Baptists are often opposed to [[gambling]] and the use of [[tobacco]] and [[Alcoholic drink|alcoholic beverages]].<ref>http://www.abpnews.com/2885.article</ref>

Though each Baptist is free to define his own beliefs, a revised collection of common principles held by Baptists was set forth by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000.<ref>http://www.sbc.net/bfm/</ref>

== Protestantism ==
Baptists are generally grouped together with Protestants. This is used to mean that they are "non-Catholic". When used in this sense, it is true. However, Protestant Churches are limited only to Churches which separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the [[Protestant Reformation]], starting in 1517. Some Baptists (called Landmarkeans) believe that Baptist history extends all the way back to the apostolic Church.<ref>[http://www.empirebaptistministries.org/church/articles/protestant.htm Jarrell's Baptist Perpetuity]</ref> [[Charles Haddon Spurgeon|C.H. Spurgeon]] told the story of Baptist minister, Peter of Bruys, who suffered martyrdom in 1124.<ref>[http://www.baptistbanner.net/baptist_history/baptist_history.html ''Baptists are Ancient''] by C.H. Spurgeon appeared in the August 1868 The Sword and the Trowel.</ref>[[The Waldensian Confession of Faith]] of 1120 A.D. is distinctively Baptist.<ref>[http://www.pbministries.org/History/Goodwin_&_Frazier/churches_02.htm ''Baptist Churches In All Ages'' by Paul Goodwin and Bob Frazier]</ref> Few historians agree, and most scholars argue that Baptists originiated in England in the 17th century.

Baptists also differ from most Protestants doctrinally. The most obvious being that Baptists only practice "Believer's Baptism", the belief, that only born-again believers, not infants, can get baptized. The other distinguishing belief is in the area of church government. Baptists believe that Christ and only Christ is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23). There is no man who has the oversight of Baptist churches. Baptists have no denomination in the sense of an organization that controls local congregations. Each local church is autonomous and accountable only to Christ, who is its Head. Finally Baptists have always stood by the belief that the church should not be state controlled.<ref>[http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/why_baptists_are_not_protestants.htm Why Baptists are not Protestants by Dr. Vernon C. Lyons]</ref>
===Europe==
European Baptist Federation (EBF) is a regional arm of the Baptist World Alliance. EBF has more than 800,000 Baptist members in 51 unions or conventions from Portugal to Russia. In 2009 it sponsored "Amsterdam 400," celebratting 400 years of Basptist history in Europe.

== Baptist Distinctives ==
Baptists have traditionally held to a set of beliefs that have developed into the Baptist Distinctives. The eight distinctives form the acrostic ''BAPTISTS''.

*''Biblical Authority'': The Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. The Bible is inspired by God and bears the absolute authority of God Himself.
*''Autonomy of the Local Church'': The local church is an independent body accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is autonomous, or self-governing. No religious hierarchy outside the local church may dictate a church's beliefs or practices.
*''Priesthood of the Believer'': Every believer is a priest of God and may enter into His presence in prayer directly through our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. No other mediator is needed between God and people.
*''Two Ordinances'': The local church should practice the ordinance of baptism and the ordinance of the Lord's supper.
*''Individual Soul Liberty'': Every person has the liberty to choose what he believes is right in the religious realm. Religious persecution has always been opposed by Baptists. This does not, however, exempt exempt one from responsibility to the Word of God or from accountability to God Himself.
*''Saved, Baptized Church Membership'': Every member of a Baptist Church must be saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have publicly proclaimed their faith through believer's baptism.
*''Two Offices'': Baptists believe there are two offices in the church, Pastor and Deacon.
*''Separation of Church and State'': God has established both government and the church. They fulfill two separate roles in society. The Church should not control the government, and likewise the government should not control the Church. This does not mean that individual Christians are prohibited from participating and influencing government toward righteousness.

== Baptist Music ==

The music often heard in Baptist churches tends to be uplifting and hopeful, rather than the meritative mood often set in more liberal churches. The lyrics also tend to focus on the afterlife (Heaven), putting one's life in God's hands, or the world after the return of [[Jesus Christ]]. Popular Baptist hymns include:
* "The Old Rugged Cross"
* "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms"
* "Amazing Grace"
* "This Little Light of Mine"
The most common instrumentation is piano and organ, often placed on either side of the church at the front, so that each play may see the other and the choir director at the same time. If the organ console is not facing the place where the choir director stands, then a mirror will be installed so that the organist can see. Occasionally, for special events, other instruments will be brought in. These are usually classical instruments like strings, woodwinds, or brass (especially trumpet). Electric guitars, basses, and drum sets are rare. Larger churches, like First Baptist Dallas, will regularly include a small symphony orchestra with the piano and organ, but smaller churches simply use the two [[Keyboard Instruments|keyboard instruments]].

==Famous Baptists==
*[[Jerry Falwell]]
*[[Pat Robertson]]
*[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]
*[[Billy Graham]]
*[[Jimmy Carter]]

==See also==
* [[Southern Baptist Convention]]
* [[First Great Awakening]]
* [[Second Great Awakening]]
* [[Third Great Awakening]]

==Bibliography==
* Harrison, Paul M. ''Authority and Power in the Free Church Tradition: A Social Case Study of the American Baptist Convention'' Princeton University Press, 1959.
* Heyrman, Christine Leigh. ''Southern Cross: The Beginnings of the Bible Belt'' (1997).
* Isaac, Rhy. "Evangelical Revolt: The Nature of the Baptists' Challenge to the Traditional Order in Virginia, 1765 to 1775," ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' 3d ser., XXXI (July 1974), 345–68. [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1921628 in JSTOR]
* Johnson, Charles A. ''The Frontier Camp Meeting: Religion's Harvest Time'' (1955) [http://www.questia.com/read/3812202?title=The%20Frontier%20Camp%20Meeting%3a%20Religion's%20Harvest%20Time online edition]
* Leonard, Bill J. ''Baptist Ways: A History'' (2003), comprehensive international history
* Leonard, Bill J. ''Baptists in America.'' (2005), general survey and history by leading Southern Baptist
* Leonard, Bill J. "Independent Baptists: from Sectarian Minority to 'Moral Majority'". ''Church History''. Volume: 56. Issue: 4. 1987. pp 504+. [http://www.questia.com/read/95146834?title=Independent%20Baptists%3a%20from%20Sectarian%20Minority%20to%20%22Moral%20Majority%22 online edition]
* Rawlyk, George. ''Champions of the Truth: Fundamentalism, Modernism, and the Maritime Baptists'' (1990), on Baptists in Canada.
* Spain, Rufus. ''At Ease in Zion: Social History of Southern Baptists, 1865-1900'' (1967)
* Spangler, Jewel L. "Becoming Baptists: Conversion in Colonial and Early National Virginia" ''Journal of Southern History.'' Volume: 67. Issue: 2. 2001. pp 243+ [http://www.questia.com/read/5002399579?title=Becoming%20Baptists%3a%20Conversion%20in%20Colonial%20and%20Early%20National%20Virginia online edition]
* Stringer, Phil. ''The Faithful Baptist Witness,'' Landmark Baptist Press, 1998.
* Torbet, Robert G. ''A History of the Baptists,'' Judson Press, 1950.
* Underwood, A. C. ''A History of the English Baptists.'' London: Kingsgate Press, 1947.
* Wills, Gregory A. ''Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South, 1785–1900,'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/55113490?title=Democratic%20Religion%3a%20Freedom%2c%20Authority%2c%20and%20Church%20Discipline%20in%20the%20Baptist%20South%2c%201785-1900 online edition]
===Race===
* Gavins; Raymond. ''The Perils and Prospects of Southern Black Leadership: Gordon Blaine Hancock, 1884–1970'' Duke University Press, 1977.
* Harvey, Paul. ''Redeeming the South: Religious Cultures and Racial Identities among Southern Baptists, 1865–1925'' University of North Carolina Press, 1997. [http://www.questia.com/library/book/redeeming-the-south-religious-cultures-and-racial-identities-among-southern-baptists-1865-1925-by-paul-harvey.jsp online edition]
* Pitts, Walter F. ''Old Ship of Zion: The Afro-Baptist Ritual in the African Diaspora'' Oxford University Press, 1996.

