Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization?
Answer: Princess Diana's death.
Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car with a Dutch engine, driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, followed closely by Italian Paparazzi, on Japanese motorcycles; treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines. This is sent to you by a Canadian, using Bill Gates' technology, and you're probably reading this on your computer, that uses Taiwanese chips, and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen, and trucked to you by Mexicans.
Forwarded along the internet by geography teachers and similar types.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Why All Americans have a stake in Louisiana and its flooding and coastal weirdness
Pittsburgh cabbie has a stake in saving La.'s coast
May 21, 2007
Editor's note: This column by author John M. Barry first appeared in the May 12 Washington Post.
There has been much debate in the past 20 months over protecting Louisiana from another lethal hurricane, but nearly all of it has been conducted without any real understanding of the geological context. Congress and the Bush administration need to recognize six facts that define the national interest.
Fact 1: The Gulf of Mexico once reached north to Cape Girardeau, Mo. But the Mississippi River carries such an enormous sediment load that, combined with a falling sea level, it deposited enough sediment to create 35,000 square miles of land from Cape Girardeau to the present mouth of the river.
This river-created land includes the entire coast, complete with barrier islands, stretching from Mississippi to Texas. But four human interventions have interfered with this natural process; three of them that benefit the rest of the country have dramatically increased the hurricane threat to the Gulf Coast.
Fact 2: Acres of riverbank at a time used to collapse into the river system providing a main source of sediment. To prevent this and to protect lives and property, engineers stopped such collapses by paving hundreds of miles of the river with riprap and even concrete, beginning more than 1,000 miles upriver — including on the Ohio, Missouri and other tributaries — from New Orleans. Reservoirs for flood protection also impound sediment. These and other actions deprive the Mississippi of 60 to 70 percent of its natural sediment load, starving the coast.
Fact 3: To stop sandbars from blocking shipping at the mouth of the Mississippi, engineers built jetties extending more than two miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. This engineering makes Tulsa, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and other cities into ports with direct access to the ocean, greatly enhancing the nation's economy. The river carries 20 percent of the nation's exports, including 60 percent of its grain exports, and the river at New Orleans is the busiest port in the world. But the jetties prevent any of the sediment remaining in the river from replenishing the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts and barrier islands; instead, the jetties drop the sediment off the continental shelf.
Fact 4: Levees that prevent river flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi interfere with the replenishment of the land locally as well.
Fact 5: Roughly 30 percent of the country's domestic oil and gas production comes from offshore Louisiana, and to service that production the industry created more than 10,000 miles of canals and pipelines through the marsh.
Every inch of those 10,000-plus miles lets saltwater penetrate, and eat away at, the coast. So energy production has enormously accelerated what was a slow degradation, transforming a long-term problem into an immediate crisis. The deprivation of sediment is like moving a block of ice from the freezer to the sink, where it begins to melt; the effect of the canals and pipelines is like attacking that ice with an ice pick, breaking it up.
As a result, 2,100 square miles of coastal land and barrier islands have melted into the Gulf of Mexico. This land once served as a buffer between the ocean and populated areas in Louisiana and part of Mississippi, protecting them during hurricanes. Each land mile over which a hurricane travels absorbs roughly a foot of storm surge.
The nation as a whole gets nearly all the benefits of engineering the river. Louisiana and some of coastal Mississippi get 100 percent of the costs. Eastern New Orleans (including the lower 9th Ward) and St. Bernard Parish — nearly all of which, incidentally, is at or above sea level — exemplify this allocation of costs and benefits. Three man-made shipping canals pass through them, creating almost no jobs there but benefiting commerce throughout the country. Yet nearly all the 175,000 people living there saw their homes flooded not because of any natural vulnerability but because of levee breaks. These levee breaks were along these three man-made shipping canals.
Fact 6: Without action, land loss will continue, and it will increasingly jeopardize populated areas, the port system and energy production. This would be catastrophic for America. Scientists say the problem can be solved, even with rising sea levels, but that we have only a decade to begin addressing it in a serious way or the damage may be irreversible.
Despite all this and President Bush's pledge from New Orleans in September 2005 that "we will do what it takes" to help people rebuild, a draft White House cuts its own recommendation of $2 billion for coastal restoration to $1 billion while calling for an increase in the state's contribution from the usual 35 percent to 50 percent. This turns the idea of the Union on its head. Generating benefits to the nation is what created the problem, and the nation needs to solve it. Put simply: Why should a cab driver in Pittsburgh or Tulsa pay to fix Louisiana's coast? Because he gets a stronger economy and lower energy costs from it, and because his benefits created the problem.
