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Veterans Today

2015-02-10T00:10:55Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Veterans Today''' is an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, pro-Iran news website. Its editor is Gordon Duff, a self-described Vietnam War veteran, who is also a corres..."

'''Veterans Today''' is an [[anti-Semitic]], anti-[[Israel]], pro-[[Iran]] news website. Its editor is Gordon Duff, a self-described [[Vietnam War]] veteran, who is also a correspondent for [[Press TV]], the Iranian news network. Despite its innocuous name, the site actually has little to do with actual veterans, usually smearing Israel and promoting anti-Israel conspiracy theories regarding Sandy Hook, 9/11, and many other world events.

==See Also==
*[[Press TV]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.veteranstoday.com Veterans Today]

[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Websites]]

Talk:LaVeyan Satanism

2014-12-15T23:25:47Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "Please fix the eleven Satanic Rules part. It is anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant. Conservapedia doesn't allow things like that. RKLuffy88"

Please fix the eleven Satanic Rules part. It is anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant. Conservapedia doesn't allow things like that.

RKLuffy88

India

2013-04-09T20:15:35Z

RKLuffy88: /* Principal Government Officials */ Brought the list up to date

{{Country
|name =''भारत गणराज्य <br/>Bhārat Gaharājya''
|map =India rel01.jpg
|map2 =India location.png
|flag =Flag of India svg.png
|arms =Emblem of India.png
|capital =New Delhi
|capital-raw =
|government =Federal Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Hindi, English
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Pranab Mukherjee
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Manmohan Singh
|pm-raw =
|area =3,287,590 sq mi
|pop =1,189,866,154 (2011)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$4.2 trillion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$3,800 (2006)
|currency =rupee
|idd =
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}}
The '''Republic of India''' is a major [[Social democracy|social democratic]] nation located in [[South Asia]] with a population of 1.1 billion people. It spans from the [[Himalayas]] in the north to the [[Indian Ocean]]. It borders [[China]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]] and [[Myanmar]]. India is the 7th largest country in the world in terms of area and second most populous country (standing at around 1.1 billion according to 2006 estimate), only behind China. Home to the Indus Valley Civilization, the history, culture and tradition of India is more than 3000 years old. Though India is the world's fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, it has high levels of [[poverty]], [[illiteracy]], [[corruption]] and [[crime]].

==Etymology==
The name "India" came from the word 'Indus', which derives from the Persian word "Hindu" which was used to describe the Sindhu river (now known as the Indus).

==People==
[[File:Indians.jpg|right]]
Although India occupies only 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports over 15% of the world's population; only China has a larger population. India's median age is 25, one of the youngest among large economies. About 70% live in more than 550,000 villages, and the remainder in more than 200 towns and cities. Over the thousands of years of its history, India has been invaded from the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Arabia, Afghanistan, and the West; Indian people and culture have absorbed and modified these influences to produce a remarkable racial and cultural synthesis.

Religion, [[caste]], and language are major determinants of social and political organization in India today. However, with more job opportunities in the private sector and better chances of upward social mobility, India has begun a quiet social transformation in this area. The government has recognized 18 official languages; Hindi, the national language, is the most widely spoken, although English is a national lingua franca. Although 81% of its people are Hindu, India also is the home of more than 138 million Muslims--one of the world's largest Muslim populations. The population also includes Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis.

The Hindu caste system reflects Indian occupational and socially defined hierarchies. Ancient Sanskrit sources divide society into four major categories, priests (Brahmin), warriors (Kshatriya), traders (Vaishya) and farmers/laborers (Shudra). Although these categories are understood throughout India, they describe reality only in the most general terms. They omit, for example, the tribes and those once known as "untouchables." In reality, Indian society is divided into thousands of jatis--local, endogamous groups based on occupation--and organized hierarchically according to complex ideas of purity and pollution. Discrimination based on caste is officially illegal, but remains prevalent, especially in rural areas. Nevertheless, the government has made strong efforts to minimize the importance of caste through active affirmative action and social policies. Moreover, caste has been diluted if not subsumed in the economically prosperous and heterogeneous cities, where an increasing percentage of India's population lives. In the countryside, expanding education, land reform and economic opportunity through access to information, communication, transport, and credit have lessened the harshest elements of the caste system.

==Religions==

===Overview===
[[File:Indian family going to church.jpg|thumb|Indian family going to church.]]
India has over 900 million [[Hindu]]s, 150 millions [[Muslim]]s, 25 million [[Christian]]s and 20 million [[Sikh]]s among the many religious groups that make up the country<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html</ref> including communities of [[Jain]]s, [[Buddhist]]s, and [[Bahai]].

India is the region where four major world religions were founded:
*[[Hinduism]]
*[[Buddhism]]
*[[Jainism]]
*[[Sikhism]]

Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, after Christianity and Islam, with a collective 1.4 billion followers.

===Hinduism in India===
[[Image:Krishna a la flute.gif|right|180px]]
Hinduism as it is identified today has existed in India for over 4000 years; in the past it had spread to the rest of South-East [[Asia]] and [[Indonesia]], although Hinduism is practiced outside India today only in the island of [[Bali]].

The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500BC) are called the "historical Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the [[Vedas]],a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. They form the oldest layer of [[Sanskrit]] literature and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.[, the oldest of which is the [[Rigveda]], dated to 1700–1100BC. The Vedas center on worship of deities such as [[Indra]], Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. They performed fire-sacrifices, called yajña and chanted Vedic mantras but did not build temples or icons. The oldest Vedic traditions exhibit strong similarities to [[Zoroastrian]]ism and with other Indo-European religions. During the Epic and Puranic periods, the earliest versions of the epic poems [[Ramayana]] and [[Mahabharata]] were written roughly from 500–100BC, although these were orally transmitted for centuries prior to this period. The epics contain mythological stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against demons.

===Buddhism in India===

Buddhism originated in Eastern India in the 6th century B.C. and spread to the rest of Asia through individual and organized missionaries, although there are few practicing Buddhists left in India today.

===Jainism in India===

Jainism originated in Eastern India in the 6th century B.C. and spread to the rest of India; today they are mostly concentrated in the Southern and Western parts of the country.

===Sikhism in India===

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in India in the 16th century A.D.

===Other Religions in India===

[[Christianity]] arrived in India in the first century A.D., possibly through the travels of the [[Apostle Thomas]], whose tomb in the Indian city of Chennai is a major pilgrimage site for Christians in India.

[[Islam]] arrived in the latter half of the 8th century A.D. as a consequence of both war and trade. It continued to spread with invasions, wars and forced conversions by Afghans and Turkic Mongols. They slowly integrated into the society and formed India's Islamic tradition. The [[Taj Mahal]], India's national monument, was built by a Muslim emperor named Shah Jahan. Islam is practiced by around 13.4% of all Indians.
[[Image:Taj Mahal.jpg|thumb|Taj Mahal]]

Although small in number, India does have a Jewish community. The first identifiably [[Judaism|Jewish]] migrants arrived in India as the Bene Israel group. There is some debate as to the Jewishness of a possibly older group of Indians in the Northeastern part of the country called the Bnei Menashe.

===Religious Persecution===

While for many years India has been known as an area of the world where a melting pot of religions could be practiced freely, troubling and persistent persecution against [[Christian]]s by the [[Hindu]] majority arose in the 1990s and has continued since that time. In October 2008, 38 Christians were killed and 30,000 fled from efforts of Hindu nationalist militants to force them to convert to Hinduism.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27380721</ref>

There are also frequent attacks upon Indian Christians by [[Muslims]] in India, who make up a large proportion of the population. They subject the Indian Christian population to harrassment and intimidation, particularly those who were previously Muslims. In 2006, a Muslim who converted to Christianity in the Indian state of Kashmir was shot dead by [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] militants.<ref>http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=6705</ref>

==Government==
According to its Constitution, India is a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic." Like the United States, India has a federal form of government. However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and has adopted a British-style parliamentary system.

The government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the president, whose duties are largely ceremonial. A special electoral college elects the president and vice president indirectly for 5-year terms. Their terms are staggered, and the vice president does not automatically become president following the death or removal from office of the president.

Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), led by the prime minister. The president appoints the prime minister, who is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house). The president then appoints subordinate ministers on the advice of the prime minister.
[[File:Delhi Tomb of Imam Zamin Qutub Minar Complex.jpg|thumb|left|Tomb of Imam Zamin Qutub, Delhi.]]
India's bicameral Parliament consists of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha.

The legislatures of the states and union territories elect 233 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the president appoints another 12. The members of the Rajya Sabha serve 6-year terms, with one-third up for election every 2 years. The Lok Sabha consists of 545 members, who serve 5-year terms; 543 are directly elected, and two are appointed.

India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and 25 other justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

India has 28 states* and 7 union territories. At the state level, some legislatures are bicameral, patterned after the two houses of the national parliament. The states' chief ministers are responsible to the legislatures in the same way the prime minister is responsible to Parliament.

Each state also has a presidentially appointed governor, who may assume certain broad powers when directed by the central government. The central government exerts greater control over the union territories than over the states, although some territories have gained more power to administer their own affairs. Local governments in India have less autonomy than their counterparts in the United States. Some states are trying to revitalize the traditional village councils, or panchayats, to promote popular democratic participation at the village level, where much of the population still lives. Over half a million panchayats exist throughout India.

<br>

==Principal Government Officials==
*President--Pranab Mukherjee
*Vice President--Mohammed Hamid Ansari
*Prime Minister--Manmohan Singh
*Home Minister--Sushilkumar Shinde
*Minister of External Affairs--Salman Khurshid
*Ambassador to the U.S.--Nirupama Rao
*Ambassador to the UN--Hardeep Singh Puri

===Politics ===
The governing coalition led by the Indian National Congress sailed to a decisive victory in India’s parliamentary elections in May 2009, adding 57 seats. The election gave a second term to prime minister Manmohan Singh, age 77, a soft-spoken economic reformer, and ended the prospect of political instability in the world’s most populous democracy. The election confirmed that Sonia Gandhi, age 62, dominates the Congress Party. She is the the Italian-born widow of the assassinated former prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and the daughter-in-law of the prime minister before him, [[Indira Gandhi]], who was also assassinated. The Congress-led coalition built its near-majority with an appeal to the rural poor. During its first term, buoyed by robust economic growth, it used record government revenues to increase social spending, not just raising health and education budgets, but also starting an ambitious public works program in the countryside and a costly loan repayment waiver for farmers. Mrs. Gandhi won support by casting herself as a leader who relinquished power, turning down her party’s appeals to become prime minister, first in 2004 and again this time. Instead, she chose the soft-spoken economist, Mr. Singh, and between them, they controlled the party and the government. She took care of the politics of keeping the coalition together, while he served as the chief executive who followed her advice.

[[File:India-14.jpg|thumb|390px]]
Emerging as the nation's single largest party in the April/May 2004 Lok Sabha election, Congress currently leads a coalition government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Party President Sonia Gandhi was re-elected by the Party National Executive in May 2005. Also a Member of Parliament, she heads the Congress Lok Sabha delegation. Congress prides itself as a secular, left of center party, with a long history of political dominance. Although its performance in national elections had steadily declined during the last 12 years, its surprise victory in 2004 was a result of recruiting strong allies into the UPA, the anti-incumbency factor among voters, and its courtship of India's many poor, rural and Muslim voters. Congress political fortunes suffered badly in the 1990s, as many traditional supporters were lost to emerging regional and caste-based parties, such as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, but have rebounded since its May 2004 ascension to power. It currently rules either directly or in coalition with its allies in 9 states. In November 2005, the Congress regained the Chief Ministership of Jammu and Kashmir state, under a power-sharing agreement.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Rajnath Singh, holds the second-largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee serves as Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party, and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani is Leader of the Opposition. The Hindu-nationalist BJP draws its political strength mainly from the "Hindi Belt" in the northern and western regions of India.

The party holds power in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa--in coalition with the Biju Janata Dal. Popularly viewed as the party of the northern upper caste and trading communities, the BJP made strong inroads into lower castes in recent national and state assembly elections. The party must balance the competing interests of Hindu nationalists, (who advocate construction of a temple on a disputed site in Ayodhya, and other primarily religious issues), and center-right modernizers who see the BJP as a party of economic and political reform.
[[Image:Haveli in Mandawa, India.jpg|240px|right|Haveli in Mandawa.]]

Four Communist and Marxist parties are united in a bloc called the "Left Front," which controls 57 parliamentary seats. The Left Front rules the states of West Bengal and Kerala. Although it has not joined the government, Left Front support provides the crucial seats necessary for the UPA to retain power in New Delhi; without its support, the UPA government would fall. It advocates a secular and Communist ideology and opposes many aspects of economic liberalization and globalization, resulting in dissonance with Prime Minister Singh's liberal economic approach.

==Foreign Relations==
India's size, population, and strategic location give it a prominent voice in international affairs, and its growing economic strength, military prowess, and scientific and technical capacity give it added weight. The end of the Cold War dramatically affected Indian foreign policy. India remains a leader of the developing world and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). India is now strengthening its political and commercial ties with the United States, Japan, the European Union, Iran, China, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. India is an active member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Always an active member of the United Nations, India now seeks a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. India has a long tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping operations.

==Bilateral and Regional Relations==

===Tense relations with Pakistan===

India and Pakistan have been locked in a tense rivalry since the partition of the subcontinent upon achieving independence from Great Britain in 1947. The principal source of contention has been Kashmir, whose Hindu Maharaja at that time chose to join India, although a majority of his subjects were Muslim. India maintains that his decision and subsequent elections in Kashmir have made it an integral part of India. This dispute triggered wars between the two countries in 1947 and 1965 and provoked the Kargil conflict in 1999.

Pakistan and India fought a war in December 1971 following a political crisis in what was then East Pakistan and the flight of millions of Bengali refugees to India. The brief conflict left the situation largely unchanged in the west, where the two armies reached an impasse, but a decisive Indian victory in the east resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
[[File:Iran Pakistan India gas pipeline.JPG|thumb|left|300px|Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.]]
Since the 1971 war, Pakistan and India have made slow progress toward normalization of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met in the Indian hill station of Simla. They signed an agreement by which India would return all personnel and captured territory in the west and the two countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were re-established in 1976.

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused new strains between India and Pakistan. Pakistan supported the Afghan resistance, while India implicitly supported the Soviet occupation. In the following eight years, India voiced increasing concern over Pakistani arms purchases, U.S. military aid to Pakistan, and Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. In an effort to curtail tensions, the two countries formed a joint commission. In December 1988, Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto concluded a pact not to attack each other's nuclear facilities and initiated agreements on cultural exchanges and civil aviation.

In 1997, high-level Indo-Pakistani talks resumed after a three-year pause. The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met twice, and the foreign secretaries conducted three rounds of talks. In June 1997 at Lahore, the foreign secretaries identified eight "outstanding issues" around which continuing talks would be focused. The dispute over the status of Jammu and Kashmir, an issue since partition, remains the major stumbling block in their dialogue. India maintains that the entire former princely state is an integral part of the Indian union, while Pakistan insists upon the implementation of UN resolutions calling for self-determination for the people of the state.

In September 1997, the talks broke down over the structure of how to deal with the issues of Kashmir and peace and security. Pakistan advocated that separate working groups treat each issue. India responded that the two issues be taken up along with six others on a simultaneous basis. In May 1998 India, and then Pakistan, conducted nuclear tests. Attempts to restart dialogue between the two nations were given a major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers in Lahore and their signing of three agreements. These efforts were stalled by the intrusion of Pakistani-backed forces into Indian-held territory near Kargil in May 1999 (that nearly turned into full scale war), and by the military coup in Pakistan that overturned the Nawaz Sharif government in October the same year. In July 2001, Mr. Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf, leader of Pakistan after the coup, met in Agra, but talks ended after two days without result.

After an attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, India-Pakistan relations cooled further as India accused Pakistan of involvement. Tensions increased, fueled by killings in Jammu and Kashmir, peaking in a troop buildup by both sides in early 2002.

Prime Minister Vajpayee's April 18, 2003 speech in Srinagar (Kashmir) revived bilateral efforts to normalize relations. In November 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf agreed to a ceasefire, which still holds, along the Line-of-Control in Jammu and Kashmir. After a series of confidence building measures, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf met on the sidelines of the January 2004 SAARC summit in Islamabad and agreed to commence a Composite Dialogue addressing outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, including Kashmir. The UPA government has continued the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan.

In February 2004, India and Pakistan agreed to restart the "2+6" Composite Dialogue formula, which provides for talks on Peace and Security and Jammu and Kashmir, followed by technical and Secretary-level discussions on six other bilateral disputes: Siachen Glacier, Wuller Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project, Sir Creek estuary, Terrorism and Drug Trafficking, Economic and Commercial cooperation, and the Promotion of Friendly Exchanges in various fields. The Foreign Secretary talks resumed in November 2006, after a three-month delay following the July 11, 2006 terrorist bombings in Mumbai. The meeting generated modest progress, with the two sides agreeing to establish a joint mechanism on counter-terrorism and agreeing to a follow-on meeting in February 2007. The restart of the Composite Dialogue process is especially significant, given the almost six years that transpired since the two sides agreed to this formula in 1997-98.

Following the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, the two governments coordinated relief efforts and opened access points along the Line-of-Control to allow relief supplies to flow from India to Pakistan and to allow Kashmiris from both sides to visit one another.

===South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)===

Certain aspects of India's relations within the subcontinent are conducted through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Its members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with the People's Republic of China, Iran, Japan, European Union, Republic of Korea, and the U.S. as observers. Established in 1985, SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics, and terrorism.

SAARC has intentionally stressed these "core issues" and avoided those which could prove divisive, although political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings. In 1993, India and its SAARC partners signed an agreement gradually to lower tariffs within the region. Forward movement in SAARC had slowed because of tension between India and Pakistan, and the SAARC summit scheduled for 1999 was not held until January 2002. In addition, to boost the process of normalizing India's relationship with Pakistan, the January 2004 SAARC summit in Islamabad produced an agreement to establish a South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA). All the member governments have ratified SAFTA, which was slated to come into force on January 1, 2006, with a series of graduated tariff cuts through 2015. As of December 2006, however, the FTA partners were still negotiating sensitive product lists, rules of origin, and technical assistance. India hosted the 2007 SAARC summit, which called for greater regional cooperation on trade, environmental, social, and counterterrorism issues.

===Relations with China===

Despite suspicions remaining from a 1962 border conflict between India and [[China]] and continuing territorial/boundary disputes, Sino-Indian relations have improved gradually since 1988. Both countries have sought to reduce tensions along the frontier, expand trade and cultural ties, and normalize relations. Their bilateral trade reached $24 billion in 2006. China is India's second-largest trading partner behind the U.S.

A series of high-level visits between the two nations has improved relations. In December 1996, Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited India on a tour of South Asia. While in New Delhi, he and the Indian Prime Minister signed a series of confidence-building measures along the disputed border, including troop reductions and weapons limitations.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao invited Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit China in June 2003. They recognized the common goals of both countries and made the commitment to build a "long-term constructive and cooperative partnership" to peacefully promote their mutual political and economic goals without encroaching upon their good relations with other countries. In Beijing, Prime Minister Vajpayee proposed the designation of special representatives to discuss the border dispute at the political level, a process that is still under way.

