title: Proxy server

text: A "forced proxy" server is a proxy server which handles all of the traffic from the client to the internet. The client will not know that the proxy exists, but all of the information passes through the proxy server. They are sometimes called "transparent" proxy servers, because the user does not know a proxy server is between the client and remote server.


title: Proxy server

text: A Transparent SMTP Proxy is a SMTP proxy server that is inserted in between a sending mail server and a receiving mail server. The main purpose of the SMTP proxy is to filter outbound spam. The proxy masquerades itself in such a way that the client and server believe that they are talking to each other even though there is a proxy in between.


title: Proxy server

text: There is a lot of software which can be used for running a proxy server. Some software can only work as a proxy server, while other software can also work as a firewall or caching server. Squid, Varnish and Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server (ISA Server) are among the best known pieces of proxy server software. Some proxy software uses the SOCKS protocol. An example is the Java SOCKS Proxy Server.


title: Almaty

text: Almaty (; formerly known as "Alma-Ata" (Алма-Ата), also "Verniy", (Верный)) is the largest city in Kazakhstan. It has a population of over 1,700,000 people (as of 2015). Eight percent of the population of the country live in Almaty. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1927 to 1998. Almaty is the major commercial center of Kazakhstan.


title: Almaty

text: The city is close to China, and was once on the northern silk route between China and the Middle East. Its name derives from the Turkic languages.


title: Almaty

text: The city is in an earthquake zone. There have been three quite serious earthquakes in the last 150 years.


title: Almaty

text: On 4 February 1854 the Russian Empire decided to build a fort Verniy on the west bank of the Malaya Almatinka river. Later Russian settlers arrived. In 1922 the Soviet Union renamed the city to Alma-Ata. In 1927 Alma-Ata became the capital of the Kazakh SSR.


title: Almaty

text: Almaty TV tower is the highest TV tower above sea level (1130 m.). The tower is the highest building in the city (372 m.). This building able to withstand 10.0 magnitude.


title: Almaty

text: The name "Almaty" comes from the Kazakh word for "apple" (алма). The name is often translated as a city "rich with apples". The older Soviet-era Russian name for the city, Alma-Ata, comes from a mistake (the name literally means "Grandfather of apples"). In the area around Almaty, there are many different species of the wild apples. The region is thought to be the ancestral home of the apple. A local species of apple, the wild "Malus sieversii", may be the ancestor of the modern domestic apple.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is a drug in tobacco cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, vaping liquids and some e-cigarettes. Nicotine is an addictive stimulant that causes the heart to beat faster and makes blood pressure rise. It can also make a person feel less hungry and speeds up the metabolism. These effects can be very unhealthy. Many people who use tobacco products want to quit but have a hard time quitting. It is one of the most addictive chemicals that is widely consumed by humans. It can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is a substance found in most members of the nightshade family of plants. Small quantities of it can be found in tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines (eggplants) and green pepper ("Capsicum", the peppers used as vegetables). Nicotine is also in the Coca plant. In higher quantities it is a very efficient poison. It acts on the nerves. It is a stimulant in lower quantities. It is the main reason people are addicted to smoking.


title: Nicotine

text: Nicotine is named after Jean Nicot. Nicot was a French ambassador in Portugal. He had some tobacco seeds sent to Paris for analysis (as a drug).


title: Nicotine

text: Besides the treatment of nicotine dependency, it seems that the drug can also be used to treat special (severe) forms of epilepsy, as well as some other diseases.


title: Nicotine

text: The amount of nicotine in one cigarette varies greatly. Factors which influence the amount include type of tobacco; brand of cigarette; country or region (some markets restrict maximum average nicotine levels); and how the cigarette is smoked.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Marshawn Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American football running back. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. His aggressive running style has earned him the name "Beast Mode".


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Marshawn grew up in Oakland, California with his three siblings and his mother. His mother had to work multiple jobs in order to keep the family moving. Lynch's family had a history of being athletes, such as his mother, who had been a very good sprinter at the high school that Marshawn was attending at the time (Oakland Technical High School). Lynch played many different positions during high school, including Defensive Back, Quarterback, Wide Receiver, and Linebacker.


title: Titus

text: Titus (Titus Flavius Vespasianus, 30 December 39 – 13 September 81) was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.


title: Titus

text: Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander. He served as a military tribune in Germany and Roman Britain.


title: Titus

text: It was he who brought the reinforcements after the revolt of Boudicca. Two tribes had destroyed Colchester, London and St Albans, and wiped out a whole legion, but were finally defeated by the Roman governor of Britain.


title: Titus

text: He served under his father in Judaea during the First Jewish-Roman War (66–70), where he commanded a legion. The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68, but soon continued in the Year of the Four Emperors.


title: Titus

text: When Vespasian was declared emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. In 70, he successfully laid siege to Jerusalem. He destroyed the city and Temple in Jerusalem. For this, Titus was awarded a Roman triumph. To this day, the Arch of Titus commemorates his victory circa AD 70.


title: Titus

text: When Vespasian became Emperor, Titus and his brother Domitian received the title of "Caesar" from the Senate. Titus held seven Roman consulships during Vespasian's reign and acted as his secretary, appearing in the Senate on his behalf.


title: Titus

text: Under the rule of his father, Titus gained notoriety in Rome as a ruthless Prefect of the Praetorian Guard.


title: Titus

text: During the Jewish wars, Titus had begun a love affair with Berenice, sister of Agrippa II. The Herodians had collaborated with the Romans during the rebellion, and Berenice herself had supported Vespasian upon his campaign to become emperor.


title: Titus

text: In 75, she returned to Titus and openly lived with him in the palace as his promised wife. The Romans were wary of her, and disapproved of their relationship. When the pair was publicly denounced by Cynics in the theatre, Titus caved in to the pressure and sent her away, but his reputation suffered.


title: Titus

text: Titus ruled to great acclaim after the death of Vespasian in 79. He was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians.


title: Titus

text: As emperor, he is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 and a fire in Rome in 80.


title: Titus

text: Because of his supposed vices, many Romans feared he would be another Nero. But Titus proved to be an effective emperor and was well-loved when people found that he had virtues instead of vices. One of his first acts as an emperor was to stop trials based on treason charges, which had long plagued Rome.


title: Titus

text: Under Augustus, the law of treason had been revived and applied to cover slander and libel. This led to a long cycle of trials and executions under such emperors as Tiberius, Caligula and Nero. This spawned entire networks of informers who terrorized Rome for decades. Titus put an end to this practice, against himself or anyone else, declaring:


title: Titus

text: "It is impossible for me to be insulted or abused in any way. For I do naught that deserves censure, and I care not for what is reported falsely".


title: Titus

text: Consequently, no senators were put to death during his reign; he thus kept to his promise that he would assume the office of Pontifex Maximus "for the purpose of keeping his hands unstained". The informers were publicly punished and banished from the city. Titus then made it unlawful for persons to be tried under different laws for the same offense (double jeopardy|). Finally, when Berenice returned to Rome, he sent her away.


title: Titus

text: After barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified (declared a god) by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.


title: Jason Alexander

text: Jason Alexander (born September 23, 1959) is an American actor. He played George Costanza in the television series "Seinfeld". He is of Jewish descent.


title: C96

text: The Mauser C96, is a German semi-automatic pistol that has a broomhandle-style pistol grip made by Mauser. Nicknames for the gun include the Broomhandle (named for its grip), the Red 9, and the box cannon. Although there were some semi-automatic pistols made before it was invented, the C96 was one of the first that was successful. The C96 was used by many countries including Germany, Spain, China, and the Soviet Union. The C96 was produced by Germany from 1896 and ended in 1937. Spain and China made many of their own unlicensed models of the C96 Although it was invented in Germany, it was never a standard pistol for the German military. Nonetheless, it was still very popular pistol for German soldiers and officers until the end of World War II. The only country that made the C96 its standard pistol was China.


title: C96

text: The C96 had many different models that fired different types of bullets. The first models fired 7.63x25mm Mauser bullets, but Germany later made a 9x19mm Parabellum version. 9x19mm versions of the gun have a red number 9 imprinted on the handle so that people would know to only load 9x19mm bullets and not the 7.63x25mm bullets. This is how the 9x19mm versions got the nickname "Red 9". In China, .45 ACP versions were made for the police and the military. The Chinese Army nicknamed the C96 the boxcannon, but the official name was the Type 17 pistol.


title: C96

text: The gun comes with a magazine built in the gun. Most magazines for the C96 could hold 6 bullets, 10 bullets, or 20 bullets. Unlike most semi-automatic pistols, in order to load the C96, the shooter must load the bullets through the top of the gun using a stripper clip (like what you see in the picture above), rather than load a box magazine inside the grip. The C96 can also attach a wooden buttstock to the grip so that the shooter can aim more easily. The buttstock is also used as the gun's holster. The gun was also one of the first machine pistols, since some models allow the shooter to shoot the gun in full automatic fire.


title: C96

text: Although the C96 is a little awkward to use, especially compared to most pistols today, it's old and unusual appearance make it a popular weapon in video games, like "Resident Evil 4", the "Metal Gear" series, the Zombies game mode in the "Call of Duty" series, "", "Battlefield 1", "", "Far Cry 4", and many others.


title: Group 11 element

text: A Group 11 element is one in the series of elements in group 11 (IUPAC style) in the periodic table, consisting of transition metals which are the traditional coinage metals of copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au). Roentgenium (Rg) belongs to this group of elements based on its electronic configuration, but it is a short-lived transactinide with a 22.8 seconds half-life that has only been observed in laboratory conditions. The name "coinage metals" is often used in casual speech to refer to these elements, but various cultures have used many other metals in coinage including aluminium, lead, nickel, stainless steel, and zinc.


