Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Jessica Ennis

2016-09-29T13:49:18Z

Pacman:

'''Jessica Ennis''' is a [[British]] [[Skin_color|mixed race]] [[Christian]] [[Heptathlon|Heptathlete]], who also specializes in 100m [[Hurdles]]. She won the [[gold]] medal in the Heptathlon in the [[2012 Olympics]].<ref>http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/track/story/jessica-ennis-gold-medal-olympic-heptathlon-080412</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Sports]]

Walter Raleigh

2013-02-06T00:01:51Z

Pacman: Undo revision 1031649 by AlanE (talk) US spellings please!

[[image:WalterRaleigh3.jpg|300px|thumb|Sir Walter Raleigh, 1590.]]
'''Sir Walter Raleigh'''(c1554-1618) English courtier, poet, soldier, and sometime privateer, and colonist. He was one of the Devon gentry like [[Francis Drake]], Humphrey Gilbert, Richard Grenville and others who rose to prominence during the reign of [[Elizabeth I]], and harried Spain so mercilessly, both before and after the Armada of 1588.

As a teenager he joined the Huguenot (Protestant) cause in France where he fought for six years. In 1578 he joined Gilbert in an expedition against the Spaniards and was lucky to return with his life. 1580-81 found him soldiering in Ireland. Thereafter he rose swiftly in favour and patronage, and was knighted in 1584. He became captain of the Queen's guard and lord-lieutenant of Cornwall.

He founded the colony of [[Roanoke Island]] in what was then [[Virginia]] (now [[North Carolina]]) in 1587, which he was going to use as a base for [[privateering]] missions against the [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh] Raleigh brought 107 colonists (ten of whom were women), and the first English child, [[Virginia Dare]], was born in the Americas in Roanoke. In 1588 Raleigh left for England for supplies. The Spanish Armada necessitated a delay in his return as he was greatly involved in defense of the realm, including the formation of a home guard. When he returned in 1590, the whole colony had disappeared, with the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Due to inclement weather, Raleigh was unable to search the nearby Croatoan Island for traces of the lost settlers. Future colonists would note that many of the local Native Americans had light complexions and eyes, giving rise to theories that the members of the so-called "Lost Colony" were assimilated into the tribes.

The only lasting gain from this first attempted settlement by the English in North America was the introduction of potatoes and tobacco into England.

His star began to wane. The Earl of Essex was beginning to monopolize the Queen's favour, and Raleigh's affair with one of her maids-of-honour caused disgrace. A failed expedition up the Orinoco River in South America in 1596 to find the fabled El Dorado, and domestic politics damaged his reputation, and upon the accession of Charles I in 1603 he was arrested. It was as much a sop to the Spaniards as any perceived wrong-doing on his part that he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.

Apart from a second attempt to find El Dorado in 1617 he spent his last 15 years imprisoned in the Tower of London. He wrote poetry, mostly lost but some in print today, and wrote the first volume of his "History of the World". His second El Dorado expedition had caused further anger in Spain with the burning of the settlement of San Tomas; and at the insistence of the Spanish ambassador he was beheaded on 29 October 1618. His last words, according to many biographers, were "Strike man, strike!" urging his executioner to decapitate him.

In later years he often spelt his name "Rauley", which gives some indication of its pronunciation; and although he spelt his name various ways, he never used the common modern spelling of "Raleigh".
Scholars have tended to use "Ralegh".

He appears as a character in Sir Walter Scott's 1821 Waverley novel, Kenilworth. In 1940, [[Errol Flynn]] played a character based on Raleigh in the movie ''The Sea Hawk''.

References: "That Great Lucifer", Margaret Irwin. "The Oxford Companion to English Literature"

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raleigh, Walter (Sir)}}
{{Nb_explorers}}

Great Wall of China

2012-12-03T23:36:19Z

Pacman: Corrected past tense, wall is still there!

[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China. Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]
The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall in [[China]]. It is constructed in ancient times as a barrier against invading armies. This was unsuccessful as the Mongols simply bribed the guards.<ref>Hucker, Charles O. ''China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture.'' Stanford UP, 1997.</ref> It is 4,000 miles long and more than 20 feet tall.

Work started in 500 BC under [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting older walls which were constructed by individual states. Most of the work was done in the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>Towers were built; originally as watchtowers, but later [[cannon]]s<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref> were added.

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

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

<blockquote>

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

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

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

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

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

== References ==
<references/>

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

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

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

Star Wars

2012-11-16T22:23:42Z

Pacman: /* Portrayal of religion */ Reverted suspected vandalism, please do not remove material with valid references without discussion!

[[Image:462px-Star wars dvd cover.jpg|right|thumb|Cover of the 2004 [[DVD]] widescreen release of Star Wars Trilogy.]]
:''Note: This article deals with the science fiction saga, not the American [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI).''

''For the original'' '''Star Wars''' ''film, see'' [[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]].

'''Star Wars''' is a [[science fiction]] film saga and fictional universe created by American director [[George Lucas]]. The original ''Star Wars'' movie (Episode IV) came out on May 25th, 1977. The earlier set of ''Star Wars'' movies (''Episodes IV, V, and VI'') are renowned as classics of cinema, and were some of the first "summer blockbusters" ever made. Episodes I, II and III were released in 1999, 2002 and 2005 respectively. All six movies are among the top 50 highest grossing films of all time.<ref>http://imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross</ref>
In 1984 and 1985, two spinoff movies to the original trilogy (Episode IV, V, and VI) were made featuring the Ewok characters seen in ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''. An animated film called ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' was released in 2008.

== Films ==
*''[[Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones]]''
*''[[Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]''

==Development of the Monomyth==

[[George Lucas]] built on the idea of the [[monomyth]] - a dominant mythic structure that resounds strongly with the human psyche - in structuring his narrative. He consulted closely with [[Joseph Campbell]], author of the book, "Hero of a Thousand Faces," in his utilizing of the [[monomyth]] structure for the movie. In ''Star Wars'' (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), the reluctant hero is [[Luke Skywalker]], the teacher [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]], and the archetype villain [[Darth Vader]].

==Fan Films==
There have been many short films created by Star Wars Fans. One major website is www.fanfilms.com; which contains many fanfilms including TROOPS, The Essense of The Force, The Jedi Hunter, the Pink Five trilogy, Revelations, and Ryan Vs. Dorkman 1 and 2. One major high-quality fan based movie is I.M.P.S: The Relentless; which can be found at www.impstherelentless.com, and is the first chapter of a future full-length, chapter-based movie based on the Imperial Starship Relentless and her crew.

==Expanded Universe==
Since the success of the film [[franchise]], Lucasfilm has licensed a number of novels, comic books, and video games that take place in the Star Wars universe, otherwise known as the Expanded Universe (EU). Hundreds of novels and comics and dozens of video games have been, and continue to be produced. Although these spin-off media often take place before, after or inbetween the films, some take place in "alternate realities." A major focus of the EU is to feature characters not on-screen or only briefly shown in the films. All officially licensed works are considered canon, except in places where they contradict the films. There are also two cartoon series and three TV movies, two about the Ewoks and the Star Wars Holiday Special, which represented a secularized version of [[Christmas]] for Wookiees known as "Life Day." The last has been disowned by Lucas due to its incredibly poor quality, however an animated sequence from the special featuring Boba Fett was released as an easter egg on the Star Wars [[Blu-ray]] collection.

Of note is [[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]], the only part of the Expanded Universe to reach the big screen.

== The Franchise ==
The Star Wars film series and its expanded universe has been a large revenue producer. As of 2005 the Star Wars franchise has produced over $20 billion<ref>http://www.forbes.com/2005/05/12/cx_ah_0512starwars.html</ref>. With the release of the expanded universe series it has increased.

== Portrayal of religion ==

Gerorge Lucas has stated that he came up with the idea of "The Force" as he wanted to promote a vague idea of hollow Hollywood-style spirituality without referencing any recognizable religion. Despite this, the depiction of the philosophy and beliefs of the Jedi seem to be a way to promote eastern myticism (in particular Buddhism) and undermine Christianity in the movie's western audience.<ref>http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/lucas.html?pg=3</ref> This is typical of the [[New Age]] movement's tendency to use parts of different religions willy-nilly without any structure of sense, and shows the influence of Lucas growing up in 1960's California. Lucas is strongly liberal and actually describes himself as a "Buddhist Methodist".<ref>http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/George_Lucas.html</ref>

==Miscellaneous==

''Star Wars'' became forever linked to politics when a [[Strategic Defense Initiative|missile-defense plan]], devised under the Reagan administration, was nicknamed Star Wars. Attempts to bring back such a system are still referred to by this name.

== See also ==
*[[The Hidden Fortress]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Star Wars| ]]
[[Category: Greatest Conservative Movies]]

Star Wars

2012-08-05T01:42:27Z

Pacman: Added liberal hippy origins of The Force

[[Image:462px-Star wars dvd cover.jpg|right|thumb|Cover of the 2004 [[DVD]] widescreen release of Star Wars Trilogy.]]
:''Note: This article deals with the science fiction saga, not the American [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI).''

''For the original'' '''Star Wars''' ''film, see'' [[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]].

'''Star Wars''' is a [[science fiction]] film saga and fictional universe created by American director [[George Lucas]]. The original ''Star Wars'' movie (Episode IV) came out on May 25th, 1977. The earlier set of ''Star Wars'' movies (''Episodes IV, V, and VI'') are renowned as classics of cinema, and were some of the first "summer blockbusters" ever made. Episodes I, II and III were released in 1999, 2002 and 2005 respectively. All six movies are among the top 50 highest grossing films of all time.<ref>http://imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross</ref>
In 1984 and 1985, two spinoff movies to the original trilogy (Episode IV, V, and VI) were made featuring the Ewok characters seen in ''Episode VI: Return of the Jedi''. An animated film called ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' was released in 2008.

== Films ==
*''[[Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones]]''
*''[[Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]]''
*''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]''

==Development of the Monomyth==

[[George Lucas]] built on the idea of the [[monomyth]] - a dominant mythic structure that resounds strongly with the human psyche - in structuring his narrative. He consulted closely with [[Joseph Campbell]], author of the book, "Hero of a Thousand Faces," in his utilizing of the [[monomyth]] structure for the movie. In ''Star Wars'' (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope), the reluctant hero is [[Luke Skywalker]], the teacher [[Obi-Wan Kenobi]], and the archetype villain [[Darth Vader]].

==Fan Films==
There have been many short films created by Star Wars Fans. One major website is www.fanfilms.com; which contains many fanfilms including TROOPS, The Essense of The Force, The Jedi Hunter, the Pink Five trilogy, Revelations, and Ryan Vs. Dorkman 1 and 2. One major high-quality fan based movie is I.M.P.S: The Relentless; which can be found at www.impstherelentless.com, and is the first chapter of a future full-length, chapter-based movie based on the Imperial Starship Relentless and her crew.

==Expanded Universe==
Since the success of the film [[franchise]], Lucasfilm has licensed a number of novels, comic books, and video games that take place in the Star Wars universe, otherwise known as the Expanded Universe (EU). Hundreds of novels and comics and dozens of video games have been, and continue to be produced. Although these spin-off media often take place before, after or inbetween the films, some take place in "alternate realities." A major focus of the EU is to feature characters not on-screen or only briefly shown in the films. All officially licensed works are considered canon, except in places where they contradict the films. There are also two cartoon series and three TV movies, two about the Ewoks and the Star Wars Holiday Special, which represented a secularized version of [[Christmas]] for Wookiees known as "Life Day." The last has been disowned by Lucas due to its incredibly poor quality, however an animated sequence from the special featuring Boba Fett was released as an easter egg on the Star Wars [[Blu-ray]] collection.

Of note is [[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]], the only part of the Expanded Universe to reach the big screen.

== The Franchise ==
The Star Wars film series and its expanded universe has been a large revenue producer. As of 2005 the Star Wars franchise has produced over $20 billion<ref>http://www.forbes.com/2005/05/12/cx_ah_0512starwars.html</ref>. With the release of the expanded universe series it has increased.

== Attitude to religion ==

Gerorge Lucas has stated that he came up with the idea of "The Force" as he wanted to promote a vague idea of hollow Hollywood-style spirituality without referencing any recognizable religion. Despite this, the depiction of the philosophy and beliefs of the Jedi seem to be a way to promote eastern myticism (in particular Buddhism) and undermine Christianity in the movie's western audience.<ref>http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/lucas.html?pg=3</ref> This is typical of the [[New Age]] movement's tendency to use parts of different religions willy-nilly without any structure of sense, and shows the influence of Lucas growing up in 1960's California. Lucas is strongly liberal and actually describes himself as a "Buddhist Methodist".<ref>http://www.adherents.com/people/pl/George_Lucas.html</ref>

==Miscellaneous==

''Star Wars'' became forever linked to politics when a [[Strategic Defense Initiative|missile-defense plan]], devised under the Reagan administration, was nicknamed Star Wars. Attempts to bring back such a system are still referred to by this name.

== See also ==
*[[The Hidden Fortress]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Star Wars| ]]
[[Category: Greatest Conservative Movies]]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

2012-08-05T01:23:05Z

Pacman: Fair comment, deserved to be put back in.

[[Image:Monty_python_and_the_holy_grail.jpg|thumb|right|Monty Python and the Holy Grail Poster]]

'''"Monty Python and the Holy Grail"''' is a [[film]] written, produced, directed and performed by the [[Monty Python]] comedy team.

After their success on [[television]] the Pythons wanted to move into film. A compilation film of sketches for their series [[Monty Python's Flying Circus]] called "And Now for Something Completely Different" had been a great success. However the BBC were unwilling to fund the Python movie and most of the funds for Holy Grail were provided by members of the rock groups [[Led Zeppelin]] and [[Pink Floyd]]. Most of the budget was spent on a large wooden rabbit in a scene which drew heavily on Greek history and the [[Trojan Horse]].

This movie has acquired a cult following for its offbeat humor. There are also some [[atheists]] who actually take the silly humor seriously and recommend the film for ideological reasons.

==Plot synopsis==

The plot centers on the quest for the [[Holy Grail]] appointed to [[King Arthur]] Pendragon by [[God]].

==Characters==

Classic Python characters introduced to fans by Holy Grail include The Black Knight, The Knights who say "Ni", Tim the Enchanter, The Insulting Frenchman and The Lord of Swamp Castle.

==Quotes==

*The Black Knight - When Challenging King Arthur, "None Shall Pass"
*King Arthur - After severing the limbs of the Black Knight (who still will not surrender), "All right then, we'll call it a draw."
*The Insulting Frenchman - "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."
*Peasant - On accusing a woman of witchcraft "She turned me into a newt, .......... I got better."

Like most Python films, it can be partly considered a [[musical]], with several [[set piece]]s built around songs written by [[Neil Innes]] and sometimes [[Eric Idle]].

==Spamalot==
Original Python [[Eric Idle]] has adapted the film to a multiple [[Tony Award]] winning [[musical]] called Spamalot. The show opened on [[Broadway]] in 2005.

[[Category:Comedy]]

Essay:Worst Liberal Movies

2012-08-05T01:21:28Z

Pacman: Added Apocalypse NOw

While many [[Essay:Greatest_Conservative_Movies|great conservative movies]] are produced every year, [[Hollywood values|Hollywood]] continues to create many movies which promote, normalize and aggrandize bad behavior and poor values. Below is a list of some of the more egregious examples:

==Political==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Game Change''
|2012
|Not Rated
|Liberal haters playing conservatives in a HBO movie about [[Sarah Palin]]. Many debunked controversies are highlighted in the plot. Both McCain and Palin call it fiction.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Frost/Nixon]]''
|2008
|R
|A liberal movie meant to further tarnish the reputation of [[Richard Nixon]].
|$18,622,031
|-
|''W.''
|2008
|PG-13
|A movie designed to denigrate the role of Christianity in US politics and particularly in the life of George W. Bush.
|$25,534,493
|-
|''Fahrenheit 9/11''
|2004
|R
|A Michael Moore movie, which distorts the tangential link between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family.
|$119,194,771
|-
|''The Motorcycle Diaries''
|2004
|R
|A fawning monument to communist [[Che Guevara]].
|$16,781,387
|-
|''The Contender''
|2000
|R
|Political movie turned into pro-[[Al Gore]] propaganda by liberal studio executives and [[Hollywood values]].
|$17,872,723
|-
|''V for Vendetta''
|2005
|R
|Blatantly glorifies [[anarchism]], [[socialism]], [[communism]] and [[homosexuality]].
|$70,511,035
|-
|''Dead Man Walking''
|1995
|R
|A senseless criticism of capital punishment, with an ending that left some liberal viewers even more confused.
|$39,363,635
|-
|''Nixon''
|1995
|R
|A historically inaccurate biography of Richard Nixon directed by liberal filmmaker [[Oliver Stone]].
|$13,681,765
|-
|''Milk''
|2008
|R
|An extremely pro-[[gay]] biography of openly homosexual politician [[Harvey Milk]].
|$31,841,299
|-
|''Capitalism: A Love Story''
|2009
|PG-13
|A typical Michael Moore hatchet-job where he relentlessly attacks America's capitalist economy with claims of alleged financial inequality.
|$14,363,397
|-
|''The China Syndrome''
|1979
|PG
|The movie depicts a meltdown of a fictional nuclear power plant. The film greatly over-hypes this risk of a nuclear meltdown and the resultant damage. This film along with the Three Mile Island incident (which occurred shortly after the film's release) are often credited for killing the nuclear power industry in America.
|$51,718,367
|-
|''[[SiCKO|Sicko]]''
|2007
|PG-13
|
|$24,540,079
|-
|''Apocalypse Now''
|1979
|R
|Overindulgent anti-war diatribe. Portrays US servicemen as corrupt, incompetent drug-users.
|$78,784,010
|}

==Social==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Dazed and Confused''
|1993
|R
|Promotes promiscuity and drug abuse.
|$7,993,039
|-
|''Avatar''
|2009
|PG-13
|A movie with many destructive messages. The movie promotes environmentalism, claiming that nature is God, and feminism. It also ridicules the military and large businesses. The hero of the film also forms a rather creepy romance with the native princess, who is of another species, perhaps a symbol for beastiality.
|$760,507,625
|-
|''Blow''
|2001
|R
|Glorifies the life of drug dealer, and suspected murderer, George Jung.
|$52,990,775
|-
|''Pineapple Express''
|2008
|R
|Shows drug abuse to be "cool".
|$87,341,380
|-
|''The Organizer''
|1963
|Not Rated
|Italian Film that promotes unions. The movie also promotes infidelity.
|Unknown
|-
|''Natural Born Killers''
|1994
|R
|Riddled with violence, drug abuse and sexual references, this movies main characters are brutal serial killers who are viewed as heroes.
|$50,282,766
|-
|''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
|2005
|R
|Showing that [[liberals]] will shoehorn the homosexual agenda into anything, even cowboys.
|$83,043,761
|-
|''Boogie Nights''
|1997
|R
|Made the porn industry and exploitation of women look cool.
|$26,400,640
|-
|''The Social Network''
|2010
|PG-13
|Glorifies the gossip website [[Facebook]], which feeds narcissism and destroys marriages. Also portrays drug use and misogyny in a positive light.
|$96,962,694
|-
|''The Day After Tomorrow''
|2004
|PG-13
|Overdramatic, nonsensical portrayal of the consequences of fictional [[climate change]].
|$186,740,799
|-
|''The People vs. Larry Flynt''
|1996
|R
|Idealizes [[pornography]] mogul [[Larry Flynt]] and argues that pornography is protected by the [[First Amendment]].
|$20,300,385
|-
|''But I'm a Cheerleader''
|1999
|R
|Portrays [[homosexuality]] as a legitimate lifestyle, attacks and ridicules [[reparative therapy]] and religious people.
|Unknown
|-
|''Orgazmo''
|1997
|NC-17
|Portrays the porn industry in a positive light, mocks Mormons and the religiously devout.
|$602,302
|-
|''Rent''
|2005
|PG-13
|Promotes [[homosexuality]] and transvestisism as normal lifestyle.
|$29,077,547
|-
|''Kids''
|1995
|NC-17
|Pornographic film concerning five underage teenagers in New York City engaging in graphic sex, violent acts, [[drug]]/[[alcohol]] use and homosexual activities.
|$7,412,216
|-
|''Clerks''
|1994
|R
|Filled with constant vulgar profanity. Previously rated NC-17 before being apppealed for an R rating.
|$3,151,130
|-
|''The Kids Are All Right''
|2010
|R
|Portrays homosexuality and gay parenting as normal lifestyle.
|$20,811,365
|-
|''The Day After''
|1983
|Not Rated
|Attacks the military and conservative politicians, and encourages negotiation with communists.
|NA - TV
|-
|''The Princess and the Frog''
|2009
|G
|Promotes feminism.
|$104,400,899
|-
|}

==Schlockumentary==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|Almost any movie by [[Michael Moore]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]''
|2006
|PG
|[[Al Gore]]'s [[global warming]] alarmist [[schlockumentary]].
|$24,146,161
|-
|''[[The Road We’ve Traveled]]''
|2012
|Not rated
|[[Tom Hanks]] directs & narrates Barack Obama's supposed achievements
|NA
|-
|''[[Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup | Loose Change 9/11]]''
|2009
|
|[[Truthers]] Dylan Avery and Korey Rowe blame America for 9/11
|Unknown
|-
|''Super Size Me''
|2004
|PG-13
|Blames obesity on great capitalist paragons like [[McDonald's]] and [[Sodexo]].
|$11,536,423
|-
|''[[Religulous]]''
|2008
|R
|"Comedian" Bill Maher tries to convince the audience of the folly of all religion, with special focus on Christianity.
|$13,011,160
|-
|''[[Jesus Camp]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Baselessly attacks Conservative Christianity; incited liberal vandalism of the Bible camp shown in the film.
|$902,544
|-
|''Inside Job''
|2010
|PG-13
|A 2010 film by Democrat donor Charles Ferguson that blames the Great Recession on Wall Street, deregulation, the Bush Administration. The film whitewashes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's role and claims the financial system corrupted politics. Capitalists are the bad guys.
|$4,312,735
|-
|''The 11th Hour''
|2007
|PG
|
|$707,343
|-
|''Bowling for Columbine''
|2002
|R
|
|$21,576,018
|-
|}

==Anti-Religious==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Dogma''
|1999
|R
|Mocks religion and [[Catholic]]ism in particular, with cheap smutty jokes and portraying [[God]] as female.
|$30,652,890
|-
|''Red State''
|2011
|R
|Baselessly attacks Fred Phelps and Christianity.
|$1,104,682
|-
|''The Golden Compass''
|2007
|PG-13
|Based on the atheistic ''His Dark Materials'' series.
|$70,107,728
|-
|''Priest''
|1994
|R
|Blatantly anti-Catholic and pro-gay.
|$4,165,845
|-
|''The Da Vinci Code''
|2006
|PG-13
|Promotes the false theory that Jesus Christ married [[Mary Magdalene]].
|$217,536,138
|-
|''Monty Python's Life of Brian''
|1979
|R
|Parody of the life of Christ. Anti-Semitic.
|$20,045,115
|}

please add more!
[[Category:Essays]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Cinema]]
[[Category:Hollywood]]
[[Category: Worst Liberal Movies]]

Essay:Worst Liberal Movies

2012-08-05T01:16:05Z

Pacman: /* Anti-Religious */ Added Life of Brian

While many [[Essay:Greatest_Conservative_Movies|great conservative movies]] are produced every year, [[Hollywood values|Hollywood]] continues to create many movies which promote, normalize and aggrandize bad behavior and poor values. Below is a list of some of the more egregious examples:

==Political==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Game Change''
|2012
|Not Rated
|Liberal haters playing conservatives in a HBO movie about [[Sarah Palin]]. Many debunked controversies are highlighted in the plot. Both McCain and Palin call it fiction.
|NA - TV
|-
|''[[Frost/Nixon]]''
|2008
|R
|A liberal movie meant to further tarnish the reputation of [[Richard Nixon]].
|$18,622,031
|-
|''W.''
|2008
|PG-13
|A movie designed to denigrate the role of Christianity in US politics and particularly in the life of George W. Bush.
|$25,534,493
|-
|''Fahrenheit 9/11''
|2004
|R
|A Michael Moore movie, which distorts the tangential link between the Bush family and the Bin Laden family.
|$119,194,771
|-
|''The Motorcycle Diaries''
|2004
|R
|A fawning monument to communist [[Che Guevara]].
|$16,781,387
|-
|''The Contender''
|2000
|R
|Political movie turned into pro-[[Al Gore]] propaganda by liberal studio executives and [[Hollywood values]].
|$17,872,723
|-
|''V for Vendetta''
|2005
|R
|Blatantly glorifies [[anarchism]], [[socialism]], [[communism]] and [[homosexuality]].
|$70,511,035
|-
|''Dead Man Walking''
|1995
|R
|A senseless criticism of capital punishment, with an ending that left some liberal viewers even more confused.
|$39,363,635
|-
|''Nixon''
|1995
|R
|A historically inaccurate biography of Richard Nixon directed by liberal filmmaker [[Oliver Stone]].
|$13,681,765
|-
|''Milk''
|2008
|R
|An extremely pro-[[gay]] biography of openly homosexual politician [[Harvey Milk]].
|$31,841,299
|-
|''Capitalism: A Love Story''
|2009
|PG-13
|A typical Michael Moore hatchet-job where he relentlessly attacks America's capitalist economy with claims of alleged financial inequality.
|$14,363,397
|-
|''The China Syndrome''
|1979
|PG
|The movie depicts a meltdown of a fictional nuclear power plant. The film greatly over-hypes this risk of a nuclear meltdown and the resultant damage. This film along with the Three Mile Island incident (which occurred shortly after the film's release) are often credited for killing the nuclear power industry in America.
|$51,718,367
|-
|''[[SiCKO|Sicko]]''
|2007
|PG-13
|
|$24,540,079
|}

==Social==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Dazed and Confused''
|1993
|R
|Promotes promiscuity and drug abuse.
|$7,993,039
|-
|''Avatar''
|2009
|PG-13
|A movie with many destructive messages. The movie promotes environmentalism, claiming that nature is God, and feminism. It also ridicules the military and large businesses. The hero of the film also forms a rather creepy romance with the native princess, who is of another species, perhaps a symbol for beastiality.
|$760,507,625
|-
|''Blow''
|2001
|R
|Glorifies the life of drug dealer, and suspected murderer, George Jung.
|$52,990,775
|-
|''Pineapple Express''
|2008
|R
|Shows drug abuse to be "cool".
|$87,341,380
|-
|''The Organizer''
|1963
|Not Rated
|Italian Film that promotes unions. The movie also promotes infidelity.
|Unknown
|-
|''Natural Born Killers''
|1994
|R
|Riddled with violence, drug abuse and sexual references, this movies main characters are brutal serial killers who are viewed as heroes.
|$50,282,766
|-
|''[[Brokeback Mountain]]''
|2005
|R
|Showing that [[liberals]] will shoehorn the homosexual agenda into anything, even cowboys.
|$83,043,761
|-
|''Boogie Nights''
|1997
|R
|Made the porn industry and exploitation of women look cool.
|$26,400,640
|-
|''The Social Network''
|2010
|PG-13
|Glorifies the gossip website [[Facebook]], which feeds narcissism and destroys marriages. Also portrays drug use and misogyny in a positive light.
|$96,962,694
|-
|''The Day After Tomorrow''
|2004
|PG-13
|Overdramatic, nonsensical portrayal of the consequences of fictional [[climate change]].
|$186,740,799
|-
|''The People vs. Larry Flynt''
|1996
|R
|Idealizes [[pornography]] mogul [[Larry Flynt]] and argues that pornography is protected by the [[First Amendment]].
|$20,300,385
|-
|''But I'm a Cheerleader''
|1999
|R
|Portrays [[homosexuality]] as a legitimate lifestyle, attacks and ridicules [[reparative therapy]] and religious people.
|Unknown
|-
|''Orgazmo''
|1997
|NC-17
|Portrays the porn industry in a positive light, mocks Mormons and the religiously devout.
|$602,302
|-
|''Rent''
|2005
|PG-13
|Promotes [[homosexuality]] and transvestisism as normal lifestyle.
|$29,077,547
|-
|''Kids''
|1995
|NC-17
|Pornographic film concerning five underage teenagers in New York City engaging in graphic sex, violent acts, [[drug]]/[[alcohol]] use and homosexual activities.
|$7,412,216
|-
|''Clerks''
|1994
|R
|Filled with constant vulgar profanity. Previously rated NC-17 before being apppealed for an R rating.
|$3,151,130
|-
|''The Kids Are All Right''
|2010
|R
|Portrays homosexuality and gay parenting as normal lifestyle.
|$20,811,365
|-
|''The Day After''
|1983
|Not Rated
|Attacks the military and conservative politicians, and encourages negotiation with communists.
|NA - TV
|-
|''The Princess and the Frog''
|2009
|G
|Promotes feminism.
|$104,400,899
|-
|}

==Schlockumentary==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|Almost any movie by [[Michael Moore]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]''
|2006
|PG
|[[Al Gore]]'s [[global warming]] alarmist [[schlockumentary]].
|$24,146,161
|-
|''[[The Road We’ve Traveled]]''
|2012
|Not rated
|[[Tom Hanks]] directs & narrates Barack Obama's supposed achievements
|NA
|-
|''[[Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup | Loose Change 9/11]]''
|2009
|
|[[Truthers]] Dylan Avery and Korey Rowe blame America for 9/11
|Unknown
|-
|''Super Size Me''
|2004
|PG-13
|Blames obesity on great capitalist paragons like [[McDonald's]] and [[Sodexo]].
|$11,536,423
|-
|''[[Religulous]]''
|2008
|R
|"Comedian" Bill Maher tries to convince the audience of the folly of all religion, with special focus on Christianity.
|$13,011,160
|-
|''[[Jesus Camp]]''
|2006
|PG-13
|Baselessly attacks Conservative Christianity; incited liberal vandalism of the Bible camp shown in the film.
|$902,544
|-
|''Inside Job''
|2010
|PG-13
|A 2010 film by Democrat donor Charles Ferguson that blames the Great Recession on Wall Street, deregulation, the Bush Administration. The film whitewashes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's role and claims the financial system corrupted politics. Capitalists are the bad guys.
|$4,312,735
|-
|''The 11th Hour''
|2007
|PG
|
|$707,343
|-
|''Bowling for Columbine''
|2002
|R
|
|$21,576,018
|-
|}

==Anti-Religious==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Film
!Year
!Rating
!Comments
!Gross (Domestic)
|-
|''Dogma''
|1999
|R
|Mocks religion and [[Catholic]]ism in particular, with cheap smutty jokes and portraying [[God]] as female.
|$30,652,890
|-
|''Red State''
|2011
|R
|Baselessly attacks Fred Phelps and Christianity.
|$1,104,682
|-
|''The Golden Compass''
|2007
|PG-13
|Based on the atheistic ''His Dark Materials'' series.
|$70,107,728
|-
|''Priest''
|1994
|R
|Blatantly anti-Catholic and pro-gay.
|$4,165,845
|-
|''The Da Vinci Code''
|2006
|PG-13
|Promotes the false theory that Jesus Christ married [[Mary Magdalene]].
|$217,536,138
|-
|''Monty Python's Life of Brian''
|1979
|R
|Parody of the life of Christ. Anti-Semitic.
|$20,045,115
|}

please add more!
[[Category:Essays]]
[[Category:Liberalism]]
[[Category:Cinema]]
[[Category:Hollywood]]
[[Category: Worst Liberal Movies]]

2012 Summer Olympics

2012-08-05T01:07:12Z

Pacman: Undo revision 998422 by StaceyT (talk) Nonsense, I saw people playing it today, and any sports centre you go to will have a volleyball net.