===Primary sources===
* McBeth, H. Leon, (ed.) ''A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage'' (1990), primary sources for Baptist history.
* McGlothlin, W. J. (ed.) ''Baptist Confessions of Faith.'' Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1911.
* Underhill, Edward B. (ed.). ''Confessions of Faith and Other Documents of the Baptist Churches of England in the 17th century.'' London: The Hanserd Knollys Society, 1854.

== References ==
<references/>

== External Links ==
* [http://www.baptisthistory.org/ Baptist History and Heritage Society]
* [http://www.abpnews.com/ Associated Baptist Press] - An Independent Baptist news agency
* [http://www.bpnews.net/ Baptist Press] - A Southern Baptist news agency

[[Category:Christian Denominations]]
[[Category:Protestantism]]
[[Category:Fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Revivals]]
[[Category:Baptists]]

Fox Broadcasting Company

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'''Fox Network''' is a television network. It is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, a part of [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation]]. The network is named for the sister company [[20th Century Fox]], one of the six major American Film Studios.

[[Fox News Channel]] is known for supplying an unbiased look at world events, earning it accolades from [[conservatives]] and moderates alike. Fox's other programming, however, if often less laudable. Fox's entertainment division - which airs on a different channel, and is home to such dubiously moral shows as ''[[Family Guy]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]'' - has been singled out by the [[Parents Television Council]] for obsessive violence and sexual [[obscenities]]. Additionally, several major shows on Fox's entertainment channels have been known to mock conservative Christians in general, and creationists in specific.

[[Category:TV Networks]]

Russia

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748232 by Nusrat (Talk)

{{Country
|name =''Российская Федерация Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''
|map =Russia rel94.jpg
|map2 =Russia location.png
|flag =Flag of Russia.png
|arms =Arms of the Russian Federation.png
|capital =Moscow
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-Presidential Federal republic
|government-raw =
|language =Russian
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Dmitry Medvedev
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Vladimir Putin
|pm-raw =
|area =6,592,800 sq mi
|pop =141,400,000 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$979 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$6,856 (2006)
|currency =ruble
|idd =
|tld =
}}
Ваша статья - хуйня. Вы ничего не понимаете в русских.

'''Russia''' (formally the '''Russian Federation''' (Russian: Российская Федерация, ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''), is the largest country by area (17,075,200 square kilometers) and has the sixth largest population. Its history stretches back over a thousand years, with rule by the Czars until 1917, and by the Communists, 1918-1991 under the name of the [[Soviet Union]]. Russia had an extensive empire built up over hundreds of years, almost all of which broke away in 1991. The capital is [[Moscow]].

Russia is theoretically a federation of constituent governments. In reality, it has a highly centralized government, largely due to former President (now Prime Minister) [[Vladimir Putin]]. Putin has nationalized the nation's oil and gas companies, seized foreign investments, imprisoned top businessmen, and brought an autocratic, anti-democratic style that resembles--in milder form--the czars and Soviets. Thanks to oil revenue, it has the money to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, which is mildly hostile to the United States and to [[NATO]].
==Geography==
*Area: 17 million sq. km. (6.5 million sq. mi.); about 1.8 times the size of the United States.
*Cities: Capital--Moscow (pop. 8.3 million). Other cities--St. Petersburg (4.6 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million).
*Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.
*Climate: Northern continental.

==Religion==
In practice, only a minority of citizens actively participated in any religion. Many who identified themselves as members of a religious group participated in religious life rarely or not at all. There is no one set of reliable statistics that breaks down the population by denomination, and the statistics below are compiled from government, polling, and religious group sources.<ref> According to [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108468.htm U.S. State Department, "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref>

Approximately 100 million citizens are Russian Orthodox. Muslims, with a population estimated between 14 million and 23 million, form the largest religious minority. The majority of Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region and the North Caucasus, although Moscow, St. Petersburg, and parts of Siberia also have sizable Muslim populations. There are an estimated one million Buddhists, the majority of whom live in the traditionally Buddhist regions of Buryatiya, Tuva, and Kalmykiya. According to the NGO Slavic Center for Law and Justice, Protestants make up the second largest group of Christian believers, with 3,500 registered organizations and more than 2 million followers. The Roman Catholic Church estimated that there are 600,000 Catholics, most of whom are not ethnic Russians. There are an estimated 250,000 Jews, the majority of whom live in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In some areas, such as Yakutiya and Chukotka, pantheistic and nature-based religions are practiced independently or alongside other religions.

According to the annual report from the Human Rights Ombudsman, the Ministry of Justice had registered 21,963 religious organizations as of January 1, 2008, 993 fewer than January 2006. The registered religious groups (with the number of registered organizations) include Russian Orthodox (12,586), Muslim (3,815), Protestant (several denominations totaling 3,410), Jehovah's Witnesses (402), Jewish (286), Orthodox Old Believers (283), Roman Catholic (240), Buddhist (200), and other denominations.

===Religion in schools===
The federal Government does not require religious instruction in schools, but it continues to allow public use of school buildings after hours for the ROC to provide religious instruction on a voluntary basis. Several regions offer a course on Orthodox Christianity in public schools, and five oblasts or regions (Kaluga, Tver, Bryansk, Smolensk, and Voronezh) have a mandatory class on the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture." Students may avoid the Belgorod Oblast voluntary course only if their parents provide and pay for an alternative course. The course is offered as an elective in several other regions. In regions where the class is not mandatory, in practice students may be compelled to take it where schools do not provide alternatives.

Some regions offer a class on "History of Religion," a proposal that the Minister of Education had suggested but did not introduce nationally. Although the Ministry of Education rejected continued publication and dissemination of a controversial textbook that detailed Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the country's culture, some schools continued to use the text. The textbook contained descriptions of some religious groups that members of those groups found objectionable. The Congress of Religious Associations in the Tyumen region appealed to the Governor and regional department of education to allow input from other religious groups into the religious culture curriculum, claiming that the course currently contains only the viewpoint of the ROC.

===Discrimination===
The regions of Kabardino-Balkariya and Dagestan have laws banning extremist Islamic "Wahhabism," but there were no reports that authorities invoked these laws to deny registration to Muslim groups. The former president of the Kabardino-Balkaria republic ordered the closure of six of seven mosques in Nalchik, the region's capital, in 2004. One was reopened in 2007, while the others remained closed and were suffering from disrepair and vandalism.

The 2002 Law on Extremism, amended in July 2006, can affect religious groups, particularly Muslim groups, by criminalizing a broad spectrum of speech and activities.

Many nontraditional denominations frequently complained that they were unable to obtain venues for worship. Because they were small and often newly established, they typically lacked the necessary resources to buy or rent facilities on the open market and must rely on government assistance. Because they are nontraditional, they frequently met opposition from the traditional communities and often were unable to find government officials who were willing to assist them in renting state-owned property. There were multiple reports of religious organizations who were not allowed to renew leases on public or private buildings. Increased competition for space in a growing economy and increasing real estate prices led many owners (public and private) to lease property to higher paying tenants, and in some cases, religious groups were refused outright at any price. Representatives of numerous Protestant groups spoke about increasing difficulty in extending existing leases or signing new leases for worship premises, the majority of which are still state-controlled. Some religious groups, particularly Jehovah's Witnesses, but also the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Pentecostal congregations, and the Evangelical Christian Missionary Union, reported that local authorities in recent years denied them permission to acquire land on which to construct places of worship. Authorities continued to deny construction permits to several groups.

The Word of Life Christian Church in Kaluga region continued to face great difficulties trying to build its church. In June 2007 a court ruled in favor of the church and invalidated the Kaluga's mayoral decree to confiscate the church's property. In October 2007 the court denied the city's appeal. Local authorities, however, continued to harass the church. On July 4, 2007, the police seized a computer and documents, reportedly to find information on the church's secondary school. After seizing a list of the church's members, the police called the members and summoned them to the prosecutor's office for questioning about the school.

The Sochi mayor's office continued to deny the Muslim community authorization to build a new mosque; the current premises are inadequate to accommodate the membership. Officials allotted land several times but never transferred it to the Muslim community. According to the regional government, authorities can allocate land for a mosque only after a public opinion survey indicates that the proposed location would not cause conflict.