The failure of Congress and the president to act aggressively to repair the coastline at the mouth of the Mississippi River could threaten the economic vitality of the nation. Louisiana, one of the poorest states, can no longer afford to underwrite benefits for the rest of the nation.
John M. Barry is the author of "Rising Tide" and secretary of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East.
May 21, 2007
Editor's note: This column by author John M. Barry first appeared in the May 12 Washington Post.
There has been much debate in the past 20 months over protecting Louisiana from another lethal hurricane, but nearly all of it has been conducted without any real understanding of the geological context. Congress and the Bush administration need to recognize six facts that define the national interest.
Fact 1: The Gulf of Mexico once reached north to Cape Girardeau, Mo. But the Mississippi River carries such an enormous sediment load that, combined with a falling sea level, it deposited enough sediment to create 35,000 square miles of land from Cape Girardeau to the present mouth of the river.
This river-created land includes the entire coast, complete with barrier islands, stretching from Mississippi to Texas. But four human interventions have interfered with this natural process; three of them that benefit the rest of the country have dramatically increased the hurricane threat to the Gulf Coast.
Fact 2: Acres of riverbank at a time used to collapse into the river system providing a main source of sediment. To prevent this and to protect lives and property, engineers stopped such collapses by paving hundreds of miles of the river with riprap and even concrete, beginning more than 1,000 miles upriver — including on the Ohio, Missouri and other tributaries — from New Orleans. Reservoirs for flood protection also impound sediment. These and other actions deprive the Mississippi of 60 to 70 percent of its natural sediment load, starving the coast.
Fact 3: To stop sandbars from blocking shipping at the mouth of the Mississippi, engineers built jetties extending more than two miles out into the Gulf of Mexico. This engineering makes Tulsa, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and other cities into ports with direct access to the ocean, greatly enhancing the nation's economy. The river carries 20 percent of the nation's exports, including 60 percent of its grain exports, and the river at New Orleans is the busiest port in the world. But the jetties prevent any of the sediment remaining in the river from replenishing the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts and barrier islands; instead, the jetties drop the sediment off the continental shelf.
Fact 4: Levees that prevent river flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi interfere with the replenishment of the land locally as well.
Fact 5: Roughly 30 percent of the country's domestic oil and gas production comes from offshore Louisiana, and to service that production the industry created more than 10,000 miles of canals and pipelines through the marsh.
Every inch of those 10,000-plus miles lets saltwater penetrate, and eat away at, the coast. So energy production has enormously accelerated what was a slow degradation, transforming a long-term problem into an immediate crisis. The deprivation of sediment is like moving a block of ice from the freezer to the sink, where it begins to melt; the effect of the canals and pipelines is like attacking that ice with an ice pick, breaking it up.
As a result, 2,100 square miles of coastal land and barrier islands have melted into the Gulf of Mexico. This land once served as a buffer between the ocean and populated areas in Louisiana and part of Mississippi, protecting them during hurricanes. Each land mile over which a hurricane travels absorbs roughly a foot of storm surge.
The nation as a whole gets nearly all the benefits of engineering the river. Louisiana and some of coastal Mississippi get 100 percent of the costs. Eastern New Orleans (including the lower 9th Ward) and St. Bernard Parish — nearly all of which, incidentally, is at or above sea level — exemplify this allocation of costs and benefits. Three man-made shipping canals pass through them, creating almost no jobs there but benefiting commerce throughout the country. Yet nearly all the 175,000 people living there saw their homes flooded not because of any natural vulnerability but because of levee breaks. These levee breaks were along these three man-made shipping canals.
Fact 6: Without action, land loss will continue, and it will increasingly jeopardize populated areas, the port system and energy production. This would be catastrophic for America. Scientists say the problem can be solved, even with rising sea levels, but that we have only a decade to begin addressing it in a serious way or the damage may be irreversible.
Despite all this and President Bush's pledge from New Orleans in September 2005 that "we will do what it takes" to help people rebuild, a draft White House cuts its own recommendation of $2 billion for coastal restoration to $1 billion while calling for an increase in the state's contribution from the usual 35 percent to 50 percent. This turns the idea of the Union on its head. Generating benefits to the nation is what created the problem, and the nation needs to solve it. Put simply: Why should a cab driver in Pittsburgh or Tulsa pay to fix Louisiana's coast? Because he gets a stronger economy and lower energy costs from it, and because his benefits created the problem.