title: Group 11 element

text: All the elements of the group except Roentgenium have been known since prehistoric times, as all of them occur in metallic form in nature and no extraction metallurgy has to be used to produce them.


title: Group 11 element

text: Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in its electron configuration, especially the outermost shells resulting in trends in chemical behavior:


title: Group 11 element

text: These elements have low electrical resistivity so they are used for wiring. Copper is the cheapest and most widely used. Bond wires for integrated circuits are usually gold. Silver and silver plated copper wiring are found in some special applications.


title: Group 11 element

text: These metals, especially silver, have unusual properties that make them essential for industrial applications outside of their monetary or decorative value. They are all excellent conductors of electricity. The most conductive of all metals are silver, copper and gold in that order. Silver is also the most thermally conductive element, and the most light reflecting element. Silver also has the unusual property that the tarnish that forms on silver is still highly electrically conductive.


title: Group 11 element

text: Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring and circuitry. Gold contacts are sometimes found in precision equipment for their ability to remain corrosion-free. Silver is used widely in mission-critical applications as electrical contacts, and is also used in photography (because silver nitrate reverts to metal on exposure to light), agriculture, medicine, audiophile and scientific applications.


title: Group 11 element

text: Gold, silver, and copper are quite soft metals and so are easily damaged in daily use as coins. Precious metal may also be easily abraded and worn away through use. In their numismatic functions these metals must be alloyed with other metals to afford coins greater durability. The alloying with other metals makes the resulting coins harder, less likely to become deformed and more resistant to wear.


title: Group 11 element

text: Gold coins: Gold coins are typically produced as 90% gold (e.g. with pre-1933 US coins), or 22 carat (92%) gold (e.g. current collectible coins and Krugerrands), with copper and silver making up the remaining weight in each case. Bullion gold coins are being produced with up to 99.999% gold (in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series).


title: Group 11 element

text: Silver coins: Silver coins are typically produced as either 90% silver - in the case of pre 1965 US minted coins (which were circulated in many countries), or sterling silver (92.5%) coins for pre-1920 British Commonwealth and other silver coinage, with copper making up the remaining weight in each case.


title: Group 11 element

text: Copper coins: Copper coins are often of quite high purity, around 97%, and are usually alloyed with small amounts of zinc and tin.


title: Group 11 element

text: Inflation has caused the face value of coins to fall below the hard currency value of the historically used metals. This had led to most modern coins being made of base metals - copper nickel (around 80:20, silver in color) is popular as are nickel-brass (copper (75), nickel (5) and zinc (20), gold in color), manganese-brass (copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel), bronze, or simple plated steel.


title: Solar mass

text: Solar mass is a unit of measurement of mass. It is equal to the mass of the Sun, about 332,950 times the mass of the Earth, or 1,048 times the mass of Jupiter. Masses of other stars and groups of stars are listed in terms of solar masses. Its mathematical symbol and value are:


title: Berlin Conference

text: The Berlin Conference (or "Congo Conference") of 1884–85 made rules for European colonization and trade in Africa. It was called for by Portugal and organized by Otto von Bismarck. The conference met during the Scramble for Africa, a time with more colonial activity by European powers. Africans were not invited. It ended most existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance, assuring that the European powers would not have to fight among themselves for dominance.


title: Leberkäse

text: The word ""Leberkäse"" literally translates to ""liver-cheese"". In Bavaria there is neither cheese nor liver in the dish, though. Some linguists say, that the word may be related to the German word "Laib" (loaf). Perhaps it also contains the Slavic root "quas" (yeast).


title: Leberkäse

text: According to German food laws, only products called "Bavarian Leberkäse" are allowed not to have liver in them; otherwise, there must be a minimum liver content of 4%. Some local variants must contain even more liver; for example, the liver content of "Stuttgarter Leberkäse" must be at least 5%.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Mount St. Helens is a volcano in the U.S. state of Washington. It is 96 miles (154 km) south of Seattle and 53 miles (85 km) northeast of Portland, Oregon. The volcano is in Cascade Range of mountains. It is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the Pacific Ring of Fire that includes over 160 active volcanos. This is a deadly volcano.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Mount St. Helens was first called "Louwala-Clough", which means "smoking" or "fire mountain" in the language of the Native American Klickitat people. This volcano is well known for its explosions and flows of lava. Its most famous volcanic eruption was on May 18, 1980. In 1982, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the United States Congress made the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, a 110,000 acre (445 km²) area around the volcano that is also a part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: The 1980 eruption was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. 57 people were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. A massive debris avalanche was triggered by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale. This caused the eruption, which reduced the height of the mountain's summit from to and replacing it with a wide horseshoe-shaped crater. The earthquake was caused by a sudden surge of magma from the Earth's mantle. The debris avalanche was up to 0.7 cubic miles (3.1 cubic kilometers) in volume.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Before the eruption in 1980, Mount St. Helens was the fifth-highest peak in Washington State. The peak rose more than 5,000 feet (1,525 m) above its base, where it rises from the ridges that are around it. It stood out from the surrounding hills because of the symmetrical cone shape and the snow that covered the top. Because of its cone-shape, it was called the "Mount Fuji of America", after the famous Mount Fuji which is a symbol of Japan.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: In the months before the large eruption that took place on May 18, 1980, there were many signs of volcanic activity. On March 20, 1980, Mount St. Helens was the center of a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. Steam venting from the volcano started on March 27. By the end of April, the north side of the volcano started to grow larger.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: On May 18, a second earthquake of magnitude 5.1 made a huge part of the north face of the volcano collapse. It was the largest known debris avalanche in recorded history. At 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the magma inside of St. Helens exploded. On the Volcanic Explosivity Index scale, the eruption was rated a five, which is the same rating of the famous Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: For more than nine hours, ash erupted from the volcano, rising into the air for 12 to 16 miles (20 to 27 km) above sea level in the air. This cloud rising from a volcano is called a "plume". The pyroclastic flow of heated rocks and gas that poured out of the Volcano spread over an area of over 230 square miles (600 km²), destroying plants and buildings. The ash spread east at about 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), with some ash reaching Idaho by about 12:00 pm, almost 3.5 hours after the eruption. By about 5:30 pm the plume of ash became smaller. Through the night and for several days after, there were smaller eruptions.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: As well as the effect of the fast-moving hot gasses and stones from the explosion, the collapse of the northern side of Mount St. Helens caused "lahars", or volcanic mudflows. These were mixtures of volcanic ash with melted ice and snow. The lahars went many miles down the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers, destroying bridges and killing many trees. A total of 3.9 million cubic yards (3.0 million m³) of material was carried 17 miles (27 km) south into the Columbia River by the lahars.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: The St. Helens May 18 eruption released 24 megatons of thermal energy. It released more than 0.67 cubic miles (2.8 cubic km) of ash and other material. The collapse of the north side of the volcano shortened St. Helens' height by about 1,300 feet (400 m) and left a volcanic crater one to two miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) wide and half of a mile (800 m) deep. The eruption


title: Mount St. Helens

text: killed 57 people, nearly 7,000 game animals (deer, elk, and bear), and about 12 million fish from a fish farm. It destroyed or damaged over 200 homes, 185 miles (300 km) of highway and of railways.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Between 1980 and 1986, more volcanic activity continued at Mount Saint Helens, with a new lava dome made in the crater. Several small explosions and eruptions took place, making more lava domes. From December 7, 1989 to January 6, 1990, and from November 5, 1990 to February 14, 1991, the volcano erupted with sometimes huge clouds of ash.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Magma bubbles came to the top of the volcano on about October 11, 2004, and a new lava dome was made on the first dome's south side. This new dome grew throughout 2005 and into 2006. Several new features were seen, such as the "whaleback," which is solid magma being pushed to the top of the volcano by magma under it. These features do not last long and break down soon after they are formed. On July 2, 2005, the tip of the whaleback broke off, and a rockfall sent ash several hundred meters into the air.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Mount St. Helens showed important new activity on March 8, 2005, when a 36,000-foot (11,000 m) plume of steam and ash came from the volcano. The plume was seen from as far away as Seattle, a city that is 96 miles away. This fairly small eruption took place because of a new lava dome being formed and a 2.5 magnitude earthquake.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: Another feature that grew from the dome is a "fin" or "slab." About half the size of a football field, the large volcanic rock was being moved up as fast as 6 feet (2 m) per day. In mid-June 2006, the slab had rockfalls very often, but was still being pushed up from inside the volcano.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: On October 22, 2006, at 3:13 p.m. PST, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake broke the lava dome. The resulting collapse and avalanche sent an ash plume 2,000 feet (610 m) over the crater, although it quickly disappeared.


title: Mount St. Helens

text: On December 19, 2006, a large white plume of steam was seen, and some journalists from the media thought there had been a small eruption. However, the Cascades Volcano Observatory of the United States Geological Survey says that there was no large ash plume, so it could not have been an eruption. The volcano has been erupting on occasion since October 2004.


title: Federal district

text: The federal district is the area around the national capital in some federal countries that are organized as


title: Federal district

text: A federal district is made so that no state in the country can claim to be more important than the others because the national capital is inside the state, or to stop one state trying to have control over the national capital.


title: Federal district

text: Belgium is a federal country, but its capital (Brussels) is not a federal district, but is its own language region. To show that the French language and the Flemish language are equal, Brussels is a special bilingual (two-languages) region.


title: Katana

text: A katana is a Japanese long sword used by samurai warriors. It is the most important sword of the three swords worn by samurai: katana, wakizashi, and tanto. The katana was popular from 1400 A.D. until 1876, when the samurai were abolished as a social class.