Religious news sources claimed that authorities acting under the influence of the ROC sometimes prevented Orthodox churches not belonging to the ROC, including the True Orthodox, from obtaining or maintaining buildings for worship.

After the 1997 Law changed the visa regime for religious and other foreign workers, nontraditional religious groups reported problems receiving long-term visas. In October 2007 the Government introduced new visa rules that allow foreigners (including religious workers) with business or humanitarian visas to spend only 90 of every 180 days in the country. According to religious experts, these rules were not aimed at religious workers, but the effect has been to severely restrict religious groups that rely upon foreign religious workers. The Roman Catholic Church, which relies almost exclusively on priests from outside the country, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with more than four hundred foreign missionaries, have been particularly hard hit by this provision. While foreign religious workers seem able to acquire visas with few problems, the 90-day limit on their stay in the country limits their ability to work and significantly increases their expenses. Although registered religious organizations have the option to sponsor foreign workers and missionaries on work visas (which do not have 90-day or 180-day limits), this is a complicated process that places significant financial and administrative burdens on the organizations.

Many religious groups were unable to regain property confiscated in the Soviet era and acquire new property. The Moscow-based SOVA Center said the property restitution problem was most prevalent among Muslim and Protestant groups.

==Demography==
In a major [[demography|demographic]] catastrophe, population indicators in Russia dramatically worsened after 1990: the number of [[death]]s exceeds the number of [[birth]]s, [[life expectancy]] is drastically decreasing, the number of [[suicide]]s has increased, and there are 240 abortions per 100 live births. Every year since 1992 the country has lost 400,000 to 650,000 population and the current total of 142 million is [[projection|projected]] to fall to 100 million by 2050.

In the 1990s, life expectancy in Russia fell an astonishing six years. [[Statistical analysis]] indicates that one-quarter of the increase in [[mortality]] was due to an increase in [[alcohol consumption]] and one-quarter was a consequence of [[stress]] due to economic uncertainty.<ref>Elizabeth Brainerd, and David M. Cutler, "Autopsy On An Empire: Understanding Mortality in Russia and the Former Soviet Union." ''Journal Of Economic Perspectives'' 2005 19(1): 107-130. Issn: 0895-3309 Fulltext: in Ebsco </ref>

Russia's population of 141.4 million (2007) is falling. Lower birth rates and higher death rates have reduced Russia's population at a nearly 0.5% annual rate since the early 1990s. Russia is one of few countries with a declining population (although birth rates in many developed countries have dropped below the long-term population replacement). Population decline is particularly drastic in Russia due to higher death rates, especially among working-age males. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, traffic injuries, suicide, alcohol poisoning, and violence are major causes of death. In a June 2006 speech to the Russian National Security Council, President Putin declared that Russia is facing a demographic crisis and called for measures to improve birth and mortality rates and increase population through immigration, primarily the return of Russian-speaking foreigners.

====HIV/AIDS====
Russia and Ukraine are said to have the highest growth rates of HIV infection in the world. In Russia HIV seems to be transmitted mostly by intravenous drug users sharing needles, although data is very uncertain. Data from the Federal AIDS Center shows that the number of registered cases is doubling every 12 months and is currently at 300,000 persons. When projections are made which allow for people in high-risk groups who have not been tested for the disease, estimates of the actual number of HIV-infected persons are approximately 3 million. The high growth rate of AIDS cases, if unchecked, will have negative economic consequences. Investment will suffer from the diversion of private and government funds to AIDS treatment. The effect on the labor force may be acute since about 80% of infected individuals in Russia are under 30 years of age.

===Ethnicity===
Most of the roughly 141 million Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family of peoples, whose original homeland was probably present-day Poland. Russian is the official language of Russia and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the language of such giants of world literature as [[Pushkin]], [[Tolstoy]], [[Dostoevsky]], [[Chekhov]], [[Pasternak]], and [[Solzhenitsyn]].
===Education===
Russia's educational system has produced nearly 100% literacy. About 3 million students attend Russia's 519 institutions of higher education and 48 universities, but continued reform is critical to producing students with skills to adapt to a market economy. Because great emphasis is placed on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is still generally of a high order. The number of doctors in relation to the population is high by American standards, although medical care in Russia, even in major cities, is generally far below Western standards. The unraveling of the Soviet state in its last decades and the physical and psychological traumas of transition during the 1990s resulted in a steady decline in the health of the Russian people. Currently Russia faces a demographic crisis as births lag far behind deaths. While its population is aging, skyrocketing deaths of working-age males due to cardiovascular disease is a major cause of Russia's demographic woes. A rapid increase in HIV/AIDS infections and tuberculosis compounds the problem. In 2007, life expectancy at birth was 59 for men and 73 for women. The large annual excess of deaths over births is expected to cut Russia's population by 30% over the next 50 years.
[[Image:Russian band in Pushkin.jpg|thumb|240px|Russian band in Pushkin.]]
===Labor force===
The Russian labor force is undergoing tremendous changes. Although well educated and skilled, it is largely mismatched to the rapidly changing needs of the Russian economy. Official unemployment has shrunken in recent years to 6.9%, and labor shortages have started to appear in some high-skilled job markets. Nonetheless, pockets of high unemployment remain and many Russian workers are underemployed. Unemployment is highest among women and young people. Following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic dislocation it engendered, the standard of living fell dramatically. However, real disposable incomes have doubled since 1999, and experts estimate that the middle class ranges from one-fifth to one-third of the population. In 2006, 15.8% of the population lived below the subsistence level, in contrast to 38.1% in 1998.

===Statistics===
*Population (2007 est.): 141.4 million.
*Annual growth rate (2007 est.): -0.484% (population declining).
*Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, other 14.4%.
*Religion: Russian Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestant, Buddhist, other.
*Language: Russian (official); more than 140 other languages and dialects.
*Education (total pop.): Literacy--99.4%.
*Health: Life expectancy (2007 est.)--59.12 yrs. men, 73.03 yrs. women.
*Work force (73.88 million) (2006 est.): Production and economic services--84%; government--16%.
==Cities==
Moscow is Russia's capital and largest city (population 8.3 million). Moscow is also increasingly important as an economic and business center; it has become Russia's principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence. Its cultural tradition is rich, and there are many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science, as well as hundreds of churches and dozens of notable cathedrals.

The second-largest city in Russia is [[St. Petersburg]] (formerly '''leningrad'''), which was established by Tsar [[Peter the Great]] in 1703 to be the capital of the Russian Empire as part of his Western-looking reforms. The city was called Petrograd during World War I and Leningrad after 1924. In 1991, as the result of a city referendum, it was renamed St. Petersburg. Under the tsars, the city was Russia's cultural, intellectual, commercial, financial, and industrial center. After Lenin moved the capital back to Moscow in 1918, the city's political significance declined, but it remained a cultural, scientific, and military-industrial center. The Hermitage, formerly the Winter Palace of the tsars, is one of the world's great fine arts museums.

Russia has an area of about 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million sq. mi.); in geographic terms, this makes Russia the largest country in the world by more than 2.5 million square miles. But with a population density of about 22 persons per square mile (9 per sq. km.), it is sparsely populated, and most of its residents live in urban areas.

[[Image:Traffic in Moscow.jpg|thumb|Traffic in Moscow.]]

==Government and Political Conditions==
In the political system established by the 1993 [[constitution]], the [[president]] wields considerable executive power. There is no vice president, and the legislative branch is far weaker than the executive. The bicameral legislature consists of the lower house (State Duma) and the upper house (the Federation Council). The president nominates the highest state officials, including the [[prime minister]], who must be approved by the Duma. The [[president]] can pass decrees without consent from the [[Duma]]. He also is head of the armed forces and of the Security Council.

Duma elections were held most recently on December 7, 2003, and presidential elections on March 14, 2004. The pro-government party, United Russia, won close to half of the seats in the Duma. Combined with its allies, United Russia commands a two-thirds majority. The OSCE judged the Duma elections as failing to meet international standards for fairness, due largely to extensive slanted media bias in the campaign. [[Vladimir Putin]] was re-elected to a second four-year term with 71% of the vote in March 2004. The Russian constitution does not allow presidents to serve more than two consecutive terms. Next elections for the Duma occur in December 2007, and for President in March 2008.