The failure of Congress and the president to act aggressively to repair the coastline at the mouth of the Mississippi River could threaten the economic vitality of the nation. Louisiana, one of the poorest states, can no longer afford to underwrite benefits for the rest of the nation.
John M. Barry is the author of "Rising Tide" and secretary of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority East.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Paper airplanes Do come to mind as you look out the second floor of the new wing at cmhs
Social studies classes will be on the 2nd floor of the new wing next year. English classes on the ground floor. Lots of opportunities for creative signatures in the new rooms.
See me in Rm 205 next year: CMHS has a new wing
Quite a nice room, I must say. An opportunity for me to shed the old and create anew.
Second floor will be nearly all social studies classes. Ground floor nearly all English classes.
Second floor will be nearly all social studies classes. Ground floor nearly all English classes.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Der neue Hauptbahnhof / Deutsch review answers . . .
Deutschland review
1) The Rhine River begins: b) Switzerland
2) The Rhine flows north: b) Rotterdam
3) The capital of Bavaria: c) Munchen.
4) T / Comparing the list of notable products from Italy and Germany leads me to conclude they are both leading nations in design and manufacturing.
5) Germany has had little impact on the US culture. An example would be that there are few German cuisine restaurants to be found in America. F
6) The WWII period saw a partnership, called the Axis by Americans, between Germany and another fascist nation: a) Italy
7) Olive oil, balsamic vinegar and espresso: while enjoyed across the globe these items originate with the c) Italians
Write ‘a’ for origin in Italy and ‘b’ for origin in Germany:
8) Audi / b
9) Ferrari / a
10) Mercedes Benz / b
11) Porsche / b
12) BMW / b
13) Smart Car / b
14) Compare the population of Germany to the US: America is approximately __ times bigger in population. a) 3.5
15. Lego toy system: a) Denmark
16. Name the German company that developed acetylsalicylic acid as a household curative: d) Bayer.
17. The swastika was a symbol of the Nazis for about 15 years. But for 3000 years it was a symbol for good fortune in many widespread cultures. Cite the culture with which it was not associated: c) Christian
18. Name the American jazz leader who helped establish the big band era and was a virtuoso on trumpet: d) Louis Armstrong.
19. Gypsies were targeted by the Third Reich for extermination. The best-known Gypsy-born fellow of the era was the guitarist d) Django Reinhardt.
20. Harlem is a neighborhood in the borough of d) Manhattan.
21. The Nazis were effective at building a type of super-patriotism. To convince the youth of the Nazi point of view they used exaggeration and fabrications. This is called a) propaganda
22. The National Socialist German Worker’s Party was not at all a) socialist
23. Nazi Germany began its conquest of Europe with the nation of Poland, 1939./ F
24. Copenhagen is a German city which is on an island in the Baltic Sea. F
When England last had significant cultural impact: Yellow Submarine, 1968
Notes on the influence of the British in the late 1960's, an era tagged the British Invasion period:
* 1950's and early 60's: anti-war and anti-nuclear protest.
* Mid 1960's - Carnaby Street fashions - London - include bell bottom slacks, platform heels, mini skirt, shag. Movies such as Blow Up and Alfie were influential.
* Mid 60's Brit groups: The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Kinks, The Pretty Things, Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, and Manfred Mann, the Hollies, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Freddie and the Dreamers, Davy Jones of The Monkees, and Herman's Hermits; The Animals and The Spencer Davis Group (featuring Steve Winwood) and The Moody Blues.
* 1964 - Beatles become a hit in the US
* 1967 - Beatles global impact with Sgt Pepper's album - poetry, sonic richness, diversity of styles.
* 1968 - movie Yellow Submarine uses Beatles music and images as directed by a Canadian and designed by a German. Helps define the surreal style called psychedelia.
* The late 1960s were a time when NYC was outdone by the cultural force of London. When Chicago was overwhelmed by San Francisco. When Liverpool was the center of attention.
* 1950's and early 60's: anti-war and anti-nuclear protest.
* Mid 1960's - Carnaby Street fashions - London - include bell bottom slacks, platform heels, mini skirt, shag. Movies such as Blow Up and Alfie were influential.
* Mid 60's Brit groups: The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Kinks, The Pretty Things, Dusty Springfield, The Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, and Manfred Mann, the Hollies, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Freddie and the Dreamers, Davy Jones of The Monkees, and Herman's Hermits; The Animals and The Spencer Davis Group (featuring Steve Winwood) and The Moody Blues.