The '''2012 Summer Olympic Games''', officially known as the '''Games of the XXX Olympiad''' and informally as '''London 2012''', is occurring in [[London]] from July 27 through August 12.<ref>This makes London the first city to host the Games three times - the previous occasions being in 1908 and 1948.</ref> During the Modern Olympic Games, the pagan origins of the Olympics have been replaced by [[faith]]-based achievement by the participating athletes.

Athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees are participating.<ref>Independent Olympic Athletes from [[South Sudan]], who does not yet have a National Olympic Committee, and the former Netherlands Antilles, who no longer has a National Olympic Committee due to their dissolution, will also compete under the Olympic Flag.</ref> Sports contests having the greatest political interest are (note especially the growing list of lack of [[public schools]] for the gold medalists below):

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Sport
!Political issue
!Answer
|-
|Multiple
|How many athletes will do the equivalent of [[Tebowing]] after a victory? American Meb Keflezighi, who won the silver medal in the marathon in 2004, typically gives glory to [[God]] with the sign of the [[Cross]] after finishing a race.<ref>http://www.letsrun.com/2009/nycmen1101.php</ref>
|Missy Franklin, who ranks second behind Michael Phelps (he's won 4 gold in 2012, 18 in career) with three gold medals at the 2012 games, thanked [[God]] as one of her first comments after winning.

Gabby Douglas gave glory to God when she qualified to represent [[Team USA]], and subsequently won two gold medals.

Soccer players in the United Arab Emirates team bowed toward Mecca when they scored a goal. They did not advance to the quarterfinals. However Mohamed Farah (GB) won the 10000 metres track race despite bowing to Mecca.
|-
|Multiple
|Will almost no athletes from [[public school]] sports programs win any gold medals, despite how public schools spend more than $500 billion annually to teach and train [[American]]s?
|The [[lamestream media]] state that Missy Franklin, the star swimmer, is a high school student, but fail to mention that she attends ''[[Catholic]]'' school rather than [[public school]].

'''American 2012 Olympic gold medal winners (as of 8/1/2012)'''
*Private: Missy Franklin ([[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] high school)<ref> Franklin's swimming has been with a swim club</ref>, Katie Ledecky (Catholic high school)
*[[Homeschooled]]: Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Serena Williams
*College or adult: Michael Phelps,<ref>Phelps' swimming has been with a private swim club.</ref> Dana Vollmer, Vincent Hancock, Conor Dwyer, Kristin Armstrong, Nathan Adrian, Allison Schmitt, Shannon Vreeland, Kim Rhode, Ryan Lochte, Matt Grevers, Aly Raisman, Ricky Berens, Jamie Lynn Gray, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan
*[[Public school]]: Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber
*Still to categorize:
|-
|Multiple
|How many athletes will be unfairly expelled based on [[liberal]] [[censorship]] of their [[free speech]]?
|One athlete -- Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou -- was expelled from the Greek National team by her own country's Olympic committee '''''before it officially opened''''' based on a one-sentence joke about immigration, even though she apologized. The joke in question was this from her Twitter: "With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!" It should be noted that Papachristou apologized for the tweet.

In addition to the Greek Olympic Committee's decision on Papachristou, the IOC's own twitter-use policy has been criticized for hindering free speech. The policy, which is claimed to protect the IOC's commercial rights, goes as far as to prevent athletes from "reporting on events". According to The Globe and Mail, even a tweet such as "Won our games against China, USA. Next up, the Brazilians," could get an athlete expelled from the Games without notice. As of yet, no athletes have been expelled by the IOC for this [[social media]] [[censorship]] policy.

Lolo Jones, a pro-[[abstinence]] [[American]] hurdler, is being criticized by the [[lamestream media]] for sending out a pro-[[Second Amendment]] tweet.

The [[liberal]] thought police expelled a Swiss soccer player for tweeting that South Koreans are "retards."<ref>[[http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/07/another-racist-twitter-scandal-gets-another-olympic-athlete-boot/55197/] </ref>
|-
|Opening Ceremonies
|Will [[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]] David Beckham be selected to light the Olympic cauldron?
|Beckham was not selected as the final torchbearer. He was, however, a passenger on the speedboat that carried the torch up the River Thames. He assisted in the hand-off of the torch to Sir Steve Redgrave, one of Britain's greatest Olympians. Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, stated, "He [Beckham] will be more than an ambassador given what he has done, the commitment he has given and the amount of time he has spent with us in London on this project. He was not only alongside us when we won [the right to host the Olympics], he was alongside us when we threw our hats in the ring."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/football/9388462/London-2012-Olympics-David-Beckham-will-be-more-than-an-ambassador-at-the-Games.html London 2012 Olympics: David Beckham will be 'more than an ambassador' at the Games] telegraph.co.uk, July 10, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref>
|-
|Multiple
|will [[atheist]] nations underachieve in team sports?
|In women's soccer, France defeated Sweden in the quarterfinals and will face Japan in the semifinals. Great Britain lost to Canada in the quarterfinals.

On the men's side, Great Britain won their group with 2 wins and a draw. They will face South Korea in the quarterfinals.

Australia failed to qualify for either soccer event. This was their first time attempting to qualify out of the Asian Zone instead of the significantly weaker Oceanic Zone, so this may have been a factor. They will, however, send teams in most other team sports, since they qualify from the Oceanic Zone in those.

In women's basketball, France is 4-0, Australia is 3-1, and Great Britain is 0-4. All three are in the same six-team group, from which the top 4 advance to the quarterfinals. The French and Australians are guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals, while Britain is eliminated but will play one more group stage game.

In women's handball, Great Britain is 0-4-0 and France is 3-0-1 (W-L-D). France is guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals while Britain is eliminated, but each will play one more group stage game.

In men's basketball, Great Britain is 0-3 while Australia is 1-2. They are both in Group B. France, in Group A, is 3-1. The French will advance to the quarterfinals, as will either the Australians or Brits (but not both).

In men's volleyball, Great Britain is 0-4 while Australia is 1-3. The British are eliminated from quarterfinal contention, but will play one more group stage game.
|-
|Multiple
|Similarly, will atheist nations underachieve in general?
|China, an officially atheist and communist country, leads the standings with 13 gold medals. Despite having more than three times the population of the United States and despite having a national program designed to produce champion athletes, China is trailing the USA in total medals (24-23) part of the way into Day 5, and has 13 gold medals to the United States's 9. Despite having a population only one-fifth of that of the US, increasingly atheistic Great Britain has more than half as many gold medals, and more than half as many medals overall as the US, and ranks third overall. Great Britain did not win its first gold medal until Day 5 (August 1), because few of the medal competitions in which GB is strong (rowing, cycling, canoeing especially) were competed for until that day.

Update: China and USA both have 24 golds but China has more medals overall and more silvers. Britain is third with 11 golds, and 26 overall.
|-
|wrestling
|have [[feminist]] [[Title IX quotas]] destroyed the [[U.S.]] team?
|TBA
|-
|men's basketball
|will selfless play by outspoken [[Christian]] [[Kevin Durant]] overcome ball-hogging by [[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]]s [[Kobe Bryant]] and [[LeBron James]] on [[USA Basketball]]?
|After a slow start, the United States beat France 98-71 in their first game. LeBron James had 9 points in 25 minutes, while Kobe Bryant was limited to 12 minutes but scored 10 points. Kevin Durant led all players from both teams with 22 points. In their third game, the United States blew out Nigeria, 156-83, setting records for points scored and margin of victory. Durant, Bryant, and LeBron all received limited minutes due to the blowout. Durant scored 14 points in 17 minutes, James scored 6 points in 11 minutes, and Bryant scored 16 points in 11 minutes.
|-
|men's tennis
|will one of the [[Essay:Greatest Conservative Sports Stars|Greatest Conservative Sports Stars]] -- such as Novak Djokovic -- win the gold medal? Will [[Andy Murray]] of atheistic Britain underperform?
|Both players advanced to the semifinals, where Murray defeated Djokovic in straight sets. Murray will face Roger Federer of Switzerland for the gold, while Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina for the bronze.
|-
|8-month pregnant athlete
|Will the [[lamestream media]] report on Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia, who is competing while being 8 months pregnant, or does that send too [[pro-life]] of a message?
|Taibi was eliminated from the Olympics on the first day of official competition after finishing in 34th place. Few articles mentioned her prior to her elimination; there was more publicity about her after her defeat.<ref>[http://blog.sfgate.com/olympics/2012/07/28/pregnant-shooter%E2%80%99s-olympics-end-after-34th-place-finish-in-qualifying/ Pregnant shooter’s Olympics end after 34th-place finish in qualifying] sfgate.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/shooting/story/Pregnant-Malaysian-shooter-does-baby-proud-at-London-Olympics-072812 Pregnant shooter does baby proud] foxsports.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/shooting/story/2012-07-28/pregnant-shooter-nur-suryani-mohd-taibi-malaysia-misses-final/56551354/1 Pregnant shooter misses final, treasures experience] usatoday.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-pregnant-shooting London 2012: 'Be quiet, mummy's shooting,' says pregnant competitor] guardian.co.uk, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref> The New York Times ran an article on the athlete on 16 July 2012,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/sports/olympics/17iht-oly17.html?_r=1] </ref> The Guardian <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-pregnant-shooting]</ref> and ESPN <ref>[http://www.espnstar.com/olympics/shooting/news/detail/item832224/Nur-Suryani-off-target-in-London/]</ref> both reported on her results in the competition.
|-
|women's soccer
|ranked #1 and won the gold in the last two Olympics, most recently with a foreign coach. Now that this [[U.S.]] team is [[politically correct]], will it underachieve?<ref>A foreigner, reportedly a lesbian, was selected as the head coach of the already champion American Olympic women's soccer team in 2007, and in the following year that team repeated its gold medal-winning performance of 2004. Aren't there American, although perhaps not politically correct, soccer coaches good enough to run the Olympic team?</ref> Major rivals will be Japan, Brazil and France.
|Went 3-0 in their group to advance to the quarterfinals, where they beat New Zealand 2-0. They will face Canada in the semifinals.
|-
|Gun events
|Will the [[lamestream media]] downplay the gun events because they want to continue to push [[gun control]]?
|Great Britain shooter Peter Wilson's gold medal success in the double-trap clay pigeon event was widely reported and celebrated in the British media, despite Britain being strong in favor of gun control. The victory of South Korean air pistol shooter Jin in winning the first gold medal of the games was reported in most GB media. Coverage is similar to other sports with modest national following. See the entry above on the Malaysian shooter for an exception to this lack of coverage.
|-
|Openly [[homosexual]] athletes
|Will the [[liberal media]] overpromote [[homosexual]] athletes, far beyond their achievements?
|Several months before the games, ''Sports Illustrated'' ran a feature article entitled "The Transgender Athlete", which included significant overage of a transgender female-to-male shotputter attempting to qualify for the United States women's Olympic team. However, she failed to qualify at the US Olympic Trials, and as such has not received coverage during the actual Olympics.
|-
|Multiple
|Will countries that have implemented same-sex marriage underperform? (See below for a more lengthy explanation)
|Too early to tell. All countries are below their expected total (see chart below) so far, but this would be expected since so few events have been completed. Here is how much each nation should be expected to win, based on the chart below, and their actual totals so far. All expected totals are rounded to the nearest whole number. The overall total may not be equal to the sum of the individual expected totals due to this rounding. Also, the actual totals will not be meaningful one way or the other until more events have been completed.
: Argentina - 5 expected, 0 actual
: Belgium - 7 expected, 2 actual
: Canada - 23 expected, 10 actual
: Denmark - 4 expected, 5 actual
: Iceland - 0 expected, 0 actual
: Netherlands - 11 expected, 8 actual
: Norway - 6 expected, 2 actual
: Portugal - 3 expected, 0 actual
: South Africa - 5 expected, 4 actual
: Spain - 20 expected, 3 actual
: Sweden - 7 expected, 3 actual
: Total - 92 expected, 35 actual
|-
|Men's Handball
|Will heavy underdogs [[Tunisia]] overperform in Group A? Group A should perhaps be dubbed the "Group of Left", since the other five teams are Sweden, Iceland, and Argentina, where same-sex marriage is legal, and increasingly atheistic Great Britain and France.
|Tunisia is currently 1-3, their one win coming against Great Britain. They will face Argentina in their final game. They will not finish last in their group because they will probably beat GB, where handball is almost non-existent as a sport.
|-
|}

(add more)

== Nations that have implemented [[same-sex marriage]] ==

===[[Argentina]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Argentina's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 3 || 1 || 0 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 1 || 2 || 2 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 0 || 2 || 1 || 3
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 2 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 2 || 0 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 2 || 0 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| July 22, 2010 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total || 17 || 23 || 26 || 66
|}

===[[Belgium]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Belgium's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 5 || 5 || 5 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 1 || 5 || 2 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp (host) || 14 || 11 || 11 || 36
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 3 || 7 || 3 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 2 || 2 || 0 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 2 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 0 || 1 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 1 || 1 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 2 || 2 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| January 30, 2003 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 37 !! 51 !! 51 !! 139
|}

===[[Canada]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Canada's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| ''1896 Athens'' || colspan=4|''did not compete''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || 4 || 1 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 3 || 3 || 10 || 16
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 3 || 2 || 3 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 3 || 3 || 3 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 0 || 3 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 4 || 4 || 7 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 2 || 5 || 8 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 1 || 2 || 0 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 1 || 2 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 1 || 3 || 1 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal (host) || 0 || 5 || 6 || 11
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || colspan=4|''did not compete''
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 10 || 18 || 16 || 44
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 3 || 2 || 5 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 7 || 4 || 7 || 18
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 3 || 11 || 8 || 22
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 3 || 3 || 8 || 14
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 3 || 6 || 3 || 12
|-
|align=left| July 20, 2005 || colspan=4|''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 3 || 9 || 6 || 18
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
!| Total || 58 || 94 || 108 || 260
|}

===[[Denmark]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Denmark's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || 1 || 2 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 1 || 6 || 5 || 12
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 3 || 9 || 1 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 2 || 5 || 2 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 3 || 1 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 5 || 7 || 8 || 20
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 1 || 2 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 2 || 3 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 1 || 4 || 3 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 2 || 1 || 2 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 2 || 1 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 4 || 1 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 2 || 3 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 2 || 0 || 6 || 8
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| June 15, 2012 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 41 !! 63 !! 66 !! 170
|}

===[[Iceland]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Iceland's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 0 ||1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| June 27, 2010 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 0 !! 2 !! 2 !! 4
|}

===[[Netherlands]]<ref>Although part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, [[Aruba]] competes separately at the Olympic Games. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Aruba, although marriages performed in the European mainland Netherlands are recognized per the Kingdom's requirements. Additionally, the territories of Curacao and Sint Maarten, who will compete as "Independent Olympic Athletes" under the Olympic Flag following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and the loss of recognition of their Olympic Committee, have the same regulations as Aruba with regards to same-sex marriage. Since citizens of these territories are also Dutch citizens, they are also eligible to compete for Team Netherlands. Therefore, they may have won some of the Dutch medals. In all three territories, the population is heavily Catholic and there is large opposition to same-sex marriage in spite of the Kingdom's requirements. When Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba opted to integrate fully with the Netherlands as part of the dissolution, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a law that will make same sex-marriage legal in those territories effective in October 2012. However, this law was strongly opposed by locals. Athletes from those three territories were permitted to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes as well. However, of the four IOAs at the Olympics, three are from Curacao and one is a marathoner from South Sudan, which does not yet have a national Olympic Committee.</ref>===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+The Netherland's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 0 || 1 || 3 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 0 || 0 || 3 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 4 || 2 || 5 || 11
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 4 || 1 || 5 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam (host) || 6 || 9 || 4 || 19
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 2 || 5 || 0 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 6 || 4 || 7 || 17
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 5 || 2 || 9 || 16
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 0 || 5 || 0 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 4 || 4 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 3 || 1 || 1 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 5 || 2 || 6 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 2 || 2 || 5 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 2 || 6 || 7 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 4 || 5 || 10 || 19
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 12 || 9 || 4 || 25
|-
|align=left| April 1, 2001 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 4 || 9 || 9 || 22
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 7 || 5 || 4 || 16
|-
|align=left| 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 71 !! 79 !! 96 !! 246
|}

===[[Norway]]===
===[[Portugal]]===
===[[South Africa]]===
===[[Spain]]===
===[[Sweden]]===

Underachievement by nations allowing same sex marriage will be particularly evident.<ref>In the [[United States]], 6 out of 50 states permit same-sex marriage (Washington, D.C. also permits same-sex marriage), and 8 additional states permit civil unions. Two states (including Washington, which had previously recognized civil unions) have declared same-sex marriage legal, but implementation is postponed until after voter referendums on the laws in November 2012. Additionally, in [[Mexico]], same-sex marriage is legal in Mexico City, a federal district roughly equivalent to Washington, DC, as well as in the state of Quintana Roo. </ref>

== Nations that are increasingly [[atheist]]ic ==

*[[Britain]]
*[[France]]
*[[Australia]]<ref> Since the 2001 Australians have increasingly answered "no religion" in the official census. The growing numbers of those answering "no religion" has coincided with fewer people self-identifying as Christian: [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/636F496B2B943F12CA2573D200109DA9?opendocument Year Book Australia, 2008]</ref>

Underachievement by atheistic nations will be particularly evident in the '''''team''''' sports, where spiritual motivation is usually non-existent. Expect the atheistic nations to underachieve most notably in soccer, where teamwork is paramount.

Also, since Great Britain is the host nation, it may receive a boost in performance in spite of its increasingly atheistic nature. One should be careful to account for this when comparing Britain's performance this year to that in previous Olympic Games.

== Winners ==

=== Individual Events ===

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Athlete
!Achievement
!Religion, or Atheist?
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Team Events ===

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Event
!Country
!Religious Category
|-
|Women's 4x100m Freestyle (Swimming)
|Australia
|Increasingly Atheistic
|-
|Men's Team Archery
|Italy
|Christian
|-
|Women's Team Archery
|South Korea
|Atheistic
|-
|Men's 4x100m Freestyle (Swimming)
|France
|Increasingly Atheistic
|-
|Women's Synchronized 3m Springboard (Diving)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|Men's Synchronized 10m Platform (Diving)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|Men's Artistic Team All-round (Gymnastics)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|}

==Expected Medals==

There are many factors that contribute to a countries success in the Olympics (population, proximity host country, culture) and [[Gross Domestic Product]] cannot be used as a fair proxy, due to low-GDP China comfortably coming first in the 2008 Olympics and Russia ranking third. Below is how the Olympic medals would be awarded if each country earned medals in proportion to their GDP, which vastly overestimates the United States' performance.

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Country
!Expected Medals
|-
|Afghanistan
|0.2
|-
|Albania
|0.2
|-
|Andorra
|0.1
|-
|Antigua and Barbuda
|0
|-
|Angola
|1.2
|-
|Algeria
|2.3
|-
|Argentina
|5.3
|-
|Armenia
|0.1
|-
|Aruba
|0
|-
|Australia
|16.2
|-
|Austria
|5.4
|-
|Azerbaijan
|0.7
|-
|Bahamas
|0.1
|-
|Bangladesh
|1.4
|-
|Barbados
|0
|-
|Burundi
|0
|-
|Belgium
|6.7
|-
|Belize
|0
|-
|Benin
|0.1
|-
|Bermuda
|0.1
|-
|Bhutan
|0
|-
|Bolivia
|0.3
|-
|Bosnia-Herzegovina
|0.2
|-
|Bahrain
|0.3
|-
|Botswana
|0.2
|-
|Belarus
|0.8
|-
|Brazil
|29.9
|-
|Virgin Islands
|0
|-
|Bulgaria
|0.7
|-
|Burkina Faso
|0.1
|-
|Cameroon
|0.3
|-
|Cambodia
|0.2
|-
|Canada
|22.6
|-
|Cayman Islands
|0
|-
|Central African Republic
|0
|-
|Chad
|0.1
|-
|Chile
|3
|-
|China
|98.8
|-
|Taiwan
|7.2
|-
|Colombia
|4.1
|-
|Comoros
|0
|-
|Cape Verde
|0
|-
|Congo
|0.2
|-
|Cook Islands
|0
|-
|Costa Rica
|0.5
|-
|Cote-d´lvoire
|0.3
|-
|Croatia
|0.9
|-
|Cuba
|0.9
|-
|Cyprus
|0.4
|-
|Czech Republic
|2.8
|-
|Denmark
|4.4
|-
|Djibouti
|0
|-
|Dominica
|0
|-
|Dominican Republic
|0.7
|-
|Ecuador
|0.8
|-
|Egypt
|3.1
|-
|El Salvador
|0.3
|-
|Equatorial Guinea
|0.2
|-
|Eritrea
|0
|-
|Estonia
|0.3
|-
|Ethiopia
|0.4
|-
|Fiji
|0
|-
|Finland
|3.4
|-
|France
|39.8
|-
|Gabon
|0.2
|-
|Gambia
|0
|-
|Germany
|47
|-
|Ghana
|0.4
|-
|United Kingdom
|32.4
|-
|Guinea-Bissau
|0
|-
|Georgia
|0.2
|-
|Greece
|4.3
|-
|Grenada
|0
|-
|Guam
|0
|-
|Guatemala
|0.6
|-
|Guinea
|0.1
|-
|Guyana
|0
|-
|Haiti
|0.1
|-
|Honduras
|0.2
|-
|Hong Kong
|3.2
|-
|Hungary
|1.8
|-
|Iceland
|0.2
|-
|India
|24.7
|-
|Indonesia
|10.1
|-
|Iran
|4.7
|-
|Iraq
|1.2
|-
|Ireland
|3
|-
|Italy
|29.5
|-
|Israel
|3.1
|-
|Jamaica
|0.2
|-
|Japan
|78.2
|-
|Jordan
|0.4
|-
|Kazakhstan
|2.3
|-
|Kyrgyzstan
|0.1
|-
|Kenya
|0.4
|-
|South Korea
|14.8
|-
|North Korea
|0.4
|-
|Kuwait
|2
|-
|Laos
|0.1
|-
|Latvia
|0.4
|-
|Saint Lucia
|0
|-
|Lebanon
|0.5
|-
|Lesotho
|0
|-
|Libya
|0.9
|-
|Lichtenstein
|0.1
|-
|Luxembourg
|0.8
|-
|Macedonia
|0.1
|-
|Madagascar
|0.1
|-
|Malawi
|0.1
|-
|Malaysia
|3.3
|-
|Moldova
|0.1
|-
|Marshall Islands
|0
|-
|Maldives
|0
|-
|Malta
|0.1
|-
|Mali
|0.1
|-
|Mauritania
|0.2
|-
|Mauritius
|0.1
|-
|Mexico
|16.2
|-
|Micronesia
|0
|-
|Monaco
|0.1
|-
|Montenegro
|0.1
|-
|Mongolia
|0.1
|-
|Morocco
|1.3
|-
|Mozambique
|0.1
|-
|Myanmar
|0.7
|-
|Namibia
|0.2
|-
|Nepal
|0.2
|-
|Netherlands
|11.2
|-
|New Zealand
|1.8
|-
|Nicaragua
|0.1
|-
|Niger
|0.1
|-
|Niger
|0.1
|-
|Norway
|5.9
|-
|Oman
|0.7
|-
|Pakistan
|2.4
|-
|Palau
|0
|-
|Panama
|0.4
|-
|Papua New Guinea
|0.1
|-
|Paraguay
|0.3
|-
|Peru
|2.3
|-
|Philippines
|2.9
|-
|Poland
|6.7
|-
|Portugal
|3.3
|-
|Puerto Rico
|1.4
|-
|Qatar
|1.4
|-
|Romania
|2.3
|-
|Rwanda
|0.1
|-
|Saint Lucia
|0
|-
|Saint Kitts and Nevis
|0
|-
|Samoa
|0
|-
|San Marino
|0
|-
|Saudi Arabia
|6.2
|-
|Seychelles
|0
|-
|Sierra Leone
|0
|-
|Senegal
|0.2
|-
|Slovenia
|0.7
|-
|Solomon Islands
|0
|-
|South Africa
|5.2
|-
|Sri Lanka
|0.7
|-
|Slovakia
|1.3
|-
|Swaziland
|0.1
|-
|Serbia
|0.6
|-
|Singapore
|3
|-
|Spain
|20.2
|-
|Sudan
|0.9
|-
|Suriname
|0
|-
|Syria
|0.8
|-
|Sweden
|6.6
|-
|Switzerland
|7.6
|-
|Tanzania
|0.3
|-
|Tonga
|0
|-
|Thailand
|4.6
|-
|Togo
|0
|-
|Trinidad and Tobago
|0.3
|-
|Tajikistan
|0.1
|-
|Timor-Leste
|0
|-
|Turkmenistan
|0.3
|-
|Tunisia
|0.6
|-
|Turkey
|10.5
|-
|Tuvalu
|0
|-
|Uganda
|0.2
|-
|Ukraine
|2
|-
|United Arab Emirates
|4.3
|-
|United States
|209
|-
|Uruguay
|0.6
|-
|Uzbekistan
|0.6
|-
|Vanuatu
|0
|-
|Venezuela
|5.6
|-
|Vietnam
|1.5
|-
|Yemen
|0.4
|-
|Zambia
|0.2
|-
|Zimbabwe
|0.1
|-
|}

== Commemoration ==

The 2012 games mark the 40th anniversary of 11 [[Israeli]] Olympic team members taken hostage and killed by [[Palestinian]] [[terrorist]] group Black September. The Internal Olympic Committee has been urged to offer a commemorative moment of silence for the athletes at the opening ceremony. The IOC has rejected the moment of silence or any mention of the tragic event so as not to upset [[Muslim]] countries. <ref>[http://www.eju.org/news/world/ioc-refuses-request-memorial-munich-victims IOC refuses request for a memorial to Munich victims, EJU News, may 22, 2012]</ref> Sportscaster Bob Costas says NBC will honor the Munich 11 despite IOC’s refusal to allow it. <ref>[http://weaselzippers.us/2012/07/21/bob-costas-says-he-will-observe-moment-of-silence-for-victims-of-1972-munich-massacre-during-live-broadcast-of-london-olympics-opening-ceremony-despite-iocs-refusal-to-allow-it/ Bob Costas Says He Will Observe Moment of Silence For Victims of 1972 Munich Massacre, WeaselZippers, July 21, 2012]</ref>

== NBC Coverage ==

Scorn for Comcast's [[NBC]] coverage of the Olympic games hit America coast to coast. Viewers have taken to the internet with the trend #NBCfail for days now. The groans began at the opening ceremony when [[American]] viewers were denied the tribute to British victims of [[Islamic]] terrorism. As the games moved forward, live events were interrupted or had already finished, replaced with commercials and NBC commentators talking about the athletes. It has been reported the Comcast spent $1 billion for the rights to televise the 2012 Olympics.

== See also ==

*[http://www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results/ Schedule and Results]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Olympics]]

The Twilight Saga

2012-08-05T01:04:03Z

Pacman: More balance in politics section

The '''Twilight Saga''' is a series of books and films about a young lady who falls in love with a [[vampire]] from the 19th century. The series has seen mixed reactions from critics and the public, and over 100 million copies have been sold worldwide of both the books and the films. The author of the series, [[Stephenie Meyer]], attended [[Brigham Young University]] and is a member of [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]. The series has been criticised by some [[liberals]], possibly because it contains pro-marriage and pro-life elements. It has also been criticised by some conservatives due to its positive depictions of vampires.<ref>http://spesunica.wordpress.com/is-twilight-anti-christian-yes/</ref> The films have also received valid criticism on the basis of their quality.

==Politics==
The series features [[vampire]]s and [[werewolve]]s, which are part of non-Christian mythology, and it does not depict any of the characters as Christians. In popular culture vampires are generally depicted as individuals who have either willingly or by duress turned against God (such as [[Bram Stoker]]'s original [[Dracula]]) and thus any promotion of vampirism stands in direct conflict to Christianity. Vampires are shown as being hurt by crosses or crucifixes, although in the novel Dracula the weapons that Van Helsing used to control Dracula were Catholic in origin, and he mentions the Vatican directly. However, most treatment of vampires in fiction does not distinguish between Catholic symbols and Protestant ones, and both seem effective.

The series does however seems to make certain elements of conservatism "cool" to young school girls whereas other series targeting the demographic encourage immorality (the pro-Satanic elements notwithstanding). Despite not referencing Christianity, the series seems to support traditional marriage and Chrisitian morals; for example, Edward, being from the 19th century when immorality seen as normal in modern times was considered taboo, refused to engage in sexual intercourse with Bella prior to marriage, and Bella was pro-life even when having the baby put herself at great risk (this in particular upsets [[liberal]]s).

==References==

<references/>
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Juvenile Fiction]]

2012 Summer Olympics

2012-08-05T00:52:18Z

Pacman: Re-wrote confusing out-of-context statement

The '''2012 Summer Olympic Games''', officially known as the '''Games of the XXX Olympiad''' and informally as '''London 2012''', is occurring in [[London]] from July 27 through August 12.<ref>This makes London the first city to host the Games three times - the previous occasions being in 1908 and 1948.</ref> During the Modern Olympic Games, the pagan origins of the Olympics have been replaced by [[faith]]-based achievement by the participating athletes.

Athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees are participating.<ref>Independent Olympic Athletes from [[South Sudan]], who does not yet have a National Olympic Committee, and the former Netherlands Antilles, who no longer has a National Olympic Committee due to their dissolution, will also compete under the Olympic Flag.</ref> Sports contests having the greatest political interest are (note especially the growing list of lack of [[public schools]] for the gold medalists below):

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Sport
!Political issue
!Answer
|-
|Multiple
|How many athletes will do the equivalent of [[Tebowing]] after a victory? American Meb Keflezighi, who won the silver medal in the marathon in 2004, typically gives glory to [[God]] with the sign of the [[Cross]] after finishing a race.<ref>http://www.letsrun.com/2009/nycmen1101.php</ref>
|Missy Franklin, who ranks second behind Michael Phelps (he's won 4 gold in 2012, 18 in career) with three gold medals at the 2012 games, thanked [[God]] as one of her first comments after winning.

Gabby Douglas gave glory to God when she qualified to represent [[Team USA]], and subsequently won two gold medals.

Soccer players in the United Arab Emirates team bowed toward Mecca when they scored a goal. They did not advance to the quarterfinals. However Mohamed Farah (GB) won the 10000 metres track race despite bowing to Mecca.
|-
|Multiple
|Will almost no athletes from [[public school]] sports programs win any gold medals, despite how public schools spend more than $500 billion annually to teach and train [[American]]s?
|The [[lamestream media]] state that Missy Franklin, the star swimmer, is a high school student, but fail to mention that she attends ''[[Catholic]]'' school rather than [[public school]].

'''American 2012 Olympic gold medal winners (as of 8/1/2012)'''
*Private: Missy Franklin ([[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] high school)<ref> Franklin's swimming has been with a swim club</ref>, Katie Ledecky (Catholic high school)
*[[Homeschooled]]: Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Serena Williams
*College or adult: Michael Phelps,<ref>Phelps' swimming has been with a private swim club.</ref> Dana Vollmer, Vincent Hancock, Conor Dwyer, Kristin Armstrong, Nathan Adrian, Allison Schmitt, Shannon Vreeland, Kim Rhode, Ryan Lochte, Matt Grevers, Aly Raisman, Ricky Berens, Jamie Lynn Gray, Bob Bryan, Mike Bryan
*[[Public school]]: Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber
*Still to categorize:
|-
|Multiple
|How many athletes will be unfairly expelled based on [[liberal]] [[censorship]] of their [[free speech]]?
|One athlete -- Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou -- was expelled from the Greek National team by her own country's Olympic committee '''''before it officially opened''''' based on a one-sentence joke about immigration, even though she apologized. The joke in question was this from her Twitter: "With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!" It should be noted that Papachristou apologized for the tweet.

In addition to the Greek Olympic Committee's decision on Papachristou, the IOC's own twitter-use policy has been criticized for hindering free speech. The policy, which is claimed to protect the IOC's commercial rights, goes as far as to prevent athletes from "reporting on events". According to The Globe and Mail, even a tweet such as "Won our games against China, USA. Next up, the Brazilians," could get an athlete expelled from the Games without notice. As of yet, no athletes have been expelled by the IOC for this [[social media]] [[censorship]] policy.

Lolo Jones, a pro-[[abstinence]] [[American]] hurdler, is being criticized by the [[lamestream media]] for sending out a pro-[[Second Amendment]] tweet.

The [[liberal]] thought police expelled a Swiss soccer player for tweeting that South Koreans are "retards."<ref>[[http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/07/another-racist-twitter-scandal-gets-another-olympic-athlete-boot/55197/] </ref>
|-
|Opening Ceremonies
|Will [[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]] David Beckham be selected to light the Olympic cauldron?
|Beckham was not selected as the final torchbearer. He was, however, a passenger on the speedboat that carried the torch up the River Thames. He assisted in the hand-off of the torch to Sir Steve Redgrave, one of Britain's greatest Olympians. Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012, stated, "He [Beckham] will be more than an ambassador given what he has done, the commitment he has given and the amount of time he has spent with us in London on this project. He was not only alongside us when we won [the right to host the Olympics], he was alongside us when we threw our hats in the ring."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/football/9388462/London-2012-Olympics-David-Beckham-will-be-more-than-an-ambassador-at-the-Games.html London 2012 Olympics: David Beckham will be 'more than an ambassador' at the Games] telegraph.co.uk, July 10, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref>
|-
|Multiple
|will [[atheist]] nations underachieve in team sports?
|In women's soccer, France defeated Sweden in the quarterfinals and will face Japan in the semifinals. Great Britain lost to Canada in the quarterfinals.

On the men's side, Great Britain won their group with 2 wins and a draw. They will face South Korea in the quarterfinals.

Australia failed to qualify for either soccer event. This was their first time attempting to qualify out of the Asian Zone instead of the significantly weaker Oceanic Zone, so this may have been a factor. They will, however, send teams in most other team sports, since they qualify from the Oceanic Zone in those.

In women's basketball, France is 4-0, Australia is 3-1, and Great Britain is 0-4. All three are in the same six-team group, from which the top 4 advance to the quarterfinals. The French and Australians are guaranteed to advance to the quarterfinals, while Britain is eliminated but will play one more group stage game.

In women's handball, Great Britain is 0-4-0 and France is 3-0-1 (W-L-D). France is guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals while Britain is eliminated, but each will play one more group stage game.

In men's basketball, Great Britain is 0-3 while Australia is 1-2. They are both in Group B. France, in Group A, is 3-1. The French will advance to the quarterfinals, as will either the Australians or Brits (but not both).

In men's volleyball, Great Britain is 0-4 while Australia is 1-3. The British are eliminated from quarterfinal contention, but will play one more group stage game. This is not underachievement because volleyball is not a widely-played game in Britain and they only played in the Olympics because they were host nation.
|-
|Multiple
|Similarly, will atheist nations underachieve in general?
|China, an officially atheist and communist country, leads the standings with 13 gold medals. Despite having more than three times the population of the United States and despite having a national program designed to produce champion athletes, China is trailing the USA in total medals (24-23) part of the way into Day 5, and has 13 gold medals to the United States's 9. Despite having a population only one-fifth of that of the US, increasingly atheistic Great Britain has more than half as many gold medals, and more than half as many medals overall as the US, and ranks third overall. Great Britain did not win its first gold medal until Day 5 (August 1), because few of the medal competitions in which GB is strong (rowing, cycling, canoeing especially) were competed for until that day.

Update: China and USA both have 24 golds but China has more medals overall and more silvers. Britain is third with 11 golds, and 26 overall.
|-
|wrestling
|have [[feminist]] [[Title IX quotas]] destroyed the [[U.S.]] team?
|TBA
|-
|men's basketball
|will selfless play by outspoken [[Christian]] [[Kevin Durant]] overcome ball-hogging by [[Overrated Sports Stars|Overrated Sports Star]]s [[Kobe Bryant]] and [[LeBron James]] on [[USA Basketball]]?
|After a slow start, the United States beat France 98-71 in their first game. LeBron James had 9 points in 25 minutes, while Kobe Bryant was limited to 12 minutes but scored 10 points. Kevin Durant led all players from both teams with 22 points. In their third game, the United States blew out Nigeria, 156-83, setting records for points scored and margin of victory. Durant, Bryant, and LeBron all received limited minutes due to the blowout. Durant scored 14 points in 17 minutes, James scored 6 points in 11 minutes, and Bryant scored 16 points in 11 minutes.
|-
|men's tennis
|will one of the [[Essay:Greatest Conservative Sports Stars|Greatest Conservative Sports Stars]] -- such as Novak Djokovic -- win the gold medal? Will [[Andy Murray]] of atheistic Britain underperform?
|Both players advanced to the semifinals, where Murray defeated Djokovic in straight sets. Murray will face Roger Federer of Switzerland for the gold, while Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina for the bronze.
|-
|8-month pregnant athlete
|Will the [[lamestream media]] report on Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia, who is competing while being 8 months pregnant, or does that send too [[pro-life]] of a message?
|Taibi was eliminated from the Olympics on the first day of official competition after finishing in 34th place. Few articles mentioned her prior to her elimination; there was more publicity about her after her defeat.<ref>[http://blog.sfgate.com/olympics/2012/07/28/pregnant-shooter%E2%80%99s-olympics-end-after-34th-place-finish-in-qualifying/ Pregnant shooter’s Olympics end after 34th-place finish in qualifying] sfgate.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/shooting/story/Pregnant-Malaysian-shooter-does-baby-proud-at-London-Olympics-072812 Pregnant shooter does baby proud] foxsports.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/shooting/story/2012-07-28/pregnant-shooter-nur-suryani-mohd-taibi-malaysia-misses-final/56551354/1 Pregnant shooter misses final, treasures experience] usatoday.com, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-pregnant-shooting London 2012: 'Be quiet, mummy's shooting,' says pregnant competitor] guardian.co.uk, July 28, 2012, retrieved July 28, 2012</ref> The New York Times ran an article on the athlete on 16 July 2012,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/sports/olympics/17iht-oly17.html?_r=1] </ref> The Guardian <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/28/london-2012-pregnant-shooting]</ref> and ESPN <ref>[http://www.espnstar.com/olympics/shooting/news/detail/item832224/Nur-Suryani-off-target-in-London/]</ref> both reported on her results in the competition.
|-
|women's soccer
|ranked #1 and won the gold in the last two Olympics, most recently with a foreign coach. Now that this [[U.S.]] team is [[politically correct]], will it underachieve?<ref>A foreigner, reportedly a lesbian, was selected as the head coach of the already champion American Olympic women's soccer team in 2007, and in the following year that team repeated its gold medal-winning performance of 2004. Aren't there American, although perhaps not politically correct, soccer coaches good enough to run the Olympic team?</ref> Major rivals will be Japan, Brazil and France.
|Went 3-0 in their group to advance to the quarterfinals, where they beat New Zealand 2-0. They will face Canada in the semifinals.
|-
|Gun events
|Will the [[lamestream media]] downplay the gun events because they want to continue to push [[gun control]]?
|Great Britain shooter Peter Wilson's gold medal success in the double-trap clay pigeon event was widely reported and celebrated in the British media, despite Britain being strong in favor of gun control. The victory of South Korean air pistol shooter Jin in winning the first gold medal of the games was reported in most GB media. Coverage is similar to other sports with modest national following. See the entry above on the Malaysian shooter for an exception to this lack of coverage.
|-
|Openly [[homosexual]] athletes
|Will the [[liberal media]] overpromote [[homosexual]] athletes, far beyond their achievements?
|Several months before the games, ''Sports Illustrated'' ran a feature article entitled "The Transgender Athlete", which included significant overage of a transgender female-to-male shotputter attempting to qualify for the United States women's Olympic team. However, she failed to qualify at the US Olympic Trials, and as such has not received coverage during the actual Olympics.
|-
|Multiple
|Will countries that have implemented same-sex marriage underperform? (See below for a more lengthy explanation)
|Too early to tell. All countries are below their expected total (see chart below) so far, but this would be expected since so few events have been completed. Here is how much each nation should be expected to win, based on the chart below, and their actual totals so far. All expected totals are rounded to the nearest whole number. The overall total may not be equal to the sum of the individual expected totals due to this rounding. Also, the actual totals will not be meaningful one way or the other until more events have been completed.
: Argentina - 5 expected, 0 actual
: Belgium - 7 expected, 2 actual
: Canada - 23 expected, 10 actual
: Denmark - 4 expected, 5 actual
: Iceland - 0 expected, 0 actual
: Netherlands - 11 expected, 8 actual
: Norway - 6 expected, 2 actual
: Portugal - 3 expected, 0 actual
: South Africa - 5 expected, 4 actual
: Spain - 20 expected, 3 actual
: Sweden - 7 expected, 3 actual
: Total - 92 expected, 35 actual
|-
|Men's Handball
|Will heavy underdogs [[Tunisia]] overperform in Group A? Group A should perhaps be dubbed the "Group of Left", since the other five teams are Sweden, Iceland, and Argentina, where same-sex marriage is legal, and increasingly atheistic Great Britain and France.
|Tunisia is currently 1-3, their one win coming against Great Britain. They will face Argentina in their final game. They will not finish last in their group because they will probably beat GB, where handball is almost non-existent as a sport.
|-
|}

(add more)

== Nations that have implemented [[same-sex marriage]] ==

===[[Argentina]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Argentina's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 3 || 1 || 0 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 1 || 2 || 2 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 0 || 2 || 1 || 3
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 2 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 2 || 0 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 2 || 0 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| July 22, 2010 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total || 17 || 23 || 26 || 66
|}

===[[Belgium]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Belgium's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 5 || 5 || 5 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 1 || 5 || 2 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp (host) || 14 || 11 || 11 || 36
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 3 || 7 || 3 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 2 || 2 || 0 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 2 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 0 || 1 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 2 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 1 || 1 || 2 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 2 || 2 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| January 30, 2003 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 37 !! 51 !! 51 !! 139
|}

===[[Canada]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Canada's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| ''1896 Athens'' || colspan=4|''did not compete''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || 4 || 1 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 3 || 3 || 10 || 16
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 3 || 2 || 3 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 3 || 3 || 3 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 0 || 3 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 4 || 4 || 7 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 2 || 5 || 8 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 1 || 3 || 5 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 1 || 2 || 0 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 1 || 2 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 1 || 3 || 1 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal (host) || 0 || 5 || 6 || 11
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || colspan=4|''did not compete''
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 10 || 18 || 16 || 44
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 3 || 2 || 5 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 7 || 4 || 7 || 18
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 3 || 11 || 8 || 22
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 3 || 3 || 8 || 14
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 3 || 6 || 3 || 12
|-
|align=left| July 20, 2005 || colspan=4|''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 3 || 9 || 6 || 18
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
!| Total || 58 || 94 || 108 || 260
|}

===[[Denmark]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Denmark's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || 1 || 2 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 1 || 3 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 1 || 6 || 5 || 12
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 3 || 9 || 1 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 2 || 5 || 2 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || 3 || 1 || 2 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 5 || 7 || 8 || 20
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 1 || 2 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 2 || 3 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 1 || 4 || 3 || 8
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 1 || 0 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 1 || 0 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 2 || 1 || 2 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 3 || 3 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 2 || 1 || 1 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 1 || 1 || 4 || 6
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 4 || 1 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 2 || 3 || 1 || 6
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 2 || 0 || 6 || 8
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 2 || 2 || 3 || 7
|-
|align=left| June 15, 2012 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 41 !! 63 !! 66 !! 170
|}

===[[Iceland]]===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+Iceland's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || colspan=4| ''Did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1956 Melbourne/Stockholm || 0 ||1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|align=left| June 27, 2010 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 0 !! 2 !! 2 !! 4
|}

===[[Netherlands]]<ref>Although part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, [[Aruba]] competes separately at the Olympic Games. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Aruba, although marriages performed in the European mainland Netherlands are recognized per the Kingdom's requirements. Additionally, the territories of Curacao and Sint Maarten, who will compete as "Independent Olympic Athletes" under the Olympic Flag following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and the loss of recognition of their Olympic Committee, have the same regulations as Aruba with regards to same-sex marriage. Since citizens of these territories are also Dutch citizens, they are also eligible to compete for Team Netherlands. Therefore, they may have won some of the Dutch medals. In all three territories, the population is heavily Catholic and there is large opposition to same-sex marriage in spite of the Kingdom's requirements. When Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba opted to integrate fully with the Netherlands as part of the dissolution, the Dutch House of Representatives passed a law that will make same sex-marriage legal in those territories effective in October 2012. However, this law was strongly opposed by locals. Athletes from those three territories were permitted to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes as well. However, of the four IOAs at the Olympics, three are from Curacao and one is a marathoner from South Sudan, which does not yet have a national Olympic Committee.</ref>===

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" border="1"
|+The Netherland's Olympic medals in the Summer Games
|-
! scope="col" | Year and location
! scope="col" | Gold
! scope="col" | Silver
! scope="col" | Bronze
! scope="col" | Total
|- ||- |-
|align=left| 1896 Athens || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1900 Paris || 0 || 1 || 3 || 4
|-
|align=left| 1904 St. Louis || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1908 London || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2
|-
|align=left| 1912 Stockholm || 0 || 0 || 3 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1920 Antwerp || 4 || 2 || 5 || 11
|-
|align=left| 1924 Paris || 4 || 1 || 5 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1928 Amsterdam (host) || 6 || 9 || 4 || 19
|-
|align=left| 1932 Los Angeles || 2 || 5 || 0 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1936 Berlin || 6 || 4 || 7 || 17
|-
|align=left| 1948 London || 5 || 2 || 9 || 16
|-
|align=left| 1952 Helsinki || 0 || 5 || 0 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1956 Stockholm/Melbourne || colspan=4| ''did not participate''
|-
|align=left| 1960 Rome || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1964 Tokyo || 2 || 4 || 4 || 10
|-
|align=left| 1968 Mexico City || 3 || 3 || 1 || 7
|-
|align=left| 1972 Munich || 3 || 1 || 1 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1976 Montreal || 0 || 2 || 3 || 5
|-
|align=left| 1980 Moscow || 0 || 1 || 2 || 3
|-
|align=left| 1984 Los Angeles || 5 || 2 || 6 || 13
|-
|align=left| 1988 Seoul || 2 || 2 || 5 || 9
|-
|align=left| 1992 Barcelona || 2 || 6 || 7 || 15
|-
|align=left| 1996 Atlanta || 4 || 5 || 10 || 19
|-
|align=left| 2000 Sydney || 12 || 9 || 4 || 25
|-
|align=left| April 1, 2001 || colspan=4| ''Same-sex marriage legalized''
|-
|align=left| 2004 Athens || 4 || 9 || 9 || 22
|-
|align=left| 2008 Beijing || 7 || 5 || 4 || 16
|-
|align=left| 2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London || ? || ? || ? || ?
|-
! Total !! 71 !! 79 !! 96 !! 246
|}

===[[Norway]]===
===[[Portugal]]===
===[[South Africa]]===
===[[Spain]]===
===[[Sweden]]===

Underachievement by nations allowing same sex marriage will be particularly evident.<ref>In the [[United States]], 6 out of 50 states permit same-sex marriage (Washington, D.C. also permits same-sex marriage), and 8 additional states permit civil unions. Two states (including Washington, which had previously recognized civil unions) have declared same-sex marriage legal, but implementation is postponed until after voter referendums on the laws in November 2012. Additionally, in [[Mexico]], same-sex marriage is legal in Mexico City, a federal district roughly equivalent to Washington, DC, as well as in the state of Quintana Roo. </ref>

== Nations that are increasingly [[atheist]]ic ==

*[[Britain]]
*[[France]]
*[[Australia]]<ref> Since the 2001 Australians have increasingly answered "no religion" in the official census. The growing numbers of those answering "no religion" has coincided with fewer people self-identifying as Christian: [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/636F496B2B943F12CA2573D200109DA9?opendocument Year Book Australia, 2008]</ref>

Underachievement by atheistic nations will be particularly evident in the '''''team''''' sports, where spiritual motivation is usually non-existent. Expect the atheistic nations to underachieve most notably in soccer, where teamwork is paramount.

Also, since Great Britain is the host nation, it may receive a boost in performance in spite of its increasingly atheistic nature. One should be careful to account for this when comparing Britain's performance this year to that in previous Olympic Games.

== Winners ==

=== Individual Events ===

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Athlete
!Achievement
!Religion, or Atheist?
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|}

=== Team Events ===

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Event
!Country
!Religious Category
|-
|Women's 4x100m Freestyle (Swimming)
|Australia
|Increasingly Atheistic
|-
|Men's Team Archery
|Italy
|Christian
|-
|Women's Team Archery
|South Korea
|Atheistic
|-
|Men's 4x100m Freestyle (Swimming)
|France
|Increasingly Atheistic
|-
|Women's Synchronized 3m Springboard (Diving)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|Men's Synchronized 10m Platform (Diving)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|Men's Artistic Team All-round (Gymnastics)
|China
|Buddhist
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
|}

==Expected Medals==

There are many factors that contribute to a countries success in the Olympics (population, proximity host country, culture) and [[Gross Domestic Product]] cannot be used as a fair proxy, due to low-GDP China comfortably coming first in the 2008 Olympics and Russia ranking third. Below is how the Olympic medals would be awarded if each country earned medals in proportion to their GDP, which vastly overestimates the United States' performance.

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed"
|-
!Country
!Expected Medals
|-
|Afghanistan
|0.2
|-
|Albania
|0.2
|-
|Andorra
|0.1
|-
|Antigua and Barbuda
|0
|-
|Angola
|1.2
|-
|Algeria
|2.3
|-
|Argentina
|5.3
|-
|Armenia
|0.1
|-
|Aruba
|0
|-
|Australia
|16.2
|-
|Austria
|5.4
|-
|Azerbaijan
|0.7
|-
|Bahamas
|0.1
|-
|Bangladesh
|1.4
|-
|Barbados
|0
|-
|Burundi
|0
|-
|Belgium
|6.7
|-
|Belize
|0
|-
|Benin
|0.1
|-
|Bermuda
|0.1
|-
|Bhutan
|0
|-
|Bolivia
|0.3
|-
|Bosnia-Herzegovina
|0.2
|-
|Bahrain
|0.3
|-
|Botswana
|0.2
|-
|Belarus
|0.8
|-
|Brazil
|29.9
|-
|Virgin Islands
|0
|-
|Bulgaria
|0.7
|-
|Burkina Faso
|0.1
|-
|Cameroon
|0.3
|-
|Cambodia
|0.2
|-
|Canada
|22.6
|-
|Cayman Islands
|0
|-
|Central African Republic
|0
|-
|Chad
|0.1
|-
|Chile
|3
|-
|China
|98.8
|-
|Taiwan
|7.2
|-
|Colombia
|4.1
|-
|Comoros
|0
|-
|Cape Verde
|0
|-
|Congo
|0.2
|-
|Cook Islands
|0
|-
|Costa Rica
|0.5
|-
|Cote-d´lvoire
|0.3
|-
|Croatia
|0.9
|-
|Cuba
|0.9
|-
|Cyprus
|0.4
|-
|Czech Republic
|2.8
|-
|Denmark
|4.4
|-
|Djibouti
|0
|-
|Dominica
|0
|-
|Dominican Republic
|0.7
|-
|Ecuador
|0.8
|-
|Egypt
|3.1
|-
|El Salvador
|0.3
|-
|Equatorial Guinea
|0.2
|-
|Eritrea
|0
|-
|Estonia
|0.3
|-
|Ethiopia
|0.4
|-
|Fiji
|0
|-
|Finland
|3.4
|-
|France
|39.8
|-
|Gabon
|0.2
|-
|Gambia
|0
|-
|Germany
|47
|-
|Ghana
|0.4
|-
|United Kingdom
|32.4
|-
|Guinea-Bissau
|0
|-
|Georgia
|0.2
|-
|Greece
|4.3
|-
|Grenada
|0
|-
|Guam
|0
|-
|Guatemala
|0.6
|-
|Guinea
|0.1
|-
|Guyana
|0
|-
|Haiti
|0.1
|-
|Honduras
|0.2
|-
|Hong Kong
|3.2
|-
|Hungary
|1.8
|-
|Iceland
|0.2
|-
|India
|24.7
|-
|Indonesia
|10.1
|-
|Iran
|4.7
|-
|Iraq
|1.2
|-
|Ireland
|3
|-
|Italy
|29.5
|-
|Israel
|3.1
|-
|Jamaica
|0.2
|-
|Japan
|78.2
|-
|Jordan
|0.4
|-
|Kazakhstan
|2.3
|-
|Kyrgyzstan
|0.1
|-
|Kenya
|0.4
|-
|South Korea
|14.8
|-
|North Korea
|0.4
|-
|Kuwait
|2
|-
|Laos
|0.1
|-
|Latvia
|0.4
|-
|Saint Lucia
|0
|-
|Lebanon
|0.5
|-
|Lesotho
|0
|-
|Libya
|0.9
|-
|Lichtenstein
|0.1
|-
|Luxembourg
|0.8
|-
|Macedonia
|0.1
|-
|Madagascar
|0.1
|-
|Malawi
|0.1
|-
|Malaysia
|3.3
|-
|Moldova
|0.1
|-
|Marshall Islands
|0
|-
|Maldives
|0
|-
|Malta
|0.1
|-
|Mali
|0.1
|-
|Mauritania
|0.2
|-
|Mauritius
|0.1
|-
|Mexico
|16.2
|-
|Micronesia
|0
|-
|Monaco
|0.1
|-
|Montenegro
|0.1
|-
|Mongolia
|0.1
|-
|Morocco
|1.3
|-
|Mozambique
|0.1
|-
|Myanmar
|0.7
|-
|Namibia
|0.2
|-
|Nepal
|0.2
|-
|Netherlands
|11.2
|-
|New Zealand
|1.8
|-
|Nicaragua
|0.1
|-
|Niger
|0.1
|-
|Niger
|0.1
|-
|Norway
|5.9
|-
|Oman
|0.7
|-
|Pakistan
|2.4
|-
|Palau
|0
|-
|Panama
|0.4
|-
|Papua New Guinea
|0.1
|-
|Paraguay
|0.3
|-
|Peru
|2.3
|-
|Philippines
|2.9
|-
|Poland
|6.7
|-
|Portugal
|3.3
|-
|Puerto Rico
|1.4
|-
|Qatar
|1.4
|-
|Romania
|2.3
|-
|Rwanda
|0.1
|-
|Saint Lucia
|0
|-
|Saint Kitts and Nevis
|0
|-
|Samoa
|0
|-
|San Marino
|0
|-
|Saudi Arabia
|6.2
|-
|Seychelles
|0
|-
|Sierra Leone
|0
|-
|Senegal
|0.2
|-
|Slovenia
|0.7
|-
|Solomon Islands
|0
|-
|South Africa
|5.2
|-
|Sri Lanka
|0.7
|-
|Slovakia
|1.3
|-
|Swaziland
|0.1
|-
|Serbia
|0.6
|-
|Singapore
|3
|-
|Spain
|20.2
|-
|Sudan
|0.9
|-
|Suriname
|0
|-
|Syria
|0.8
|-
|Sweden
|6.6
|-
|Switzerland
|7.6
|-
|Tanzania
|0.3
|-
|Tonga
|0
|-
|Thailand
|4.6
|-
|Togo
|0
|-
|Trinidad and Tobago
|0.3
|-
|Tajikistan
|0.1
|-
|Timor-Leste
|0
|-
|Turkmenistan
|0.3
|-
|Tunisia
|0.6
|-
|Turkey
|10.5
|-
|Tuvalu
|0
|-
|Uganda
|0.2
|-
|Ukraine
|2
|-
|United Arab Emirates
|4.3
|-
|United States
|209
|-
|Uruguay
|0.6
|-
|Uzbekistan
|0.6
|-
|Vanuatu
|0
|-
|Venezuela
|5.6
|-
|Vietnam
|1.5
|-
|Yemen
|0.4
|-
|Zambia
|0.2
|-
|Zimbabwe
|0.1
|-
|}

== Commemoration ==

The 2012 games mark the 40th anniversary of 11 [[Israeli]] Olympic team members taken hostage and killed by [[Palestinian]] [[terrorist]] group Black September. The Internal Olympic Committee has been urged to offer a commemorative moment of silence for the athletes at the opening ceremony. The IOC has rejected the moment of silence or any mention of the tragic event so as not to upset [[Muslim]] countries. <ref>[http://www.eju.org/news/world/ioc-refuses-request-memorial-munich-victims IOC refuses request for a memorial to Munich victims, EJU News, may 22, 2012]</ref> Sportscaster Bob Costas says NBC will honor the Munich 11 despite IOC’s refusal to allow it. <ref>[http://weaselzippers.us/2012/07/21/bob-costas-says-he-will-observe-moment-of-silence-for-victims-of-1972-munich-massacre-during-live-broadcast-of-london-olympics-opening-ceremony-despite-iocs-refusal-to-allow-it/ Bob Costas Says He Will Observe Moment of Silence For Victims of 1972 Munich Massacre, WeaselZippers, July 21, 2012]</ref>

== NBC Coverage ==

Scorn for Comcast's [[NBC]] coverage of the Olympic games hit America coast to coast. Viewers have taken to the internet with the trend #NBCfail for days now. The groans began at the opening ceremony when [[American]] viewers were denied the tribute to British victims of [[Islamic]] terrorism. As the games moved forward, live events were interrupted or had already finished, replaced with commercials and NBC commentators talking about the athletes. It has been reported the Comcast spent $1 billion for the rights to televise the 2012 Olympics.

== See also ==

*[http://www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results/ Schedule and Results]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
[[Category:Olympics]]

Jessica Ennis

2012-08-05T00:47:36Z

Pacman: Tweak and swap link for better source.

Jessica Ennis is a [[British]] [[Christian]] [[Heptathlon|Heptathlete]], who also specializes in 100m [[Hurdles]]. She won the [[gold]] medal in the Heptathlon in the [[2012 Olympics]]<ref>http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/player/jessica-ennis/1348460</ref>.

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

Desmond Llewelyn

2012-07-11T23:59:44Z

Pacman: Start

Desmond Llewelyn appeared as Q in the [[James Bond]] films.

Sexual reproduction

2012-07-11T23:11:01Z

Pacman: Dejargonize & remove tag, hope this is ok.

'''Sexual reproduction''' is reproduction from two parent organisms. The parent organisms are a [[male]] and a [[female]].<ref>Freeman, Scott, ''Biological Science''. Prentice Hall 2005.</ref>

In sexual reproduction the male and female each supply half of the [[gene]]s, and they combine to make a new [[cell]] which has genes from each parent. This mixing of genes leads to variation between parents and offspring. Many [[species]] reproduce sexually, such as [[human]]s, while some species (including many plants and some animals) can reproduce either sexually or [[asexual reproduction|asexually]].

==See also==
*[[Procreation]], for a [[Philosophy|philosophical]] look at [[Humanity|human]] sexual reproduction.''
*[[Human reproduction]]
*[[Sexual intercourse (quote)]]

==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Reproduction]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]

Deoxyribonucleic acid

2012-07-11T23:05:26Z

Pacman: Wikify, and reshuffle.