Russia is a federation, but the precise distribution of powers between the central government and the regional and local authorities is still evolving. The Russian Federation consists of 89 regional administrative units, including two federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The constitution explicitly defines the federal government's exclusive powers, but it also describes most key regional issues as the joint responsibility of the federal government and the regional administrative units. In 2000, President Putin grouped the regions into seven federal districts, with presidential appointees established in Moscow and six provincial capitals. In March 2004, the Constitution was amended to permit the merger of some regional administrative units. A law enacted in December 2004 eliminated the direct election of the country's regional leaders. Governors are now nominated by the president and subject to confirmation by regional legislatures.

===Judicial System===
The Russian [[judicial system]] consists of the Constitutional Court, courts of [[general jurisdiction]], military courts, and arbitrage courts (which hear commercial disputes). The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a court of limited subject matter jurisdiction. The 1993 constitution empowers the Constitutional Court to arbitrate disputes between the executive and legislative branches and between Moscow and the regional and local governments. The court also is authorized to rule on violations of constitutional rights, to examine appeals from various bodies, and to participate in impeachment proceedings against the president. The July 1994 Law on the Constitutional Court prohibits the court from examining cases on its own initiative and limits the scope of issues the court can hear. The system of general jurisdiction courts includes the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, regional level courts, district level courts and justices of the peace.

The Duma passed a Criminal Procedure Code and other judicial reforms during its 2001 session. These reforms help make the Russian judicial system more compatible with its Western counterparts and are seen by most as an accomplishment in human rights. The reforms have reintroduced jury [[trials]] in certain [[criminal]] cases and created a more adversarial system of criminal trials that protect the rights of defendants more adequately. In 2002, the introduction of the new code led to significant reductions in time spent in detention for new detainees, and the number of suspects placed in pretrial detention declined by 30%. Another significant advance in the new Code is the transfer from the Procuracy to the courts of the authority to issue search and arrest warrants. There are rising concerns, however, that prosecutors have selectively targeted individuals for political reasons, as in the prosecution of Yukos Oil CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskiy.

In spite of the general tendency to increase judicial [[independence]] (for example, by recent considerable salary raise to judges), many judges still see their role not as of impartial and independent arbiters, but as of government officials protecting state interests. See below for more information on the commercial court/business law.

===Human Rights===
Russia is no longer Communist, but it is increasingly an authoritarian state where democracy is weak. It has an increasingly centralized political system, with power concentrated in the hands of [[Vladimir Putin]] and his choices for top offices. International observers concluded that the December 2007 State Duma election (for parliament) was not fair, and neither was the March 2, 2008, election for president.

[[Human rights]] problems and abuses continued in 2008, though at a far lower level than the days of Communism (which ended in 1991). Putin's human rights record remained poor in the North Caucasus, where governments in Ingushetiya and Dagestan faced increased opposition from disaffected social groups and insurgencies, and the Chechen government forcibly reined in the Islamist insurgency that replaced the separatist insurgency as the main source of conflict. Russian security forces engaged in killings, torture, abuse, violence, and other brutal or humiliating treatment.

Russia's [[human rights]] record remains uneven and has worsened in some areas in recent years. Despite significant improvements in conditions following the end of the Soviet Union, problem areas remain. In particular, the Russian Government's policy in Chechnya has been a cause for international concern. Although the government has made progress in recognizing the legitimacy of international human rights standards, the institutionalization of procedures to safeguard these rights has lagged. There are, however, some indications that the law is becoming an increasingly important tool for those seeking to protect [[human]] rights.
[[Image:Human Rights.JPG|left]]
====Prisons====
The judiciary is often subject to manipulation by political authorities and is plagued by large case backlogs and trial delays. Lengthy pretrial detention remains a serious problem. Russia has one of the highest [[prison]] population rates in the world, at 685 per 100,000. There are credible reports of beating and torture of inmates and detainees by law enforcement and correctional officials. Prison conditions fall well below international standards. In 2001, President Putin pronounced a moratorium on the death penalty. There are reports that the Russian Government might still be violating promises they made upon entering the European Council, especially in terms of prison control and conditions.
====Chechnya====
[[Chechnya]] has seen continuing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen forces. Chechen rebels also have committed abuses as well as acts of terrorism. In [[Chechnya]], Ingushetiya, and Dagestan, security forces were involved in unlawful killings and politically motivated kidnappings. Chechen President Kadyrov continued his repressive control as federal forces withdrew. Federal and local security forces in Chechnya targeted families of suspected insurgents with impunity, and Kadyrov's private militia allegedly engaged in kidnapping and torture.<ref>see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119101.htm Country Report 2008] </ref>

Human rights groups have criticized Russian officials concerning cases of Chechens disappearing while in custody. Chechen rebels have similarly been responsible for politically motivated disappearances. Russian authorities have introduced some improvements, including better access to complaint mechanisms, the formal opening of investigations in most cases, and the introduction of two decrees requiring the presence of civilian investigators and other nonmilitary personnel during all large-scale military operations and targeted search and seizure operations. Human rights groups welcome these changes but claim that most abuses remain uninvestigated and unpunished and may be spreading more broadly in the North Caucasus.
====Religion====
The Russian constitution provides for freedom of religion and the equality of all religions before the law, as well as the separation of church and state. Although Jews and Muslims continue to encounter prejudice and societal discrimination, they have not been inhibited by the government in the free practice of their religion. High-ranking federal officials have condemned anti-Semitic hate crimes, but law enforcement bodies have not always effectively prosecuted those responsible. The influx of foreign missionaries has led to pressure by groups in Russia, specifically nationalists and the Russian Orthodox Church, to limit the activities of these "nontraditional" religious groups. In response, the Duma passed a restrictive and potentially discriminatory law on religion in October 1997. The law is complex, with many ambiguous and contradictory provisions. The law's most controversial provisions distinguish between religious "groups" and "organizations" and introduce a 15-year rule, which allows groups that have been in existence for 15 years or longer to obtain accredited status. Senior Russian officials have pledged to implement the 1997 law on religion in a manner that is not in conflict with Russia's international human rights obligations. Some local officials, however, have used the law as a pretext to restrict religious liberty.
====Media====
Pressure from Putin's regime weakened freedom of expression and media independence, particularly of the major television networks. Five journalists were assassinated in 2008. As some print and Internet media reflected a widening range of views, the government restricted media freedom through direct ownership of media outlets, pressuring the owners of major media outlets to abstain from critical coverage, and harassing and intimidating journalists into practicing self-censorship. Local governments limited freedom of assembly, and police sometimes used violence to prevent groups from engaging in peaceful protest. The government limited freedom of association. The government restricted religious groups in some regions, and there were incidents of societal discrimination, harassment, and violence against religious minorities, including anti-Semitism..<ref>see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eur/119101.htm Country Report 2008] </ref>

Government pressure continued to weaken freedom of expression and the independence and freedom of some media, particularly major national television networks and regional electronic media outlets. A government decision resulted in the elimination of the last major non-state television network in 2003. National press is also increasingly in government hands or owned by government officials, narrowing the scope of opinion available. Self-censorship is a growing press problem. Unsolved murders of journalists, including the killing of respected investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya in October 2006, have caused significant international concern and increased pressure on journalists to avoid subjects considered sensitive. In August 2007, authorities arrested several suspects in connection with the Politkovksaya case.
====Civil Society====
Enactment of a new law on foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2006 was criticized in many quarters as a device to control [[civil society]], that is, private organizations. Implementing regulations appear to impose onerous paperwork reporting burdens on NGOs that could be used to limit or even suppress some of them. This law was used to shut down an NGO for the first time in January 2007 on the basis of extremism charges; however, most foreign NGOs have successfully re-registered. Domestic NGOs were not required to re-register, but are required to meeting new reporting requirements.

