Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Conservapedia:The Supreme Court

2007-12-13T17:43:52Z

William99:

"The Supreme Court" is a one-semester course for those curious about how the Court became more [[liberal]] in the 1960s through 1980s, and for those interested in learning how the Court can get back on a more traditional path for the future.

This course will harness the power of Conservapedia to build an online constitutional law treatise for the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] of the future. Currently the leading constitutional law treatise cites about 3000 decisions, many of which are quickly becoming outdated and overruled by the [[Roberts Court]]. The author of that constitutional law treatise, Laurence Tribe, has announced that he will not be publishing an updated edition in the near future. This course and Conservapedia course will fill that void for the online future.

Categories essential to this course include:
<br>[[:Category:United States Supreme Court]]
<br>[[:Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
<br>[[:Conservapedia:Supreme Court Project]]

Lectures are [[The Supreme Court Lectures|here]].

Questions addressed in this course include:

*in how many years does the Supreme Court make or remake 50% (weighted by significance) of its case law? Expressed in scientific terms, what is the "half-life" of the Supreme Court?

*what precedents are there now 5 [[conservative]] votes for overruling? Are there 5 votes to overrule ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''?

*which precedents are at risk of being overruled in the upcoming 2007-2008 Term?

*what are the most interesting cases likely to be appealed to the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]? Should amicus briefs be filed for any upcoming petitions?

*will the Supreme Court [[grant cert.]] in the [[gun control]] case, and how will it rule?

*What are the judicial philosophies of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] Justices?

*What are the worst [[liberal]] decisions rendered by the Court?

This fascinating course will examine critically the worst decisions of the past half-century and consider judicial and legislative corrections to them.

This cutting-edge course will emphasize decisions rendered as recently as this summer and will review cases on the Court's docket for the fall. This course will draw upon the expertise of leading attorneys and activists, including at least one teacher who practices before the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]. Utilizing the full power of Conservapedia, this course will incorporate important news about the Court as it occurs and anticipate issues that will dominate political discourse in the upcoming election season.

By the end of the course students will be far more knowledgeable about the most important government institution in the world: the [[U.S. Supreme Court]]

== Enroll here: ==

This free course starts in September. By enrolling here, you will be able to participate in a restricted namespace to be created only for students and teachers in this class. Both students and teachers should add your id. below to be sure of having a spot in this course:

--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 15:49, 5 August 2007 (EDT)

--[[User:Jsusman|Jsusman]] 21:50, 18 August 2007 (EDT) Sure! Let's go! :)

: Welcome! Godspeed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 22:04, 18 August 2007 (EDT)

-[[User:Todd16]] 9:29 PM August 23rd 2007 - I would like to join this class too. I have never edited wikipedia so I'm trying to learn this format. Will this be a like a correspondence course, or will we have online meeting times? Thanks! Todd

: Welcome Todd16!!! We'll be online but not at fixed times.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 23:28, 22 August 2007 (EDT)

-[[User:Legis01|Legis01]] 17:07, 26 August 2007 (EDT)

: Welcome and Godspeed.--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 17:37, 26 August 2007 (EDT)

-- I would also be interested in being a student for the course. Thank you. [[User:StevenW|StevenW]] 20:48, 7 October 2007 (EDT)

Is it too late to enroll? I am not seeking any kind of credit - just trying to keep up with my teenagers so they don't think I am dumb!! contrary1965

: Not too late at all. Welcome, and happy Thanksgiving!--[[User:Aschlafly|Aschlafly]] 15:05, 22 November 2007 (EST)

--[[User:Lulzmeister|Lulzmeister]] 09:39, 30 November 2007 (EST)

Nuclear weapon

2007-12-13T17:43:01Z

William99:

A '''nuclear bomb''' is a bomb where the destructive force of the explosion comes from an uncontrolled nuclear detonation, which releases massive amounts of thermal, and as a byproduct, radioactive energy. Conventional bombs use a chemical reaction as the source of their explosive force.

Nuclear bombs usually have dramatically more destructive power than conventional bombs, where the power of a nuclear bomb is measured in kilotons. One kiloton has the equivalent explosive force of 1,000 tons of [[TNT]].

[[Little Boy]] was the first atomic bomb ever used during warfare. It was developed by the United States during [[World War II]], and was dropped on the Japanese city of [[Hiroshima]] on August 6th, 1945. It had an explosive for of approximately 13 kilotons. Modern U.S. nuclear weapons such as the W88 warhead used on the Trident II missile, has a yield of 475 kilotons. Given the strength and size of the current US nuclear arsenal, the use of even a fraction of it would have devastating effects on the world's climate, probably rendering it unsuitable for human life.

==Types of Nuclear Weapons==

===Fission Bombs===
Fission bombs are characterized by a type of bomb where the nuclear force comes from a [[fission reaction]]. At it’s simplest, two sub-critical amounts of a fissile material are joined to form a [[critical mass]] which undergoes a spontaneous chain reaction. Bombs such as these usually use isotopes of uranium (uranium-235, uranium-233) or plutonium-239 as the fissile material.