[[Image:799.gif|right|thumb|300px]]
'''Deoxyribonucleic acid''' (DNA) is a chemical inside [[cell]]s which carries the hereditary information. It is a molecular [[polymer]] formed of [[nucleotide|deoxyribonucleotides]]. All organisms use DNA as their hereditary material. [[Offspring]] of [[sexually reproducing|Sexual_reproduction]] [[organisms|Organism]] contain DNA from both parents.

==Structure==

Most commonly as a double-stranded [[helix]] comprising two complimentary molecules held together by hydrogen bonds, this is commonly called "dsDNA" (double-stranded DNA)<ref>Single-stranded DNAs (ssDNA) do exist in certain [[bacteriophage]]s, however they cannot be replicated without first creating the complimentary strand to use as a template.</ref>. The [[nucleotide]]s which are the "building blocks" of DNA have three main parts: A nitrogenous base (the "letters" in the sequence), a [[sugar]], and a [[phosphate]] group. When nucleotides are joined into DNA strands, they form a chain with the phosphate group of one nucleotide binding to the ribose of the next.

DNA strands "compliment" each other by having compatible sequences, allowing the bases on one strand to form bonds with the bases on the other strand. There are four nitrogenous bases, Adenonine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T). Under the base pairing rules, A pairs with T and G pairs with C.

DNA contains [[gene]]s that encode for [[protein]]s. These are produced by the DNA first being turned into m[[RNA]] and then into polypeptides (this process is called the [[Central dogma of molecular biology|central dogma]] of molecular biology). All organisms use DNA as their hereditary material. Offspring of sexually reproducing organisms contain DNA from both parents.

==History==
In the late 19th century [[Friedrich Miescher]], a Swiss [[biochemist]], discovered an unusual [[acid]] in the [[nuclei]] of cells. The acid was named deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. In 1944 the American [[biologist]]s, [[Alfred Hershey]], [[Thomas Gilmore]] and [[Martha Chase]] used experiments with [[bacteria]] and [[bacteriophage]]s to show that DNA passed [[gene]]s from one generation to the next.

At that time, it was unclear how this simple molecule could hold all the complex information controlling the development of humans, animals and plants. Scientists knew it was made of four chemical bases called [[adenine]] (A), [[thymine]] (T), [[guanine]] (G) and [[cytosine]] (C), plus [[phosphoric acid]] and a [[sugar]]. They also knew that the ratios of A and T as well as G and C were always the same, but they did not know the rules that controlled the arrangement.

British scientists [[Rosalind Franklin]] and [[Maurice Wilkins]] passed [[X-ray|X-rays]] through DNA to study the patterns made when the crystals diffracted them. From studying photographs of patterns, Rosalind Franklin concluded that DNA must be be a [[helix]]. [[James Watson]] and [[Francis Crick]], working in [[Cambridge]], used this information to help them solve the puzzle of DNA structure. They built a model showing that if A always paired with T and G paired with C, DNA must be like a ladder made of two strands twisted together in a double helix. The sugar and phosphoric acid were the sides of the ladder, and the rungs were the paired bases that were held together through hydrogen bonding.

Watson and Crick suggested that DNA could unzip itself into two separate strands, and each strand could act as a pattern to grow a new strand. Crick showed later that areas of the DNA known as genes worked in groups of three to code for amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. These groups are called [[codon|codons]]. They make about fifty thousand different types of [[protein]], which make all the different types of cell in the body. Indian biochemist [[Har Gobind Khorana]] made all the possible codons and worked out which codons controlled which [[amino acid]]. Most codons are redundant and code for the same amino acids, these mostly are different in only the third base pair. This means that differences in genotype can build up in the third position (thereby changing the genotype) without changing the protein (keeps the same phenotype).

If the DNA in one cell was stretched out, it would be about three feet long. Although DNA has a very simple structure, it can carry an enormous amount of [[information]]. Scientists do not yet understand the function of all DNA, but in 1991 a project called the [[Human Genome Project]] began to use computers to map the three billion base pairs which make up the 46 human [[chromosome|chromosomes]].

==Modern understanding==
[[Image:818.gif|right|thumb|Structure of DNA.]]
Small lengths of DNA called [[gene]]s serve as the instructions for the body to carry out its functions and give rise to the physical traits of the organism. <ref>"Eye-color genes, through the proteins they encode, direct the amount and placement of melanin in the iris." [http://www.hhmi.org/cgi-bin/askascientist/highlight.pl?kw=&file=answers%2Fgenetics%2Fans_044.html Ask A Scientist - Genes and eye color]</ref> DNA is packaged into [[chromosomes]]. Each individual human being has 23 pairs of [[chromosome]]s, where one set is inherited from his/her mother and the other set is inherited from his/her father. 22 of these chromosomes are referred to as [[autosome]]s, while the remaining chromosomes are the sex chromosomes. Males possess a single X chromosome and a single Y chromosome; whereas females possess a pair of X chromosomes. In total, it is estimated that there are roughly 20300 protein-coding genes in the human genome; however, due to mRNA splicing, it is estimated that these genes encode for over 1 million different protein products.

[[Prokaryotic DNA]] is circular (a closed loop). Whereas, [[eukaryotic DNA|eukaryotic chromosomes]] are linear (with ends), with the notable exception of [[Mitochondrial DNA]] and plastid (chloroplast) DNA, which is separate from the DNA in the nucleus<ref>Mitochondria and chloroplasts are thought to have originated as prokaryotic cells living symbiotically inside of primitive eukaryotic cells, this is called the [[endosymbiotic hypothesis]]</ref>. The ends of eukaryotic chromosomes are protected by [[telomere]]s, which are always tightly condensed except during S phase of [[mitosis]].<ref>Campbell, Neil A, et. al. ''Biology''. 6th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2002. 299, 530-31.</ref>

[[Mutation]]s are simply variations in DNA sequence between individuals. The vast majority of spontaneous mutations in DNA are called "neutral" because they do not affect the [[phenotype|observable traits]] of the individual organism. Others can have beneficial effects and some can disrupt important functions Differential distribution of various types of neutral mutations within the population is the basis for modern [[DNA fingerprinting]]. It is mutations in DNA, giving rise to novel alleles ("versions" of a gene), which cause phenotypic variations between individuals of a particular species. For instance, in humans, single-gene mutations are responsible for differences in [[ABO blood type]], eye color, hair color, and even the ability to taste certain molecules. Sadly, there are also thousands of mutations known to cause human disease; notably sickle-cell anemia, a few rare forms of autism, and (when the mutations spontaneously occur in a somatic cell) various types of cancer. That said, it is important to note that most phenotypic traits (e.g. height) and hereditary diseases arise as the net effect of several different genetic variations.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim OMIM] (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man), is an online database of genes known to be mutated in disease states. [[Mendelian inheritance]] refers to the inheritance pattern observed in traits that are determined by a single gene. This pattern was first discovered by [[Gregor Mendel]], an Austrian monk, during his work with pea plants from 1856-1863. Although Mendel published his work in 1866, it's significance was largely ignored until it was rediscovered in the early 20th century; more than two decades after his death.

==External links==
*[http://www.learner.org/interactives/dna/index.html Interactive DNA] Learn about genetics, genetic engineering, the Human Genome Project and the ethical implications of these new technologies.
*[http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/trun/artwork/Animations/cloningexp/cloningexp.html Animated guide to DNA cloning]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Genetics]]

Desert

2012-06-17T22:47:47Z

Pacman: Rem waffle, copyedit

[[Image:desert-7.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Deserts''' are regions of extreme dryness, with less than 5 inches of [[precipitation|rain]] a year. In some deserts, [[evaporation]] is greater than rainfall, making them very dry. Semi-arid deserts average 5 to 10 inches of annual rain. Desert moisture is brief and unpredictable from year to year. One-third of Earth desert or semidesert.

Evaporation contributes greatly to a desert's dryness. In some deserts, the amount of water evaporating exceeds the amount of rainfall making that desert very dry. Rising air cools and can holds less moisture, producing clouds and precipitation; falling air warms, absorbing moisture. Areas with few clouds, bodies of water and little vegetation absorb most of the sun's radiation, heating the air at the surface. More humid areas deflect heat in clouds, water and vegetation, remaining cooler. High wind in open country also contributes to evaporation.

Locations of deserts have changed throughout the years. Modern deserts are in the [[horse latitudes]], typically the [[Tropic of Cancer]] and the [[Tropic of Capricorn]], between 15 and 30 degrees north and south of the [[equator]]. Some deserts, such as the [[Kalahari]] in central [[Africa]], are very old. The [[Sahara Desert]] in northern Africa is quite old, as is the [[Sonoran Desert]] of North America. Deserts can also occur at near-polar latitudes, for example in [[Iceland]] or [[Antarctica]].

Because they are poised in such harsh extremes of temperature and aridity, deserts are among the most fragile [[ecosystem]]s on the planet.

[[Category:Ecology]]

Miss Moneypenny

2012-06-16T14:04:11Z

Pacman: Start

Miss Moneypenny is the secretary of [[James Bond]]'s boss [[M]]. Bond and Moneypenny continue a flirtatious relationship that has through all of the movies, even though both Bond and Moneypenny have been played by several different actors..

Flying ace

2012-06-16T13:48:26Z

Pacman: Start

A flying ace is a fighter pilot who has shot down five enemy planes.

Carbon dioxide

2012-06-16T13:38:22Z

Pacman: /* Carbon Dioxide Propaganda */ Effect of CO2 on plants

[[Image:CO2phase.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Phase diagram]] for CO2]]

'''Carbon dioxide''' (CO2) is an odorless, colorless [[gas]] formed by the [[oxidation]] of [[hydrocarbon]]s, both naturally, in animals, and artificially, as fuel<ref>If not enough oxygen is present, [[carbon monoxide]] will also be produced, in a process called [[incomplete combustion]].</ref>. It is one of the [[human]] body's major waste products, being excreted through exhalation (breathing).

It is used by [[plants]] in the process of [[photosynthesis]] to create complex carbohydrates ([[cellulose]] and [[sugar]]s), using water and the [[energy]] from [[sunlight]]. The waste product in this process is [[oxygen]].

At room temperature and atmospheric [[pressure]], carbon dioxide is a gas. It becomes solid at -78 ºC at standard atmospheric pressure, forming [[dry ice]]. When it thaws, it turns directly into a gas again (called [[sublimation]]). <ref>"Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. A block of dry ice has a surface temperature of -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit (-78.5 degrees C). Dry ice also has the very nice feature of sublimation -- as it breaks down, it turns directly into carbon dioxide gas rather than a liquid." [http://www.howstuffworks.com/question264.htm How Stuff Works] </ref> This can be seen from the phase diagram to the right, where at 1 atmosphere of pressure, there is no liquid state separating the solid and gas as temperature rises.

CO2 is one of the so-called [[greenhouse gas]]es. Heat-trapping by CO2 has been observed on [[Earth]] and [[Venus]]. The extent of its role in the current increase in average global temperatures is a topic of active political and scientific debate. Rising CO2 levels have also been attributed to the acidification of the world's oceans.

The [[Lewis structure]] indicates it has two double bonds:

[[Image:CO2.gif]]

==Carbon Dioxide Propaganda==
[[Environmentalist]]s predict doomsday [[global warming]] scenarios at the hands of carbon dioxide released by mankind. They attempt to classify carbon dioxide as 'a planetary problem' but a number a factors are in dispute. In addition, the planet naturally gives off carbon dioxide, like volcanoes, and it is not bad for the Earth. The claim that too much CO2 is a problem can also be said of too little CO2. Our planets coldest years have occurred when less CO2 was present.

In fact, higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere would boost the growth of plants, as it is an essential fuel for [[photosynthesis]]. Increased [[plant]] growth would have many beneficial effects for humans, such as greater crop yields and alleviating the effects of a growing human population. As increased plant groth would also [[sequester]] more carbon in the bodies of the plants it would also have a limiting effect on any additional carbon released into the atmosphere, eventually achieving a new balance point, in spite of the predictions of doom from [[environmentalist]]s.

==See also==
*[[Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere]]

==References==
<references />

[[Category: Chemical Compounds]]

Deoxyribonucleic acid

2012-06-16T13:28:24Z

Pacman: Dejargonize, wikify and simplify. More work needed!

[[Image:799.gif|right|thumb|300px]]
'''Deoxyribonucleic acid''' (DNA) is a molecular [[polymer]] formed of [[nucleotide|deoxyribonucleotides]]. Most commonly as a double-stranded [[helix]] comprising two complimentary molecules held together by hydrogen bonds, this is commonly called "dsDNA" (double-stranded DNA)<ref>Single-stranded DNAs (ssDNA) do exist in certain [[bacteriophage]]s, however they cannot be replicated without first creating the complimentary strand to use as a template.</ref>. The [[nucleotide]]s which are the "building blocks" of DNA have three main parts: A nitrogenous base (the "letters" in the sequence), a [[sugar]], and a [[phosphate]] group. When nucleotides are joined into DNA strands, they form a chain with the phosphate group of one nucleotide binding to the ribose of the next.

DNA strands "compliment" each other by having compatible sequences, allowing the bases on one strand to form bonds with the bases on the other strand. There are four nitrogenous bases, Adenonine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), and Thymine (T). Under the base pairing rules, A pairs with T and G pairs with C.

DNA contains [[gene]]s that encode for [[protein]]s. These are produced by the DNA first being turned into m[[RNA]] and then into polypeptides (this process is called the [[Central dogma of molecular biology|central dogma]] of molecular biology). All organisms use DNA as their hereditary material. Offspring of sexually reproducing organisms contain DNA from both parents.

==History==
In the late 19th century [[Friedrich Miescher]], a Swiss [[biochemist]], discovered an unusual [[acid]] in the [[nuclei]] of cells. The acid was named deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. In 1944 the American [[biologist]]s, [[Alfred Hershey]], [[Thomas Gilmore]] and [[Martha Chase]] used experiments with [[bacteria]] and [[bacteriophage]]s to show that DNA passed [[gene]]s from one generation to the next.

At that time, it was unclear how this simple molecule could hold all the complex information controlling the development of humans, animals and plants. Scientists knew it was made of four chemical bases called [[adenine]] (A), [[thymine]] (T), [[guanine]] (G) and [[cytosine]] (C), plus [[phosphoric acid]] and a [[sugar]]. They also knew that the ratios of A and T as well as G and C were always the same, but they did not know the rules that controlled the arrangement.

British scientists [[Rosalind Franklin]] and [[Maurice Wilkins]] passed [[X-ray|X-rays]] through DNA to study the patterns made when the crystals diffracted them. From studying photographs of patterns, Rosalind Franklin concluded that DNA must be be a [[helix]]. [[James Watson]] and [[Francis Crick]], working in [[Cambridge]], used this information to help them solve the puzzle of DNA structure. They built a model showing that if A always paired with T and G paired with C, DNA must be like a ladder made of two strands twisted together in a double helix. The sugar and phosphoric acid were the sides of the ladder, and the rungs were the paired bases that were held together through hydrogen bonding.

Watson and Crick suggested that DNA could unzip itself into two separate strands, and each strand could act as a pattern to grow a new strand. Crick showed later that areas of the DNA known as genes worked in groups of three to code for amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. These groups are called [[codon|codons]]. They make about fifty thousand different types of [[protein]], which make all the different types of cell in the body. Indian biochemist [[Har Gobind Khorana]] made all the possible codons and worked out which codons controlled which [[amino acid]]. Most codons are redundant and code for the same amino acids, these mostly are different in only the third base pair. This means that differences in genotype can build up in the third position (thereby changing the genotype) without changing the protein (keeps the same phenotype).

If the DNA in one cell was stretched out, it would be about three feet long. Although DNA has a very simple structure, it can carry an enormous amount of [[information]]. Scientists do not yet understand the function of all DNA, but in 1991 a project called the [[Human Genome Project]] began to use computers to map the three billion base pairs which make up the 46 human [[chromosome|chromosomes]].

==Modern understanding==
[[Image:818.gif|right|thumb|Structure of DNA.]]
Small lengths of DNA called [[gene]]s serve as the instructions for the body to carry out its functions and give rise to the physical traits of the organism. <ref>"Eye-color genes, through the proteins they encode, direct the amount and placement of melanin in the iris." [http://www.hhmi.org/cgi-bin/askascientist/highlight.pl?kw=&file=answers%2Fgenetics%2Fans_044.html Ask A Scientist - Genes and eye color]</ref> DNA is packaged into [[chromosomes]]. Each individual human being has 23 pairs of [[chromosome]]s, where one set is inherited from his/her mother and the other set is inherited from his/her father. 22 of these chromosomes are referred to as [[autosome]]s, while the remaining chromosomes are the sex chromosomes. Males possess a single X chromosome and a single Y chromosome; whereas females possess a pair of X chromosomes. In total, it is estimated that there are roughly 20300 protein-coding genes in the human genome; however, due to mRNA splicing, it is estimated that these genes encode for over 1 million different protein products.

[[Prokaryotic DNA]] is circular (a closed loop). Whereas, [[eukaryotic DNA|eukaryotic chromosomes]] are linear (with ends), with the notable exception of [[Mitochondrial DNA]] and plastid (chloroplast) DNA, which is separate from the DNA in the nucleus<ref>Mitochondria and chloroplasts are thought to have originated as prokaryotic cells living symbiotically inside of primitive eukaryotic cells, this is called the [[endosymbiotic hypothesis]]</ref>. The ends of eukaryotic chromosomes are protected by [[telomere]]s, which are always tightly condensed except during S phase of [[mitosis]].<ref>Campbell, Neil A, et. al. ''Biology''. 6th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2002. 299, 530-31.</ref>

[[Mutation]]s are simply variations in DNA sequence between individuals. The vast majority of spontaneous mutations in DNA are called "neutral" because they do not affect the [[phenotype|observable traits]] of the individual organism. Others can have beneficial effects and some can disrupt important functions Differential distribution of various types of neutral mutations within the population is the basis for modern [[DNA fingerprinting]]. It is mutations in DNA, giving rise to novel alleles ("versions" of a gene), which cause phenotypic variations between individuals of a particular species. For instance, in humans, single-gene mutations are responsible for differences in [[ABO blood type]], eye color, hair color, and even the ability to taste certain molecules. Sadly, there are also thousands of mutations known to cause human disease; notably sickle-cell anemia, a few rare forms of autism, and (when the mutations spontaneously occur in a somatic cell) various types of cancer. That said, it is important to note that most phenotypic traits (e.g. height) and hereditary diseases arise as the net effect of several different genetic variations.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim OMIM] (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man), is an online database of genes known to be mutated in disease states. [[Mendelian inheritance]] refers to the inheritance pattern observed in traits that are determined by a single gene. This pattern was first discovered by [[Gregor Mendel]], an Austrian monk, during his work with pea plants from 1856-1863. Although Mendel published his work in 1866, it's significance was largely ignored until it was rediscovered in the early 20th century; more than two decades after his death.

==External links==
*[http://www.learner.org/interactives/dna/index.html Interactive DNA] Learn about genetics, genetic engineering, the Human Genome Project and the ethical implications of these new technologies.
*[http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/trun/artwork/Animations/cloningexp/cloningexp.html Animated guide to DNA cloning]

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Genetics]]

Ming Dynasty

2012-06-16T13:19:07Z

Pacman: Correct characters

The '''Ming Dynasty''' ([[Chinese]]: 無情; [[Hanyu pinyin]]: Míng Cháo) was the dynasty in China founded in A.D. 1368 by [[Zhu Yuanzhang]], which ruled until it was succeeded in 1644 by the [[Qing Dynasty|Manchus]]. The collapse of the [[Mongols]] enabled the Ming dynasty to arise in 1368.

The Ming dynasty established its capital at [[Peking]] ([[Beijing]]) in 1421. The Ming dynasty is known for expansion and exploration, and increasing contacts with Europe. Arts flourished during this period and beautiful blue and white [[porcelain]] was made and exported.

==Basic Further reading==
* Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, and Kwang-ching Liu. ''The Cambridge Illustrated History of China'' (1999) 352 pages [http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Illustrated-History-China-Histories/dp/052166991X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197346890&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Latourette, Kenneth Scott. ''The Development of China'' (1917) 273 pages; [http://books.google.com/books?id=fSIPAAAAYAAJ&dq=inauthor:latourette&num=30&as_brr=1 full text online; written by Christian scholar]
* Wright, David Curtis. ''History of China'' (2001) 257pp; [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-history-of-china-by-david-curtis-wright-john-e-findling-frank-w-thackeray.jsp online edition]
===Advanced bibliography===
* Brook, Timothy. ''The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China.'' U. of California Press, 1998. [http://www.amazon.com/Confusions-Pleasure-Commerce-Culture-China/dp/0520221540/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197246164&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Dardess, John W. ''A Ming Society: T'ai-ho County, Kiangsi, Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries.'' U. of California Press, 1983; uses advanced "new social history" [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft2s2004qh/?&query=&brand=ucpress complete text online free]
* Farmer, Edward. ''Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society Following the Era of Mongol Rule.'' E.J. Brill, 1995.
* Goodrich, L. Carrington, and Chaoying Fang. ''Dictionary of Ming Biography.'' (1976).
* Huang, Ray. ''1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline.'' (1981). [http://www.amazon.com/1587-Year-No-Significance-Dynasty/dp/0300028849/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197246303&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Mote, Frederick W. ''Imperial China, 900–1800'' Harvard University Press, 1999, 1,136 pages, the authoritative treatment of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties; [http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-China-900-1800-F-Mote/dp/0674012127/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197237736&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Mote, Frederick W., and Denis Twitchett, eds. ''The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 7, part 1: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644'' (1988). 1008 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0521243327/ref=nosim/?tag=livseaboo-20&linkCode=asn excerpt and text search]
* Schneewind, Sarah. ''A Tale of Two Melons: Emperor and Subject in Ming China.'' (2006). [http://www.amazon.com/Tale-Two-Melons-Emperor-Subject/dp/0872208249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197246335&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Tsai, Shih-shan Henry. ''Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle.'' (2001). [http://www.amazon.com/Perpetual-Happiness-Ming-Emperor-Yongle/dp/0295981245/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197246363&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Twitchett, Denis and Frederick W. Mote, eds. ''The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 2. '' (1998). 1203 pp.; Twitchett, Denis and Frederick W. Mote, eds. ''The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1.''

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Chinese Dynasties]]
[[Category:Chinese History]]

GNU/Linux

2012-06-16T13:09:43Z

Pacman: Naming consistency

[[Image:Tuxie.jpg|thumb|right|"Tux", the Linux mascot|90px]]
The '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is [[free software]] created to replace the [[Unix]] operating system. The system aims towards POSIX compliance, though it is not officially compliant and therefore cannot bear the trademark "UNIX."
The GNU project was started by [[atheist]] programmer [[Richard Stallman]] and was the impetus behind the creation of the [[Free Software Foundation]]. Except for the small but essential [[kernel]] (called Linux after its creator [[Linus Torvalds]]), substantial components of the operating system code were created by Stallman and other FSF contributors. There's a dispute over whether the FSF should be credited when mentioning the use of Linux. The trade press refer to the overall system as "Linux", which annoys Stallman to no end. Essays on the FSF website promote the use of the term "GNU/Linux" when referring to a system with Linux kernel and GNU project core components.

The Linux [[kernel]] communicates with the hardware and provides for many complex and essential operations such as process scheduling, memory management and file system operation. This is required to support the needs of all applications run on the system (such as the graphical user interface, media players, and servers). Most of these applications are not part of the Linux kernel project, and are part of separate projects, including GNU, but those who are unaware of or not concerned about the history of the project commonly used "Linux" to refer to the whole operating system. The Linux kernel was initially developed by Finnish grad student [[Linus Torvalds]] as an experimental project to run a UNIX-like system on x86-based PC hardware.

At this point, a very substantial portion of the software commonly used on a desktop system are not GNU software projects, such as KDE (graphical desktop environment), Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and Python (high-level programming language). On the other hand, even these popular products rely on basic services provided by GNU, such as the C runtime library (libc), compiler framework (gcc), and core POSIX command line utilities. Additionally, the GNU project includes several more substantial applications, such as the graphical desktop environment GNOME, which compete heavily with their alternatives.

GNU/Linux distinguishes itself from other operating systems such as proprietary UNIX and [[Microsoft Windows]] in that the [[source code]] for a complete working system is distributed under various [[open source]] licenses. In essence, this means that anybody can modify the code to their needs, and that the development most components happens in an open community, rather than in a closed commercial environment. Any improvements to the code will be contributed to the community, and any software that is based upon viral licenses will be, in turn, licenses under these. The Linux kernel itself is licensed under the GNU [[General Public License]] (GPL).

GNU/Linux is also different to the closed source operating system vendors in that the software is distributed by many different companies. Major GNU/Linux distributions include [http://www.redhat.com/ Red Hat], [http://www.novell.com/linux/ SUSE], [http://www.debian.org/ Debian] and [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu]. There are literally hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions as can be seen on [http://distrowatch.com DistroWatch.com].

Numerous sources<ref>[http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/index.php?p=210 Intellectual Property - Left?]</ref> <ref>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/daviderickson/718933691/]</ref>, including Steve Ballmer<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/ MS' Ballmer: Linux is communism]</ref>, one of the driving minds behind the success of Microsoft, have claimed that the Open Source movement is inherently Communist. Both Free Software and Communism shun the idea of personal property, instead favoring a communal ownership where no single entity has control or authority.

In 2005 [http://www.forbes.com/ Forbes.com] posted [http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux_print.html an article] estimating Linux ran 60% of the world's top supercomputers at that time. In 2003 the [[IBM]] GNU/Linux Technology Center [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-rel/?ca=dgr-lnxw01LTP concluded] that GNU/Linux has enterprise class reliability. GNU/Linux servers can run without reboot for years as can usually be seen at the [http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html Longest uptimes] URL on [http://www.netcraft.com/ Netcraft.com]. Another location to check on Linux uptime statistics is the [http://counter.li.org/reports/uptimestats.php Machine uptimes] page at [http://counter.li.org/ Linux Counter].

Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a GUN/Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also a [[Ubuntu]] [[Christian]] Edition.<ref>[http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html Ubuntu Christian Edition]</ref>

[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|250px|Screenshot of Ubuntu Christian Edition.]]

GNU/Linux is quite possibly becoming one of the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world. However, this is difficult to quantify with hard evidence since most Linux distributions are given away for "free" and there are few sales records or marketing numbers to review. While personal computers in the United States and other "first world nations" still overwhelmingly use [[Microsoft]] operating systems such as Windows XP, GNU/Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone. For example, Linux has seen widespread use in numerous mass produced consumer electronic devices such as broadband residential routers, Digital Video Recorders, and cellphones.

As an example, in March of 2007 the server hosting the Conservapedia web site was running the GNU/Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref>

==Linux as the 'Best of the Public'==
The ongoing development of the GNU/Linux operating system represents perhaps the single most important example of the [[Best of the public| 'best of the public']] collaboration model in the field of technology. The excellent stability and security of GNU/Linux, both in server and consumer versions, provide a powerful example of the success of this model.

==GNU/Linux Pre-Installed==
From its inception, it has been difficult to find new computers outside of the server and market available with GNU/Linux pre-installed. Although specialty companies like [http://system76.com System76] and [http://www.zareason.com Zareason] do sell computers equipped with desktop versions of [[Linux]] (specifically [[Ubuntu]]), until recently, mainstream computer manufacturers like [[Dell]] and [[HP]] resisted this trend. Users typically need to download the GNU/Linux distribution of their choice and install it on a computer themselves. Because many home computer users find the installation of an operating system a difficult task, this added step hinders the increase in the number of computers using a desktop version of [[Linux]]. This situation drastically changed in 2007 when [[Dell]] started selling laptop and desktop computers to the general public with Linux pre-installed<ref>[http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/alliances/en/linux?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz Dell and Linux]</ref>.

During 2008, a new type of low cost laptop computer, the "netbook" was introduced by most of the major manufacturers. To keep costs down, Linux was offered on most of the lines as an alternative to Windows XP (Windows Vista being unable to run on the low powered computers), bringing GNU/Linux into the mainstream computer market for the first time.

==Misconceptions about GNU/Linux==
GNU/Linux is in often referred to as GNU/Linux, because Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibraries, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full Operating System as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is actually the kernel, a minuscule program in the operating system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. Therefore, the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.kernel.org/ The Linux Kernel Archives]
*[http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Main_Page The Linux Foundation]

[[Category:Operating Systems]]

Hydrogen bomb

2012-06-16T13:03:58Z

Pacman: Great Britain do not use their own missiles, they use US Tridents.

[[Image:Hbomb.jpg|right|200px]]
The '''hydrogen bomb''' (H-Bomb), is far more powerful and deadly than the [[atomic bomb]] that was dropped on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]] to end [[World War II]]. In 1950, President [[Harry Truman]] started a program to develop the H-Bomb and it became the major weapon of the [[Cold War]], though it was never used.

Developed first by the [[United States of America]], the viability of the H-bomb was proven with a massive detonation in 1952 by the USA on an [[atoll]] of the [[Marshall Islands]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The H-bomb consists of the release of massive energy when hydrogen atoms are fused together at very high temperature and pressure to form helium nuclei. The scientists instrumental in its development were the Hungarian immigrant [[Edward Teller]] and Polish immigrant [[Stanislaw Ulam]].

In 1953, the [[Soviet Union]] was the first to produce an explosion which made use of nuclear fusion, greatly alarming the United States which had hoped to retain its nuclear lead indefinitely. However, this Soviet device was a huge ground-based installation rather than a deliverable weapon. It was not a "true" fusion bomb because the main use of the fusion reaction was not to produce explosive energy, but to produce a neutron flux which had the effect of boosting the fission reaction. That is, most of the explosive energy came from nuclear fission. The Soviet Union later developed a bomb similar to the Teller-Ulam design, and its scientists claimed to have invented it independently of the American bomb.

Subsequently France and China have all developed their own hydrogen bombs. Negotiations between the US and Russia have also drastically cut both those nations' arsenals, although both retain very large nuclear stockpile. Israel is also widely suspected to maintain a small nuclear arsenal, though the government has never confirmed or denied these reports. This is known in Israel as the "policy of deliberate ambiguity". The US maintained a similar policy throughout the [[Cold War]], whereby it would "Neither Confirm Nor Deny" the specific deployment of nuclear weapons. However, this differs from Israeli policy; Israel neither confirms or denies possessing nuclear weapons, while the U.S. policy merely did not disclose the specific locations of nuclear weapons.