* 1964 - Beatles become a hit in the US
* 1967 - Beatles global impact with Sgt Pepper's album - poetry, sonic richness, diversity of styles.
* 1968 - movie Yellow Submarine uses Beatles music and images as directed by a Canadian and designed by a German. Helps define the surreal style called psychedelia.
* The late 1960s were a time when NYC was outdone by the cultural force of London. When Chicago was overwhelmed by San Francisco. When Liverpool was the center of attention.
Sarsens and Bluestones
Last review of the semester:
At pre-historic Stonehenge . . .
1. Placement of Sarsen stones? inner circle
2. Placement of blue stones? outer circle
3. Larger stones? Sarsens; up to 50 tons, 20 ft high.
4. Quarry sites?
Sarsens: 20 miles away on the Salisbury Plain.
Blue stones: 240 miles away in the mountains of Wales.
5. A 3-piece stone construction is called a __? trilithon
6. Shape of the inner group of stones? horse shoe
7. Construction began about the year 3000 BCE.
8. Building and rebuilding continued about 1000 years.
9. "Gigantic rock"? megalith
10. Horizontal beam across a doorway: lintel.
At pre-historic Stonehenge . . .
1. Placement of Sarsen stones? inner circle
2. Placement of blue stones? outer circle
3. Larger stones? Sarsens; up to 50 tons, 20 ft high.
4. Quarry sites?
Sarsens: 20 miles away on the Salisbury Plain.
Blue stones: 240 miles away in the mountains of Wales.
5. A 3-piece stone construction is called a __? trilithon
6. Shape of the inner group of stones? horse shoe
7. Construction began about the year 3000 BCE.
8. Building and rebuilding continued about 1000 years.
9. "Gigantic rock"? megalith
10. Horizontal beam across a doorway: lintel.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Rosa Parks at a dinner honoring Parks in August of 1965.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Rosa Parks at a dinner honoring Parks in August of 1965.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos.
1. a) Atlanta
2. b) Boston U.
3. c) Montgomery.
4. c) Montgomery.
5. a) 1955
6. b) Supreme Court decision.
7. b) MK Gandhi
8. a) non-violent protest
9. b) SCLC
10.False
11. b) J Edgar Hoover
12.a) TNT
13. b) JFK
14. b) 1963
15. b) 39
16. b) public transportation
17. a) Civil Rights Act of 1964
18. c) Johnson.
19. a) Selma
20. a) Montgomery
21. b) 1950 - 1953
Stonehenge: awesome mystery in the south of England
Stonehenge is a henge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument located about 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury, says Wikipedia. It is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world.
Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected around 3200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.
The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch.
Archaeological excavation has indicated that around 2600 BC, timber was abandoned in favour of stone and two concentric crescents of holes (called the Q and R Holes) were dug in the centre of the site.
The holes held up to 80 standing stones (shown blue on the plan) 43 of which were derived from the Preseli Hills, 250 km away in modern day Pembrokeshire in Wales. Other standing stones may well have been small sarsens, used later as lintels. The far-travelled stones, which weighed about four tons, consisted mostly of spotted dolerite but included examples of rhyolite, tuff and volcanic and calcareous ash.
What was to become known as the Altar Stone (1), a six-ton specimen of green micaceous sandstone, twice the height of the bluestones, is derived from either South Pembrokeshire or the Brecon Beacons and may have stood as a single large monolith.
The next major phase saw 30 enormous sarsen stones (shown grey on the plan) brought from a quarry around 24 miles (40 km) north to the site on the Marlborough Downs. The stones were dressed and fashioned with mortise and tenon joints before 30 were erected as a 33 m (108 ft) diameter circle of standing stones with a 'lintel' of 30 stones resting on top. The lintels were joined to one another using another woodworking method, the tongue in groove joint.
Each standing stone was around 4.1 m (13.5 feet) high, 2.1 m (7.5 feet) wide and weighed around 25 tons. Each had clearly been worked with the final effect in mind.
Within this circle stood five trilithons of dressed sarsen stone arranged in a horseshoe shape 13.7 m (45 feet) across with its open end facing north east. These huge stones, ten uprights and five lintels, weigh up to 50 tons each and were again linked using complex jointings. They are arranged symmetrically; the smallest pair of trilithons were around 6 m (20 feet) tall, the next pair a little higher and the largest, single trilithon in the south west corner would have been 7.3 m (24 feet) tall. Only one upright from the Great Trilithon still stands; 6.7 m (22 ft) is visible and a further 2.4 m (8 feet) is below ground.