title: Katana

text: In Japanese, "katana" means a "long sword" and it represents a blade, which is a little curved, with a single edge and a very sharp point.


title: Katana

text: A traditional katana is made of a type of high carbon steel called tamahagane, which is made by smelting a type of Japanese iron ore, called iron sand, in a large furnace called a tatara.


title: Katana

text: This steel is sent to a smith who breaks it down to small pieces and layers the steel according to carbon content, they smelt this in their forge and repeatedly fold the steel in order to homogenise it. The most important part of the forging is the tempering, when the sword is quench-hardened. In ancient times it was said that the soul of the sword was put into the katana at this point. The sword is sometimes given a rough polish by the smith and then sent to a professional polisher for polishing (usually to a mirror finish). After polishing, the sword to be fitted.


title: Katana

text: Today katanas are mainly made of carbon steel of different quality. But there are some swords made of zinc and aluminum alloys, which are able to resist some external forces and are only used for decoration or non-tameshigiri practice. To determine the quality of a katana it is enough to check its "resistance" (how much it bends when it is hit), "elasticity" (the ability of katana to return to its original shape), and the "endurance" of the blade after striking (how long it lasts).


title: Katana

text: Generally, katana is designed for cutting, but it was widely used for stabbing too. This depended mainly on the length of the tang (the handle). The katana could be easily used for cutting if it was made for using with both hands. It was used for stabbing when the katana was made for using with one hand.


title: Katana

text: As a rule, katana was worn under the belt on the left side of a right-handed man. The sword was in its sheath or scabbard (the cover), with its blade facing up. That way the sword could be drawn and cut the opponent in one movement. Alternatively, the scabbard might be held freely in the left hand: in action the sword would be drawn and the scabbard thrown down. This allows for free movement in battle.


title: Katana

text: To pull the katana a few inches out of its scabbard was an aggressive move signalling willingness to fight.


title: Katana

text: The Katana was very important in Japanese society. This sword was thought to be the "soul" of its master. Only a samurai was allowed to have a katana. A simple man with a katana sword could be killed at once.


title: Katana

text: There was a tradition of wearing, taking care and taking the katana out of its scabbard. Samurai kept their katana on a special stand for swords, called katana-kake. This stand was used for both katana and wakizashi. The blade had to have its point up, just as when wearing the sword; the handle (called the tang) had to be turned to the let. This made katana available for handling any time it was needed.


title: Katana

text: The art of handling a katana was developed in martial arts like "kenjutsu" and "iaijutsu". Today, this art is practiced in "iaido" and "kendo" martial arts. The last one is the art of dueling with bamboo or wooden sword. Old schools of handling katana swords still exist. The most famous are: "Kashima Shin-ryu, Kashima Shinto-ryu, Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu".


title: Katana

text: The most appreciated technique of handling a katana is a school called "Nitto Ryu". This school taught how to use both a katana and a wakizashi during a fight. The most famous samurai who improved this art was "Miyamoto Musashi".


title: Wehrmacht

text: The Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. The "Wehrmacht" consisted of the "Heer" (army), the "Kriegsmarine" (navy) and the "Luftwaffe" (air force).


title: Wehrmacht

text: The "Waffen-SS", an initially small armed section of Heinrich Himmler's Allgemeine SS that grew to nearly a million strong during World War II, was not part of the Wehrmacht, but subject to its Supreme Command.


title: Wehrmacht

text: Before the rise of the NSDAP, the term "Wehrmacht" was used in a generic sense to describe armed forces of any nation, being utilized as the "home defence" version of the more general "Streitmacht". For example, the term "Britische Wehrmacht" would identify the British armed forces. Article 47 of the Weimar Constitution of 1919 declared "Der Reichspräsident hat den Oberbefehl über die gesamte Wehrmacht des Reiches" (meaning: "The "Reichspräsident" holds supreme command of all armed forces of the "Reich""). To make a distinction, the term "Reichswehr" was commonly used to identify the German armed forces.


title: Wehrmacht

text: In 1935, the "Reichswehr" was renamed "Wehrmacht". After World War II and under the Allied occupation of Germany, the "Wehrmacht" was abolished.


title: Wehrmacht

text: Today the term "Wehrmacht" refers to Germany's armed forces during the Nazi Germany era and World War II, both in German and English. Note: The "Wehrmacht" was not only the army ("Wehrmacht Heer"). Wehrmacht vehicles used by "Heer", "Luftwaffe" or "Kriegsmarine" had license plates with WH, WL or WM.


title: Wehrmacht

text: World War I ended with the armistice (ceasefire) of 11 November 1918. The armed forces were called "Friedensheer" (peace army) in January 1919. In March 1919, the national assemby passed a law founding a 420,000 strong preliminary army as "Vorläufige Reichswehr". The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in May and, in June, Germany was forced to sign the contract. Among other terms, the army was limited to one hundred thousand men with fifteen thousand more in the navy. Tanks and heavy artillery were forbidden and the air force was dissolved. A new post-war military (the Reichswehr) was established on 23 March 1921.


title: Wehrmacht

text: Germany immediately found ways not to keep to these conditions. A secret collaboration with the Soviet Union began after the treaty of Rapallo. Germany helped the Soviet Union with industrialisation and Soviet officers were to be trained in Germany. German tank and air force specialists could exercise in the Soviet Union. German chemical weapons research and manufacture would be done there, plus other projects. Around three hundred German pilots received training at "Lipetsk", some tank training took place near "Kazan" and toxic gas was developed at "Saratov" for the German army.


title: Wehrmacht

text: After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on 2 August 1934, Hitler assumed the office of Reichspräsident, and thus became commander in chief. All officers and soldiers of the German armed forces had to swear a personal oath of loyalty to the "Führer", as Adolf Hitler now was called. By 1935, Germany was openly breaking the military restrictions of the Versailles Treaty, and conscription was reintroduced on 16 March 1935.


title: Wehrmacht

text: The size of the standing army remained at about the 100,000-man mark decreed by the treaty, but a new group of conscripts equal to this size would receive training each year. The conscription law formalized the name "Wehrmacht". The existence of the Wehrmacht was officially announced on 15 October 1935 under Nazi authority. The insignia was a simpler version of the Iron Cross (the straight-armed so-called "Balkenkreuz" or beamed cross). This had been used as an aircraft and tank marking late in World War I.


title: Wehrmacht

text: The Wehrmacht entered the war with a minority of its formations motorized; infantry remained approximately 90% foot-borne throughout the war, and artillery primarily horse-drawn. The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the reason for the success of the German invasions of Poland (September 1939), Norway (April 1940), Denmark, Belgium, France and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941) and the early campaigns in the Soviet Union (June 1941).


title: Wehrmacht

text: With the entry of the United States in December 1941, the Wehrmacht found itself engaged in ground campaigns against two major industrial powers. At this critical juncture, Hitler assumed personal control of the Wehrmacht high command, and his personal failings as a military commander arguably contributed to major defeats in the spring of 1943, at Stalingrad and Tunis in North Africa.


title: Wehrmacht

text: The German Air Force, led by Hermann Göring, contributed many units of ground forces to the war in Russia as well as the Normandy front. In 1940, the Fallschirmjäger paratroops conquered the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael and took part in the airborne invasion of Norway, but after suffering heavy losses in the Battle of Crete, large scale airdrops were discontinued. Operating as ordinary infantry, the 1st Fallschirmjäger Division took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino.


title: Wehrmacht

text: The German Navy (Kriegsmarine) played a major role in the Second World War as control over the commerce routes in the Atlantic was crucial for Germany, Britain and later the Soviet Union. In the Battle of the Atlantic, the initially successful German U-boat fleet arm was eventually defeated due to Allied technological advances like sonar, radar, and the breaking of the Enigma code. Large surface vessels were few in number due to construction limitations by international treaties prior to 1935. The "pocket battleships" Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer were important as commerce raiders only in the opening year of the war. No aircraft carrier was operational as German leadership lost interest in the Graf Zeppelin which had been launched in 1938. Following the loss of Bismarck in 1941, with Allied air superiority threatening the remaining battlecruisers in French Atlantic harbours, the ships were ordered to go back to German ports.


title: Wehrmacht

text: Although the Waffen-SS was not technically a part of the Wehrmacht, they were under the control of the Wehrmacht High Command during World War 2. They were considered as elite troops, and suffered heavy losses (more than the normal army).


title: Wehrmacht

text: The Wehrmacht was used as a tool of state policy in the Second World War, for both military and political aims. There is considerable controversy over the allegations that the Wehrmacht was found to be significantly rather than incidentally involved in the Holocaust, especially because the elements of the SS involved in the Holocaust were not the Waffen-SS and not under the control of the OKW or field commanders. The Wehrmacht ordered and participated in massacres of civilians for reprisals, executions of prisoners of war, summary executions of Soviet political officers and executions of military and civilian hostages as punishment for partisan activities in occupied territories.However, the oft-repeeated claim of breaking the Geneva convention by its treatment of Russian prisoners of war is not correct. Common Clause 2 of the Geneva Convention states that the treatment requirements apply where both parties are signatories of the Conventions. The Germans were signatories, The Russians refused to sign.


title: Fundamental force

text: There are four fundamental forces, sometimes called fundamental interactions. The forces are called "fundamental" because there is no simpler way for physicists to understand what the forces do or how they do it (their action). They are called interactions because the action of one object on another is matched by a reaction from the other.


title: Fundamental force

text: The strong and weak interactions are forces at the smallest distances and explain nuclear interactions.