===Government Spending/Taxation===
[[Image:Putin..jpg|left|260px]]
The Russian federal budget has run growing surpluses since 2001, as the government has taxed and saved much of the rapidly increasing oil revenues. According to preliminary figures, the 2006 budget surplus was 7.4% of GDP on a cash basis. Although there are strong pressures to relax spending ahead of elections, the government has loosened its spending gradually, as the economy is running at near capacity and there are dangers of increasing inflation and rapid exchange rate appreciation. Spending increases to date have mostly been for increased salaries of government employees and pensions, but some money is also being dedicated to special investment funds and tax breaks to develop new industries in special economic zones. The government overhauled its tax system for both corporations and individuals in 2000-01, introducing a 13% flat tax for individuals and a unified tax for corporations, which improved overall collection. Business has put pressure on the government to reduce value added taxes (VAT) on oil and gas, but the government has postponed this discussion. Tax enforcement of disputes, particularly following the Yukos case, continues to be uneven and unpredictable.

===Foreign Relations===
In the years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took important steps to become a full partner in the world's principal political groupings. On December 27, 1991, Russia assumed the permanent UN Security Council seat formerly held by the Soviet Union. Russia also is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). Russia and the European Union (EU) signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Partnership for Peace initiative in 1994. The NATO-Russia Founding Act in 1997 and the NATO-Russia Council superseded that in 2002. Russia acquiesced (despite misgivings) in enlargement of NATO by members first of the former Warsaw Pact and most recently by the Baltic states that had been forcibly integrated into the Soviet Union.

Over the past several years Russia has increased its international profile, played an increasing role in regional issues, and been more assertive in dealing with its neighbors. The rise in energy prices has given it leverage over countries which are dependent on Russian sources. Russia continues to support separatist regimes in Georgia and Moldova.

===Relations with the United States===
The United States and Russia share common interests on a broad range of issues, including counterterrorism and the drastic reduction of our strategic arsenals. Russia shares our basic goal of stemming the [[proliferation]] of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. We are working with Russia to compel Iran to bring its nuclear programs into compliance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rules and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737. On North Korea, Russia is a participant in the Six-Party Talks aimed at the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling of North Korea's nuclear program. Russia also takes part in the Middle East Peace Process "Quartet" (along with the UN and the EU). Russia now interacts with NATO members as an equal through the NATO-Russia Council but without veto power over NATO decisions. During the past several years, Russia has intensified its efforts to combat trafficking in persons.

==Defense==
Russia's efforts to transform its Soviet-legacy military into a smaller, lighter and more mobile force continue to be hampered by an ossified military leadership, discipline problems and human rights violations, limited funding and demographics. Recent steps by the Government of Russia suggest a desire to reform. There has been an increased emphasis on practical training, and the government is introducing bills to improve the organization of the military.
[[Image:Cannon Russia.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]
Despite recent increases in the budget, however, defense spending is still unable to sustain Russia's over-sized military. Current troop strength, estimated at 1.1 million, is large in comparison to Russia's GDP and military budget, which continues to make the process of transformation to a professional army difficult. This is the result of the Soviet legacy and military thinking that has changed little since the Cold War. Senior Russian leaders continue to emphasize a reliance on a large strategic nuclear force capable of deterring a massive nuclear attack.

Russian military salaries are low. Theoretically, the army provides all necessities, but housing and food shortages continue to plague the armed forces. Problems with both discipline and brutal hazing are common as well. HIV infection rates in the Russian army are estimated to be between two to five times higher than in the general population, and tuberculosis is a persistent problem.

Such conditions continue to encourage draft evasion and efforts to delay military service. Although the available manpower (males 15-49) for the Russian Armed Forces was projected at 35.2 million in 2005, only approximately 11% of eligible males do military service. Moreover, military officials complain that new recruit cohorts are plagued by increasing incidences of poor education, communicable diseases and criminality.

The Russian Government has stated a desire to convert to a professional army, but implementation has been delayed repeatedly. Current plans envision a transition to a mixed force, in which professional soldiers fill the ranks of select units and conscription is gradually phased out. Some officials have talked of developing a non-commissioned officer corps to lead the professional army, but the military has yet to make any concrete investments in training or facilities that would begin this process.

==Economy==
[[Image:Historic Centre of St. Petersburg.jpg|thumb|260px|Historic Center of St. Petersburg.]]
At the end of March, 2009, the World Bank issued a grim forecast of the Russian Economy, projecting a 4.5% decline in the economy in 2009 and warning that 5.8 million Russians would fall into poverty unless the government shifts spending to poor families. It praised the government’s $85 billion anticrisis program, which stabilized Russia’s banks and prevented financial panic. But it said too little had gone to households — a hazard in a society where 37 million people, a quarter of the population, lives near the poverty line.<ref> Ellen Berry, "World Bank Grim on Russian Economy," [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/europe/31russia.html?ref=world ''New York Times'' Mar. 30, 2009]</ref>

The Russian economy underwent tremendous stress in the 1990s as it moved from a centrally planned economy to a free market system. Difficulties in implementing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to a serious financial crisis in 1998. Lower prices for Russia's major export earners (oil and minerals) and a loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis exacerbated financial problems. The result was a rapid and steep decline (60%) in the value of the ruble, flight of foreign investment, delayed payments on sovereign and private debts, a breakdown of commercial transactions through the banking system, and the threat of runaway inflation.

Still, Russia weathered the crisis well. In the 8 years following the financial crisis, GDP growth averaged just under 7% due to a devalued ruble, implementation of key economic reforms (tax, banking, labor and land codes), tight fiscal policy, and favorable commodities prices. Household consumption and fixed capital investments have both grown by about 10 percent per year since 1999 and have replaced net exports as the main drivers of demand growth. Inflation and exchange rates have stabilized due to a prudent fiscal policy (Russia has run a budget surplus since 2003). The government created a stabilization/rainy day fund ($127 billion in mid-2007), and has the third-largest foreign exchange reserves in the world (close to $420 billion in mid-2007) which should shelter it from commodity price shocks.

Russia's balance of payments moves from strength to strength. The current account balance grew from $58.6 billion in 2004 to $95.3 billion in 2006, almost entirely due to oil price increases. The capital account turned positive in 2006, with net inflow of $6.1 billion. In addition, net private capital flows in 2006 increased significantly to $40.9 billion, compared to an inflow of $0.1 billion in 2005 due to liberalization of the capital account in mid-2006. Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows dramatically improved in 2006 to an estimated $31 billion (inflows totaled $15.4 billion and $14.6 billion in 2004 and 2005, respectively). As of July 1, 2006, the ruble is convertible for both current and capital transactions. Russia prepaid its entire Soviet-era Paris Club debt of $22 billion in late 2006, pushing Russia's sovereign foreign debt down to $45 billion at the end of 2006, or about 5 percent of GDP. Russia's total public and private foreign debt at the end of 2006 was $310 billion, or 31 percent of GDP. Such a dramatic reversal to the macroeconomic situation is truly remarkable. Russia currently has a sovereign investment-grade rating from Standard and Poor's of BBB+.

Although the economy has begun to diversify, the government budget remains dependent on oil and gas revenues; consumption and investment are, however, contributing to an increasing share to GDP growth. While currently sheltered from external price shocks, the government realizes the need to intensify reforms that will promote new investment in aging infrastructure and continued productivity gains. The government believes it can do this by creating state-sponsored investment funds, special economic zones, and by exercising control of strategic enterprises (a draft law defining strategic sectors was submitted to the Duma in August 2007). Although investors are returning to Russia, excessive bureaucracy, corruption, insufficient and insufficiently enforced legislation, selective interpretation of laws (particularly tax laws), unclear limits and conditions on foreign investment, obsolete infrastructure, and stalled economic reforms still remain a problem. In 2005, the government announced reform programs in four priority areas (health, education, housing, and agriculture), but further work is needed on them as well as in financial regulation, civil service reform, and reform of government monopolies, such as railroads, gas, and electricity.
*GDP (2006): $989 billion.
*Growth rate (2006): 6.7%.
*Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, timber, furs, precious and nonferrous metals.
*Agriculture: Products--Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, dairy products.
*Industry: Types--Complete range of manufactures: automobiles, trucks, trains, agricultural equipment, advanced aircraft, aerospace, machine and equipment products; mining and extractive industry; medical and scientific instruments; construction equipment.
*Trade (2006): Exports--$304 billion: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, woods and wood products, metals, chemicals. Major markets--EU, CIS, China, Japan. Imports--$165 billion: machinery and equipment, chemicals, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semi-finished metal products. Major partners--EU, U.S., NIS, Japan, China. U.S. exports--$4.7 billion. Principal U.S. exports (2006)--oil/gas equipment, meat, inorganic chemicals, tobacco, aircraft, medical equipment, autos/parts. U.S. imports--$19.8 billion. Principal U.S. imports (2006)--oil, aluminum, chemicals, platinum, iron/steel, fish and crustaceans, nickel, wood, and copper.