In November 2006, President Hu Jintao made an official state visit to India, further cementing Sino-Indian relations. India and China are building on growing economic ties to improve other aspects of their relationship such as counter-terrorism, energy, and trade. In another symbol of improved ties, the two countries opened the Nathu La Pass to bilateral trade in July 2006 for the first time in 40 years. Though it is the first direct land trade route in decades, trade is expected to be local and small since the pass is open only four months a year.

===Russia===

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) had major repercussions for Indian foreign policy. India's substantial trade with the region plummeted after the Soviet collapse and has yet to recover. Longstanding military supply relationships were similarly disrupted due to questions over financing. Russia nonetheless remains India's largest supplier of military systems and spare parts.

Russia and India have not renewed the 1971 Indo-Soviet Peace and Friendship Treaty and follow what both describe as a more pragmatic, less ideological relationship. The visit of Russian President Boris Yeltsin to India in January 1993 helped cement this new relationship. The pace of high-level visits has since increased, as has discussion of major defense purchases. UPA leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh visited Russia in July 2005. President Vladimir Putin traveled to India in January 2007 to attend an Indo-Russia Summit and was the guest of honor at India's Republic Day celebrations.

==Defense==
The supreme command of the Indian armed forces is vested in the President of India. Policies concerning India's defense, and the armed forces as a whole, are formulated and confirmed by the Cabinet.

===Indian Army===

The Indian Army numbers over 1.1 million strong and fields 34 divisions. Its primary task is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country against external threats. The Army has been heavily committed in the recent past to counterterrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the in the Northeast. Its current modernization program focuses on obtaining equipment to be used in combating terror. The Army often provides aid to civil authorities and assists the government in organizing relief operations.

===Indian Navy===

The Indian Navy is by far the most capable navy in the region. The Navy's primary missions are the defense of India and of India's vital sea lines of communication. India relies on the sea for 90% of its oil and natural gas and over 90% of its foreign trade. The Navy currently operates one aircraft carrier with two on order, 14 submarines, and 15 major surface combatants. It is capable of projecting power within the Indian Ocean basin and occasionally operates in the South China Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Fleet introduction of the Brahmos cruise missile and the possible lease of nuclear submarines from Russia will add significantly to the Indian Navy's flexibility and striking power.

Although small, the Indian Coast Guard has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Indian Navy officers typically fill top Coast Guard positions to ensure coordination between the two services. India's Coast Guard is responsible for control of India's huge exclusive economic zone.

===Indian Air Force===

The Indian Air Force is becoming a 21st century force through modernization, new tactics and the acquisition of modern aircraft, such as the SU-30MKI, a new advanced jet trainer (BAE Hawk) and the indigenously produced advanced light [[helicopter]] (Dhruv). In June 2007, the Indian Government announced intentions to release a request for proposals for 126 multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

==Economy==

===General overview===
[[File:India...jpg|right|340px]]

India's population is estimated at more than 1.1 billion and is growing at 1.3% a year. It has the world's 12th largest economy--and the third largest in [[Asia]] behind [[Japan]] and [[China]]--with total [[GDP]] of around $1 trillion ($1,000 billion). Services, industry, and [[agriculture]] account for 55%, 27%, and 18% of GDP respectively. Nearly two-thirds of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. 700 million Indians live on $2 per day or less, but there is a large and growing [[middle class]] of 325-350 million with disposable income for consumer goods.

India is continuing to move forward with market-oriented economic reforms that began in 1991. Recent reforms include liberalized foreign investment and exchange regimes, industrial decontrol, significant reductions in [[tariff]]s and other trade barriers, reform and modernization of the financial sector, significant adjustments in government monetary and fiscal policies, and safeguarding intellectual property rights.

Real GDP growth for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 was 9.4%, up from 9.0% growth in the previous year. Growth for the year ending March 31, 2008 is expected to be between 8.5-9.0%. Foreign portfolio and direct investment inflows have risen significantly in recent years. They have contributed to $255 billion in foreign exchange reserves by June 2007. Government receipts from privatization were about $3 billion in fiscal year 2003-2004, but the privatization program has stalled since then.

Economic growth is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, a cumbersome bureaucracy, corruption, labor market rigidities, regulatory and foreign investment controls, the "reservation" of key products for small-scale industries, and high (although declining) fiscal deficits. The outlook for further trade liberalization is mixed. India eliminated quotas on 1,420 consumer imports in 2002 and has incrementally lowered non-agricultural customs duties in recent successive budgets. However, the tax structure is complex, with compounding effects of various taxes.

The [[United States]] is India's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in 2006 was $32 billion. Principal U.S. exports are diagnostic or lab reagents, aircraft and parts, advanced machinery, [[cotton]], [[fertilizer]]s, ferrous waste/scrap metal, and computer hardware. Major U.S. imports from India include [[textile]]s and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.

The rapidly growing software sector is boosting service exports and modernizing India's economy. Software exports crossed $28 billion in FY 2006-2007, while business process outsourcing (BPO) revenues hit $8.3 billion in 2006-2007. Personal computer penetration is 14 per 1,000 persons. The cellular/mobile market surged to 140 million subscribers by November 2006. The country has 54 million [[cable TV]] customers.

The United States is India's largest investment partner, with a 13% share. India's total inflow of U.S. direct investment is estimated at more than $9 billion through 2006. Proposals for direct foreign investment are considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and generally receive government approval. Automatic approvals are available for investments involving up to 100% foreign equity, depending on the kind of industry. Foreign investment is particularly sought after in power generation, telecommunications, ports, roads, petroleum exploration/processing, and mining.

India's external debt was $155 billion in 2006-2007, up from $126 billion in 2005-2006. Foreign assistance was approximately $3 billion in 2006-2007, with the United States providing about $126 million in development assistance. The [[World Bank]] plans to double aid to India to almost $3 billion a year, with focus on infrastructure, education, health, and rural livelihoods.

===Agriculture===
[[Image:Varma Lady Carrying Fruits.jpg|thumb|Lady Carrying Fruits by Ravi Varma.]]
India has a cultivated area of 138 million hectares which almost equals that of the [[European Union]]. A lot of the land has good agriculture potential especially where water supplies are available. Arable farming, especially cereals is the main kind of farming. India, which has two thirds of its working population relying on the land to earn a living, desperately needs to improve agriculture production in order to develop its economy.

When India became independent from [[Britain]] in 1947 the Indian government recognized agriculture as a key area for economic development. Despite this there has been limited modernization of the sector. There hasn’t been an effective land reform package introduced to redistribute land from wealthy landlords to landless peasants. In the 1990’s almost half of rural families had plots of 0.5 hectares or no land at all, but a quarter of India’s agricultural land was owned by five percent of rich landowning families. This has made it nearly impossible to mechanize and introduce modern farm practices.

The dominant type of farming throughout India is intensive [[Subsistence farming]]. It is used especially in rural areas with high population density, where people depend on being able to feed themselves. [[Rice]] is very important for this type of farming, especially in the Indus and Ganges flood plains. Other crops such as wheat and millet are grown in drier parts of peninsular India. Farming is a family affair, with all planting, flooding and harvesting done by hand. One of the reasons rural Indians have such large families is to provide free labour to help harvest crops. This adds to the pressure on India’s service sector and India’s agriculture sector to meet the demands of India’s ever-growing population.

India is a country that has benefited from the Green revolution. This refers to the development and introduction of genetically modified, high yield varieties of staple crops, such as rice and wheat. These ‘miracle’ crops produce high yields and are resistant to disease and pests. Due to the Green revolution, India has managed to become a net exporter of food.

There is however some problems linked to the Green revolution. It depends on large inputs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that may be costly and harmful to the soil in the long run. Labour is often replaced with machinery, so rural unemployment goes up and more people leave the land and go to towns, increasing rural-urban migration. A well-educated farm population and capital investment are needed. It only really benefits comparatively few, large-scale farmers; large numbers of small-scale farmers may not be able to benefit from the process.

For a large number of Indian farmers a better solution would be the introduction of more intermediate technology and a more effective programme of land reform. While the Green revolution has brought some positive results, the vast majority of India’s rice farmers use traditional farm practices that depend heavily on the natural environment. The need to match food production to match India’s growing population is a major concern for government.

===Industry===

When India became independent in 1947 it had a largely underdeveloped Industrial system, with textiles and food processing been the key industries in the country. Only two percent of the working population had been employed in industry, which was concentrated in the major cities; [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]] and [[Chennai]]. On gaining independence the new government was determined to reduce India’s dependence on imported goods and to promote greater wealth and employment throughout the country.

The size of India’s population provided it a large home market and the country had some natural resources (coal and Iron) a large and cheap labour force and outputs from agriculture (cotton, Jute) Mineral resources encouraged the government to develop heavy industries, such as Iron and steel, shipbuilding and chemicals. Despite these advantages development was relatively slow and only benefited a few growth centers. In addition, by the 1980’s, many heavy industries were in decline, Industrial policy has changed to emphasize Agri-industries, consumer goods industries and small craft industries, rural development (community based development and self-help schemes) and high technology industries.

Agri-industries would be advantageous to India in that it already employs a large number of people in the agricultural sector. The development of fertilizers, machinery and food processing benefits rural communities and helps in the modernization of India’s agricultural system.

[[Consumer goods]] industries are more labour intensive than large-scale heavy industries, so more jobs are created as a result. They also benefit from low labour costs and traditional skills, which make them more competitive in, export markets. E.g. jewellary, clothing, leather goods etc.

With more than 70% of India’s population living in rural areas, jobs need to be taken to these people rather than encouraging migration to urban areas. This involves support for community development projects and self-help schemes that improve skills levels among the workforce.

High technology (Hi-tech) industries are attracted to India by the growing number of India’s skilled workers (Which produces more university graduates than USA and Canada combined) low costs and improved communication systems. These high value industries add a modern face to Indian industry. Many major multinationals, such as [[IBM]] and [[Texas instruments]], have located in India. Large numbers of locally owned companies have also set up to supply software components to western markets. (See [[Spin-off Effect]])

Although the government has tried to spread industry across the country, this growing sector remains concentrated in a growing number of city regions. The most important are [[Calcutta]], [[Bombay]] and [[Bangalore]]. Bangalore is known as ‘India’s silicon valley’ as a result of all the high-tech industries which have set up there.
===Education===
[[File:Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple in Amritsar India.jpg|thumb|300px|Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.]]
India has a large number of universities, but the quality ranges from poor to medicore. The best students head to the U.S. or Britain. To cover this weakness, the government in July 2009 announced plans to expand the higher education budget by 40%, to $3.1-billion, for 2009-10.

The government in 2009 allotted an extra $435-million to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology, and $170.5-million more to open 16 central universities in states that lack one. In keeping with its agenda of inclusive economic growth, the government has also announced interest-free loans for disadvantaged students to take technical and professional courses.

To increase India’s college-going rate to 21% by 2017, Prime Minister Singh has announced plans to start five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, seven new Indian Institutes of Management, and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology — thus doubling the number of top-tier institutions in the country. He also wants to set up 16 central universities, 14 “world class” universities, and almost 400 colleges.

==History==
See [[History of India]]

==Further reading==
* Cohen, Stephen P. ''India: Emerging Power'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0815715013/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]
* Guha, Ramachandra. ''India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/India-After-Gandhi-History-Democracy/dp/0060958588/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Nilekani, Nandan. ''Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation'' (2009) business in India [http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-India-Idea-Renewed-Nation/dp/1594202044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545602&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Panagariya, Arvind. ''India: The Emerging Giant'' (2008) 544 pp., The major recent history; for advanced readers. [http://www.amazon.com/India-Emerging-Giant-Arvind/dp/0195315030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222697254&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Wolpert, Stanley. ''India'' (4th ed. 2009), 264pp; excellent overview and introduction [http://www.amazon.com/India-Stanley-Wolpert/dp/0520260325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255296028&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
===Guides===
* ''India'' (Lonely Planet Guide) by Sarina Singh et al. (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Country-Guide-Sarina-Singh/dp/1741043085/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* '' India'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides by DK Publishing (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Publishing/dp/0789483955/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545500&sr=1-18 excerpt and text search]
* ''India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette'' by Nicki Grihault (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Culture-Smart-customs-etiquette/dp/1857333055/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Rough Guide to India'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-India-Travel-Guides/dp/1858289947/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search]

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

== See also ==
*[[World History Lecture Three]] for more information on Ancient India.
*[[Anti-conversion legislation in India]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Indian Painting]]

----

{{Copyright Details (US Government)|source=[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm]}}

{{Asian Countries}}
[[Category:India]]
[[Category:Indian History]]

India

2013-04-09T20:07:21Z

RKLuffy88: Corrected the president entry; Pranab Mukherjee is now the president

{{Country
|name =''भारत गणराज्य <br/>Bhārat Gaharājya''
|map =India rel01.jpg
|map2 =India location.png
|flag =Flag of India svg.png
|arms =Emblem of India.png
|capital =New Delhi
|capital-raw =
|government =Federal Republic
|government-raw =
|language =Hindi, English
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Pranab Mukherjee
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Manmohan Singh
|pm-raw =
|area =3,287,590 sq mi
|pop =1,189,866,154 (2011)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$4.2 trillion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$3,800 (2006)
|currency =rupee
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''Republic of India''' is a major [[Social democracy|social democratic]] nation located in [[South Asia]] with a population of 1.1 billion people. It spans from the [[Himalayas]] in the north to the [[Indian Ocean]]. It borders [[China]], [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]] and [[Myanmar]]. India is the 7th largest country in the world in terms of area and second most populous country (standing at around 1.1 billion according to 2006 estimate), only behind China. Home to the Indus Valley Civilization, the history, culture and tradition of India is more than 3000 years old. Though India is the world's fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, it has high levels of [[poverty]], [[illiteracy]], [[corruption]] and [[crime]].

==Etymology==
The name "India" came from the word 'Indus', which derives from the Persian word "Hindu" which was used to describe the Sindhu river (now known as the Indus).

==People==
[[File:Indians.jpg|right]]
Although India occupies only 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports over 15% of the world's population; only China has a larger population. India's median age is 25, one of the youngest among large economies. About 70% live in more than 550,000 villages, and the remainder in more than 200 towns and cities. Over the thousands of years of its history, India has been invaded from the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Arabia, Afghanistan, and the West; Indian people and culture have absorbed and modified these influences to produce a remarkable racial and cultural synthesis.

Religion, [[caste]], and language are major determinants of social and political organization in India today. However, with more job opportunities in the private sector and better chances of upward social mobility, India has begun a quiet social transformation in this area. The government has recognized 18 official languages; Hindi, the national language, is the most widely spoken, although English is a national lingua franca. Although 81% of its people are Hindu, India also is the home of more than 138 million Muslims--one of the world's largest Muslim populations. The population also includes Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis.

The Hindu caste system reflects Indian occupational and socially defined hierarchies. Ancient Sanskrit sources divide society into four major categories, priests (Brahmin), warriors (Kshatriya), traders (Vaishya) and farmers/laborers (Shudra). Although these categories are understood throughout India, they describe reality only in the most general terms. They omit, for example, the tribes and those once known as "untouchables." In reality, Indian society is divided into thousands of jatis--local, endogamous groups based on occupation--and organized hierarchically according to complex ideas of purity and pollution. Discrimination based on caste is officially illegal, but remains prevalent, especially in rural areas. Nevertheless, the government has made strong efforts to minimize the importance of caste through active affirmative action and social policies. Moreover, caste has been diluted if not subsumed in the economically prosperous and heterogeneous cities, where an increasing percentage of India's population lives. In the countryside, expanding education, land reform and economic opportunity through access to information, communication, transport, and credit have lessened the harshest elements of the caste system.

==Religions==

===Overview===
[[File:Indian family going to church.jpg|thumb|Indian family going to church.]]
India has over 900 million [[Hindu]]s, 150 millions [[Muslim]]s, 25 million [[Christian]]s and 20 million [[Sikh]]s among the many religious groups that make up the country<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html</ref> including communities of [[Jain]]s, [[Buddhist]]s, and [[Bahai]].

India is the region where four major world religions were founded:
*[[Hinduism]]
*[[Buddhism]]
*[[Jainism]]
*[[Sikhism]]

Today, Hinduism and Buddhism are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, after Christianity and Islam, with a collective 1.4 billion followers.

===Hinduism in India===
[[Image:Krishna a la flute.gif|right|180px]]
Hinduism as it is identified today has existed in India for over 4000 years; in the past it had spread to the rest of South-East [[Asia]] and [[Indonesia]], although Hinduism is practiced outside India today only in the island of [[Bali]].

The beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era (1500–500BC) are called the "historical Vedic religion". Modern Hinduism grew out of the [[Vedas]],a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. They form the oldest layer of [[Sanskrit]] literature and the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism.[, the oldest of which is the [[Rigveda]], dated to 1700–1100BC. The Vedas center on worship of deities such as [[Indra]], Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. They performed fire-sacrifices, called yajña and chanted Vedic mantras but did not build temples or icons. The oldest Vedic traditions exhibit strong similarities to [[Zoroastrian]]ism and with other Indo-European religions. During the Epic and Puranic periods, the earliest versions of the epic poems [[Ramayana]] and [[Mahabharata]] were written roughly from 500–100BC, although these were orally transmitted for centuries prior to this period. The epics contain mythological stories about the rulers and wars of ancient India, and are interspersed with religious and philosophical treatises. The later Puranas recount tales about devas and devis, their interactions with humans and their battles against demons.

===Buddhism in India===

Buddhism originated in Eastern India in the 6th century B.C. and spread to the rest of Asia through individual and organized missionaries, although there are few practicing Buddhists left in India today.

===Jainism in India===

Jainism originated in Eastern India in the 6th century B.C. and spread to the rest of India; today they are mostly concentrated in the Southern and Western parts of the country.

===Sikhism in India===

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion that originated in India in the 16th century A.D.

===Other Religions in India===

[[Christianity]] arrived in India in the first century A.D., possibly through the travels of the [[Apostle Thomas]], whose tomb in the Indian city of Chennai is a major pilgrimage site for Christians in India.

[[Islam]] arrived in the latter half of the 8th century A.D. as a consequence of both war and trade. It continued to spread with invasions, wars and forced conversions by Afghans and Turkic Mongols. They slowly integrated into the society and formed India's Islamic tradition. The [[Taj Mahal]], India's national monument, was built by a Muslim emperor named Shah Jahan. Islam is practiced by around 13.4% of all Indians.
[[Image:Taj Mahal.jpg|thumb|Taj Mahal]]

Although small in number, India does have a Jewish community. The first identifiably [[Judaism|Jewish]] migrants arrived in India as the Bene Israel group. There is some debate as to the Jewishness of a possibly older group of Indians in the Northeastern part of the country called the Bnei Menashe.

===Religious Persecution===

While for many years India has been known as an area of the world where a melting pot of religions could be practiced freely, troubling and persistent persecution against [[Christian]]s by the [[Hindu]] majority arose in the 1990s and has continued since that time. In October 2008, 38 Christians were killed and 30,000 fled from efforts of Hindu nationalist militants to force them to convert to Hinduism.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27380721</ref>

There are also frequent attacks upon Indian Christians by [[Muslims]] in India, who make up a large proportion of the population. They subject the Indian Christian population to harrassment and intimidation, particularly those who were previously Muslims. In 2006, a Muslim who converted to Christianity in the Indian state of Kashmir was shot dead by [[Jihadism|Jihadist]] militants.<ref>http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=6705</ref>

==Government==
According to its Constitution, India is a "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic." Like the United States, India has a federal form of government. However, the central government in India has greater power in relation to its states, and has adopted a British-style parliamentary system.