title: Fundamental force

text: three of these forces (electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force). Most physicists think that these become a single force under very high temperatures. This idea is known as the grand unification theory.


title: Fundamental force

text: In the future, new forces may explain dark energy and dark matter. We may also get a Theory of everything that explains the four known fundamental forces. Even if we first "unify" the three forces of the Standard Model, we may continue to think of those forces as fundamental. This is what happened when theoretical physicists unified electromagnetism and the weak interaction with


title: Queensboro Bridge

text: The Queensboro Bridge is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. The bridge is also named the 59th Street Bridge because its end in Manhattan is between 59th and 60th streets. It was finished in 1909. The Queensboro Bridge connects Midtown Manhattan with Long Island City in the borough of Queens. It goes over Roosevelt Island. The bridge is long. The bridge was renamed after New York City mayor Ed Koch in 2011. Its official name is now the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge.


title: Queensboro Bridge

text: To the north is a tramway that travels in the air. This tramway goes from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island.


title: Queensboro Bridge

text: From 1909 to 1917, the span of the bridge between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island was the longest cantilever span in North America.


title: Queensboro Bridge

text: The bridge used to carry elevated trains. It now carries cars. Since 2000, people can walk across the bridge.


title: Nanjing

text: Nanjing is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province, and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. Nanjing was the capital of China during several historical periods, including the former capital city of Republic of China, and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure. It has autonomy for jurisdiction and economy only slightly less than that of a province.


title: Nanjing

text: It lies in the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta. With an urban population of over five million, it is also the second largest commercial center in the East China region, behind only Shanghai.


title: Nanjing

text: The Mandarin Chinese name of the city is ', which means "The Southern Capital". It got this name when the Yongle Emperor of the Ming family of rulers moved most of his government to Beijing ("The Northern Capital") in the early 1400s. In Chinese, Nanjing's name is written . Today, people spell it "Nanjing" because they use the pinyin way of spelling. Pinyin tries to show how the word should sound in Mandarin. People also used to write it , using Mr.Wade and Mr.Giles's way of spelling, and "Nanking", using the Chinese Postal Map's way.


title: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

text: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, often simply called The Metrodome, was a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The field was renamed Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in October 2009. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington (which, beginning a three year deal on October 5, 2009, now holds naming rights for the Metrodome's field), and Memorial Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. The Metrodome was home to the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings, and in its last years was also sometimes used by the Big Ten's Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball team. The stadium was also the home of the Minnesota Twins from 1982 to 2009 and the Golden Gophers football team from 1982 to 2008. The Twins now play at the nearby Target Field, while Golden Gophers football returned to campus at TCF Bank Stadium.


title: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome

text: The Vikings played their last game at the stadium on December 29, 2013. Demolition of the stadium began on January 18, 2014. A new stadium for the Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, was built on the site, and opened in 2016. During construction of the new stadium, the Vikings played at TCF Bank Stadium, located on the University of Minnesota campus.


title: Amun

text: Amun was one of the eight ancient Egyptian gods who formed the Ogdoad of Hermopolis. He was the god of the air and his consort was Ament (Amaunet).


title: Amun

text: In Egyptian mythology, Amun was a very powerful god. He was often combined with Ra to form the god Amun-Ra. At one point in Egyptian history, he was called the "King of the Gods".


title: Amun

text: Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and sometimes Imen, "Egyptian" Yamanu) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who became one of the most important deities in Ancient Egypt. In later years, bined with Horus into one god.


title: Amun

text: He began as a Theban wind and fertility god and ended up the supreme deity, with most of Egypt's vast wealth dedicated to his temple. Around the second millennium B.C.E., Thebes and its cult of Amun grew so powerful that it threatened worship of the sun god, Ra. The two deities merged. Amun-Ra was hailed as a national god, the creator of the universe, the pharaoh's personal protector, and the god of war.


title: Amun

text: Amun's name is first recorded as "imn". That means "The hidden (one)". Vowels were not written in Egyptian hieroglyphics, but Egyptologists think the name survives into the Coptic language as "Amoun."


title: Amun

text: It was thought that he had created himself and then created everything else while remaining distant from the rest of the world. In that sense, he was the original inscrutable and indivisible creator.


title: Amun

text: Amun was shown in human form, seated on a throne, wearing on his head a plain deep circlet from which rise two straight parallel plumes, maybe meant as had no father


title: Amun

text: When Amun had become more important than Menthu, the local war god of Thebes, Menthu was called the son of Amun. However, as Mut was infertile, it was believed that she, and thus Amun, had adopted Menthu instead.


title: United States Navy

text: The United States Navy is part of the United States Armed Forces (the military of the USA). It is the largest navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage, and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft .


title: United States Navy

text: The navy was called the Continental Navy from 1775 until Congress disbanded it and sold the ships in 1785. It was started again as the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798. The Department of the Navy needed places to make ships, which are called shipyards. So it paid slaveowners to borrow their slaves, then forced the slaves to build and run the shipyards in Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida.


title: United States Navy

text: Today, the US Navy has over 300,000 sailors and officers, and almost another 100,000 workers who are not official sailors.


title: United States Navy

text: The US Navy has about 300 warships, or ships designed for fighting. The largest warships are aircraft carriers, which have large and flat decks that act as small airports for planes carrying weapons. The US Navy has more of these aircraft carriers than any other navy in the world, and a large number of planes in Naval Aviation. Aircraft carriers are often protected by smaller ships, called cruisers or destroyers.


title: Caen

text: Caen ( pronounced "can" (/kɑ̃/);) is a city in France. It is the capital city of Basse-Normandie and Calvados. The river Orne flows through it. Today, about 110,000 people live there ("intra muros", inside the city); the urban area has about 370,000 people. The city has a very long history; the name probably has Gaulish origins (from "cato" Military activity; and "mago" field; probably something like "place where the troops exercised"). A campus of the École de management de Normandie is in the city.


title: Hogwarts

text: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional boarding school in J. K. Rowling's best-selling "Harry Potter" series. It is a school of magic for witches and wizards between the ages of eleven and seventeen living in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland.


title: Hogwarts

text: Gryffindor house was started by Godric Grand Gryffindor, from whom it gets the name. The house especially values courage. Its symbol (animal) is the lion and its colours are scarlet (red-purple) and yellow / goldish yellow. Nearly Headless Nick is the house ghost. The Gryffindors always compete with the Slytherins.


title: Hogwarts

text: The Gryffindor Common Room (the place where the Gryffindor students spend their time and do their homework) is in one of the castle's towers, at the seventh floor. At the door, there is the Fat Lady, or the Lady who is fat. She lets the students in only after they give her the password (which changes from the beginning of the school year to the end of the school year). The Fat Lady wears a blue dress. In the room there is a place with fire, many chairs and tables, and two pair of stairs which take the girls and boys to their sleeping rooms.


title: Hogwarts

text: Hufflepuff house was started by Helga Hufflepuff, from whom it gets the name. The house especially values hard work, patience, friendship and fair play. Its symbol (animal) is the badger and its colours are black and yellow. The Fat Friar is the house ghost.


title: Hogwarts

text: The Hufflepuff Common Room door is near the kitchens, in the dungeons. It is a quite cozy and welcoming place, not at all like a dungeon. In the room there are yellow hangings and fat armchairs, with little underground tunnels that take the students to their sleeping rooms. The tunnels have round doors like barrel-tops.


title: Hogwarts

text: Ravenclaw house was started by Rowena Ravenclaw, from whom it gets its name. The house especially values intelligence. Its symbol (animal) is the eagle and its colours are blue and bronze, the house's saying is "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure". The Grey Lady is the house ghost and when she was alive she was Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw.


title: Hogwarts

text: The Ravenclaw Common Room is in Ravenclaw Tower, on the west side of the Castle. At the door the students must answer a riddle that the eagle-shaped door knocker asks them.


title: Hogwarts

text: Slytherin house was started by Salazar Slytherin, from whom it gets the name. The house especially values ambition and determination. Its symbol (animal) is the snake and its colours are green and silver. The Bloody Baron is the house ghost.


title: Hogwarts

text: The Slytherin Common Room is in the dungeons of Hogwarts and is placed under The Black Lake, in the school grounds.


title: Hogwarts

text: The house has a negative reputation, with a lot of people saying that it is the house from where almost all dark wizards in Britain, notably Tom Riddle (Voldemort), came from.


title: Hogwarts

text: The house is usually in competition with the Gryffindor house, as they "don't like each other on principle".


title: Alesha Dixon

text: Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is a British singer and television personality. She was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England. Her mother was Scottish. Her father was Jamaican. She was a member of the British girl band, Mis-Teeq. She released her first UK solo album, "The Alesha Show", in 2008.


title: Alesha Dixon

text: Dixon's career began in 1999 when she met Sabrina Washington. They had both joined Dance Attic (a popular dance class school in West London). They recorded a demo called "Inspiration". During an audition, they met with Su-Elise Nash, and then formed a trio. They were soon signed to Telstar Records with a new member, Zena McNally. They became the popular UK garage/R&B girl band, Mis-Teeq. They released their first single, "Why?", in 2000. Soon, McNally left the band to perform by herself. The band decided to remain a trio.


title: Alesha Dixon

text: In 2001, they released their first album "Lickin' On Both Sides". It had the songs "All I Want", "One Night Stand", "B With Me" and "Roll On / This Is How We Do It". In 2003, they released their second album "Eye Candy". That album had the songs "Scandalous", "Can't Get It Back" and "Style". In 2004, Mis-Teeq toured the United States. They released their first single "Scandalous" from their first American album "Mis-Teeq"."MisTeeq" was a compilation of the albums "Lickin' On Both Sides" and "Eye Candy". They released "One Night Stand" before coming back to Europe to start work with their third album. However, Telstar Records was shut down and the band had to have a 'Greatest Hits' compilation released under exclusive licenses with Universal Recording Company.