====Gross Domestic Product====
A strong expansion in domestic demand continues to drive GDP growth, despite a slowdown in manufacturing. GDP growth and industrial production for 2006 were 6.7% and 4.8%, respectively, relative to 6.4% and 5.7% in 2005. GDP growth is currently derived from non-tradable sectors, but investment remains concentrated in tradables (oil and gas). Construction was the fastest growing sector of the economy, expanding by 14% in 2006. The main private sector services--wholesale & retail trade, banking & insurance, and transportation & communications--showed strong growth of about 10%. In contrast, public sector services--education, health care, and public administration--lagged behind with only 2-4% growth in 2006. Recent productivity growth has still been strong in some parts of domestic manufacturing. Real disposable incomes grew by 10.2% in 2006, spurring considerable growth in private consumption.

====Monetary Policy====
Large balance of payments surpluses have complicated monetary policy for Russia. The Central Bank has followed a policy of managed appreciation to ease the impact on domestic producers and has sterilized capital inflows with its large budget surpluses. However, the Central Bank also has been buying back dollars, pumping additional ruble liquidity into the system. Given the rising demand for money, this has softened the inflationary impact, but these policy choices have complicated the government's efforts to lower inflation to the single digits. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 9% in 2006 and 10.9% in 2005, having steadily decreased from 20.2% in 2000, due primarily to prudent fiscal policy and in 2006 lower world oil prices.

====Commercial Law====
Russia has a body of conflicting, overlapping and rapidly changing laws, decrees and regulations, which has resulted in an ad hoc and unpredictable approach to doing business. In this environment, negotiations and contracts from commercial transactions are complex and protracted. Uneven implementation of laws creates further complications. Regional and local courts are often subject to political pressure, and corruption is widespread. However, more and more small and medium businesses in recent years have reported fewer difficulties in this regard, especially in the Moscow region. In addition, Russian businesses are increasingly turning to the courts to resolve disputes. Russia's WTO accession process is also helping to bring the country's legal and regulatory regime in line with internationally accepted practices.

====Natural Resources====
The mineral-packed Ural Mountains and the vast oil, gas, coal, and timber reserves of Siberia and the Russian Far East make Russia rich in natural resources. However, most such resources are located in remote and climatically unfavorable areas that are difficult to develop and far from Russian ports. Nevertheless, Russia is a leading producer and exporter of minerals, gold, and all major fuels. Natural resources, especially energy, dominate Russian exports. Ninety percent of Russian exports to the United States are minerals or other raw materials.

====Industry====
[[Image:Tower Russia.JPG|thumb|right|180px]]
Russia is one of the most industrialized of the former Soviet republics. However, years of very low investment have left much of Russian industry antiquated and highly inefficient. Besides its resource-based industries, it has developed large manufacturing capacities, notably in metals, food products, and transport equipment. Russia is now the world's third-largest exporter of steel and primary aluminum. Russia inherited most of the defense industrial base of the Soviet Union, so armaments remain an important export category for Russia. Efforts have been made with varying success over the past few years to convert defense industries to civilian use, and the Russian Government is engaged in an ongoing process to privatize the remaining 9,222 state-owned enterprises, 33% of which are in the industrial manufacturing sector.
 
 
 
 

====Agriculture====
For its great size, Russia has relatively little area suited for agriculture because of its arid climate and inconsistent rainfall. Northern areas concentrate mainly on livestock, and the southern parts and western Siberia produce grain. Restructuring of former state farms has been an extremely slow process. Foreigners are not allowed to own farmland in Russia although long-term leases are permitted. Private farms and garden plots of individuals account for over one-half of all agricultural production.

====Investment/Banking====
Russia attracted an estimated $31 billion in FDI in 2006 (3.2% of GDP), up from $13 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005.Russia's annual FDI figures are now in line with those of China, India, and Brazil. However, Russia's per capita cumulative FDI still lags far behind such countries as Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic. The paradox is that Russia's challenging business climate, lack of transparency, and weak rule of law/corruption has taken a back seat to Russia's extraordinary macroeconomic fundamentals and the consumer and retail boom, which is providing double digit returns to investors and attracting new flows. Russian domestic investment is also returning home, as the foreign investment coming into Russia from havens like Cyprus and Gibraltar, is actually returning Russian capital . As of the end of 2006, loans to the financial sector were 57.2% of total banking sector assets. Retail loans amounted to $78.4 billion at the end of 2006, up from $41 billion at the end of 2005. Retail deposits increased to $144.1 billion from $95.7 billion over the same period. Also, currently deposits are fully insured up to $4,000 and an additional $12,000 is insured at 90%.

Although still small by international standards, the Russian banking sector is growing fast and is becoming a larger source of investment funds. To meet a growing demand for loans, which they were unable to cover with domestic deposits, Russian banks borrowed heavily abroad in 2006, accounting for two-thirds of the private-sector capital inflows in that year. Ruble lending has increased since the October 1998 financial crisis, and in 2006 loans were 63% of total bank assets, with consumer loans posting the fastest growth at 74% that same year. Fewer Russians prefer to keep their money outside the banking sector, the recent appreciation of the ruble against the dollar has persuaded many Russians to keep their money in rubles or other currencies such as the euro, and retail deposits grew by 65% in 2006. Despite recent growth, the poorly developed banking system, along with contradictory regulations across banking, bond, and equity markets, still makes it difficult for entrepreneurs to raise capital as well as to permit capital transfer from a capital-rich sector such as energy to capital-poor sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing and to diversify risk. Banks still perceive small and medium commercial lending as risky, and some banks are inexperienced with assessing credit risk, though the situation is improving. In 2003, Russia enacted a deposit insurance law to protect deposits up to 100,000 rubles (about $3,700) per depositor, and a bill is currently in the Duma, which if passed will increase this coverage to 190,000 rubles (about $7,000) per depositor.

====Trade====
The U.S. exported $4.7 billion in goods to Russia in 2006, a 21% increase from the previous year. Corresponding U.S. imports from Russia were $19.8 billion, up 29%. Russia is currently the 33rd-largest export market for U.S. goods. Russian exports to the U.S. were fuel oil, inorganic chemicals, aluminum, and precious stones. U.S. exports to Russia were machinery, meat (mostly poultry), electrical equipment, and high-tech products.

Russia's overall trade surplus in 2006 was $139 billion, up from $118 billion in 2005. World prices continue to have a major effect on export performance, since commodities--particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber--comprise 80% of Russian exports. Russian GDP growth and the surplus/deficit in the Russian Federation state budget are closely linked to world oil prices.

Russia is in the process of negotiating terms of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The U.S. and Russia concluded a bilateral WTO accession agreement in late 2006, and negotiations continue in 2007 on meeting WTO requirements for accession. Russia reports that it has yet to conclude bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia and Georgia.

According to the 2005 U.S. Trade Representative's National Trade Estimate, Russia continues to maintain a number of barriers with respect to imports, including tariffs and tariff-rate quotas; discriminatory and prohibitive charges and fees; and discriminatory licensing, registration, and certification regimes. Discussions continue within the context of Russia's WTO accession to eliminate these measures or modify them to be consistent with internationally accepted trade policy practices. Non-tariff barriers are frequently used to restrict foreign access to the market and are also a significant topic in Russia's WTO negotiations. In addition, large losses to U.S. audiovisual and other companies in Russia owing to poor enforcement of intellectual property rights in Russia is an ongoing irritant in U.S.-Russia trade relations. Russia continues to work to bring its technical regulations, including those related to product and food safety, into conformity with international standards.