Interestingly, the Japanese were the first 'victims' of the H-bomb. A fishing boat was near the site of a test, and the fishermen received a severe amount of radiation, returning home very sick. Their catch was unloaded and sent to the market, causing a slump in the fish market, as no-one knew which of the fish were contaminated and thus refrained from buying fish for a while. <ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2592990 Atomic Bomb Health Benefits Documented]</ref>

==Mechanisms==
The Hydrogen Bomb works by using a shell of fissile material surrounding a hydrogen pellet. When the shell is detonated, a massive amount of pressure is exerted onto the hydrogen atoms, causing them to fuse into helium, and release energy.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Weapons]]
[[Category:Cold War]]

Television

2012-06-16T12:59:30Z

Pacman: /* History of Television as a Medium */ I think we can find a more appropriate picture than this!

'''Television''' is a medium characterized by the simultaneous dissemination and reproduction (often thousands of miles away) of either a scene captured and shown while it is taking place, or the recording of such a scene or scenes that took place earlier. The word comes from the prefix, "tele" meaning distant, and "vision" pertaining to sight.

Television is declining in popularity and influence. In 2011, overall television ownership in America declined despite an increase in the number of households. Among the key demographic aged 18-49, television ownership had its sharpest decline.

== History of Television as a Medium ==
1. power switch / volume 
2. brightness 
3. pitch 
4. vertical synchro 
5. horizontal synchro 
6. contrast 
7. channel tuning 
8. channel switch]]
As with most inventions, there is controversy as to who deserves to be considered "the" inventor, with several different television projects being developed independently.

Early experiments in electromechanical television were conducted by [[Charles Francis Jenkins]] in the late 1920s in the United States, building on the work of Scottish inventor [[John Logie Baird]]. Jenkins patented the first practical television set <ref>US Patent No.1,544,156 </ref> and operated the first television broadcasting station in the US, W3XK, in 1928.

Jenkins' system was not commercially successful and was abandoned. This probably occurred because the [[Great Depression]] intervened and made the medium a prohibitively expensive extravagance. Government red tape also played a role in Jenkin's failure: the FRC, the forerunner of the FCC, would not allow him the use of two frequencies, so he was unable to broadcast the picture and sound simultaneously.
[[Image:Early television.jpg|thumb|left|In 1936 the first scheduled television broadcasts begins in the United Kingdom with the United States following suit in 1939.]]
Other pioneers in the development of television include Philo Farnsworth and Vladimyr Zworykin. Zworkyin developed a series of electronic television camera tubes, all referred to as "iconoscopes." He worked for and was heavily backed by David Sarnoff and the Radio Corporation of America, and his devices are thus in the direct ancestry of commercial television as we know it today.

Following the end of [[World War II]] and the tremendous prosperity that followed, television captured the interest of the public, especially in the [[United States]].

Television is both a dissemination medium and a means of recording motion pictures for later review, transmittal and exhibition.
{{Clear}}

== Uses of Television ==
Television has a very wide variety of uses and seems destined not to become obsolete unless and until human civilization becomes obsolete. Its many uses include without limitation:
[[Image:A180-AT3720A CA.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A modern flat panel high definition 37" Television from ''Acer inc.'']]
# As an aid to education, both by recording lectures, demonstrations, or field trips, and by repeating the voice and image of a lecturer to multiple locations in a large room, or even multiple rooms, to ensure that every attendee of a lecture is able to see and hear the speaker(s).
# As a means of disseminating current events.
# As a means of recording any action or actions that might become the subject of a legal contest. This is especially true today of [[police]] officers who might stand accused of the use of excessive force in the performance of duty, or otherwise improper performance of duty.
# As a means of setting a watch on any gate, room, or other venue that might become the scene of a crime or come under external attack.
# As a means of improved communication.
# As a safe way of "seeing" the scene of an industrial or other process--or accident--that would create danger to any person close enough to see it with his own eyes.
# As a tool of [[propaganda]].
# As a form of [[theater]].

The last use is definitely the most popular use of television today. Television as theater usually refers to the transmission of dramatic presentations either made especially for the medium or originally made to be exhibited in [[motion picture]] exhibition halls ("movie theaters") but now offered for instantaneous mass transmission. Television ''also'' is the modern means of allowing millions of people to view public games. Though the original public games of, say, the [[Rome|Roman Empire]] are no longer being staged, their spiritual descendants continue as, for example, [[automobile]] racing and various contact and non-contact [[sport]]s. Virtually any spectacle that in earlier centuries would draw large numbers of attendees is a candidate for transmission on television. This especially includes the installation of a new head-of-state.

For further discussions of television as theater (and its use and mis-use), see [[Theater]].

== Types of broadcasting ==
* [[Digital television]]
* [[Cable]]
* [[Satellite]]
* [[Analog]] television (to be phased out in the U.S. February 2009)

== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Broadcasting]]
[[Category:Technology]]

F-22 Raptor

2012-03-12T14:12:54Z

Pacman: Minor edits

[[Image:F-22_raptor.jpg|right|300px|thumb|F-22 Raptor]]

The '''F-22 Raptor''' is a [[stealth]] fighter produced by [[Lockheed Martin]]. It is capable of air-to-air combat, ground attack, electronic warfare and signals detection. It was originally developed to counter advances in technology in aircraft developed by the [[Soviet Union]] and replace the F-15 by incorporating the latest in stealth features and propulsion technology. However, the extremely high unit cost of the aircraft has meant successive and substantial cuts to the number of F-22s to be built. At present only 183 F-22s will be built. This will mean keeping the F-15 fleet in service for the foreseeable future.

The Raptor is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines that produce in excess of 30,000 pounds of thrust each and posess 2D [[Thrust Vectoring|thrust vectoring]] capabilities. They give the Raptor the unique ability to "supercruise" at [[speed of sound|supersonic]] speeds without the use of [[afterburner]]s as required by all previous [[turbojet]] designs. The aircraft has an internal armament bay which holds [[air-to-air missile]]s and can carry various small bombs internally or on pylons, and has a 20mm Gatling [[Gun]].

The F-22 Raptor evolved from the YF-22 experimental design produced for the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]]'s Advance Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition in which the Lockheed Martin design defeated the rival [[Northrup Grumman]] designed YF-23.

[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Military Aircraft]]
[[Category:United States Air Force]]

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

2012-03-12T14:08:52Z

Pacman: Undo revision 936607 by SeanS (talk) Block delete without reason given. Vandalism?

'''Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome''' (usually referred to as '''AIDS''') is a collection of uncurable diseases and symptoms often believed to be caused by long-term infection with the[[HIV| Human Immunodeficiency Virus]]. In September of 2010, [[Reuters]] reported: "Nearly one in five gay and bisexual men in 21 major U.S. cities are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them do not know it".<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/23/us-aids-usa-idUSTRE68M3H220100923</ref> A September 2010 report of the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) declared : "[[Homosexuality|Gay]], [[bisexual]], and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by [[HIV]] and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s. In 2006, MSM accounted for more than half (53%) of all new HIV infections in the United States..."<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/index.htm</ref> In August of 2009, LifeSiteNews reported: "An official with the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) announced the CDC's estimate Monday that in the [[United States]] [[AIDS]] is fifty times more prevalent among men who have sex with men ('MSM') than the rest of the population."<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/aug/09082609</ref>

== Diagnosis ==

According to the CDC's 1993 guidelines, <ref>http://www.cdc.gov</ref><ref>http://www.merckmedicus.com/ppdocs/us/hcp/content/merck/hiv/hivaids/aidsdefi.htmAIDS is defined </ref>as follows:
HIV infection ''plus'' any of the following:
*[[CD4]] count less than 200 or
*CD4 percentage less than 14% of total lymphocytes or
*Any of the following illnesses: pulmonary TB, recurrent pneumonia, invasive cervical cancer.
*Expanded definition including 23 clinical conditions published elsewhere<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm</ref>

The World Health Organization uses a different staging method for HIV disease. <ref>http://www.aids-ed.org/aetc/aetc?page=cm-105_disease</ref>

It should be noted that there are a large number of types and subtypes of HIV, some of which are extremely rare in most countries, such as HIV-2, and HIV-1 Group O, and as a result, routine screening tests in some countries may not be designed to test for those particular, extremely rare, variations. <ref>www.avert.org/hiv-types.htm</ref>

== History ==

''See also:'' [[Gay bowel syndrome]]

The illness was first recognized in the early 1980s<ref>New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001 Number 23</ref> as homosexual men presented to their doctors with a rare lung disease called ''Pneumocystis carinii'' pneumonia (PCP)<ref>Pneumocystis pneumonia -- Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1981;30:250-252)</ref>. Early on, the "[[gay disease]]" took on a variety of names, including "gay cancer" and "Gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). The [[Centers for Disease Control]] noticed an increase in requests for drugs needed to treat this illness and launched an epidemiological investigation.

Although the first cases of the disease probably go back to the 1950s, the epidemic was not recognized until the early 1980s.[http://www.avert.org/his81_86.htm] The early epidemic occurred in two main branches; in the US and other developed countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, the early epidemic was primarily spread by homosexual sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions (prior to the introduction of testing). In Africa, transmission was almost exclusively by heterosexual sex. Currently, most new infections worldwide are spread by promiscuous heterosexual sex and prostitution.

<blockquote>
"We owe it to Ryan to make sure that the fear and ignorance that chased him from his home and his school will be eliminated. We owe it to Ryan to open our hearts and our minds to those with AIDS. We owe it to Ryan to be compassionate, caring and tolerant toward those with AIDS, their families and friends. It's the disease that's frightening, not the people who have it."
—Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, April 11, 1990 in regards to the case of Ryan White.
</blockquote>

== Natural History ==

After infection with [[HIV]], the virus quickly replicates in lymphatic tissue and travels through the blood to infect most areas of the body. The largest consequence of this is the "hijacking" of certain immune cells, especially so-called T-Helper, or CD-4, cells. Early in the infection, the immune system holds the infection at bay, often causing "Acute Retroviral Syndrome", a flu-like illness. Patients often have swollen lymph nodes. After approximately 8-10 years of infection, the immune system begins to lose its battle. This is primarily seen in the loss of numbers of CD4 cells, however the changes are somewhat more complex. When the CD4 cell level drops low enough, AIDS becomes apparent.
The first symptoms of the illness are generally night sweats, weight loss, and oral thrush.

== Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ==

The hallmark of AIDS is the appearance of ''opportunistic infections'', meaning infections with organisms that do not usually cause human disease, unless given the right "opportunity". This opportunity is the reduction in cell-mediated immunity, first seen in patients with certain cancers or on anti-rejection drugs for organ transplantation.
These infections include:

*[[Candida albicans]]. Caused by the candida fungi, resulting in thrush (mouth) and vaginal yeast infections. Most common HIV-related fungus infection.
* Cryptoccoccal Menigitis. A yeast-like fungus infection that usually involves the brain and lungs, although it can affect almost any organ. Most often occurs when a person's CD4+ T cell count falls below 100 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.
*Cryptococcus neoformans (a cause of meningitis).
*[[Cytomegalovirus]]. Virus can affect the entire body, but it commonly affects the eye's retina, causing blurry vision and in severe cases, blindness. Most likely to occur when a person’s CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.
*Epstein Barr virus (leads to a type of lymphoma).
*Human herpesvirus-8 (causes Kaposi's sarcoma). Results in reddish purple lesions that usually appear on the skin.
* Liver Disease. One of the leading causes of death among AIDS patients,
*Mycobacterium avium complex (atypical mycobacterium). Bacterial infection that can cause persistent fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, anemia, abdominal pain, dizziness, diarrhea and weakness. Most likely occurs when the CD4+T cell count falls below 50.
*[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]] (TB).
*Pneumocystis jiroveci, previously [[Pneumocystis carinii]]. Condition occurs when a fungus infects the lungs. Symptoms may include night sweats and fatigue, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, weight loss. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200.
* Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) Rare disorder of the nervous system caused by a common human polyomavirus, JC virus. Can occur when the CD4+T cell count falls below 200.
* Recurrent Pneumonia. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200
*Staphylococcus aureus (primarily causes skin infections).
*Streptococcus pneumoniae (the primary cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients).
*[[Toxoplasma gondii]]. Condition occurs when a parasite infects the brain. Symptoms include confusion or delusional behavior, severe headaches, fever, seizures and coma. Most likely occurs when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.<ref>[http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS, UCSF Medical Center.</ref>

== Dissent ==
Among many medical professionals and biologists, there is general agreement that HIV causes AIDS. In this, those of Koch's postulates that apply to viral diseases have been clearly fulfilled, and basic science research has shown the same. Specific drugs have been developed that treat HIV infection and AIDS, helping show the causal relationship. That being said, there is a vocal minority of people, scientists and non-scientists alike, who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Foremost among these is Dr. Peter Duesberg. Details about these "re-thinkers" and their arguments can be found at several websites, <ref>Peter Duesberg on AIDS - Duesberg.com - HIV/AIDS research website for Peter H. Duesberg http://www.duesberg.com/</ref> but not in any reliable peer-reviewed journals. This viewpoint has also received some official support from the government of [[South Africa]], where a nurtitional policy based on beetroot and garlic sources has found effective in combating the county's severe AIDS problem, despite a concerted effort by liberal scientific groups and the pharmacuetical industry (who would stand to benefit financially from continued association of AIDS with HIV) to discredit it. It is estimated that over $1 trillion has been siphoned off from health care worldwide for antiretroviral drugs to treat AIDS, despite growing evidence that a good general diet can be just as effective.

== See also ==

* [[AIDS in Africa]]
* [[AIDS prevention]]
* [[Gay bowel syndrome]]
* [[Homosexuality]]
* [[Homosexuality and health]]
* [[Mortality]]

==External links==
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/robert-knight/2007/12/01/some-questions-media-wont-ask-today-about-aids Some Questions the Media Won't Ask Today About AIDS], Robert Knight, [[NewsBusters]], December 1, 2007
* [http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS], University of California, San Francisco

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Syndromes]]
[[Category:Demography]]
[[Category:AIDS| ]]

Neil Armstrong

2011-11-14T21:44:25Z

Pacman: Tidy up, remove waffle

[[Image:NeilArmstrong.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Neil Armstrong, Astronaut]]
'''Neil Armstrong''' (born on August 5, 1930) was a member of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] in his youth, and he earned the highest [[rank]] of [[Eagle Scout]] before the age of 18. He was a [[United States Navy]] pilot for three years, and flew over [[Korea]]; he left to become a test pilot in 1952. He became a [[NASA]] astronaut and flew on Gemini 8, carrying out the first space-docking with the Agena docking module. He was made mission commander for [[Apollo 11]]. The crew boarded the [[Saturn V]] before sunrise on the 16th of July, [[1969]] and took off at 9:32 am. On July 20, 1969 at 10:56:15 p.m. EDT, he became the first man on the [[moon]].<ref>http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html</ref>
[[Image:NASA Moon Flag.jpg‎|left|thumb|250px|Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon - Apollo 11, July 20, 1969]]

==One Small Step==
When he stepped onto the moon surface, he said the well-known words ''"That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind."'' that are even today associated to the moon landing. These words are an interesting example of the problems historians faced in finding out what really happened in history. His words were broadcast and millions of people heard them. Yet, for a long time, there was disagreement about ''what'' he had said.<ref>The dispute is significant because it changes the meaning of the sentence. If he meant "man", it's redundant because man and mankind are the same. If he meant "a man", he was comparing and contrasting his personal accomplishment with the implications for all of humanity.
See [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp One Small Misstep], Snopes urban legend site. A video clip and sound recording are available at [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11v_1092338.mpg NASA]. At the time, many listeners perceived his words as "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Major newspapers and wire services reported it without the "a;" the ''New York Times'' did so as their July 21, 1969 "Quotation of the Day" (p. 35, also in the seventh sentence of their front-page story). Various small noises, short pauses, or transmission artifacts have sometimes been interpreted as the missing word, obscured by technical problems. In September 2006 an audio analyst claimed to have found the missing "a" but this, too is disputed.</ref>

The broadcast seemingly omitted the "a", reducing Armstrong's quote to the senseless "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.".<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/62284main_onesmall2.wav "...one small step for (a) man..."] NASA's official recording</ref>

For almost 40 years, historians, academics and fans of space travel debated about the recording, some claiming that Armstrong had forgotten the word while others said that it was merely lost in transmission. Armstrong always said that he had not forgotten the word, but couldn't offer an explanation why it was not heard in the transmission.

However, in 2006, the Australian programmer Peter Shann Ford found the trace of the missing "a" in a downloaded recording he analyzed with audio software and presented his findings at the [[Smithsonian Institution]]'s Air and Space Museum (Washington, D.C.) and at NASA's Washington headquarters. The conclusion is that the transmission reduced Armstrong's "a" to a 35ms sound bit - 10 times too quickly to be heard by human ears.<ref>[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4225856.html One small step for clarity] Houston Chronicle, Oct. 3, 2006</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Neil}}

[[Category: Astronauts]]
[[Category: United States]]
[[Category: Space Exploration]]

Apollo 11

2011-11-14T21:37:57Z

Pacman: Further tidy up.

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Apollo 11 launch]]
'''Apollo 11''' carried the first men to the [[moon]]. On July 20, 1969, [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first to set foot on the moon, stepping onto the lunar surface and saying: "''That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.''"
<ref> He intended to say "one step for ''a'' man." Whether he succeeded in getting out the word "a" is disputed. See [[Neil_Armstrong#One small step]] </ref>
[[File:NASA Moon Flag.jpg|left|200px]]
The crew consisted of Commander Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., and [[Michael Collins]]. [[Buzz Aldrin]] was second on the moon. Collins orbited in the command module. They broadcast a live videotaping and placed the [[Flag of the United States of America|flag]] and a plaque which read: ''"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."'' They then gathered rocks and soil.

The rocket, a [[Saturn V]], was launched on July 16, 1969 by [[NASA]] from Kennedy Space Center, and it entered lunar orbit on July 19.
[[Image:Apollo11-crew.jpg‎|right|thumb|250px|The Apollo 11 Crew]]
[[John F. Kennedy]] had determined to send a man to the moon before the end of the decade. However, by the time the landing was made, [[Richard Nixon]] was in office. He sent the astronauts a live message shortly after they landed.

They returned safely to Earth on July 24, 1969.

Some disruptive influences have attempted to undermine the idea that the moon landing was real by claiming that it was a hoax filmed on a set, but all these claims have been debunked, despite continuing controversy over the role of NASA, which has not managed to capitalize on its moon successes.

==References==
<references/>
*http://www.nasa.gov/
*http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/apollo11/
*http://www.buzzaldrin.com/

==See also==

*[[Project Apollo]]
*[[Apollo 13]]
*[[Apollo 9]]

[[Category: United States]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space Exploration]]
[[Category: Astronauts]]

Greek influence on Western Culture

2011-11-13T14:24:34Z

Pacman:

[[Image:Greek empire.jpg|right]]
Ancient [[Greece]] has had an enormous amount of impact on culture in the western world. Some of the first works of literature in the west of which we have record come from Greece, and although they were created at a time after older works from [[Mesopotamia]], such epic [[Poem|poems]] as the ''[[Iliad]]'' and ''[[Odyssey]]'' have exerted wide influence over generation after generation of western thinkers.

[[Image:Samp greek.jpg|300 px|left]]
Greece was home to many other "firsts" in the [[humanities]], such as the first [[history]] and [[historian]] ([[Herodotus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Xenophon]]), the whole of the initial development of [[drama|dramatic]] and [[comedy|comedic]] plays, the first practitioners of [[mathematics]], many developments in [[political science]] including the creation of [[democracy]] and [[republic]]s (albeit in [[oligarchy|oligarchic]] form), and virtually the whole of the fundamentals of classical western [[philosophy]], as found in the works of [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. Much of [[architecture]] has its roots in Greece, as well.

<blockquote>
Greek life was dominated by [[religion]] and so it is not surprising that the temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful.They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war. <ref> [http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Art/ Architecture in ancient Greece] </ref>
</blockquote>
[[File:Map greek sanctuaries.jpg|thumb|Greek sanctuaries.]]
[[Greek mythology]] is a collection of stories and narratives concerning their gods, heroes and mythological creatures. [[Hesiod]]'s ''Theogony'' is an important source of myths as well as [[Homer]]'s epic poems.

It is difficult to fairly ascribe to Greece the roots of [[science]], since science as a recognizable discipline only became distinguishable rather recently, but for most of history what we consider science has been entwined with philosophy and politics, and in that form the Greeks (particularly [[Archimedes]]) were once more the progenitors. To this end, they created the first siege engines, the first alarm clock, and many other inventions.

<blockquote>
Herodotus is often named the "Father of History" ( history, in Greek, means "investigations"). Herodotus wrote the first Western historical chronicle, describing the Persian war. [[Hippocrates]] is known as the "Father of Medicine". He was the first to do a treatise on human anatomy and bodily ailments. He also wrote an oath, known as the Hippocratic Oath, which lays out ethics for physicians and which is still in use today... The Greeks also invented tragedy, the basis of modern plays, skits, and movies. Tragedy started due to [[Eschylus]], [[Sophocles]] and [[Euripides]], and comedy made its appearance with [[Aristophanes]]. <ref>[http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Western:culture.htm Western culture]</ref>
</blockquote>
[[Image:Greece Delphi Oracle.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Delphi Oracle]]
Greek culture spread throughout the Mediterranean region, laid the foundation for the [[Roman Empire]], and later, growing, Romans carried on much of the Greek culture upon Europe, adding to it the Roman system of law.

<blockquote>
Traditional Western Culture is said to have been created by three main historical factors: ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and Christianity. As such, it is also known by the terms "Greco-Roman culture", " Judeo-Christian culture", or "Judeo-Hellenic-Christian culture". [[Ibidem]]
</blockquote>
{{Clear}}

== See also ==
[[Image:Pericles 2.jpg|thumb|140px|Pericles]]
*[[Pythagoras]]
*[[Euclid]]
*[[Plutarch]]
*[[Eratosthenes]]
*[[Archimedes]]
*[[Pericles]]
*[[Seven Sages of Greece]]
*[[Greek mythology]]
*[[Hadrian's Wall]]

{{Clear}}

== External links ==
[[Image:Greek culture.jpg|200px|thumb|The [[Parthenon]]]]
*[http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/1/5/231719/2003 Ancient Greek Contributions to Western Civilization]
*[http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3607/ Deep Roots of Ancient Greece]
*[http://colfa.utsa.edu/drinka/pie/lang_greek.htm ANCIENT GREECE]
*[http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/greekorg/greekorg.html The Origins of Greek Mathematics]
*[http://www.relativitycalculator.com/philosophy_of_mathematics.shtml A Thumbnail History of the Philosophy of Mathematics]
{{Clear}}
== References ==

<references/>

[[Category:Ancient Greece]]

Saturn V

2011-11-13T14:17:21Z

Pacman: Created page with "The Saturn V was the rocket used by NASA to land on the moon."

The Saturn V was the rocket used by [[NASA]] to land on the [[moon]].

Apollo 11

2011-11-13T14:16:35Z

Pacman: Remove waffle.

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Apollo 11 launch]]
'''Apollo 11''' carried the first men to the [[moon]]. On July 20, 1969, [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first to set foot on the moon, stepping onto the lunar surface and saying: "''That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.''"
<ref> He intended to say "one step for ''a'' man." Whether he succeeded in getting out the word "a" is disputed. See [[Neil_Armstrong#One small step]] </ref>
[[File:NASA Moon Flag.jpg|left|200px]]
The crew consisted of 3 astronauts: Commander Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., and [[Michael Collins]]. [[Buzz Aldrin]] was second on the moon, while Collins orbited in the command module. They broadcast a live videotaping to Earth and placed the [[Flag of the United States of America|flag]] along with a plaque which read: ''"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."'' They then gathered rocks and soil to bring back.

The rocket, a [[Saturn V]], was launched on July 16, 1969 by [[NASA]] (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) from Kennedy Space Center, and it entered lunar orbit on July 19.
[[Image:Apollo11-crew.jpg‎|right|thumb|250px|The Apollo 11 Crew]]
[[John F. Kennedy]] had determined to send a man to the moon before the end of the decade. However, by the time the landing was made, [[Richard Nixon]] was in office. He sent the astronauts a live message shortly after they landed.

They returned safely to Earth on July 24, 1969.

Some disruptive influences have attempted to undermine the idea that the moon landing was real by publishing claims that it was a hoax, and filmed on a set, but all these claims have been conclusively debunked, despite continuing controversy over the role of NASA, which has not managed to capitalize on its moon successes.

==References==
<references/>
*http://www.nasa.gov/
*http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/apollo11/
*http://www.buzzaldrin.com/

==See also==

*[[Project Apollo]]
*[[Apollo 13]]
*[[Apollo 9]]

[[Category: United States]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space Exploration]]
[[Category: Astronauts]]

Disco

2011-11-13T14:09:09Z

Pacman: Disco/gay link is legit, should be in this article.

'''Disco''' was a flamboyant style of dance [[music]] in the 1970s. Disco parties were noted for their outrageous clothes, drug use, and flashing lights. They were popular with [[homosexual]]s.

Disco music was generally made by studio engineers using session musicians, and was pressed onto 12-inch singles, an innovation which allowed for high-fidelity recorded music over a large sound system. The name derives from the [[French]] word "Discotheque", a place for playing records.

[[category:Dancing]]
[[category:Musical Genres]]

Iron

2011-11-13T14:08:07Z

Pacman: Removed waffle

{{Element
| name= Iron
| symbol= Fe
| anumber= 26
| amass= 55.8 amu
| state= Solid
| class= Transition metal
| cstructure= body-centered cubic
| color= gray metallic
| date=
| discname=
| origname=
| uses= weapons
| obtained=
}}
'''Iron''' (Fe) is a [[ferromagnetic]] [[metal]].

Iron forging was invented around 1150 BC. Iron is much stronger than [[bronze]].
It was used in [[construction]] before [[steel]]. The [[Eiffel Tower]] and [[Golden Gate Bridge]] are made of iron, as is the [[Iron Pillar of Delhi]].
Iron [[oxidize]]s in water. Iron oxides are called [[rust]]. It is one of magnetic elements ([[nickel]] and [[cobalt]] are the others). Iron is used to make steel, along with carbon and other metals.

Iron is found in [[red blood cell]]s in the form of [[hemoglobin]].

Mention of iron is found in numerous [[Bible]] quotes such as: ''Iron sharpens iron.'' --''Proverbs 27:17

[[Category:Metals]]
[[Category:Elements]]

Rocket Propelled Grenade

2011-11-13T14:05:02Z

Pacman: Removed waffle, copy edit

[[Image:RPG Gaza.jpg|thumb|right|225px|An RPG-7. The large green protrusion on the left of the picture is the actual grenade.]]
The '''RPG-7''' is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, from the [[Soviet Union]]. It is the most widely produced grenade launcher in history, with several million made. '''RPG''' means ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet'' literally: "a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher".<ref>[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/rpg-7.pdf US Army Training Manual], full of diagrams and complex analysis</ref>

The RPG-7 has seen much use since 1961. It is used by both terrorists and (para)military forces.

It has a range of 900 yards, but is quite inaccurate. It is notable for the way the operator uses their hands the wrong way around from other weapons. Warheads are usually a [[shaped charge]] anti-tank round, although many variants exist. It weighs about 15 lbs.<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/rpg-7-specs.htm</ref>

==See also==
*[[M72 LAW]] - the Light Antitank Weapon used by the American military, which replaced the [[bazooka]]
*[[AT4]] - the replacement for the [[M72 LAW]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Weapons]]

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

2011-11-13T14:01:03Z

Pacman: Undo revision 875328 by Jturow (talk) This user reverted valid dissent because it was "demonstably untrue" but failed to support that assertion!

'''Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome''' (usually referred to as '''AIDS''') is a collection of uncurable diseases and symptoms often believed to be caused by long-term infection with the[[HIV| Human Immunodeficiency Virus]]. In September of 2010, [[Reuters]] reported: "Nearly one in five gay and bisexual men in 21 major U.S. cities are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them do not know it".<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/23/us-aids-usa-idUSTRE68M3H220100923</ref> A September 2010 report of the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) declared : "[[Homosexuality|Gay]], [[bisexual]], and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by [[HIV]] and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s. In 2006, MSM accounted for more than half (53%) of all new HIV infections in the United States..."<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/index.htm</ref> In August of 2009, LifeSiteNews reported: "An official with the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) announced the CDC's estimate Monday that in the [[United States]] [[AIDS]] is fifty times more prevalent among men who have sex with men ('MSM') than the rest of the population."<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/aug/09082609</ref>

== Diagnosis ==

According to the CDC's 1993 guidelines, <ref>http://www.cdc.gov</ref><ref>http://www.merckmedicus.com/ppdocs/us/hcp/content/merck/hiv/hivaids/aidsdefi.htmAIDS is defined </ref>as follows:
HIV infection ''plus'' any of the following:
*[[CD4]] count less than 200 or
*CD4 percentage less than 14% of total lymphocytes or
*Any of the following illnesses: pulmonary TB, recurrent pneumonia, invasive cervical cancer.
*Expanded definition including 23 clinical conditions published elsewhere<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm</ref>

The World Health Organization uses a different staging method for HIV disease. <ref>http://www.aids-ed.org/aetc/aetc?page=cm-105_disease</ref>

== History ==

''See also:'' [[Gay bowel syndrome]]

The illness was first recognized in the early 1980s<ref>New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001 Number 23</ref> as homosexual men presented to their doctors with a rare lung disease called ''Pneumocystis carinii'' pneumonia (PCP)<ref>Pneumocystis pneumonia -- Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1981;30:250-252)</ref>. Early on, the "[[gay disease]]" took on a variety of names, including "gay cancer" and "Gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). The [[Centers for Disease Control]] noticed an increase in requests for drugs needed to treat this illness and launched an epidemiological investigation.

Although the first cases of the disease probably go back to the 1950s, the epidemic was not recognized until the early 1980s.[http://www.avert.org/his81_86.htm] The early epidemic occurred in two main branches; in the US and other developed countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, the early epidemic was primarily spread by homosexual sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions (prior to the introduction of testing). In Africa, transmission was almost exclusively by heterosexual sex. Currently, most new infections worldwide are spread by promiscuous heterosexual sex and prostitution.