title: Alesha Dixon

text: Dixon appeared in the N*E*R*D* music video for "She Wants to Move". That song was from their second album "Fly Or Die". The last song she recorded with her band was "Shoo Shoo Baby". It was recorded for the Disney movie "Valiant". In March 2005, they released their 'Greatest Hits' compilation. They also announced that they were going to start working separately. Dixon later announced that she signed a ₤500,000 contract deal with Polydor Records. She also announced that she will work on material for her first solo album. In the summer of 2005, she married her long-time fiancé, rapper MC Harvey (formerly of So Solid Crew).


title: Alesha Dixon

text: Dixon spent a year preparing for her solo first album, "Fired Up". In June 2005, she announced the single "Superficial". After the song leaked illegally, the company said her next single would be "Lipstick". She released "Lipstick" on 14 August 2006. It went to No. 13 on the UK Single Charts. Dixon worked with several producers for her first solo album, including Richard X, Xenomania, Johnny Douglas, Brian Higgins, and Paul Eppe. She worked on a song with famous UK rapper Estelle.


title: Alesha Dixon

text: Dixon announced that her second single would be "Knock Down". She calls the song "reggae-influenced". It was released on 30 October 2006. An album promo of "Fired Up" was released during the early weeks of September. It had the songs "Lipstick", "Knock Down", "Ting-A-Ling", "Fired Up", and "Free". All those songs were expected to be on her first album.


title: Alesha Dixon

text: After "Knock Down" did not chart in the top 40 her record company dumped her. "Fired Up" was not released anywhere except Japan. After winning "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2007 she made a comeback. In 2008, Dixon released "The Boy Does Nothing", the lead single from her album "The Alesha Show". She then released "Breathe Slow" which charted at No. 3 on the UK singles chart. That was her highest-charting single so far.


title: Irrational number

text: In mathematics, an irrational number is a real number that cannot be written as a complete ratio of two integers.


title: Irrational number

text: An irrational number cannot be fully written down in fraction or decimal form. It would have an infinite number of digits. In addition, these digits would also not repeat. The set of irrational numbers is sometimes written as formula_1 or formula_2.


title: Irrational number

text: Irrational numbers often occur in geometry. For instance, if a square has sides of 1 meter, the distance between opposite corners is the square root of two meters. This is an irrational number. In decimal form it is written as 1.414213... Mathematicians have proved that the square root of every natural number is either an integer or an irrational number.


title: Irrational number

text: One well known irrational number is pi (π). This is the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter. This number is the same for every circle. The number pi is approximately 3.14159265358979323… .


title: Irrational number

text: Other examples of irrational number include the numbers formula_3 and formula_4. A number for which irrationality is not known is the Euler–Mascheroni constant formula_5.


title: Over the Rainbow

text: "Over the Rainbow" is a song from the movie "The Wizard of Oz". It was composed by Harold Arlen and the lyrics were written by E.Y. Harburg. Judy Garland sang the song in the movie. Over time it would become her signature song. The song won an Academy Award. The song is also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".


title: Over the Rainbow

text: About five minutes into the movie, Judy Garland (as Dorothy Gale) sings "Over the Rainbow". She is trying to get her aunt and uncle to listen to her story about an incident involving her dog, Toto. Dorothy's Aunt Em tells her to "find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble". Dorothy walks off with Toto. She says to the dog, "Someplace where there isn't any trouble. Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train. It's far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain." She begins to sing the song.


title: Over the Rainbow

text: MGM executives thought the song "slowed down the picture". They said it did not sound like a song a little girl would sing in a barnyard. They wanted to cut it from the movie. Other people wanted the song to be kept in the movie. The executives changed their minds and the song was kept.


title: Over the Rainbow

text: "Over the Rainbow" was going to be sung again by Garland in the scene where she is locked in the witch's room and watches the hourglass. She weeps through the song, and ends with "I'm frightened, Auntie Em! I'm frightened!". The song was cut from the scene. The "I'm frightened" cry was kept in the movie.


title: Over the Rainbow

text: The song is number one on the "Songs of the Century" list compiled by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The American Film Institute has ranked "Over the Rainbow" as the greatest movie song of all time on the list of "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". American troops in Europe in World War II adopted the song as a symbol of the United States. Garland performed the song for American troops as part of a 1943 command performance.


title: Over the Rainbow

text: Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole (1959–1997) recorded a version of "Over the Rainbow" in 1988. It was released in 1993.


title: Optical illusion

text: An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is one which shows images that differ from normal reality.


title: Optical illusion

text: The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception. That is normal, but in these cases the appearance does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source.


title: Optical illusion

text: The general explanation for most illusions is the way the brain works on sense data to produce a meaningful perception. A great 19th century psychologist Hermann von Helmholtz described perception as "unconscious inferences from sensory data and past experience". Richard Gregory discussed how the brain makes an hypothesis about what's out there, and sometimes the hypothesis does not quite work out. His model of perception is an interaction between data from sense organs and previous knowledge and experience.


title: Optical illusion

text: Researcher Mark Changizi of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York thinks optical illusions are due to a 'neural lag'. When light hits the retina, about one-tenth of a second goes by before the brain translates the signal into a visual perception of the world. Scientists have known of the lag, and have discussed how humans compensate for it. Some suggest that our motor system somehow modifies our movements to offset the delay.


title: Optical illusion

text: Changizi asserts that the human visual system has evolved to compensate for neural delays by generating images of what will occur one-tenth of a second into the future. This foresight enables humans to react to events in the present, enabling humans to perform reflexive acts like catching a fly ball and to maneuver smoothly through a crowd. Illusions occur when our brains attempt to perceive the future, and those perceptions do not match reality.


title: Optical illusion

text: Essentially, the ideas of Helmholz, Gregory and Changizi are similar. We do not mechanically turn sense data into a picture of the world, as some had thought. What we do is use our brains to work out what it is we are looking at. This involves the use of memory and logic, though at a fast rate. The process is very good, but not foolproof. When it fails we get an illusion.


title: Kurdish people

text: Kurds (Kurdish: "کورد ,Kurd") or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group indigenous to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia (Tunceli Province), Khorasan, and the Caucasus, as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey (in particular Istanbul) and Western Europe (primarily in Germany). The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.


title: Kurdish people

text: Kurds are one of the largest and most important ethnic groups in the Middle East. There are between about 35 million and about 40 million Kurds. Most of the Kurdish population lives in Kurdistan. Kurdistan is the area where Kurds live. Today, it is a border country with lands in the east and southeast of Turkey, in the north-west of Iran, in the north of Iraq, and in the north-east of Syria. (Lands in Armenia and Azerbaijan also have small Kurdish populations.) After most of these borders came into existence after World War I, many Kurds went out of Kurdistan. They migrated to the large cities in the Middle East and to Western Europe. Since the Middle Ages, there have also been Kurdish communities in Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, and Aleppo. Since the Early Modern Period, there have also been Kurdish communities in Khorasan (north-eastern Iran and Afghanistan).


title: Kurdish people

text: Many Kurds speak the Kurdish language. The two largest Kurdish dialects are Kurmanji Kurdish and Sorani Kurdish. The Kurds of Turkish Kurdistan and of Syrian Kurdistan speak Kurmanji. About half of Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan speak Kurmanji, but other Kurds there speak Sorani. Some other Kurds in Iranian Kurdistan speak the Gorani Kurdish dialect, and others in Turkish Kurdistan speak Zazaki Kurdish.


title: Kurdish people

text: Until the 20th century, most Kurds were nomadic people. The Kurds' economy had a close connection with pastoralism and animal husbandry. In the 21st century, nomadism is not common among Kurds. Most Kurds now live in cities. In the economy of the 21st century, farming is the most important work in Kurdistan. Industrialization means that fewer Kurds work as farmers, and this has caused urbanization of the Kurdish population. In the past, Kurds were part of the Silk Road economic system. Trade routes form connections between different countries through Kurdistan.


title: Kurdish people

text: The Kurds share their lands with other ethnic groups. Some of the Kurds' neighbours are Turks, Arabs, Persians, Jews, Armenians, and Assyrians. In the past, some Arabic and Turkic people became Kurds by cultural assimilation. In the nationalist period, the governments of the states that control Kurdistan tried to assimilate the Kurds into Turkish, Iranian, and Arabic culture. These states (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria) also moved Turks, Persians, and Arabs into Kurdistan. The governments of these states have used genocide, ethnocide, linguicide, and ethnic cleansing against Kurds. The Soviet Union also forced Kurds from the Caucasus to migrate to Central Asia. When the Soviet Union ended, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between Armenia and Azerbaijan affected most of the Kurds in the Caucasus.


title: Kurdish people

text: Most Kurds are Muslims. Most are part of Sunni Islam. Most Kurds are part of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, but some Kurds are part of the Hanafi school. Sufism is also common among Kurds. There are also Kurds who are part of Shia Islam and Kurds who are part of Alevism. There are also Kurdish Jews and Yazidis.


title: Kurdish people

text: The name of the Kurds is very old. The first proof of the name is from writing in Middle Persian (Pahlavi), the language of the Sasanian Empire. The name became most common after the Muslim conquests during the 7th century CE.