==History==
see [[History of Russia]]

== See also ==
*[[Gallery of Russian painting]]
* [[Soviet Union]]
==Further reading==
===Guidebooks===
* ''Frommer's Moscow & St. Petersburg'' by Angela Charlton (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Frommers-Moscow-St-Petersburg-Complete/dp/0470194030/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-7 excerpt and text search]
* ''Eyewitness: Russia'' by Kathleen Berton Murrell, (2000) [http://www.amazon.com/Eyewitness-Russia-Kathleen-Berton-Murrell/dp/0789458802/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* ''Russia & Belarus'' (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) by Mark Elliott (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Russia-Belarus-Lonely-Planet-Travel/dp/1741042917/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239324359&sr=1-15 excerpt and text search]
===Surveys===
* Goldman, Marshall I. ''Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia'' (2008), by a leading scholar [http://www.amazon.com/Petrostate-Putin-Power-New-Russia/dp/0195340736/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-5 extract and text search]
* Politkovskaya, Anna. ''Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy'' (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Putins-Russia-Life-Failing-Democracy/dp/0805082506/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-9 extract and text search]
* Service, Robert. ''A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin'' (2005)
* Lucas, Edward. ''The New Cold War: Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/New-Cold-War-Putins-Russia/dp/0230606121/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239323968&sr=1-12 extract and text search]

====references====
<references/>

==External Links==

[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rs.html The World Fact Book]

[http://russiatrek.org Russian cities and regions guide]

[[Category:European Countries]]
[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:Russia]]
[[Category:Russian History]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]

Freedom

2010-01-24T14:09:44Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748224 by Anonce (Talk)

'''Freedom''' is the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. More specifically, it can mean:

*Ability to act freely: a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions.
*Release from captivity or slavery: release or rescue from being physically bound, or from being confined, enslaved, captured, or imprisoned.
*The condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints.
*Exemption: immunity from an obligation or duty.
*Civil liberty, as opposed to subjection to an arbitrary or despotic government.
*The right to enjoy all the privileges or special rights of citizenship, membership, etc., in a community or the like.

The desire for freedom was one of the founding principles of the United States of America. Today, freedom still stands proudly at the top of a list of aspirations for Americans. All Americans, no matter their creed or the color of their skin agrees that: "we shall have an association in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all".
<center>{{cquote|'''<big>"Freedom incurs responsibility. That is why many men fear it."</big> -- [[George Bernard Shaw]]'''}}</center>

== Freedom & St Paul's Letter to the Galatians ==

John Hanneman wrote, "Inner freedom has to do with the very essence of our being." This "inner freedom" is the theme of [[St Paul]]'s letter to the [[Galatians]].

The [[Greek]] words for freedom appear 36 times in the [[New Testament]]. Paul uses them 28 times in his letters, and 10 times in Galatians alone. The purpose of this letter is clear: to explain how [[Christians]] have been released from the law and been given freedom in [[Christ]], how the [[Holy Spirit|Spirit]] has replaced the [[Torah]] in our lives.

Galatians reveals why people struggle so much with law. It identifies the key ingredient to becoming free, and how people can enjoy freedom in Christ. Paul writes: {{Bible quote|It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.|book=Galatians|chap=5|verses=1|version=NIV}}
In his word of greeting in the introduction, he says: {{Bible quote|Grace to you and peace from [[Father God|God our Father]], and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of God the Father.|book=Galatians|chap=1|verses=3-4|version=NASB}} Here the [[apostle]] defines what he means by freedom. Following his wish for "grace and peace," he uses two phrases that capture for Christians the two ways they are free as a result of their relationship with God.

The first phrase is that the Lord Jesus Christ "gave Himself for our sins." Here the Apostle is describing our freedom from slavery to the power of [[sin]]. This is the great doctrine of [[justification]]. We are born into sin, separated from God, but this separation can be overcome because God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Through this [[atonement]], all of our sins, past, present, and future, have been paid for - all we need do is put our [[faith]] in Christ. John Stott comments: "The death of Jesus Christ was primarily neither a display of [[love]], nor an example of heroism, but a sacrifice for sin."<ref>http://www.speraindeo.org/julread.html</ref><ref>http://www.pbcc.org/sermons/hanneman/968.html</ref>

== Two Ideas of Freedom ==

Isaiah Berlin, [[OM]] (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997), is regarded as a leading liberal philosopher of the 20th Century. However, he introduced two concepts of freedom which can be universally regarded. Berlin's work on theories of freedom has had a lasting influence. His 1958 lecture, "Two Concepts of Liberty" is famous for its distinction between positive and negative liberty, and has informed much of the debate since then on the relationship between liberty and other values.

===Negative Freedom===

The first concept of freedom, and the one with which we are usually most familiar, is what Berlin cites as 'negative' freedom. Berlin sums this up in the simple question "Over what area am I master?"<ref>http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77888213</ref>. It refers to the idea of liberty or freedom as an idea of the opportunities available to you, the number of doors open to you or the different roads you may walk down [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/]. A recent example is that, in imposing a smoking ban on its citizens, a government is restricting their negative liberty, specifically their freedom to smoke in certain public areas. The degree of freedom is also affected by the nature of the restrictions on somebody. For example, prohibiting a given person from the vote is removing a far greater proportion of a person's negative freedom than asking them to take off their shoes indoors[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/].

===Positive Freedom===

The notion of positive freedom can be more difficult to explain and understand, and is closely related to the ideas of paternalism. It can be stated basically as "Who is master?<ref>http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=77888213</ref>" and refers to the idea of being free in the sense that you are free to make the right choices. For example, if negative freedom is a question of how many doors are open to you, positive freedom is a question of which door you decide to take [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/]. To understand the concept of positive freedom more easily, the ‘self’ may be split into two distinct characters; one which is described as a ‘higher’ or ‘rational’ self; and another which is the ‘lower’ or ‘irrational’ self. The measure of positive freedom is whether the higher self has direction over the lower self; whether a person has the control to make the right choices, e.g. I may know that it is a good idea to exercise once a day, however, I would much rather sit on the sofa and be lazy. The rational side of me knows that for long term benefit, I should exercise, whilst the irrational side desires short-term gratification; lazing around all day. The achievement of positive freedom is listening to the rational self and doing what is best, in this case going for a swim, over doing that which brings instant and short-term fulfilment; sitting on the sofa. To some this is the very essence of true freedom, and in order for people to be truly free, there must be an element of state guided interference in their lives; they should be given rules and laws to abide by and achievements to aspire to, all of which help them to achieve positive freedom.

===Paradox of Positive Freedom===

This concept implies that a person could be convinced or coerced into doing things they wouldn’t usually do, on the basis that it is what they would do, were they thinking rationally [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/]. This paradox is looked at by Berlin, and he speaks about governments or regimes which have used this concept to disastrous consequence, stating that it has been one of the cornerstones of both Stalin-Communist and Hitler-Fascist societies. That the coercion of it's own citizens into doing something, he says is bad enough. But the greatest atrocity is that these regimes use the idea of positive freedom to convince their populous that they are acting in the way they would act anyway, if their 'rational self' had president over their 'irrational' self [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/]. Many people believe that this is evidence that Berlin is a Liberal, and that he denounces the concept of positive freedom as invalid. Berlin vehemently denies this, and claims only that he seeks to identify that it is a concept which has, can be and will be misused. He also claims that many of mankind's greatest atrocities have occurred as a result of attempts to reconcile all of mankind's goals into one [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Isaiah+Berlin-a018850965].

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

==External Links==
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/freedom/ What Liberals Say - Category: Freedom], [[Accuracy In Media]]

[[Category:Bible Study]]

User:OscarJ

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OscarJ: Undo revision 748033 by Kekwowanon (Talk)

{{Userboxtop}}
{{Userbox |#CCCCFF|#FFFFFF|[[image:UserCross.jpg|45px]]|<center>This user has accepted [[Jesus Christ]] as his Lord and Savior.</center>}}
<includeonly>[[Category:Christian Conservapedians]]</includeonly>
{{Userbox |border-c=#000 |border-s=1 |id-c=#000 |id-s=12 |id-fc=#000 |info-c=#003333 |info-s=8 |info-fc=#fff |id=[[Image:smallglobe.jpeg|50px]] |info=This user isn't from America, but is still proud to be a conservative.}}
{{Userbox |border-c=#000 |border-s=1 |id-c=#fff |id-s=12 |id-fc=#000 |info-c=#039 |info-s=8 |info-fc=#fff |id=OEC |info=This user is an old-Earth creationist.}}
{{Userbox |border-c=#000 |border-s=1 |id-c=#fff |id-s=12 |id-fc=#000 |info-c=#DC143C |info-s=8 |info-fc=#fff |id=[[Image:Stop_hand.svg|45px]] |info=<center><big>This page has been vandalized '''{{{11|11}}}''' times.</big></center>}}
{{Userboxbottom}}
I mostly try to help by improving articles and reverting vandalism when I have time.