The images of a 'dagger' and 14 'axe-heads' have been recorded carved on one of the sarsens, known as stone 53. Further axe-head carvings have been seen on the outer faces of stones known as numbers 3, 4, and 5. They are difficult to date but are morphologically similar to later Bronze Age weapons; recent laser scanning work on the carvings supports this interpretation.
Even though the last known construction of Stonehenge was about 1600 BC, and the last known usage of Stonehenge was during the Iron Age (if not as late as the 7th century), where Roman coins, prehistoric pottery, an unusual bone point and a skeleton of a young male (780-410 cal BC) were found, we have no idea if Stonehenge was in continuous use or exactly how it was used.
Archaeologists think that the standing stones were erected around 3200 BC and the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.
The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch.
Archaeological excavation has indicated that around 2600 BC, timber was abandoned in favour of stone and two concentric crescents of holes (called the Q and R Holes) were dug in the centre of the site.
The holes held up to 80 standing stones (shown blue on the plan) 43 of which were derived from the Preseli Hills, 250 km away in modern day Pembrokeshire in Wales. Other standing stones may well have been small sarsens, used later as lintels. The far-travelled stones, which weighed about four tons, consisted mostly of spotted dolerite but included examples of rhyolite, tuff and volcanic and calcareous ash.
What was to become known as the Altar Stone (1), a six-ton specimen of green micaceous sandstone, twice the height of the bluestones, is derived from either South Pembrokeshire or the Brecon Beacons and may have stood as a single large monolith.
The next major phase saw 30 enormous sarsen stones (shown grey on the plan) brought from a quarry around 24 miles (40 km) north to the site on the Marlborough Downs. The stones were dressed and fashioned with mortise and tenon joints before 30 were erected as a 33 m (108 ft) diameter circle of standing stones with a 'lintel' of 30 stones resting on top. The lintels were joined to one another using another woodworking method, the tongue in groove joint.
Each standing stone was around 4.1 m (13.5 feet) high, 2.1 m (7.5 feet) wide and weighed around 25 tons. Each had clearly been worked with the final effect in mind.
Within this circle stood five trilithons of dressed sarsen stone arranged in a horseshoe shape 13.7 m (45 feet) across with its open end facing north east. These huge stones, ten uprights and five lintels, weigh up to 50 tons each and were again linked using complex jointings. They are arranged symmetrically; the smallest pair of trilithons were around 6 m (20 feet) tall, the next pair a little higher and the largest, single trilithon in the south west corner would have been 7.3 m (24 feet) tall. Only one upright from the Great Trilithon still stands; 6.7 m (22 ft) is visible and a further 2.4 m (8 feet) is below ground.
The images of a 'dagger' and 14 'axe-heads' have been recorded carved on one of the sarsens, known as stone 53. Further axe-head carvings have been seen on the outer faces of stones known as numbers 3, 4, and 5. They are difficult to date but are morphologically similar to later Bronze Age weapons; recent laser scanning work on the carvings supports this interpretation.
Even though the last known construction of Stonehenge was about 1600 BC, and the last known usage of Stonehenge was during the Iron Age (if not as late as the 7th century), where Roman coins, prehistoric pottery, an unusual bone point and a skeleton of a young male (780-410 cal BC) were found, we have no idea if Stonehenge was in continuous use or exactly how it was used.
Friday, May 11, 2007
A golden age in which Muslims, Jews and Christians worked in harmony
During the Islamic Golden Age (fl. 622 CE - 1258 CE in Common Era calendar; or 1 AH - 656 AH in Islamic calendar), scholars and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to philosophy, science, and technology, both by preserving and building upon earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations. Scientific and intellectual achievements blossomed in the Golden Age, and passed on to Europe to be expanded upon in the European Renaissance.[1]
The Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) , who ruled between 711 and 1492, are commonly known as the Moors. The territory, which they called "Al Andalus", initially included much of Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France.
The word Moors is a corrupted word referring to the people who came from Morocco (Mauri). Later, other words such as Moriscos and Mudejares were used.
The golden age of al-Andalus: crops produced using irrigation, along with food imported from from the Middle East, provided the area around Córdoba and some other Andalusī cities with an agricultural economic sector by far the most advanced in western Europe.
Among European cities, Córdoba, with a population of perhaps 500,000, was second only to Constantinople in size and prosperity.
Within the Islamic world, Córdoba was one of the leading cultural centres. The work of its most important philosophers and scientists (notably Ibn Rushd ("Averroes") had a major influence on the intellectual life of medieval western Europe.