title: Kurdish people

text: In the Islamic world of the early Middle Ages, the word had a loose meaning. The meaning was variable, and people gave many tribes and nomadic peoples the word Kurd. Peoples living in the mountains between Anatolia and the Iranian plateau often had the name "Kurd". In the Persian language and the Arabic language, writers during the 10th century gave the name to different ethnic groups. Some scholars make an argument that the meaning of the name was not an ethnonym at that time, because many different groups of nomads and pastoralists had the name "Kurds" during the Middle Ages. However, other scholars make the argument that the name was not the name of lifestyle or economic system (like nomadism or pastoralism) but the name of a population. This population shared a common character in linguistics, shared an area to live in, and shared a mythology. Whether the people and groups who had the name "Kurds" thought that they were a common community before the 12th century is unknown.


title: Kurdish people

text: Some scholars have associated the Kurds with the Medes, an ancient Iranian people. Gernot Ludwig Windfuhr, professor of Iranian Studies, states that the majority of those who now speak Kurdish most likely were formerly speakers of a Median dialect. Windfuhr also states Kurdish languages as Parthian, albeit with a Median substratum.


title: Kurdish people

text: During the Sassanid era, in "Kar-Namag i Ardashir i Pabagan" a short prose work written in Middle Persian, Ardashir I (founder of Sasanian empire) is depicted as having battled the Kurds and their leader, Madig. After initially sustaining a heavy defeat, Ardashir I was successful in subjugating the Kurds. In a letter sent by Ardashir's enemy, Ardavan, and in the same work, it is stated that he was a Kurd.You've bitten off more than you can chew and you have brought death to yourself. O son of a Kurd, raised in the tents of the Kurds, who gave you permission to put a crown on your head?


title: Kurdish people

text: The usage of the term "Kurd" during this time period most likely was a social term, designating Northwestern Iranian nomads, rather than a concrete ethnic group.


title: Kurdish people

text: In the early Middle Ages, the Kurds sporadically appear in Arabic sources, though the term was still not being used for a specific people; instead it referred to an amalgam of nomadic western Iranian tribes, who were distinct from Persians. However, in the High Middle Ages, the Kurdish ethnic identity gradually materialized, as one can find clear evidence of the Kurdish ethnic identity and solidarity in texts of the 12th and 13th centuries, though, the term was also still being used in the social sense. Since 10th century, Arabic texts including al-Masudi's works, have referred to Kurds as a distinct linguistic group. From 11th century onward, the term Kurd is explicitly defined as an ethnonym and this does not suggest synonymity with the ethnographic category nomad.


title: Kurdish people

text: In the 10th-12th centuries, a number of Kurdish principalities and dynasties were founded, ruling Kurdistan and neighbouring areas:


title: Kurdish people

text: In Classical Antiquity, the most important deities of the Kurds' lands were Ahura Mazda and Mithra. The most common religion was Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism was probably the state religion of the Achaemenid Empire. There are connections between the writings of Zoroastrianism and the Vedas, the Hindu writings of ancient India.


title: Kurdish people

text: In Late Antiquity before the 7th century, Kurds had many different religious beliefs. There were Christians and Zoroastrians. There were also Kurdish Jews. Some sects among the Kurdish Christians and Jews had religious beliefs from Zoroastrianism and Mithraism in their religion. There may have been Kurds among the Companions of the Prophet (the people who knew Muhammad).


title: Kurdish people

text: The Muslim conquests by Arab armies in the 7th century meant that most Kurds became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries. Most Kurds converted to Islam between the 7th and 9th centuries CE. Kurds who were not Muslim had to pay the jizya, a tax. Most of these were part of the Shafi'ite system of Islamic jurisprudence. However, although most Kurds are Muslims and part of Sunni Islam, there are also Kurds of many other religions and sects.


title: Gaheris

text: Gaheris is a legendary character, a member of the Knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was a nephew of King Arthur. He was the third son of Arthur's sister Morgause and her husband Sir Lot. He was described as being valiant, agile, handsome, and his left arm was shorter than his right arm. He was killed by Lancelot in the "Prose Lancelot" He was Sir Gawain's brother.


title: History of Japan

text: The History of Japan has old texts (things people have written) that go back to the 1st century, but archaeologists have found proof of people living in Japan for the last several thousand years from the time when the last Ice age ended.


title: History of Japan

text: The first period of Japan's history is its prehistory, before the written history of Japan. Archeologists have found pottery from that time. Japan’s Paleolithic era covers a period from around 100,000 BC to around 12,000 BC. Archeologists have found some polished tools made of stones. Some of them are kept in Tokyo National Museum. These tools are more than 32,000 years old.


title: History of Japan

text: The Jomon period lasted for about 10,000 years, from 10,000 BC to around 300 BC. This was the Mesolithic era for Japan. Some scholars say that during this period, Neolithic culture also developed in Japan.


title: History of Japan

text: Archeologists have found several pieces of pottery of that time. Some are clay figures and some are vessels and potteries of different shapes.


title: History of Japan

text: The Yayoi period covered about 550 years, from around 300 BC till around 250. The period's name came from a location in Tokyo.


title: History of Japan

text: By that time, Japanese people had learnt the cultivation of rice, and agriculture became the main part of the Japanese society. Because of this, differences in social status started to occur.


title: History of Japan

text: Different clans controlled different areas and they also fought among themselves. Some Chinese texts tell about this time. These texts describe Japan as Wa. Later, the Yamatai came into being when about 30 smaller parts of Japan of that time united under a queen named Himiko.


title: History of Japan

text: The Ancient and Classical period covers about 900 years, beginning from the mid-3rd century till the end of the 12th century. Japanese history during this period may further be divided into several smaller periods. These are described below.


title: History of Japan

text: In the history of Japan, the period from the mid-3rd century until the mid-6th century is known as the Kofun period.


title: History of Japan

text: Kofun is a large tomb made at this era, and people who had social power were buried. Buddhism had not reached Japan by this time. Many kofuns were made in many places. This fact lets us to know that many social groups all around the country made up an authority, and this leads to the Yamato dynasty.


title: History of Japan

text: The Yamato dynasty started to have take more action against Korea and China. In the 4th century, they started to advance to Korea to get iron. By this, cultures and technologies of Korea and China started to be introduced to Japan. They also fought with Goguryeo and Silla, which are countries in Korea. In the 5th century, the five kings of Wa made effort to have relationship with China.


title: History of Japan

text: The second period is called the Asuka period (mid-6th century till around 710). Asuka is the place where the base of Yamato dynasty took place. By this time Buddhism had reached Japan.


title: History of Japan

text: From the end of the 6th century to the early 7th century, Empress Suiko and her nephew Prince Shotoku innovated the political system so that the emperor gets power. They also sent missions to the Sui Dynasty.


title: History of Japan

text: The trend of centralization still continues. In 645, the Taika Reforms takes place, and the political system changes a lot.


title: History of Japan

text: In 672, the Jinshin war occurs and Prince Ōama becomes the emperor (Emperor:Tenno天皇). In his era, Japan starts to make a Chinese style law system (Ritsuryo). Also, the word , which means "Japan" in Japanese, was started to be used in the era of Tenmu.


title: History of Japan

text: During this period, from the year 707, steps were taken to shift the capital to Heijō-kyō, a place near present-day Nara. This was completed in 710. A new city was built. The city was built to look like the Chinese capital city of that time. At that time, the Tang Dynasty was ruling China, and the capital was at Chang'an (now Xi'an).


title: History of Japan

text: During the Nara period, development was slow. The Emperor’s family members were always fighting for power with the Buddhists and other groups. At that time, Japan had friendly relations with Korea and China’s Tang Dynasty. The capital was shifted twice. In 784, the capital was moved to Nagaoka and in 794 to Kyoto.


title: History of Japan

text: The years from 794 to 1185 are known as the . This grouping of years is named after city of Heian-kyō, which is the early name of present-day Kyoto. The Heian period produced many cultural achievements, such as the Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu.


title: History of Japan

text: The power of the Japanese imperial court (that is, the Emperor, his ministers and other important persons) rose. This period is also famous for its art, poetry and literature. Japanese culture also became Japanese way.The language used in this period was called Late Old Japanese. The writing systems known as Kana emerged at this time. By the end of this period (that is, by the end of the 12th century), a number of groups came into being. These groups were highly armed and they fought among themselves. The situation was like a civil war, that is, war among different sections of society. Finally, groups of people called Samurai led society under the political rule of a Shogun. The Heian Period ended due to the Genpei War.


title: History of Japan

text: The period from around the 12th century through the 19th century is called feudal period in the history of Japan. The Japanese Emperor was the head of the government, but he had no real power. Many powerful families (called daimyo and military groups called shogun) ruled Japan during this period. The feudal period of Japan is generally sub-divided into different periods named after the shogunate which ruled during that period.


title: History of Japan

text: The years 1185 to 1333 are known as the . This grouping of years is named after city of Kamakura which was the center of power of the Kamakura shogunate. Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. The period is named after the government of Kamakura Shogunate. In this period, Mongols tried to invade Japan between the years 1272 and 1281. Japanese were successful at driving away the Mongols. But, this badly affected Japan. Shogunate also became weak and its rule ended in 1333. For a short time, Go Daigo became the emperor of Japan.


title: History of Japan

text: The Muromachi period began in 1336 and ended in 1573. Emperor Go-Daigo lost his throne. The government of the Ashikaga shogunate took control of most parts of Japan. This period ended in 1573. In that year the 15th and the last shogun named Ashikaga Yoshiaki was forced to leave the capital Kyōto.


title: History of Japan

text: During this period, in 1542, a Portuguese ship reached Japan and made the first direct contact between both cultures, including the knowledge of firearms. In the next few years, merchants and also some Christian missionaries from several European countries, mainly Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and Spain, reached the shores of Japan.