==Favorite entries==

*[[Christianity]]
*[[Conservative]]
*[[Essay:Best New Conservative Words]]
*[[Conservapedia]]
*[[Conservative parables]]
*[[Essay:Examples of Moronic Vandalism by the "tolerant"]]
*[[Essay:The Coming Fifth Great Awakening in America]]
*[[Essay:Greatest Myths of World History]]
*[[Liberal logic]]

Geotechnical engineering

2010-01-24T14:08:31Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748201 by Foulbachelorfrog (Talk)

'''Geotechnical engineering''' is the field of [[engineering]] concerned with earth materials, such as soils and rocks.

==Soil mechanics==
Soil mechanics is a key area of geotechnical engineering. Soils are made up of solid rock or mineral particles, water, and air. These three are known as the phases of soil. There are a number of standard properties of soil which are used in geotechnical engineering:
*Unit weight: the weight of a unit volume of soil.
*Voids ratio: the ratio of the volume of voids (Vv) to the volume of solids (Vs).
**Porosity: the ratio of the volume of voids (Vv) to the volume of the soil.
*Shear strength: the shear stress which causes the soil to fail.

[[Category:Civil Engineering]]

Equal Rights Amendment

2010-01-24T14:08:12Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748187 by Freechief071 (Talk)

{{discrimlaw}}

The '''Equal Rights Amendment''' ('''ERA''') was the informal name of a proposed amendment to the [[United States Constitution | United States Constitution]] passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification within a deadline of seven years. It nearly passed but a conservative grass-roots movement rose up and stopped it. It never became law, primarily because it would have made women subject to the military draft if men were, and few women wanted that.
==Text==
The amendment, which was untitled, stated:

:SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of [[sex | sex]].

:SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

:SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
==Possible impact==
The purpose of the Amendment was to prohibit many legal distinctions between men and women, and boys and girls. An all-male draft or male-only combat regiments would presumably have become illegal.<ref>Anti-ERA Phyllis Schlafly quote</ref> But equal representation of boys and girls on sports teams, and the termination of all-boys or all-girls sports teams, would probably not have been required, since the courts usually treat some gender distinctions as a ''bona fida operating qualification'' for which discrimination is allowed.

35 out of 38 states passed this amendment, but opposition led by [[Phyllis Schlafly]] ultimately defeated it.<ref>Testimony in 2007 by Phyllis Schlafly against the Equal Rights Amendment is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7iEL54jY9Q here].</ref> Congress then extended the deadline to 1982 in legislation that a court later invalidated, but no more states passed the amendment in the additional three years anyway. Several states rescinded their prior passage of the amendment.

==History==
After women won the right to vote in 1920, the next step for some feminists was the the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA); it was first introduced in Congress and rejected in every one of its sessions until 1972.<ref>http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2003/ms003077.pdf</ref>

It was initially authored by [[Alice Paul]], head of the National Women's Party, who led the suffrage campaign. The original version of the ERA stated that "Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction."
[[File:LOST-ERA.JPG|right|175px]]

The ERA was opposed by women who wanted special laws to protect women workers, including [[Eleanor Roosevelt]]. It was mostly supported by middle class Republican women.

==Advocacy==

The ERA was advocated by [[Gloria Steinem]] and [[Betty Friedan]]. For example, a pro-ERA site claims that "[t]he new Constitution's promised rights were fully enjoyed only by certain white males. Women were treated according to social tradition and English common law and were denied most legal rights. In general they could not vote, own property, keep their own wages, or even have custody of their children."<ref>http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm</ref>

In fact, the [[U.S. Constitution]] actively denied women the right to vote in the late 1800s by including gender specific language in the Fourteenth Amendment. Section two of the Fourteenth Amendment specifically uses the phrase "male inhabitants" to continue the disenfranchisment of women.

==Canadian Equivalent==

The Canadian equivalent to the Equal Rights Amendment is known as Charter Section 28. It was ratified as a section of the constitution in 1982, and came into effect in 1985. Since then, many laws have been invalidated because they were in violation of Charter Section 28.

== References ==

<references/>
[[category:Feminism]]
[[category:1960s]]

Atrium

2010-01-24T14:07:48Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748181 by Freechief071 (Talk)

An atrium is a [[heart]] chamber which receives [[blood]].<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Anatomy]]

Agricultural Research Service

2010-01-24T14:07:28Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748171 by Foulbachelorfrog (Talk)

{{merge|Agricultural Research Service (ARS)}}
The '''Agricultural Research Service''' (ARS) is the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]'s chief scientific research agency. ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems of high national priority and provide information access and dissemination to:
*ensure high-quality, safe food, and other agricultural products
*assess the nutritional needs of Americans
*sustain a competitive agricultural economy
*enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and
*provide [[economic]] opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole. <ref>[http://www.ars.usda.gov/AboutUs/AboutUs.htm Agricultural Research Service]</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Government Organizations]]

Villareal

2010-01-24T14:07:04Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748165 by TylerFx (Talk)

'''Villareal''' is a [[Spanish]] [[soccer]] team currently playing in [[La Liga]]. Playing in its namesake town, the club's manager is Manuel Pellegrini. The current sponsor is Aerosport Castello.
==Roster==
===Goalkeepers===
*13 Diego Lopez

===Defenders===
*2 Eraso Gonzalo
*4 Diego Godin
*4 Diego Leal
*5 Joan Capdevila
*17 Javier Rodriguez Venta

===Midfielders===
*6 Sebastian Equren
*8 Santiago Cazorla
*10 Rubin Gracia
*11 Ariel Ibagaba
*19 Marcos Senna
*21 Llido Bruno

===Strikers===
*1 Sebastian Viera
*3 Jose Gomez Edmilson
*7 Robert Piles
*9 Guillermo Franco
*10 Ruben Cani
*12 Pascal Cygan
*14 Matias Fernandez
*15 Juan Carlos
*15 Nihat Kahveci
*16 Joseba Llorente
*18 Angel David Lopez Ruano
*20 Fabricio Fuentes
*22 Giuseppe Rossi
*24 [[Jozy Altidore]]
*30 Joan Tomas

==Notable Former Players==
*GK [[José Manuel Roca Cases]]

[[Category:Spanish Soccer]]
[[Category:La Liga teams]]

Savior

2010-01-24T14:06:49Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748161 by AnonXD (Talk)

According to Christian doctrine, the '''Savior''' is the being, descendant of Eve, prophesied in Genesis 3:15 to execute justice upon the serpent ([[Satan]]) for tempting [[Eve]] to fall from [[grace]]. God said, '''"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."''' This prophesy was fulfilled in the person of [[Jesus Christ]], who was born of woman ("her seed"), endured suffering under sinful men ("thou shalt bruise his heel") but vanquished the serpent once and for all though his victory at the cross ("it shall bruise thy head").

[[Category:Christian Theology]]

Commodity

2010-01-24T14:06:29Z

OscarJ: Undo revision 748153 by Chipshandon09 (Talk)

A '''commodity''' in [[economics]] is a [[goods|good]], such as [[food]], [[metal]]s or [[grain]]s, which is interchangeable with similar [[goods]], and which is available in large quantities.

Investors can buy or sell on [[commodity exchange|commodities exchanges]] using [[futures contract]]s.

More generally, a commodity is any good in a [[competitive]] [[market]].

In general parlance, a commodity is a good where the good supplied is indistinguishable from one supplier to another. A consumer, then, only considers price when making a purchasing decision. In recent years, computers have become a commodity.

[[Category:Economics]]