The government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the president, whose duties are largely ceremonial. A special electoral college elects the president and vice president indirectly for 5-year terms. Their terms are staggered, and the vice president does not automatically become president following the death or removal from office of the president.

Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), led by the prime minister. The president appoints the prime minister, who is designated by legislators of the political party or coalition commanding a parliamentary majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house). The president then appoints subordinate ministers on the advice of the prime minister.
[[File:Delhi Tomb of Imam Zamin Qutub Minar Complex.jpg|thumb|left|Tomb of Imam Zamin Qutub, Delhi.]]
India's bicameral Parliament consists of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha.

The legislatures of the states and union territories elect 233 members to the Rajya Sabha, and the president appoints another 12. The members of the Rajya Sabha serve 6-year terms, with one-third up for election every 2 years. The Lok Sabha consists of 545 members, who serve 5-year terms; 543 are directly elected, and two are appointed.

India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and 25 other justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

India has 28 states* and 7 union territories. At the state level, some legislatures are bicameral, patterned after the two houses of the national parliament. The states' chief ministers are responsible to the legislatures in the same way the prime minister is responsible to Parliament.

Each state also has a presidentially appointed governor, who may assume certain broad powers when directed by the central government. The central government exerts greater control over the union territories than over the states, although some territories have gained more power to administer their own affairs. Local governments in India have less autonomy than their counterparts in the United States. Some states are trying to revitalize the traditional village councils, or panchayats, to promote popular democratic participation at the village level, where much of the population still lives. Over half a million panchayats exist throughout India.

<br>

==Principal Government Officials==
*President--Pratibha Patil
*Vice President--Mohammed Hamid Ansari
*Prime Minister--Manmohan Singh
*Home Minister--Shivraj Patil
*Minister of External Affairs--Pranab Mukherjee
*Ambassador to the U.S.--Ronen Sen
*Ambassador to the UN--Nirupam Sen

===Politics ===
The governing coalition led by the Indian National Congress sailed to a decisive victory in India’s parliamentary elections in May 2009, adding 57 seats. The election gave a second term to prime minister Manmohan Singh, age 77, a soft-spoken economic reformer, and ended the prospect of political instability in the world’s most populous democracy. The election confirmed that Sonia Gandhi, age 62, dominates the Congress Party. She is the the Italian-born widow of the assassinated former prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and the daughter-in-law of the prime minister before him, [[Indira Gandhi]], who was also assasinated. The Congress-led coalition built its near-majority with an appeal to the rural poor. During its first term, buoyed by robust economic growth, it used record government revenues to increase social spending, not just raising health and education budgets, but also starting an ambitious public works program in the countryside and a costly loan repayment waiver for farmers. Mrs. Gandhi won support by casting herself as a leader who relinquished power, turning down her party’s appeals to become prime minister, first in 2004 and again this time. Instead, she chose the soft-spoken economist, Mr. Singh, and between them, they controlled the party and the government. She took care of the politics of keeping the coalition together, while he served as the chief executive who followed her advice.

[[File:India-14.jpg|thumb|390px]]
Emerging as the nation's single largest party in the April/May 2004 Lok Sabha election, Congress currently leads a coalition government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Party President Sonia Gandhi was re-elected by the Party National Executive in May 2005. Also a Member of Parliament, she heads the Congress Lok Sabha delegation. Congress prides itself as a secular, left of center party, with a long history of political dominance. Although its performance in national elections had steadily declined during the last 12 years, its surprise victory in 2004 was a result of recruiting strong allies into the UPA, the anti-incumbency factor among voters, and its courtship of India's many poor, rural and Muslim voters. Congress political fortunes suffered badly in the 1990s, as many traditional supporters were lost to emerging regional and caste-based parties, such as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, but have rebounded since its May 2004 ascension to power. It currently rules either directly or in coalition with its allies in 9 states. In November 2005, the Congress regained the Chief Ministership of Jammu and Kashmir state, under a power-sharing agreement.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Rajnath Singh, holds the second-largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee serves as Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party, and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani is Leader of the Opposition. The Hindu-nationalist BJP draws its political strength mainly from the "Hindi Belt" in the northern and western regions of India.

The party holds power in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa--in coalition with the Biju Janata Dal. Popularly viewed as the party of the northern upper caste and trading communities, the BJP made strong inroads into lower castes in recent national and state assembly elections. The party must balance the competing interests of Hindu nationalists, (who advocate construction of a temple on a disputed site in Ayodhya, and other primarily religious issues), and center-right modernizers who see the BJP as a party of economic and political reform.
[[Image:Haveli in Mandawa, India.jpg|240px|right|Haveli in Mandawa.]]

Four Communist and Marxist parties are united in a bloc called the "Left Front," which controls 57 parliamentary seats. The Left Front rules the states of West Bengal and Kerala. Although it has not joined the government, Left Front support provides the crucial seats necessary for the UPA to retain power in New Delhi; without its support, the UPA government would fall. It advocates a secular and Communist ideology and opposes many aspects of economic liberalization and globalization, resulting in dissonance with Prime Minister Singh's liberal economic approach.

==Foreign Relations==
India's size, population, and strategic location give it a prominent voice in international affairs, and its growing economic strength, military prowess, and scientific and technical capacity give it added weight. The end of the Cold War dramatically affected Indian foreign policy. India remains a leader of the developing world and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). India is now strengthening its political and commercial ties with the United States, Japan, the European Union, Iran, China, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. India is an active member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

Always an active member of the United Nations, India now seeks a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. India has a long tradition of participating in UN peacekeeping operations.

==Bilateral and Regional Relations==

===Tense relations with Pakistan===

India and Pakistan have been locked in a tense rivalry since the partition of the subcontinent upon achieving independence from Great Britain in 1947. The principal source of contention has been Kashmir, whose Hindu Maharaja at that time chose to join India, although a majority of his subjects were Muslim. India maintains that his decision and subsequent elections in Kashmir have made it an integral part of India. This dispute triggered wars between the two countries in 1947 and 1965 and provoked the Kargil conflict in 1999.

Pakistan and India fought a war in December 1971 following a political crisis in what was then East Pakistan and the flight of millions of Bengali refugees to India. The brief conflict left the situation largely unchanged in the west, where the two armies reached an impasse, but a decisive Indian victory in the east resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.
[[File:Iran Pakistan India gas pipeline.JPG|thumb|left|300px|Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.]]
Since the 1971 war, Pakistan and India have made slow progress toward normalization of relations. In July 1972, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto met in the Indian hill station of Simla. They signed an agreement by which India would return all personnel and captured territory in the west and the two countries would "settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations." Diplomatic and trade relations were re-established in 1976.

The 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused new strains between India and Pakistan. Pakistan supported the Afghan resistance, while India implicitly supported the Soviet occupation. In the following eight years, India voiced increasing concern over Pakistani arms purchases, U.S. military aid to Pakistan, and Pakistan's nuclear weapons program. In an effort to curtail tensions, the two countries formed a joint commission. In December 1988, Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto concluded a pact not to attack each other's nuclear facilities and initiated agreements on cultural exchanges and civil aviation.

In 1997, high-level Indo-Pakistani talks resumed after a three-year pause. The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan met twice, and the foreign secretaries conducted three rounds of talks. In June 1997 at Lahore, the foreign secretaries identified eight "outstanding issues" around which continuing talks would be focused. The dispute over the status of Jammu and Kashmir, an issue since partition, remains the major stumbling block in their dialogue. India maintains that the entire former princely state is an integral part of the Indian union, while Pakistan insists upon the implementation of UN resolutions calling for self-determination for the people of the state.

In September 1997, the talks broke down over the structure of how to deal with the issues of Kashmir and peace and security. Pakistan advocated that separate working groups treat each issue. India responded that the two issues be taken up along with six others on a simultaneous basis. In May 1998 India, and then Pakistan, conducted nuclear tests. Attempts to restart dialogue between the two nations were given a major boost by the February 1999 meeting of both Prime Ministers in Lahore and their signing of three agreements. These efforts were stalled by the intrusion of Pakistani-backed forces into Indian-held territory near Kargil in May 1999 (that nearly turned into full scale war), and by the military coup in Pakistan that overturned the Nawaz Sharif government in October the same year. In July 2001, Mr. Vajpayee and General Pervez Musharraf, leader of Pakistan after the coup, met in Agra, but talks ended after two days without result.

After an attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001, India-Pakistan relations cooled further as India accused Pakistan of involvement. Tensions increased, fueled by killings in Jammu and Kashmir, peaking in a troop buildup by both sides in early 2002.

Prime Minister Vajpayee's April 18, 2003 speech in Srinagar (Kashmir) revived bilateral efforts to normalize relations. In November 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf agreed to a ceasefire, which still holds, along the Line-of-Control in Jammu and Kashmir. After a series of confidence building measures, Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Musharraf met on the sidelines of the January 2004 SAARC summit in Islamabad and agreed to commence a Composite Dialogue addressing outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, including Kashmir. The UPA government has continued the Composite Dialogue with Pakistan.

In February 2004, India and Pakistan agreed to restart the "2+6" Composite Dialogue formula, which provides for talks on Peace and Security and Jammu and Kashmir, followed by technical and Secretary-level discussions on six other bilateral disputes: Siachen Glacier, Wuller Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project, Sir Creek estuary, Terrorism and Drug Trafficking, Economic and Commercial cooperation, and the Promotion of Friendly Exchanges in various fields. The Foreign Secretary talks resumed in November 2006, after a three-month delay following the July 11, 2006 terrorist bombings in Mumbai. The meeting generated modest progress, with the two sides agreeing to establish a joint mechanism on counter-terrorism and agreeing to a follow-on meeting in February 2007. The restart of the Composite Dialogue process is especially significant, given the almost six years that transpired since the two sides agreed to this formula in 1997-98.

Following the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, the two governments coordinated relief efforts and opened access points along the Line-of-Control to allow relief supplies to flow from India to Pakistan and to allow Kashmiris from both sides to visit one another.

===South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)===

Certain aspects of India's relations within the subcontinent are conducted through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Its members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with the People's Republic of China, Iran, Japan, European Union, Republic of Korea, and the U.S. as observers. Established in 1985, SAARC encourages cooperation in agriculture, rural development, science and technology, culture, health, population control, narcotics, and terrorism.

SAARC has intentionally stressed these "core issues" and avoided those which could prove divisive, although political dialogue is often conducted on the margins of SAARC meetings. In 1993, India and its SAARC partners signed an agreement gradually to lower tariffs within the region. Forward movement in SAARC had slowed because of tension between India and Pakistan, and the SAARC summit scheduled for 1999 was not held until January 2002. In addition, to boost the process of normalizing India's relationship with Pakistan, the January 2004 SAARC summit in Islamabad produced an agreement to establish a South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA). All the member governments have ratified SAFTA, which was slated to come into force on January 1, 2006, with a series of graduated tariff cuts through 2015. As of December 2006, however, the FTA partners were still negotiating sensitive product lists, rules of origin, and technical assistance. India hosted the 2007 SAARC summit, which called for greater regional cooperation on trade, environmental, social, and counterterrorism issues.

===Relations with China===

Despite suspicions remaining from a 1962 border conflict between India and [[China]] and continuing territorial/boundary disputes, Sino-Indian relations have improved gradually since 1988. Both countries have sought to reduce tensions along the frontier, expand trade and cultural ties, and normalize relations. Their bilateral trade reached $24 billion in 2006. China is India's second-largest trading partner behind the U.S.

A series of high-level visits between the two nations has improved relations. In December 1996, Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited India on a tour of South Asia. While in New Delhi, he and the Indian Prime Minister signed a series of confidence-building measures along the disputed border, including troop reductions and weapons limitations.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao invited Prime Minister Vajpayee to visit China in June 2003. They recognized the common goals of both countries and made the commitment to build a "long-term constructive and cooperative partnership" to peacefully promote their mutual political and economic goals without encroaching upon their good relations with other countries. In Beijing, Prime Minister Vajpayee proposed the designation of special representatives to discuss the border dispute at the political level, a process that is still under way.

In November 2006, President Hu Jintao made an official state visit to India, further cementing Sino-Indian relations. India and China are building on growing economic ties to improve other aspects of their relationship such as counter-terrorism, energy, and trade. In another symbol of improved ties, the two countries opened the Nathu La Pass to bilateral trade in July 2006 for the first time in 40 years. Though it is the first direct land trade route in decades, trade is expected to be local and small since the pass is open only four months a year.

===Russia===

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the emergence of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) had major repercussions for Indian foreign policy. India's substantial trade with the region plummeted after the Soviet collapse and has yet to recover. Longstanding military supply relationships were similarly disrupted due to questions over financing. Russia nonetheless remains India's largest supplier of military systems and spare parts.

Russia and India have not renewed the 1971 Indo-Soviet Peace and Friendship Treaty and follow what both describe as a more pragmatic, less ideological relationship. The visit of Russian President Boris Yeltsin to India in January 1993 helped cement this new relationship. The pace of high-level visits has since increased, as has discussion of major defense purchases. UPA leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Singh visited Russia in July 2005. President Vladimir Putin traveled to India in January 2007 to attend an Indo-Russia Summit and was the guest of honor at India's Republic Day celebrations.

==Defense==
The supreme command of the Indian armed forces is vested in the President of India. Policies concerning India's defense, and the armed forces as a whole, are formulated and confirmed by the Cabinet.

===Indian Army===

The Indian Army numbers over 1.1 million strong and fields 34 divisions. Its primary task is to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country against external threats. The Army has been heavily committed in the recent past to counterterrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the in the Northeast. Its current modernization program focuses on obtaining equipment to be used in combating terror. The Army often provides aid to civil authorities and assists the government in organizing relief operations.

===Indian Navy===

The Indian Navy is by far the most capable navy in the region. The Navy's primary missions are the defense of India and of India's vital sea lines of communication. India relies on the sea for 90% of its oil and natural gas and over 90% of its foreign trade. The Navy currently operates one aircraft carrier with two on order, 14 submarines, and 15 major surface combatants. It is capable of projecting power within the Indian Ocean basin and occasionally operates in the South China Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Fleet introduction of the Brahmos cruise missile and the possible lease of nuclear submarines from Russia will add significantly to the Indian Navy's flexibility and striking power.

Although small, the Indian Coast Guard has been expanding rapidly in recent years. Indian Navy officers typically fill top Coast Guard positions to ensure coordination between the two services. India's Coast Guard is responsible for control of India's huge exclusive economic zone.

===Indian Air Force===

The Indian Air Force is becoming a 21st century force through modernization, new tactics and the acquisition of modern aircraft, such as the SU-30MKI, a new advanced jet trainer (BAE Hawk) and the indigenously produced advanced light [[helicopter]] (Dhruv). In June 2007, the Indian Government announced intentions to release a request for proposals for 126 multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

==Economy==

===General overview===
[[File:India...jpg|right|340px]]

India's population is estimated at more than 1.1 billion and is growing at 1.3% a year. It has the world's 12th largest economy--and the third largest in [[Asia]] behind [[Japan]] and [[China]]--with total [[GDP]] of around $1 trillion ($1,000 billion). Services, industry, and [[agriculture]] account for 55%, 27%, and 18% of GDP respectively. Nearly two-thirds of the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. 700 million Indians live on $2 per day or less, but there is a large and growing [[middle class]] of 325-350 million with disposable income for consumer goods.

India is continuing to move forward with market-oriented economic reforms that began in 1991. Recent reforms include liberalized foreign investment and exchange regimes, industrial decontrol, significant reductions in [[tariff]]s and other trade barriers, reform and modernization of the financial sector, significant adjustments in government monetary and fiscal policies, and safeguarding intellectual property rights.

Real GDP growth for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 was 9.4%, up from 9.0% growth in the previous year. Growth for the year ending March 31, 2008 is expected to be between 8.5-9.0%. Foreign portfolio and direct investment inflows have risen significantly in recent years. They have contributed to $255 billion in foreign exchange reserves by June 2007. Government receipts from privatization were about $3 billion in fiscal year 2003-2004, but the privatization program has stalled since then.

Economic growth is constrained by inadequate infrastructure, a cumbersome bureaucracy, corruption, labor market rigidities, regulatory and foreign investment controls, the "reservation" of key products for small-scale industries, and high (although declining) fiscal deficits. The outlook for further trade liberalization is mixed. India eliminated quotas on 1,420 consumer imports in 2002 and has incrementally lowered non-agricultural customs duties in recent successive budgets. However, the tax structure is complex, with compounding effects of various taxes.

The [[United States]] is India's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in 2006 was $32 billion. Principal U.S. exports are diagnostic or lab reagents, aircraft and parts, advanced machinery, [[cotton]], [[fertilizer]]s, ferrous waste/scrap metal, and computer hardware. Major U.S. imports from India include [[textile]]s and ready-made garments, Internet-enabled services, agricultural and related products, gems and jewelry, leather products, and chemicals.

The rapidly growing software sector is boosting service exports and modernizing India's economy. Software exports crossed $28 billion in FY 2006-2007, while business process outsourcing (BPO) revenues hit $8.3 billion in 2006-2007. Personal computer penetration is 14 per 1,000 persons. The cellular/mobile market surged to 140 million subscribers by November 2006. The country has 54 million [[cable TV]] customers.

The United States is India's largest investment partner, with a 13% share. India's total inflow of U.S. direct investment is estimated at more than $9 billion through 2006. Proposals for direct foreign investment are considered by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and generally receive government approval. Automatic approvals are available for investments involving up to 100% foreign equity, depending on the kind of industry. Foreign investment is particularly sought after in power generation, telecommunications, ports, roads, petroleum exploration/processing, and mining.

India's external debt was $155 billion in 2006-2007, up from $126 billion in 2005-2006. Foreign assistance was approximately $3 billion in 2006-2007, with the United States providing about $126 million in development assistance. The [[World Bank]] plans to double aid to India to almost $3 billion a year, with focus on infrastructure, education, health, and rural livelihoods.

===Agriculture===
[[Image:Varma Lady Carrying Fruits.jpg|thumb|Lady Carrying Fruits by Ravi Varma.]]
India has a cultivated area of 138 million hectares which almost equals that of the [[European Union]]. A lot of the land has good agriculture potential especially where water supplies are available. Arable farming, especially cereals is the main kind of farming. India, which has two thirds of its working population relying on the land to earn a living, desperately needs to improve agriculture production in order to develop its economy.

When India became independent from [[Britain]] in 1947 the Indian government recognized agriculture as a key area for economic development. Despite this there has been limited modernization of the sector. There hasn’t been an effective land reform package introduced to redistribute land from wealthy landlords to landless peasants. In the 1990’s almost half of rural families had plots of 0.5 hectares or no land at all, but a quarter of India’s agricultural land was owned by five percent of rich landowning families. This has made it nearly impossible to mechanize and introduce modern farm practices.