title: History of Japan

text: Azuchi-Momoyama period covers the years from 1568 to 1600. During these years, different parts of Japan became united again. Japan's military power grew. In 1592, Japan wanted to conquer China. At that time China was ruled by the Ming Dynasty. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was one of the main leaders of Japan. He sent an army of 160,000 samurai to Korea. The Japanese could not win and retreated back to Japan. In 1597, Japan again sent an army to Korea. In 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died. After his death, the Japanese dropped the idea of conquering Korea and China.


title: History of Japan

text: During this period, the Japanese brought many Koreans to Japan. These Koreans were very good at making pottery and at other arts. Some of them were very educated. Japan gained new information and knowledge from these Koreans.


title: History of Japan

text: Yaita Kinbee Kiyosada, the Japanese blacksmith who was ordered to copy and reverse engineer Portuguese matchlock muskets could not make the screw properly himself and had to give a his 16 year old daughter Wakasa in marriage to a Portuguese in exchange for the Portuguese teaching him to build the muskets. Today Japanese in Tageshima regard Wakasa as a heroine for giving herself to a Portuguese man in exchange for teaching how to screw the end of the musket barrel and a statue was built in her honour as well as candy, restaurants and boast named after her.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese prostitutes were required to prove they were not Christian in order to work in prostitution by the Tokugawa government.


title: History of Japan

text: During the Edo period, Japan had many small rulers. There were about 200 of them. They were called daimyo, and they were all ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate which was leaded by the Tokugawa clan. The shoguate's capital was relocated to Edo. This place was at modern-day Tokyo. Fifteen shoguns controlled the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo Period.


title: History of Japan

text: Tôjin-yashiki, the Chinese merchant colony on a square island was south of Dejima where the Dutch merchants were. Japanese prostitutes from the Maruyama red light district of Nagasaki visited both the Dutch and Chinese men to have sex with them. Japanese artists drew erotic paintings of the foreign men having seen with Japanese women.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese peasant men were not required to kill wives who committed adultery but samurai were. The majority of the Japanese people in this period were townspeople, fisher people or peasant commoners and they did not take adultery, virginity or paternity of their children as serious issues unlike the samurai families, who were a minority of the Japanese population. Japanese commoner women and men mixed with each other and had out of wedlock or bastard children through adultery and they made up the majority of prostitutes. Japanese commoners did not have surnames until the Meiji restoration in the 19th century.


title: History of Japan

text: The Edo period is also a very important period in the history of Japan. The main developments include:


title: History of Japan

text: In 1867, the Tokugawa Shogunate returned its political power to the emperor. Although, the emperor did not know how to rule the country because the last time the emperor had power was 500 years ago. So, the shogunate still remained in authority.


title: History of Japan

text: In 1868, the Boshin War occurred between the Japanese emperor and the Tokugawa shogunate. Japan again came under the actual rule of an emperor as the Tokugawa shogunate was defeated.


title: History of Japan

text: Beginning from the early 17th century, the Tokugawa shogunate followed a policy of seclusion, known as sakoku in Japanese language. They suspected that traders, merchants, and missionaries from Europe wanted to bring Japan under the control of European powers. All traders and missionaries from other countries were forced to leave Japan, except for the Dutch, the Koreans, and the Chinese.


title: History of Japan

text: Even during the period of seclusion, the Japanese continued to gain information and knowledge about other parts of the world.


title: History of Japan

text: This policy of seclusion lasted for about 200 years until it ended under American military force. On July 8th 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy reached Edo with four warships. The ships were heavily armed and their guns pointed towards the city. After this display of American military power, Japan was forced to agree to trade with other countries. The Japanese called these ships the "kurofune" or the Black Ships.


title: History of Japan

text: Next year, on March 31st 1854, Perry came with seven ships and the Japanese signed a treaty (known as the Convention of Kanagawa) that established a diplomatic relationship with the United States. Another treaty (known as the Harris Treaty) was signed with the United States on July 29th 1858. This treaty gave more facilities to foreigners coming to Japan and expanded trade with Japan. Many Japanese were not happy with reopening diplomatic relations and trade with other countries.


title: History of Japan

text: "For years several countries have applied for trade, but you have opposed them on account of a national law. You have thus acted against divine principles and your sin cannot be greater than it is. What we say does not necessarily mean, as has already been communicated by the Dutch boat, that we expect mutual trade by all means. If you are still to disagree we would then take up arms and inquire into the sin against the divine principles, and you would also make sure of your law and fight in defence. When one considers such an occasion, however, one will realize the victory will naturally be ours and you shall by no means overcome us. If in such a situation you seek for a reconciliation, you should put up the white flag that we have recently presented to you, and we would accordingly stop firing and conclude peace with you, turning our battleships aside."


title: History of Japan

text: After Commodore Perry's visit, Japan began to deliberately accept Western culture to the point of hiring Westerners to teach Western customs and traditions to the Japanese starting in the Meiji era. Many Japanese politicians have since also encouraged the Westernization of Japan using the term Datsu-A Ron, which means the argument for "leaving Asia" or "Good-bye Asia". In Datsu-A Ron, "Westernization" was described as an "unavoidable" but "fruitful" change. After Japan's surrender to the United States and its allies ended World War II, the Westernization process of Japanese culture was further intensified and today, Japan is notably among the most Westernized countries in Asia.


title: History of Japan

text: The Meiji Restoration is an important period of history of Japan. Emperor Meiji ruled Japan and regained power from the shogunate. The Meiji Restoration began with the Boshin War of 1868. Emperor Meiji wanted Japan to become Westernized. Many changes occurred in Japan’s government and culture.


title: History of Japan

text: The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy (岩倉使節団, Iwakura Shisetsudan) was a Japanese diplomatic voyage to the United States and Europe conducted between 1871 and 1873 by leading statesmen and scholars of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such mission, it is the most well-known and possibly most significant in terms of its impact on the modernization of Japan after a long period of isolation from the West. The mission was first proposed by the influential Dutch missionary and engineer Guido Verbeck.


title: History of Japan

text: Cong Liangbi was the owner of the Zhenye match producing company in Qinghai and Jinan and his sales for 1927-1928 were recorded in a survey by the Chinese Match Union. A Chinese businessman named Cong Liangbi in the match industry from Qingdao, Shandong who led the local Red Swastika Society branch had multiple concubines besides his Chinese first wife, Cong Jingshu (Xuannan) née Chi, he had a Japanese concubine from the time he stayed in Japan for business and another Chinese concubine, Cong Wanying (Shijian). The name of the Japanese wife transliterated into pinyin was Gaoqiao Xingzi. She was a temporary wife and they married for a period of 10 years agreed to in a written contract which said daughters would belong to the Japanese mother and sons to the Chinese father. She bore 2 sons, in 1906, Liumen, and in 1902, Zhengmen. Cong's Chinese wife back home in 1904 bore a son, Tongmen.


title: History of Japan

text: A Xiangshan (Zhongshan), Guangdong born Chinese compradore named Su Jiesheng had a Chinese wife in Guangdong, but he also went to Japan and took a Japanese concubine and had a child by a Japanese maid who gave birth to his son Su Manshu (1884-1918), who was raised by the concubine but then also raised by the Guangdong based wife. The Japanese maid left when he was 3 months old so the Japanese concubine was called Kawai-sen and the boy grew up in Yokohama until he was 6 when he was sent to Guangdong in China. He arrived in Guangdong in 1889. He went back to Japan in 1898 to Yokohama and to Tokyo in 1902.


title: History of Japan

text: Modern feminist ideas about letting women out of the house and participating in public life were taught to Chinese students studying in Japan by Japanese women.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese peasant commoners did not care about the paternal identity of their children since they didn't have surname before the Meiji restoration and the maternal families accepted out of wedlock children born to yobai (night crawling) when Japanese men snuck into women's homes they were not married to and impregnated them without marrying them.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese girls prostituted to the Dutch were called Oranda yuki san while Japanese girls prostituted to the Chinese were called Karayuki-san. Japanese women were prostituted around the world as Karayuki san and Korean women were also taken into prostitution by the Japanese.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese sex tourists in the 1970s to 1990s often went to South Korea for sex with South Korean women and a connection was drawn by feminists to Japanese exploitation of Korean comfort women during World War II as well as Japanese women's prostitution as Karayuki-san in Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia. There were 200,000 South Korean women servicing Japanese men as prostitutes by 1973.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese Karayuki san prostitutes spearheaded Japan's economic advance into Southeast Asian regions ilke Singapore in the late 19th century.


title: History of Japan

text: Many Japanese buildings, products and planes were copies of western ones like the Tokyo dome of 1988 which copied the 1981 Metrodome, the Japanese DSK A 25 in 1954 which copied the BMW's R 25 of 1951, the Japanese zero fighter of 1939 which copied the Gloster F.5/34 of 1937 and the Toshiba vacuum cleaner of 1931 which copied GE's electric cleaner of 1928 and Seiki's Nippon camera of 1941 which copied Leica Illa's camera of 1935 and Shigeru Mizuki's rocketman in 1958 which copied DC Comics superman of 1938. The "Japanese" military planes Kawasaki Ki-5, Kawasaki Army Type 92 and Kawasaki Army Type 88 were designed by aircraft engineer Richard Vogt, a German.


title: History of Japan

text: Indigenously designed military aircraft in China during the war against Japan included the Kwangsi type 3, Chu XP-0 and Zhong 28-Qia while Russian American Zakharchenko designed Zhong 28-B and FuHsing AP-1 (Fuxing AP-1).