Muslims and non-Muslims often came from abroad to study in the famous libraries and universities of al-Andalus. This transmission was to have a significant impact on the formation of the European Renaissance.
The Caliphate treated non-Muslims differently at different times. The longest period of tolerance began after 912, wherein the Jews of Al-Andalus prospered, devoting themselves to the service of the Caliphate of Cordoba, to the study of the sciences, and to commerce and industry, especially to trading in silk and slaves, in this way promoting the prosperity of the country. Southern Iberia became an asylum for the oppressed Jews of other countries.
Notes:
711 AD: Muslim invaders crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to conquer most of Spain.
Great cities of Andalusia, or southern Spain, were Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba.
Arabs controlled much of Spain from about 700 AD to almost 1500 AD.
* architecture (Alhambra Palace)
* science (astronomy, medicine)
* music and dance (guitarra, flamenco dance)
* Literature, esp. poetry.
The Crusades, app 1100 to 1300 AD, saw the French and English armies going to Jerusalem to fight Muslims over control of the Holy Land.
The Spanish Inquisition:
The word inquisition (from the Latin: inquisitio) is the act of inquiring. It was broadly used in law, before the Medieval Inquisition, to refer to a common law procedure of inquiring into a matter, investigating, usually through interrogation, and by use of force. Over time, it was gradually associated with judging heresy against Christianity.
The reconquest of Spain from the Moors resulted in a relatively peaceful multi-religious society, but violent anti-Judaism ensued and Jews converted en masse to the Catholic faith. Some of these conversos were suspected of not being sincere converts and the Alhambra Decree in 1492 ordered all Jews to leave their kingdoms, making about 40,000 Jews leave.
Sixtus IV later accused the Spanish inquisition of being overzealous, accused the monarchs for being greedy and issued a commend to stop it, but he was pressured into withdrawing the restriction.
During the 16th century the main target became Protestants. In time converts from Islam and Moriscos were also persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. Other crimes were also taken up in these tribunals such as Superstitions, heretical propositions, Sodomy, Bigamy and solicitation.
The Spanish Inquisition was an institution at the service of the monarchy.
The Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) , who ruled between 711 and 1492, are commonly known as the Moors. The territory, which they called "Al Andalus", initially included much of Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France.
The word Moors is a corrupted word referring to the people who came from Morocco (Mauri). Later, other words such as Moriscos and Mudejares were used.
The golden age of al-Andalus: crops produced using irrigation, along with food imported from from the Middle East, provided the area around Córdoba and some other Andalusī cities with an agricultural economic sector by far the most advanced in western Europe.
Among European cities, Córdoba, with a population of perhaps 500,000, was second only to Constantinople in size and prosperity.
Within the Islamic world, Córdoba was one of the leading cultural centres. The work of its most important philosophers and scientists (notably Ibn Rushd ("Averroes") had a major influence on the intellectual life of medieval western Europe.
Muslims and non-Muslims often came from abroad to study in the famous libraries and universities of al-Andalus. This transmission was to have a significant impact on the formation of the European Renaissance.
The Caliphate treated non-Muslims differently at different times. The longest period of tolerance began after 912, wherein the Jews of Al-Andalus prospered, devoting themselves to the service of the Caliphate of Cordoba, to the study of the sciences, and to commerce and industry, especially to trading in silk and slaves, in this way promoting the prosperity of the country. Southern Iberia became an asylum for the oppressed Jews of other countries.
Notes:
711 AD: Muslim invaders crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to conquer most of Spain.
Great cities of Andalusia, or southern Spain, were Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba.
Arabs controlled much of Spain from about 700 AD to almost 1500 AD.
* architecture (Alhambra Palace)
* science (astronomy, medicine)
* music and dance (guitarra, flamenco dance)
* Literature, esp. poetry.
The Crusades, app 1100 to 1300 AD, saw the French and English armies going to Jerusalem to fight Muslims over control of the Holy Land.
The Spanish Inquisition:
The word inquisition (from the Latin: inquisitio) is the act of inquiring. It was broadly used in law, before the Medieval Inquisition, to refer to a common law procedure of inquiring into a matter, investigating, usually through interrogation, and by use of force. Over time, it was gradually associated with judging heresy against Christianity.
The reconquest of Spain from the Moors resulted in a relatively peaceful multi-religious society, but violent anti-Judaism ensued and Jews converted en masse to the Catholic faith. Some of these conversos were suspected of not being sincere converts and the Alhambra Decree in 1492 ordered all Jews to leave their kingdoms, making about 40,000 Jews leave.