[[Little Boy]] and [[Fat Man]], developed and used in World War II by the United States are examples of fission bombs.

===Fusion Bombs===
Fusion bombs, also known as Thermonuclear bombs, derive their energy from the fusion of atoms, usually either [[deuterium]] or [[tritium]], which are [[isotope|isotopes]] of Hydrogen. Fusion of [[Hydrogen]] to [[Helium]] is the same process which causes our sun and stars to shine.

A thermonuclear detonation is typically started with the ignition of a compression fission bomb, which through a series of steps depending on the particular bomb design, produces temperatures and pressures high enough to ignite the fusion reaction of either the tititum of deuterium at the core of the bomb.

===Dirty Bomb===
A dirty bomb is bomb designed to spread radioactive material through the detonation of conventional explosives. A dirty bomb does not detonate it’s nuclear material during the explosion.

The primary danger posed by a dirty bomb is the residual radioactive material contaminating the area around the blast site. The specific danger posed depends on the radioactive material used in the bomb, which can range from elevated levels of cancer to radiation poisoning.

==Nuclear States==
The following countries are known to possess nuclear weapons.

# United States
# Former Soviet Republics
# United Kingdom
# France
# China
# India
# Israel
# Pakistan
# North Korea

The following countries are known to have once had nuclear weapons:

# South Africa (dismantled stockpile in 1990's)
# Belarus
# Ukraine
# Khazakhstan

Many other countries have at one time had an active nuclear weapons development program, but most have officially stopped research into weaponization. Although a country may have the technology for nuclear power, it may not have the capability to produce nuclear weapons, which would require the ability to enrich uranium.

==External Links==
*[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/index.html GlobalSecurity.org]
*[http://www.iaea.org/index.html International Atomic Energy Agency]
*[http://www.atomicmuseum.com/ National Atomic Museum]
*[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/ The Nuclear Weapon Archive]
*[http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-bomb.htm How Stuff Works]

[[Category:Weapons]]

Kyoto Protocol

2007-12-13T17:40:36Z

William99:

The '''Kyoto Protocol''' (named after the [[Japan|Japanese]] city in which it was drafted) is a 1997 treaty backed by the [[United Nations]] concerning [[greenhouse gas]] emissions. It commits 39 participating industrial nations to a combined 5% reduction (from 1990 levels) in climate-damaging emission by the year 2012.

The stated goal of the treaty is to vastly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the signed countries. Supporters say that the treaty is crucially needed to prevent a global environmental tragedy. Opponents of the treaty argue that ratifying the treaty would greatly harm many US industries while ignoring other high polluting, developing nations such as [[China]] and [[India]], despite the fact that the USA and other Western countries produce hundreds of times more greenhouse has per capita than citizens of any developing nation.<ref>[[USA Today]], [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-15-kyoto-csm_x.htm ''Kyoto Era Begins''].</ref> For these reasons, the [[United States]], while it negotiated the treaty during the [[Bill Clinton|Clinton administration]], has only signed the protocol, but has adamantly refused to ratify it. The Senate voted 95-0 not even to bring ratification up for a vote. This has drastically reduced the influence and credibility of the US administration in essentially all international environmental forums.

The Kyoto Protocol became effective on February 16, 2005, requiring the [[European Union]] to reduce its average emissions between the years 2008 and 2012 by 8% relative to 1990 levels.

==See also==
*[[Global warming controversy]]
*[[Socialism]]
*[[Environmentalism]]
[[category:politics]]

Electricity

2007-11-08T23:45:26Z

William99:

[[Image:Htryt5.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. Energy is radiated as light when powerful electric currents flow through the Earth's atmosphere.]]
Electricity is [[energy]] that can be converted to heat, light, motion and many other physical effects through the force produced in the attraction or repulsion between charged particles. It is measured in terms of [[electrical charge]], [[current]], [[voltage]], and [[resistance]]. A basic element of electricity is the electric circuit. A circuit is a closed path that allows for movement of charges. Current is the name given to the movement of charges. The study of electricity involves the behavior of charges, current and voltage with the components that make up the electrical circuit. Electrical engineering has allowed many practical advances to be made, such as replacing [[steam power]]ed trains with more efficient electric or nuclear ones.

==Polarity==

All materials that are known contain two basic components of electric charge: the [[proton]] and the [[electron]]. The proton is a basic particle with positive polarity, and the electron is the smallest amount of electric charge having negative polarity.
It is an arrangement of electrons and protons as basic particles of electricity that determines the electrical characteristics of substances. Although all matter has protons and electrons, most materials do not exhibit any evidence of electricity, because the number of protons and electrons are equal. The opposite electrical forces cancel each other out, and render materials like paper electrically neutral. In order to use electricity to do work, the protons and electrons must be separated. A battery can do electrical work because a chemical process separates electric charges to create an excess of electrons at its negative terminal and conversely, an excess of protons at its positive terminal. With separate and opposite charges at two terminals, electric energy can be supplied to a circuit connected to the battery.