title: History of Japan

text: The Japanese let volunteers from Okinawa into their army since 1890 and in 1898 Okinawa was given universal military conscription and were parts of all arms of the Japanese military, unlike Koreans where there was no conscription until the very last year of World War II since the Japanese did not trust Koreans unlike Okinawans. Taiwanese were also distrusted by the Japanese, with volunteers from Taiwan only allowed in 1942 and conscription only implemented in 1945.


title: History of Japan

text: At the end of the 19th century, many Japanese believed that Japan needed to expand in order to face Western foreign powers. This resulted in wars with its neighboring counties. In 1894-1895, Japan and China had a war. Another war took place with Russia in 1904-1905. Japan became a world power after these wars. Russian influence continued to grow inside China.


title: History of Japan

text: By the beginning of the 20th century, Russian influence was increasing in China. Japan and the United Kingdom used to get economic and other benefits from their relationship with China. Japan and the United Kingdom did not like Russia’s growing influence in China. Japan and the United Kingdom formed a military alliance, called the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, on January 30th 1902. Russia was not happy at this type of agreement between Japan and the United Kingdom. Russia tried to form a similar military alliance with Germany and France. On March 6th 1902, Russia formed a military alliance with France but not Germany.


title: History of Japan

text: The Russo-Japanese War began between Japan and Russia. Japan won the Russo-Japanese War. The United States mediated the peace negotiations between Japan and Russia. Japan got a number of concessions. In 1910, Japan invaded and annexed Korea.


title: History of Japan

text: In 1914, the First World War broke out. Japan also entered the war. It attacked several places (of East Asia), which were colonies of Germany. After the war ended in 1919, Japan developed very fast. It became one of the major powers of Asia.


title: History of Japan

text: The US brought Japanese settlers to Mindanao in the Philippines where they sided with the invading Japanese in World War II.


title: History of Japan

text: A huge proportion of Japanese Brazilians were pro Axis and some engaged in terrorist activities to sabotage Allied war efforts. Many Japanese even suffered mass delusion when the war ended and believed that Japan had won the war and that the Allied fleet was wiped out.


title: History of Japan

text: Before the beginning of the Second World War, Japan was fighting with China. This is called Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). According to the United States government's own Department of State's Office of the Historian, the US did nothing to help China against the Japanese from 1937 to 1940 when Japan and China were engaged in total war. US officials and policymakers did not want to help. Meanwhile, Japan's military obtained the majority of its iron, steel and oil from the United States between 1937 and 1940. The treaty of commerce between the United States and Japan was not abrogated until January 1940 and even then the United States did not embargo Japan right away. The United States only began giving aid to China after 1940 when Japan and China already fought for three years. When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Japan went to the side of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The fighting continued for years. When the USA dropped the first atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan accepted defeat and surrendered in 1945.


title: History of Japan

text: Japan launched a surprise attack on the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on December 8, 1941, just ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops on Luzon. The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces withdrew to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay.


title: History of Japan

text: On January 2, 1942, General MacArthur declared the capital city, Manila, an open city to prevent its destruction. The Philippine defense continued until the final surrender of United States-Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula in April 1942 and on Corregidor in May of the same year. Most of the 80,000 prisoners of war captured by the Japanese at Bataan were forced to undertake the infamous Bataan Death March to a prison camp 105 kilometers to the north. It is estimated that about 10,000 Filipinos and 1,200 Americans died before reaching their destination.


title: History of Japan

text: President Quezon and Osmeña had accompanied the troops to Corregidor and later left for the United States, where they set up a government in exile. MacArthur was ordered to Australia, where he started to plan for a return to the Philippines.


title: History of Japan

text: The Japanese military authorities immediately began organizing a new government structure in the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission. They initially organized a Council of State, through which they directed civil affairs until October 1943, when they declared the Philippines an independent republic. The Japanese-sponsored republic headed by President José P. Laurel proved to be unpopular.


title: History of Japan

text: Japanese occupation of the Philippines was opposed by large-scale underground and guerrilla activity. The Philippine Army, as well as remnants of the U.S. Army Forces Far East, continued to fight the Japanese in a guerrilla war and was considered an auxiliary unit of the United States Army. Their effectiveness was such that by the end of the war, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-eight provinces. One element of resistance in the Central Luzon area was furnished by the Hukbalahap, which armed some 30,000 people and extended their control over much of Luzon.


title: History of Japan

text: The occupation of the Philippines by Japan ended at the war's conclusion. The American army had been fighting the Philippines Campaign since October 1944, when MacArthur's Sixth United States Army landed on Leyte. Landings in other parts of the country had followed, and the Allies, with the Philippine Commonwealth troops, pushed toward Manila. However, fighting continued until Japan's formal surrender on September 2, 1945. The Philippines suffered great loss of life and tremendous physical destruction, especially during the Battle of Manila. An estimated 1 million Filipinos had been killed, a large portion during the final months of the war, and Manila had been extensively damaged.


title: History of Japan

text: After the end of the Second World War, Japan came under international control. Japan became an important friend of the US when it entered into the Cold war with Korea. Over next few years, many political, economic and social changes took place. Japanese Diet (legislature) came into being. In 1951, USA and 45 other countries signed an agreement with Japan, and Japan again became an independent nation with full power (a country with full sovereignty) on 28th April 1952.


title: History of Japan

text: Japan experienced dramatic political and social transformation under the Allied occupation in 1945–1952. US General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of Allied Powers, served as Japan's de facto leader and played a central role in implementing reforms


title: History of Japan

text: As the new de facto ruler of Japan, Douglas MacArthur ordered the drafting of a new constitution for Japan in February 1946.[15]


title: History of Japan

text: The Shinto Directive was an order issued in 1945[1] to the Japanese government by Occupation authorities to abolish state support for the Shinto religion.


title: History of Japan

text: In 1946, at the request of the GHQ, the Shōwa Emperor (Hirohito) proclaimed in the Humanity Declaration that he had never been an akitsumikami (現御神), divinity in human form, and claimed his relation to the people did not rely on such a mythological idea but on a historically developed family-like reliance.


title: History of Japan

text: Since the enactment of the 1947 constitution, the role of emperor has been relegated to a ceremonial head of state without even nominal political powers.


title: History of Japan

text: The Deming Prize is the longest-running and one of the highest awards on TQM (Total Quality Management) in the world. It recognizes both individuals for their contributions to the field of Total Quality Management (TQM) and businesses that have successfully implemented TQM. It was established in 1951 to honor W. Edwards Deming who contributed greatly to Japan’s proliferation of statistical quality control after World War II. His teachings helped Japan build its foundation by which the level of Japan’s product quality has been recognized as the highest in the world, was originally designed to reward Japanese companies for major advances in quality improvement. Over the years it has grown, under the guidance of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) to where it is now also available to non-Japanese companies, albeit usually operating in Japan, and also to individuals recognized as having made major contributions to the advancement of quality. The awards ceremony is broadcast every year in Japan on national television.


title: History of Japan

text: European visitors to Japan observed that the lower classes owere a simple, crude, and child-like people. Public nudity was widespread amongst all ages with little shame, as was public spitting and urination. Bawdy jokes were uttered in public without batting an eye. This was in considerable contrast to the aristocracy with their fine clothing and elaborate etiquette.


title: History of Japan

text: Following the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese ruling class sought to tame the commoners so Europeans might not think they were little more than savages with a bone in their nose. Public nudity and urination were banned in the bigger cities, where foreigners were most likely to visit, and various backward, barbaric, and disgusting religious rituals were outlawed. The upper class took to wearing Western clothing. For the commoners, traditional garb continued to be the norm.


title: History of Japan

text: During the post-WWII occupation, Douglas MacArthur further took it upon himself to civilize Japan. The wearing of Western clothing for everyone was encouraged—for women, blouses, skirts, brassieres, and panties instead of kimonos, and for men, shirts, trousers, and boxer shorts. It may be noted that while Japanese men traditionally wore a loincloth known as a fundosi, women generally went commando under their kimonos—it was observed that on windy days they would "often be blown open, presenting quite an eyeful.


title: History of Japan

text: Post-Occupation Japan means Japan after its occupation and control by a group of nations had ended. This is the period after the Second World War. The Second World War had damaged Japan very badly. It has almost lost its industry and economy was in a very bad shape. After the war, Japan received assistance and technology from the US and several other countries of Europe. The progress was very rapid. For about 30 years, from around the 1950s to the 1980s, Japan grew very fast. It became one of the major economic powers of the world.


title: History of Japan

text: When the UN forces were fighting in Korea during the Korean War, Japan was one of the major suppliers. This also helped Japan’s economy. By 1980s, Japan had become the world’s second largest economy, after the USA. At first, there was very close relationship between Japan and the USA. But, Japan’s economic might resulted into trade deficit for the USA. A trade deficit results when imports are more than exports. Thus, USA was importing more than it exported to Japan.


title: History of Japan

text: For various reasons, this phase of rapid development ended in the 1990s. Some historians have described this decade as the lost decade of Japanese economy. About 5 to 10 persons in 100 persons could not find any work.


title: History of Japan

text: By 1952, Japan had become free from most of the controls of the occupation period. It got its own democratic system. Various political parties came into being and Japan’s political life became active.


title: History of Japan

text: Historians and sociologists call the recent era modern life. In Japanese, this is called the Heisei period. By 1989, Japan’s economy had become very large. Much development had taken place. In the Gulf war of 1991, Japan gave billions of dollars.


title: History of Japan

text: A 1973 article in the New York Times reported that Indonesians hated Japanese businessmen due to their practices and attitudes towards them.


title: History of Japan

text: The Jewish American engineer Jerome Lemelson developed the camcorder and walkman audio recorder for the Japanese company Sony.