Sixtus IV later accused the Spanish inquisition of being overzealous, accused the monarchs for being greedy and issued a commend to stop it, but he was pressured into withdrawing the restriction.
During the 16th century the main target became Protestants. In time converts from Islam and Moriscos were also persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition. Other crimes were also taken up in these tribunals such as Superstitions, heretical propositions, Sodomy, Bigamy and solicitation.
The Spanish Inquisition was an institution at the service of the monarchy.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Versailles, French kings and the French revolution
The Palace of Versailles, the Bourbon Kings and the French Revolution
1. Versailles is northwest of the city of Paris. T / F
2. The building of Versailles dates from about: a) 1500 b) 1600 c) 1700 d) 1800.
3. The gardens of Versailles are accented by some 1,400
a) trees b) fountains c) orangutans d) types of birds.
4. Louis worked on Versailles with some 36,000 laborers and scores of designers. He would work on the project about a) 20 b) 50 c) 75 d) 100 years before the palace was completed.
5. Between the King’s apartment and the queen’s was a fabulous hallway, known as the Hall of a) Mirrors b) Marble c) Candles d) Portraits.
6. Louis XIV spent a ruinous amount of the national budget on a) wine b) clothing c) travel d) war.
7. Louis built his social life around a) ballet b) art c) horse racing d) politics.
8. Though Louis XIV had numerous mistresses as well as a wife, he was not heterosexual. T / F
9. The Louvre and the Palais Royale were a) leaders of the revolution b) dance steps c) royal residences
d) fortresses.
10. Louis moved the capitol from Paris to Versailles because of the __ in Paris. a) impoverished mob
b) political enemies c) noise and smell d) lack of plumbing.
11. Louis was succeeded by his great-grandson, not his son, because his reign lasted some __ years. a) 22 b) 42 c) 72 d) 102.
12. The French Revolution upturned the aristocrats’ lives in a) 1776 b) 1789.
13. The revolution burst forth during the reign of a) Louis XIV b) Louis XV c) Louis XVI d) Louis XVII.
14. The first place attacked by the rebellious mob of the revolutionary wave was a prison in Paris called the
a) Trianon b) Bastille c) L’Orangerie d) Louvre.
15. The guillotine was used in the execution of nobles and priests and other powerful personages. Some __ were sent to their death. a) 40,000 b) 400,000 c) 4 million.
16. Executed because she was the French queen at the wrong time and wrong place was the Austrian-born
a) Madame de Pompadour b) Madame de Maintenon
c) Marie Curie d) Marie Antoinette.
1. Versailles is northwest of the city of Paris. T / F
2. The building of Versailles dates from about: a) 1500 b) 1600 c) 1700 d) 1800.
3. The gardens of Versailles are accented by some 1,400
a) trees b) fountains c) orangutans d) types of birds.
4. Louis worked on Versailles with some 36,000 laborers and scores of designers. He would work on the project about a) 20 b) 50 c) 75 d) 100 years before the palace was completed.
5. Between the King’s apartment and the queen’s was a fabulous hallway, known as the Hall of a) Mirrors b) Marble c) Candles d) Portraits.
6. Louis XIV spent a ruinous amount of the national budget on a) wine b) clothing c) travel d) war.
7. Louis built his social life around a) ballet b) art c) horse racing d) politics.
8. Though Louis XIV had numerous mistresses as well as a wife, he was not heterosexual. T / F
9. The Louvre and the Palais Royale were a) leaders of the revolution b) dance steps c) royal residences
d) fortresses.
10. Louis moved the capitol from Paris to Versailles because of the __ in Paris. a) impoverished mob
b) political enemies c) noise and smell d) lack of plumbing.
11. Louis was succeeded by his great-grandson, not his son, because his reign lasted some __ years. a) 22 b) 42 c) 72 d) 102.
12. The French Revolution upturned the aristocrats’ lives in a) 1776 b) 1789.
13. The revolution burst forth during the reign of a) Louis XIV b) Louis XV c) Louis XVI d) Louis XVII.
14. The first place attacked by the rebellious mob of the revolutionary wave was a prison in Paris called the
a) Trianon b) Bastille c) L’Orangerie d) Louvre.
15. The guillotine was used in the execution of nobles and priests and other powerful personages. Some __ were sent to their death. a) 40,000 b) 400,000 c) 4 million.
16. Executed because she was the French queen at the wrong time and wrong place was the Austrian-born
a) Madame de Pompadour b) Madame de Maintenon
c) Marie Curie d) Marie Antoinette.