The dominant type of farming throughout India is intensive [[Subsistence farming]]. It is used especially in rural areas with high population density, where people depend on being able to feed themselves. [[Rice]] is very important for this type of farming, especially in the Indus and Ganges flood plains. Other crops such as wheat and millet are grown in drier parts of peninsular India. Farming is a family affair, with all planting, flooding and harvesting done by hand. One of the reasons rural Indians have such large families is to provide free labour to help harvest crops. This adds to the pressure on India’s service sector and India’s agriculture sector to meet the demands of India’s ever-growing population.

India is a country that has benefited from the Green revolution. This refers to the development and introduction of genetically modified, high yield varieties of staple crops, such as rice and wheat. These ‘miracle’ crops produce high yields and are resistant to disease and pests. Due to the Green revolution, India has managed to become a net exporter of food.

There is however some problems linked to the Green revolution. It depends on large inputs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that may be costly and harmful to the soil in the long run. Labour is often replaced with machinery, so rural unemployment goes up and more people leave the land and go to towns, increasing rural-urban migration. A well-educated farm population and capital investment are needed. It only really benefits comparatively few, large-scale farmers; large numbers of small-scale farmers may not be able to benefit from the process.

For a large number of Indian farmers a better solution would be the introduction of more intermediate technology and a more effective programme of land reform. While the Green revolution has brought some positive results, the vast majority of India’s rice farmers use traditional farm practices that depend heavily on the natural environment. The need to match food production to match India’s growing population is a major concern for government.

===Industry===

When India became independent in 1947 it had a largely underdeveloped Industrial system, with textiles and food processing been the key industries in the country. Only two percent of the working population had been employed in industry, which was concentrated in the major cities; [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]] and [[Chennai]]. On gaining independence the new government was determined to reduce India’s dependence on imported goods and to promote greater wealth and employment throughout the country.

The size of India’s population provided it a large home market and the country had some natural resources (coal and Iron) a large and cheap labour force and outputs from agriculture (cotton, Jute) Mineral resources encouraged the government to develop heavy industries, such as Iron and steel, shipbuilding and chemicals. Despite these advantages development was relatively slow and only benefited a few growth centers. In addition, by the 1980’s, many heavy industries were in decline, Industrial policy has changed to emphasize Agri-industries, consumer goods industries and small craft industries, rural development (community based development and self-help schemes) and high technology industries.

Agri-industries would be advantageous to India in that it already employs a large number of people in the agricultural sector. The development of fertilizers, machinery and food processing benefits rural communities and helps in the modernization of India’s agricultural system.

[[Consumer goods]] industries are more labour intensive than large-scale heavy industries, so more jobs are created as a result. They also benefit from low labour costs and traditional skills, which make them more competitive in, export markets. E.g. jewellary, clothing, leather goods etc.

With more than 70% of India’s population living in rural areas, jobs need to be taken to these people rather than encouraging migration to urban areas. This involves support for community development projects and self-help schemes that improve skills levels among the workforce.

High technology (Hi-tech) industries are attracted to India by the growing number of India’s skilled workers (Which produces more university graduates than USA and Canada combined) low costs and improved communication systems. These high value industries add a modern face to Indian industry. Many major multinationals, such as [[IBM]] and [[Texas instruments]], have located in India. Large numbers of locally owned companies have also set up to supply software components to western markets. (See [[Spin-off Effect]])

Although the government has tried to spread industry across the country, this growing sector remains concentrated in a growing number of city regions. The most important are [[Calcutta]], [[Bombay]] and [[Bangalore]]. Bangalore is known as ‘India’s silicon valley’ as a result of all the high-tech industries which have set up there.
===Education===
[[File:Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple in Amritsar India.jpg|thumb|300px|Sikh pilgrim at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.]]
India has a large number of universities, but the quality ranges from poor to medicore. The best students head to the U.S. or Britain. To cover this weakness, the government in July 2009 announced plans to expand the higher education budget by 40%, to $3.1-billion, for 2009-10.

The government in 2009 allotted an extra $435-million to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology, and $170.5-million more to open 16 central universities in states that lack one. In keeping with its agenda of inclusive economic growth, the government has also announced interest-free loans for disadvantaged students to take technical and professional courses.

To increase India’s college-going rate to 21% by 2017, Prime Minister Singh has announced plans to start five new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology, seven new Indian Institutes of Management, and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology — thus doubling the number of top-tier institutions in the country. He also wants to set up 16 central universities, 14 “world class” universities, and almost 400 colleges.

==History==
See [[History of India]]

==Further reading==
* Cohen, Stephen P. ''India: Emerging Power'' (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0815715013/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-4827826-5463040#reader-link excerpt and online search from Amazon.com]
* Guha, Ramachandra. ''India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/India-After-Gandhi-History-Democracy/dp/0060958588/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Nilekani, Nandan. ''Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation'' (2009) business in India [http://www.amazon.com/Imagining-India-Idea-Renewed-Nation/dp/1594202044/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545602&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Panagariya, Arvind. ''India: The Emerging Giant'' (2008) 544 pp., The major recent history; for advanced readers. [http://www.amazon.com/India-Emerging-Giant-Arvind/dp/0195315030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222697254&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Wolpert, Stanley. ''India'' (4th ed. 2009), 264pp; excellent overview and introduction [http://www.amazon.com/India-Stanley-Wolpert/dp/0520260325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255296028&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
===Guides===
* ''India'' (Lonely Planet Guide) by Sarina Singh et al. (2007) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Country-Guide-Sarina-Singh/dp/1741043085/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* '' India'' (Eyewitness Travel Guides by DK Publishing (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Publishing/dp/0789483955/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545500&sr=1-18 excerpt and text search]
* ''India - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette'' by Nicki Grihault (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/India-Culture-Smart-customs-etiquette/dp/1857333055/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-5 excerpt and text search]
* ''The Rough Guide to India'' (2008) [http://www.amazon.com/Rough-Guide-India-Travel-Guides/dp/1858289947/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242545228&sr=1-10 excerpt and text search]

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>

== See also ==
*[[World History Lecture Three]] for more information on Ancient India.
*[[Anti-conversion legislation in India]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Indian Painting]]

----

{{Copyright Details (US Government)|source=[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3454.htm]}}

{{Asian Countries}}
[[Category:India]]
[[Category:Indian History]]

Tintin

2013-03-18T05:59:26Z

RKLuffy88: /* References */

The '''Adventures of Tintin''' is a series of [[comic book]]s written by [[Belgian]] [[Hergé]].<ref>The Official Tintin Site [http://www.tintin.com/#aventures/albums/albumh.swf&lang=fr/&mc=_root.ban7]</ref> The books feature adventures of intrepid boy reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy. Originally written in [[French]], they have been translated into many languages, including English. The Tintin books have been popular around the world for over 70 years.

* Tintin, the creation of the Belgian comic-strip artist known as Hergé (1907–1983), is a boyish newspaper reporter of remarkable courage, who travels the world in pursuit of stories that reliably expose him to life-threatening danger. He appeared first in a story called “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets,” in which the brave youngster went to the Soviet Union to report on the world Josef Stalin was building — a world of artificial famine, phony elections, and political assassination. These stories, originally created for a children’s supplement to the conservative Roman Catholic weekly Le XXe Siècle, were an instant success. Book-length collections have sold over 200 million copies in 50 languages. ([http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286447/wonderful-adventures-tintin-frederica-mathewes-green National Review])
It has also been made into a movie by Steven Spielberg<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983193/</ref>.

==Tintin characters==
*[[Tintin]], the main character is a newspaper reporter
*[[Snowy]] ([[French language|French]]: ''Milou''), Tintin's faithful dog
*[[Captain Haddock]], seafaring captain and Tintin's best friend
*[[Professor Calculus]] (French: ''Le professeur Tournesol''), genius professor
*[[Thomson and Thompson]] (French: ''Dupond et Dupont''), clumsy detectives

==Tintin albums <ref>http://www.thetintinshop.uk.com/acatalog/CollectorsBookList1.pdf</ref>==
*[[Tintin in the Land of the Soviets]]
*[[Tintin in the Congo]]
*[[Tintin in America]]
*[[Cigars of the Pharaoh]]
*[[The Blue Lotus]]
*[[The Broken Ear]]
*[[The Black Island]]
*[[King Ottokar's Sceptre]]
*[[The Crab with the Golden Claws]]
*[[The Shooting Star]]
*[[The Secret of the Unicorn]]
*[[Red Rackham's Treasure]]
*[[The Seven Crystal Balls]]
*[[Prisoners of the Sun]]
*[[Land of Black Gold]]
*[[Destination Moon]]
*[[Explorers on the Moon]]
*[[The Calculus Affair]]
*[[The Red Sea Sharks]]
*[[Tintin in Tibet]]
*[[The Castafiore Emerald]]
*[[Flight 714]]
*[[Tintin and the Picaros]]

==Television Adaptations==
*''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' (Belvision Studios, 1958-1962)
*''The Adventures of Tintin'' (Nelvana Studios, 1991-1992)

==Movies==
*''The Crab With the Golden Claws'' (Stop-motion animated French film, 1947)
*''Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece'' (Live-action French film, 1961)
*''Tintin and the Blue Oranges'' (Live-action French film, 1964)
*''Tintin and the Temple of the Sun'' (Animated film, 1969)
*''Tintin and the Lake of Sharks'' (Animated film, 1972)
*''The Adventures of Tintin'' (Film directed by Steven Spielberg, 2011)

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External Links==
*[http://www.tintinologist.org/ Unofficial Tintin Internet Database]
*[http://www.tintinaroundtheworld.info/ List of Tintin Comics Translated into Different Languages]

[[category:cartoon characters]]

Tintin

2013-03-18T05:59:03Z

RKLuffy88: Added TV and film adaptations, and External links

The '''Adventures of Tintin''' is a series of [[comic book]]s written by [[Belgian]] [[Hergé]].<ref>The Official Tintin Site [http://www.tintin.com/#aventures/albums/albumh.swf&lang=fr/&mc=_root.ban7]</ref> The books feature adventures of intrepid boy reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy. Originally written in [[French]], they have been translated into many languages, including English. The Tintin books have been popular around the world for over 70 years.

* Tintin, the creation of the Belgian comic-strip artist known as Hergé (1907–1983), is a boyish newspaper reporter of remarkable courage, who travels the world in pursuit of stories that reliably expose him to life-threatening danger. He appeared first in a story called “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets,” in which the brave youngster went to the Soviet Union to report on the world Josef Stalin was building — a world of artificial famine, phony elections, and political assassination. These stories, originally created for a children’s supplement to the conservative Roman Catholic weekly Le XXe Siècle, were an instant success. Book-length collections have sold over 200 million copies in 50 languages. ([http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/286447/wonderful-adventures-tintin-frederica-mathewes-green National Review])
It has also been made into a movie by Steven Spielberg<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983193/</ref>.

==Tintin characters==
*[[Tintin]], the main character is a newspaper reporter
*[[Snowy]] ([[French language|French]]: ''Milou''), Tintin's faithful dog
*[[Captain Haddock]], seafaring captain and Tintin's best friend
*[[Professor Calculus]] (French: ''Le professeur Tournesol''), genius professor
*[[Thomson and Thompson]] (French: ''Dupond et Dupont''), clumsy detectives

==Tintin albums <ref>http://www.thetintinshop.uk.com/acatalog/CollectorsBookList1.pdf</ref>==
*[[Tintin in the Land of the Soviets]]
*[[Tintin in the Congo]]
*[[Tintin in America]]
*[[Cigars of the Pharaoh]]
*[[The Blue Lotus]]
*[[The Broken Ear]]
*[[The Black Island]]
*[[King Ottokar's Sceptre]]
*[[The Crab with the Golden Claws]]
*[[The Shooting Star]]
*[[The Secret of the Unicorn]]
*[[Red Rackham's Treasure]]
*[[The Seven Crystal Balls]]
*[[Prisoners of the Sun]]
*[[Land of Black Gold]]
*[[Destination Moon]]
*[[Explorers on the Moon]]
*[[The Calculus Affair]]
*[[The Red Sea Sharks]]
*[[Tintin in Tibet]]
*[[The Castafiore Emerald]]
*[[Flight 714]]
*[[Tintin and the Picaros]]

==Television Adaptations==
*''Hergé's Adventures of Tintin'' (Belvision Studios, 1958-1962)
*''The Adventures of Tintin'' (Nelvana Studios, 1991-1992)

==Movies==
*''The Crab With the Golden Claws'' (Stop-motion animated French film, 1947)
*''Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece'' (Live-action French film, 1961)
*''Tintin and the Blue Oranges'' (Live-action French film, 1964)
*''Tintin and the Temple of the Sun'' (Animated film, 1969)
*''Tintin and the Lake of Sharks'' (Animated film, 1972)
*''The Adventures of Tintin'' (Film directed by Steven Spielberg, 2011)

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==External Links--
*[http://www.tintinologist.org/ Unofficial Tintin Internet Database]
*[http://www.tintinaroundtheworld.info/ List of Tintin Comics Translated into Different Languages]

[[category:cartoon characters]]

Alexander Lukashenko

2013-01-08T02:27:50Z

RKLuffy88: Corrected his place of birth on the info box

{{Dictator bio
| image =
| name =Alexander Lukashenko
| birth =August 30, 1954<br/>Kopys, Vitebsk oblast, Belarus
| parents =unknown
| religion =Atheist
| education =Agricultural academy, Horky<br/>Mogilev State University
| spouse =Galina Lukashenko
| children =Kolja<br/>Viktor<br/>Dzmitry Lukashenko
| country =[[Belarus]]
| polbeliefs =[[Socialism]]
| party =Belaya Rus
| dictatordate =1994
| war =n/a
| deathnumber =n/a
}}
'''Alexander Lukashenko''' is the leader of [[Belarus]] since 1994. During his tenure, he has been admonished by the [[United States]], [[European Union]] and other organizations for suppressing [[democracy]] and trying to re-instill [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] practices on the country. Due to unfair election practices, such as accusations of squashing free press and election rigging, Lukashenko was issued travel bans by the United States and the EU. His biggest partners are [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Hugo Chavez]] and [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]].

== Pre-politics ==
Lukashenko was born in Kopys, a city in the Vitebsk oblast in 1954. After high school, Lukashenko graduated from Mogilev State University and the Belarusian Agricultural Academy and served time with the Soviet Frontier (Border) Guards. <ref>http://www.president.gov.by/en/press10003.html</ref>

==References==

<References/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukashenko, Alexander}}

[[Category:Heads of State]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Dictators]]

Ring-necked pheasant

2012-11-23T05:55:40Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "The '''Ring-necked pheasant''' (''Phasianus colchicus''), called '''common pheasant''' in Europe, is a medium-sized game bird in the family Phasianidae. It is regarded as the..."

The '''Ring-necked pheasant''' (''Phasianus colchicus''), called '''common pheasant''' in [[Europe]], is a medium-sized game bird in the family Phasianidae. It is regarded as the type genus of the Phasianidae family.

The ring-necked pheasant's native range is most of [[Eurasia]], but populations have been introduced to other countries, most notably North America. It is the state bird of [[South Dakota]].

[[Category: Phasianidae]]

Turkey (bird)

2012-11-23T05:52:58Z

RKLuffy88: Added Phasianidae category

{{Taxonomy
|name=Turkey
|image=Turkey bird.jpg
|caption=Common turkey<br/>''Meleagris gallopavo''
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|branch=Deuterostomia
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Aves
|subclass=Neornithes
|infraclass=Neoaves
|superorder=Gallomorphae
|order=Galliformes
|suborder=
|infraorder=
|superfamily=Phasianoidea
|families=
|family=Phasianidae
|subfamily=Meleagridinae
|supertribe=
|tribe=
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=Meleagris
|subgenus=
|species=M. gallopavo<br/>M. ocellata
|binomialname=
|syn=
|sub=
|alt=
|regionimg=
|pop=
|conservation=
}}
'''Turkey''' is the name given to two species of North American bird, the common turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of Mexico, the eastern United States and Canada, and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellata'') of Central America. Of the two, the common turkey is classed as a game bird and hunted seasonally, as well as being the only wild bird successfully domesticated by man in the Western Hemisphere.

==Description==
The common turkey is a large bird, with males (called "toms" or "gobblers") up to 50 inches long and weighing up to 22 pounds. They bear iridescent dark bronze and green feathers, a large feather tassel on its breast, and a warty, red head with a fleshy ornament extending over the bill. Females ("hens") are a fader shade of brown, and about half the size of the males. The domesticated variety is commonly white, and being bred for its meat, considerably heavier.

Ocellated turkeys are smaller than their northern counterparts, with brightly-tipped feathers and blue-skinned heads with yellow bumps, as well as a yellow crown above its bill wattle.

==Domestication==
A Mexican subspecies (''M. g. gallopavo'') was first domesticated by pre-Aztec people, who had started penning the birds around 800 B.C. According to studies published in the ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'', the turkey was first domesticated for their feathers, which were used as adornment or in ceremonies and rituals; this in turn was copied by the [[Anasazi]] in what is now the southwestern United States around 800 B.C.<ref>http://www.pnas.org/content/107/7/2807.full.pdf+html?sid=e048935f-fb81-4e71-b2c6-624f62835e23</ref> It was around 1100 A.D. that the birds were first used as an important food source by ancestors of the present-day [[Pueblo]]s<ref>http://news.discovery.com/history/native-americans-turkeys-domestication.html</ref>. Europeans first saw the domesticated turkey when the Spanish arrived in Mexico in 1519, and a short time later a number of these bird were taken to Europe, where they spread to farms throughout much of the continent. It was the English who brought back their domesticated version to the American colonies in the early-17th century, where they eventually became a staple of the diet, and the symbol of the [[Thanksgiving]] holiday.

The name "turkey" was first applied to the bird in England, a transliteration of the name then applied to the [[guinea fowl]] (''Numida meleagris'') of Islamic, or "Turkish," lands in northern Africa.

==References==
<small><references></small>

==External Links==
*[http://enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=turkey&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=2 Wild turkey] at eNature.com

[[Category:Birds]]
[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Meat]]
[[Category: Phasianidae]]

Category:Phasianidae

2012-11-22T08:15:43Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "The game birds of the family Phasianidae. Category: Galliformes"

The game birds of the family Phasianidae.

[[Category: Galliformes]]

Category:Galliformes

2012-11-22T08:15:02Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "Birds in the family Galliformes, including game birds and curassows. Category: Birds"

Birds in the family Galliformes, including game birds and curassows.

[[Category: Birds]]

A Charlie Brown Christmas

2012-07-31T02:34:44Z

RKLuffy88: Corrected the spelling of Schulz's name.

'''''A Charlie Brown Christmas''''' is an animated holiday special based on the ''[[Peanuts]]'' [[comic strip]] by [[Charles Schulz]]. Originally airing in 1965 on [[CBS]], it was the first of many animated specials based on the strip, and has since gone on to become one of the most successful, popular, and enduring animated specials in history.