==The Structure of an Atom Determines its Electrical Characteristics==

Although there are many possible ways protons and electrons could group themselves, they assemble in specific combinations that result in stable arrangement. Each stable arrangement of protons, electrons, and often [[neutron]]s makes one particular kind of atom, an [[element]]. Electrons orbit the nucleus of protons and neutrons at specific intervals, called "shells" or "energy levels." Each shell has a maximum number of electrons for stability.
It is the structure of the outermost shell of electrons in an element that determines how well it conducts electricity and its magnetic properties. If an element has fewer than eight electrons in its outermost shell, for example helium which has only two electrons, then it can conduct electricity to some degree; the elements that have one electron in their outermost shell conduct electricity best. [[Gold]], [[silver]], and [[copper]] are the best conductors of electricity because their outermost electron shell has only one electron, and this allows the freest flow of electrical current because the opposition of an atom of these elements from taking on or loosing electrons is low.
Materials with electrons that tend to stay in their own orbits are called insulators, because they do not conduct electricity very well. However, these materials (except for the inert gases) can also take up extra electrons to complete their outer shells, and become negatively charged; they hold on to and store electrical charge, unlike conductors. Insulating materials like glass, plastic, rubber, paper, air, and mica are called dielectrics, meaning that they can take on and hold electrical charge. Insulators are useful when it is necessary to prevent current flow. They are also used in applications for storing electrical charge, as in capacitors, since a good conductor of electricity cannot store any charge.
Materials that can conduct more electrical charge than insulators, but less than conductors are called semiconductors. [[Carbon]], [[silicon]], and [[germanium]] are commonly used for transistors and other semiconductor components, with silicon being the most widely used.

==Resources==
Grob, Bertand ''Basic Electronics'' Fifth edition, 1984

[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Electricity]]

British India

2007-07-11T13:06:01Z

William99:

'''British India''' refers to the period of direct [[Britain|British]] rule of the Indian Subcontinent between 1858 and its independence in 1947.

The term is also used to refer to those provinces of India that were under direct British administration at that time (such as Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Punjab, Central Provinces and United Provinces), in contradistinction to the 'Princely States' (Hyderabad, Swat, Jammu & Kashmir, Udaipur, Mysore, Baroda and many more) that continued to be administered by Indian princes under British guidance, protection and suzerainty.

Rupert Murdoch

2007-07-11T12:46:17Z

William99:

[[Image:Murdoch-770566.jpg|right|thumb|280px]]
'''Keith Rupert Murdoch''' (b. 1931) is an [[Australia|Australian]]-born [[United States|American]] media magnate. He is the owner of the media conglomerate [[News Corporation]]. Some of the most well known of the News Corporation's holdings include the Fox Broadcasting Company (owner of the [[FOX News]] Channel), [[MySpace]], [[TV Guide]], the ''New York Post'', HarperCollins, DirectTV, BSkyB, the ''Weekly Standard'', 20th Century Fox film studios, ''The London Times'', the ''London Sun'', ''The Chicago Sun-Times'', ''The Boston Herald'' and UK's ''BSkyB'' satellite broadcasting system. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1985.<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/420/000023351/ ''NNDB'' - Rupert Murdoch]</ref> Rupert Murdoch is one of the richest people in the world according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion.<ref>[http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Keith-Rupert-Murdoch_639W.html ''Forbes'' - The 400 Richest Americans: #32 Rupert Murdoch]</ref>

Harold Evans, a former editor of ''The London Times'' said Mr. Murdoch once pointed to the byline of a correspondent and asserted, “That man’s a [[commie]]<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/business/media/25murdoch.html?pagewanted=5&ei=5090&en=52d9d4e3c66c5876&ex=1340424000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss ''Murdoch, Ruler of a Vast Empire, Reaches Out for Even More'', Jo Becker, Richard Siklos, Jane Perlez, Raymond Bonner, Griff Palmer, ''The New York Times'', June 25, 2007.]</ref>.”

In 2007, Murdoch announced that he is offering $5 billion to buy Dow Jones, parent company of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/04/business/04murdoch.php ''International Herald Tribune'' Murdoch on owning the Wall Street Journal]</ref>

==Political Contributions==
Since 1997, [[Republicans]] have received a slight majority - 56% of the $4.76 million in campaign donations from the Murdoch family and the News Corporation’s political action committees and employees. In recent years, Rupert Murdoch has formed strong relationship with Bill and [[Hillary Clinton]]. In 2005, he invited [[Bono]] and [[Bill Clinton]] for company conference on environment, Islam in the West, and future of the world.

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT: Murdoch, Rupert}}
[[category:Business People]]