In France, crawfish are called écrevisses (a - cray - veece)
Crayfish, often referred to as crawfish or crawdad, are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are closely related, says Wikipedia.
They are found in bodies of fresh water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter against predators.Some crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 feet) underground.
Crayfish are eaten in Europe (especially France and Sweden), China, Australia and the United States. 98% of the crayfish harvested in the United States come from Louisiana.
Crayfish in Louisiana are usually boiled live in a large pot with heavy seasoning (salt, cayenne pepper, lemon, garlic, bay leaves, etc.) and other items such as potatoes, corn, onions, garlic, and sausage. They are generally served at a gathering known as a crawfish boil.
Crayfish is a popular dish in Scandinavia, and is by tradition primarily consumed during the fishing season in August. The boil is typically flavored with salt, sugar, ale, and large quantities of the flowers of the dill plant. China and the United States are today the biggest sources of import.
Like other edible crustaceans, only 35% of the body weight of a crayfish is edible.
They are found in bodies of fresh water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter against predators.Some crayfish have been found living as much as 3 m (10 feet) underground.
Crayfish are eaten in Europe (especially France and Sweden), China, Australia and the United States. 98% of the crayfish harvested in the United States come from Louisiana.
Crayfish in Louisiana are usually boiled live in a large pot with heavy seasoning (salt, cayenne pepper, lemon, garlic, bay leaves, etc.) and other items such as potatoes, corn, onions, garlic, and sausage. They are generally served at a gathering known as a crawfish boil.
Crayfish is a popular dish in Scandinavia, and is by tradition primarily consumed during the fishing season in August. The boil is typically flavored with salt, sugar, ale, and large quantities of the flowers of the dill plant. China and the United States are today the biggest sources of import.
Like other edible crustaceans, only 35% of the body weight of a crayfish is edible.
Château de Versailles - Grand Canal and Fountain of Latona
In the late 1600's one of the world's most splendiferous edifices, the Palace of Versailles, was built by Louis the XIV.
Louis felt too close to the poverty and danger of the mobs of Paris when he was at the Palais Royale or Palace du Louvre. So he moved his capital to the countryside.
Extravagant and insensitive, he demanded that the nobles of France leave their chateaus and reside in Versailles. It eventually comprised ...
- 1000 nobles in residence..
- 5000 servants.
- 9000 soldiers.
Louis XIV took the name Le Roi Soleil, the Sun King, after he played that role in a ballet given at the palace. His emphasis on ballet was enormous. He also loved the hunt.
His expenditures on luxuries and his wars almost bankrupted the nation.
Louis XV was also extravagant. Sadly, he was a weak ruler.
In the time of Louis XVI the revolution of poor people came to pass. The monarchy was deposed. Louis and queen Marie Antoinette were sent to the guillotine. Some 40,000 people would be executed during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
The French Revolution lasted some 10 years - 1789 - 1799. The era was ended by the appearance of Napoleon.
The Bastille Prison, used for arbitrary and political prisoners, was symbolic of the hated aristocracy. The rebels attacked it as the first act of the revolution. The date of the attack was July 14, 1789, and is celebrated as independence day for France.
Versailles:
- L'Orangerie - 2000 orange trees
- 1,400 fountains
- 36,000 workers.
Louis felt too close to the poverty and danger of the mobs of Paris when he was at the Palais Royale or Palace du Louvre. So he moved his capital to the countryside.
Extravagant and insensitive, he demanded that the nobles of France leave their chateaus and reside in Versailles. It eventually comprised ...
- 1000 nobles in residence..
- 5000 servants.
- 9000 soldiers.
Louis XIV took the name Le Roi Soleil, the Sun King, after he played that role in a ballet given at the palace. His emphasis on ballet was enormous. He also loved the hunt.
His expenditures on luxuries and his wars almost bankrupted the nation.
Louis XV was also extravagant. Sadly, he was a weak ruler.
In the time of Louis XVI the revolution of poor people came to pass. The monarchy was deposed. Louis and queen Marie Antoinette were sent to the guillotine. Some 40,000 people would be executed during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
The French Revolution lasted some 10 years - 1789 - 1799. The era was ended by the appearance of Napoleon.
The Bastille Prison, used for arbitrary and political prisoners, was symbolic of the hated aristocracy. The rebels attacked it as the first act of the revolution. The date of the attack was July 14, 1789, and is celebrated as independence day for France.
Versailles:
- L'Orangerie - 2000 orange trees
- 1,400 fountains
- 36,000 workers.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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