Written by Schulz himself, and directed and animated by [[Bill Melendez]], ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' was a groundbreaking piece of television in many ways. The young characters were voiced by actual children, something that had not been done before that point. Another major point of departure from the orthodoxy of the day was the absence of a [[laugh track]]; Schulz believed that the audience was capable of figuring out when to laugh. <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-12-05-charlie-brown-christmas_x.htm</ref>

Despite its iconic status today, ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' was not without controversy at the time it was created. Network executives strongly opposed Schulz's decision to have Linus quote from Luke 2:8-14. Schulz, however, was adamant, as the scene was crucial to the show's theme (Charlie Brown's search for the true meaning of [[Christmas]] amid a flood of [[commercialism]].) Executive producer Lee Mendelson later recalled telling Schulz that "...you can't read from the [[Bible]] on network television;" both he and Bill Melendez worried that the show would be a failure. <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-12-05-charlie-brown-christmas_x.htm</ref>

Mendelson's concerns proved unfounded. When it first aired on December 9, 1965, ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' ranked number 2, with a rating of 28.8 and 46.6 per share. In other words, nearly half of the people watching television were watching the special. <ref>Mendelson, Lee. ''It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic.'' New York: Harper, 2006.</ref>

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Cartoons]][[Category:Animated Movies]]
[[Category: Greatest Conservative Movies]]

User talk:Jpatt

2012-06-19T02:50:31Z

RKLuffy88: /* Thanks for removing the It Gets Worse link from the Anti-Semite website! */ new section

== Archive 2008 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/Subway_Troll Here]

== Archive 2009 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2009]

== Archive 2010 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2010]

== Archive 2011 ==
[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:Jpatt/2011‎]

== Blank3r ==

Good job stopping him.[[User:JonM|JonM]] 14:40, 11 January 2012 (EST)

==Adambro==
Hi Jpatt, what did you mean by "AdamBro is clan but keep on eye on him. Sock puppets of BL4NK3R; NoohWicky, UtterMuppet, Maggie, B0LLL0X". Is he a sockpuppet ? --[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 17:04, 11 January 2012 (EST)
:AdamBro is clean, as far as socks are involved. He might be what Tony has said, so follow his future edits.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 17:10, 11 January 2012 (EST)
::I will, thanks for the info. --[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 17:15, 11 January 2012 (EST)

== Thank you ==

Thanks for the welcome and reverting vandalism on my user and talk page! I don't understand that vandal --- it was my first day and I don't think i wrote anything controversial, why would anyone do that to me? [[User:Lansing|Lansing]] 12:02, 12 January 2012 (EST)
:Get used to liberal intimidation. We can block their ideology but they counter with vandalism. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 12:15, 12 January 2012 (EST)
::What a shame, indeed. [[User:Lansing|Lansing]] 14:35, 13 January 2012 (EST)

I think KendallP/BostonBakedBeans23 realized he wasn't following the name rule, and so changed it so he wouldn't get blocked. [[User:DynaboyJ|DynaboyJ]] 14:17, 16 January 2012 (EST)
:You would like to see Kendall unblocked?--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 14:24, 16 January 2012 (EST)
::Yes, and thank you for unblocking him. [[User:DynaboyJ|DynaboyJ]] 14:28, 16 January 2012 (EST)

: Also, Thanks! --[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 20:03, 12 February 2012 (EST)

== Rubio ==

I'm curious as to why you reverted my edit? Everything I said was true and sourced. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 13:18, 20 January 2012 (EST)

Calling him a liberal is just tit for tat namecalling, but his support for PIPA is well documented. That should stay in the article.[[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 13:20, 20 January 2012 (EST)

:Add the PIPA stuff. Keep the liberal statement out. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 13:23, 20 January 2012 (EST)

::Thank you, I will. I don't apprive of name calling, either. [[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 13:25, 20 January 2012 (EST)

It wasn't done in namecalling. It has been stated by several members, including Andy, that any Republican supporting SOPA/PIPA is a liberal/rino no matter their record and stances. I questioned it but it was insisted. So I added what I did to Rubio since he was a sponsor. I don't consider Rubio liberal but I don't consider Lamar Smith liberal either. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 15:58, 20 January 2012 (EST)

Yes it is name calling. It was name calling when they did it to Lamar Smith and it was name calling when you did it right back to Rubio. Two wrongs don't make a right, and the proper response to an inappropriate edit is not another inappropriate edit. [[User:RachelW|RachelW]] 16:01, 20 January 2012 (EST)

:It's too early to label Rubio based on his supporting legislation. The Tea Party backs conservatives and Rubio. Also, I thought it was to early to label Scott Brown. I was wrong once. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 16:37, 20 January 2012 (EST)

== Vandalism ==

You do realise that you just reverted all my edits to the ones done by RickPeterson, who got blocked for inserting nonsense? Just saying... --[[User:GeorgeLi|GeorgeLi]] 16:24, 24 January 2012 (EST)
:Yea, Oops--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 16:26, 24 January 2012 (EST)
::Well, never mind. You fixed it now. I guess it gets confusing dealing with all those idiots. --[[User:GeorgeLi|GeorgeLi]] 16:27, 24 January 2012 (EST)

== MPR ==

Just letting you know that it was federal court that overturned Prop 8, not, as implied by your latest entry, a Californian court. Cheers. --[[User:DamianJohn|DamianJohn]] 17:23, 7 February 2012 (EST)

==Two issues==
*(a) Archive 107 from [http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Main_Page/Archive_index here] mistakenly brings up Archive 106;
*(b) [http://www.conservapedia.com/Talk:Main_Page/Archive_index/108 Talk:Main Page/Archive index/108] need to be added. Thanks. [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 11:51, 12 February 2012 (EST)

:Noted--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 22:02, 13 February 2012 (EST)

== Thanks ==

I wasn't aware I warranted vandalism :P Thanks for the reverts. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 19:37, 25 February 2012 (EST)

:You know what they say? Without evil we would never recognize good. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 20:44, 25 February 2012 (EST)

== Hi redneck ==

You don't have the skills to edit an encyclopedia. Please go, you monumental idiot. --[[User:Sextertainer|Sextertainer]] 13:47, 28 February 2012 (EST)
::Really, your brain is way too small. You can't write properly. Really. --[[User:Sextertainer|Sextertainer]] 13:48, 28 February 2012 (EST)

Your mom called, she said you are late for your LGBT counseling. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 15:23, 28 February 2012 (EST)

== Description ==

Hi Mr./Mrs. Jpatt,

(Please accept my apologies on the ambiguous greeting. Gender is difficult on the web without further research) Could you please give me a description of this web site? I'm writing about online media interfaces for a course at my university and would love to learn more.

Thank you,
Sarah

:Hi Sarah, try this [[Conservapedia:About]] and read about the wiki founder Andy Schlafly [[Andy_Schlafly]]. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 09:05, 2 March 2012 (EST)
::Thank you for the information. I will be in touch with Mr. Schlafly shortly. Sarah

==Judeo-Christian principles in the US Constitution==
Please show them to me. If there are none, please revert my editing of the United States of America page. - [[Rdsmith]] 10:42 (EST), 8 March 2012
: "all men are endowed by their Creator," In other words, the same era of people that wrote the Constitution, ratified the Declaration of Independence. I will not remove Judeo-Christian principles from the United States of America page. The Founders put us on the Gregorian calender. This means the Judeo-Christian.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 11:04, 8 March 2012 (EST)

::That is the Declaration of Independence, which is not law, it is a deist reference, and to cite Jefferson for Judeo-Christian values is moot (at least) as he created his own Bible where he cut the New Testament to present Jesus as good moral teacher who died. The Gregorian calender was the prevailing calender at the time, and creating a new calender would have been folly. Again, please show me exclusively Judeo-Christian principles in the US Constitution. [[Rdsmith]] 11:35 (EST), 8 March 2012

:::Why create a new calender when the Farsi and Chinese calenders already existed? Again, please stop trying to split hairs on the subject between secular and religion. We were not founded as a theocracy and we were not founded as a Godless nation either. The overblown "Jefferson was not religious" lovefest has been debunked already. Your "moot" point that nobody talks about is that Jefferson founded the American Bible Society and paid for the importation of 20000 Bibles. Look at the opening preambles of the 50 state constitutions and their references to God. [http://www.christianindex.org/617.article]. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 12:06, 8 March 2012 (EST)
::::I understand that this story has been circulating for many years in many forms but none of this is true. Jefferson did not found the American Bible Society. Neither he nor Congress paid for 20,000 Bibles to be imported. The 20,000 number comes from a proposed resolution in Congress to import Bibles because there were no printers in the US during the revolutionary war and we were obviously embargoed from importing Bibles during the war. After the war there was a real shortage. Jefferson really wasn't Christian in any sense: he may have believed in his own idea of God but he absolutely didn't accept the divinity of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, the triune person of Christ, etc. These beliefs are central to Christianity as far as I am aware. I may be wrong about whether evangelicals accept the various personages of Christ. Jefferson accepted none of them. I understand the desire of Christian men to associate important figures with their faiths but we wouldn't do this with a villain or a blasphemer and we oughtn't do it with a man who didn't adore Jesus Christ as his lord and savior but only as some random guy who lived in Palestine a long time ago. Nate [[User:NKeaton|Nate]] 13:06, 8 March 2012 (EST)

:::::I fixed my quote above. Jefferson did respect religion and is quoted praising the Bible. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 13:16, 8 March 2012 (EST)

::::The people living in the colonies were primarily accustomed to a European (therefore Christ-based) calender so using the Farsi or Chinese calenders would be of equal folly. I'm talking about the government of the United States and since the Articles of Confederation has been godless, as for America the nation, I'll agree it is has a strong Christian heritage (then again to question Christianity openly has been taboo until contemporary times).The "godliness" of the constitutions of the colonies range from freedom to religion to religious requirements for office (the latter being specifically opposed by the Constitution in Article VI). You can fixate on preambles all you want, all they state is ends, while I'm look at means, but I looked at the preambles of the constitutions of the states when America was founded, not very Judeo-Christian to me.

::::So, for a third time, in the context of " the United States Constitution was written; grounded on republican political principles and Judeo-Christian values," show me the specific Judeo-Christian values in the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution. If not, then I can show you the Enlightenment principles the government of this country was founded upon. The Declaration of Independence was based on Locke, but even Locke uses the term "God" as opposed to more deistic references of the Dec. -- [[Rdsmith]] 11:42 (EST) 9 March 2012

:::::I told you once but you didn't listen. You asked me three times but I will not respond. Is gay marriage in the Constitution?--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 11:59, 9 March 2012 (EST)

Would the "exclusively Judeo-Christian (or republican) principles in the US Constitution" include chattel slavery and the fact that people of African descent counted as 3/5 of a human being? [[User:HarveyG|HarveyG]] 12:51, 9 March 2012 (EST)

::::::White men may have purchased slaves but it was black men that sold them. It is liberal to belittle the Founders. With God in their hearts [http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html] the Founders set in motion the most powerful nation on the planet. Liberty, honor, and human rights central. They risked everything and got it right. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 16:31, 9 March 2012 (EST)

== Suggestions ==

Thank you so much for your great work and for the welcome message.
I am so encouraged to see this truly excellent encyclopedia representing what wikipedia could have been with some serious intellectual honesty.

A few suggestions:
1) Human Life International has a new president and is undergoing some great improvements in their ministry, including updating articles and resources. Perhaps they could be added to your top pro-life websites.
2) lovefacts.org is a veritable gold-mine of good medical references documenting the harms of induced abortion and contraception, which we need mine to improve many articles on the subject.
3) pop.org is the Population Research Institutes homepage; it is a pro-life alternative to PP's Guttmacher Institute, and they expose the myth of overpopulation and the numerous human rights abuses throughout the world in the name of "population control." Perhaps "overpopulation myth" or something similar would be a good page to refute these widespread errors driving the culture of death and its devotion to abortion and contraception.

I look forward to contributing in a forum where my input is appreciated and allowed to benefit the souls of all who may read the articles.
[[User:Frankgyn|Frankgyn]] 16:12, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

:Awesome, glad to see your interest and feel free to update articles or create new ones. Blessings. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:34, 29 March 2012 (EDT)

==Holy Week==
I'll be mostly absent this week. Blessed Easter! --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:38, 2 April 2012 (EDT)

== Reversion of vandalism ==

I blocked User:ShagMe but I am unable to revert the vandalism due to the spam filter inexplicably preventing me from doing so. It appears that a series of colons (that I obviously can't type here lest the spam filter get me again) is triggering the problem. [[User:WesleyS|WesleyS]][[User Talk:WesleyS|<sup>Hello!</sup>]] 18:51, 30 April 2012 (EDT)

== Question Evolution! Campaign is achieving its goal - people are questioning evolution! ==
[[File:Increasing.JPG|150px|right]]
'''American [[young earth creationism]] increased in the last two years - Gallup survey.''' [http://creation.com/question-evolution Question evolution! campaign] and other efforts of creationists are working!.[http://questionevolution.blogspot.com/2012/06/american-young-earth-creationism.html]

It is so good to be a Bible believing creationist! It is so easy to crush the pseudoscience of [[evolution]]ism. It merely takes getting the anti-evolution message out there.[http://creation.com/creation-timely-tool-for-todays-evangelist][http://creation.com/taking-creation-evangelism-to-the-streets] [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 07:34, 2 June 2012 (EDT)

== Thanks for removing the It Gets Worse link from the Anti-Semite website! ==

Thank you for removing the link to the It Gets Worse page, from a notoriously racist and anti-Semitic "Southern Conservative" website which blames the Jews for Communism, feminism, Facebook, and Psychoanalysis. I hate anti-Semitism, and I know Conservapedia doesn't endorse it either. I know it was a mistake that you posted the link first, but I looked at the website (Jett and Jahn media), and I was disgusted at the anti-Semitism and racism they espouse. They even have downloadable games which show the Ku Klux Klan as good guys! These guys give conservatism a bad name, and they are thankfully nobodies in the conservative movement.

You are indeed a great editor, who learns from his mistakes like any decent human being! Conservapedia forever! -[[User:RKLuffy88|RKLuffy88]] June 18, 2012

Talk:It Gets Better

2012-06-19T01:32:04Z

RKLuffy88: /* It Gets Worse Project link */

==Merge Request==
I prefer that this page grows on. So, my vote is no merge, uno vs. uno. We need a tie breaker Ed.--[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 19:53, 20 January 2012 (EST)

==Lost==
You're really unpleasant about gay people on this website. Why? Denying my sexuality was causing me severe mental distress. It really does get better coming out and acdcepting the fact that you're gay, actually. Sorry, you're wrong.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:Really? Is that so? I believe the [[Bible]] says otherwise.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 21:38, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::There is medicine to help with your mental distress. You can have feelings for same-sex but you don't have to act on it. We love the sinner and hate the sin. We rather you hear the truth than to sugar coat it. --[[User:Jpatt|Jpatt]] 21:44, 12 December 2011 (EST)
:::It is not important if it please you or you you 'think' it is better the wicked way you choose. The important matter is how God sees it and I assure you: God does not approve !--[[User:PhilipN|PhilipN]] 21:46, 12 December 2011 (EST)
::::Yep I'm on good medication, good therapy the works, and I'm now in a good, stable, loving relationship. I'm not particularly religious, but have nothing against those who are. I'm in a much better place than I ever was when I tried to deny my sexuality or convince myself it was 'evil' or something to be 'cured'. And I'm not the only one. You are causing significant suffering and distress - why? I've read the Bible, surely the idea of 'sin' is something that is harmful to humanity - my sexuality is in no way harmful to anyone, quite the opposite. Were I to carry on living a lie, trying to suppress the truth, believing that being gay is wrong or abhorrent, that would be harmful - to myself, my friends and my family, as it was. That's true, from human experience. If you've not experienced it, but only read about it or heard about it, what makes you think you're qualified to judge? Why do you sit in judgment? Leave us alone to be happy, we aren't interfereing with you. I'm not mlitant, I don't hate anyone, and yet everywhere come across poison and hatred based on prejudices and misinformation, such as in Rick Perry's latest campaign ad. Why? I'm not harming anyone. Why should I have to live in denial? I am a moral person, loyal, kind and committed, which is more than can be said for many straight people -including many of those looking to run for President of the United States, on both sides of the political spectrum. God, I am sure, would want me first and foremost to be happy and contented, and cause happiness and contentment to those around me. I am now able to do this, thanks to my coming out. You are promoting a negative, isolating, cold view of love and human relationships. Please, stop. How can you be so certain God does not approve? I am not wicked, I didn't choose to be this way. Sometimes I wish I weren't, but I am what I am. End of.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
:::::You know, if you want to believe your own delusions, go right ahead. But I know and you know God does not approve of that lifestyle. It explicitly states it in the Old ''and'' New Testaments! Sure Jesus makes no specific reference, but He didn't have to. I hope you decide to turn from your wicked sin and find a good doctor. You are in my prayers.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:21, 13 December 2011 (EST)
:::::As for Rick Perry's ads, he makes a good point. Why are they allowed to serve in the military when our children can't celebrate ''Christmas'' or pray in school? It seems the left will tolerate any lifestyle except Christian ones. They hate Christianity, but they will accept Islam, homosexuality, and anything else. You can be homsexual, but you can't pray in school. Does that seem sound to you?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 13:25, 13 December 2011 (EST)
::::::I've an excellent doctor and have turned from my 'wicked ways' - these being periods of self-harm and aggression caused not by my being gay, but by my repressing it. Now I have come to terms with it and am in a good, stable relationship, with the support of my friends and family, my life is infintitely better. It is sad and distinctly unChristian of you to disparage that and the love and support I have found. I feel very sorry for you that you have such horrible, twisted delusions about gay people and human sexuality. I have nothing to feel ashamed of now, but you clearly do - your hatred and bigotry stem from either a profound bitterness and insecurity, or a cult-like delusional religious Stalinism of skewed biblical literalism and the poison dripped in your ear by false prophets. I pity you. In love.{{unsigned|Neophyte11}}
::::::::It appears you did not heed my warning about making productive edits to entries, and you instead decided to waste time by talking uselessly. I hope you see the light of [[conservative values]] and recover from the sin you are committing against our Lord. All the best.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:57, 15 December 2011 (EST)
:Let's refrain from ad-hominem when blocking, JamesWilson. It grows the stereotype that conservatives are all close-minded insulting people. Instead, gently rebuke them. 23:59, 13 February 2012 (EST)
::Apologies, but this particular editor, despite ''several'' warnings, continued to talk, talk, talk, without contributing anything of substance (or anything at all for this matter) to this article (or any other article), as can be witnessed here. Thanks.--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 06:42, 15 February 2012 (EST)
:::You provoked him and pressed him on. Had you just left him alone, maybe, just ignored or didn't criticize his original comment, he wouldn't have continued. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 16:37, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::No, I didn't. I was not the only one to rightfully criticize his original comment. Do you agree with it by chance?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 17:35, 17 February 2012 (EST)
::::I meant "you" in its plural form. And no, I don't agree. [[User:JLefkowitz|JLefkowitz]] 17:46, 17 February 2012 (EST)

== Protected? ==

Why is this protected? I would be interested in adding some more facts(100% referenced) to the article. As it is the article gives very little information on the project itself and just reads like an essay. If you want an essay on why it is wrong write one but an article should actually give information on the project in more than the lead. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 00:06, 14 February 2012 (EST)
::I will unlock it. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 06:24, 14 February 2012 (EST)

== Rewrite ==

I've been working on a [http://conservapedia.com/User:Ayzmo/IGB rewrite of the article] to make it more encyclopedic. I've kept much of the content but rewrote the intro entirely and added a history section. I wasn't really sure how to work the criticism section. It needs a lot more work before it should be moved over here but I'd really appreciate any comments, suggestions, or criticisms on the talk page. Please don't alter what I've already written. If you put something on the talk page I'll find a way to work it into the article. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 17:43, 17 February 2012 (EST)

== project ==

It's definitely a "project," or at least more than a slogan. I would suggest moving it back. More information can be found [http://www.itgetsbetter.org/pages/about-it-gets-better-project/ here]--[[User:CamilleT|CamilleT]] 16:19, 4 March 2012 (EST)
:It's fine where it is. Why make a big deal if "project" is in the title, anyway?--[[User:JamesWilson|James Wilson]] 16:22, 4 March 2012 (EST)
::[http://conservapedia.com/index.php?title=It_Gets_Better&diff=965969&oldid=965965 Another editor had moved it from It Gets Better Project to It Gets Better]--[[User:CamilleT|CamilleT]] 16:26, 4 March 2012 (EST)
:::Maybe it would be better to wait but I'll express my opinion because I don't think I explained my reasoning well. An opinion on what it is does not change a fact such as the title of the organization. It would be no different from doing the same with the NOAA because you don't believe it is an administration. That's fine if opinions are held to that but they should be included in the article and should not affect the title. [[User:Ayzmo|Ayzmo :)]] 16:29, 4 March 2012 (EST)

== It Gets Worse Project link ==

I checked out the link to It Gets Worse, and I found out that Jett and Jahn Media, who created this website, is an anti-Semitic and racist site, as shown, because they blame Jews for creating Communism and Feminism, neglecting to mention that Betty Friedan and Karl Marx were apostate Jews. Could somebody do anything about that, because Conservapedia does not endorse anti-Semitism? -[[User:RKLuffy88|RKLuffy88]] June 18, 2012

Talk:It Gets Better

2012-06-19T01:25:03Z

RKLuffy88: /* It Gets Worse Project link */ new section

Bill Maher

2012-03-18T03:15:47Z

RKLuffy88: Added birth year (1956)

'''Bill Maher''' (1956- ) is a [[left-wing]] talk show host. He is also a [[Socialism|socialist]], [[atheist]] and [[liberal]] comedian, actor, writer, producer, and [[Democratic Party]] activist. Maher supports the legalization of marijuana, gay marriage, gambling and prostitution. He is most notable as the host of ''[[Real Time|Real Time with Bill Maher]]'', which airs on the HBO television network. Maher formerly hosted ''[[Politically Incorrect]]'' on ABC.