<blockquote>
"We owe it to Ryan to make sure that the fear and ignorance that chased him from his home and his school will be eliminated. We owe it to Ryan to open our hearts and our minds to those with AIDS. We owe it to Ryan to be compassionate, caring and tolerant toward those with AIDS, their families and friends. It's the disease that's frightening, not the people who have it."
—Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, April 11, 1990 in regards to the case of Ryan White.
</blockquote>

== Natural History ==

After infection with [[HIV]], the virus quickly replicates in lymphatic tissue and travels through the blood to infect most areas of the body. The largest consequence of this is the "hijacking" of certain immune cells, especially so-called T-Helper, or CD-4, cells. Early in the infection, the immune system holds the infection at bay, often causing "Acute Retroviral Syndrome", a flu-like illness. Patients often have swollen lymph nodes. After approximately 8-10 years of infection, the immune system begins to lose its battle. This is primarily seen in the loss of numbers of CD4 cells, however the changes are somewhat more complex. When the CD4 cell level drops low enough, AIDS becomes apparent.
The first symptoms of the illness are generally night sweats, weight loss, and oral thrush.

== Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ==

The hallmark of AIDS is the appearance of ''opportunistic infections'', meaning infections with organisms that do not usually cause human disease, unless given the right "opportunity". This opportunity is the reduction in cell-mediated immunity, first seen in patients with certain cancers or on anti-rejection drugs for organ transplantation.
These infections include:

*[[Candida albicans]]. Caused by the candida fungi, resulting in thrush (mouth) and vaginal yeast infections. Most common HIV-related fungus infection.
* Cryptoccoccal Menigitis. A yeast-like fungus infection that usually involves the brain and lungs, although it can affect almost any organ. Most often occurs when a person's CD4+ T cell count falls below 100 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.
*Cryptococcus neoformans (a cause of meningitis).
*[[Cytomegalovirus]]. Virus can affect the entire body, but it commonly affects the eye's retina, causing blurry vision and in severe cases, blindness. Most likely to occur when a person’s CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.
*Epstein Barr virus (leads to a type of lymphoma).
*Human herpesvirus-8 (causes Kaposi's sarcoma). Results in reddish purple lesions that usually appear on the skin.
* Liver Disease. One of the leading causes of death among AIDS patients,
*Mycobacterium avium complex (atypical mycobacterium). Bacterial infection that can cause persistent fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, anemia, abdominal pain, dizziness, diarrhea and weakness. Most likely occurs when the CD4+T cell count falls below 50.
*[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]] (TB).
*Pneumocystis jiroveci, previously [[Pneumocystis carinii]]. Condition occurs when a fungus infects the lungs. Symptoms may include night sweats and fatigue, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, weight loss. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200.
* Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) Rare disorder of the nervous system caused by a common human polyomavirus, JC virus. Can occur when the CD4+T cell count falls below 200.
* Recurrent Pneumonia. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200
*Staphylococcus aureus (primarily causes skin infections).
*Streptococcus pneumoniae (the primary cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients).
*[[Toxoplasma gondii]]. Condition occurs when a parasite infects the brain. Symptoms include confusion or delusional behavior, severe headaches, fever, seizures and coma. Most likely occurs when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.<ref>[http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS, UCSF Medical Center.</ref>

== Dissent ==
Among many medical professionals and biologists, there is general agreement that HIV causes AIDS. In this, those of Koch's postulates that apply to viral diseases have been clearly fulfilled, and basic science research has shown the same. Specific drugs have been developed that treat HIV infection and AIDS, helping show the causal relationship. That being said, there is a vocal minority of people, scientists and non-scientists alike, who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Foremost among these is Dr. Peter Duesberg. Details about these "re-thinkers" and their arguments can be found at several websites, <ref>Peter Duesberg on AIDS - Duesberg.com - HIV/AIDS research website for Peter H. Duesberg http://www.duesberg.com/</ref> but not in any reliable peer-reviewed journals. This viewpoint has also received some official support from the government of [[South Africa]], where a nurtitional policy based on beetroot and garlic sources has found effective in combating the county's severe AIDS problem, despite a concerted effort by liberal scientific groups and the pharmacuetical industry (who would stand to benefit financially from continued association of AIDS with HIV) to discredit it. It is estimated that over $1 trillion has been siphoned off from health care worldwide for antiretroviral drugs to treat AIDS, despite growing evidence that a good general diet can be just as effective.

== See also ==

* [[AIDS prevention]]
* [[Gay bowel syndrome]]
* [[Homosexuality]]
* [[Homosexuality and health]]
* [[Mortality]]

==External links==
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/robert-knight/2007/12/01/some-questions-media-wont-ask-today-about-aids Some Questions the Media Won't Ask Today About AIDS], Robert Knight, [[NewsBusters]], December 1, 2007
* [http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS], University of California, San Francisco

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Syndromes]]
[[Category:Demography]]
[[Category:AIDS| ]]

Great Wall of China

2011-11-13T13:53:24Z

Pacman: Removed waffle, copy edit and wikify

[[Image:Great_wall.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The Great Wall Of China. Image by [http://philip.greenspun.com/ Philip Greenspun]]]
The '''Great Wall of China''' is a long wall in [[China]]. It constructed in ancient times as a barrier against invading armies. This was unsuccessful as the Mongols simply bribed the guards.<ref>Hucker, Charles O. ''China's Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture.'' Stanford UP, 1997.</ref> It is 4,000 miles long and more than 20 feet tall.

Work started in 500 BC under [[Qin Shi Huang]], connecting older walls which were constructed by individual states. Most of the work was done in the [[Ming Dynasty]]. <ref>Susan Wise Bauer, ''The History of the Ancient World''</ref>Towers were built; originally as watchtowers, but later [[cannon]]s<ref>http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=27&catid=2&subcatid=1</ref> were added.

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

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

<blockquote>

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

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

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

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

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

== References ==
<references/>

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

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

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

Microsoft

2011-03-12T13:31:45Z

Pacman: Undo revision 855085 by DMorris (talk) Not vandalism, please check your facts before making an accusation!

[[Image:Microsoft logo.svg|right|frame]]
'''Microsoft''' is a liberal <ref>http://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/en/us/programs/ergen/gleam.aspx</ref><ref>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2010011331_microsoft_donates_to_r-71_camp.html</ref> American corporation founded by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]] in 1975 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA. Its current CEO is [[Steve Ballmer]]. Microsoft focuses on developing and manufacturing [[software]], [[hardware]] and other technology oriented products and services.

Microsoft was investigated for antitrust violations by the [[Department of Justice]], and in 2001 the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed the finding of the trial court that monopolization by Microsoft had violated the [[Sherman Act]].<ref>United States v. Microsoft Corp., 346 U.S. App. D.C. 330 (D.C. Cir. 2001).</ref> The appellate court, however, overturned the lower court ruling to break Microsoft up and instead remanded the case to a new trial judge with instructions suggesting a less drastic remedy. By then, President [[George W. Bush]] had replaced [[Bill Clinton]] and the Bush Administration dropped the demand of the Clinton Administration for a break-up of Microsoft.

==Software Products==
:[[Windows (operating system)]], including [[Windows 7]], [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows XP]], and older versions of the desktop OS, versions for servers, versions for media centers, and versions for mobile devices
:[[MS DOS]] Microsoft's first operating system
:[[SQL Server]]
:[[Dynamics]]
:[[Internet Explorer]] HTML viewer
:[[Microsoft Office]] word processor, spreadsheet editor, slide-show creator, etc.
:[[Expression]] vector graphics editor
:[[Windows Media Player]]
:[[Virtual PC]] PC emulator
:[[Windows Defender]] [[anti-virus software|anti-virus]] and anti-spyware software
:[[Windows Live Writer]] blog publishing software
:[[XNA]] game development tool
:[[Visual Studio]] integrated development environment for C++, Visual Basic, C#, etc.
:[[Windows Live Messenger]] instant messenger
:[[DirectX]] multimedia API
:[[Money (software)|Money]] personal finance software
:[[Microsoft Works]]
:[[Encarta]]
:[[Bob]]

==Publishing==
:[[Microsoft Press]] releasing books dealing with various computer technologies.

==Video Games==
:The [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series
:[[Microsoft Flight Simulator]]
:[[Microsoft Golf]]
:[[Microsoft Baseball]]
:[[Age of Empires]]
:[[Age of Mythology]]
:[[Halo Wars]] real-time strategy game in the Halo universe
:[[Fable (video game)|Fable]] and Fable 2
:[[Perfect Dark Zero]]
:[[Kameo: Elements of Power]]
:[[Perfect Dark: Initial Vector]]
:[[Crimson Skies]]
:[[Mechwarrior]]
:[[Combat Flight Simulator]]
:[[Microsoft Train Simulator]]
:[[Banjo-Kazooie 3]]
:[[Black & White]]
:[[The Movies]]

==Services==
:[[MSN]] Internet service provider
:[[Bing]] search engine
:[[Encarta]] encyclopedia
:[[Hotmail]] free internet e-mail service
:[[Windows Live]] web portal
:[[XBOX Live]] Xbox online multiplayer service
:[[MSNBC]] news service
:[[Windows Marketplace]] online shopping service
:[[Windows Live Spaces]] social-networking service
:[[Windows Live ID]] online ID and password storage service
:[[LIVE Anywhere]] cross-platform multiplayer gaming service
:[[Microsoft Ignition]] online digital music service

==Hardware Products==
:[[Xbox]] gaming console
:[[Xbox 360]] gaming console
:[[Microsoft Surface|Surface]] touch-interface computer
:[[Zune]] portable media player
:[[Natural keyboard]]
:[[LifeCam]] webcam
:[[SideWinder]] game-pad and joystick
:[[Ultra-Mobile PC]] tablet computer
:[[Fingerprint Reader]] reads fingerprint as password
:[[IntelliPoint Mouse]] optical mouse
:[[MSN TV]] TV that allows web browsing

==Corporate Slogan==
:''Your potential. Our passion.''

==See Also==
:[http://conservapedia.com/Previous_Breaking_News/Bill_Gates Previous News]
:[http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx Microsoft official site]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:computers]]
[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Microsoft]]

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

2011-02-18T03:11:38Z

Pacman: /* Dissent */

'''Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome''' (usually referred to as '''AIDS''') is a collection of uncurable diseases and symptoms often believed to be caused by long-term infection with the[[HIV| Human Immunodeficiency Virus]]. In September of 2010, [[Reuters]] reported: "Nearly one in five gay and bisexual men in 21 major U.S. cities are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them do not know it".<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/23/us-aids-usa-idUSTRE68M3H220100923</ref> A September 2010 report of the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) declared : "[[Homosexuality|Gay]], [[bisexual]], and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by [[HIV]] and are the only risk group in which new HIV infections have been increasing steadily since the early 1990s. In 2006, MSM accounted for more than half (53%) of all new HIV infections in the United States..."<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/index.htm</ref> In August of 2009, LifeSiteNews reported: "An official with the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) announced the CDC's estimate Monday that in the [[United States]] [[AIDS]] is fifty times more prevalent among men who have sex with men ('MSM') than the rest of the population."<ref>http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2009/aug/09082609</ref>

== Diagnosis ==

According to the CDC's 1993 guidelines, <ref>http://www.cdc.gov</ref><ref>http://www.merckmedicus.com/ppdocs/us/hcp/content/merck/hiv/hivaids/aidsdefi.htmAIDS is defined </ref>as follows:
HIV infection ''plus'' any of the following:
*[[CD4]] count less than 200 or
*CD4 percentage less than 14% of total lymphocytes or
*Any of the following illnesses: pulmonary TB, recurrent pneumonia, invasive cervical cancer.
*Expanded definition including 23 clinical conditions published elsewhere<ref>http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00018871.htm</ref>

The World Health Organization uses a different staging method for HIV disease. <ref>http://www.aids-ed.org/aetc/aetc?page=cm-105_disease</ref>

== History ==

''See also:'' [[Gay bowel syndrome]]

The illness was first recognized in the early 1980s<ref>New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 344:1764-1772 June 7, 2001 Number 23</ref> as homosexual men presented to their doctors with a rare lung disease called ''Pneumocystis carinii'' pneumonia (PCP)<ref>Pneumocystis pneumonia -- Los Angeles. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1981;30:250-252)</ref>. Early on, the "[[gay disease]]" took on a variety of names, including "gay cancer" and "Gay-related immune deficiency" (GRID). The [[Centers for Disease Control]] noticed an increase in requests for drugs needed to treat this illness and launched an epidemiological investigation.

Although the first cases of the disease probably go back to the 1950s, the epidemic was not recognized until the early 1980s.[http://www.avert.org/his81_86.htm] The early epidemic occurred in two main branches; in the US and other developed countries, and in sub-Saharan Africa. In the US, the early epidemic was primarily spread by homosexual sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions (prior to the introduction of testing). In Africa, transmission was almost exclusively by heterosexual sex. Currently, most new infections worldwide are spread by promiscuous heterosexual sex and prostitution.

<blockquote>
"We owe it to Ryan to make sure that the fear and ignorance that chased him from his home and his school will be eliminated. We owe it to Ryan to open our hearts and our minds to those with AIDS. We owe it to Ryan to be compassionate, caring and tolerant toward those with AIDS, their families and friends. It's the disease that's frightening, not the people who have it."
—Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, April 11, 1990 in regards to the case of Ryan White.
</blockquote>

== Natural History ==

After infection with [[HIV]], the virus quickly replicates in lymphatic tissue and travels through the blood to infect most areas of the body. The largest consequence of this is the "hijacking" of certain immune cells, especially so-called T-Helper, or CD-4, cells. Early in the infection, the immune system holds the infection at bay, often causing "Acute Retroviral Syndrome", a flu-like illness. Patients often have swollen lymph nodes. After approximately 8-10 years of infection, the immune system begins to lose its battle. This is primarily seen in the loss of numbers of CD4 cells, however the changes are somewhat more complex. When the CD4 cell level drops low enough, AIDS becomes apparent.
The first symptoms of the illness are generally night sweats, weight loss, and oral thrush.

== Opportunistic Infections (OIs) ==

The hallmark of AIDS is the appearance of ''opportunistic infections'', meaning infections with organisms that do not usually cause human disease, unless given the right "opportunity". This opportunity is the reduction in cell-mediated immunity, first seen in patients with certain cancers or on anti-rejection drugs for organ transplantation.
These infections include:

*[[Candida albicans]]. Caused by the candida fungi, resulting in thrush (mouth) and vaginal yeast infections. Most common HIV-related fungus infection.
* Cryptoccoccal Menigitis. A yeast-like fungus infection that usually involves the brain and lungs, although it can affect almost any organ. Most often occurs when a person's CD4+ T cell count falls below 100 cells per cubic millimeter of blood.
*Cryptococcus neoformans (a cause of meningitis).
*[[Cytomegalovirus]]. Virus can affect the entire body, but it commonly affects the eye's retina, causing blurry vision and in severe cases, blindness. Most likely to occur when a person’s CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.
*Epstein Barr virus (leads to a type of lymphoma).
*Human herpesvirus-8 (causes Kaposi's sarcoma). Results in reddish purple lesions that usually appear on the skin.
* Liver Disease. One of the leading causes of death among AIDS patients,
*Mycobacterium avium complex (atypical mycobacterium). Bacterial infection that can cause persistent fever, night sweats, fatigue, weight loss, anemia, abdominal pain, dizziness, diarrhea and weakness. Most likely occurs when the CD4+T cell count falls below 50.
*[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis]] (TB).
*Pneumocystis jiroveci, previously [[Pneumocystis carinii]]. Condition occurs when a fungus infects the lungs. Symptoms may include night sweats and fatigue, fever, cough, difficulty breathing, weight loss. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200.
* Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML) Rare disorder of the nervous system caused by a common human polyomavirus, JC virus. Can occur when the CD4+T cell count falls below 200.
* Recurrent Pneumonia. Most likely to occur when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 200
*Staphylococcus aureus (primarily causes skin infections).
*Streptococcus pneumoniae (the primary cause of pneumonia in AIDS patients).
*[[Toxoplasma gondii]]. Condition occurs when a parasite infects the brain. Symptoms include confusion or delusional behavior, severe headaches, fever, seizures and coma. Most likely occurs when the CD4+ T cell count falls below 100.<ref>[http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS, UCSF Medical Center.</ref>

== Dissent ==
Among many medical professionals and biologists, there is general agreement that HIV causes AIDS. In this, those of Koch's postulates that apply to viral diseases have been clearly fulfilled, and basic science research has shown the same. Specific drugs have been developed that treat HIV infection and AIDS, helping show the causal relationship. That being said, there is a vocal minority of people, scientists and non-scientists alike, who do not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Foremost among these is Dr. Peter Duesberg. Details about these "re-thinkers" and their arguments can be found at several websites, <ref>Peter Duesberg on AIDS - Duesberg.com - HIV/AIDS research website for Peter H. Duesberg http://www.duesberg.com/</ref> but not in any reliable peer-reviewed journals. This viewpoint has also received some official support from the government of [[South Africa]], where a nurtitional policy based on beetroot and garlic sources has found effective in combating the county's severe AIDS problem, despite a concerted effort by liberal scientific groups and the pharmacuetical industry (who would stand to benefit financially from continued association of AIDS with HIV) to discredit it. It is estimated that over $1 trillion has been siphoned off from health care worldwide for antiretroviral drugs to treat AIDS, despite growing evidence that a good general diet can be just as effective.

== See also ==

* [[AIDS prevention]]
* [[Gay bowel syndrome]]
* [[Homosexuality]]
* [[Homosexuality and health]]
* [[Mortality]]

==External links==
*[http://newsbusters.org/blogs/robert-knight/2007/12/01/some-questions-media-wont-ask-today-about-aids Some Questions the Media Won't Ask Today About AIDS], Robert Knight, [[NewsBusters]], December 1, 2007
* [http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/medical_services/infect/hiv/infections.html Infections Associated with AIDS], University of California, San Francisco

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Syndromes]]
[[Category:Demography]]
[[Category:AIDS| ]]

Microsoft

2011-02-18T01:54:37Z

Pacman: /* Software Products */

[[Image:Microsoft logo.svg|right|frame]]
'''Microsoft''' is an American corporation founded by [[Bill Gates]] and [[Paul Allen]] in 1975 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA. Its current CEO is [[Steve Ballmer]]. Microsoft focuses on developing and manufacturing [[software]], [[hardware]] and other technology oriented products and services.

Microsoft was investigated for antitrust violations by the [[Department of Justice]], and in 2001 the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed the finding of the trial court that monopolization by Microsoft had violated the [[Sherman Act]].<ref>United States v. Microsoft Corp., 346 U.S. App. D.C. 330 (D.C. Cir. 2001).</ref> The appellate court, however, overturned the lower court ruling to break Microsoft up and instead remanded the case to a new trial judge with instructions suggesting a less drastic remedy. By then, President [[George W. Bush]] had replaced [[Bill Clinton]] and the Bush Administration dropped the demand of the Clinton Administration for a break-up of Microsoft.

==Software Products==
:[[Windows (operating system)]], including [[Windows 7]], [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows XP]], and older versions of the desktop OS, versions for servers, versions for media centers, and versions for mobile devices
:[[MS DOS]] Microsoft's first operating system
:[[SQL Server]]
:[[Dynamics]]
:[[Internet Explorer]] HTML viewer
:[[Microsoft Office]] word processor, spreadsheet editor, slide-show creator, etc.
:[[Expression]] vector graphics editor
:[[Windows Media Player]]
:[[Virtual PC]] PC emulator
:[[Windows Defender]] [[anti-virus software|anti-virus]] and anti-spyware software
:[[Windows Live Writer]] blog publishing software
:[[XNA]] game development tool
:[[Visual Studio]] integrated development environment for C++, Visual Basic, C#, etc.
:[[Windows Live Messenger]] instant messenger
:[[DirectX]] multimedia API
:[[Money (software)|Money]] personal finance software
:[[Microsoft Works]]
:[[Encarta]]
:[[Bob]]

==Publishing==
:[[Microsoft Press]] releasing books dealing with various computer technologies.

==Video Games==
:The [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series
:[[Microsoft Flight Simulator]]
:[[Microsoft Golf]]
:[[Microsoft Baseball]]
:[[Age of Empires]]
:[[Age of Mythology]]
:[[Halo Wars]] real-time strategy game in the Halo universe
:[[Fable (video game)|Fable]] and Fable 2
:[[Perfect Dark Zero]]
:[[Kameo: Elements of Power]]
:[[Perfect Dark: Initial Vector]]
:[[Crimson Skies]]
:[[Mechwarrior]]
:[[Combat Flight Simulator]]
:[[Microsoft Train Simulator]]
:[[Banjo-Kazooie 3]]
:[[Black & White]]
:[[The Movies]]

==Services==
:[[MSN]] Internet service provider
:[[Bing]] search engine
:[[Encarta]] encyclopedia
:[[Hotmail]] free internet e-mail service
:[[Windows Live]] web portal
:[[XBOX Live]] Xbox online multiplayer service
:[[MSNBC]] news service
:[[Windows Marketplace]] online shopping service
:[[Windows Live Spaces]] social-networking service
:[[Windows Live ID]] online ID and password storage service
:[[LIVE Anywhere]] cross-platform multiplayer gaming service
:[[Microsoft Ignition]] online digital music service

==Hardware Products==
:[[Xbox]] gaming console
:[[Xbox 360]] gaming console
:[[Microsoft Surface|Surface]] touch-interface computer
:[[Zune]] portable media player
:[[Natural keyboard]]
:[[LifeCam]] webcam
:[[SideWinder]] game-pad and joystick
:[[Ultra-Mobile PC]] tablet computer
:[[Fingerprint Reader]] reads fingerprint as password
:[[IntelliPoint Mouse]] optical mouse
:[[MSN TV]] TV that allows web browsing

==Corporate Slogan==
:''Your potential. Our passion.''

==See Also==
:[http://conservapedia.com/Previous_Breaking_News/Bill_Gates Previous News]
:[http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx Microsoft official site]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:computers]]
[[Category:Companies]]
[[Category:Microsoft]]

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

2011-02-18T01:46:54Z

Pacman:

'''Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging''', or '''fMRI''', is a new form of brain imaging. It builds on the earlier [[MRI]] technique which primarily is used for anatomical analysis. The fMRI detects increased blood flow to areas of the brain, since activation of neurons requires an increase in metabolism and nutritional requirements it is theorized that this increase in blood flow correlates with what areas of the brain are most active.

There has been some interest in the use of fMRI to replace [[Polygraph]] machines, if it can be determined which parts of the brain light up when a subject is lying.

==References==

* Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6.

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Neuroscience]]

Iron

2011-02-18T01:43:48Z

Pacman:

{{Element
| name= Iron
| symbol= Fe
| anumber= 26
| amass= 55.8 amu
| state= Solid
| class= Transition metal
| cstructure= body-centered cubic
| color= gray metallic
| date=
| discname=
| origname=
| uses= weapons
| obtained=
}}
'''Iron''' (Fe) is a [[ferromagnetic]] [[metal]].

The technology to forge iron into weapons was discovered in the near east sometime around 1150 BC. Iron is much stronger than [[bronze]] and has many other advantages.
Iron was used in [[construction]] but has since been replaced by [[steel]]. The [[Eiffel Tower]] and [[Golden Gate Bridge]] are made of iron, as is the [[Iron Pillar of Delhi]].
Iron will [[oxidize]] at when in contact with water. These iron oxides are commonly called [[rust]]. It is one of the few magnetic elements ([[nickel]] and [[cobalt]] are the others). Iron is one of the main elements used to make steel, along with carbon and trace amounts of other metals.

Iron is also a component of [[red blood cell]]s in the form of [[hemoglobin]].

Mention of iron is found in numerous [[Bible]] quotes such as: ''Iron sharpens iron.'' --''Proverbs 27:17

[[Category:Metals]]
[[Category:Elements]]

Talk:Iron

2011-02-18T01:35:59Z

Pacman:

"It can be dug up straight out of the ground and used without much trouble." is a bit simplistic if not to say incorrect. Iron oxidizes easily, and iron ores therefore require smelting: see http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photoiron.html

- Smelting is an ancient technology, available to very low-tech societies. I think the statement reflects the fact that, compared to other metals, iron was relatively easy for primitive societies to work. --[[User:Pacman|Pacman]] 06:40, 16 May 2007 (EDT)

: They actually did not smelt iron, it was refined in a bloomery. [[User:DM|DM]] 13:19, 5 March 2008 (EST)

:: You USE a bloomery, but the process is smelting [[User:Pacman|Pacman]] 20:35, 17 February 2011 (EST)

A knowledgeable expert needs to look at this article and discuss the principle ores of iron which are are Hematite, (70% iron), Magnetite, (72 % iron) and Taconite which is a low-grade iron ore, containing up to 30% Magnetite and Hematite, and how iron is extracted from them. --[[User:AvengingAngel|AvengingAngel]] 18:26, 15 May 2007 (EDT)

:Agreed. I have a little knowledge, but not enough [[User:DM|DM]] 13:19, 5 March 2008 (EST)

Rocket Propelled Grenade

2011-02-18T00:59:00Z

Pacman:

[[Image:RPG Gaza.jpg|thumb|right|225px|An RPG-7. The large green protrusion on the left of the picture is the actual grenade.]]
The '''RPG-7''' is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, developed by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1961. It is the most widely produced grenade launcher in history, with several million in circulation. In this case, '''RPG''' stands for ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet'', which literally means "a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher".<ref>[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/rpg-7.pdf US Army Training Manual], full of diagrams and complex analysis</ref>

The RPG-7 has seen action in most major conflicts fought since 1961. It is used by both terrorist and paramilitary forces, and official military forces.

The RPG-7 has a range of 900 meters, but is notorious for being quite inaccurate unless in the hands of a trained operator. It is notable for the way the operator uses their hands the wrong way around from other weapons. Warheads are usually a [[shaped charge]] anti-tank round, although many different variants exist. Fully loaded, the RPG-7 weighs about 15 lbs.<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/rpg-7-specs.htm</ref>

==See also==
*[[M72 LAW]] - the Light Antitank Weapon used by the American military, which replaced the [[bazooka]]
*[[AT4]] - the replacement for the [[M72 LAW]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Weapons]]

Rocket Propelled Grenade

2011-02-18T00:58:26Z

Pacman:

[[Image:RPG Gaza.jpg|thumb|right|225px|An RPG-7. The large green protrusion on the left of the picture is the actual grenade.]]
The '''RPG-7''' is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, developed by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1961. It is the most widely produced grenade launcher in history, with several million in circulation. In this case, '''RPG''' stands for ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet'', which literally means "a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher".<ref>[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/rpg-7.pdf US Army Training Manual], full of diagrams and complex analysis</ref>

The RPG-7 has seen action in most major conflicts fought since 1961. It has been used by both terrorist and paramilitary forces, and official military forces.

The RPG-7 has a range of 900 meters, but is notorious for being quite inaccurate unless in the hands of a trained operator. It is notable for the way the operator uses their hands the wrong way around from other weapons. Warheads are usually a [[shaped charge]] anti-tank round, although many different variants exist. Fully loaded, the RPG-7 weighs about 15 lbs.<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/rpg-7-specs.htm</ref>

==See also==
*[[M72 LAW]] - the Light Antitank Weapon used by the American military, which replaced the [[bazooka]]
*[[AT4]] - the replacement for the [[M72 LAW]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Weapons]]

Rocket Propelled Grenade

2011-02-18T00:57:58Z

Pacman:

[[Image:RPG Gaza.jpg|thumb|right|225px|An RPG-7. The large green protrusion on the left of the picture is the actual grenade.]]
The '''RPG-7''' (Russian РПГ-7) is a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher, developed by the [[Soviet Union]] in 1961. It is the most widely produced grenade launcher in history, with several million in circulation. In this case, '''RPG''' stands for ''Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomet'', which literally means "a handheld anti-tank grenade launcher".<ref>[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/rpg-7.pdf US Army Training Manual], full of diagrams and complex analysis</ref>

The RPG-7 has seen action in most major conflicts fought since 1961. It has been used by both terrorist and paramilitary forces, and official military forces.

The RPG-7 has a range of 900 meters, but is notorious for being quite inaccurate unless in the hands of a trained operator. It is notable for the way the operator uses their hands the wrong way around from other weapons. Warheads are usually a [[shaped charge]] anti-tank round, although many different variants exist. Fully loaded, the RPG-7 weighs about 15 lbs.<ref>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/rpg-7-specs.htm</ref>

==See also==
*[[M72 LAW]] - the Light Antitank Weapon used by the American military, which replaced the [[bazooka]]
*[[AT4]] - the replacement for the [[M72 LAW]]

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Weapons]]

Apollo 11

2011-02-18T00:53:50Z

Pacman:

[[Image:Apollo 11 Launch.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Apollo 11 launch]]
The '''Apollo 11''' mission carried the first men to the surface of the [[moon]]. On July 20, 1969, mission commander [[Neil Armstrong]] became the first man to set foot on the moon, stepping off of the lunar module Eagle onto the lunar surface and delivering the line: "''That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.''"
<ref> He intended to say "one step for ''a'' man." Whether he succeeded in getting out the word "a" is disputed. See [[Neil_Armstrong#One small step]] </ref>
[[File:NASA Moon Flag.jpg|left|200px]]
The crew of Apollo 11 consisted of 3 astronauts: Commander Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., and [[Michael Collins]]. [[Buzz Aldrin]] was second on the moon, while Collins orbited the moon in the Apollo command module. The two astronauts broadcast a live videotaping to Earth and placed the [[Flag of the United States of America|American flag]] on the lunar surface along with a commemorative plaque which read: ''"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."'' They then spent time gathering samples of rocks and soil to bring back to Earth.

The spacecraft, a [[Saturn V]] rocket, was launched on July 16, 1969 by [[NASA]] (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), the United States Federal Government agency responsible for aviation and space flight. The liftoff was from Kennedy Space Center, and Apollo 11 entered lunar orbit on July 19, 1969.
[[Image:Apollo11-crew.jpg‎|right|thumb|250px|The Apollo 11 Crew]]
President [[John F. Kennedy]] had said that he was determined to send a man to the moon before the end of the decade. However, this was not accomplished during his term in office; by the time the lunar landing was made, [[Richard Nixon]] was in office. The President sent the astronauts a live message shortly after they landed on the surface of the moon.

The mission of Apollo 11 was completed when the astronauts returned safely to Earth on July 24, 1969.

Some disruptive influences have attempted to undermine the idea that the moon landing was real by publishing claims that it was a hoax, and filmed on a set, but all these claims have been conclusively debunked, despite continuing controversy over the role of NASA, which has not managed to capitalize on its moon successes.