== Television shows & Other Media ==
ABC decided not to renew Maher's contract for ''Politically Incorrect'' in 2002 after he agreed with a point posed by conservative commentator and guest [[Dinesh D'Souza]] that the terrorists in the September 11, 2001 attacks should not be called cowards. Maher expanded on his point, saying "We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly." <ref>[http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=14941]</ref>

In the aftermath of the attacks, the remark made him too controversial for some of the show's most prominent advertisers. Companies including FedEx and Sears Roebuck pulled their advertisements from the show, causing it to become unprofitable. The show was subsequently canceled on June 16, 2002.

Maher's comment accusing America of cowardice followed another controversial comment he made on ''Politically Incorrect'' where he compared mentally handicapped children to dogs:
{{cquote|But I've often said that if I had — I have two dogs — if I had two retarded children, I'd be a hero. And yet the dogs, which are pretty much the same thing. What? They're sweet. They're loving. They're kind, but they don't mentally advance at all ... Dogs are like retarded children.}}

ABC was still dealing with the fallout from this statement when it decided not to renew Maher's contract.

In 2003, Maher became the host of ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' on the HBO cable television network, a debate show somewhat similar to ''Politically Incorrect'', but with a narrower selection of guests.

== Political claims and statements ==
Despite bizarre claims of being a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]], his views are more line with totalitarian-[[communism]]. In fact, most of his views are in direct opposition to libertarian ideology, such as his support of government regulation of corporations, foreign aid, public schooling, a ban on homeschooling, campaign finance restrictions, restricting carbon emissions and creating other radical "environmental protection" laws, affirmative action, minimum wage laws, absolute gun control, support for the [[United Nations]], income redistribution through higher taxation, and socialized medicine. He supported [[Ralph Nader]] in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, but not in 2004. He has even praised Janet Reno and the ATF for its action in the massacre in Waco, Texas. He supports personal choice on moral issues, including abortion, the use of drugs, gambling, and prostitution.

Maher was formerly involved in a relationship with model Nancy Johnson a.k.a. "Coco Johnsen". However, Ms. Johnson ended it and in November of 2004 sued Maher for palimony amid allegations of verbal and physical abuse.<ref>[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1111041coco1.html]</ref> Maher said that he never promised to marry her and that the claims of abuse were a money making scam.<ref>[http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-1-2004-62384.asp]</ref>

Somewhat anachronistically, he voted for [[Bob Dole]] in the 1996 Presidential election, calling him an "old-fashioned" Republican. He is also a personal friend of [[Ann Coulter]], despite (or perhaps because of) their widely divergent views. She was a frequent guest on ''Politically Incorrect.''

==Victory: Begins at Home==
Not surprisingly, the [[New York Times]] raved about his 2003 overtly anti-Catholic, one-man broadway show "Victory: Begins at Home".<ref> [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/295903/Bill-Maher-Victory-Begins-at-Home/overview NYTIMES review]</ref><ref> http://www.catholicleague.org/annualreport.php?year=2003&id=80</ref>

==Religulous==
In 2008, Maher starred in a spoof [[documentary]] movie called ''[[Religulous]]''. It was directed by [[Larry Charles]] (who also directed ''[[Borat]]''). The film derives its name from a combination of the words "religion" and "ridiculous"<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/14/lkl.01.html CNN LARRY KING LIVE, Interview With Bill Maher, aired August 14, 2007 - 21:00ET]</ref>. Originally destined for an [[Easter]] 2008 release, the film had a limited theater-release in [[October]] 2008 after being first shown at the [[Toronto]] International Film Festival in early [[September]] 2008<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815241/releaseinfo IMDb: Release dates for ''Religulous'']</ref>.

The film criticizes [[religion]], particularly Christianity and to a lesser extent Judaism and Islam. To Maher, radical Islam and its hate-filled terrorism has no difference from regular religious worship, as he blends pictures of the attack on the World Trade center with a benediction by the Pope and Jews praying at the Wailing Wall at the very end of the movie.

In the film, Maher explains his stance on religion as he interviews the faithful from mainstream religions as well as from many lesser known [[cult]]s.

Some individuals featured in the film<ref>[http://www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/filmdetails.aspx?ID=707111610451386 RELIGULOUS: A Conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles]</ref> include:
*[[Judaism|Hasidic]] scholars
*[[Jesus]] impersonators
*[[Messianic_Judaism|Messianic Jews]]
*[[Islam|Muslims]]
*[[Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#Polygamy|Polygamists]]
*[[Satanism|Satanists]]
*[[Young Earth Creationism|Creationists]]
*Recreational users of [[cannabis]]
*A US senator who believes in the "[[Rapture]]"
*[[Raelism|Rael]]

===Box office performance===
The film made $3.5 million in its opening weekend<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=religulous.htm</ref> in a limited release, surpassing expectations. In total, it made just over $13 million during its theatrical release, and over $7 million in US DVD sales <ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2008/RELIG.php</ref>

===Controversy===
The already controversial film gained increased notoriety on the morning of 30th September 2008 when Bill Maher made an appearance on the View to promote ''Religulous''. Maher frivolously suggested during the interview that anyone who hears the "voice" of God should check themselves in to a psychiatric hospital.<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/30/sherri-shepherd-bill-mahe_n_130581.html</ref>

== External links ==
* [http://dir.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2001/08/01/maher/index.html Is Bill Maher a libertarian? by Dann Halem]
*[http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18224 Bill Maher Owes Another Apology] - A war veteran responds to Maher's anti-military comments
*[http://www.aim.org/aim_column/A3735_0_3_0_C/ Is Bill Maher the Jane Fonda of the Iraq War?] - Another response to Maher's anti-military comments
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/author/bill-maher/ What Liberals Say - Bill Maher], [[Accuracy In Media]]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815241/ ''Religulous''] at IMDB.com

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Bill}}
[[Category:Liberal Activists]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Lunatics]]
[[Category:Socialists]]
[[Category:Comedians]]
[[Category:Actors]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

{{Liberalism}}

Yisrael Beiteinu

2012-02-15T06:39:37Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Yisrael Beiteinu''' (Hebrew: ישראל ביתנו), is a major right-wing politcal party in Israel. It is led by Avigdor Lieberman, currently Deputy Prime Ministe..."

'''Yisrael Beiteinu''' ([[Hebrew]]: ישראל ביתנו), is a major right-wing politcal party in [[Israel]]. It is led by [[Avigdor Lieberman]], currently Deputy Prime Minister to [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and Foreign Minister of Israel.

Yisrael Beiteinu has a nationalist point of view, and is opposed to any pro-Palestinian affairs. They also cater to the interests of [[Russian language|Russian]]-speaking Jewish immigrants from the former [[Soviet Union]], a lot of whom make up the membership of this party (Lieberman himself is an immigrant from [[Moldova]].)

[[Category: Israeli Political Parties]]

Punjab

2012-02-01T05:13:46Z

RKLuffy88: Added info about Chandigarh being Punjab's capital

'''Punjab''' is a state of [[India]] in the north western part of the country, near the border with [[Pakistan]]. [[Sikhism]] was founded in the Punjab , and the majority of Punjabis are Sikhs. Punjab is a primarily agricultural region in which [[sugarcane]] and [[corn]] are both extensively cultivated. [[Cattle]] and [[yaks]] are among the main agricultural animals. Unlike many states in India, Punjab is still relatively untouched by industrial and urban development, and a substantial wild [[tiger]] population is still known to exist.

The capital of Punjab is [[Chandigarh]], which was located in the state until 1966, when the state of [[Haryana]] was created. As a result of this, Chandigarh became a union territory of India, and was allowed to remain the capital of Punjab, and also of Haryana.

==Religious Affiliation in Punjab==

*Sikhs 63%
*Hindus 34.5%
*Muslims 1.2%
*Christians 1.1%
*Others <0.5%

<ref>http://www.censusindia.gov.in</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Indian States]]
[[Category:Sikhism]]

Chandigarh

2012-02-01T05:10:00Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Chandigarh''' is the first planned city of independent India. It was established in 1953 after India declared independence in 1947, and became the capital of the state of ..."

'''Chandigarh''' is the first planned city of independent [[India]]. It was established in 1953 after India declared independence in 1947, and became the capital of the state of [[Punjab]]. However, A new state, [[Haryana]], was carved out of Punjab in 1966, so Chandigarh became a union territory of India, independent of both Punjab and Haryana. However, it is still the capital of both states.

The city features many buildings by Swiss architect [[Le Corbusier]], who helped with the construction of the new city. In 2010, Chandigarh was declared the cleanest city in India, according to a goverment study. Chandigarh also is the richest of India's states and union territories.

[[Category: Indian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category: Indian States]]

Amritsar

2012-02-01T05:02:44Z

RKLuffy88: Corrected admin status; Chandigarh is the admin HQ of Punjab.

[[File:Goldentemple.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Golden Temple of Amritsar]]
'''Amritsar''' is a city in northern [[India]], in the [[Punjab]] region. It has a population of over 3 million, and is the administrative center of the Amritsar district in the state of Punjab. It is home to the [[Golden Temple]], the religious and cultural center of [[Sikhism]].

Amritsar is also the place where the [[Amritsar Massacre]] took place in 1919.

[[Category: Indian Cities and Towns]]
[[Category: Sikhism]]

Lancashire

2011-12-29T03:11:26Z

RKLuffy88: Added new category: English counties

'''Lancashire''' is a county and a historical entity in northern [[England]]. The present county borders with [[Cumbria]], [[Yorkshire]], [[Greater Manchester]] and [[Merseyside]]. In the south, the county is mainly industrial, while in the north it is sparsely populated and agricultural. The tidal [[quicksand]]s of [[Morecambe Bay]] and the [[Irish Sea]] lie to the west.

The county city is [[Preston]] and other important towns within the modern county are the resort of [[Morecambe]], [[Lancaster]], [[Blackburn]] and [[Burnley]]. Historically Lancashire was much larger, with its county town being Lancaster, and included the metropolitan counties of Merseyside and Greater Machester, the resort of [[Blackpool]] and the southern tip of Cumbria around Barrow-in-Furness. For sporting purposes, such as county [[cricket]], these are still included within the county.

== History ==
The [[House of Lancaster]] was one of the two competing factions in the [[Wars of the Roses]].

In 1612, the famous trial of the [[Pendle Witches]], who had held their [[sabbat]]s on Pendle Hill in the county, resulted in multiple executions.

==Sport==
The predominant team sports are soccer with [[Liverpool FC]] and [[Manchester United]]. [[Rugby league]] also has a large presence, with teams such as [[Wigan Warriors]] and [[St Helens RFC]].

== Trivia ==
The Lancashire Terrier and Lancashire Heeler dog breeds originated in the county.

[[Category:English Counties]]

Westmorland

2011-12-29T03:09:04Z

RKLuffy88:

'''Westmorland''' is a [[Traditional Counties of the United Kingdom|traditional county]] in north-west [[England]], south of [[Cumberland]] and north of [[Lancashire]]. The county town is [[Appleby-in-Westmorland]], other towns include [[Windermere]], [[Kendal]], and [[Kirkby Lonsdale]]. The county is known for [[Windermere Lake]], the largest lake in England.

In 1974, Westmorland, along with Cumberland and parts of Lancashire and [[Yorkshire]] were combined into a new administrative county, [[Cumbria]]. However, the area is still called by its traditional name by its inhabitants.

[[Category: English Counties]]

Westmorland

2011-12-29T03:08:49Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Westmorland''' is a traditional county in north-west England, south of Cumberland and north of Lancashire. The count..."

'''Westmorland''' is a [[Traditional Counties of the United Kingdom|traditional county]] in north-west [[England]], south of [[Cumberland]] and north of [[Lancashire]]. The county town is [[Appleby-in-Westmorland]], other towns include [[Windermere], [[Kendal]], and [[Kirkby Lonsdale]]. The county is known for [[Windermere Lake]], the largest lake in England.

In 1974, Westmorland, along with Cumberland and parts of Lancashire and [[Yorkshire]] were combined into a new administrative county, [[Cumbria]]. However, the area is still called by its traditional name by its inhabitants.

[[Category: English Counties]]

Yorkshire

2011-12-29T03:02:15Z

RKLuffy88: Added English counties category

'''Yorkshire''' used to be a county in Northern [[England]], and was once the largest county, divided into three 'Ridings' (OE ''thridings'', 'thirds'). However, the Local Government Act of 1972 broke it into three smaller counties - North, South and West Yorkshire, as well as transferring the East (and part of the West) Riding to Humberside, and parts of the traditional county to Durham, Cumbria and Greater Manchester.

The county has varied geography from the hills and mountains of the [[Pennines]] and North Yorkshire moors, to the flatlands of the Vale of York and the fen country of the Humberhead Levels. Principal cities in Yorkshire include [[Leeds]], Hull, [[Sheffield]], [[York]], and [[Goole]], Britain' most inland seaport.

Yorkshire borders with the counties of Greater Manchester, [[Lancashire]], [[Cumbria]], [[County Durham]], [[Cleveland]], [[Lincolnshire]], [[Nottinghamshire]], and [[Derbyshire]].

Historically, the symbol of Yorkshire was the white [[rose]].

==Sport==

The principle sports in Yorkshire are [[soccer]] and [[rugby league]], with the traditional game of Yorkshire being cricket, though in recent years the county side has lagged. Similarly, Yorkshire soccer teams no longer occupy their former prominent positions in the soccer leagues.

==Image==

Yorkshire people are supposed to be dour and of few words, careful with money but loyal friends once their reserve has been penetrated. A traditional rhyme runs:

:''Yorkshire born, Yorkshire bred''
:''Strong in't arm and thick in't head''

Yorkshire is associated with the [[Yorkshire Pudding]], and with the [[Yorkshire Ripper]], the serial killer [[Peter Sutcliffe]] (b. 2 June 1946) of [[Bradford]] who murdered thirteen women in northern [[England]] between 1975 and 1980.

[[Category:English Counties]]

Essex

2011-12-29T03:00:40Z

RKLuffy88: Added new category: English counties

'''Essex''' is a county of south-east [[England]], lying immediately north-east of [[London]]. The south of the county, lying on the north side of the estuary of the [[River Thames]], is largely suburban and industrial, and much of the planned future growth of London will occur in this district; the north of the county is more rural and agricultural. Major towns include [[Colchester]], a pre-Roman and Roman centre which is the oldest town in the [[United Kingdom]], [[Chelmsford]], the [[county seat|county town]], and [[Southend-on-Sea]], a major coastal resort.

[[Category:English Counties]]

Sussex

2011-12-29T02:53:59Z

RKLuffy88:

[[Image:South Downs.jpg|right|thumb|300px|View over part of the South Downs, Sussex]]
'''Sussex''' is a [[county]] in south-east [[England]], on the south coast. It is bordered to the east and north by [[Kent]], to the north by [[Surrey]] and to the west by [[Hampshire]].

==History==

More than 1,000 years ago the kingdom of Sussex had formed, the name meaning "South Saxons". It was later absorbed into the kingdom of [[Wessex]].

In 1066, the most famous [[Battle of Hastings|battle]] in [[England|English]] history was fought in the county near [[Hastings]], at a site now occupied by the town of Battle. William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold to begin his conquest of [[England]], becoming [[William the Conqueror|King William I]] (the Conqueror).

Sussex has long been of strategic importance. The [[Normans]] built castles at [[Hastings]], Pevensey, Lewes, Arundel, Bramber and [[Chichester]]. In the 12th Century, the coastal town of [[Hastings]] was amongst the original Cinque Ports, towns close to the continent which provided ships and men to the crown in return for special priveliges. In 1264 a battle was fought at Lewes between the forces of [[King Henry III]] and Simon de Montfort. During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Martello Towers were built along the coast of the county as defence against a feared [[France|French]] invasion. Again under threat of an invasion which never came, the county was heavily fortified during [[World War II]].

==Administration==

For administrative purposes the county is divided into West and East Sussex. West Sussex is adminsitered from [[Chichester]], East Sussex from [[Lewes]]. The city of [[Brighton|Brighton and Hove]] is adminstered separately.

==Notable Locations==

Notable locations within the county include

*The coastal resorts of [[Eastbourne]] and [[Brighton]]
*The [[cathedral]] city of [[Chichester]]
*The chalk hills of the [[South Downs]], which meet the sea at [[Beachy Head]]
*Ashdown Forest, setting for A A Milne's [[Winnie the Pooh]] stories
*[[London Gatwick Airport|Gatwick Airport]], [[Britain|Britain's]] second busiest

==Sport==

Sussex has the oldest county [[cricket]] club in England, and is home to one [[soccer|football]] league club, [[Brighton|Brighton & Hove]] Albion.