==References==
<references/>
*http://www.nasa.gov/
*http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/apollo11/
*http://www.buzzaldrin.com/

==See also==

*[[Project Apollo]]
*[[Apollo 13]]
*[[Apollo 9]]

[[Category: United States]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space Exploration]]
[[Category: Astronauts]]

Interceptor

2011-02-18T00:46:57Z

Pacman:

'''Interceptors''' are military [[aircraft]] designed to take off, rapidly meet incoming enemy aircraft and destroy them. Traditionally they sacrificed maneuverability for speed and climbing performance. A classic example of this was the [[F-104 Starfighter]], which was termed the "missile with a man in it" because it looked and performed more like a missile than a traditional aircraft. The wings of the [[F-104 Starfighter]] were so sharp that special covers had to be put on them to stop [[ground crew]] from hurting themselves.

[[category:aviation]]
[[category:weaponry]]

Afterburner

2011-02-18T00:45:29Z

Pacman:

[[File:Afterburner2.jpg|right|thumbnail|201px|[[F-16]] Figthing Falcon jet with afterburner on]]
An '''afterburner''' is a device located in the exhaust system of a [[turbojet]] [[engine]].

Afterburners work by injecting [[fuel]] into the hot exhaust gases of the engine. Since the exhaust still contains some [[oxygen]], the fuel is able to burn giving extra thrust to the engine. Essentially it's like sticking another engine on the back.

Afterburners are extremely wasteful of fuel, and thus are only fitted to small military aircraft that have a need for short bursts of extra speed (eg: [[interceptor]]s). An engine using an [[afterburner]] is termed to be in "reheat", while use of full throttle without the afterburner is termed "full military". Some aircraft are now capable of achieving [[supersonic]] speeds without reheat. This is known as "supercruise"

[[Category:Mechanics]]

F-22 Raptor

2011-02-18T00:43:32Z

Pacman:

[[Image:F-22_raptor.jpg|right|300px|thumb|F-22 Raptor]]

The '''F-22 Raptor''' is a [[stealth]] fighter produced by [[Lockheed Martin]]. It is capable of air-to-air combat, ground attack, electronic warfare and signals detection. It was originally developed to counter advances in technology in aircraft developed by the [[Soviet Union]] and replace the F-15 by incorporating the latest in stealth features and propulsion technology. However, the extremely high unit cost of the aircraft has meant successive and substantial cuts to the number of F-22s to be built. At present only 183 F-22s will be built. This will mean keeping the F-15 fleet in service for the foreseeable future.

The Raptor is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 engines that produce in excess of 30,000 pounds of thrust each and posess 2D [[Thrust Vectoring|thrust vectoring]] capabilities. They give the Raptor the unique ability to "supercruise" at [[speed of sound|supersonic]] speeds without the use of [[afterburner]]s as required by all previous [[turbojet]] designs. The craft has an internal armament bay which holds [[air-to-air missile]]s and can carry various small bombs internally or on hard-point attachments and a 20mm Gatling [[Gun]].

The F-22 Raptor evolved from the YF-22 experimental design produced for the [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]]'s Advance Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition in which the Lockheed Martin design defeated the rival [[Northrup Grumman]] designed YF-23.

[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:United States Air Force]]

China

2011-02-18T00:31:21Z

Pacman: /* Economy */ China in Africa

{{Country
|name =中华人民共和国 中華人民共和國 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó
|map =China rel01.jpg
|map2 =China location.png
|flag =Flag_of_the_PRC.png‎
|arms =Arms of PR China.png
|capital =Beijing
|capital-raw =
|government =Communist
|government-raw =
|language =Mandarin Chinese
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|chairman =Hu Jintao
|premier =Wen Jiabao
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =
|pm-raw =
|area =3,704,427 sq mi
|pop =1,317,000,000 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$10 trillion (2007)
|gdp-pc =$7,600 (2007)
|currency =Yuan
|idd =
|tld =
}}
'''China''' (formally, '''The People's Republic of China'''), is the world's largest country by population, with a rapidly growing economy. With thousands of years of continuous traditions, in three decades it has dramatically changed itself from a poor backward nation to a world power, and is one of the world's top economies. It has emerged as a major regional power in East Asia, averaging over 9% economic growth per year since 1978 when it introduced a market-based economic system with many elements of capitalism, to replace its old socialism. Foreign businesses have flocked to invest in China, Americans and others rush to buy its cheap factory output, Chinese exports flooded the world. It has vast reserves of dollar holdings. China is modernizing its military, has joined numerous regional and international institutions, and plays an increasingly visible role in international politics.

The nation is under control from the [[Chinese Communist Party]], which encompasses mainland China, albeit with many border disputes. The PRC claims [[Taiwan]], the [[Republic of China]], as its own province, but the ROC maintains its sovereignty.

[[Hong Kong]] was transferred back to Chinese control by the [[United Kingdom]] in 1997, and [[Macau]] was handed over by [[Portugal]] in 1999. Both territories are now [[Special Administrative Region]]s and have autonomy over local affairs. Since the 1950s China has increasingly asserted brutal control over [[Tibet]].

The next 5 years represent a critical period in China's development. To investors and firms, particularly since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, China represents a vast market that has yet to be fully tapped and a low-cost base for export-oriented production. Educationally, China is forging ahead as partnerships, and exchanges with foreign universities have helped create new research opportunities for its students. China used the Summer Olympics in 2008 to showcase to the world its amazing gains of the past two decades. The new leadership is committed to generating greater economic development in the interior and providing more services to those who do not live in China's coastal areas, goals that form the core of President Hu's concepts of a "harmonious society" and a "spiritual civilization." However, there is still much that needs to change in China.

For more information on China, see [[World History Lecture Three]].

==People==
===Ethnic Groups===
[[File:Chinese people.jpg|right|250px]]
China officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.9% of the total population. The remaining 8.1% are Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), [[Uighur]] (7 million), Yi (7 million), Mongolian (5 million), Tibetan (5 million), Buyi (3 million), Korean (2 million), and other ethnic minorities.

In July 2009 large scale rioting erupted as the [[Uighur]] minority fought Chinese riot police in major cities in China's western Xinjiang province. Hundreds are dead..<ref> See [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/world/asia/07kadeer.html?ref=world Wrik Eckholm, "China Points to Another Leader in Exile," ''New York Times'' July 6, 2009]</ref> Uighurs are angry at political, cultural and religious persecution as well as the growing presence in the region of Han Chinese - China's main ethnic group. Han now predominate in the cities, and Uighurs in the countryside. This is the first major violent unrest in China in two decades.

===Language===
There are seven major Chinese dialects and many subdialects. [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] (or Putonghua), the predominant dialect, is spoken by over 70% of the population. It is taught in all schools and is the medium of government. About two-thirds of the Han ethnic group are native speakers of Mandarin; the rest, concentrated in south and southeast China, speak one of the six other major Chinese dialects. Non-Chinese languages spoken widely by ethnic minorities include Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur and other Turkic languages (in Xinjiang), and Korean (in the northeast).

All Chinese dialects use the same written character sets. In mainland China, the [[Simplified Chinese|Simplified]] characters have been in use since 1949.

====The Pinyin System of Romanization====
On January 1, 1979, the Chinese Government officially adopted the [[Hanyu pinyin|pinyin]] system for spelling Chinese names and places in Roman letters. A system of Romanization invented by the Chinese, pinyin has long been widely used in China on street and commercial signs as well as in elementary Chinese textbooks as an aid in learning Chinese characters and for common character input systems. Variations of pinyin also are used as the written forms of several minority languages.

Pinyin has now replaced other conventional spellings in China's English-language publications. The U.S. Government also has adopted the pinyin system for all names and places in China. For example, the capital of China is now spelled "Beijing" rather than "Peking."

In 2008 the anti-Communist government of Taiwan finally adopted the pinyin system, replaces the old [[Wade-Giles]] system which was increasingly ignored by the Chinese diaspora.

==Religion==
A February 2007 survey concluded that 31% of Chinese citizens ages 16 and over, representing 300 million persons, are religious believers.<ref> This is approximately three times the official figure reported by the Government in April 2005.See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108404.htm U.S. State Department "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref>

There are reportedly more than 100,000 officially recognized sites for religious activities, 300,000 officially recognized clergy, and more than 3,000 officially recognized religious organizations.
[[File:China B.jpg|left|280px]]
The Government officially recognizes five main religions: [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]], [[Islam]], [[Catholicism]], and [[Protestantism]]. There are five state-sanctioned "Patriotic Religious Associations" (PRAs) that manage the activities of the recognized faiths. The Russian Orthodox Church operates in some regions, particularly those with large populations of Russian expatriates or with close links to Russia. Foreign residents in the country who belonged to religious faiths not officially recognized by the Government were generally permitted to practice their religions.

It is difficult to estimate the number of Buddhists and Taoists, because they do not have congregational memberships and many practice exclusively at home.

The Government estimated that there are 16,000 Buddhist temples and monasteries, 200,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, more than 1,700 reincarnate lamas, and 32 Buddhist schools. Most believers, particularly ethnic Han Buddhists, practice Mahayana Buddhism, while the majority of Tibetans and ethnic Mongolians, as well as a growing number of ethnic Chinese, practice Tibetan Buddhism, a Mahayana adaptation. Some ethnic minorities in southwest Yunnan Province practice Theravada Buddhism, the dominant tradition in parts of neighboring Southeast Asia.

There are more than 25,000 Taoist priests and nuns, more than 1,500 Taoist temples, and 2 Taoist schools. Traditional folk religions (worship of local gods, heroes, and ancestors) are practiced by hundreds of millions of citizens and are often affiliated with Taoism, Buddhism, or ethnic minority cultural practices.

The government says there are twenty million Muslims. Independent estimates range as high as fifty million or more. There are more than 40,000 Islamic places of worship (more than half of which are in the XUAR), more than 45,000 imams nationwide, and 10 Islamic schools. The country has ten predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Hui, estimated to number more than ten million. The Hui are centered in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, but there are significant concentrations of Hui throughout the country, including in Gansu, Henan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Hebei Provinces, as well as in the TAR and the XUAR. Hui Muslims slightly outnumber Uighur Muslims, who live primarily in the XUAR. According to an official 2005 report, the XUAR had 23,900 mosques and 27,000 clerics at the end of 2004, but fewer than half of the mosques were authorized to hold Friday prayer and holiday services. The country also has more than one million Kazakh Muslims and thousands of Dongxiang, Kyrgyz, Salar, Tajik, Uzbek, Baoan, and Tatar Muslims.

Officials from the Three-Self Patriotic Movement/China Christian Council (TSPM/CCC), the state-approved Protestant religious organization, estimated that at least twenty million citizens worship in official churches. Government officials stated that there are more than 50,000 registered TSPM churches and 18 TSPM theological schools. The Pew Research Center estimates that between 50 million and 70 million Christians practice without state sanction. The World Christian Database estimates that there are more than 300 unofficial house church networks.

The Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) reports that 5.3 million persons worship in its churches and it is estimated that there are an additional 12 million or more persons who worship in unregistered Catholic churches that do not affiliate with the CPA. According to official sources, the government-sanctioned CPA has more than 70 bishops, nearly 3,000 priests and nuns, 6,000 churches and meeting places, and 12 seminaries. There are thought to be approximately 40 bishops operating "underground," some of whom are in prison or under house arrest. During the reporting period, at least three bishops were ordained with papal approval. In September 2007 the official media reported that Liu Bainian, CPA vice president, stated that the young bishops were to be selected to serve dioceses without bishops and to replace older bishops. Of the 97 dioceses in the country, 40 reportedly did not have an acting bishop in 2007, and more than 30 bishops were over 80 years of age.
===Religious discrimination===
The Government restricts legal religious practice to government-sanctioned organizations and registered religious groups and places of worship, and seeks to control the growth and scope of the activity of both registered and unregistered religious groups, including "house churches." Government authorities limit proselytism, particularly by foreigners and unregistered religious groups, but permit proselytism in state-approved religious venues and private settings.

In 2008, the Government's repression of religious freedom intensified in some areas, including in Tibetan areas and in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Unregistered Protestant religious groups in Beijing reported intensified harassment from government authorities in the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Media and China-based sources reported that municipal authorities in Beijing closed some house churches or asked them to stop meeting during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. During the reporting period, officials detained and interrogated several foreigners about their religious activities and in several cases alleged that the foreigners had engaged in "illegal religious activities" and cancelled their visas. Media reported that the total number of expatriates expelled by the Government due to concerns about their religious activities exceeded one hundred. Officials in the XUAR, the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), and other Tibetan areas tightly controlled religious activity. The Government sought the forcible return of several Uighur Muslims living abroad, some of whom had reportedly protested restrictions on the Hajj and encouraged other Muslims to pray and fast during Ramadan. Followers of Tibetan Buddhism, including those in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and most Tibetan autonomous areas, faced more restrictions on their religious practice and ability to organize than Buddhists in other parts of the country. "Patriotic education" campaigns in the TAR and other Tibetan regions, which required monks and nuns to sign statements personally denouncing the Dalai Lama, and other new restrictions on religious freedom were major factors that led monks and nuns to mount peaceful protests at a number of monasteries on March 10, 2008. The protests and subsequent security response gave way to violence in Lhasa by March 14 and 15.

"Underground" Roman Catholic clergy faced repression, in large part due to their avowed loyalty to the Vatican, which the Government accused of interfering in the country's internal affairs. The Government continued to repress groups that it designated as "cults," which included several Christian groups and Falun Gong.

Religious and ethnic minority groups such as Tibetan Buddhists and Uighur Muslims experienced societal discrimination not only because of their religious beliefs but also because of their status as ethnic minorities with distinct languages and cultures. After the March 2008 protests in Lhasa and other Tibetan areas there were reports of increased tensions between Tibetan Buddhists and Hui Muslims.

The [[Falun Gong]] is a self-described spiritual movement that blends aspects of Taoism, Buddhism, and the meditation techniques and physical exercises of qigong (a traditional Chinese exercise discipline), with the teachings of Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi. There are estimated to have been at least 2.1 million adherents of Falun Gong before the Government banned the group in 1999. Hundreds of thousands may practice Falun Gong privately.

==Population Policy==
[[Image:China Mex RGarciaOrtiz.jpg|right|Chinese at Mexico]]
{{main|One-child Policy}}

With a population officially just over 1.3 billion and an estimated growth rate of about 0.6%, China is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement a strict birth limitation policy. The government permits one child per family, with allowance for a second child under certain circumstances (such as twins), especially in rural areas, and with guidelines looser for ethnic minorities with small populations. Enforcement varies, and relies largely on "social compensation fees" to discourage extra births. Official government policy opposes forced [[abortion]] or sterilization, but in some localities there are instances of forced [[abortion]]. The government's goal is to stabilize the population in the first half of the 21st century, and current projections are that the population will peak at around 1.6 billion by 2050. Boys are highly prized, and because screening of fetuses is done to determine gender, selective abortion has resulted in 119 boys born for every 100 girls. By 2020, 24 million men of marrying age will find themselves without wives.

==Government==
The People's Republic of China is an authoritarian state in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) constitutionally is the paramount source of power. Party members hold almost all top government, police, and military positions. Ultimate authority rests with the 25-member political bureau (Politburo) of the CCP and its nine-member standing committee. '''[[Hu Jintao]]''' holds the three most powerful positions as CCP general secretary, president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.

===Chinese Communist Party===
The 71 million member CCP, authoritarian in structure and ideology, continues to dominate government. Nevertheless, China's population, geographical vastness, and social diversity frustrate attempts to rule by fiat from Beijing. Central leaders must increasingly build consensus for new policies among party members, local and regional leaders, influential non-party members, and the population at large.

In periods of greater openness, the influence of people and organizations outside the formal party structure has tended to increase, particularly in the economic realm. This phenomenon is most apparent today in the rapidly developing coastal region. Nevertheless, in all important government, economic, and cultural institutions in China, party committees work to see that party and state policy guidance is followed and that non-party members do not create autonomous organizations that could challenge party rule. Party control is tightest in government offices and in urban economic, industrial, and cultural settings; it is considerably looser in the rural areas, where the majority of the people live.

Theoretically, the party's highest body is the Party Congress, which traditionally meets at least once every 5 years. The 17th Party Congress is expected to take place in the fall of 2007. The primary organs of power in the Communist Party include:
*The Politburo Standing Committee, which currently consists of nine members (one seat is vacant following the June 2, 2007 death of Huang Ju);
*The Politburo, consisting of 24 full members, including the members of the Politburo Standing Committee;
*The Secretariat, the principal administrative mechanism of the CCP, headed by the General Secretary;
*The Central Military Commission;
*The Discipline Inspection Commission, which is charged with rooting out corruption and malfeasance among party cadres.
===State Structure===
The Chinese Government has always been subordinate to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); its role is to implement party policies. The primary organs of state power are the National People's Congress (NPC), the President (the head of state), and the State Council. Members of the State Council include Premier Wen Jiabao (the head of government), a variable number of vice premiers (now four), five state councilors (protocol equivalents of vice premiers but with narrower portfolios), and 22 ministers and four State Council commission directors.

Under the Chinese constitution, the NPC is the highest organ of state power in China. It meets annually for about 2 weeks to review and approve major new policy directions, laws, the budget, and major personnel changes. These initiatives are presented to the NPC for consideration by the State Council after previous endorsement by the Communist Party's Central Committee. Although the NPC generally approves State Council policy and personnel recommendations, various NPC committees hold active debate in closed sessions, and changes may be made to accommodate alternate views.

When the NPC is not in session, its permanent organ, the Standing Committee, exercises state power.
===Principal Government and Party Officials===
[[File:Hu - Fidel Castro.jpg|thumb|Hu Jintao and [[Fidel Castro]].]]
*President--[[Hu Jintao]]
*Vice President--Zeng Qinghong
*Premier, State Council--Wen Jiabao
*NPC Chair--Wu Bangguo
*Vice Premiers--Wu Yi, Zeng Peiyan, Hui Liangyu
*Politburo Standing Committee--Hu Jintao (General Secretary), Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun, Luo Gan
*Other Politburo Members--Cao Gangchuan, Guo Boxiong, He Guoqiang, Hui Liangyu, Liu Qi, Liu Yunshan, Wang Lequan, Wang Zhaoguo, Wu Yi, Yu Zhengsheng, Zeng Peiyan, Zhang Dejiang, Zhang Lichang, Zhou Yongkang, Wang Gang (alternate)
*Alternate Politburo Members--Wang Gang
*Chairman, Central Military Commission--Hu Jintao
*Foreign Minister--Yang Jiechi
*Minister of Commerce--Bo Xilai
*Minister of Finance--Jin Renqing
*Minister of Agriculture--Sun Zhengcai
*Minister of Information Industry--Wang Xudong
*Governor, People's Bank of China--Zhou Xiaochuan
*Minister, State Development and Reform Commission--Ma Kai
*Ambassador to U.S.--Zhou Wenzhong
*Ambassador to UN--Wang Guangya

===Foreign Relations===
[[Image:Chinese painting.jpg|thumb|Chinese painting.]]
Since its establishment, the People's Republic has worked vigorously to win international support for its position that it is the sole legitimate government of all China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and [[Taiwan]]. In the early 1970s, Beijing was recognized diplomatically by most world powers. [[Beijing]] (Pekin) assumed the China seat in the [[United Nations]] in 1971 and has since become increasingly active in multilateral organizations. Japan established diplomatic relations with China in 1972, and the United States did so in 1979. As of July 2007, the number of countries that have diplomatic relations with Beijing had risen to 167, while 24 maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

After the founding of the P.R.C., China's foreign policy initially focused on solidarity with the Soviet Union and other communist countries. In 1950, China sent the People's Liberation Army into North Korea to help North Korea halt the UN offensive that was approaching the Yalu River. After the conclusion of the Korean conflict, China sought to balance its identification as a member of the Soviet bloc by establishing friendly relations with Pakistan and other Third World countries, particularly in Southeast Asia.

In the 1960s, Beijing competed with Moscow for political influence among communist parties and in the developing world generally. Following the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and clashes in 1969 on the Sino-Soviet border, Chinese competition with the Soviet Union increasingly reflected concern over China's own strategic position.

In late 1978, the Chinese also became concerned over Vietnam's efforts to establish open control over Laos and Cambodia. In response to the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, China fought a brief border war with Vietnam (February-March 1979) with the stated purpose of "teaching Vietnam a lesson."

Chinese anxiety about Soviet strategic advances was heightened following the Soviet Union's December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Sharp differences between China and the Soviet Union persisted over Soviet support for Vietnam's continued occupation of Cambodia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Soviet troops along the Sino-Soviet border and in Mongolia--the so-called "three obstacles" to improved Sino-Soviet relations.

In the 1970s and 1980s China sought to create a secure regional and global environment for itself and to foster good relations with countries that could aid its economic development. To this end, China looked to the West for assistance with its modernization drive and for help in countering Soviet expansionism, which it characterized as the greatest threat to its national security and to world peace.

China maintained its consistent opposition to "superpower hegemony," focusing almost exclusively on the expansionist actions of the Soviet Union and Soviet proxies such as Vietnam and Cuba, but it also placed growing emphasis on a foreign policy independent of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. While improving ties with the West, China continued to follow closely economic and other positions of the Third World nonaligned movement, although China was not a formal member.

In the immediate aftermath of Tiananmen crackdown in June 1989, many countries reduced their diplomatic contacts with China as well as their economic assistance programs. In response, China worked vigorously to expand its relations with foreign countries, and by late 1990, had reestablished normal relations with almost all nations. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991, China also opened diplomatic relations with the republics of the former Soviet Union.

In recent years, Chinese leaders have been regular travelers to all parts of the globe, and China has sought a higher profile in the UN through its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral organizations. Closer to home, China has made efforts to reduce tensions in Asia, hosting the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, cultivating a more cooperative relationship with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and participating in the ASEAN Regional Forum. China has also taken steps to improve relations with countries in South Asia, including India. Following Premier Wen's 2005 visit to India, the two sides moved to increase commercial and cultural ties, as well as to resolve longstanding border disputes. The November 2006 visit of President Hu was the first state visit by a Chinese head of state to India in 10 years.

China has likewise improved ties with Russia, with Presidents Putin and Hu exchanging visits to Beijing and Moscow in April 2006 and March 2007. A second round of Russia-China joint military exercises is scheduled for fall 2007. China has played a prominent role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional grouping that includes Russia and the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Beijing has resolved many of its border and maritime disputes, notably including a November 1997 agreement with Russia that resolved almost all outstanding border issues and a 2000 agreement with Vietnam to resolve differences over their maritime border, though disagreements remain over islands in the South China Sea. Relations with Japan improved following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's October 2006 visit to Beijing, although longstanding and emotionally charged disputes over history and competing claims to portions of the East China Sea remain sources of tension.

While in many ways Sudan's primary diplomatic patron, China has played a constructive role in support of peacekeeping operations in Southern Sudan and pledged to contribute an engineering unit in support of UN operations in Darfur. China has stated publicly that it shares the international community's concern over Iran's nuclear program and has voted in support of UN sanctions resolutions on Iran. Set against this has been an effort on the part of China to maintain close ties to countries such as Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela, which are sources of oil and other resources and which welcome China's non-conditional assistance and investment.

==Political Conditions==
===Legal System===
The government's efforts to promote rule of law are significant and ongoing. After the Cultural Revolution, China's leaders aimed to develop a legal system to restrain abuses of official authority and revolutionary excesses. In 1982, the National People's Congress adopted a new state constitution that emphasized the rule of law under which even party leaders are theoretically held accountable.

Since 1979, when the drive to establish a functioning legal system began, more than 300 laws and regulations, most of them in the economic area, have been promulgated. The use of mediation committees--informed groups of citizens who resolve about 90% of China's civil disputes and some minor criminal cases at no cost to the parties--is one innovative device. There are more than 800,000 such committees in both rural and urban areas.

Legal reform became a government priority in the 1990s. Legislation designed to modernize and professionalize the nation's lawyers, judges, and prisons was enacted. The 1994 Administrative Procedure Law allows citizens to sue officials for abuse of authority or malfeasance. In addition, the criminal law and the criminal procedures laws were amended to introduce significant reforms. The criminal law amendments abolished the crime of "counter-revolutionary" activity, although many persons are still incarcerated for that crime. Criminal procedures reforms also encouraged establishment of a more transparent, adversarial trial process. The Chinese constitution and laws provide for fundamental human rights, including due process, but these are often ignored in practice. In addition to other judicial reforms, the Constitution was amended in 2004 to include the protection of individual human rights and legally-obtained private property, but it is unclear how those provisions will be implemented. Although new criminal and civil laws have provided additional safeguards to citizens, previously debated political reforms, including expanding elections to the township level, and other legal reforms, including the reform of the reeducation through labor system, have been put on hold.

==Military==
Establishment of a professional military force equipped with modern weapons and doctrine was the last of the "Four Modernizations" announced by Zhou Enlai and supported by Deng Xiaoping. In keeping with Deng's mandate to reform, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the strategic nuclear forces, army, navy, and air force, has demobilized millions of men and women since 1978 and introduced modern methods in such areas as recruitment and manpower, strategy, and education and training.
[[File:China military.jpg|left]]
Following the June 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, ideological correctness was temporarily revived as the dominant theme in Chinese military affairs. Reform and modernization appear to have since resumed their position as the PLA's priority objectives.

The Chinese military is in the process of transforming itself from a land-based power, centered on a vast ground force, to a smaller, mobile, high-tech military eventually capable of mounting limited operations beyond its coastal borders.

China's power-projection capability is limited but has grown over recent years. China has acquired some advanced weapons systems from abroad, including Sovremmeny destroyers, SU-27 and SU-30 aircraft, and Kilo-class diesel submarines from Russia, and continued to develop domestic production capabilities, such as for the domestically-developed J-10 fighter aircraft. However, much of its air and naval forces continues to be based on 1960s-era technology. As the Defense Department's Quadrennial Defense Review, released February 2006, noted, the U.S. shares with other countries a concern about the pace, scope, and direction of China's military modernization. We view military exchanges, visits, and other forms of engagement are useful tools in promoting transparency, provided they have substance and are fully reciprocal. Regularized exchanges and contact also have the significant benefit of building confidence, reducing the possibility of accidents, and providing the lines of communication that are essential in ensuring that episodes such as the April 2001 EP-3 aircraft incident do not escalate into major crises. During their April 2006 meeting, President Bush and President Hu agreed to increase officer exchanges and to begin a strategic nuclear dialogue between STRATCOM and the Chinese military's strategic missile command. U.S. and Chinese militaries are also considering ways in which we might cooperate on disaster assistance relief.

===Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Policy ===
In 1955, Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party decided to proceed with a nuclear weapons program; it was developed with Soviet assistance until 1960. After its first nuclear test in October 1964, Beijing deployed a modest but potent ballistic missile force, including land- and sea-based intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

China became a major international arms exporter during the 1980s. Beijing joined the Middle East arms control talks, which began in July 1991 to establish global guidelines for conventional arms transfers, but announced in September 1992 that it would no longer participate because of the U.S. decision to sell F-16A/B aircraft to Taiwan.

China was the first state to pledge "no first use" of nuclear weapons. It joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1984 and pledged to abstain from further atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1986. China acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1992 and supported its indefinite and unconditional extension in 1995. In 1996, it signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and agreed to seek an international ban on the production of fissile nuclear weapons material. To date, China has not ratified the CTBT.

In 1996, China committed not to provide assistance to un-safeguarded nuclear facilities. China became a full member of the NPT Exporters (Zangger) Committee, a group that determines items subject to IAEA inspections if exported by NPT signatories. In September 1997, China issued detailed nuclear export control regulations. China began implementing regulations establishing controls over nuclear-related dual-use items in 1998. China also has committed not to engage in new nuclear cooperation with Iran (even under safeguards), and will complete existing cooperation, which is not of [[proliferation]] concern, within a relatively short period. In May 2004, with the support of the United States, China became a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Based on significant, tangible progress with China on nuclear nonproliferation, President Clinton in 1998 took steps to bring into force the 1985 U.S.-China Agreement on Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.

===Missiles===
Although it is not a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles, in March 1992 China undertook to abide by MTCR guidelines and parameters. China reaffirmed this commitment in 1994, and pledged not to transfer MTCR-class ground-to-ground missiles. In November 2000, China committed not to assist in any way the development by other countries of MTCR-class missiles. However, in August 29, 2003, the U.S. Government imposed missile proliferation sanctions lasting two years on the Chinese company China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) after determining that it was knowingly involved in the transfer of equipment and technology controlled under Category II of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) Annex that contributed to MTCR-class missiles in a non-MTCR country.

In December 2003, the P.R.C. promulgated comprehensive new export control regulations governing exports of all categories of sensitive technologies.

==Economy ==
China's economy, based on rice and wheat farming, was generally prosperous until the 18th century. Population pressures, and failure to adopt new technology led to an impoverished nation by 1900.

After Mao's death the policy of modernization along Western lines has led to a remarkable rate of economic growth in the industrial cities, which have pulled in millions of peasants from the still poor rural areas. Slack environmental standards have led to serious pollution problems.

The modern Chinese economy has benefited from investments from Taiwan and Hong Kong. They jumped far ahead of China by 1970 in terms of technology, and in recent years have invested in mainland industries.

These two factors have changed Chinese economy, from a command economy to a more socialist state, with the Chinese economy increasingly in the hands of privately-owned businesses, not state- or military-run enterprises. The 2001 declaration by Jiang Zemin (former leader of the Communist Party) of the "theory of three represents" -- that the CCP represents not only workers, but also intellectuals and entrepreneurs -- was an explicit affirmation of what had been a trend for the previous years

[[File:National Stadium, Beijing.jpg|thumb|250px|National Stadium, Beijing.]]
Since 1980 China has enjoyed the highest economic growth rates in the world. Suddenly in mid-2008, the growth rate slowed sharply from 11% a year to only 5.5%. Much of the economy was geared to exports, and building factories for exports to the United States and Japan. When the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]] hit, exports fell off and prices for industrial products like steel fell in half. Many factories were shut down. The decline has especially hit steel, cement and the construction industry. The government in November 2008 announced a $586 billion stimulus program to build roads, dams, electric grids and other infrastructure projects that are designed to supplement the international market.<ref> David Barboza, "Great Engine of China Slows ," [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/26/business/worldbusiness/26chinasteel.html?_r=1 ''New York Times'' Nov. 25, 2008] </ref>

Since 1979, China has largely rejected socialism and embraced capitalism, while maintaining Communist party rule. Private ownership of the means of production has dramatically reduced poverty and increased wealth, especially in the cities but also in rural areas. Nationally the GDP (in 2007 prices) has exploded from 2 trillion yuan in 1980 to 25 trillion in 2007.

As late as 1980 60% of the people in rural China lives in poverty; by 2007 fewer than 5% did. Grain production has grown 300 to 500 tons per person, and rural income per person has soared from a few hundred yuan in 1980 to over 4000.<ref>See ''Economist'' Dec. 13, 2008</ref>

The reforms reformed and opened its economy. The Chinese leadership has adopted a more pragmatic perspective on many political and socioeconomic problems, and has reduced the role of ideology in economic policy. China's ongoing economic transformation has had a profound impact not only on China but on the world. The market-oriented reforms China has implemented over the past two decades have unleashed individual initiative and entrepreneurship. The result has been the largest reduction of poverty and one of the fastest increases in income levels ever seen. China today is the fourth-largest economy in the world. It has sustained average economic growth of over 9.5% for the past 26 years. In 2006 its $2.76 trillion economy was about one-fifth the size of the U.S. economy.

In the 1980s, China tried to combine central planning with market-oriented reforms to increase productivity, living standards, and technological quality without exacerbating inflation, unemployment, and budget deficits. China pursued agricultural reforms, dismantling the commune system and introducing a household-based system that provided peasants greater decision-making in agricultural activities. The government also encouraged nonagricultural activities such as village enterprises in rural areas, and promoted more self-management for state-owned enterprises, increased competition in the marketplace, and facilitated direct contact between Chinese and foreign trading enterprises. China also relied more upon foreign financing and imports.

During the 1980s, these reforms led to average annual rates of growth of 10% in agricultural and industrial output. Rural per capita real income doubled. China became self-sufficient in grain production; rural industries accounted for 23% of agricultural output, helping absorb surplus labor in the countryside. The variety of light industrial and consumer goods increased. Reforms began in the fiscal, financial, banking, price-setting, and labor systems.

By the late 1980s, however, the economy had become overheated with increasing rates of inflation. At the end of 1988, in reaction to a surge of inflation caused by accelerated price reforms, the leadership introduced an austerity program.

China's economy regained momentum in the early 1990s. During a visit to southern China in early 1992, China's paramount leader at the time, Deng Xiaoping, made a series of political pronouncements designed to reinvigorate the process of economic reform. The 14th Party Congress later in the year backed Deng's renewed push for market reforms, stating that China's key task in the 1990s was to create a "socialist market economy." The 10-year development plan for the 1990s stressed continuity in the political system with bolder reform of the economic system.

China's economy grew at an average rate of 10% per year during the period 1990-2004, the highest growth rate in the world. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10.0% in 2003, and even faster, 10.1%, in 2004, and 9.9% in 2005 despite attempts by the government to cool the economy. China's total trade in 2006 surpassed $1.76 trillion, making China the world's third-largest trading nation after the U.S. and Germany. Such high growth is necessary if China is to generate the 15 million jobs needed annually--roughly the size of Ecuador or Cambodia--to employ new entrants into the job market.

Nevertheless, serious imbalances exist behind the spectacular trade performance, high investment flows, and high GDP growth. High numbers of non-performing loans weigh down the state-run banking system. Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are still a drag on growth, despite announced efforts to sell, merge, or close the vast majority of SOEs.

Social and economic indicators have improved since reforms were launched, but rising inequality is evident between the more highly developed coastal provinces and the less developed, poorer inland regions. According to World Bank estimates, more than 152 million people in China in 2003--mostly in rural areas of the lagging inland provinces--still live in poverty, on consumption of less than U.S. $1 a day.

Following the Chinese Communist Party's Third Plenum, held in October 2003, Chinese legislators unveiled several proposed amendments to the state constitution. One of the most significant was a proposal to provide protection for private property rights. Legislators also indicated there would be a new emphasis on certain aspects of overall government economic policy, including efforts to reduce unemployment (now in the 8-10% range in urban areas), to rebalance income distribution between urban and rural regions, and to maintain economic growth while protecting the environment and improving social equity. The National People's Congress approved the amendments when it met in March 2004. The Fifth Plenum in October 2005 approved the 11th Five-Year Economic Program aimed at building a "harmonious society" through more balanced wealth distribution and improved education, medical care, and social security.

===Agriculture===
China is the world's most populous country and one of the largest producers and consumers of agricultural products. Roughly half of China's labor force is engaged in agriculture, even though only 10% of the land is suitable for cultivation and agriculture contributes only 13% of China's GDP. China's cropland area is only 75% of the U.S. total, but China still produces about 30% more crops and livestock than the U.S. because of intensive cultivation, China is among the world's largest producers of rice, corn, wheat, soybeans, vegetables, tea, and pork. Major non-food crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds. China hopes to further increase agricultural production through improved plant stocks, fertilizers, and technology. Incomes for Chinese farmers are stagnating, leading to an increasing wealth gap between the cities and countryside. Government policies that continue to emphasize grain self-sufficiency and the fact that farmers do not own--and cannot buy or sell--the land they work have contributed to this situation. While this was the case in China before Communism, many other countries have since embrace individual ownership while China has not. In addition, inadequate port facilities and lack of warehousing and cold storage facilities impede both domestic and international agricultural trade.

===Industry===
Industry and construction account for about 46% of China's GDP. Major industries are mining and ore processing; iron; steel; aluminum; coal, machinery; textiles and apparel; armaments; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products including footwear, toys, and electronics; automobiles and other transportation equipment including rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; and telecommunications.

China has become a preferred destination for the relocation of global manufacturing facilities. Its strength as an export platform has contributed to incomes and employment in China. The state-owned sector still accounts for about 40% of GDP. In recent years, authorities have been giving greater attention to the management of state assets--both in the financial market as well as among state-owned-enterprises--and progress has been noteworthy.

===Regulatory Environment===
Though China's economy has expanded rapidly, its regulatory environment has not kept pace. Since Deng Xiaoping's open market reforms, the growth of new businesses has outpaced the government's ability to regulate them. This has created a situation where businesses, faced with mounting competition and poor oversight, will be willing to take drastic measures to increase profit margins, often at the expense of consumer safety. This issue has recently acquired more prominence, with a number of restrictions being placed on problematic Chinese exports by the U.S. The Chinese Government recognizes the severity of the problem, recently concluding that up to 20% of the country's products are substandard or tainted.

===Energy===
Together with strong economic growth, China's demand for energy is surging rapidly. In 2003, China surpassed Japan to become the second-largest consumer of primary energy, after the United States. China is the world's second-largest consumer of oil, after the United States, and for 2006, China's increase in oil demand represented 38% of the world total increase in oil demand. China is also the third-largest energy producer in the world, after the United States and Russia. China's electricity consumption is expected to grow by over 4% a year through 2030, which will require more than $2 trillion in electricity infrastructure investment to meet the demand. China expects to add approximately 15,000 megawatts of generating capacity a year, with 20% of that coming from foreign suppliers.

Coal makes up the bulk of China's energy consumption (70% in 2005), and China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world. As China's economy continues to grow, China's coal demand is projected to rise significantly. Although coal's share of China's overall energy consumption will decrease, coal consumption will continue to rise in absolute terms. China's continued and increasing reliance on coal as a power source has contributed significantly to putting China on the path to becoming the world's largest emitter of acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide and green house gases, including carbon dioxide.

The 11th Five-Year Program, announced in 2005, calls for greater energy conservation measures, including development of renewable energy sources and increased attention to environmental protection. Moving away from coal towards cleaner energy sources including oil, natural gas, renewable energy, and nuclear power is an important component of China's development program. China has abundant hydroelectric resources; the Three Gorges Dam, for example, will have a total capacity of 18 gigawatts when fully on-line (projected for 2009). In addition, the share of electricity generated by nuclear power is projected to grow from 1% in 2000 to 5% in 2030. China's renewable energy law, which went into effect in 2006, calls for 10% of its energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Since 1993, China has been a net importer of oil, a large portion of which comes from the Middle East. Net imports are expected to rise to 3.5 million barrels per day by 2010. China is interested in diversifying the sources of its oil imports and has invested in oil fields around the world. Beijing also plans to increase China's natural gas production, which currently accounts for only 3% of China's total energy consumption. Analysts expect China's consumption of natural gas to more than double by 2010.

In May 2004, then-Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) that launched the U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue. The Dialogue has strengthened energy-related interactions between China and the United States, the world's two largest energy consumers. The U.S.-China Energy Policy Dialogue builds upon the two countries' existing cooperative ventures in high energy nuclear physics, fossil energy, energy efficiency and renewable energy and energy information exchanges. The NDRC and the Department of Energy also exchange views and expertise on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Technologies, and we convene an annual Oil and Gas Industry Forum with China.

===Environment===
[[Image:Tianmenshan mountain.jpg|left|300px]]
One of the serious negative consequences of China's rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. China is widely expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases sometime in 2007 or 2008. A World Health Organization report on air quality in 272 cities worldwide concluded that seven of the world's 10 most polluted cities were in China. According to China's own evaluation, two-thirds of the 338 cities for which air-quality data are available are considered polluted--two-thirds of them moderately or severely so. Respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. Almost all of the nation's rivers are considered polluted to some degree, and half of the population lacks access to clean water. By some estimates, every day approximately 300 million residents drink contaminated water. Ninety percent of urban water bodies are severely polluted. Water scarcity also is an issue; for example, severe water scarcity in Northern China is a serious threat to sustained economic growth and the government has begun working on a project for a large-scale diversion of water from the Yangtze River to northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin. Acid rain falls on 30% of the country. Various studies estimate pollution costs the Chinese economy 7%-10% of GDP each year.

China's leaders are increasingly paying attention to the country's severe environmental problems. In 1998, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, reflecting the growing importance the Chinese Government places on environmental protection. In recent years, China has strengthened its environmental legislation and made some progress in stemming environmental deterioration. In 2005, China joined the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development, which brings industries and governments together to implement strategies that reduce pollution and address climate change. During the 10th Five-Year Plan, China plans to reduce total emissions by 10%. Beijing in particular is investing heavily in pollution control as part of its campaign to host a successful Olympiad in 2008. Some cities have seen improvement in air quality in recent years.

China is an active participant in climate change talks and other multilateral environmental negotiations, taking environmental challenges seriously but pushing for the developed world to help developing countries to a greater extent. It is a signatory to the Basel Convention governing the transport and disposal of hazardous waste and the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and other major environmental agreements.

The question of environmental impacts associated with the Three Gorges Dam project has generated controversy among environmentalists inside and outside China. Critics claim that erosion and silting of the Yangtze River threaten several endangered species, while Chinese officials say the dam will help prevent devastating floods and generate clean hydroelectric power that will enable the region to lower its dependence on coal, thus lessening air pollution.

The United States and China are members of the Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP). The APP is a public-private partnership of six nations--Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States--committed to explore new mechanisms to meet national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change goals in ways that reduce poverty and promote economic development. APP members have undertaken cooperative activities involving deployment of clean technology in partner countries in eight areas: cleaner fossil energy, renewable energy and distributed generation, power generation and transmission, steel, aluminum, cement, coal mining, and buildings and appliances.

The United States and China have been engaged in an active program of bilateral environmental cooperation since the mid-1990s, with an emphasis on clean energy technology and the design of effective environmental policy. While both governments view this cooperation positively, China has often compared the U.S. program, which lacks a foreign assistance component, with those of Japan and several European Union (EU) countries that include generous levels of aid.

===Science and Technology===
Science and technology have always preoccupied China's leaders; indeed, China's political leadership comes almost exclusively from technical backgrounds and has a high regard for science. Deng called it "the first productive force." Distortions in the economy and society created by party rule have severely hurt Chinese science, according to some Chinese science policy experts. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, modeled on the Soviet system, puts much of China's greatest scientific talent in a large, under-funded apparatus that remains largely isolated from industry, although the reforms of the past decade have begun to address this problem.

Chinese science strategists see China's greatest opportunities in newly emerging fields such as biotechnology and computers, where there is still a chance for China to become a significant player. Most Chinese students who went abroad have not returned, but they have built a dense network of trans-Pacific contacts that will greatly facilitate U.S.-China scientific cooperation in coming years. The U.S. space program is often held up as the standard of scientific modernity in China. China's small but growing space program, which successfully completed their second manned orbit in October 2005, is a focus of national pride.

The U.S.-China Science and Technology Agreement remains the framework for bilateral cooperation in this field. A 5-year agreement to extend the Science and Technology Agreement was signed in April 2006. The Agreement is among the longest-standing U.S.-China accords, and includes over eleven U.S. Federal agencies and numerous branches that participate in cooperative exchanges under the S&T Agreement and its nearly 60 protocols, memoranda of understanding, agreements and annexes. The Agreement covers cooperation in areas such as marine conservation, renewable energy, and health. Biennial Joint Commission Meetings on Science and Technology bring together policymakers from both sides to coordinate joint science and technology cooperation. Executive Secretaries meetings are held biennially to implement specific cooperation programs. Japan and the European Union also have high profile science and technology cooperative relationships with China.
====Internet====
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticized Chinese censorship and restrictions on the Intrernet, and China is pushing back since the Communist Party considers Internet control essential if it is to keep power and avoid elections. The government has denied suggestions by Google that a major, sophisticated assault on Google in late 2009 was sponsored by the government. The attack targeted email accounts used by dissidents, the weak point in China's political dictatorship. Google is threatening to ignore the censorship policies demanded by the government, and perhaps leave the country. The Communist Party promotes Internet use for commerce, but heavily censors content it deems pornographic, anti-social or politically subversive and blocks many foreign news and social media sites, including Twitter Facebook, and YouTube.

===Poor Medical care===
China, like most Communist countries, gives low priority to medicine and medical care. China only spends 1% of GDP on health care, ranking #156 out of 196 nations surveys by the World Health Organization. Many people rely on traditional practitioners, having more faith in acupuncture than modern science. In any case few have the opportunity to receive modern drugs or treatment with advanced devices. The local clinic has only a thermometer and stethoscope for instrumentation, and very few modern drugs. Only one in six medical personnel have a college degree, and those degrees are not high quality. The ordinary people want more medical care but that hardly matters, for in a dictatorship violence matters, but not public opinion. <Ref> Gordon Fairclaugh, "In China, Rx for Ailing Health System," ''Wall Street Journal,'' Oct. 15, 2009</ref>

===Trade===
China's merchandise exports totaled $969.3 billion and imports totaled $791.8 billion in 2006. Its global trade surplus surged from $32 billion in 2004 to $177.5 billion in 2006. China's primary trading partners include Japan, the EU, the United States, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. According to U.S. statistics, China had a trade surplus with the U.S. of $232.6 billion in 2006.

China has taken important steps to open its foreign trading system and integrate itself into the world trading system. In November 1991, China joined the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group, which promotes free trade and cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, and technology spheres. China served as APEC chair in 2001, and Shanghai hosted the annual APEC leaders meeting in October of that year.

China formally joined the WTO in December 2001. As part of this far-reaching trade liberalization agreement, China agreed to lower tariffs and abolish market impediments. Chinese and foreign businessmen, for example, gained the right to import and export on their own, and to sell their products without going through a government middleman. By 2005, average tariff rates on key U.S. agricultural exports dropped from 31% to 14% and on industrial products from 25% to 9%. The agreement also opens up new opportunities for U.S. providers of services like banking, insurance, and telecommunications. China has made significant progress implementing its WTO commitments, but serious concerns remain, particularly in the realm of intellectual property rights protection.

While accession does not guarantee smaller trade deficits, full implementation of all WTO commitments would further open China's markets to--and help level the playing field for--U.S. exports. China is now one of the most important markets for U.S. exports: in 2006, U.S. exports to China totaled $55.2 billion, almost triple the $19 billion when China joined the WTO in 2001 and up 32% over 2005. U.S. agricultural exports have increased dramatically, making China our fourth-largest agricultural export market (after Canada, Japan, and Mexico). Over the same period (2001-2006), U.S. imports from China have risen from $102 billion to $287.8 billion.

Export growth continues to be a major driver of China's rapid economic growth. To increase exports, China has pursued policies such as fostering the rapid development of foreign-invested factories, which assemble imported components into consumer goods for export, and liberalizing trading rights. In its eleventh Five-Year Program, adopted in 2005, China placed greater emphasis on developing a consumer demand-driven economy to sustain economic growth and address global imbalances.

The United States is one of China's primary suppliers of power generating equipment, aircraft and parts, computers and industrial machinery, raw materials, and chemical and agricultural products. However, U.S. exporters continue to have concerns about fair market access due to strict testing and standards requirements for some imported products. In addition, a lack of transparency in the regulatory process makes it difficult for businesses to plan for changes in the domestic market structure. The April 11, 2006 U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) produced agreements on key U.S. trade concerns ranging from market access to U.S. beef, medical devices, and telecommunications; to the enforcement of intellectual property rights, including, significantly, software. The JCCT also produced an agreement to establish a U.S.-China High Technology and Strategic Trade Working Group to review export control cooperation and facilitate high technology trade.

===Foreign Investment===
China's investment climate has changed dramatically in 24 years of reform. In the early 1980s, China restricted foreign investments to export-oriented operations and required foreign investors to form joint-venture partnerships with Chinese firms. Foreign direct investment (FDI) grew quickly during the 1980s, but stalled in late 1989 in the aftermath of Tiananmen. In response, the government introduced legislation and regulations designed to encourage foreigners to invest in high-priority sectors and regions. Since the early 1990s, China has allowed foreign investors to manufacture and sell a wide range of goods on the domestic market, and authorized the establishment of wholly foreign-owned enterprises, now the preferred form of FDI. However, the Chinese Government's emphasis on guiding FDI into manufacturing has led to market saturation in some industries, while leaving China's services sectors underdeveloped. China is now one of the leading recipients of FDI in the world, receiving almost $80 billion in 2005 according to World Bank statistics.

As part of its WTO accession, China undertook to eliminate certain trade-related investment measures and to open up specified sectors that had previously been closed to foreign investment. New laws, regulations, and administrative measures to implement these commitments are being issued. Major remaining barriers to foreign investment include opaque and inconsistently enforced laws and regulations and the lack of a rules-based legal infrastructure.

Opening to the outside remains central to China's development. Foreign-invested enterprises produce about half of China's exports, and China continues to attract large investment inflows. Foreign exchange reserves were $1.1 trillion at the end of 2006, and have now surpassed those of Japan, making China's foreign exchange reserves the largest in the world.
===Higher education===
Despite fears that China may be outpacing the United States in turning out engineers, the number of college students in China who study engineering is on the decline, according to ''Global Times'', a Chinese newspaper. Fewer than one in 10 college graduates in 2009 majored in engineering. Instead, students are turning to economics, finance, and management, which pay more and carry more social status. "Engineering usually makes people think of factories, while factories often give people an impression of hard work, low wages, and layoffs," the newspaper quoted one professor as saying.

Meanwhile China is building universities overnight, and sending graduate students to the U.S. for PhD's so they can become professors.

The exodus of Chinese undergraduate and graduate students continues; as 180,000 left in 2008, about 25% percent more than in 2007, as more families were able to pay overseas tuition. For every four students who left in the past decade, only one returned; those with American PhDs in science or engineering the least likely to return. The intellectual vitality, quality of science, pay scales and political climate is much more attractive in the West. Those who return to China risk being shunned as "foreigners".<ref> [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/world/asia/07scholar.html?hp Sharon LaFraniera, "Fighting Trend, China Is Luring Scientists Home," ''New York Times'' Jan. 6. 2010]</ref>
===The Chinese in Africa===
China has been spending huge amounts of money and time buying influence in various African countries<ref> [http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Africa-Monitor/2011/0217/China-s-latest-trade-visit-to-Africa-reveals-a-different-approach-to-business]</ref>. China has given 45 Afriacn countries $115 billion, a figure which is growing at 44% every year. Africa has many desirable resources such as [[diamonds]], [[oil]], and rare earth metals such as [[Indium]] which is used to make the touch screens for new high-tech devices such as [[Apple]]'s [[iPad]]<ref> [http://blogs.indium.com/blog/an-interview-with-the-professor/assembled-cost-of-an-ipad]</ref> and [[iPhone]], often under [[sweat shop]] conditions.

China's aim in Africa seems to be to buy up the emerging markets of the developing nations there. China has a big population, but does not have many of the resources (see above) that they will need to improve themselves. When countries go through [[industrialization]] they need to use a lot more resources, and China does not have them. By buying up Africa they get these natural resources cheaply. They will also be able to use these resources as poker chips against the west.
US ambassador [[Johnnie Carson]] believes "China has no morals" in Africa<ref> [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/12/09/cable-kenya-risks-new-violence-reforms/]</ref>, which may be true given their [[communist]] ideology.

== History ==
{{main|History of China}}

Although archaeologists have found settlements in China dating to [[5000 BC]], the earliest nation that can be dated in the area of modern China is the [[Shang Dynasty]], approximately [[2000 BC]].
[[File:Great Wall of China.jpg|left|240px]]
Dynasty followed dynasty, as old regimes would lose the "mandate of heaven;" it was believed that each emperor ruled only with the approval of heaven, and a ruler who was unfit to rule would curse the nation until replaced. In addition, the Chinese capital would occasionally be overrun by "barbarians," who invariably would start a new dynasty in the Chinese capital, integrating their nations into the former dynasty.

Chinese had an advanced artistic culture and well-developed science and technology. However, its science and technology stood still after 1700 and in the 21st century very little survives outside museums, except in for the popular forms of traditional medicine.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by large-scale civil wars, major famines, military defeats by Britain and Japan, regional control by powerful warlords and foreign intervention such as the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of 1900. In 1911 the revolution deposed the [[Qing Dynasty]] and a republic was proclaimed.

Under the leadership of the [[KMT]] (Kuomintang), headed by [[Chiang Kai-shek]] (1887-1975), the central government finally suppressed the local warlords who effectively controlled many provinces. The KMT tried to destroy the Communists under [[Mao Zedong]], but they escaped in the "Long March" of 1934-35. Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, and in 1937 invaded all of China, seizing the coast, the major cities, and setting up a puppet government that controlled most of the population. China was allied with the U.S. and Britain against Japan, and at war's end joined the United Nations as a permanent member of the 5-nation Security Council, with a veto.

In 1945-46, the U.S. attempted to force a negotiated settlement between the KMT and the Communists, but failed. In the face of economic collapse the Communists won the civil war in 1949 under [[Mao Zedong]] established a dictatorship, driving the KMT to Taiwan. Taiwan is recognized as an integral part of China in theory, but in practice has been independent since 1949.

Mao liquidated millions of opponents, fought the United States in the bloody [[Korean War]] (1950-53), and around 1960 broke bitterly with the Soviet Union over the issue of who best represented the Marxist orthodoxy. Mao's regime imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people.

After 1978, Mao's successor [[Deng Xiaoping]] focused on market-oriented economic development, and by 2000 output had quadrupled, population growth ended (by imposing a one-child policy), and good relations were secured with the West. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls and Internet censorship remain tight.

China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade, to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy.

== Human Rights ==
Under Mao millions of Chinese were killed by famines or government action against the middle classes. The "[[Cultural Revolution]]" in the 1960s was a counterattack against intellectuals endorsed by Mao; it set back China by decades until his death in 1975.

After the mid-1980s the new leader [[Deng Xiaoping]] promoted rapid modernization. While Mao's memory was still revered, most of his brutal policies were ended and much economic freedom--and a dash of political liberalization--was allowed. Intellectuals were encouraged to speak out again and to share in a new spirit of "democratization." However Communist party leaders in 1986 warned that modernization must not be used as an excuse to introduce "bourgeois philosophies and social doctrines." By late 1986 student groups began to demonstrate demanding more student participation in local government, a greater degree of democracy, and better living conditions. As demonstrations escalated Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the party, resigned, confessing that he had made major mistakes and would take responsibility for them. It was a setback to political and economic liberalization, though Hu remained, out of office, a symbol of the potential for democracy. Hu's death in April 1989, sparked widespread public rallies in favor of broad social changes in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities. Tens of thousands of students defied a government clampdown to demonstrate in May in [[Tiananmen Square]] central Beijing. The Party moved to kill dissent, sending uneducated rural troops into square on June 3-4; hundreds of demonstrators were killed, wounded, or arrested. The world was appalled. Following the savage repression of democrats in all major cities Deng Xiaoping appeared to be even more firmly in control.

The China country reports in the U.S. State Department's 2009 Human Rights Practices and International Religious Freedom Reports<ref> See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm U.S. State Department, ''2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)'' Feb. 25, 2009] </ref> noted China's well-documented and continuing abuses of human rights in violation of internationally recognized norms, stemming both from the authorities' intolerance of dissent and the inadequacy of legal safeguards for basic freedoms. Reported abuses have included arbitrary and lengthy incommunicado detention, forced confessions, torture, and mistreatment of prisoners as well as severe restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, privacy, worker rights, and coercive birth limitation. In 2006, China continued the monitoring, harassment, intimidation, and arrest of journalists, Internet writers, defense lawyers, religious activists, and political dissidents. The activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially those relating to the rule of law and expansion of judicial review, continue to be restricted.

In 2008 China loosened its restrictions somewhat for the Summer Olympics. The government arbitrarily closes down Internet access to prevent the people from learning about the world.

Human rights failures remain a major concern. Abatement of pollution and improvements in systems to ensure food, drug, and product safety are major concerns, especially after notorious episodes of exporting poisoned pet food, toothpaste and infant formula.
===Repression in 2008===
In 2008 China's human rights record remained poor and worsened in some areas. During the year the government increased its severe cultural and religious repression of ethnic minorities in Tibetan areas and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR), increased detention and harassment of dissidents and petitioners, and maintained tight controls on freedom of speech and the Internet. Abuses peaked around high-profile events, such as the Olympics and the unrest in Tibet. As in previous years, citizens did not have the right to change their government. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), both local and international, continued to face intense scrutiny and restrictions. Other serious human rights abuses included extrajudicial killings, torture and coerced confessions of prisoners, and the use of forced labor, including prison labor. Workers cannot choose an independent union to represent them in the workplace, and the law does not protect workers' right to strike. The government continued to monitor, harass, detain, arrest, and imprison journalists, writers, activists, and defense lawyers and their families, many of whom were seeking to exercise their rights under the law.<ref> See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm U.S. State Department, ''2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)'' Feb. 25, 2009] </ref>
===Execution Controversy===
In December 2009, China executed a man named Akmal Shaikh for drug smuggling. There is evidence that Shaikh was mentally ill, but he was not given a psychological exam of any sort before the trial. He was not given an examination because the Chinese government declared that neither Shaikh or his family could prove he was mentally ill through documentation or family history. The British government made many requests for clemency, including at an eleventh-hour meeting with the Chinese ambassador, but they were consistently ignored.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-britain-china30-2009dec30,0,4153003.story</ref>

==Further reading==
* Chow, Gregory C. ''China's Economic Transformation'' (2nd ed. 2007) [http://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Economic-Transformation-Gregory-Chow/dp/1405156244/ref=pd_sim_b_img_3 excerpt and text search]
* Eberharad, Wolfram. ''A History of China'' (2005), 380 pages' [http://books.google.com/books?id=5LgjunIn1CEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:history+intitle:china&num=30&as_brr=1&sig=k1CgHXYb6jQ6BgdwVpUWngov7So full text online free]
* Entwisle, Barbara, and Gail E. Henderson, eds. ''Re-Drawing Boundaries: Work, Households, and Gender in China,'' U of California Press, 2000; on 1990; [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt938nd0k8/?&query=&brand=ucpress complete text online free]
* Fairbank, John King and Goldman, Merle. ''China: A New History.'' (1998). 546 pp.
* Gries, Peter Hays. ''China's New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy,'' U of California Press, (2004); recent history [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt9290249r/?&query=&brand=ucpress online edition free]
* Kang, David C. ''China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia'' (2007), argues a strong China stabilizes East Asia
* Naughton, Barry. ''The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth'' (2007), important new survey
*Ogden S. (ed) ''China.'' (2006)
* Oi, Jean C. ''Rural China Takes Off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform,'' U of California Press, (1999) [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft8j49p1hv/?&query=&brand=ucpress complete text online free]
* Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture.'' (1999). 662 pp.
* Rawski, Thomas G. and Lillian M. Li, eds. ''Chinese History in Economic Perspective,'' University of California Press, 1992 [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft6489p0n6/?&query=&brand=ucpress online free]
* Roberts, J. A. G. ''A Concise History of China.'' (1999). 341 pp.
* Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History.'' (2000). 356 pp. [http://www.questia.com/library/book/the-columbia-guide-to-modern-chinese-history-by-r-keith-schoppa.jsp online edition]
* Shambaugh, David. ''China's Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation'' (2009)
* Shambaugh, David. ''Modernizing China's Military: Progress, Problems, and Prospects'' U of California Press, (2003) [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt4779q33t/?&query=&brand=ucpress complete text online free]
* Spence, Jonathan D. ''The Search for Modern China'' (1991), 876pp; well written survey from 1644 to 1980s [http://www.amazon.com/Search-Modern-China-Jonathan-Spence/dp/0393307808/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 excerpt and text search]; [http://www.questia.com/read/98946348 complete edition online]
* Wang, Ke-wen, ed. ''Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.'' (1998). 442 pp.

==See also==
*[[Chinese History]]
*[[Great Wall of China]]
*[[Oriental art]]
*[[Previous Breaking News/China|Articles about '''China''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

==References==
<references/>

==External link==
*[http://www.chinadetail.com/Nation/ All About China]
*[http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/china/home.html People's Daily: China at a Glance]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm BBC News - ''Country Profile: China'']
*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html CIA World Factbook - ''China'']
*[http://www.monthlyreview.org/1105wu.htm "Rethinking ‘Capitalist Restoration’ in China"] by Yiching Wu
*[http://www.gov.cn/ The Central People's Government of People's Republic of China]
*[http://www.china.org.cn/ China's Official Gateway for News & Information]
*[http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=341 The Dragon's Dawn: China as a Rising Imperial Power] February 11, 2005.
*[http://www.china-profile.com/history/hist_list_1.htm History of The People's Republic of China] Timeline of Key Events since 1949.
*[http://www.danwei.org/ Media, advertising, and urban life in China.]
*[http://www.chinastudygroup.org/index.php?action=front2&type=view&id=152 China's Neoliberal Dynasty] by Peter Kwong, originally published in [[The Nation]] October 2, 2006.

[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:China]]
[[Category:Communist States]]