[[Category:English Counties]]

Staffordshire

2011-12-29T02:52:59Z

RKLuffy88: Added new category: English counties

[[Image:Staffordshire arms.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The coat of arms of Staffordshire County Council]]
'''Staffordshire''' is a county of the north Midlands in the centre of [[England]]. Its [[population]] (2006 estimate) is 1.02m and the county town is [[Stafford]]. Until local government reorganisation in 1974 created the county of [[West Midlands]], much of the industrial [[Black Country]] lay in Staffordshire. Now, the main industrial area is that of [[Stoke on Trent]] (known as [[The Potteries]]), famous for its pottery and ceramics manufacture. The remainder of the county is largely rural, and the east, extending into the [[Pennine]] foothills, is hilly. Major towns include Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, Uttoxeter, and [[Burton upon Trent]]. The city of [[Lichfield]] is notable for its [[cathedral]], the only [[medieval]] English cathedral with three spires.

Its centralised location places it at the northern or southern extremes of the ranges of many [[species]], and is one of the reasons for its rich and diverse flora and fauna, with good examples of most wildlife habitats and even an area of inland [[saltmarsh]]. Of particular importance are the lowland heathlands, the Staffordshire moorlands and the [[limestone]] valleys. The extensive network of rivers, inland waterways and meres and mosses add a further important dimension.

==External links==
* [http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ Staffordshire County Council] - official website of the council

[[Category:English Counties]]

Gloucestershire

2011-12-29T02:52:15Z

RKLuffy88: Added new category: English counties

'''Gloucestershire''' is a [[county]] in northern south-east [[England]] that formerly contained the famous port city of [[Bristol]]. In 1974 Bristol was given its own county called [[Avon]], and although this was abolished in 1996 Bristol itself was not placed back into any county, and is thus unique in England. Gloucestershire is home to large parts of the [[River Severn]], which runs through [[Gloucester]] before reaching the Bristol Channel.

==Geography==
===Physical===
The county is split into three distinct areas:
*The [[Royal Forest of Dean]]
*The [[Cotswolds]]
*The Severn Vale

===Political===
The Local Government of Gloucestershire is the [[County Council]] and runs from a small city called [[Gloucester]]. Within the County Council there are several other local councils that regulate local affairs:
*Forest of Dean District Council
*[[Stroud]] District Council
*[[Tewkesbury]] Borough Council
*Cotswold District Council
*[[Gloucester]] City Council
*[[Cheltenham]] Town Council
Each local council may have parish or town council situated within.

===Demographics===
Gloucestershire has a population of around 570 000<ref>[http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=47 Gloucestershire County Council] accessed on 12/4/2007</ref>.

==See Also==
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershrie/ BBC Gloucestershire Local News]
*[http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/ Gloucestershire County Council]
*[http://www.forestofdean.gov.uk/ Forest of Dean District Council]
*[http://www.stroud.gov.uk/ Stroud District Council]
*[http://www.tewkesbury.gov.uk/ Tewkesbury Borough Council]
*[http://www.cotswold.gov.uk/ Cotswold District Council]
*[http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/ Gloucester City Council]
*[http://www.cheltenham.gov.uk/ Cheltenham Town Council]

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:English Counties]]

Category:English Counties

2011-12-29T02:50:08Z

RKLuffy88:

[[Category:England]]
[[Category: United Kingdom Counties]]

Middlesex

2011-12-29T02:49:37Z

RKLuffy88: Added new category: English counties

'''Middlesex''' is a former county of south-east [[England]]. The name dates from the Anglo-Saxon conquest of southern and eastern Britain and derives from the term 'Middle Saxons' (contrasted with the 'East Saxons' of [[Essex]] and the 'West Saxons' of [[Wessex]]). The area of Middlesex corresponds to central, west and north [[London]]. The [[City of London]] lay within Middlesex until granted self-governing status in [date], and as the city spread outwards from the middle ages onwards much of what was known as London lay in Middlesex. In 1888 a partial attempt was made to regularise the situation with the creation of the County of London, which incorporated much (but by no means all) of the conurbation, including territory from Middlesex, [[Surrey]], and [[Kent]]. London's continued growth in the late 19th and 20th centuries required further administrative change, and in 1965 the county of [[Greater London]] was formed. This incorporated parts of [[Essex]] and [[Hertfordshire]], further districts of Kent and Surrey, and almost all of the remaining county of Middlesex. Only Spelthorne and Potters Bar did not become part of the new county: the former was transferred to Surrey and the latter to [[Hertfordshire]].

The name Middlesex is still used by sports and cultural organisations, and by the [[Post Office]] (although the PO definition of Middlesex varies greatly from the traditional boundaries). Middlesex County [[Cricket]] Club, which has its headquarters at the historic [[Lords]] ground, is probably the most widely-occurring usage.

The traditional county was bounded by the [[River Thames]] to its south, and by tributaries of the Thames - the Rivers Colne and Lea - to its west and east respectively. The northern boundary was a somewhat meandering 'dry land' line on the edge of the Hertfordshire hills. The southern part of the county is low-lying flat land; the north is more undulating. Almost all of it is covered by Victorian or twentieth century suburbia, and the subject of appreciative poetry by Sir [[John Betjeman]].

[[Category:English Counties]]

Category:Scottish Counties and Regions

2011-12-29T02:48:13Z

RKLuffy88: Added United Kingdom Counties category

Scottish Counties and Regions and administrative units
[[Category:Scottish Geography]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Counties]]

Glamorgan

2011-12-29T02:43:18Z

RKLuffy88: Changed the category to a new one: Welsh counties

'''Glamorgan''' (Welsh: Sir Morgannwg) is a traditional county in south [[Wales]]. It includes the two largest cities in Wales, [[Cardiff]] and [[Swansea]], an area of rich lowland agricultural countryside, and upland valleys formerly famous for the mining of [[coal]]. The county lies on the north shore of the [[Bristol Channel]]. In 1974 Glamorgan was divided into three new counties: Mid, South and West Glamorgan. In 1996 local government boundaries in the area were further redrawn, dividing Glamorgan into a number of Unitary Authorities. <ref>http://www.glamro.gov.uk/</ref>

==References==

<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.oldukphotos.com/glamorganshireynysybwl.htm - Photos of Glamorgan]

[[Category:Welsh Counties]]

Collaborationism

2011-11-19T00:23:08Z

RKLuffy88:

'''Collaborationism''' is a form of [[treason]] in which a party is caught helping out or giving supplies to an aggressor nation during wartime. Examples during [[World War II]] include the [[Vichy regime]] of France, American poet [[Ezra Pound]], and the British radio personality [[Lord Haw-Haw]]. A recent example during the [[Vietnam War]] is [[Jane Fonda]].

[[Category: Dictionary]]
[[Category: Crime]]
[[Category: World War II]]

Collaborationism

2011-11-19T00:22:32Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Collaborationism''' is a form of treason in which a party is caught helping out or giving supplies to an aggressor nation. Examples during World War II INCLUDE the [[V..."

'''Collaborationism''' is a form of [[treason]] in which a party is caught helping out or giving supplies to an aggressor nation. Examples during [[World War II]] INCLUDE the [[Vichy regime]] of France, American poet [[Ezra Pound]], and the British radio personality [[Lord Haw-Haw]]. A recent example during the [[Vietnam War]] is [[Jane Fonda]].

[[Category: Dictionary]]
[[Category: Crime]]
[[Category: World War II]]

Abugida

2011-10-21T02:54:12Z

RKLuffy88:

An '''abugida''' (from the first four letters in the [[Ge'ez script|Ethiopic script]]), also known as an '''alphasyllabary''' or '''syllabic alphabet''', is a kind of alphabet characterized by letters for both consonants and vowels. Consonants in abugidas have an inherent vowel which can be changed to another vowel or can be muted by means of diacritics. Vowels are usually written as diacritics, but can also be written with separate letters if they are at the beginning of a sentence or on their own.

Abugidas are most commonly found in [[India]], in the form of the various members of the [[Brahmic script]]s, namely the [[Devanagari]] and various [[Dravidian]] scripts like [[Tamil]]. They are also found in [[Ethiopia]] and Southeast Asia.

==List of Abugidas==
*[[Devanagari]]
*[[Tamil script]]
*[[Bengali script]]
*[[Gujarati script]]
*[[Tibetan script]]
*[[Khmer script]]
*[[Thai script]]
*[[Ge'ez script|Ethiopic script]]

==External Link==
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/syllabic.htm/ Omniglot entry on Abugidas]

[[Category: Alphabets]]

Abugida

2011-10-21T02:53:23Z

RKLuffy88:

An '''abugida''' (from the first four letters in the [[Ge'ez|Ethiopic script]]), also known as an '''alphasyllabary''' or '''syllabic alphabet''', is a kind of alphabet characterized by letters for both consonants and vowels. Consonants in abugidas have an inherent vowel which can be changed to another vowel or can be muted by means of diacritics. Vowels are usually written as diacritics, but can also be written with separate letters if they are at the beginning of a sentence or on their own.

Abugidas are most commonly found in [[India]], in the form of the various members of the [[Brahmic script]]s, namely the [[Devanagari]] and various [[Dravidian]] scripts like [[Tamil]]. They are also found in [[Ethiopia]] and Southeast Asia.

==List of Abugidas==
*[[Devanagari]]
*[[Tamil script]]
*[[Bengali script]]
*[[Gujarati script]]
*[[Tibetan script]]
*[[Khmer script]]
*[[Thai script]]
*[[Ge'ez|Ethiopic script]]

==External Link==
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/syllabic.htm/ Omniglot entry on Abugidas]

[[Category: Alphabets]]

Abugida

2011-10-21T02:52:38Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "An '''abugida''' (from the first four letters in the Ethiopic script), also known as an '''alphasyllabary''' or '''syllabic alphabet''', is a kind of alphabet ch..."

An '''abugida''' (from the first four letters in the [[Ge'ez script|Ethiopic script]]), also known as an '''alphasyllabary''' or '''syllabic alphabet''', is a kind of alphabet characterized by letters for both consonants and vowels. Consonants in abugidas have an inherent vowel which can be changed to another vowel or can be muted by means of diacritics. Vowels are usually written as diacritics, but can also be written with separate letters if they are at the beginning of a sentence or on their own.

Abugidas are most commonly found in [[India]], in the form of the various members of the [[Brahmic script]]s, namely the [[Devanagari]] and various [[Dravidian]] scripts like [[Tamil]]. They are also found in [[Ethiopia]] and Southeast Asia.

==List of Abugidas==
*[[Devanagari]]
*[[Tamil script]]
*[[Bengali script]]
*[[Gujarati script]]
*[[Tibetan script]]
*[[Khmer script]]
*[[Thai script]]
*[[Ge'ez| script|Ethiopic script]]

==External Link==
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/syllabic.htm/ Omniglot entry on Abugidas]

[[Category: Alphabets]]

Devanagari

2011-10-21T02:41:16Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "The '''Devanagari''' (literally "divine urbane script") is an abugida of Indian origin. It is used for writing Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri, a..."

The '''Devanagari''' (literally "divine urbane script") is an [[abugida]] of [[India|Indian]] origin. It is used for writing [[Sanskrit]], [[Hindi]], [[Marathi]], [[Bhojpuri]], and [[Nepali language|Nepali]]. The alphabet is distinguished by a horizontal line running across the top section of a sentence, only ending when the sentence ends or when it is separated with a comma or other punctuation.

[[Category: Alphabets]]
[[Category: India]]

Pali

2011-10-21T02:30:08Z

RKLuffy88: Created page with "'''Pali''' is an ancient Indo-Iranian language of Northern India, now extinct as a regular spoken language but still used today by followers of the Theravada school of [[..."

'''Pali''' is an ancient Indo-Iranian language of Northern [[India]], now extinct as a regular spoken language but still used today by followers of the [[Theravada]] school of [[Buddhism]]. It is a ''Prakrit'', one of the common spoken and written languages of ancient India. Being that, it was written with a variety of scripts, such as the [[Devanagari]] and [[Tamil]] scripts.

The body of Pali writings by [[Buddha]] and his followers is called the Pali Canon, and it is written in the script of whatever country it is used in (i.e. Thai script in [[Thailand]], [[Khmer]] script in [[Cambodia]], etc.)

[[Category: Indo-Iranian languages]]
[[Category: Buddhism]]

User:RKLuffy88

2011-09-22T06:55:04Z

RKLuffy88:

{{Userboxtop|This editor:}}
{{User Catholic}}
{{User straightforwardbiblereading}}
{{User JP2 saint}}
{{User NoCareSH}}
{{User cows tasty}}
{{User nobias}}
{{User noracists}}
{{User American}}
{{User patriot}}
{{User Bushfan}}
{{User Interest}}
{{User pubschool}}
{{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=Otaku |info=This user enjoys mangas & animes}}
{{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=VGG |info=This user is a gamer}}
{{Userboxbottom}}

I am Ricky, and I am a spiritual Catholic. I am currently reading the book Catholicism for Dummies, and I am learning more and more about the Catholic way of life. I am delightfully biased against atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism. Just tell me, a lot of my high school classmates were atheist or agnostic. I am very interested in Japanese culture and manga and video games and anime. I am fair and balanced, and an avid Fox News Channel fan. I am also interested in martial arts, especially [[Judo]]. I am also strongly against [[world government]], and my opposition to the [[European Union]] shows exactly that. I am also opposed to the EU because I believe they are somewhat responsible for the secularization and socialization of a great continent which contributed so much to American culture.

Before I discovered Conservapedia, I used to edit Wikipedia, under my username of Ricky_K_777. I enjoyed editing articles on Wikipedia, mainly about video games and obscure manga characters. Once I saw the editing of pages to replace info with nonsense and lies, I was appalled. Ironically, I heard of Conservapedia from the slanderous Wikipedia article. That is when I joined this great wiki. I still look at Wikipedia, but only for the flags, national emblems, and maps.

I attend [[Long Beach City College]], with a major in Administration of Justice. After college, I plan on joining the police so I could help bust gangs and crime. I am also now starting to write articles on various vicious street gangs, which highlights my major.

I usually create pages for conservative commentators and pundits, video games, anime, manga, and Russian animation.

==About My User Name==
In my user name, the RK is my initials, standing for "Richard Khoury." The "Luffy" is from [[Monkey D. Luffy]], my favorite [[anime]] character. Finally, the 88 is the year I was born in, 1988.

==Hobbies==
*Playing video games
*Watching [[anime]]
*Reading [[manga]]
*Studying Catholicism and Christian apologetics
*Watching EWTN
*Lisening to classic [[Rock and roll|rock]] and classic [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
*Watching Russian animation

==Favorite Games==
*''Pac-Man''
*''Galaga''
*''Street Fighter II''
*''Metal Slug''
*''Sonic the Hedgehog''
*''[[Pokemon]]''

==Favorite manga==
*''Dragon Ball''
*''One Piece''
*''Doraemon''
*''Dorabase''
*''Naruto''

==Favorite books==
*''The Alchemist''
*The Bible
*''Catholicism for Dummies''
*''The Kite Runner''

==Favorite music==
*[[Elton John]]
*[[The Beatles]]
*[[Motown Records|Motown]] R&B
*[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] Rhythm and Blues
*[[Elvis Presley]]
*Doo-wop

[[Category: Catholic Conservapedians]]
[[Category: Anti Secular-Humanists]]

User:RKLuffy88

2011-09-14T00:05:46Z

RKLuffy88:

{{Userboxtop|This editor:}}
{{User Catholic}}
{{User straightforwardbiblereading}}
{{User JP2 saint}}
{{User NoCareSH}}
{{User cows tasty}}
{{User nobias}}
{{User noracists}}
{{User American}}
{{User patriot}}
{{User Bushfan}}
{{User Interest}}
{{User pubschool}}
{{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=Otaku |info=This user enjoys mangas & animes}}
{{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=VGG |info=This user is a gamer}}
{{Userboxbottom}}

I am Ricky, and I am a spiritual Catholic. I am currently reading the book Catholicism for Dummies, and I am learning more and more about the Catholic way of life. I am delightfully biased against atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism. Just tell me, a lot of my high school classmates were atheist or agnostic. I am very interested in Japanese culture and manga and video games and anime. I am fair and balanced, and an avid Fox News Channel fan. I am also interested in martial arts, especially [[Judo]]. I am also strongly against [[world government]], and my opposition to the [[European Union]] shows exactly that. I am also opposed to the EU because I believe they are somewhat responsible for the secularization and socialization of a great continent which contributed so much to American culture.

I attend [[Long Beach City College]], with a major in Administration of Justice. After college, I plan on joining the police so I could help bust gangs and crime. I am also now starting to write articles on various vicious street gangs, which highlights my major.

I usually create pages for conservative commentators and pundits, video games, anime, manga, and Russian animation.

==About My User Name==
In my user name, the RK is my initials, standing for "Richard Khoury." The "Luffy" is from [[Monkey D. Luffy]], my favorite [[anime]] character. Finally, the 88 is the year I was born in, 1988.

==Hobbies==
*Playing video games
*Watching [[anime]]
*Reading [[manga]]
*Studying Catholicism and Christian apologetics
*Watching EWTN
*Lisening to classic [[Rock and roll|rock]] and classic [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
*Watching Russian animation

==Favorite Games==
*''Pac-Man''
*''Galaga''
*''Street Fighter II''
*''Metal Slug''
*''Sonic the Hedgehog''
*''[[Pokemon]]''

==Favorite manga==
*''Dragon Ball''
*''One Piece''
*''Doraemon''
*''Dorabase''
*''Naruto''

==Favorite books==
*''The Alchemist''
*The Bible
*''Catholicism for Dummies''
*''The Kite Runner''

==Favorite music==
*[[Elton John]]
*[[The Beatles]]
*[[Motown Records|Motown]] R&B
*[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] Rhythm and Blues
*[[Elvis Presley]]
*Doo-wop

[[Category: Catholic Conservapedians]]
[[Category: Anti Secular-Humanists]]

Traditional Counties of the United Kingdom

2011-09-13T01:21:32Z

RKLuffy88: Started an article on these important parts of British culture

The '''Traditional Counties of the United Kingdom''' , also called '''ancient counties''', are the original [[county|counties]] of the [[United Kingdom]] of [[England]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]], and [[Northern Ireland]] that have existed since ancient times. They usually refer to counties that have existed before having their boundaries changed and parts of their original land being given to new counties like Merseyside or West Midlands (or in some cases, some counties are dissolved, e.g. Middlesex and Huntingdonshire) in 1965 and 1974. Some further local government reforms in 1996 and 2009-2010 broke up counties into [[unitary authority|unitary authorities]], while still keeping the ceremonial counties.

The traditional counties still exist though, as cultural regions, and are a source of pride for their inhabitants. Most of them, albeit with significantly-altered boundaries, form ceremonial and non-metropolitan counties in the UK.

There is an organization in England called the Association of British Counties, who has the goal of increasing awareness of the counties in the minds of the Britons.

==List of Counties==
===England===
*[[Bedfordshire]]
*[[Berkshire]]
*[[Buckinghamshire]]
*[[Cambridgeshire]]
*[[Cheshire]]
*[[Cornwall]]
*[[County Durham]]
*[[Cumberland]]
*[[Derbyshire]]
*[[Devon]]
*[[Dorset]]
*[[Essex]]
*[[Gloucestershire]]
*[[Hampshire]]
*[[Herefordshire]]
*[[Hertfordshire]]
*[[Huntingdonshire]]
*[[Kent]]
*[[Lancashire]]
*[[Leicestershire]]
*[[Lincolnshire]]
*[[Middlesex]]
*[[Norfolk]]
*[[Northamptonshire]]
*[[Northumberland]]
*[[Nottinghamshire]]
*[[Oxfordshire]]
*[[Rutland]]
*[[Shropshire]]
*[[Somerset]]
*[[Staffordshire]]
*[[Suffolk]]
*[[Surrey]]
*[[Sussex]]
*[[Warwickshire]]
*[[Westmorland]]
*[[Wiltshire]]
*[[Worcestershire]]
*[[Yorkshire]]

===Wales===
*[[Anglesey]]
*[[Brecknockshire]]
*[[Caernarfonshire]]
*[[Carmarthenshire]]
*[[Ceredigion|Cardiganshire]]
*[[Denbighshire]]
*[[Flintshire]]
*[[Glamorgan]]
*[[Merionethshire]]
*[[Monmounthshire]]
*[[Montgomeryshire]]
*[[Pembrokeshire]]
*[[Radnorshire]]

===Scotland===
*[[Aberdeenshire]]
*[[Angus]]
*[[Argyllshire]]
*[[Ayrshire]]
*[[Banffshire]]
*[[Berwickshire]]
*[[Buteshire]]
*[[Catithness]]
*[[Cromartyshire]]
*[[Clackmannanshire]]
*[[Dumfriesshire]]
*[[Dunbartonshire]]
*[[East Lothian]]
*[[Fife]]
*[[Inverness-shire]]
*[[Kincardineshire]]
*[[Kinross-shire]]
*[[Kirkcudbrightshire]]
*[[Lanarkshire]]
*[[Midlothian]]
*[[Morayshire]]
*[[Nairnshire]]
*[[Orkney]]
*[[Peeblesshire]]
*[[Renfrewshire]]
*[[Ross-shire]]
*[[Roxburghshire]]
*[[Selkirkshire]]
*[[Shetland]]
*[[Stirlingshire]]
*[[Sutherland]]
*[[West Lothian]]
*[[Wigtownshire]]

===Northern Ireland===
*[[County Antrim]]
*[[County Armagh]]
*[[County Down]]
*[[County Fermanagh]]
*[[County Londonderry]]
*[[County Tyrone]]

==External Links==
[http://www.abcounties.co.uk/ Association of British Counties Official Site]

[[Category: United Kingdom]]

User talk:SeanS

2011-09-13T00:34:29Z

RKLuffy88: /* Miyazaki */

Hi there.

== Nebraska lethal injections ==

Hey, I tried finding a decent source and this is the best I could find: [http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/methods-execution] Although it doesn't mention the courts finding it unconstitutional it does show the type of death penalty used in every state. I've added it to the article but I just wanted to make sure it was ok to use. [[User:TonyB|TonyB]] 20:22, 26 April 2011 (EDT)

== Images ==

You may ask for any legal image to be uploaded.

Use: [[Conservapedia:Image upload requests]]
--[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 21:08, 29 May 2011 (EDT)

: Please provide a better source to see the copyright of the image. --[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 22:28, 29 May 2011 (EDT)

== Libya ==

You are right; it was Morocco "The first nation to recognize the US", in signing the Barbary Treaty with Morocco in 1786. Other sources say since 1777. --[[User:Joaquín Martínez|Joaquín Martínez]] 09:50, 2 June 2011 (EDT)

== Obama ==

You sure you don't support Obama? Your comments :re the oil reserves have me perplexed. [[User:HP|HP]] 19:07, 23 June 2011 (EDT)

== Thank you ==
I really appreciate the little box on my page, im sure it will be very useful, so thanks --[[User:CAndrs|CAndrs]] 07:52, 14 July 2011 (EDT)

== Comments on RobS and Conservative ==

As I have told a couple of users, instead of taking sides lets all work together to find a solution and avoid blaming and negative comments. It gets us nowhere and we need to move forward. Thanks and I hope we can work together. [[User:MaxFletcher|MaxFletcher]] 23:52, 28 July 2011 (EDT)
:I would love to do that! Question: Whose side did I take though?--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 23:53, 28 July 2011 (EDT)
::More just sterring you away from it than saying you did, sorry! [[User:MaxFletcher|MaxFletcher]] 23:55, 28 July 2011 (EDT)
:::Ah, ok ^_^ --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 23:56, 28 July 2011 (EDT)

== Conservapedia web traffic ==

You are partly right about CP traffic and [Alexa] says 70% of CP traffic comes from the USA and it wouldn't surprise me if this were true. The logo is not going to change for the foreseeable future. At the same time, the search engines are bringing in traffic from around the world. As far as RobS, I should have let ASchlafly intervene earlier as far as RobS as it would have been a better use of my time. I am moving on and attending to more important matters. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] 08:45, 29 July 2011 (EDT)

== Quick apology ==

Hi Sean,

I deleted PHilton's personal attack on Conservative, and your comment responding to it. While your comment was in no way inappropriate, it would have looked a bit strange sitting there in isolation. --[[User:Benp|Benp]] 11:57, 29 July 2011 (EDT)
:Its ok haha ^_^--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 12:00, 29 July 2011 (EDT)

== Accepted it it trollish ==
But no more so than user:conserative's 'contributions'. There is a good reason the 'vandal' site loves user:conservative so much. [[User:Davidspencer|Davidspencer]] 15:40, 31 July 2011 (EDT)

== Blocking powers ==

I noticed your recent reversion; now you can block accounts also.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 18:07, 15 August 2011 (EDT)
:Danke, Hopefully I won't have much use for it.--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 18:11, 15 August 2011 (EDT)
::Well, there goes that hope :/ --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 21:26, 15 August 2011 (EDT)

== Account creation ==

Sean, if you are blocking for "inappropriate username" please make sure that the box "account creation disabled" is '''unticked''' so the user can recreate with a more suitable name (unless of course the username is vulgar and/or abusive). Thanks, [[User:MaxFletcher|MaxFletcher]] 19:47, 17 August 2011 (EDT)
:Ok, danke for the reminder ^_^--[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 19:49, 17 August 2011 (EDT)
::De nada! [[User:MaxFletcher|MaxFletcher]] 19:53, 17 August 2011 (EDT)

==Here, kitty, kitty==

Hi, Sean. Thanks for [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Internet_Explorer&curid=19930&diff=903299&oldid=903297&rcid=1216927 adding back the cats] for [[Internet Explorer]]. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] <sup>[[User talk:Ed Poor|Talk]]</sup> 13:15, 19 August 2011 (EDT)

== Bachmann ==

Sorry I didn't talk to you about this earlier. I removed the reference that Pierre guy put in that you reinserted. It was an honest mistake, I'm sure. Seeing from your userpage that you are going into your freshmen year of college and would be born in the post-Cold War era, you probably have no idea what the [[Soviet Union]] was. It was a blunder that Bachmann made in a speech. I'm not sure if you follow politics, but Bachmann is known for those sort of blunders much like mistaking Elvis' death date for his birthday, or mistaking actor John Wayne for serial killer John Wayne Gacy. These remarks are fodder that the [[liberal media]] use to tarnish Bachmann with and that parodist inserted it like it was true. If you don't mind, I reinstated his block and doubled it to 1 year. Thanks and good luck with school.--[[User:JamesWilson|JamesWilson]] 20:34, 19 August 2011 (EDT)

== Great block and reverts ==

Great block and reverts, Sean!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 11:23, 27 August 2011 (EDT)
:Danke! Took a while to do though --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 18:11, 27 August 2011 (EDT)

== Another great block and reverts ==

Sean, another great block and reverts!--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 11:55, 5 September 2011 (EDT)
:Danke!. --[[User:SeanS|SeanS]] 11:59, 5 September 2011 (EDT)

==Miyazaki==
I heard on the liberal Wikipedia that Hayao Miyazaki's films have feminist messages, and he is anti-capitalist. I just took usual liberal crap on Wikipedia about this otherwise great director too literally, so I acted on it. Thanks for correcting it Sean, I am a fellow anime and video game fan like you!
-[[User:RKLuffy88|RKLuffy88]]

User talk:SeanS

2011-09-13T00:33:47Z

RKLuffy88:

Hayao Miyazaki

2011-09-13T00:23:45Z

RKLuffy88: Added notes of his film's underlying liberal messages, as well as him being a hypocrite.

'''Hayao Miyazaki''' (born 5 January, 1941) (age {{age|1941|1|5}}), is a Japanese director of [[anime]] films and co-founder of [[Studio Ghibli]], together with long-time friend and fellow director, [[Isao Takahata]].

His film ''[[Spirited Away]]'', released in 2001, was seen by one-third of Japan's population and became the nation's highest grossing film ever (topping ''[[Titanic]]''). His filmography also includes ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'', ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'', ''[[Porco Rosso]]'', ''[[The Cat Returns]]'', ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]'', and many more.

"Spirited Away" went on to win the [[Academy Award|Oscar]] for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002. "Howl's Moving Castle" was also nominated in 2004, but did not win.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347149/</ref>

His son, [[Goro Miyazaki|Gorō Miyazaki]], has since made his own foray into directing at Studio Ghibli; his first release being 2006's "Tales of Earthsea", which he both wrote and directed.

Many of his films have a [[pacifist]] and [[environmentalist]] undertone, as well as a [[feminist]] undertone in most some of his movies, shown by the protagonist being female. He is also a crtic of [[capitalism]], but he seems to [[Liberal hypocrisy|ignore the fact that he makes a lot of money from his movies]].

==Kanji==

*Family name: 宮崎 (Miyazaki)
*Given name: 駿 (Hayao)

==Links==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594503/ Hayao Miyazaki] at the Internet Movie Database.

==See also==
*[[Japanese animation]]
*[[Makoto Shinkai]]
*[[Isao Takahata]]
*[[Satoshi Kon]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miyazaki, Hayao}}
[[Category:Animators]]
[[Category:Anime]]
[[category:Japanese People]]

Ed Rendell

2011-08-18T01:16:15Z

RKLuffy88: Added Tom Corbett as Successor in the infobox

{{Officeholder
|name=Ed Rendell
|image=Edward G. Rendell.jpg
|party=[[Democrat]]
|spouse=Third Circuit Judge Marjorie O. Rendell
|religion=Judaism
|offices=
{{Officeholder/governor
|state=Pennsylvania
|terms=January 21, 2003 - Present
|preceded=Mark Schweiker
|former=n
|succeeded=[[Tom Corbett]]
}}
}}

'''Ed Rendell''' (b. Edward G. Rendell, 1944) is the 45th governor of [[Pennsylvania]]; he was elected as a [[Democrat]] in 2002 and reelected in 2006. Rendell served as chairman of the [[National Governors Association]] from 2008 though 2009. His name is pronounced ren-DELL

==Career==
Rendell was born on January 5, 1944 to a wealthy Jewish family in [[New York City]]. He moved to [[Philadelphia]] to attend the U. of Pennsylvania (an Ivy League school) and earned a law degree at Villanova in 1968. He and his wife, Federal Judge Marjorie Rendell have been married since 1971. They have one son, Jesse.

Rendell served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1974.

Prior government experience included Chairman of the Democratic National Committee or DNC in 2000. After a defeat in 1987 he was elected mayor of [[Philadelphia]] in 1991 and reelected in 1995. He was the elected [[District Attorney]] of Philadelphia from 1977-1986, when he left to run unsuccessfully for governor. As D.A. he was a proponent of [[capital punishment]], including one high profile case which he successfully prosecuted, that of convicted cop killer [[Mumia Abu Jamal]]. <ref>http://www.academia.org/store/cop_killer_description.html</ref>

==Governor==
Rendell has tried cutting the state budget to meet the [[Recession of 2008]], and has raised state income taxes 10%. He succeeded in legalizing casino gambling, and also signed a law to sharply increase the salaries of elected officials, (He returned his own increase). Facing a difficult reelection in 2006, he passed a $1 billion cut in property taxes. He defeated a retired football player for reelection. His numerous financial proposals were rejected by the legislature in 2007-08.

Rendell ran [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]]'s primary campaign in April 2008, scoring a decisive 55%-45% win over [[Barack Obama]]. He of course endorsed Obama when he won the nomination and helped carry the state for the Democratic ticket, 54%-44%. In spring 2009 he persuaded Senator [[Arlen Specter]] to switch from the GOP to the Democrats, promising he and Obama would campaign for Specter in 2010.

==Trivia==
Rendell is a renown sports fan and avidly follows the [[Philadelphia Eagles]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.governor.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/governor%27s_web_site/2985 Official Governor of Pennsylvania Site]

== References ==

<references/>

[[category:Democratic Governors]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania Governors]]
[[Category:United States Mayors]]
[[Category:Reagan Era]]
[[Category:Obama Presidency]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rendell, Ed}}

Famous American musicians

2011-08-07T03:04:00Z

RKLuffy88: Added Howlin' Wolf to the list, a great blues singer!

Below is a list of '''famous American musicians''':

[[Image:Duke-ellington.jpg|thumb|Duke Ellington]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|
*[[Leonard Bernstein]]
*[[Barbra Streisand]]
*[[Cole Porter]]
*[[Frederick Loewe]]
*[[Richard Rodgers]]
*[[Duke Ellington]]
*[[Louis Armstrong]]
*[[Mario Lanza]]
*[[Henry Mancini]]
*[http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0803928.html Marian Anderson]
*[http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0840108.html Leontyne Price]
*[[Josephine Baker]]
*[[Stevie Wonder]]
*[[Ray Charles]]
*[[Miles Davis]]
*[[John Coltrane]]
*[[Herbie Hancock]]
*[[Bob Dylan]]
*[[Buddy Holly]]
*[[Otis Redding]]
*[[Sam Cooke]]
*[[Thelonius Monk]]
*[[Jimi Hendrix]]
*[[Sonny Rollins]]
|
*[[Roy Orbison]]
*[[Scott Joplin]]
*[[Gene Pitney]]
*[[John Williams]]
*[http://www.stephenschwartz.com/bio.htm Stephen Schwartz]
*[[Tony Bennett]]
*[[Ella Fitzgerald]]
*[[Bing Crosby]]
*[[Frank Sinatra]]
*[[Jesse Norman]]
*[[Robert Merrill]]
*[[Charlie Parker]]
*[[Dave Brubeck]]
*[[Art Blakey]]
*[[Elvis Presley]]
*[[John Lee Hooker]]
*[[Little Richard]]
*[[James Brown]]
*[[Chuck Berry]]
*[[Louis Jordan]]
*[[Jackie Wilson]]
*[[Bo Diddley]]
*[[Muddy Waters]]
* [[Charles Ives]]
|
* [[Jerome Kern]]
* [[Irving Berlin]]
* [[Stephen Collins Foster]]
* [[Aaron Copland]]
* [[John Philip Sousa]]
* [[Samuel Barber]]
* [[Victor Herbert]]
* [[George Gershwin]]
* [[Edward A. MacDowell]]
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~amerimus/NevinCollection.htm Ethelbert Nevin]
* [[Philip Glass]]
*[[Woody Guthrie]]
* [[Charlie Christian]]
* [[Johnny Cash]]
* [[Jelly Roll Morton]]
* [[Nat "King" Cole]]
* [[Bill Haley]]
* [[B.B. King]]
* [[Lead Belly]]
* [[Clifton Chenier]]
* [[Billie Holiday]]
* [[Nina Simone]]
* [[Howlin' Wolf]]
<br>
|}

==See also==
*[[Famous American Writers]]

== External links ==

*[http://www.contemplator.com/america/ Popular Songs In American History]

[[Category: Musicians]]
[[Category: Americans]]

Constituent country

2011-06-14T20:50:02Z

RKLuffy88: Added Denmark and changed the Netherlands ones, since the Netherlands Antilles were abolished and the islands were made consituent countries.

A '''constituent country''' is a country which is part of a larger entity, whether it has [[political independence]] or not. The larger entity can be a country proper.

==[[Denmark]]==
The constituent countries of the Kingdom of Denmark are:

* Denmark
* [[Faroe Islands]]
* [[Greenland]]

== [[United Kingdom]] ==
The constituent countries of the United Kingdom are:

* [[England]]
* [[Northern Ireland]]
* [[Scotland]]
* [[Wales]]

When talked about them collectively but as separate entities, they are often referred to as the ''Home Nations'', especially when referring to sporting events where they have their own teams.

== [[Netherlands]] ==
The constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are:

* The Netherlands
* Aruba
* Curacao
* Sint Maarten
* Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (BES Islands)

== Federal People's Republic of [[Yugoslavia]] ==
The former Socialist Yugoslavia consisted of:
* [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Croatia]]
* [[Macedonia]]
* [[Montenegro]]
* [[Serbia]] (Containing the Autonomous Province of [[Kosovo]] and [[Metohija]], Autonomous Province of [[Vojvodina]])
* [[Slovenia]]

The country was established on January 31, 1946. Today they are all independent countries. Recently even Kosovo, formerly an autonomous province of [[Serbia]], declared its independence.

[[Category:Geography]]

Red-tailed hawk

2011-06-11T00:10:54Z

RKLuffy88: Added a description

{{Taxonomy
|name=Red-tailed Hawk
|image=RedTailHawk.jpg
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|branch=Deuterostomia
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Aves
|subclass=Neornithes
|infraclass=Neoaves
|superorder=Passerimorphae
|order=Accipitriformes
|suborder=
|infraorder=Falconides
|superfamily=
|families=
|family=Accipitridae
|subfamily=Buteoninae
|supertribe=
|tribe=
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=Buteo
|subgenus=
|species=B. jamaicensis
|binomialname=
|syn=
|sub=
|alt=
|regionimg=
|pop=
|conservation=
}}

The '''Red-tailed hawk''' (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a well-known Buteo hawk of the family Accipitridae. It is one of the most common hawks in [[North America]], being found from Southern [[Canada]] throughout all of the lower 48 [[United States]], as well as in [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]] and the [[Caribbean]] islands.

The red-tailed hawk usually preys on small mammals like rodents, including squirrels and chipmunks, as well as pests like rats and mice.

[[Category:Birds of Prey]][[Category:Hawks]]

Douglas fir

2011-06-07T20:14:33Z

RKLuffy88: Added info about it being Oregon's state tree

{{Taxonomy
|name=Douglas fir
|image=
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Plantae
|subkingdom=Viridaeplantae
|branch=
|superphylum=
|phylum=Tracheophyta
|subphylum=Euphyllophytina
|infraphylum=Radiatopses
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=
|class=Pinopsida
|subclass=
|infraclass=
|superorder=
|order=Pinales
|suborder=
|infraorder=
|superfamily=
|families=
|family=Pinaceae
|subfamily=Amygdaloideae
|supertribe=
|tribe=Amygdaleae
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=Pseudotsuga
|subgenus=
|species=P. menziesii
|binomialname=
|syn=
|sub=
|alt=
|regionimg=
|pop=
|conservation=
}}
'''Douglas fir''' is the common name for an evergreen tree common in parts of western North America, especially in [[Oregon]], where it is the state tree, and [[Washington]]. Its scientific name is ''Pseudotsuga menziesii''. The common name is from the Scottish botanist [[David Douglas]]. Douglas fir is timber used extensively for construction, both as structural members and as an ornamental or finishing wood <ref>http://www2.wwpa.org/SPECIESPRODUCTS/DouglasFir/tabid/405/Default.aspx</ref>. Douglas firs are also grown as [[Christmas]] trees.

==References==
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